Reintroduce The Models from Years gone by

[richard williams1707820250]

Thos of us with the knowledge of the early days of Airfix would love to rebuild our favourite kits.I recently have built the G for george lancaster from the 60s and the first Dc3 dakota i'm starting the second version  Silver City airways shortly.ive collected as many of the old kits as  can so far be it ships, tanks ,soldiers, dioramas,aircraft etc to see them built not left in boxes to rot.The old Aifix catalogues i have remind me of what Airfix were and what they could be again.Take Frog they were once part of the group including Airfix they went to russia as novo and dissappeared but the kits they did were great Airfix could have those included . Take the ships line we had the Nelson,warspite,prinz eugan,bismarck and tirpitz,destroyers cruisers ,aircraft carriers etc not any more though Airfix should do all as many vintage kits as possible to reintroduce the ex modellers who remember the kits from their schooldays

[vimal_indrasoma]

Hear, hear! My mother used to buy me a poly-bagged Airfix kit each time I helped her with the shopping at the one and only supermarket (at the time - early '60s) in Singapore! Wish they'd kept the old instruction style - 'Locate and cement pitot tube to wing' etc taught me what the parts of an aeroplane were called. Special occasions meant my father would fork out for a major ship kit - HMS Nelson when I had to have a tooth extracted, as I recall.

It would be great to get to grips with upgraded versions of the those old kits once again - perhaps they will make an appearance in the kitstarter list soon?

[Jonathan Mock]

Thos of us with the knowledge of the early days of Airfix would love to rebuild our favourite kits.I recently have built the G for george lancaster from the 60s and the first Dc3 dakota i'm starting the second version  Silver City airways shortly.ive collected as many of the old kits as  can so far be it ships, tanks ,soldiers, dioramas,aircraft etc to see them built not left in boxes to rot.The old Aifix catalogues i have remind me of what Airfix were and what they could be again.Take Frog they were once part of the group including Airfix they went to russia as novo and dissappeared but the kits they did were great Airfix could have those included . Take the ships line we had the Nelson,warspite,prinz eugan,bismarck and tirpitz,destroyers cruisers ,aircraft carriers etc not any more though Airfix should do all as many vintage kits as possible to reintroduce the ex modellers who remember the kits from their schooldays

 

 

 FROG were never part of the Airfix group, and the condition of some of those moulds now is next to unusable.

 

The other problem is that you can't have large numbers of kits in production all the time based on a matter of principal, most kit companies pare their ranges back to what sells, or drop kits to make room for something else.

I remember reading a suggestion in the old forum that modellers be appointed to choose what "nice" kits in the inventory a company like Airfix should sell. Sometimes what people think should be sold, as to what actually does sell, are two different things.

[feanor]

Not according to the Genius who thought up the Kitstarter concept... But then you've always thought that you speak for Airfix because youre a freelance for them... Don't think so bub.

[Simon Norton1707820138]

The relationship between Airfix and Honby is quite convoluted.

Frog was owned by Lines Bros who also owned Triang Railways. In 1964 they acquired the Hornby Dublo range when they bought out Meccano. 

Meccano was sold to Airfix Industries and Hornby was sold to Dunbee-Combex-Marx in 1972 after Lines Bros went bankrupt.

Frog ceased as a brand in 1976 with the most of the moulds being transferred to Russia apart from the Axis aircraft which went to Revell

Dunbee-Combex-Marx went into receivership in 1980 and Hornby became Hornby Hobbies, and went public in 1986.

Airfix went bankrupt in 1981 and was taken over by General Mills. Then sold to Humbrol in 1986.

Humbrol went into administration in 2006 and sold Airfix to Hornby Hobbies.

So Lines Bros(Triang) owned Frog, Meccano and Hornby.

Airfix also owned Meccano.

Hornby now owns Airfix.

 

[Jonathan Mock]

The relationship between Airfix and Honby is quite convoluted.

Frog was owned by Lines Bros who also owned Triang Railways. In 1964 they acquired the Hornby Dublo range when they bought out Meccano. 

Meccano was sold to Airfix Industries and Hornby was sold to Dunbee-Combex-Marx in 1972 after Lines Bros went bankrupt.

Frog ceased as a brand in 1976 with the most of the moulds being transferred to Russia apart from the Axis aircraft which went to Revell

Dunbee-Combex-Marx went into receivership in 1980 and Hornby became Hornby Hobbies, and went public in 1986.

Airfix went bankrupt in 1981 and was taken over by General Mills. Then sold to Humbrol in 1986.

Humbrol went into administration in 2006 and sold Airfix to Hornby Hobbies.

So Lines Bros(Triang) owned Frog, Meccano and Hornby.

Airfix also owned Meccano.

Hornby now owns Airfix.

 

 

 Spot on, it's a complicated history and that's an excellent summation. The only thing I can add to that is that, up until a couple of months ago, Airfix were based in the same building at Margate that used to be the former FROG factory, adding another ironic twist to the history. I need to check the dates but I think both the FROG and Airfix P-40B's may have been designed in the same place, just 40 years or so apart. Spooky!

[Drewe Manton]

Not according to the Genius who thought up the Kitstarter concept... But then you've always thought that you speak for Airfix because youre a freelance for them... Don't think so bub.

 

 "Bub". . .I like that, and shall use it henceforth in coversation with Mr Mock.