Hornby, the model and collectibles specialist, has today announced it will be launching its own crowdfunding project in an effort to revive interest in the group’s Airfix products.
Founded in 1939, Airfix grew to be a popular pastime of young boys who relished popping open boxes of World War 2 tanks and meticulously constructing wartime vehicles they had heard stories about.
The age of the internet has almost killed this off and Hornby has gone about tackling this head on by utilising the internet to give individuals the opportunity to decide which models they would like to make and financially back items of choice. Those who partake in the crowdfunding project will be able to build an exclusive vintage Airfix model.
Richard Ames, Hornby Chief Executive Officer:
“This is a really exciting initiative for Airfix. We have a very large back-catalogue of model kits, many that are still remembered fondly by our consumers. We get lots of feedback about which models people would like us to re-introduce. Our KitStarter crowd-funding platform will enable Hornby to interact much more closely with our consumers. This will help us gauge demand accurately and respond quickly to their requests. Then we can prioritise which models we re-introduce.
“This initiative is one of a number where we are working hard to build closer links with our consumers. Many of these people are loyal enthusiasts who have been fans of Airfix for a long time and we enjoy interacting with them at model shows and via the model forums on our website. We are also confident that KitStarter will help us to reach a new generation of model enthusiasts that we can attract into the hobby.”