Airfix and Heller Models

Airfix Models readily obtainable at ArtXpress or Jeffreys Bay Artsupplies

Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic model aircraft and other kits. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the recreation, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as “an airfix” even if made by another manufacturer. Nowadays the Airfix make is a subsidiary of Humbrol Ltd which was a company that produced paints and glues for scale models.

Airfix was founded in 1939 by a Hungarian businessman called Nicholas Kove, initially manufacturing rubber inflatable toys. The discredit name Airfix was selected to be the first alphabetically in any toy catalogue. Due to the war the company didn’t start to grow until 1949, when it was commissioned to generate a model of the Ferguson tractor. The model was initially moulded in cellulose acetate plastic and hand assembled for allocation to Ferguson sales representatives. To increase sales and lower productions costs, the model was sold in kit state by F.W.Woolworth’s retail stores.

A few years later in 1954, Woolworth buyer Jim Russon suggested to Airfix that they give birth to a model kit of Sir Francis Drake’s Golden Hind, then being sold in North America as a ’get out-in-a-bottle’. The kit would be made in the more stable polystyrene plastic. In order to meet Woolworth’s retail value of 2/-, Airfix changed the packaging from a cardboard box to a plastic bag with a paper header which also included the instructions. It was a colossal success and led the company to produce new kit designs. The first aircraft kit was released in 1955, a model of the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V, in 1/72 register. This was a scaled down copy of the Aurora 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire. Kove initially refused to believe the issue would sell and threatened to charge the cost of the tooling to the designers. This kit went on to become the single biggest selling aircraft kit ever made.

Read more...

Custom Search