Airfix/Hornby on BBC website

Do you mean "Bluntly, if we hadn't made that move, the Hornby business would be bust by now"?

Cheers Richard

beamendsltd said the following on 07/12/2007 11:12:

Not specifically - it was the "Hornby bought Airfix in November 2007" in the main body, and "Hornby bought Airfix in November 2006" in the side panel.

Ah, right - missed that!

Cheers Richard

They've edited to correct the error already it seems...

Ian J. said the following on 07/12/2007 14:49:

Oh yeah - that whole paragraph has actually changed slightly. It didn't say "Margate-based" before.

The joys lf electronic news gathering and distribution. Makes commiting libel a bit more of a cat and mouse game if you think about it.

Regards,

Rob.

Interesting suggestion that computers were the reason why Airfix went bust and yet model railways as a hobby managed to survive the computer revolution.

I'd be inclined to suggest it was a lack of investment. Most of the Airfix kits date use tooling which dates back to the 1950s, and were simply not up to the quality demanded in the 1980s let alone by today's market.

John.

Actually that's a good point well made. Mind you computers have a place in model railways, but perhaps not with plastic models?

Rob.

In message , Paul Boyd writes

There's also

1985 - Sold to Hobby Products Group of Borden, who also owned Humbrol 1995 - Hobby Products Group, including Airfix, sold to Humbrol

How can a company be sold to one of its subsidiaries?

Management buy out when, Humbrol was losing money. I believe that Humbrol owned only the name of Airfix and the right to sell the former Airfix product under that name in the UK.

I am sure there is a way but in the above I read it as.

The Bordon group ( which I think was/ is Borden chemicals) owned a division they called Hobby products. Bordon also owned Humbrol Airfix owned by the Hobby products part.

later the Hobby products part with Airfix sold to Humbrol who may or may not be still owned by Bordon but become owned by Humbrol rather than remaining a Subsidiary of Bordon.

Bordon had a plant on the outskirts of Southampton once and I almost applied for a Job there. Tales of constant shocks by Static electricity described by a mate who did work there put me off.

That plant made clingfilm and similar products.

G.harman

There was a documentary about Hornby's takeover of Airfix on BBC2 a few days ago. It was amusing how they featured a new Dr Who kit which had production delays so the majority of them missed the christmas deadline, but a small amount were airfreighted in for Hamleys. It's a scenario which us modellers are very familiar with, although perhaps not so much with Hornby. It's repeated on BBC1 at 02:55 03/01/07.

Fred X

A few days ago? It was last night!

(kim)

It's a scenario which

Name a Christmas toy that wasn't late and undersupplied. Not just Christmas toys, the latest must have gadget. How late was the A380 and how late will id cards be.

Kevin

There's late and then there's only getting about 0.1% of your supplies into the shops before christmas, which is what happened with the Airfix kit. And when you are a toy manufacturer you rely on christmas for the overwhelming majority of your product sales.

Fred X

Try getting a Wii - they've been out of stock for months - gave up and got a PS2 in the end.

Cheers Richard

beamendsltd said the following on 10/12/2007 08:00:

That seems to be an urban myth. There's over 8000 on eBay, for instance, from genuine sources (as well as a few dodgy ones), and a lot of them are from sources such as my colleague who was given one free with a packet of cornflakes (OK - free with a mobile phone contract!) He sold it for £240 to some sucker^H^H^H esteemed customer, although it had the Sports pack with it.

I still haven't quite worked out what a Wii is yet, mind, but I would have thought they could have chosen a slightly better name!

Yes that's Carphone Warehouse :-

Order online prior to 5 pm tomorrow to get a Wii for Christmas

Most of the phones included in the offer are on a 18 month contract @ about =A345 / month ( =A3810 )

Wii ?

Originally Posted by Nintendo "While the code name 'Revolution' expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.

Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else. Wii will put people more in touch with their games ... and each other. But you're probably asking: What does the name mean?

Wii sounds like "we," which emphasises this console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.

Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolises both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play. And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd. So that's Wii. But now Nintendo needs you. Because, it's really not about you or me. It's about Wii. And together, Wii will change everything."

That's it in 'plain' English ?

It isn't a myth - we spent 2 months trying to get one from a reputable source (which excludes eBay sellers trying to charge over the odds) - no one had stock, even those claiming they did.

Agree about the name though, I always read it a Gordie greeting!

Cheers Richard