Airfix Instruction Sheets
My hobby is collecting Airfix kit instruction sheets, particularly the
old plastic bag header cards like the ones below:
Airfix Instruction Sheet Service
Please read first:
Update: June 2008 - Unfortunately, in recent years, this service has been
abused. People believe that I am part of Airfix Customer Services and demand
replacement instruction sheets and are often quite rude about it.
It is therefore with regret that I announce, as from 1st June 2008, that this Airfix instruction sheet service is now ONLY available to paid-up members of the Airfix Collectors Club.
Hornby offer a free instruction sheet and parts service for all current
Airfix kits. If you are not a member of the Airfix Collectors Club, please
contact Hornby for your missing part or instruction sheet.
Members of the Airfix Collectors Club, please read on:
I maintain a reasonable stock of instruction sheets from the Airfix boxed
kits. I am happy to offer an Instruction Sheet service to any Club Member
who is in need. Please just e-mail your request and I'll see what I can
do. Click here for a sample list of available sheets.
But I need YOUR help to make this work - previously, I offered to scan my sheets and e-mail
the images to anybody who was desperate for an old instruction sheet. Experience
has shown that this doesn't work, so I am no longer offering this facility.
Why? Three main reasons - (1) for the small-print instructions to be readable
the scanned file sizes were proving to be huge, (2) Airfix instruction
sheets tend never to be a nice A4 (US Letter) size. They are all odd-ball
sizes, often opening up bigger than A4 and hence extremely difficult to
scan in any reasonable manner, and (3) the early sheets were printed on
very flimsy paper, which is almost transparent to the bright light of a
scanner, hence very difficult not to get the reserve side showing through.
So, I now only offer a mail service for original
hardcopy instruction sheets.
But this means I will be constantly using
up my stock - which is where you come in ! I will need people to volunteer
and send me any Airfix instruction sheets that they no longer need. Please
donate them to this good cause ! In this way I might be able to replenish
my stock. Anything you have - you might think it just a worthless piece
of paper - but somebody out there may have a kit that cannot be finished
due to lack of instructions.
The deal -
1. In the Airfix collector's world, instruction sheets do not change hands
for money. I will mail an instruction sheet to anywhere in the world -
all I ask is a donation to postage costs. This is normally via a suitably
sized SAE
2. I cannot offer any particular style of
sheet, there are just too many. Please don't ask for a sheet from a particular
year. If there are different versions of the kit, that's fine, I'll try
to keep appropriate versions of the sheets. But if you have a 1970s kit,
I might just send a 1980s instruction sheet. It should be OK !
3. I will refund the postage costs for anybody
sending me instruction sheets. Please be generous, otherwise this scheme
will not work
4. This service will not normally extend to plastic bag Header Cards as
they are collectors items, and often do change hands for money
e-mail me at dbjames@attglobal.net
Airfix Instruction Sheets over
the decades
click here
 |
The reverse side from the "Lowmac and JCB"
kit instruction sheet. The kit was issued between 1963 and 1968 under Catalogue
number R204, and is now quite rare. I remember making this kit as a boy.
Ah, memories! |
Under Construction
Some time soon, I'll add some information
to this section on how the Airfix instruction sheet style evolved over
time.
In the meantime, try the Airfix Instruction
Sheet history and discussion document from Mike Dean on my Downloads
page.
Click here for one
of the nicest Airfix instruction booklets of all time ! (beware, large
image)
