wonwinglo
SMF Supporter
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 6,754
- Points
- 113
- First Name
- Barry
Now that the Marfleet,Hull premises are but a memory, and where the once giant empire of the combined Humbrol/Airfix empire grew steadily,and has recently been the victim of international take over and re-structuring,it is perhaps the right time to look into the detailed history of this company,that produced literally millions of tinlets of enamel paint over the past 55 years.
The story starts way back in 1919 when a young man in Hull,started in a small back room making a unique brand of cycle oil in tiny tins,by the nineteen thirties he had progressed to manufacturing paint including a high quality cellulose aimed at the home handyman and again packed in small manageable tins.
This young mans name was Mr.D.S.Barton who after only a few years in business became the managing director of the flourishing Humber Oil company and by then manufacturing and distributing paint and oil by the hundred thousand million.
During 1941 German bombers reduced the huge factory premises to a smouldering ruin with furious flames filling the skies of Hull from the intense heat of the burning quantities of paint and oil,without hesitation the company set up in temporary nissan hut premises until 1947 when a brand new factory complex occupying some two and a half acres of valuable land was completed,this new factory was in fact the first one built after the war ended,in need of help he was at this stage joined by his son Gerald who was in fact a very keen aeromodeller.
At this stage the company chemists produced a formulae for a unique fast setting balsa cement,at first this was used by the family friends to build their modelks but soon demand dictated that it was produced in huge quantities for sale throughout the world,the formulae only changed for a brief period when mustard was added during the problems with glue sniffing in the sixties,after complaints from model builders everywhere the original formulae was quickly re-instated.The cement bore the trade name 'Britfix' which was itself to become an household name,by 1948 400 gross tubes were produced reaching four million tubes by 1955 and until the advent of PVA adhesives the quantity continued to rise.
Modern automated machinery was installed to yet again increase production to meet the demands,the material was produced in collosal vats which spin around and then are used to fill metal based flexible tubes which must be made airtight to protect the valuable contents.
In fact Britfix was the only cement that did not harden in equatorial conditions like many similar products.
Along with this famous product came a demand for a cement remover ! to this end Humbrol chemists formulated a product called Britfix solvent remover which saved many a young lads trousers after he had wiped the glue over them too busy doing his model building ! During the sixties many other allied products were added to the by now vast range of products,dopes,thinners,fuels in cans,banana oil,sanding sealer and the ever famous tilets of paint produced in ever increasing colours.Some 50 to 60 pigments are used in the manufacture of coloured paints and dopes all produced to exacting standards in terms of finish and shades,the colours are ground finely on site and samples tested in the laboratory to maintain the high standards.The refining mills grind the pigment under a pressure of 500 lbs per square inch in order to produce the very fine film required and also for use in air brushes,this refined paste is then passed to another large vat and thinned to the desired consistency,this is then transferred to large tanks which are fed by gravity,complex machines can switch from one colour to another as required.These are then fed onto a platform which would lift and open an electric circuit,permitting the paint to feed,when the contents reach a particular point the scales detect this and the platform falls and cuts the circuit.
The tins which were made on site in fact cost more than the paint contents itself,all litho printing and labelling is done in house.
Sadly another large fire gutted the factory during the late nineties when an electric switch ignited cellulose dope sadly also with the loss of one life and gutted the factory once more in its history,it took years to get back into full production with enamel paint becoming very scarce at one period,the Airfix empire was purchased and together with the French Heller company the two giants worked hand in hand to produce a huge variety of kits and specialist authentic colours lasting many years.
The once busy production lines at the Marfleet,Hull premises are now silent and the only remains of the company in the UK is a sales portakabin on the site,what was once a huge empire that revolved around the demands of the model builder has now uprooted and moved abroad to different manufacturing complexes,with the advent of many different kit manufacturers,and also material suppliers the once unique market held by Humbrol has declined,however the plans for the future production hold exciting projects ahead including the much awaited TSR.2 kit due for release this year 2005,paint production has now resumed following a few problems and in full swing.
We wish this truly historic company that has proved so valuble to the model maker over the years all the best for the future ! Humbrol in my eyes will always be a truly British company that due to the present economy has extended its production elsewhere.
The story starts way back in 1919 when a young man in Hull,started in a small back room making a unique brand of cycle oil in tiny tins,by the nineteen thirties he had progressed to manufacturing paint including a high quality cellulose aimed at the home handyman and again packed in small manageable tins.
This young mans name was Mr.D.S.Barton who after only a few years in business became the managing director of the flourishing Humber Oil company and by then manufacturing and distributing paint and oil by the hundred thousand million.
During 1941 German bombers reduced the huge factory premises to a smouldering ruin with furious flames filling the skies of Hull from the intense heat of the burning quantities of paint and oil,without hesitation the company set up in temporary nissan hut premises until 1947 when a brand new factory complex occupying some two and a half acres of valuable land was completed,this new factory was in fact the first one built after the war ended,in need of help he was at this stage joined by his son Gerald who was in fact a very keen aeromodeller.
At this stage the company chemists produced a formulae for a unique fast setting balsa cement,at first this was used by the family friends to build their modelks but soon demand dictated that it was produced in huge quantities for sale throughout the world,the formulae only changed for a brief period when mustard was added during the problems with glue sniffing in the sixties,after complaints from model builders everywhere the original formulae was quickly re-instated.The cement bore the trade name 'Britfix' which was itself to become an household name,by 1948 400 gross tubes were produced reaching four million tubes by 1955 and until the advent of PVA adhesives the quantity continued to rise.
Modern automated machinery was installed to yet again increase production to meet the demands,the material was produced in collosal vats which spin around and then are used to fill metal based flexible tubes which must be made airtight to protect the valuable contents.
In fact Britfix was the only cement that did not harden in equatorial conditions like many similar products.
Along with this famous product came a demand for a cement remover ! to this end Humbrol chemists formulated a product called Britfix solvent remover which saved many a young lads trousers after he had wiped the glue over them too busy doing his model building ! During the sixties many other allied products were added to the by now vast range of products,dopes,thinners,fuels in cans,banana oil,sanding sealer and the ever famous tilets of paint produced in ever increasing colours.Some 50 to 60 pigments are used in the manufacture of coloured paints and dopes all produced to exacting standards in terms of finish and shades,the colours are ground finely on site and samples tested in the laboratory to maintain the high standards.The refining mills grind the pigment under a pressure of 500 lbs per square inch in order to produce the very fine film required and also for use in air brushes,this refined paste is then passed to another large vat and thinned to the desired consistency,this is then transferred to large tanks which are fed by gravity,complex machines can switch from one colour to another as required.These are then fed onto a platform which would lift and open an electric circuit,permitting the paint to feed,when the contents reach a particular point the scales detect this and the platform falls and cuts the circuit.
The tins which were made on site in fact cost more than the paint contents itself,all litho printing and labelling is done in house.
Sadly another large fire gutted the factory during the late nineties when an electric switch ignited cellulose dope sadly also with the loss of one life and gutted the factory once more in its history,it took years to get back into full production with enamel paint becoming very scarce at one period,the Airfix empire was purchased and together with the French Heller company the two giants worked hand in hand to produce a huge variety of kits and specialist authentic colours lasting many years.
The once busy production lines at the Marfleet,Hull premises are now silent and the only remains of the company in the UK is a sales portakabin on the site,what was once a huge empire that revolved around the demands of the model builder has now uprooted and moved abroad to different manufacturing complexes,with the advent of many different kit manufacturers,and also material suppliers the once unique market held by Humbrol has declined,however the plans for the future production hold exciting projects ahead including the much awaited TSR.2 kit due for release this year 2005,paint production has now resumed following a few problems and in full swing.
We wish this truly historic company that has proved so valuble to the model maker over the years all the best for the future ! Humbrol in my eyes will always be a truly British company that due to the present economy has extended its production elsewhere.