The former chief executive of Hornby has stood down with immediate effect, with a former director of FTSE 250 retailer Halfords and an entertainment industry expert joining the board of the model manufacturer.

Frank Martin, 61, had been deputy chairman of the company since April 2013, having served as chief executive since January 2001.

He leaves the board along with non-executive directors Nigel Carrington and Mark Rolfe, who will stand down at the end of the month.

Before joining Hornby, Mr Martin had been chief executive of Humbrol and managing director of Denby Pottery and group marketing director of Hasbro, the creators of the highly-successful Transformers franchise.

Incoming non-executive directors David Adams and Charlie Caminada will chair the Margate-based firms’ audit committee and remuneration committee respectively.

Mr Adams’ long career in the retail sector has seen him act as non-executive director of Halfords, chairman of Musto and non-executive chairman of Conviviality Retail and Park Cameras.

He was previously chairman of Snap Equity, the company that led the restructuring of Jessops. Prior to that, he was deputy chairman and group finance director of House of Fraser.

Mr Caminada has been chief operating officer of HIT Entertainment, which is now part of Mattel.

His most recent position was as founder and chief operating officer of Ludorum, a media investment company focused on managing the IP franchises for children’s entertainment brands, including Chuggington.

He led the company onto the AIM stock exchange in 2006.

Outgoing non-executive director Mr Carrington, 57, is a former corporate lawyer who was appointed in 2007 and is also vice-chancellor and chief executive of University of the Arts London.

Mr Rolfe, 54, took up his role at Hornby in 2008, having been finance director of Gallaher Group for seven years. He is also a non-executive director of Barratt Developments, Debenhams and chairman of Lane Clark & Peacock.

Hornby executive chairman Roger Canham said: “I am very pleased to welcome David and Charlie to the board.

“They both have a tremendous amount of highly-relevant experience.

“I am in no doubt that they will make a strong contribution to the group as we move forward.

“It is testament to the strength of the Hornby brands that we have attracted such high calibre talent.

“In the meantime, I would personally like to thank Mark, Nigel and Frank for all their years of support that they have given to the business.”