HORNBY, the maker of the model railway systems, was preparing a possible rescue attempt for Airfix last night to save the iconic maker of model planes, tanks and ships, which has gone into administration.
Hornby, which also makes Scalextric racing cars, said it was considering a plan where both Airfix and Humbrol, which produces paints for models, would be absorbed into its business. It follows the collapse of the parent company, also called Humbrol, into administration the previous day, with the loss of 31 jobs.
Hornby said: “In the interests of the Hornby shareholders, we have a duty to consider the opportunity and register our interest.”
Founded in 1939 by a Hungarian businessman called Nicholas Kove, Airfix was bought by Humbrol in 1986.
Keith Hinds, the administrator at Grant Thornton, said that Hull-based Humbrol had ground to a halt after the insolvency of its main supplier in France created “severe cash flow pressures and disruption to supplies”.