Editing Airfix (section)

=== Decline, purchase by Humbrol ===
In the 1980s, Airfix Industries group was under financial pressure, there were losses in Airfix's other toy businesses, and attempts to reduce costs were met with [[industrial action]]. The pound strengthened from {{US$|1.56}} to {{US$|2.35}} in a matter of months, destroying export markets, because customers were unwilling to accept a 50% price increase for the same goods. The financial interdependency of the divisions of Airfix Industries forced it to declare bankruptcy in 1981. The company was bought by [[General Mills]] (owner of US automobile kit-maker [[Model Products Corporation|MPC]]) through its UK [[Palitoy]] subsidiary.<ref>May, 2009, p. 145</ref> The kit moulds were sent to their factory in [[Calais]], France. Later, Airfix aircraft kits were marketed in the United States under the MPC label and some MPC kits were sold in the UK under the Airfix name (an example being the {{frac|1|25}} scale vintage [[Stutz Bearcat]] kit originally produced as a tie-in to the ''[[Bearcats!]]'' television series). Airfix released MPC kits based on the [[Star Wars]] film series.

Airfix's market share reduced to 40% of the UK market (2.3 million kits) though it had 75% of the German market. In the US, where automobile kits were more popular than aircraft, it was less than 2%.<ref>Ward, 2009, p. 135-6</ref>

Four years later, General Mills withdrew from the toy market to focus on its core food manufacturing business. At one point, it looked as if the Airfix range might be discontinued with no new toolings released from 1986 to 1987.<ref>May, 2009, p. 255</ref> Eventually around this time, it was bought by the Hobby Products Group of [[Borden, Inc.]], which had tried to buy the range in 1981. Borden was also the owner of [[Humbrol]]. The moulds remained in France but were relocated to the group's existing kit-manufacturer, [[Trun, Orne|Trun]]-based [[Heller SA]]. This was a logical acquisition since Humbrol's paints and adhesives could be used to complete Airfix kits and the Heller factory was under-utilised.

The Hobby Products Group was sold to an Irish investment company, Allen & McGuire, in 1994 and continued under the Humbrol name.