Issue 84 of the Airfix Collectors’ Club‘s Constant Scale journal is out now and includes another article by downthetubes contributor Jeremy Briggs on the history of Humbrol, once an Airfix competitor, but now a sibling company.
“This time, I have used quotes from two visit articles from the February 1975 issues of the MAP magazines, Scale Models and Aeromodeller, to give a flavour of Humbrol’s Marfleet site in Hull at the end of 1974 along with photos of the shop floor, he tells us. “I also found a quote from [artist and musician] Cosey Fanni Tutti‘s autobiography, Art Sex Music, in which she described her first day on the Humbrol shop floor on 14th September 1970.”
(For those unfamiliar, Cosey Fanni Tutti, whose career began in 1969, is a respected artist and musician of worldwide renown – for her Art, her work in the sex industry, as co-founder of Industrial music and Throbbing Gristle, and her pioneering electronic music as ‘Chris & Cosey’ and ‘Carter Tutti’).
Tutti has a Doctor Who connection, too. In 2018, she was commissioned to write the soundtrack to director and actor Caroline Catz’s acclaimed, intimate portrayal of the composer, musician and sonic experimentalist, Delia Derbyshire (1937-2001), best known for her ground-breaking work on the 1963 Doctor Who theme tune. Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And The Legendary Tapes also includes the audio explorations and experiments that lead Cosey to the final soundtrack for Catz.
Alongside Jeremy’s articles, there’s plenty more to enjoy for model making fans in the magazine, including a guide to vintage Airfix catalogues published between 1997 and 2006, kit reviews and more.
On the cover of this issue of Constant Scale is the box art by Roy Cross for the Airfix 1/72 Fiat G.50 kit, which made its return to the 2022 range after almost 30 years, originally introduced in 1967.
The Fiat G.50 was Italy’s first single seat, all metal monoplane with enclosed canopy and retractable undercarriage, finally retired in 1946 by the Finnish.
• Constant Scale Issue 85 is only available from the Airfix Collectors’ Club. Back issues, both print and e-copies, are also available. More details about the club and how to join are available on its website: airfixcollectorsclub.co.uk
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: downthetubes News, Merchandise, Other Worlds
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