improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article s lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents . please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article . please discuss this issue on the article s talk page . february 2012 this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message airfix industry hobbies founded 1939 headquarters united kingdom products model kits owner hornby plc website www.airfix.com airfix is a uk manufacturer of injection moulded plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other objects . in the united kingdom the name airfix is synonymous with plastic models of this type often simply referred to as an airfix kit even if made by another manufacturer . 1 founded in 1939 airfix was owned by humbrol from 1986 until humbrol s financial collapse on 31 august 2006 . since 2007 airfix has been owned by hornby . contents 1 history 1.1 expansion 1.2 decline purchase by humbrol 1.3 50th anniversary 1.4 demise of humbrol and acquisition by hornby 1.5 hornby era 1.6 ownership and production summary 2 model railways 3 video game 4 model kit product ranges 4.1 box art 5 in popular culture 6 see also 7 references 7.1 notes 7.2 bibliography 8 external links history edit airfix was founded in 1939 by a hungarian businessman nicholas kove initially to manufacture inflatable rubber toys . the brand name was selected to be the first alphabetically in trade directories . 2 in 1947 airfix introduced injection moulding initially producing pocket combs . in 1949 the company was commissioned to create a promotional model of a ferguson te20 tractor moulded in cellulose acetate plastic and hand assembled for distribution to ferguson sales representatives . to increase sales and lower production costs the model was sold in kit form by f. w. woolworth s retail stores . in 1954 woolworth s buyer jim russon suggested that airfix produce a model kit of sir francis drake s golden hind then being sold in north america as a ship in a bottle made in the more stable polystyrene . to meet woolworth s retail price of two shillings airfix packaged the product in a plastic bag with a paper header that had the assembly instructions on the reverse . its huge success led the company to produce new kit designs . the first aircraft kit was released in 1953 a model of the supermarine spitfiremk i 3 followed by the spitfire mk ix in 1955 in 1 72 scale developed by james hay stevens . 4 this was a scaled down copy of the aurora 1 48 supermarine spitfire kit . kove initially refused to believe the product would sell and threatened to charge the cost of tooling up to the designers . citation needed expansion edit airfix models from 1957 during the 1960s and 1970s the company expanded as the hobby grew . the range expanded to include vintage and modern cars motorcycles figures trains model railway accessories military vehicles famous ships rockets and spaceships as well as an ever increasing range of aircraft most created at the scales of 1 72 for small and military aircraft and 1 144 scale for airliners . the growth of the hobby launched a number of competitors such as matchbox and introduced new manufacturers from japan and the us to the uk . during this period the humbrol company also grew supplying paints brushes glue and other accessories as an alternative to airfix own range . airfix also launched a monthly modelling magazine airfix magazine produced by a variety of publishers from june 1960 to october 1993 . during the 1970s an airfix magazine annual was also produced and airfix books on classic aircraft classic ships and modelling techniques were published by patrick stephens ltd. in 1963 the airfix slot car racing system was introduced . airfix produced cars with front wheel ackermann steering and later conversion kits so that normal airfix 1 32 kit cars such as the ford zodiac and the sunbeam rapier could be raced . the first set had ferrari and cooper cars and an 11 foot figure of eight track it cost 4 19 11d . always in the shadow of the scalextric range the airfix version attempted to progress with the higher end model road racing company mrrc range but eventually the venture was abandoned . most of airfix s older range of military vehicles though sold as 1 72 are generally accepted as oo or 1 76 scale the subsequent introduction of a small number of true 1 72 vehicle kits to the airfix range created controversy regarding the exact scale . hornby s new packaging shows 1 72 or 1 76 as appropriate . in late 1962 the acquisition 5 of the intellectual property and 35 moulds of rosebud kitmaster gave airfix its first models of railway locomotives in oo and ho scales and its first motorcycle kit ; the ariel arrow in 1 16 scale . in the mid 1970s larger scales were introduced including detailed 1 24 scale models of the spitfire messerschmitt bf 109 hawker hurricane and harrier jump jet . the mid 1970s were a peak time for airfix . releasing as many as 17 new kits a year airfix commanded 75 % of the uk market with 20 million kits per annum . 6 series 20 was limited for several years to the 1972 1 12 scale kit of the 1930 supercharged bentley 4.5 litre car with 272 parts and the option of a 3 volt motor . in 1979 four motorcycles in 1 8 scale were added to this series . in this period apart from model kits airfix also produced a wide range of toys games dolls and art & craft products . it was still producing other plastic products such as homewares at this time . airfix industries acquired part of the failing lines brothers huge tri ang toy business then in voluntary liquidation giving it the meccano and dinky toy businesses in 1971 . this made airfix the uk s largest toy company . citation needed decline purchase by humbrol edit in the 80s airfix industries group was under financial pressure there were losses in airfix s other toy businesses and attempts to reduce costs were met with industrial action . the pound strengthened from 1.56 to 2.35 in a matter of months destroying the export market as customers were unwilling to accept a 50 % price increase for the same goods . the financial interdependency of the divisions of airfix industries forced it to declare bankruptcy in 1981 . the company was bought by general mills owner of us automobile kit maker mpc through its uk palitoy subsidiary 7 the kit moulds being quickly shipped to its factory in calais france . later airfix aircraft kits were marketed in the united states under the mpc label and some mpc kits were sold in the uk under the airfix name an example being the 1 25 scale vintage stutz bearcat kit originally produced as a tie in to the bearcats television series . airfix released mpc kits based on the star wars film series . airfix s market share reduced to 40 % of the uk market 2.3 million kits though it had 75 % of the german market . in the us where automobile kits were more popular than aircraft it was less than 2 % . 8 four years later general mills withdrew from the toy market to focus on its core food manufacturing business . at one point it looked as if the airfix range might die out but eventually in 1986 it was bought by the hobby products group of borden inc. which had tried to buy the range in 1981 . borden was also the owner of humbrol . the moulds remained in france but were relocated to the group s existing kit manufacturer trun based heller sa . this was a logical acquisition since humbrol s paints and adhesives could be used to complete airfix kits and the heller factory was under utilised . the hobby products group was sold to an irish investment company allen & mcguire in 1994 and continued under the humbrol name . 50th anniversary edit in 2003 airfix celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first aircraft kit the supermarine spitfire . the celebration was two years early because of an incorrect 1953 date commonly accepted at the time . as the moulds for the original kit were long gone airfix reissued its 1 72 supermarine spitfire mk . a kit in blue plastic . the kit also included a large series 5 stand the moulds for the smaller series 1 stand having been lost and a copy of the original plastic bag packaging with paper header . demise of humbrol and acquisition by hornby edit on 31 august 2006 parent company humbrol went into administration 31 of 41 employees being made redundant largely because of the collapse of heller sa which still manufactured most of airfix s kits . 9 on 10 november 2006 hornby hobbies ltd. announced it was to acquire airfix and other assets of humbrol for 2.6 million 10 and relaunched the brands the following year . in 2008 airfix s former factory in hull was demolished . hornby era edit under the management of hornby airfix was revitalised . old ranges were re issued and airfix launched several new kits annually . manufacture is in india while design and packing is in the uk . while model making is not as popular as it was in the 1960s and 1970s it has grown since the 1980s . citation needed ownership and production summary edit period ownership main manufacturing base comments 1939 1981 airfix industries ltd uk haldane place wandsworth london uk collaboration in later years with mpc usa and gunze sangyo japan 1981 1985 general mills inc usa through cpg products corporation miro meccano factory calais france range largely shared with mpc usa also owned by general mills . 1986 1994 borden inc usa through humbrol ltd heller factory trun france many airfix kits were reboxed heller kits also owned by humbrol . 1994 2006 allen & maguire ireland through humbrol ltd heller factory trun france many airfix kits were reboxed heller kits also owned by humbrol until 2006 . several japanese and chinese kits reboxed too . 2006 hornby plc uk outsourced to india focus on self produced kits . limited reboxing . model railways edit in 1962 airfix bought from rosebud kitmaster ltd its moulds and stock for the kitmaster railway range . the models were adapted to be compatible with airfix s rolling stock models produced from 1960 which went with airfix s trackside accessories of a few years earlier . 11 only ten of the kitmaster locomotives were released under airfix . from 1975 to 1981 airfix also manufactured a line of ready to run model railway stock in oo gauge 1 76.2 scale . based on british prototypes they improved in detail and prototype accuracy compared to british outline model railway stock from other british ready to run manufacturers such as hornby . the product range expanded fairly rapidly in the first few years . a model of a great western railway gwr 0 4 2 autotank steam locomotive and gwr autocoach are amongst some of the many memorable and important product releases . airfix also offered an analogue electronics based multiple train control system mtc allowing independent control of multiple locomotives on the same track . airfix produced a large number of plastic kits for both railway