Shrewsbury

15th February 2010

James May Greets Visitors at RAF Cosford

Visitors to the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford will be in for an extra treat this half term when they are greeted by a life size model of James May from Top Gear. The model of James as a pilot is now on display in the Museum’s Visitor Centre with easy access for photos.

Viewers of the recent James May’s Toy Stories series shown on BBC2, will have seen May and his team of engineers, assisted by local school children from Thomas Telford School, construct a life-size Airfix model of a Spitfire over the course of three days. 

The construction work, which took place in the Museum’s Hangar 1, involved the positioning of wings, the propeller and of course painting the correct colour scheme.

The World’s first 1:1 scale Spitfire kit was on display at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford for a short period before returning to the makers, Gateguards, however the model of James May used as the replica pilot will remain on display at the Museum. 

General Manager Alex Medhurst said:

“It was amazing to be involved in the project to create a life size Air Fix model of a Spitfire.  The programme generated a lot of interest in the Museum and captured the imagination of both children and adults alike.”

James May’s Toy Stories is a series of six episodes which uses some of Britain’s best loved toys to capture the imagination of children today and show them alternatives to modern electronic toys.  Other episodes featured favourites such as Meccano and Lego and look at the history of the toys. 

The model of James May is now on display at the Museum and can be viewed by the public for a limited time only.  For More information, please call the Museum on 01902 376200 or visit: http://www.shropshiretourism.co.uk/attractiondetails.php?estid=737.  The Museum is open daily from 10am – 6pm (last admission 5pm), entry is FREE.