When I was asked, in 2003, if I would be interested in producing Box Art for Airfix I naturally jumped at the chance and agreed to an initial meeting with Trevor Snowden (Airfix' Research & Development Engineer) to discuss the basic requirements.Trevor is a grand chap and very persuasive so it was agreed that I would produce one piece of Artwork, initially, and we would take it from there.

Producing artwork to a set of "rules" is quite a different prospect than painting to please ones self. Proportions of the paintings vary considerably depending on the type of box that the kit will be packed in and, of course, there is always the added restriction that room has to be left for the Airfix logo and all the titling and descriptive text required on the box itself. Wherever possible the paintings are configured in such a way that neither of the above actually encroached on the actual subject of the painting. For those of you familiar with the changes to the style of box over the past few years it will be seen that as these changes occurred it was sometimes inevitable that this was not always the case.

Being very much the "new boy" it was, initially, very much a case of doing as I was asked based on the premise that the painting should simply reflect what was in the box. As you will see later on this was not always the case when we, Trevor and I, decided that it was appropriate to enhance the main subject and make more of a painting in terms of interest.

As a general rule, for each painting, I would make two or three pencil/charcoal studies and Trevor would then make his "executive" decision and say "that one". These are usually done A4 size, being suitably convenient for scanning and E-mailing. Some of the sketches made are shown along with some of the finished artworks and, where I still have them, the rejected option is also shown to illustrate the process. In many cases the subject is required to be shown in an historically correct context and a great part of the fun is in the research necessary although it can be so easy to get bogged down in small details.

Having agreed on the basic sketch I would then re-work the drawing to the actual painting size. Depending on the complexity of the subject this part of the process alone could take two to three days. The paintings are made in Gouache on high quality Illustration board which has an extremely smooth surface. This is absolutely essential for achieving the fine detail and tightness of line so often necessary. Producing artwork that is ultimately to be seen on a Global scale is invariably putting ones self in the "firing line" and, as with any other art form, open to criticism. In this respect, as with all the work I produce, I am always receptive to considered, constructive, comments. In the Gallery I have, where possible, tried to expand a little on each painting. However, in a number of instances, the title really has to suffice.

It would be remiss of me to conclude this brief insight into the "whys and wherefores" of producing Box Art for Airfix without expressing my grateful thanks to Humbrol/Airfix who retain the copyright to all these works. Also, my heartfelt thanks to Trevor Snowden whose depth of knowledge, guidance, and good humour has made this ongoing "adventure" a most rewarding experience.

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