Armax: the Journal of Contemporary Arms has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the reprinting of the original volumes of the journal. The project is looking to fund new full-colour editions of the original six volumes of the journal which will be remastered to a modern standard.

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Armax is the Cody Firearms Museum’s journal and a leading publication collecting advanced scholarship and research in the history of firearms. It was originally launched in 1987, helmed by the museum’s then-curator Herbert G. Houze. The original run of Armax comprised nine issues spread across six volumes, published from 1987 to 1996. The museum revived Armax in 2021 with the help of Nic Jenzen-Jones of ARES and Helios Publishing.

Top: the original print Bottom: the new reprint with enhanced imagery and layout

The reprint will include articles covering the inventory of the old Colt factory museum, the development of the M1 carbine, a history of Winchester Center Fire Automatic Rifles and the development of Winchester’s revolvers.

We spoke to Nic who explained why it’s important to reprint these earlier issues of the journal. “The first six volumes contained a lot of important original research. Today, these original issues are hard to find and sometimes expensive. We only know of a few complete sets that are available to researchers.”

Nic explained that the reprint won’t be identical to the original volumes, instead, the layout, illustrations, and design will be updated to make the legacy material more accessible to modern researchers and enthusiasts. Where possible brand-new full-colour photography replaces many legacy black-and-white images. “A new introduction places the original run of journals in their historical context, and editorial notes provide important details at key points in many articles.”

Left: the original print Right: the new reprint with enhanced imagery and layout

The Kickstarter campaign launched on 22 May and has a variety of tiers available ranging from $98 gets you two hardcover volumes to $220 is essentially the ‘standard’ edition, providing the nine original issues formatted in the same manner as the current run of Armax printed on ultra-premium paper. Also available are collector’s editions, collectors bundles and a premium leather slipcase-bound edition. There’s a video up on the Kickstarter page which explains the project and the tiers really clearly.

Find out more here.