Product type | Railway model kits |
---|---|
Owner | Hornby (2007–pres.) |
Introduced | 1959 |
Previous owners |
|
Rosebud Kitmaster is the brand name of a short-lived but critically acclaimed range of plastic assembly kits, manufactured in the United Kingdom by Rosebud Dolls Ltd of Raunds, Northamptonshire. Introduced from May 1959, the range rapidly expanded to include 34 models of railway locomotives and coaches in OO, HO and TT scales, and eventually, one motorcycle in 1:16 scale.
The assets of Rosebud Kitmaster were sold to Airfix Products Ltd in late 1962. [1] Nine locomotives and the motorcycle were later re-issued under the Airfix brand. Airfix Products Ltd collapsed in 1982. The Rosebud Kitmaster and Airfix railway & Trackside ranges were sold to David Boyle of Dapol Model Railways and the tools were transferred to their premises in Winsford, Cheshire (later in Llangollen, Clwyd and now Gledridd Industrial Estate in Shropshire. The residual tooling of the Airfix company was taken over by Humbrol in 1986, but the company went down in August 2006. [2] Hornby then acquired the Humbrol and Airfix brand names. Dapol Model Railways have subsequently re-introduced the Kitmaster name for their range of plastic construction kits and their "completely knocked down" range of coaches derived from Airfix and Mainline Railways tooling.
The range comprised mainly British railway rolling stock but there were a few kits of other subjects. The range consisted of 34 kits of individual locomotives or carriages, a model of the Ariel Arrow motorcycle, the "Fireball XL5" rocket, parts to motorise the railway kits (using a motorised box wagon supplied pre-built, or a motor bogie) and three railway presentation sets:
All of the moulds for the kits produced by Rosebud Dolls Ltd under the Kitmaster name were sold to Airfix Products Ltd in 1962, and later in 1982 all of the surviving tools were sold to Dapol Model Railways. However, not all of the kits were passed over and several were destroyed by General Mills / Palitoy at the Glenfield warehouse where they had been stored following the liquidation of Airfix Products Ltd that year. As such, some Kitmaster kits are extremely collectable and can be valuable to a dedicated collector. Prices of unmade kits for the rarer models, such as the 00 gauge LMS Beyer-Garratt locomotive, can reach as much as £100.
Before its demise, the company announced the introduction of a number of kits that never knowingly[ clarification needed ] entered production, including the LNER Flying Scotsman, Southern Railway Class USA Tank engine and Canadian National U-4A.
The OO/HO gauge models consisted of the following types; all OO scale unless shown as HO:
The TT gauge models were: -
The motorisation units were:
The final model released by Rosebud Kitmaster Ltd, in their packaging, was the motorcycle:
A subsequent model, manufactured by the Hermes Supply Company (a subsidiary of Airfix) was marketed as "your Kitmaster model" in 1963:
The Hermes Supply Co also supplied five kits from remaindered Kitmaster stock in plain packaging to fulfil a Nabisco promotion which ran on Shredded Wheat packets during early 1963. These were:
OO gauge or OO scale is the most popular standard gauge model railway standard in the United Kingdom, outside of which it is virtually unknown. OO gauge is one of several 4 mm-scale standards, and the only one to be marketed by major manufacturers. The OO track gauge of 16.5 mm corresponds to prototypical gauge of 4 ft 1+1⁄2 in, rather than 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge. However, since the 1960s, other gauges in the same scale have arisen—18.2 mm (EM) and 18.83 mm (Scalefour)—to reflect the desire of some modellers for greater scale accuracy.
Airfix is a British brand and former manufacturing company which produced injection-moulded plastic scale model kits. In the UK, the name 'Airfix' has become practically synonymous with plastic models of this type, often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer.
Hornby Railways is a British-owned model railways manufacturing company. Its roots date back to 1901 in Liverpool, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train. In 1964, Hornby and Meccano were bought by their competitor, Tri-ang, and sold when Tri-ang went into receivership. Hornby Railways became independent again in the 1980s, and became listed on the London Stock Exchange, but due to financial troubles reported in June 2017, became majority owned by British turnaround specialist Phoenix Asset Management.
The British Railways Standard Class 9F2-10-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed for British Railways by Robert Riddles. The Class 9F was the last in a series of standardised locomotive classes designed for British Railways during the 1950s, and was intended for use on fast, heavy freight trains over long distances. It was one of the most powerful steam locomotive types ever built for British Railways, and successfully performed its intended duties. The 9F class was given the nickname of 'Spaceship', due to its size and shape.
The Great Western Railway 3700 Class, or City Class, locomotives were a series of twenty 4-4-0 steam locomotives, designed for hauling express passenger trains.
English Electric DP1, commonly known as Deltic, is a prototype 3,300 hp (2,500 kW) demonstrator locomotive employing two Napier Deltic engines, built by English Electric in 1955.
The BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed by Robert Riddles for British Railways (BR). 115 locomotives were built to this standard.
Graham Farish is a company that produces large quantities of British outline model railway equipment in N gauge.
Dapol Ltd is a model railway manufacturer based in Chirk, Wales. The factory where some of the design and manufacturing take place is just over the border in England. The company is known for its model railway products in N gauge, OO gauge and O gauge.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in effect two classes.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Garratt was a class of Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2 steam locomotive designed for heavy freight. A total of 33 were built from 1927, making them the most numerous class of Garratt in Britain.
The SR V class, more commonly known as the Schools class, is a class of steam locomotive designed by Richard Maunsell for the Southern Railway. The class was a cut down version of his Lord Nelson class but also incorporated components from Urie and Maunsell's LSWR/SR King Arthur class. It was the last locomotive in Britain to be designed with a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement, and was the most powerful class of 4-4-0 ever produced in Europe. All 40 of the class were named after English public schools, and were designed to provide a powerful class of intermediate express passenger locomotive on semi-fast services for lines which could cope with high axle loads but some of which had short turntables.
The Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST is a class of steam locomotive designed by Hunslet Engine Company for shunting. The class became the standard British shunting locomotive during the Second World War, and production continued until 1964 at various locomotive manufacturers.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) J94 Class is a class of steam locomotive that was formed when 75 former "Austerity" 0-6-0STs were purchased by the LNER in 1946 from the War Department.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Fowler 3F0-6-0T is a class of steam locomotives, often known as Jinty. They represent the ultimate development of the Midland Railway's six-coupled tank engines. They could reach speeds of up to 60 mph (97 km/h).
The London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Fowler Class 4F is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive designed for medium freight work. They represent the ultimate development of Midland Railway's six coupled tender engines. Many trainspotters knew them as "Duck Sixes", a nickname derived from their wheel arrangement.
The GWR 6100 Class is a class of 2-6-2T side tank steam locomotives.
The L&YR Class 21 is a class of small 0-4-0ST steam locomotive built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway for shunting duties. They were nicknamed Pugs.
The history of British Rail's corporate liveries is quite complex. Although from the mid-1960s to the 1980s the organisation was associated with "Rail Blue", a number of other schemes were also used, especially when it was split into operating units or "sectors" in the mid-1980s.
The Great Central Railway (Nottingham) (formerly known as the Nottingham Heritage Railway) is a heritage railway located at the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre (NTHC), on the south side of the village of Ruddington, in Nottinghamshire. The route consists of almost 10 miles (16 km) of the former Great Central Main Line from Loughborough South Junction (with the Midland Main Line) to Fifty Steps Bridge and the site of Ruddington's former GCR station, plus a branch line from Fifty Steps Bridge to Ruddington Fields station which is located on a former Ministry of Defence site next to Rushcliffe Country Park.