biglouis
Veteran
I couldn't work out where to post these pictures but as they deal with a social phenomenon amongst boys of a certain age, and probably a byegone era I decided this was the best thread. These are captures using my RX1 from an exhibition at the Royal Airforce Museum in Hendon, London about the company Airfix, its models and the art that was an integral part of the packaging.
(BTW, I am incredibly impressed at how well the RX1 performed at ridiculously low light levels and consequently very high iso).
In my youth (abut 40 years ago!) there were no computer games or other electronic wizardry and Airfix filled a gap for me and many other small boys who wanted to model the world and past events, especially the aircraft of the second world war.
Possibly the most popular air models were those of the legendary Spitfire. Airfix went to great lengths to authentically reproduce different versions to build as can be seen in these finished models.
My ambition as an 8 year old was to own and build an Avro Lancaster - a very difficult and large kit. When I finally saved enough money to purchase the kit my father helped me to build and paint it in its brown and green camouflage on top and black underneath.
Airfix also produced packets of small soldiers of every era and description. At some point I owned most of these, including the civilians! I especially collected the first world war series when they started (not shown).
From small beginning Airfix grew into a respectable sized company which aimed to meet the needs of serious modellers. Their subjects included historical figures to assemble. This one is of Charles I, the King who lost his head after the English Civil War.
AS well as historical events Airfix also kept up with current ones and produced a great series of models to assemble around the progress of the 'moon race' in the 1960s. I also purchased and assembled both the 'Old Bill' bus which I recall being a spectacular model as well as all the 'space' models, including the Lunar Excursion Module, seen here.
An integral part of the packaging was the box art which became not only sophisticated but worthy of exhibiting in its own right. Roy Cross was a regular artist for Airfix and this is a fine example of his work for the Tank MkI kit.
(BTW, I am incredibly impressed at how well the RX1 performed at ridiculously low light levels and consequently very high iso).
In my youth (abut 40 years ago!) there were no computer games or other electronic wizardry and Airfix filled a gap for me and many other small boys who wanted to model the world and past events, especially the aircraft of the second world war.
Possibly the most popular air models were those of the legendary Spitfire. Airfix went to great lengths to authentically reproduce different versions to build as can be seen in these finished models.
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
My ambition as an 8 year old was to own and build an Avro Lancaster - a very difficult and large kit. When I finally saved enough money to purchase the kit my father helped me to build and paint it in its brown and green camouflage on top and black underneath.
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Airfix also produced packets of small soldiers of every era and description. At some point I owned most of these, including the civilians! I especially collected the first world war series when they started (not shown).
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
From small beginning Airfix grew into a respectable sized company which aimed to meet the needs of serious modellers. Their subjects included historical figures to assemble. This one is of Charles I, the King who lost his head after the English Civil War.
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
AS well as historical events Airfix also kept up with current ones and produced a great series of models to assemble around the progress of the 'moon race' in the 1960s. I also purchased and assembled both the 'Old Bill' bus which I recall being a spectacular model as well as all the 'space' models, including the Lunar Excursion Module, seen here.
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
An integral part of the packaging was the box art which became not only sophisticated but worthy of exhibiting in its own right. Roy Cross was a regular artist for Airfix and this is a fine example of his work for the Tank MkI kit.
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)