Maker record
Cox Models
Cox was an American maker of model engines and powered hobby models, including tethered cars, model aircraft, kits and slot cars. Its products were built around small internal-combustion engines, which the company sold both separately and in ready-to-fly models. Cox developed its own engines after first using engines made by other manufacturers. The brand’s range later extended beyond aircraft and cars to products such as model rockets and radios.
- Founded
- 1945
- Final year
- 1970
- Locations
- Santa Ana, California, USA
The story of Cox Models
Leroy “Roy” Cox began making wooden popguns in California during the 1940s. After the Second World War, Cox moved into model cars, first using engines made by other manufacturers and later producing its own. A 1996 account in Model Aviation dates the first Roy Cox-designed engine to 1949 and the first Cox-manufactured engines to a year or two later. The engines powered tethered racing cars and became the core of the company’s model business.
Cox extended its engine expertise to model aircraft, selling powered models as well as engines for builders. The range also included kits and slot cars; by the mid-1960s, the company was advertising both powered aircraft and racing cars. Roy Cox retired in 1969, after which the company diversified and changed ownership. The Brighton Toy and Model Index records it as part of Estes-Cox for a period. Cox’s model-engine name and designs continued beyond the original company: MECOA states that it acquired Cox Hobbies and its rights in 2019 and holds its engine, aircraft, car and boat tooling.