[Steve Roe photo]

The name Airfix should be familiar to all Spitifre fans - at least those in their 50's or those interested in modelling! Other readers are kindly advised to read my previous article about how Airfix started a plastic modelling trend with their Spitfire kits back in the 1950s and kept the Spitfire as one at their top-selling items ever since.

Recent news from BBC brings an update about the current state of this venerable brand. Having gone into receivership last year, Airfix is now owned by Hornby, a succesful model train company based in Margate, UK.

• Airfix - Britain's next top model?
• Airfix flies again: video extras from the BBC 2 show
• Open University - Airfix: kit, model or toy?

It could be argued that the long-term problem with lead to the company's downfall in 2006 was not the modelling hobby but the models it produced; most of them are very dated in terms of plastic-moulding technology and don't compare with the latest to come from their competitors. Even for the kids, Airfix kits (some of which date 40 years back) do not compare in quality with contemporary toys in general. Although Airfix is still a very well-recognized brand, particularly in the UK, years of building entirely on historical reputation has given the competition almost unlimited room to catch up.

I have a personal story that illustrates this point. Last year, I happened to hear an interesting conversation at the Airfix booth at one of the major UK hobby shows. The company representative was rather eager to criticise Trumpeter, the emerging Chinese model manufacturer, for choosing some of the more unusual British aircraft types as subjects for their kits. He meant that the strategy of the Chinese was obviously unsound as models such as Westland Wyvern or Fairey Gannet could never generate enough revenue to pay back for the investment in moulds and research. Well, a year later, another Airfix competitor, the giant Revell of Germany has just released their brand-new kit of the... Fairey Gannet, apparently having made a rather different assessment of its market potential and undisturbed by Trumpeter's earlier release. In the meantime, the Chinese company managed to add a Hawker Sea Fury, Sea Hawk and Vickers Wellington to their line, among the wealth of other new kits. Enough said.

In view of this it sounds reassuring that Hornby acknowledges the need to revitalise the Airfix' largely antiquated product line. That's good, but I have no doubt that Hornby will have a tough job doing that. The market leaders such as Revell, Tamiya, Hasegawa and Trumpeter are miles ahead in terms of product quality. None of these four has recently produced a single aircraft kit with poor fitting pieces, lack of detail or bad scaling. Airfix has do do the same to appeal to the critical adult modelling audience and their older 1/48 Spitfire F.22/24 should be taking as a reference point for judging the expectations. If, on the other hand, the company selects to remain in the 'toy' market, there is also strong competition on the move, such as Revell, Hobby Boss, 21st Century Toys, or Dragon. Currently, Revell of Germany is perhaps the only major plastic kit company in the world to have found a successful balance between the "adult" and "toy" markets, effectively trying to sell the benefits of the hobby to the parents as well as children.

I'd love to see Airfix again as the producer of the best and most-wanted Spitfire kits around. Please Hornby, make it happen.

Labels: modelling