Nicholas Kove
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Kove was a Hungarian
-British
businessman best known for founding the Airfix
plastic toy company.
His birth name was Klein, but he changed this to Koves , and subsequently Kove. An energetic and resourceful man, he was a cavalry officer in Franz Josef's army in the First World War, was captured by the Russians, interned in a camp near the Korean border and escaped across Siberia with the help of Catholic priests. It took him four months to return home to Anarcs. (Constant Scale. No's 25, 29, 30.)
After the war he worked as an under minister in the Béla Kun
government, and then, fleeing fascism, emigrated to Algiers in 1922 with his wife Clothilde and baby daughter Margit. In 1934 the family moved to Barcelona where Kove started a plastics factory; at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in August 1936, they fled to Milan. There Kove patented a process for stiffening shirt collars, which he called "Interfix".
In the autumn of 1938, he moved his family from Milan to London
, where he established Airfix Products. He obtained the first available plastic injection moulding
machines, and for a while was the largest supplier of die-stamped metal belt buckles to the War Ministry and was also a major producer of comb
s in the UK. After an operation for cancer in 1950, he took on Ralph Ehrmann as assistant manager, who together with John Gray persuaded him to move into construction kits. Shortly after seeing Airfix
become a public company in 1957, Nicholas Kove died at his home at 252 Finchley Road, London, on 17 March 1958, three weeks after the death of his wife. Daughter Margaret Eliott inherited Kove's estate, became well known in casino and gaming circles and was a prolific society hostess in London and Palma, Mallorca and she eventually sold her majority shareholding in Airfix
for many millions, most of which she lost through investing in the infamous CADCO pig farm scam which also involved film star George Sanders
. Margaret Elliott died in July 2002. She is survived by a daughter Judy Boden,(dv. Julian Bray 1982) grand children Dominic Julian Bray (Surgeon) and Oliver William Bray (Businessman), and son Jo May-Prussak, an author and retired psychologist, also known as Peter May, an Actor.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
businessman best known for founding the Airfix
Airfix
Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....
plastic toy company.
His birth name was Klein, but he changed this to Koves , and subsequently Kove. An energetic and resourceful man, he was a cavalry officer in Franz Josef's army in the First World War, was captured by the Russians, interned in a camp near the Korean border and escaped across Siberia with the help of Catholic priests. It took him four months to return home to Anarcs. (Constant Scale. No's 25, 29, 30.)
After the war he worked as an under minister in the Béla Kun
Béla Kun
Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :...
government, and then, fleeing fascism, emigrated to Algiers in 1922 with his wife Clothilde and baby daughter Margit. In 1934 the family moved to Barcelona where Kove started a plastics factory; at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in August 1936, they fled to Milan. There Kove patented a process for stiffening shirt collars, which he called "Interfix".
In the autumn of 1938, he moved his family from Milan to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he established Airfix Products. He obtained the first available plastic injection moulding
Injection molding
Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
machines, and for a while was the largest supplier of die-stamped metal belt buckles to the War Ministry and was also a major producer of comb
Comb
A comb is a toothed device used in hair care for straightening and cleaning hair or other fibres. Combs are among the oldest tools found by archaeologists...
s in the UK. After an operation for cancer in 1950, he took on Ralph Ehrmann as assistant manager, who together with John Gray persuaded him to move into construction kits. Shortly after seeing Airfix
Airfix
Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....
become a public company in 1957, Nicholas Kove died at his home at 252 Finchley Road, London, on 17 March 1958, three weeks after the death of his wife. Daughter Margaret Eliott inherited Kove's estate, became well known in casino and gaming circles and was a prolific society hostess in London and Palma, Mallorca and she eventually sold her majority shareholding in Airfix
Airfix
Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....
for many millions, most of which she lost through investing in the infamous CADCO pig farm scam which also involved film star George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
. Margaret Elliott died in July 2002. She is survived by a daughter Judy Boden,(dv. Julian Bray 1982) grand children Dominic Julian Bray (Surgeon) and Oliver William Bray (Businessman), and son Jo May-Prussak, an author and retired psychologist, also known as Peter May, an Actor.
Sources
- Arthur Ward. Airfix - Celebrating 50 Years of the Greatest Plastic Kits in the World. Collins. 1999.
- Plastic Warrior - Airfix - The Early Days. 2004. The Birth of Airfix. Paul Reboul.
- The Register. Margaret Elliott. The Times. July 22, 2002.
- Early Days at Airfix. Constant Scale - The Journal of the Airfix Collectors Club. No. 25 - Vol 7. No. 1 - 2006.
- Early Days at Airfix. Update. Constant Scale. No. 29 - Vol 8 No 1 - 2007.
- Early Days at Airfix. Further Update. Constant Scale. No. 30 - Vol 8 No.2 - 2007.