Welcome to Special Interest Model Books
Special Interest Model Books represents one of the
finest lists of model hobby books available in the English Language.
The publisher was born under the banner of
MAP (Model and Allied Publications) shortly
after World War II. Founded at Eaton Bray
in Bedfordshire, MAP published a range of
modelling magazines including Aeromodeller
and Model Maker and several supporting
books such as the Aeromodeller Annuals.
MAP acquired the long-established Percival
Marshal, publisher of Model Engineer
magazine and a range of allied books
(several of which are still in print) and
building on these solid foundations, started
to expand its book publishing programme,
branching into more areas of the model
hobby area as their magazine interests
expanded. |
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By the 1970’s a large spectrum of hobby
activities were reflected in the MAP list of
magazines including model engineering,
military modelling, car, aircraft and boat
modelling in addition to film, photographic
and
woodworking titles.
The small, independent MAP was bought
out by Argus Press in the mid-70’s and the
book publishing interests were hived off to
become a company in its own right - Argus
Books Ltd. The late 70’s and 80’s were good
years for Argus; the list based first at Golden
Square in London’s Soho and subsequently
in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
continued to expand, benefiting from the
parent company’s acquisition of the
The Amateur Winemaker magazine and associated
homebrew and winemaking
book titles. |
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When Argus Press decided that newspapers
rather than magazines were where its future
lay, the company was sold to the Nexus
Media group and for a brief period from
1995 to 2001, the books were published
in Swanley, Kent under the Nexus Special
Interests imprint. Nexus in turn made the
decision that book publishing lay outside
its core interests and in 2001 sold all of its
book publishing interests to newly formed
Special Interest Model Books Ltd.
Special Interest Model Books' sole interest is in book publishing with staff who have a long connection
with the model hobby areas of publishing. The company was founded in Poole, Dorset by Chris Lloyd, who had been
acting as the sales and marketing agent for Nexus books since 1993. |
