CHAPTER FOUR

The Humbrol Years, 1986–2006

1986

Humbrol purchased Airfix in February 1986. It had tried to buy Airfix in 1981, but was beaten by General Mills. Humbrol was founded as the Humber Oil Company, based in Kingston-upon-Hull, and was owned by the American chemical company Borden UK. Humbrol already owned the French kit company Heller, so Airfix was seen as a perfect fit. The archives and everything else at Coalville was moved to Humbrol’s headquarters at Marfleet, Kingston-upon-Hull. The moulds were moved from Calais to Trun, where Heller was based, and future Airfix production was centred on Trun. Twenty years later this decision was to prove the downfall of Humbrol.

At this point it seems that most, if not all, of the original artwork was lost, or given away by Palitoy. Some very early artwork and other records were given to the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood. Some of this original artwork was displayed at RAF Hendon from June 2013 to May 2014.

A simple twelve-page, A4-size catalogue was issued and contained the following statement:

The acquisition of Airfix by Humbrol in February 1986 marks the dawn of a new era in the model kit industry. Possibly the world’s most famous name in model kits is now owned, managed and serviced by a company dedicated to the model kit industry, with all the expertise and professionalism required to maintain Airfix in a position of brand leadership.

Over the next few years, Humbrol will develop Airfix considerably, whilst preserving the character and individuality of the brand.

The Airfix re-launch, available in mid-1986, offers a balanced selection of high quality, popular kits, and a wide choice of attractive price points. During 1986 and 1987, the range will be increased by the addition of new kits and some long-awaited re-releases.

Model paints and adhesives are a further essential element of the Airfix re-launch, and both products have totally new packaging for 1986. The Airfix paint range has been substantially revised to a new, improved formulation and to offer modern and comprehensive colour selection, with many unique shades.

Airfix is back – in force!

A second four-page leaflet was available later in the year and listed ‘Forty New Items’. All were re-issues. The style was reminiscent of the later Palitoy ones.

So Airfix was once again in British hands, and the signs for the future were looking good. Humbrol was a known and respected name in the modelling world, so we all looked forward to new models being produced.

What we didn’t realize at the time was that the research and development side of Airfix had been closed in 1984, which meant that Humbrol was going to have to start with a new team and a lack of ‘work in progress’ models. It had only acquired the name and the existing stock and moulds. Fortunately, the person in charge of research and development at Humbrol, Trevor Snowden, was a keen modeller and he was tasked with bringing the range back to the market place and preparing new moulds for the future. Consequently, we would have to wait until 1988 to see the first new moulds from Humbrol.

1987

Several kits were released to tie in with the movie Top Gun in 1987. The ‘MiG’ kit was actually an F-5 kit, as F-5s represented MiGs in the film.

In 1987 the first proper catalogue was produced by Humbrol. It had a white cover, which showed the new packaging style to be used by Humbrol, Type 9, and ran to twenty-four pages. The ‘new’ releases were shown by box-top artwork rather than photographs of the models. Some of the models were shown in a further style, which became Type 10.

However, there were not, as yet, any new tools. Around twenty figure sets and thirty-four aircraft were reintroduced. World War I aircraft, airliners, historic cars and sailing ships returned and were boxed as ‘special editions’ in the Type 10 packaging. The Tornado AFV2 from 1984 was announced as an AFV3 variant.

The only totally new items were three aircraft that were packaged as aircraft from the recent movie Top Gun starring Tom Cruise. They were, however, only minimum change variants of three existing kits, but given new decals to approximate the actual aircraft from the film. They were:

00501	Jester’s A-4 Skyhawk	1:72
00502	‘The MiG’ (F-5E Tiger II)	1:72
00503	Maverick’s F-14A Tomcat	1:72

The Tomcat and Tiger II were both fairly recent kits, but the Skyhawk was the very old and basic kit dating from 1958. Being licensed items, they were only available for a year or two, but did help to show that Airfix was looking ahead.

1988

New releases for 1988.

Humbrol was now well into its stride, and models were appearing in the new,‘lighter’ packagings. Several kits were added to the existing ranges, and some of the ‘new’ aircraft kits were given new decals and illustrations to match. Humbrol was now using the likes of James Goulding and Anthony Sturgess to paint the aircraft boxes, whilst Paul Monteagle was producing new artwork for the vintage aircraft and cars. Humbrol returned to the earlier catalogue number system, and dispensed with the ‘9’ prefix used by Palitoy.

Five aircraft received a ‘makeover’: these were:

01054	DHC Chipmunk	1:72
01059	Westland SA341 Gazelle	1:72
02012	Dassault Mirage IIIC	1:72
02013	Ilyushin IL-2M3 Stormavik	1:72
04020	Dornier Do 217E/J	1:72

Ten more new aircraft were announced, but they were all modifications of existing kits and consequently received new catalogue numbers:

02080	BAC Lightning F.3	1:72
03054	Westland Navy Lynx HAS.2	1:72
03055	HS Buccaneer S.2B	1:72
03056	BAe/McDD Goshawk	1:72
03057	Northrop RF-5E ‘Tiger Eye’	1:72
04035	Panavia Tornado F.3	1:72
05023	Mil Mi-24 Hind A	1:72
05024	Republic F-105G ‘Wild Weasel’	1:72
05102	BAe Harrier GR.3	1:48
06012	A-10 + Maverick Missiles	1:72

The Lightning was modified with a new tailfin and other parts, and would soldier on until a new Lightning F.2A was announced in 2013. The original Navy Lynx was upgraded to the then current standard, and then upgraded again in 2001 to HMA.8 standard.

The Buccaneer was virtually a new kit with only the undercarriage, tailplane and airbrakes surviving from the old NA-39 kit from 1960. It was still in Series 3 and was a tight fit in the box! In 2009, Hornby added additional weapons so that all the Series 2 variants could be made, and a year later moved it into Series 4.

The Goshawk was a proposed model of the US Navy’s carrier-borne trainer built in the USA by McDonnell-Douglas and based on the BAe Hawk trainer. Like the Buccaneer, it could probably have used only a small part of the Hawk kit, and in the end it was not tooled. The RF-5E ‘Tiger Eye’ was a modification of the 1983 Tiger II. The Tornado F.3 was a major modification of the earlier Tornado GR.1 kit.

1988’s Harrier GR.3 kit (Type 10).

The Mil Mi-24, F-105G and A-10 were all variants of the earlier kits, and mainly had extra missiles added. The only one of the new kits still in the catalogue is the 1:48 Harrier GR.3, which relied heavily on the Sea Harrier of 1983.

For those who were looking for brand new tooling, 1988 looked promising; but in 1989 that promise seemed to disappear.

1989

Although there were around thirty new announcements in the 1989 catalogue, they were all re-issues of existing kits. The Goshawk was noticeable by its absence, as were the ‘Top Gun’ kits.

The models listed as ‘new’ included the following:

01052	Hawker Demon	1:72
01068	MBB BO 105C	1:72
02042	Hawker Hurricane Mk I/IIB	1:72
02057	North American Harvard	1:72
01087	Hellcat – Aircraft of Aces	1:72
02088	P-38 – Aircraft of Aces	1:72
02089	P-51D – Aircraft of Aces	1:72
02090	F4U-1D – Aircraft of Aces	1:72
03019	DH Mosquito	1:72
03049	BAC Jet Provost/Strikemaster	1:72
03051	Boeing-Vertol Sea Knight	1:72
03055	HS Buccaneer S.2B	1:72
03058	Kamov Ka-25B Hormone	1:72
04035	Panavia Tornado F.3	1:72
04103	Hawker Fury	1:48
12002	Messerschmitt Bf 109E	1:24
05280	Vosper MTB	1:72
01305	25-Pdr Field Gun & Quad	1:76
01314	Matador and 5.5in Gun	1:76
01317	Lee/Grant Tank	1:76
02046	Aston Martin DB5	1:32
02415	Jaguar ‘E’ Type	1:32
02420	MGB	1:32
03800	Tyrannosaurus Rex	N/A
03801	Triceratops	N/A
03803	Stegosaurus	N/A
03805	Dimetrodon	N/A

The new kits announced the year before, and the new aircraft and cars, were presented using their new artwork, but all the rest of the kits used their old paintings. They all appeared in the new Type 9 or 10 packaging.

Three or so models were added to the Vintage aircraft and World War II ‘Aircraft of the Aces’ series and had new paintings by Paul Monteagle, James Goulding and Anthony Sturgess. The MGB, Aston Martin DB5 and ‘E’-Type Jaguar were added to the Vintage Cars series, painted by Paul Monteagle. The ‘E’-Type and DB5 are still in the catalogue today. Four of the dinosaurs made a brief return.

Type 9 Triceratops kit from 1989.

To further add to modellers’ woes, Humbrol suffered a serious fire in a warehouse in 1989 and much existing stock was destroyed. Water damage also affected some of the artwork, necessitating a lot of repainting.

The ‘World War II Aircraft of the Aces’ kits (1989). AIRFIX

Humbrol’s 1989 release programme.

A selection of kits from 1989.

It seems that the ‘promises’ of 1986 were not being lived up to, and though many older kits were being represented in new and exciting ways, there was no sign of the new tools that had been promised.

1990

1990 saw a significant change at Airfix. The catalogue was much thicker and contained a great deal of lovely artwork, with only a few models still appearing in the photographic box tops. More importantly there were twelve ‘new’ kits in addition to the re-issues. The new kits comprised the following:

03059	Shorts Tucano T.1	1:72
03060	Dassault Super Etendard	1:72
03061	Dassault Mirage 2000	1:72
04036	EFA Eurofighter	1:72
04037	MiG-29	1:72
05025	Sukhoi Su-27A	1:72
02091	Yakovlev Yak-3	1:72
02092	Messerschmitt Bf 109K	1:72
02093	Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero	1:72
02094	Hawker Tempest V	1:72
02095	Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIa	1:72
02096	Hawker Hurricane Mk IIC	1:72
10999	Battle of Britain 50th Set	1:72

The commemorative set released to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

The totally new moulds, of which there were actually six, were all tooled at Heller’s Trun factory and produced there. The Tucano and Eurofighter were Airfix designs, as France was not a buyer of Tucanos or Eurofighters. The Etendard and Mirage 2000 were Heller kits, but sold by Airfix, which also paid half the mould cost. The Russian jets were part of a new agreement whereby Heller would market the trainer variants and Airfix the fighters, again with Airfix paying half the mould cost.

They were basically good models with fine raised and inscribed detail. The Eurofighter has been upgraded over the years to the current Typhoon variant. All have featured in the catalogue in recent years.

The Yak-3, Bf 109K and Tempest were ex-SMER kits bought in to go in the ‘Aircraft of the Aces’ range. The Zero was the old Airfix kit. None is currently available. The Spitfire and Hurricane were fitted into a fiftieth anniversary Battle of Britain Museum Flight Set, which also included the Lancaster. They were all available separately. The Spitfire was the Airfix Mk Ia kit, and the Hurricane was a Heller model as Airfix did not make a Mk IIC at that time.

Among the reissues, Airfix re-released six of the seven sets of multipose figures, the Japanese, oddly, not appearing. This time two shots of the mould were packaged so that twelve, rather than six, different figures could be made. This was most welcome, as the kits originally contained instructions for twelve figures to be made from the six figures provided.

Other kits returning included the Dennis Fire Engine and the magnificent 1:12 scale Bentley, which is still in the range today.

1991

The 1991 catalogue was a simple affair running to twenty pages and entitled Airfix New Releases. As such, it was similar to the 1981 New Releases catalogue. Thirty-five new additions were announced, though over half of these were reintroductions. The sixteen new kits were a mixture of two old kits refreshed, nine cars produced from other kit manufacturers, and five new moulds developed with Heller.

The new kits were as follows:

02071	Fairey Swordfish	1:72
02097	AW Seahawk	1:72
04038	BAe Harrier GR.5	1:72
04039	BAe Harrier GR.7	1:72
04040	BAe Harrier T.10	1:72
07102	Dassault Etendard IVP	1:48
12004	Boeing AWACS E-3D Sentry	1:72
06412	Jaguar E-Type	1:24
06413	Mercedes 170	1:24
06414	Mercedes 500K	1:24
06415	Bugatti T50	1:24
06416	Alfa Romeo	1:24

Hi-Tech Series

17001	Ferrari 250 GTO	1:24
17002	Triumph TR2	1:24
17003	Austin Healey Sprite	1:24
22001	Jaguar XK-E Hardtop	1:24

The Swordfish and Seahawk were the old kits but were given new FAA decals to represent aircraft flown by the FAA Historic Flight at Yeovilton.

The three Harriers were all tooled together and used some common runners; they represented the new Harrier variants just entering service. Like themodels from the previous year, they were similar in design and construction. As the GR.5 variant was quickly replaced by the GR.7/9 variant in RAF service, this model was not available for long. The kits all used rather mediocre illustrations, which were later replaced by much better airbrush paintings. Hornby tooled a new GR.7/9 just as the aircraft was leaving service. Heller sold the aircraft in their US Marine Corps colours and designations of AV-8B and TAV-8B.

Additions to the programme in 1991.

The Sentry was a conversion of the earlier Heller Boeing 707 kit but with new engines and the radome added. Finally, the Etendard IVP was tooled by Heller, but also used by Airfix. Again it was a fine model and was a worthy addition to the 1:48 range.

The five 1:24 car kits were Heller moulds that were used by Airfix. The ‘Hi-Tech’ car kits were produced by the Japanese company Gunze Sanyo, but sold by Airfix for a few years. Airfix had had an arrangement with Gunze Sanyo dating back to the late 1970s, when Airfix had ‘loaned’ some of their bird moulds to Gunze to produce in Japan. The new Hi-Tech kits included white metal and photo-etched parts to make a more detailed model. The artwork for the cars was executed by Gavin McLeod, who would create some lovely airbrush art for many Airfix kits.

Four warships were reintroduced, and they were still in the range until 2013; however, the eight Waterloo 54mm kits were only in the range again for a few years.

1992

A new catalogue was produced in 1992. Forty-six new models were listed but only thirty-five were actually new moulds or kits new to the Airfix range.

05026	F-117A Stealth	1:72
05027	YF-22 Lightning II	1:72
05103	MiG-17F	1:48
07103	Dassault Mirage 2000B	1:48
09176	Tornado GR.1/GR.1A	1:48
09177	Tornado GR.1/GR.1A (Gulf)	1:48

Hi-Tech Aircraft

04041	Weapons Kit	1:72
10005	BAe Harrier GR.7	1:72
10006	Tornado GR.1	1:72
10007	MiG-29 Fulcrum	1:72
10008	Supermarine Spitfire Vb	1:72
10009	F-15A/B Eagle	1:72

Cars and Trucks

10401	Scania Eurotruck	1:24
10402	Refrigerated Trailer	1:24
10403	Semi Trailer	1:24
05401	BMW M1	1:24
05402	Maserati Bora	1:24
05403	Renault Alpine	1:24
05404	Lamborghini Countach	1:24
05405	De Tomaso Pantera	1:24
05406	Ferrari Rainbow	1:24
05407	Maserati Boomerang	1:24
05408	Lotus Esprit	1:24
05409	Lamborghini Jota	1:24
05410	Corvette	1:24
05411	Triumph TR7	1:24
05412	Maserati Merak	1:24
06401	Dino Ferrari	1:24
06402	BMW 3.5 CSL	1:24
06403	Mercedes 300SL Gullwing	1:24
06404	Lamborghini Countach
	LP500S	1:24
06405	Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB/4	1:24
06406	Porsche 928 S4	1:24
06417	Citroën 2CV	1:24
06419	Peugeot 905 EV1	1:24
06420	Bugatti EB110	1:24

Swedish Mustang kit, 1992.

The five new aircraft were again all tooled by Heller for use by Airfix. The Mirage 2000B was a Heller kit. The two Tornados were developed from the earlier Tornado ADV kit to make the bomber version that was in service with the RAF and German AF. A boxing that included Gulf War decals was also made for a limited period; later on, Humbrol would update this kit to GR.4/4A standard. The MiG-17F was an ex-SMER kit sold for only a couple of years.

The ‘Hi-Tech’ kits were the basic kits, but with photo-etched parts and white metal parts included to enable a higher quality model to be made. The Weapons kit was a new mould of the latest weapons which could be used with the Hi-Tech and other modern aircraft kits.

The three trucks were Heller kits, and the other car kits were a mixture of Heller and Italeri moulds. This was a fairly cost-effective way of adding to the range for a short period without the expense of costly new moulds.

Several other Airfix kits were reintroduced, some with new decals. It was becoming apparent that Humbrol was not investing the money into new moulds that it had earlier said it would, but was relying on plenty of Heller kits and ‘polybag’ kits from other kit manufacturers.

Spitfire and Bulldog kits from 1992, shown with a range of Humbrol paints.

1993

The main feature of the 1993 range seems to be that the Airfix catalogue was now combined with the Heller catalogue. This made sense, since many Airfix kits were now sold by Heller. There were many deletions and fewer additions. The additions amounted to nineteen models, of which one, the Tornado, was announced the previous year. Unlike Hornby where the new additions are described as ‘new tool’ for new mouldings or ‘new for 2014’ for old favourites returning with a new look, Humbrol usually referred to any new addition to that year as a ‘totally new kit’. This was rather confusing to the buyer, but it hid the fact that there were not many totally new models!

The new additions were:

02099	Commonwealth Boomerang	1:72
03001	DH Heron II	1:72
04009	Ford 5-AT Tri-motor	1:72
04042	Gloster Javelin T.3	1:72
05028	McDD F-15E Strike Eagle	1:72
98004	Lancaster BIII ‘Dambuster’	1:72
09176	Tornado GR.1/GR.1A	1:48
03171	Vickers Vanguard	1:144
03174	HP 42 Heracles	1:144
04170	Boeing 707-420C	1:144
06360	Rommel’s Half-Track	1:32
01305	25-Pounder Field Gun Set	1:76
06701	Fort Sahara	1:76
06702	Sherwood Castle	1:76
06703	Fort Apache	1:76
06704	Roman Fort	1:76

1993’s kit of the 1962 Vickers Vanguard.

Two 500-piece puzzles from 1993.

Four playsets returned with new illustrations, and at the time they were the only way that the modeller could access the figure sets that went with them. The original paintings for these sets had all been ‘thrown away’ by Palitoy, so new ones were commissioned.

Only two new moulds were announced, and these were both modifications to existing moulds. The 1980 F-15A/B was updated to the latest F-15E Strike Eagle variant and the latest weapons added. It made a useful addition to the range of modern jet fighters. However, it has not been available for a few years, and I suspect if Hornby wanted to sell a version of the latest F-15 it would probably tool a new kit.

The 1980 Lancaster kit was modified and extra parts added to enable the ‘Dam Buster’ variant to be made as well as the standard Lancaster kit. The 1980 Lancaster kit was always one of the best Lancaster kits, and this and a later modification got the best out of the mould. The fuselage halves were modified by inserting a removable mould section into the area where the mid-upper turret was moulded, so when a Dambuster or standard Lancaster was to be run, the relevant turret or non-turret section was fitted into the mould. Both Lancaster kits were replaced in 2013 by a new mould kit, which has replaced the old Lancaster in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight sets.

One further kit appeared unannounced in the shops, and this was the old Heller kit of the Javelin T.3. It was a very good kit of this 1950s delta-winged fighter, which had previously not featured in the Airfix range. The detail was fine, and after a short run the mould was altered to make the more aggressive FAW.9/9R variant. It did not appear in any catalogues.

During 1993 Airfix decided to release, at short notice, three Luftwaffe aircraft. They were poorly illustrated and did not appear in any catalogues. They were:

03028	Henschel Hs 126A1/B1	1:72
03053	Focke-Wulf Fw 189	1:72
04004	Heinkel He 111H-20	1:72

Unless you actually have one of these four models it is easy to miss them.

On the whole 1993 was a poor year for Airfix models, and there was little sign that things were going to improve.

1994

In 1994 the second of the joint Airfix/ Heller catalogues was issued, with half being devoted to Airfix and the other half to Heller kits. The Humbrol paints section was included at the end of the Airfix section. The second half was printed upside down so it could be sold the right way up in France! It was also available as an Airfix and Humbrol-only catalogue without the Heller section.

In 1994, Borden sold Hobby Products Group, as its Humbrol subsidiary was known, to Allen, McGuire & Partners Ltd, an Irish investment company. The new company was now under the Humbrol banner.

Fifteen ‘new’ releases were announced, but only two were actually new moulds. One of the remaining thirteen kits was a tool modification of the recently released Heller Javelin, and most of the rest were re-releases to go with the fiftieth anniversary of D-Day, which Airfix was celebrating.

The three new models were:

04045	Gloster Javelin FAW.9/9R	1:72
07014	Sepecat Jaguar GR.1A	1:48
08100	HS Buccaneer S.2B	1:48

Other ‘new’ kits were:

02050	Brewster F2A-2 Buffalo	1:72
04015	Martin B26 C Marauder	1:72
05011	Douglas A26 B/C Invader	1:72
04175	SE210 Caravelle	1:144
04176	DH Comet 4B	1:144
07251	Endeavour Bark 1768	1:120
01309	Bren Carrier and 6-Pounder AT Gun	1:76
02302	Buffalo Amphibian and Jeep	1:76
02316	DUKW	1:76
03301	LCMIII and Sherman Tank	1:76
06704	Gun Emplacement	1:76
06706	Coastal Defence Fort	1:76

Various trainers in ‘Historic Collection’ boxing, 1994.

The first starter sets, 1994.

The Javelin was a rework of the Heller T.3 released the previous year. Modellers were urged to buy the initial T.3 because it was revealed that the mould was to be altered, and so the T.3 variant would be a limited issue. The T.3 consisted of three runners moulded in light grey plastic with fine raised detail and restrained engraved detail for the control surfaces. The runners had the Heller release number ‘346’ moulded on to them. The FAW.9/9R was moulded in a silvery-coloured plastic and was now stamped ‘Gloster Javelin 4045’. It is, I think, the only example of an existing mould being irreversibly altered by Humbrol/Airfix, whose policy was one of adding extra runners to make new variants.

The Jaguar had been first mooted in 1:48 scale by Airfix in the late 1970s but was never proceeded with because of a lack of money. Being an Anglo-French aircraft used by both countries and based on an original Bregeut design, the Jaguar was a logical choice for the new Anglo-French kit company. Airfix only ever sold the single-seat variant in its RAF colours. Two-seater and Aeronavale variants were available from Heller. Interestingly, in late 2006 when Hornby acquired Humbrol and of course Airfix, the 1:48 Jaguar kit was, I think, the only mould that was not included in the Airfix tool bank. There remains the possibility that Airfix can ‘polybag’ it in the future, but it does not look likely that Heller wishes to relinquish the mould!

The Buccaneer was a surprise but a very welcome one. Used by only the British and South African air forces and navy, it probably only had limited appeal world-wide as a kit. Some of the detail was somewhat heavy, and there were a few complaints about the fit of parts, but a truly awesome kit of the ‘flying brick’ could be achieved. The kit was of the RAF’s S.2B variant which was in use at the time. The following year would see the naval and South African variants released.

The Marauder was the superb 1973 kit with its beautiful smooth finish. The Invader and Buffalo were fine models, but unfortunately were festooned with the rivets that Airfix was wont to put on its early models. The two airliners were the original two aircraft in the 1:144 range, and were now elevated from Series 2 and 3 to Series 4! They were included in the ‘rustic’ style packaging Airfix was then using for its airliner re-releases.

The AFVs were all D-Day orientated, and the two playforts included two sets of OO/HO figures each, one to attack and one to defend. These two forts were released as part of the 2014 seventieth anniversary of the D-Day landings.

The Endeavour was the first of Airfix’s large sailing ships and appeared again for a limited time.

1994 was a good year for enthusiasts of large jet fighters and bombers, but offered little else to other enthusiasts. Tucked away in the back of the catalogue was a page of ‘starter’ and ‘gift’ sets. In the early 1980s Airfix had sold a few sets of three or four kits in a box complete with paint and brushes, and three new sets were announced. More importantly, single kits were now fitted into ‘blister’ packs, which included glue brushes and paint so that younger modellers could get everything they needed in one package to complete a reasonable model. It also meant that smaller retail outlets could now stock several kits without also having to stock all the paints and so on to complete them. It was a good idea, and one that Airfix has steadily expanded and developed over the years. The following year would see the big launch of this new range.

1995

Apart from the release of the starter sets, little else took place in 1995. Three new kits were released, but they were all modifications of existing kits:

03062	DH Mosquito NF. XIX/J.30	1:72
08101	Buccaneer S.2, S.2D, SMk50	1:48
08102	Panavia Tornado GR.1B	1:48

The Mosquito was a modification of the 1972 multi-variant kit, which was always one of the finest Mosquito kits on the market. A runner containing four-bladed propellers, a new blunt-looking nose and several other parts to make a night fighter and a Swedish Air Force variant was included. Sweden had always been a good market for Airfix kits, and so Airfix often included Swedish markings in its releases. Gavin McLeod painted a lovely box top of the Swedish aircraft flying over lakes. The standard Mosquito was put into one of the new ‘all-in-one’ sets.

Two Historic Collection kits from 1995: The Historic Car Collection and The VE Day Commemorative Collection.

The Buccaneer was the second of the two new 1:48 kits to be released. It contained the basic kit plus extra runners to enable the modeller to make the two remaining S.2 variants and the South African variant. Decals were provided for all three, and the box top showed a naval variant taking off. In 2005, both kits were combined into one release in Series 9, and it seems that a misunderstanding at the packing station meant that many of the kits had two complete kits in the box. Exceptional value if you were lucky to get one!

The final new kit was a small upgrade to the Panavia Tornado GR.1/GR.1A kit to the then current GR.1B version. The kit was released in Series 8, making it cheaper than the earlier GR.1A kit. In 2003 it would be updated again to GR.4/GR.4A standard.

The starter sets and three gift sets announced the year before were repackaged to match the current style, and several more sets were added. Basically, the existing boxed kit was fitted into the ‘blister’ pack. The prefix 9 instead of 0 denoted a set, and the other numbers were the standard catalogue numbers for each kit. The initial sets had the single kit fitted into a basic ‘blister’ pack, which helped to use up stocks of each kit.

Since then, the concept of the starter set with everything included to complete a basic model has been heartily embraced by Airfix. It has also enabled Hornby/Airfix to offer a different set of decals with a new illustration, thereby increasing sales of the standard kit. The new range for 1995 comprised the following:

Starter Sets

91036	Red Arrows Gnat	1:72
91071	Supermarine Spitfire Mk I	1:72
91072	Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6	1:72
92024	MiG-21	1:72
92083	NA P-51B Mustang	1:72
92406	Aston Martin DB5	1:32

All-in-One Sets

93011	BAC Jaguar GR.1	1:72
93019	DH Mosquito Mk II/VI/XVIII	1:72
93025	Westland Army Lynx	1:72
94001	VA Wellington BIII	1:72
94013	McDonnell F-4 Phantom	1:72
94027	Panavia Tornado GR.1	1:72
95005	Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress	1:72
93205	HMS Fearless	1:600

Premier Collections

98004	Lancaster BIII Dambuster	1:72
99177	Desert Storm Tornado GR.1/1A	1:48

Historic Collection

9509	The Historic Car Collection (MGB, DB5 and E-Type)	1:32
9510	VE Day Commemorative Set (Spitfire IX, Me 262 and P-51D)	1:72

Action Figures

51550	British Paratroopers	1:32
51565	Cowboys	1:32
51566	Indians	1:32
51567	German Paratroopers	1:32
51574	Medieval Figures	1:32
51577	Space Warriors	1:32

The starter and all-in-one sets tended to be of models that were in production, and meant that some of the latest run of each kit was diverted to the blister packs. The Premier Collection consisted of two specialized large kits. The Historic Collection comprised three models plus the paints and glue. The standard boxing of these latter sets meant that Airfix could vary the contents easily.

Finally, some of the 1:32 figures made a welcome return, but they were now packed in small bags similar to the ones used for sweets! There were six figures in each set, and since the full sets normally had seven different poses, this seems rather odd. However, the full sets had several duplicates in them, and it was only the ‘officer’ figure that was single.

Again, it was not a very exciting year, but one that laid the groundwork for a very successful range of models for Airfix.

1996

In 1996 the starter sets were expanded further, with several new additions. A couple of old kits, the Superfreighter and Rotodyne, were reintroduced and it was nice to see them back in the range again. The Superfreighter had a new illustration and decals. We had been led to believe that the Superfreighter mould was badly worn, but the kits appeared quite fresh. The Battle of Waterloo Farm House returned, but there were no soldiers to fight over it!

Fairey Rotodyne and Bristol Superfreighter, both 1996 releases.

However, two entirely new kits were released, and they were 1:48 models of a Spitfire F.22/24 and a Seafire FR.46/47. They were magnificent models and were designed using the same method of tool manufacture that was employed by the likes of Tamiya. The detail was exquisite, and they were the first Airfix kits that could match the more expensive Tamiya models. The Seafire appears in the 2014 catalogue but is now in Series 6.

The common parts of both aircraft were moulded on one or two runners, and the parts particular to each variant were moulded on separate runners. This cut down the cost of producing each kit, as the cost could be recouped over two kits rather than one. Even so it took longer to recoup the cost, which is probably why, after the Lightnings, Airfix returned to the cheaper method of mould production.

Only within the last two or three years have we seen kits emerging from Airfix with similar levels of detail, but now with much reduced tooling costs. The new kits announced in 1996 were:

07105	Supermarine Spitfire F.22/24	1:48
07106	Supermarine Seafire FR.46/47	1:48

Starter Sets

91028	Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero	1:72
91030	Messerschmitt Me 262A	1:72
92023	Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat	1:72
92054	Vought F4U-1D Corsair	1:72
92415	Jaguar E-Type	1:32
92420	MGB	1:32

All-in-One Sets

93026	Red Arrows Hawk	1:72
93043	Westland Sea King	1:72
94039	BAe Harrier GR.7	1:72
95026	Lockheed F-117A Stealth	1:72

Historic Collection

9511	World War II Fighter Classics	1:72
9512	Pacific Conflict Collection	1:72

As kits were deleted from the catalogue and new ones added, the contents of some of the collections would reflect that.

1997

Like the previous year, 1997 saw a further expansion of the various sets, although one or two were quietly dropped. The big news was the announcement of two new 1:48 kits of the English Electric Lightning, covering all single-seat variants. A new range of kits was introduced for younger modellers known as ‘Battlezone’, or Junior Airfix. These were largely snap-together models. Several individual kits returned briefly to the range. The new additions comprised the following:

06100	HS Sea Harrier FA.2	1:48
09178	EE Lightning F.2A/F.6	1:48
09179	EE Lightning F.1/F.1A/ F.2/F.3	1:48

Junior Airfix (Battlezone)

04900	Night Owl	N/A
04901	Black Widow	N/A
04902	Phantom	N/A
04903	Eclipse	N/A
04910	Gladiator	N/A
04911	Vigilante	N/A
04912	Crusader	N/A
04913	Liberator	N/A

Starter Sets

91027	Hawker Typhoon IB	1:72
91038	Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk	1:72
92042	Hawker Hurricane Mk I/IIB	1:72
92072	Hawker Harrier GR.3	1:72
92419	Triumph TR4A	1:32

All-in-One Sets

93055	HS Buccaneer S.2B	1:72
94100	Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB	1:48
94212	HMS Belfast	1:600
95013	Grumman F-14A Tomcat	1:72

Historic Collection

9513	Sports Cars – New Selection	1:32
9514	World War II Fighters – New Selection	1:72
9515	Historic Tank Collection	1:76
9518	RN Historic Flight Collection	1:72

Premier Collection

97105	Supermarine Spitfire F.22/24	1:48
99252	HMS Victory, 1765	1:180

The Lightnings were designed around the same time as the Spitfires and to the same standard. They were magnificent models, with much finer detail than the Buccaneers and Tornados. We would not see Airfix producing such fine quality moulds until very recently. The F.2A/F.6 model is in the 2014 catalogue.

Three alternative treatments possible with the 1997 kit of the ever-popular English Electric Lightning.

The Sea Harrier FA.2 was a modification of the FRS. 1 tool, itself a modification of the GR. 3 tool, enabling the latest Sea Harrier version to be built. The original FRS.1 version could still be built, and today the GR.3 and FRS.1 are both in the catalogue, but the FA.2 is not.

The Battlezone models were developed by Heller and were known previously as ‘Clic/Clac’. One of several ideas for simple kits for younger modellers, they were clip-together kits that required no painting and the decals were of the ‘peel and stick’ variety. They were aimed at the seven to eleven age group, and were seen as a way of getting the youngsters into the kit-building habit. A similar idea would be tried several times over the next few years. They were not entirely successful and tended to be around for only a year or two.

By this time the moulds were being produced in the Far East, particularly Korea. In the 1970s, Airfix had been using the ‘spark-eroded’ process, which enabled inscribed panel lines to be cut into the mould, but they were quite coarse and deep. The Japanese had developed the beryllium copper process, whereby a heated male pattern is pressed into molten female beryllium copper to make the female half of the mould. It produced much finer detail than before, but was more expensive. Trevor Snowden estimated that an average tool cost roughly £1,000 per component. It is easy to see how a small Series 1 kit could cost a lot, and it could take many years at the reduced runs being made at the time to recoup the cost. Better, then, to mould a large-scale aircraft where the extra parts could be covered by the greatly increased selling price.

Money, or lack of it, always seemed to be a problem during the Humbrol years, and Trevor is to be congratulated for producing those kits he managed to during his time at Humbrol.

1998

The 1998 catalogue proudly announced the addition of no fewer than forty ‘brand new’ items, although in fact the only ones that could be described as ‘new’ were the ships in bottles, as they had never been in the Airfix range before. Interestingly they may have been the inspiration for the original Airfix sailing ships. The Charles Morgan whaler, however, was a subject that had not been moulded by Airfix before.

Several new sets were announced, along with the return of quite a few old kits. James Bond and Oddjob made a welcome return, but being a licensed product it would only appear briefly. The similar James Bond Autogyro was sold in a starter set. Three Heller 1:43 cars entered the range, and the Heller DH Vampire FB.5 would be in the range for several years. In 2013, Hornby produced its own Vampire kit. Several ‘set’ kits were released singly. Over thirty kits were deleted from the range to make way for the new additions.

The ‘new’ kits, including those put into sets, were as follows:

Starter Sets

92416	VW Beetle	1:32
92421	Austin Healey Sprite Mk 1	1:32

All-in-One Sets

93407	Ferrari 250 LM	1:32
93409	Gulf Porsche 917	1:32
94401	James Bond Autogyro	1:24

Make and Paint – Historical Figures

92501	Henry VIII	1:12
92502	Anne Boleyn	1:12

Dogfight Doubles/Classic Conflicts

93141	Spitfire IX and Bf 110C/D	1:72
93340	Tiger Tank and Sherman Tank	1:76

Premier Collection

99178

EE Lightning F.2A/F.6

1:48

Ships in Bottles

60001	Mayflower	N/A
60002	Charles Morgan Whaler	N/A
60003	Cutty Sark	N/A

Individual Kits

01411	Land Rover	1:43
01412	Mini	1:43
01413	Jaguar XJS	1:43
03064	DH Vampire FB.5	1:72
04402	James Bond and Oddjob	1:12
08181	Concorde (New Decals)	1:144
05201	SS Canberra	1:600

This was not a very inspiring year. Money was apparently tight at Humbrol, and there was very little for new moulds, hence the reliance on using Heller moulds and the expansion of the sets.

Kits of old models were often released when the original kits were fetching high prices, and this seems to have been the raison d’être for the James Bond kits. However, the boxes featured scans of posters rather than the original Roy Cross artwork, and this seems to have blunted sales.

The cars were produced by Heller to the odd scale of 1:43, which has traditionally been used for die-cast cars. Over the next few years several Heller racing cars and rally cars to 1:43 scale would join the Airfix range.

The old ‘Dogfight Double’ concept was revived, initially using the original pairings and illustrations. This idea was extended to tanks, and the best-selling, though dated, kits of the Tiger and Sherman tanks were put together as ‘Classic Conflicts’.

Three Series 1 aircraft were released, as were three sailing ships in Series 0, in smaller boxes and slightly cheaper. But on the whole there was very little to excite modellers as far as Airfix was concerned.

1999

In 1999 a modified logo was introduced, and the catalogue told us it was the ‘50th Anniversary of Airfix: 1949–1999’. 1949 was in fact when the Ferguson Tractor was first issued, but it made a convenient point to celebrate the initiation of the kit range.

Only two new Airfix moulds were announced; the rest were ‘polybagged’ kits from other manufacturers. The new models consisted of the following:

Anne Boleyn ‘Make and Paint’ release from 1998.

‘Ships in Bottles’, 1998.

A ‘James Bond’ starter set from 1998, based on the character’ s appearance in 1964’s Goldfinger.

Web Warriors

20001	Web Warrior Byte	N/A
20002	Web Warrior Ram	N/A
20003	Web Warrior Drive	N/A
20004	Web Warrior Icon	N/A
20005	Web Warrior Bug	N/A
20006	Web Warrior Virus	N/A
20007	Web Warrior Glitch	N/A
20008	Web Warrior Crash	N/A

Wallace and Gromit

51100	Motorbike and Sidecar Model Kit	N/A
51101	Aeroplane Model Kit	N/A

Authentic Collectors Sets

9401	Red Arrows Gnat Video Set	1:72
9402	Supermarine Spitfire Video Set	1:72

Present Sets

9520	1960s Sports Car Present Set	1:32
9521	Fast Jets Present Set	1:72
9522	Classic Cars Present Set	1:32

Premier Collection

98005

B-17G Flying Fortress

1:72

Mini Starter Sets

90013	DH Comet	1:72
90017	MiG 15	1:72
90022	A4D-1 Skyhawk	1:72
90100	F-4E Phantom II	1:144
90101	MiG-21PF Fishbed D	1:144
90102	MiG-23BN Flogger H	1:144
90103	Northrop F 20 Tiger Shark	1:144
90104	General Dynamics F-16 XL	1:144
90264	Golden Hind	N/A
90267	HMS Victory	N/A
90269	Mayflower	N/A

Small Starter Sets

91411	Land Rover	1:43
91412	Mini	1:43
91413	Jaguar XJS	1:43
92003	Bristol Beaufighter TF. X	1:72
92073	Hawker Hunter FGA.9	1:72
92088	Lockheed P-38F/H Lightning	1:72

Medium Starter Sets

93181	Boeing 737-200	1:144
93184	Boeing 777	1:300
93185	Boeing 747-400	1:300
93204	HMS Ajax	1:600

Large Starter Sets

95104	NA P-51D Mustang	1:48
95105	Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8	1:48
95106	Vought F4U-1A Corsair	1:48

Individual Kits

00100	F-4E Phantom II	1:144
00101	MiG-21	1:144
00102	MiG-23	1:144
00103	Northrop F-20 Tiger Shark	1:144
01084	Fiat G91 ‘Frecce Tricolori’	1:72
08005	B-17G Flying Fortress	1:72
12004	Boeing AWACS E-3D Sentry	1:72
05104	NA P-51D Mustang	1:48
05105	Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8	1:48
05106	Vought F4U-1A Corsair	1:48
03184	Boeing 777	1:300
03185	Boeing 747-400	1:300
03541	Skeleton	1:6

1999’s AWACS kit.

The Series 0 kits from 1999.

Several other old favourites also returned, while twenty or so kits were removed from the range.

The Web Warriors was another set of kits designed with the young modeller in mind. They were Transformer-like kits designed by Academy. However, along with the Battlezone range they disappeared from the 2000 catalogue.

Wallace and Gromit were licensed models from the very successful Wallace & Gromit films produced by Nick Park. The kits were designed by Airfix and would be one of three successful collaborations with other television films and series over the following ten years. They were the only new Airfix moulds that year.

Two sets containing a kit, video, paints and brushes were introduced, and three new present sets, which included three kits, were released.

The very successful B-17G kit, which dated from 1962, was finally retired and replaced by a ‘polybagged’ model from Academy. We are told that around four million of the old B-17G had been made over the years, and despite several inaccuracies, it is doubtful whether any other manufacturer of B-17s will ever come anywhere close to this production record; such was the dominance of Airfix in the popular market in the last millennium. The Sentry was a conversion of the Heller kit, and the Fiat G91 received new decals.

The Series 0 range was expanded by the inclusion of several more ex-Series 1 kits, and a new range of 1:144 Chinese kits appeared in Series 0. Most went into the Mini Starter Sets as well.

Two ‘polybagged’ 1:300 scale kits of airliners were also added, but due to their small size they were a bit of an oddity and didn’t last long.

1:48 was continuing to prove popular with modellers, but Humbrol could not, it seems, afford the mould costs, so a series of ex-Arii kits was introduced over the following two years. They were generally well detailed kits.

Finally the old Skeleton kit returned, but this time with ‘glow in the dark’ paints. As a second coming it was short-lived.

The following year would see the new millennium, so hopes were high for new kits.

2000

The aptly titled ‘Millennium Edition’ catalogue was 70 per cent smaller than its predecessors at A5-size. The contents looked as if they had been reduced from A4, and some writing was quite small as a result. New additions included the following:

2000’s ‘Dogfighter’ computer game.

Individual Kits

00105	SAAB Viggen	1:144
00106	F-104 Starfighter	1:144
00033	Hawker P.1127	1:72
00060	Piper Cherokee Arrow	1:72
00061	SA Bulldog	1:72
02048	Messerschmitt Bf 109E	1:72
02051	Henschel Hs 123A-1	1:72
03030	Junkers Ju 87B	1:72
05107	Spitfire Mk VIIIc	1:48
05108	Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat	1:48
05109	Curtiss Kittyhawk Mk Ia	1:48
03178	BAC One-Eleven	1:144
18003	Harrier GR.3/AV-8A/AV-8S	1:24
06201	RMS Queen Elizabeth	1:600
01741	Astronauts	1:76
01744	Waterloo French Infantry	1:76
01745	Waterloo British Infantry	1:76
01758	NATO Ground Crew	1:76
01759	US NATO (Europe)	1:76
02552	2nd Dragoon (Scots Greys)	54mm
02553	Polish Lancer	54mm
02555	French Cuirassier	54mm
02556	Lifeguard	54mm
03383	Pontoon Bridge	1:76
03013	Apollo Lunar Module	1:72
06171	Orion 2001 Spacecraft	1:144
09170	Apollo Saturn V	1:144
10170	Space Shuttle	1:144

Sets

10999

B-of-B Memorial Flight Set

1:72

A lot of old models returned to the range, including some that had not been issued for many years such as the Hawker P.1127, first released in 1963. The BAC One- Eleven later appeared in a starter set. The Bulldog received new Swedish decals.

Three more ex-Arii 1:48 kits were issued, and a ‘Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ Set was released to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Battle of Britain. It contained the Lancaster, Spitfire Ia (decaled as an IIa) and the Heller Hurricane IIc. Over the years the contents would vary to reflect those aircraft and colour schemes flown by the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The final two 1:144 fighters were added. Several space models were rereleased, and were also released in the US by the Space Agency.

The only kit that could be classed as a new Airfix kit was the 1:24 Harrier. The original kit had been released in 1974, and now several extra parts were moulded so that you could make the RAF’s GR.3 and the AV-8A and AV-8S as flown by the US Marine Corps and Spanish Navy. Decals were provided for four aircraft, and it was still possible to make the GR.1, because the basic mould had not been altered. Some cutting was required, but if you could afford the price and build such a complex model, then a little deft use of a razor saw should not be beyond you. The kit still features in the 2014 catalogue.

The various sets that had been introduced over the previous few years were drastically cut back until only thirty or so small and medium starter sets remained.

A full page was devoted to the recently published book by Arthur Ward – Celebrating 50 Years of the Greatest Plastic Kits in the World! But without substantial investment in new moulds it was doubtful whether Airfix would survive another fifty years. Frank Martin, CEO of Humbrol, left to join Hornby, but would be reunited with Airfix and Humbrol six years later. Also Allen, McGuire & Partners had refinanced the company, borrowing heavily from Royal Bank of Scotland to do so, and now took a back seat whilst the bank became more involved.

2001

The 2001 catalogue was bigger, literally mid-way in size between A5 and A4. The remaining range of sets was deleted, and a whole new range introduced. A new modified logo and packaging were also introduced. Several kits were brought in from Heller or other kit manufacturers, and there were four modified tools.

The new additions were as follows:

Inclusive Collections

Small Starter Sets

90059	Westland Gazelle	1:72
91036	Red Arrows Gnat	1:72
91042	Westland Scout	1:72
91071	Supermarine Spitfire	1:72
91412	Mini	1:43
91423	Jaguar XJS	1:43
91414	McLaren F1	1:43
91415	Williams F1	1:43
91416	Citroen Xsara T4	1:43
91417	Subaru Impreza WRC	1:43
91418	Peugeot 206WRC	1:43
92058	Messerschmitt Bf 109E	1:72
02072	Harrier GR.3	1:72
92082	Hawker Hurricane Mk I	1:72
92416	VW Beetle	1:32

Medium Starter Sets

93019	DH Mosquito Mk II/VI/XVIII	1:72
93026	Red Arrows Hawk	1:72
93043	Westland Sea King	1:72
93063	Westland Navy Lynx Mk 8	1:72
93205	HMS Fearless	1:600
93407	Ferrari 250 LM	1:32

2001’s ‘Junior Airfix’ kits.

Junior Airfix

04914	Construction Skip Transporter	N/A
04915	Construction Mixer	N/A
04916	Safari Land Rover	N/A
04917	Safari Helicopter	N/A
04918	Delta Force Phantom	N/A
04919	Delta Force Liberator	N/A

Gift Packs

74025	F-16A/B Fighting Falcon	1:72
74026	F-117A Stealth	1:72
74036	Eurofighter Typhoon	1:72
74039	BAe Harrier GR.7	1:72
74212	HMS Belfast	1:600
75028	F-15E Strike Eagle	1:72

A starter kit of the BAC One-Eleven, 2001.

Premier Collections

97400	Rav 4	1:24
97403	Citroen Xsara T4WRC	1:24
97404	Peugeot 206WRC	1:24

Dogfight Doubles/Classic Conflicts

93141	Spitfire IX and Bf 110C/D	1:72
93142	Camel and Albatross	1:72
93143	Beaufighter and Bf 109G-6	1:72
93144	Bristol F2B and Fokker DR1	1:72
93340	Tiger 1 and Sherman Mk 1 Tank	1:76

Present Sets

9521	Fast Jets × 3	1:72
9522	Classic Cars × 3	1:43
51100	Wallace and Gromit Motorbike	N/A
51101	Wallace and Gromit Aeroplane	N/A

Individual Kits

03063	Westland Navy Lynx Mk 8	1:72
04043	SAAB JAS 39 Gripen	1:72
05029	Dornier Do 217 Mistel	1:72
05030	Boeing Chinook	1:72
05031	Douglas DC-3 Dakota	1:72
08006	Lancaster BI ‘Grand Slam’	1:72
09003	Lockheed C-130E Hercules	1:72
12005	Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb	1:24
01414	McLaren F1	1:43
01415	Williams F1	1:43
01416	Citroën Xsara T4WRC	1:43
01417	Subaru Impreza	1:43
01418	Peugeot 206WRC	1:43
07400	Rav 4	1:24
07401	MGB	1:24
07402	Aston Martin DB5	1:24
07403	Citroen Xsara T4WRC	1:24
07404	Peugeot 206WRC	1:24

In addition several other ‘golden oldies’ rejoined the range for a couple of years. Three of the 1:24 cars were ex-Japanese and the others were Heller kits often produced in two scales!

The sets used a standard packaging into which were inserted the paints and the standard kit box, which enabled Airfix to run them for as long as they had supplies of the standard kit. This meant there was a rapid turnover of the sets.

Junior Airfix was reintroduced, with six more ex-Heller ‘snap-together’ kits. Again these had a short life.

Three further Dogfight Doubles from the 1960s were revived, but this time included paints and so on.

The individual ‘new’ aircraft kits consisted of several ‘polybagged’ kits from other manufacturers, and four modified Airfix kits. Having irrevocably modified its Hercules into a gunship in the 1980s, Airfix had to import a kit if it wanted to have a standard Hercules in the catalogue, as it did with the Dakota, which had also been converted to a gunship. In 2014, Airfix released a new tool, C-47/DC-3, to much acclaim and is now able to offer various versions without having to resort to buying-in a competitor’s kit. Airfix had proposed a Chinook back in the 1980s but had not gone ahead, and so needed to ‘borrow’ one if it wanted to have one in the catalogue.

The new Airfix kits consisted of the Navy Lynx Mk 8, itself a modification of the original HAS.2 from 1977. The new kit used the old kit but had extra runners to make a model of the current RN helicopter. The existing upgraded version, the HAS.3, 03054, was still available.

The Dornier Do 217 was the old kit with extra parts moulded and a Me 328 jet, sourced from MPM, to ride ‘piggyback’ on the top.

The Lancaster ‘Grand Slam’ was the excellent Lancaster kit with an extra runner to provide the ‘Grand Slam’ bomb.

Finally, extra parts were moulded for the 1:24 Spitfire Mk Ia kit, so the modeller was now able to model a Mk V with alternative tropical filter.

In each case it was still possible to make the original and both Spitfires are currently in the catalogue.

2002

2002 saw a return to a full-size A4 catalogue. Around thirty ‘new’ models were announced, plus eight new sets, though only two could be considered new Airfix kits. Seven more Heller car and motorcycle kits were added, and a couple of 1:48 jets were ‘polybagged’ from other companies. Several aircraft returned with new decals and illustrations, and the old Airfix Hercules Gunship made a brief comeback. It was now possible to compare the old Airfix Hercules with the standard Hercules by Italeri, which was still in the catalogue.

Some new starter sets were added. The ‘new’ models included:

Small Starter Sets

92482	Honda 500cc	1:24
92483	Suzuki 500cc	1:24
92484	Yamaha 500cc	1:24
91419	Ford Focus WRC	1:43
91420	Mitsubishi WRC	1:43

Present Sets:

N/A	Rally Car Set 1 × 3 cars	1:43
N/A	Rally Car Set 2 × 3 cars	1:43
N/A	Bike Set × 3 Bikes	1:24

Individual Kits

03059	Shorts Tucano	1:72
04040	BAe/McDD Harrier TAV-8B/T.10	1:72
09002	Avro Vulcan B.2	1:72
09004	AC-130H Hercules ‘Gunship’	1:72
05101	BAe Sea Harrier FRS.1	1:48
05102	BAe Harrier GR3	1:48
05110	Spitfire Mk Vc/Seafire III	1:48
07104	Sepecat Jaguar GR.3	1:48
07107	SAAB JA-37 Viggen	1:48
07108	Super Etendard	1:48
20001	BAe Sea Harrier FRS.1	1:24
05204	World War II Destroyer Set	1:600
06203	Queen Elizabeth 2	1:600
01419	Ford Focus WRC	1:43
01420	Mitsubishi WRC	1:43
07405	Mitsubishi WRC	1:24
07406	Subaru Impreza WRC	1:24
02482	Honda 500cc	1:24
02483	Suzuki 500cc	1:24
02484	Yamaha 500cc	1:24
01736	Waterloo French Cavalry	1:76
01743	Waterloo British Cavalry	1:76
01744	Waterloo French Infantry	1:76
01745	Waterloo British Infantry	1:76
01756	Waterloo Prussian Infantry	1:76

Small Present Set from 2002, featuring models of the Hawker Hurricane and Lockheed P-38 Lightning.

2002’s kit of the Focke Wulf Fw 190 A/F.

The starter and present sets included the new and recently released Heller-designed vehicle kits. The car kits were designed and then produced in two scales, which helped to reduce the design costs by spreading each one over two kits. Following the sale of Humbrol and Airfix to Hornby in 2006, these moulds stayed with Heller.

The three present sets were not actually allocated catalogue numbers; certainly none appeared in the catalogue, and they used the standard tray, which did not have any numbers on.

As I mentioned earlier, several old favourites were reintroduced, some without alteration and some with new decals and illustrations. The F-16A/B, F-18A and F-14A all received new decals. In the 1:144 civil airliners the TriStar, A300B and DC-10 returned. The Tucano made a comeback with a striking new colour scheme and artwork; and that perennial favourite, the Vulcan reappeared with a new Gavin McLeod painting showing it flying above the runway at Port Stanley. Those listed are the ones that were reissued as another mark or were a more interesting reissue.

The two-seat Harrier had originally been issued as the RAF trainer but this release saw the US Marine Corps decals included. A much improved illustration was used. In 1:48 scale the Harrier GR.3 and Sea Harrier FRS.1 both received new decals and excellent new artwork.

The original 1969 Hercules kit had been re-released in 1977 as a C-130E, and then in 1984 the mould had been irreversibly altered to make the AC-130H model, with various Gatling guns moulded separately to make a ‘gunship’, similar to the earlier Dakota conversion.

I had written some years before in Constant Scale that it was a great shame that moulds such as the Hercules, VC10 and Canberra had been irreversibly altered so that the original version could no longer be made. Peter Allen, who was a designer at both Airfix and Palitoy/Airfix, wrote back pointing out that kit companies were in the end there to make money. If a kit’s sales were trailing off and it was thought likely to rejuvenate sales by producing a different version, then the mould would be altered at a lower cost than a new mould, and that cost could be recouped by the extra sales. This made commercial sense, but the Humbrol philosophy was to add extra runners to make a conversion without altering the mould.

This approach is best seen in the kit of the Spitfire Mk Vc and Seafire III. Trevor Snowden, chief designer at Humbrol/Airfix and a confirmed Spitfire enthusiast, elected to produce a kit that covered most of the early marks of Spitfire. To achieve this he virtually moulded a new kit with new fuselages, wings and many smaller parts. These new runners were crammed into a box containing the original Mk V kit. A handful of small parts were still used from the old kit, but it did mean that the Spitfire Vb could still be sold as a stand-alone kit. In 2014, Airfix released a new tool of the Spitfire Vb, but the old tool will still be available to make the Seafire kit, until Hornby moulds a new Seafire III.

The main drawback to this approach, which was largely dictated by financial considerations prevailing at Humbrol, is that the resulting kit can be expensive to produce. The Seafire and 2003 Mosquito kits all require practically two complete kits to make them, which impacts seriously on the profitability unless the price is raised, which would blunt sales. Hornby is more likely to mould new multi-version kits of the Seafire and Mosquito in the future.

The Jaguar GR.1a was released as a GR.3 and Jaguar ES. New decals and box top were included. An ex-Esci Viggen and a Heller Super Etendard also joined the range of 1:48 aircraft.

The other new Airfix kit was a release of the Sea Harrier FRS.1 in 1:24 scale. It was the second of three proposed modifications to the standard Harrier GR.1 kit released in 1974. Like the real thing, which was a conversion from the RAF Harrier GR.3, this kit was similar. Enough extra parts were moulded to make the Sea Harrier, including a new cockpit, nose and canopy. The inside of the forward fuselage was ‘scored’ into the mould, and the existing nose had to be cut off to fit the new nose. Both kits are still in the catalogue today.

Trevor was also working on a conversion to produce the Sea Harrier FA.2 model. As well as a new nose, this version required an extended rear fuselage, which on the real thing needed the fuselage aft of the wing to be separated and a parallel section inserted. Since it was much more likely that a modeller would not make an accurate cut, it was proposed that after moulding, the fuselage halves would be cut in the factory, thus making the conversion much easier for modellers. In the end, I believe cost put paid to this conversion. Nowadays I suspect it would be cheaper to mould new fuselage halves and thus avoid all the complicated ‘surgery’. However, I am told that CAD-designed parts do not really fit into the old moulded parts, so this option may not be viable.

Given the cheaper cost of CAD-designing, if Hornby wanted to have a range of 1:24 Sea Harriers in its catalogue, it would probably opt to produce a basic Harrier mould with extra runners to provide for the different fuselages and weapons. The GR versions could also be factored in at little extra cost.

This 2002 kit could be assembled as a Spitfire Vc or a Seafire IIIc.

Five sets of Waterloo figures were re-released, but the Farm House was not, so they had nothing to fight over!

The other interesting release was a boxed set of the four World War II destroyers in 1:600 scale. These had long been out of production, and this was considered to be a cost-effective way of re-releasing them. Like the original Dogfight Doubles where two kits could be released for less than the cost of both, by putting them into one box they could be sold at a much lower price than individually. The kits included the Narvik Class Destroyer and HMS Hotspur, Cossack and Campbeltown. Later the remaining small ships, HMS Daring and HMS Leander, would be combined in sets with a larger ship.

In 2003 these ideas of conversions and combining kits were further extended.

2003

The 2003 catalogue was preceded by a leaflet issued at the toy fairs. 2003 was going to be a good year for modellers, with several Heller kits joining the range, but more importantly new moulds of the Hawk and Mosquito in 1:48 scale! In the leaflet these new kits were shown at Series 7 and 8 respectively, but when the catalogue arrived they had been lowered to Series 5 and 7, which was good news. The usual crop of old moulds returned but they were refreshed by new decals and illustrations. The new kits were as follows:

Small Starter Sets

92020	Northrop F-5E Tiger II	1:72
92036	NA F-86E Sabre	1:72
92080	BAC Lightning F.3	1:72
92099	CA 13 Boomerang	1:72
92485	Honda RC211V	1:24

Medium Starter Sets

93015	SAAB Viggen	1:72
93025	Westland Army Lynx	1:72

Large Gift Sets

74025	F-16A/B Fighting Falcon	1:72
74027	Panavia Tornado GR.1	1:72
74032	McDD F-18A Hornet	1:72
74039	BAe Harrier II GR.7	1:72
74100	Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb	1:48
74212	HMS Belfast	1:600

Gift Sets

93302	RAF Diorama Set	1:72
95450	Le Mans Car Collection × 4	1:43
96450	World Rally Car Collection × 3	1:43
96499	Racing Motorbikes × 3	1:24
98099	Navy Firepower × 3 Aircraft	1:72
95111	Red Arrows Hawk Gift Set	1:48
97111	DH Mosquito NF.30 Gift Set	1:48
10998	617 Sqn 60th Anniversary Set	1:72

Individual Kits

02020	Northrop F-5E Tiger II	1:72
02036	NA F-86F Sabre	1:72
02080	BAC Lightning F.3	1:72
02099	CA 13 Boomerang	1:72
04026	VC10 Tanker	1:144
04035	Panavia Tornado F.3	1:72
05111	BAe Red Arrows Hawk	1:48
05112	BAe Hawk 100	1:48
07111	DH Mosquito NF.30	1:48
07112	DH Mosquito B Mk XIV/PRXVI	1:48
08105	Panavia Tornado GR.4/4A	1:48
04213	HMS Tiger and Daring Set	1:600
01421	Subaru Impreza WRC’02	1:43
07407	Ford Focus WRC’02	1:24
07408	Peugeot 206WRC’02 ‘Safari’	1:24
02485	Honda RC211V	1:24
07480	Honda RC211V	1:12
07481	Yamaha YZR-M1	1:12
01707	Cowboys	1:76
01708	American Indians	1:76
01715	Wagon Train	1:76
01722	US Cavalry	1:76
01750	World War II Australian Infantry	1:76

Tornado GR.4 kit from 2003.

2003 also offered both fighter and bomber versions of the de Havilland Mosquito.

The starter sets mainly used the new and re-released kits in them, as it was an ideal way to maximize sales of the basic kit. The large gift sets were used as a way to group kits together or make a specialist set. The RAF Diorama Set was not advertised but included the Mosquito and Refuelling Set.

The Navy Firepower Set comprised a US Navy Tomcat, Hornet and Royal Navy Lynx. The 617 Squadron Set gave the modeller the Dambusters’ Lancaster with a Tornado GR.4/4A, the first and the last, so to speak.

Among the individual kits there were two brand new tools and two heavily modified tools. The new kits were both variants of the BAe Hawk in 1:48 scale. The Red Arrows’ Hawk was produced from the same mould as the Hawk 100 Lead-In Fighter Trainer. They were really nice models although some of the inscribed detail was a little heavy. Several updated and ‘special’ colour scheme variants have been added over the years since.

The Mosquito, which was first released in 1980, was always a very good model as it was based on the work done for the proposed 1:24 kit before that kit was abandoned. Trevor’s idea was to add sufficient extra runners to enable two different Mosquitoes to be made. Both new kits were supplied with the standard Mosquito kit, 07100, which was unaltered, plus the extra runners to make the particular variant. A fault with the original Mosquito was the rather heavy main spar, which stood proud of the upper wing. This was overcome by moulding new wings. The three kits have been variously available since, and the PR. XVI (07112) was reintroduced in 2014 with new decals and artwork.

The cars and motorbikes were all Heller-designed kits. The F-86F Sabre kit was a Heller model and appeared for a few years. Airfix had produced a model of the Sabre Dog back in 1975, but this was the first real Sabre to appear in the range. In 2010, Hornby produced the first of two Sabre models to replace the Heller kit.

Following on from the Destroyers Set, Airfix released HMS Daring in a boxing with HMS Tiger. The original painting of HMS Tiger was executed by William Howard Jarvis and was recently on view at RAF Hendon as art of the exhibition of original Airfix artwork. It is about 3 × 4ft, somewhat larger than the box top! It is an exceptionally good painting with incredible detail. The box size enabled a much better view of the painting than the earlier ‘letterbox’ size used for the original releases.

Finally, Airfix re-released the Australians and the four ‘Wild West’ sets of figures in OO/HO scale. New artwork was needed for the Wagon Train because the original transparency was missing.

Airfix seemed to be spending more money on new moulds, which was very encouraging and led us to hope that we would see many more new moulds coming out.

2004

As in 2003, Airfix produced a leaflet for 2004 entitled New Inspirations, which showed the proposed releases for 2004 prior to the catalogue appearing. The catalogue was arranged in themes, which was slightly confusing as some of the new kits intended for a particular theme did not appear in it! There were about ten ‘new’ kits, and the starter sets were relaunched. The new ‘gift sets’ comprised the following:

Range A

00015G	DH Tiger Moth	1:72
01071G	Spitfire Mk Ia	1:72
01036G	Red Arrows Gnat	1:72
01417G	Subaru Impreza	1:43
01064G	Focke-Wulf Fw 190D	1:72
01302G	Panther Tank	1:76

Range B

01419G	Ford Focus WRC	1:43
01420G	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo	1:43
01421G	Subaru WRC 02	1:43
01422G	Peugeot 206WRC	1:43
01423G	Citroen Xsara	1:43
02483G	Suzuki 500cc	1:24
02484G	Yamaha 500cc	1:24
02485G	Honda RC211V	1:24
02486G	Ducati	1:24
01303G	M4 Sherman Mk 1 Tank	1:76
01308G	Tiger I Tank	1:76
02020G	Northrop F-5E Tiger II	1:72
02039G	SAAB Draken	1:72
02042G	Hawker Hurricane Mk I	1:72
02046G	Spitfire Mk Vb	1:72
02048G	Messerschmitt Bf 109E	1:72
02072G	BAe Harrier GR.3	1:72
03043G	Westland Sea King	1:72

Range C

03026G	Red Arrows’ Hawk	1:48
03141G	Spitfire IX and Bf 110C/D	1:72
03143G	Beaufighter and Bf 109G-6	1:72
03146G	Red Arrows Hawk and Gnat	1:72
04208G	HMS Ark Royal	1:600
04212G	HMS Belfast	1:600
04027G	Panavia Tornado GR.1	1:72
04039G	Harrier GR.7	1:72
05013G	Grumman F-14A Tomcat	1:72
05026G	F-177A Stealth	1:72
04100G	Spitfire Mk Vb	1:48

Range D

07405	Mitsubishi WRC	1:24
07407	Ford Focus WRC’02	1:24
07408	Subaru Impreza	1:24
07409	Peugeot 206	1:24
07410	Citroën Xsara	1:24
07480	Honda RC211V	1:12
07481	Yamaha YZR-M1	1:12
07482	Ducati	1:12

Range E

06101G	Spitfire F.22/F.24	1:48
07101G	Hughes AH-64A Apache	1:48
07104G	Sepecat Jaguar GR.3	1:48
07111G	DH Mosquito NF.30	1:48
07360G	Challenger II Tank	1:35

Themed Gift Sets

10010G	Frontline Fighters × 2	1:48
10300G	D-Day 60th Anniversary	1:72
10400G	Rally Car Collection	1:43
10404G	Racing Motorbikes Collection	1:24
11050G	Concorde	1:72
12250G	Queen Mary 2	1:600
98098G	RAF Firepower × 3	1:72
95450G	Le Mans Car Collection × 4	1:43
09750G	Red Arrows 40th Season Set	1:72
09252G	Classic HMS Victory	1:180

Two ‘Ninety Years of Fighters’ triple packs from 2004.

Many of the sets were repackaged from earlier sets. and, of course, new releases featured prominently. The main packaging was also altered to a more dedicated type and moved away from the earlier idea of ‘blistering’ a standard kit.

The new and reissued kits included the following:

01023	Auster Antarctic	1:72
01048	Avro 504K	1:72
03011	BAC Jaguar GR.3	1:72
03021	SA330 Puma	1:72
04007	Savoia-Marchetti SM79	1:72
04041	Tornado GR.4/4A	1:72
04044	AH-64D Apache Longbow	1:72
04046	Bell AH-1T Sea Cobra	1:72
05025	Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker B	1:72
06101	Spitfire F.22/F.24	1:48
09175	Panavia Tornado F.3/EF.3	1:48
11050	BAC-Aerospatiale Concorde	1:72
05205	Falklands Warships	1:600
12250	Queen Mary 2	1:600
01321	LCVP Landing Craft	1:76
01322	Willy’s Jeep	1:76
01323	GMC Truck	1:76
07360	Challenger II Tank	1:35
07361	Abrams M1A2 Tank	1:35
07362	GMC DUKW	1:35
01732	British Commandos	1:76
02441	1933 Alfa Romeo 8c	1:32
02446	1930 Bentley	1:32
02451	Bugatti 35B	1:32
F1001	England Football Stars Set 1	N/A
F1002	England Football Stars Set 2	N/A
F1003	England Football Stars Set 3	N/A

Twelve aircraft were added, of which five were welcome reissues, two were ‘polybagged’ – Apache and Sea Cobra – four were upgrades and one was a new mould.

The Auster, Avro 504K and SM79 all returned with their original paintings. The Su-27 and Spitfire F.22/F.24 had new paintings by Humbrol’s current artist, John D. Jones, who also painted the other box tops.

The Apache and Sea Cobra were both produced from moulds made by Ki-Tech and were only available for a couple of years. The upgraded kits all contained the standard model with several new runners added to make the latest version. Thus the old Jaguar GR.1 kit, which had had a laser nose added in 1977, had sufficient extra parts added to make the then current GR.3 variant. The Puma was upgraded to the latest standard, and the Tornado GR.1 from 1983 now became the latest GR.4/4A variant. Finally, the large Tornado, upgraded in 1987, could now be made as the EF.3 version. This was a relatively cost-effective way of prolonging the life of these kits until the actual aircraft left service.

1969 Alfa Romeo in Type 14 packaging, 2004.

The totally new mould was a large 1:72 model of the Anglo-French Concorde. It was tooled by Heller. The long fuselage was made in three pieces, but the level of detail was not very great, and the panel lines were quite wide and deep. Concorde was known to expand by several inches when flying supersonically, but the depth and width of the panel lines was a little overdone!

Airfix produced its final set of small ships when it produced the Falklands Warship Set. Back in the 1980s, Airfix had moulded Exocet and other missiles to fit its two old warships, HMS Devonshire and Leander. HMS Amazon was fine for a Falklands ship. Since they were unlikely to be released singly again, this grouping was a sensible and profitable way of using the moulds.

The three high-speed launches in 1:72 scale were re-released along with USS Forrestal.

Airfix’s first new liner since the QE2 was the Queen Mary 2, again tooled in France, where the original was actually built. It was a much better model than the Concorde, and built up into a sizable model.

Three of Airfix’s 1930s vintage cars were released again and all used their original illustrations.

Airfix went to town on the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day, with three new AFV kits released in 1:76 scale. The ‘Higgins’ LCVP boat, a Willy’s Jeep and GMC truck were all tooled by Heller, which had previously modelled some of them in 1:35 scale. After a break of twenty-five years it was good to see Airfix making new AFV kits again. Airfix had made a jeep many years before, but it was included in the Buffalo kit, which made it an expensive way to build a collection of jeeps. In 2014, Hornby decided to tool new models of the LCVP and Jeep for the seventieth anniversary of D-Day range.

Three recent kits from Trumpeter and Italeri to 1:35 scale were brought into the range. They were all good kits and made reasonable replicas, but their scale of 1:35 did not fit into the Airfix range which was 1:32, and anyway was not currently available. The DUKW was relevant to D-Day, of course, but again there was nothing else in the range to go with it.

Three Vintage cars were re-released, all in Series 2. They all used their original illustrations.

The British Commandos returned, but were still the original figures as the mould for the newer set could not be found.

The big surprise of the year was the release of three sets of footballers! The figures were around 10in tall, which made them a rather odd scale. There were enough parts to construct four footballers in each box, and four heads, made out of a rubbery kind of compound, moulded to represent four members of the England football team. The other two boxes contained the same kit parts but four different heads. In all, twelve footballers could be made. They were released to coincide with the Euro Cup in June and the World Cup qualifier later. As we now know, England was knocked out fairly quickly, which can’t have helped sales! With the rapid turnover of players and David Beckham’s haircut over the years, the chances of seeing them again are not great. Even if new heads could be moulded, the actual football kit has probably changed enough.

2004’s Churchill Tank set.

The Queen Mary 2 model from 2004.

LCVP Landing Craft kit, 2004.

Also released that year were six jigsaw puzzles based on box-top artwork. Three were sold in tubes, and three larger ones in boxes.

Therefore 2004 was a good year overall, and one felt that Humbrol, or at least its bankers, was beginning to spend a little more money on Airfix.

2005

Three new kits were announced for 2005, although strictly speaking one was a Heller kit, six kits were modified, and the usual crop of reissues appeared as ‘new’ kits. Heller was sold to its own management, although it continued to make kits for Airfix. In fact the majority of kits produced by Heller were Airfix kits. The new kits included the following:

Gift Sets – Range A

01017G	MiG-15	1:72
01030G	Messerschmitt Me 262A	1:72
01043G	F-5A Freedom Fighter	1:72
01059G	Westland Gazelle	1:72
01267G	HMS Victory	N/A

Gift Sets – Range B

01424G	Peugeot 307WRC	1:43
02486G	Ducati	1:24
02487G	Yamaha 500cc	1:24

Gift Sets – Range C

03147G	Hurricane IIb and Junkers Ju 88	1:72
03148G	Meteor III and V1 Flying Bomb	1:72
05032G	F-117A Stealth	1:72
04042G	Panavia Tornado GR.4/4A	1:72

Gift Sets – Range D

07412G

Peugeot 307

1:24

Themed Gift Sets

08666	Concorde	1:144
08667	Dinosaurs Set 1 × 3	N/A
08668	Sea Rescue Set	1:72
09750	Red Arrows Anniversary Set	1:72
10301	VE-Day Anniversary Set	1:72
08672	VJ-Day Anniversary Set	1:72
11999	HMS Victory – 200 Years	1:100

Boxed Sets

04214	HMS Manxman and Suffolk	1:600
12201	Kriegsmarine	1:400
09441	Dennis Fire Engine and Omnibus	1:32
08366	World War II Desert Rat Set	1:32
12301	1945 – Road to Berlin	1:72

Individual Kits

01085	Avro 504K	1:72
02040	Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vc	1:72
03009	HS Dominie T.1	1:72
03065	SAAB S/J-29 Tunnan	1:72
03066	NAT-6G Texan	1:72
04028	Lockheed U-2 B/C/D	1:72
05033	F-117A Stealth	1:72
06012	Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt	1:72
06013	HP Halifax BIII	1:72
07004	BAC TSR2	1:72
08007	Avro Lancaster ‘G’ for George	1:72
05113	Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXc	1:48
05114	BAe Hawk 100 Series	1:48
09180	Buccaneer S.2/B-C-D S Mk50	1:48
14003	NA P-51K Mustang	1:24
16002	Hawker Hurricane Mk IIc	1:24
06280	RNLI Severn Class Lifeboat	1:72
02320	Sherman ‘Crab’ Tank	1:76
02321	Churchill ‘Crocodile’ Tank	1:76
03580/6	7 × Multipose Sets	1:32

Extras

J4102	Hurricane Mk I – Jigsaw
J9252	HMS Victory – Jigsaw
J9256	Wasa – Jigsaw
61601	Airfix Diecast Fighters × 2	1:72
61602	Airfix Diecast Rally Cars × 3	1:43

The gift sets had the usual new releases added to them, and two new Dogfight Doubles were included. The Meteor had a V1 Flying Bomb borrowed from another manufacturer.

The themed gift sets saw the new Lifeboat in a box with the Sea King helicopter. The Red Arrows Anniversary Set contained a Hawk and two Gnats. One of the Gnats came with the colours of the ‘Yellowjacks’, which was the forerunner of the Red Arrows.

The Dinosaurs Set included three of the original dinosaur kits in one boxing, being the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus and Triceratops. The set did not appear in the catalogue until 2006 but was released in 2005, along with Wallace and Gromit’s Anti-Pesto Van.

The VE Anniversary Set contained a variety of 1:72/1:76 kits appropriate to the end of the war in Europe. The VJ-Day Anniversary Set did the same for the Japanese war. Finally the 200 Years – HMS Victory Set had the large 1:100 Heller kit complete with paints and historical details.

One or two individual kits returned unaltered, but all the rest were either ex-Heller or had decal and illustration changes. The Avro 504K from 2004 had a new set of decals added and was allocated a new catalogue number.

Various World War II fighting men kits from 2005.

The Spitfire Vc kit was the old Spitfire V kit with extra parts added to make the Vc version. The Dominie had not been released since Humbrol bought Airfix in 1986 so it was pleasing to see it back again; it had all new decals and box artwork.

The SAAB and the Texan were both Heller kits. The Texan was a slightly different version to the old Airfix Harvard and was an infinitely better model. The Heller models disappeared after the Hornby takeover in 2006.

The U-2 kit was issued in all its versions, and it and the F-117A Stealth and Thunderbolts all received new decals and illustrations.

The Halifax and Lancaster both received new decals and illustrations. In the case of the Lancaster, the markings used for the first Lancaster kit were applied, and the iconic Roy Cross painting of the Lancaster coming into land with a burning engine was used. This painting is a favourite of many older modellers.

The two Buccaneer kits were re-released in one boxing, and due to a mix-up, many of the early ones contained two complete kits!

The other aircraft kits were largely upgrades of existing kits. The Supermarine Spitfire contained the existing Mk V kit, with sufficient extra parts to make the Mk IX version. Like the earlier Seafire Mk VIII, the box was crammed with virtually two kits. The Hawk 100 was released with extra decals for a South African Air Force aircraft and given a new catalogue number.

The Mustang was the old P-51D kit, but with an extra runner to make the K version. This option had been available on the small P-51D/K kit, and it enabled Airfix to offer its big brother in the same way. The large Hurricane was more interesting. Again, extra parts were to be moulded, but it was also proposed to mould one fuselage half in clear plastic so the inside could be viewed. When Airfix proposed the idea to its retailers it met a lukewarm response, so the conversion was quietly dropped.

The new aircraft kit was a 1:72 model of the ill-fated TSR2 bomber which was cancelled in 1965 and has remained a cult figure ever since. Airfix had progressed quite far with a kit in the early 1960s, but apparently had to abandon it after concerns from the MoD that it might give secrets away! Airfix had always tried to keep ahead of the competition by producing kits of aircraft that were only prototypes at the time. Some would go on to be updated to production standard, whilst others remained as prototypes. The TSR2 was probably the only aircraft that never made it into production, but was constantly requested by model makers. It was released as a ‘limited production’ kit, with enough manufactured to cover the costs. In fact it was so popular that Airfix went on to produce a 1:48 kit. The limited production status meant it was difficult for Airfix to release it as a mainstream kit for a few years, but it has been available in the Japanese Stratos four boxings.

Dinosaurs set from 2005, including Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus and Triceratops.

Avro Lancaster ‘G-For George’ in Type 15 boxing, 2005.

Manxman and Suffolk were put together in the last of three boxings of smaller ship kits. Recently Suffolk was released on its own. The Kriegsmarine Set was a collection of several small ships from the Heller 1:400 range. It would pave the way for the introduction of several capital ships from that range.

For the other new mould, Airfix returned to its range of 1:72 fast boats, only this time the subject was the civilian RNLI lifeboat. The three earlier military boats had all been excellent models and were in the catalogue for 2014. This model was equally good, and made up into a very compact and interesting model. The pairing with the Sea King enabled modellers to build dioramas incorporating the two main methods of rescuing mariners at sea. A portion of the proceeds of each sale was given to the RNLI.

Humbrol had always been strapped for cash, and so the updating of old moulds by adding new parts seemed the best that modellers were likely to get, along with the occasional new mould. Aircraft and the occasional warship had received this treatment, but in this year Humbrol announced the first two of several proposed updates to its top-selling AFV range in 1:76 scale.

The first two ‘mods’ were to the Sherman and Churchill tanks, both first released in 1961. Over the last fifty or so years the Sherman in particular has been criticised for not being very accurate, but it continues to be a consistent best seller. Apart from adding a little extra detail in the mid-1960s, both kits are unaltered.

2005’s VJ-Day set.

Halifax B III from 2005.

2005’s Lockheed U-2 kit.

2005’s set of the fast minelayer HMS Manxman and the cruiser HMS Suffolk.

Dennis Fire Engine & Omnibus set, 2005.

For both kits Airfix added extra runners, which provided the parts to make a flailing mine clearer or ‘Crab’ for the Sherman, and a trailing bowser and other parts to make a flame-throwing ‘Crocodile’ for the Churchill. Both kits were released in Series 2 and included the original kit with the extra parts. To wargamers and younger modellers, who were not so concerned with 100 per cent accuracy, it was a fairly cheap way of adding extra tanks to one’s arsenal.

A further playset,‘1945 –The Road to Berlin’ was issued, and included several figures, tanks and aircraft to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the European War.

In 1:32 scale, the seven multipose sets were released again, along with a Desert Rat Set. This included the Crusader Tank and a set of 8th Army and Afrika Korps multipose figures.

The Dennis Fire Engine and ‘B’-type bus were put into a single box and sold as a pair.

On the non-kit side, two more jigsaws were released in boxes, and two sets of diecast cars and aircraft were sold. These were only available for a limited period.

Things were finally starting to look up at Humbrol, and modellers were looking forward to more exciting new moulds in the following year.