The Boys' Book of Airfix: Who Says You Ever Have to Grow Up? Hardcover – International Edition, February 1, 2010

Author Authur Ward has written an excellent book on the history of Airfix and its rise to fame as one of the great model kit companies; rising from humble beginnings in the late 1930's, the company had seen its 'golden era' in the late 1960's and early 1970's. It then went into decline and passed through several owners until its resurgence today. Many a young boy has put together one of its model kits over the years.In his book, the author not only covers the story of the company and its rise, this book covers the people who made the company, plus looks at such topics as box art, the artists who produced paintings for new kit releases, how they went about their task and covers other topics such as the Airfix magazine and its coverage of subjects and (oddly) how competitor kit companies even advertised in the magazine.The author displays his knowledge of all things Airfix discussing such issues as the introduction of different products by the company, the issue of various scales of the products, for example Airfix commenced to release military vehicles in 1/32nd scale only to see rival companies such as Tamiya opt for a slightly different 1/35th scale that eventually become the choice of modellers. The challenge of releasing kits in the larger 1/24th scale and why the company opted for the smaller 1/144th scale for its airliner series.The book is also filled with a huge selection of photos of the various kits produced by the company and the various styles of kit boxes and packaging down through the years, as well as the Airfix logo and its changes through time. There is nothing left or forgotten as the story takes us through the years and the developments and challenges the company faced through the 1960's to present day.I really enjoyed this book as it was an Airfix kit that I first put together in my boyhood days back in 1968, that got me started on the modelling 'craze' and having passed through numerous kits and subjects since, I still remember my early days with an Airfix kit, glue and some Humbrol paints. A really great read and nostalgic journey through the years with the Airfix company.In summary an excellent book on the Airfix model company, rich in text, photos and heaps of good old nostalgia this book is a fantastic reference on the company plus the story of how it rose to fame, struggled as it passed through several owners, declined and then made a really strong comeback in probably one of the most competitive markets. A great journey down memory lane, the book encompasses everything you ever wanted to know about Airfix. Well done, Arthur Ward!

Having put together Airfix kits since the 1950s (very badly at that time, a bit better nowadays) I was delighted to get this history of Airfix. Excellent book, well written, and gives the story of Airfix with just the right detail. An appendix actually has a chronological listing of the kits (just a few pages, perfect) and the book itself goes through the founding and development of the company and the introduction of it's products.For those of us in the sixties the book brings back frequent memories of the kits that we struggled with in our childhood. Amazingly, many of these kits are still available, and still made by Airfix, most of them improved, so a younger generation can still enjoy making them, and being occasionally frustrated by them. Keep that plastic solvent of the clear plastic!

I was a big fan of Airfix model kits and especially the HO scale figures that they were famous for. By the time that I was buying them in the mid 70s they had a tremendous selection and were in virtually every toy store (when there were toy stores). This book brought back a lot of good memoriesfor me and reminded me what an immense amount of fun that I had with their products. This book also acts as a history of the company itself and I learned a lot of interesting things. If you ever liked Airfix products this is a must have.

Yes, this book is filled with lovely color photographs of mostly Airfix box or end tag art and does offer up some model photographs, but it is, in fact, a corporate history. Airfix did more than offer model kits; it was into housewares. That might not fascinate us old guys who built Airfix models in the very late 50s and early 60s, but it's kind of interesting. If you're looking for the inside tales of why what was offered, well, not so much. If you're wondering what happened to old molds, or why some kits once had different brand names, then you're in luck.

This is a very interesting book on the history of Airfix. As a kid growing up I had the pleasure of building many of their model planes and cars which were either given as gifts or I purchased with my allowance. A very good read.

This is a beautiful book with vibrant, full-color pictures and a comprehensive history of the company. It covers everything from models to figures, and goes into detail about the artists and product packaging. An amazing read and for the Amazon.com price, you can't beat it!

Love the Book. Recommend very high to anyone to buy and Read over and over again.

need to know more about airfix excellent source.

Others reviewers have said what this book isn't, how it's a bit higgledy piggledy and how Arthur Ward bangs on in a somewhat amateurish fashion on occasion, but there is very little competition out there that betters this. I too, would like to see a book that covers how the models were taken from the original design idea, through the actual production process and onto the finished, boxed article, but what we have here is not that. What this book is able to do instead is to engender a warm glow of reminiscence for us 'old boys' who made these kits in our youth and for whom the excitement of obtaining and finishing the next kit was sometimes a major part of our young lives. The photos and drawings alone rekindle forgotten memories of the large number of wonderful kits we ourselves made and I think that is the real point of the book - nostalgia, with a little company history thrown in to complement this. Until something better comes along, this book can be used to wallow back in a time when there was no internet, no social media and very little of interest on the telly, a time when, if it was raining, this was one of the most exciting things for a boy to absorb himself with over many pleasurable hours. The book re-evokes all that in spades. For that reason alone, it is worth buying.

Just when you think something has passed by the wayside it bounces back, in this case hurray, after a too long an absence from good old blighty Airfix has returned to the motherland.You need to be in you're fifties too realy apreciate the meaning of this book and the feelings it evokes, these are the kits you're dad gave you to build when you were seven or eight years old and starting to learn how things go together, after making a mess with the glue and paint the following week if he had the 2'/6d you would repeat the process.This book details the history of the company, it's founder the glory days and it initial downfall, today they go from strength to strength with retooled versions of old kits or completely new ones, if you want to learn about the company or wallow in memmory this doen't dissapoint, written with well researched attention to detail and liberaly scattered with photos and box art work it's a bit like a box of chocolates you have't seen on the shelf for a long time, and when opened they taste just like you remember.

An interesting book but could be better. The layout and page design is poor. Photographs appear away from their text for no apparent reason. The author wanders around a lot and there is too much repetition and a very odd layout. A bit amateurish with too many personal comments and 'I did this' and 'I asked this' etc. OK in conversation or maybe a magazine but not for a book.The author is obviously a kit fanatic (nothing wrong with that) with the result that several of Airfix's other products are missing and others merely glossed over. It is by no means a comprehensive history.Overall, worth a punt at the right price (mine cost me 1p) , but not perfect. Tries hard, could do better!

An excellent read and takes a prominent place on my bookshelf.It was most sobering to realise that I remember virtually all of the earlier kits being available in Woolies after a weekly 10 (old)pence bus ride and eager handing over of my pocket money a half century ago! At one time I had amassed about 120 completed kits and most were retired in an orgy of air rifle fire over one afternoon much to my father's ( and subsequently my) horror.I am still an aviation head despite passage of time and this book has reawakened my interest in construction kits and many of the earlier kits are still available if you look long enough.Thoroughly recommended to all grown up little boys.

Reminded Me of school days and building models as a kid.Good book.