Disclaimer: I am not a historian! And I don't have any money for research. The history of 'Model Aerodrome Ltd' is confusing and not neatly documented. Rather than providing only the meagre facts which are available, I have filled in the gaps with guesswork, so the piece below is best read as a story. I have indicated where I depart from evidenced fact with the magic words 'I guess' - perhaps some other researcher can add to the data and provide a more accurate picture?
The original Model Aerodrome Marinecraft boat kits are good illustrations of the technical change which swept through model boating shortly after WW2. In the 1930s model boats were frequently carved out of solid wood blocks - typically pine, or built using the'bread and butter' technique, while lightweight yacht hulls were planked upside down similar to full-scale practice. By the 1960s balsa and thin ply were readily available, and the ply framework structure was well-established.
Marinecraft products sit exactly in between these two technologies. They make extensive use of block balsa - the Galleon kits all feature sawn block blanks, the yacht kits use 1/2" balsa bread-and-butter construction, and the Silver Dawn/White Cloud designs use bulkheads made out of 1" square balsa, as well as bow and stern blocks and solid balsa roofs. Even the 'Miniature Power boat' range uses a block bow. There was a short-lived use of fibreglass hulls later, but most of the Marinecraft range is a snapshot of British marine modelling just before the 'glory years' of the 1960s.
1884 - The initial entrepreneur, John Belch Smyth born in Scotland.
1901 - Starts work as a shipping clerk.
1939 - working for Albion Motors in Birmingham as a depot manager.
1937 - started Model Aerodrome. It had two shops in Birmingham as well as the small factory unit in Stratford Road which pre-fabricated the kits.
1937-1947 - Shop sells model kits, material and own design kits and engines just before the war. Engine sales cease around 1955 (American competition?), but shops do well - Kits sell well during 1960s.
1947 - Expanded into Brighton and merged with 'Model Arcraft(Bournemouth) Ltd. Keeps 'Model Aerodrome' name. Owner (and his family) move to Brighton by 1952.
1954 - John Smyth dies, aged 70. Ownership of company passes to his (third) wife Lina who continues to run it.
1979 - Indication that his daughter Oban takes over the running of the Brighton shop.
1983 - The company (named Model Aerodrome Ltd) is dissolved.
1987 - Shops kept running until shop and name sold to entrepreneur David Mordecai. Lina woud have been 80 then.
1987-1999 - Shops kept running under 'Model Aerodrome' name - expanded into a succesful chain across the country.
Shops changed name in 1999 to ModelZone.
2013 - ModelZone fails - name sold to W.H.Smith for use in in-store branding.
