Airfix has been commercially producing plastic kits since 1952 and its models have been made by successive generations of young boys and men alike. In the 1960s, a talented graphic artist called Roy Cross was commissioned to paint some of the box art for Airfix, and for a ten-year-period he provided many of the glorious paintings seen on the boxes, setting new standards for realism and accuracy. Many are still being used today, a full four decades later. Inside the pages of this book are some of Roy's best artworks, shown here in full format and in superb detail, with many reproduced here in book form for the very first time. As well as his vintage box art, Roy has included many sketches and alternative versions of his Airfix box art. After Roy left Airfix in 1974, the company went through a turbulent time. The present owners are Hornby, who have ambitious plans for Airfix and the other brands it acquired including Scalextric and Corgi. The decade that Roy Cross worked for Airfix, though, could be classed as their vintage era, with some of their finest models being produced then in their millions, ready for eager youngsters to build up into detailed miniature models of their favorite aircraft, ships and locomotives.

The 1960s and early 1970s might be called the vintage years of Airfix, when some of their best and most popular kits were produced. For ten years up to 1974, renowned artist Roy Cross produced some of the stunning paintings that appear on the boxes of Airfix kits of the era. Roy set the standard for such artwork, to the extent that many are still used today, four decades later. Roy Cross's The Vintage Years of Airfix Box Art contained a host of the paintings he prepared for Airfix, but the unearthing of many more images in old Airfix files has enabled this entirely fresh look at Roy's work to be presented, coinciding with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the first Airfix kit. Thus the remainder of Roy's ten years' work for Airfix is reproduced here.

The best-known and most important manufacturer of plastic model kits in the UK, Airfix has been at the forefront of the industry since 1955 when the first Airfix aircraft kit appeared in UK branches of Woolworth's. The kits were made to a constant scale and covered a wide variety of subjects, from aircraft to birds and from tanks to dinosaurs. In 1981 the famous London-based company closed down and only the kits survived intact. For the next twenty-five years Airfix was run by Palitoy and later Humbrol, but suffered from a lack of investment. In 2006, Hornby Hobbies Ltd, the train and Scalextric manufacturer, bought the ailing company and transformed it. Money and resources were ploughed into the range, and today Airfix releases around twenty new kits per year, designed to an incredibly high standard. The old kits of the 1950s and 1960s are gradually being replaced by new state-of-the-art tooling, all bearing that most prestigious name - Airfix. Published to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of the first Airfix aircraft kit, Sixty Years of Airfix Models, tells the full story, year by year, of the company and its products. Illustrated throughout with colour photographs.of kits, box art and completed models.

Roy Cross RSMA GAvA began work as an illustrator in Fairey Aviation during World War II. Over the next thirty years, he progressed from line illustration, via colour artwork, to top-class advertising art for the aircraft industry and other companies, including Airfix, for whom he produced many hundreds of artworks to adorn model kit boxes over a ten-year period. His illustrations for Airfix included superb depictions of aircraft, cars, ships, spacecraft, armoured vehicles and dioramas. Though Roy is perhaps most famous for his Airfix box art, his work has encompassed book and magazine illustrations, including highly detailed cutaways and other technical drawings. In more recent years, Roy has concentrated on the production of his magnificent maritime paintings.

Enjoy looking back over the career of this colorful artist in over 700 brilliant photos and witty prose. From his early days painting model box tops for the Hawk Model Company to his invention of the iconic Weird-Ohs model kits, Bill has continued to create some of the most unique artwork the world has seen.

A life-long model builder, collector, and connoisseur, Craig Kodera examines the hobby of plastic model building to give you a book on collecting vintage model airplane kits. The book features more than 400 detailed, high-quality, full-color photos of vintage aircraft model kits and their components, and is written in an engaging and entertaining style to examine what gives specific models their current collectible value. Box wraps, direction sheets, and decals are also covered in detail. This book highlights exactly what collectors should look for (and be aware of) in building their collections. For proper historical perspective, the author covers model kit development in the heyday of the 1950s and 1960s. Comprehensive value and pricing information for vintage kits is shown as well.

The Airfix company was formed in 1939 and, since it produced its first plastic kit in 1949, grew to be the United Kingdom's leading model kit manufacturer. Several generations of young and young-at-heart modellers have made Airfix kits and, despite turbulent times in the 1970s and 1980s when the company changed ownership several times, in the twenty-first century it goes from strength to strength under the wing of Hornby Hobbies. The 1960s and early 1970s might be called the vintage years of Airfix, when some of their best and most popular kits were produced. For ten years up to 1974, renowned artist Roy Cross produced some of the stunning paintings that appear on the boxes of Airfix kits of the era. Roy set the standard for such artwork, to the extent that many are still used today, four decades later. Roy Cross's earlier book, The Vintage Years of Airfix Box Art, contained a host of the paintings he prepared for Airfix, but the unearthing of many more images in old Airfix files has enabled this entirely fresh look at Roy's work to be presented, coinciding with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the first Airfix kit. Thus the remainder of Roy's ten years' work for Airfix is reproduced here. This new compilation features many rare illustrations as well as studies and sketches that were not accepted at the time, and is beautifully illustrated with 180 colour artworks.