The venerable British model kit manufacturer, Airfix, seems to be gaining a new lease of life.

In the mind of contemporary modellers worldwide, this company was long coupled with endless repackaging of 40-years old, well known but crudely moulded kits, many of them inherently difficult to build. In recent years there have been some upgrades to the ageing product line, but mostly not quite on par with current foreign offerings.

Now at last, Airfix seems to be seriously into some new thinking. This change of course seems to be closely coupled with the company’s new ownership, Hornby, a strong player on the UK hobby market with clear marketing focus. Hornby’s influence has already meant diversifying the Airfix product line, especially towards the younger audience, but long-term Airfix fans have been undoubtedly waiting for but one thing – an increased stream of new, truly modern kits of British (well, not only) subjects.

This year, the wait may be over. The announced programme of 2009 kit releases from Airfix is full of promising news.

New-tools kits for 2009

• 1/72 scale BAE Red Arrows Hawk
• 1/72 scale Spitfire PRXIX
• 1/72 scale Messerschmitt BF109G
• 1/72 scale MiG 15
• 1/72 scale Supermarine Spitfire MkIXc
• 1/72 scale Hawker Hurricane MkII c/d
• 1/72 scale BAE Hawk 128/132
• 1/72 scale Sea Harrier FRS1
• 1/72 scale Sea Harrier FA2­
• 1/350 scale HMS Illustrious

As you can imagine, the items which I’m particularly glad to see are two new-tool 1/72 Spitfires, including the PR Mk. XIX, one of the most elegant of the Griffon Spitfires and in need of a new mainstream kit.

Together with the announcement of this ambitious release programme, Airfix came with a new, revised logotype. It’s a fitting gesture indicating how important the “classic” modelling market is to the company.

Let’s just hope that with the current economical crisis Airfix can also deliver as planned. Or is it perhaps that we have hoped for the brand’s revival for so long that the whole thing still sounds just a bit too good to be true. And we’re still waiting for the promised 1/24 Mosquito…

Included below is a promotional video for the forthcoming Airfix HMS Illustrious.