Web Page No 2714

29th  August 2020

 

1st Picture. The Boys Book of Airfix

2nd Picture. Airfix Spitfire

3rd Picture. Airfix Locomotive

4th Picture. Aifix centurion

 

Airfix Kits

For most people Airfix invented the plastic model kit. This is not strictly true although Airfix certainly popularized plastic modelling Tell people that you’re into scale modelling and they may get what you mean, tell them you make Airfix kits and they will know exactly what you mean.

 

The invention of the plastic kit really belongs to the English manufacturer, FROG, who began life by making flying models in the early-1930s, hence the acronym Flies Right Off (the) Ground: F–R–O–G. In 1936 FROG started making a new line of plastic construction kits.

FROG adopted the scale of 1:72 and their kits were very basic and their pre-moulded parts meant a Spitfire could be built, painted and flying sorties around the living room in a single evening!

 By a twist of fate, the Second World War heralded great advancements in the manufacture of plastics and injection moulding technology. FROG now started to make models for the War Office and these were used as recognition aids.

Enter Airfix. Founded in 1939 by Nicholas Kove, a Hungarian émigré, Airfix was the first company to bring injection moulding technology to Britain. Ironically, Airfix’s name was never derived from anything to do with aircraft or models, but rather a personal penchant of Kove who,  liked words ending in ‘fix’ and wanted his company to begin with an ‘A’ so it would appear at the front of directories. Airfix’s first products were a diverse range of household items, mostly born out of Kove’s eye for a sales opportunity that made use of scant resources. At one point Airfix were the biggest manufacturers of plastic combs in the UK.

 

Airfix’s entry into the world of plastic models came in 1949 following a commission for a promotional model of a tractor by Ferguson. Kove suggested selling the unassembled parts to the general public. Ferguson saw this as a publicity coup and the first Airfix kit was born. Encouraged by what Kove saw as a new business opportunity, Airfix released a model of the Golden Hind in 1952. When Kove struck a deal with Woolworth’s to sell bagged copies of their kits for a few pence each, suddenly kits became readily available and cheap – the modern era of plastic modelling was truly born. The Golden Hind was a huge success and Kove was initially resistant to diversify into aircraft. Eventually they did and their first aircraft kit, a Spitfire Mk.I was released in 1953.

 

To complement the kits Airfix created its own range of oil based paints, in tinlets. At its peak, the scope and range of the Airfix catalogue encompassed a variety of subjects for almost all modelling tastes: aircraft dominated, followed by ships, armoured fighting vehicles, cars, motorbikes, buildings, soldiers, trains, rockets, science fiction subjects, birds, historical figures and diorama play sets. Airfix consolidated their popularity in the 1960s when they released the Aifix Magazine and this continued right up until the early 1990s.

Sadly, the oil crisis of the 1970s and world-wide recession of the 1980s saw raw materials and production costs rise and problems within Airfix meant they had to call in the receivers.

 By the end of the 1980s the hobby seemed to catch a second wind, but in 2006 Airfix looked again to be facing oblivion in circumstances that almost mirrored those of 1980/81 – Airfix was profitable, but its parent company Humbrol suffered cash flow and supply problems and so Airfix was up for sale again. This time Hornby stepped in to add this s brand to its own heritage and that of Scalextric. In an ironic twist, the Airfix headquarters at Hornby’s facilities in Margate is also the site of the former FROG factory.

 

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Peter

 

gsseditor@gmail.com

 

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On this day 29th August 1960-1965

On 29/08/1960 the number one single was Please Don't Tease - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 29/08/1961 the number one single was You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 29/08/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 29/08/1963 the number one single was Bad to Me - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 29/08/1964 the number one single was Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 29/08/1965 the number one single was Help - The Beatles and the number one album was Help - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Yemen War to be ended.