Visit to Airfix (Hornby)
Wednesday 22 September 2011 updated 28Sep11
A large contingent of HA Members were treated to an excellent day out at the Hornby headquarters near Margate on 22 September.
Hornby is not just trains, the group including British brands Airfix (the main reason for the visit), Humbrol paints, Scalextric, Corgi and Basset Lowke, and foreign brands Superslot, Rivarossi, Arnold, Lima, Electrotren, Heico and Jouef.
The enthusiastic Marketing and Design staff gave comprehensive talks on the history of Airfix, its marketing policy, the design of the kits using CAD techniques, the tooling and manufacture as well as box art preparation, instruction sheets and research. Kit manufacture is nowadays in China moving more into India (cheaper).
After lunch the Visitor Centre, where all of the current range of products was on display, the distribution centre and the shop were visited.
A wonderful experience for boys of all ages!
Chris Farara
Members viewing the Scalextric track
in the visitors centre.
Picture by Frank Rainsborough