British Expatriate Network

http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5304780.stm

If there was one thing I thought would never fall victim to the demand for electronic toys it would be this. I guess I figured there would always be enough nerds around. Do you think the demise can be laid at the door of computer games, or do you think Airfix could have done more to "keep up"? Or is it the "fault" of the parents and if so, is that a bad thing?

We have an Airfix Kid. Actually he hasn't progressed to Airfix yet. Right now he's a Lego Kid. But I wonder if he'll find Airfix dull in comparison? Lego has changed so much since I was a kid but Airfix seems just the same. Can you get Airfix models of Hogwarts and the Deathstar?

Why didn't the Airfix kids of the last generation pass on their hobby? Were they prevented from having kids for the good of humanity, or did they find something else to introduce their kids to? Are today's children missing out on learning a vital set of skills learned from assembling models, or are the skills they learn from their hobbies more likely to be more relevant to their futures? There's a good chance that our Airfix kid would be a computer-game addict if we let him. I think that he might still retain an interest in building type toys, but I wouldn't bet cold hard cash on it. I wonder if we're doing him a disservice by severly limiting computer game time. I guess we'll find out soon enough as we just got a new computer and are about to set up the old one to allow the children more access. I imagine there will still be major limitations, though, just as with video-watching.

(I was just thinking how Draconian that made me sound, but then I realized that I have had three children off school for three months and I have never heard "I'm bored" in all that time, so perhaps it's not such a bad thing. Or maybe they live in fear of me finding something for them to do.... lol)

It seems that -unlike most pastimes- computer games interest kids of all ages so by the time children are old enough to do Airfix kits they already have a consuming hobby that they are not ready to grow out of to make way for Airfix. I feel it's a shame, but perhaps that's just old-fogey nostalgia.

These weren't around when I was a kid, but they were when I was in the army and they were a cheap time filler.

We made the ships and when we had enough, we would float them in a bath, and flick matches at them. They gave off fire and black smoke with spectacular effect.

http://airfix.com/cs/blogs/articles/arch...15024.aspx

you can get Airfix Wallace and Gromit, so I guess the chances are yes. airfix.com is not the most exciting website I've ever seen, though....

Wasn't much good at making the models but I had probably 20 or 30 that were made (badly) in my life.

I really liked the toy soldiers they did though (Wehrmacht, Afrika Korps etc.) and still pine for a few boxes of them now. A friend's mum was really good at painting and sometimes, she would paint our figures or models and they would look immaculate.

I think Airfix might be a victim of not embracing technology. I was mightily impressed when I saw the Lego webcam movie set edition, and then they had the Lego Star Wars video game.

I don't think they did this at least - r/c units that are PC controlled, or decal transfers you can design and print off yourself - stuff like that which would have used the PC and integrated it. Or even, on the theme of the little green soldier video game, an Airfix flight sim game where you fly around your house and out into the garden, making bombing attacks into the bathtub, etc...

I think you're right, E17, something like that might have kept it going without losing the construction aspect that kept so many kids busy for so many years.

You just said almost exactly what I was going to say :???: