Matt Black Day

The BBC reports that Humbrol has gone into administration. This is VERY bad news and not just because it means another delay to the promised Severn Lifeboat kit.

While the media have focused on the plight of Airfix – mostly by banging on about kids making Lancaster bombers – I suspect that another manufacturer will quickly snap up this part of the brand. Let’s face it, you don’t get a more iconic name in the world of plastic kits than Airfix. Everyone remembers having a go at something they produced at one time. Even the BBC 6 o’clock news managed to find itself with three presenters on screen at the same time (including the female lead – shock horror, girls can make plastic kits) after veering toward the anorak stereotype in the report.

My worry is Humbrol’s excellent range of paint. No-one makes better enamel colour. Revell’s is thin and watery. Other makes tend to lack pigment and come in annoying screw top jars that jam is you forget to wipe the lips before putting the cap back on. They also cost more and are harder to get your hands on.

This calls for panic buying and stockpiling of supplies. I want to give the market time to get the product back on the shelf without having to hunt for a different makers product. Tinlets will be laid down in the manner of fine wines immediately. One day we might be saying, “It’s a cheeky Midland Maroon. 2006 vintage – a very good year.”

All this is the fault of the French. When Heller, another Humbrol company, went bust it refused to hand back the moulds which caused cash flow problems for the parent group. I think that this alone should cause the government to explain to the French Ambassador why we are breaking of diplomatic relations. All French markets, bread and stripy T-shirts must be made illegal at once. Sinking a great British company (Humbrol is a contraction of the full company name Humber Oil) is about as close to an act of war as you get without actually shelling the white cliffs of Dover.