Show and tell: Airfix illustration at the House of Illustration

By John Freeman on 29 August 2015

Join Matt Curtis, Art Director of the Sunday Times Magazine next Saturday (5th September), for an informal drop-in show and tell session at London’s House of Illustration examining the breadth of vintage Airfix illustration.

Curtis will share pieces from the incredible archive left by his grandfather, Brian Knight, one of the leading illustrators of Airfix materials, including original paintings, sketches and final artworks.

This is a chance to rediscover these unforgettable signature images as you’ve never seen them before.

At the age of 14, whilst dreaming of becoming an RAF pilot, Brian apprenticed at the Miles Aircraft company as designer/draftsman. In 1950, after the war he set himself up as a freelance technical illustrator. One of his first clients was Revell GB, which soon lead to work with rivals Airfix and Frog (Rovex). Until his death in 2007 Brian worked on a vast and varied range commissions, however this website will be a catalogue of his Box Art.

You can read more about Brian Knight and his work with Airfix in this article from Eye Magazine.

This session is free to attend with paid gallery entry – no need to pre-book, just drop in any time between 2 and 4.00 pm.

• More info here on the House of Illustration website

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as 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.