Another excellent history from Mike. This really strikes a chord! When I was seven years old, In early 1961, I had been begging my parents to buy me a plastic model kit for several months. I even knew what I wanted: An F86 Sabre. We didn’t have a toy store or a hobby store in our small town and my parents were noncommittal about shopping for a model even though I reminded them that there were a few model kits at the local dime store and the small drugstore. Well, one day I came downstairs and there was a box in wrapping paper and it wasn’t even my birthday. I tore off the wrapping paper and there was a plastic model kit but it certainly wasn’t a Sabre. No, it was a Revell Snark missile. I loved the box art and I loved the bright red color but I was disappointed to see that there was no pilot as this wasn’t a jet fighter but rather a cruise missile. Still, it was a model kit. My dad helped me put it together with the tube of glue he had also thoughtfully purchased. As I recall. It was the only model kit my folks ever purchased for me. From then on, I bought my own models, searching high and low at the little dime store and drugstore for what was available. I used my allowance money which I start to receive shortly after my first model episode or should I say “incident”. 😉
Your story sounds like most of the generations between the 60's to the 80's. Certainly does with me. Still attacking the plastic since my first kit some time around 1970. Got to meet some great folks, travelled to some astounding places, seen loads of History, helped preserved some of that history by working on museum aircraft too. Worked as an aircraft mechanic as well. Now working in the model Industry. Also created the "Unofficial Airfix Modellers forum' that has over 2000 members. That first kit (a Revell Hurricane) has made my life what it has been. A damn good one. Incidentally I picked up a second hand kit of the Snark a couple of years ago that I am restoring. And I have one of those original Revell Hurricane kits to build for nostalgia too All the best Greg W
@@crazybrit-nasafan Great to hear you are working in the model industry. I suspect building models has had a more significant impact on our lives than folks, who have not loved a hobby, would or could imagine. I have some happy memories building a few Airfix kits over the years. This past decade I’ve been a frequent buyer of products from Airfix’s corporate sibling, Scalextric. Cheers. 👍
A friend of mine, a commercial artist, back in the 1960's made what he called a "20th Century Chess Set" from a lot of missile kits. He used different sized missiles to represent the king, queen, and bishops. He was careful to have one side all U.S., and the other side all Soviet. He said it took him a long time to find everything he needed in the right sizes. The knights were a small mobile missile truck with one missile on top. Castles were tanks. The pawns were each a small round plastic base he made upon which was one standing and one kneeling rifleman figure (maybe an inch tall). He felt that was apt for "pawns". He painted the pieces in a stylized way, not prototypical. All U.S. ones were two shades of a soft blue color blue. All Soviet ones were two shades of sort of crimson/salmon color (hard to describe). The chess board was two back to back maps of the United States with the colors for the squares on the two sides similar to the pieces. "Neutral" countries Canada and Mexico that partially showed were in two shades of grey. I can't remember how he handled the oceans. Yes, the board art was not U.S. and USSR, but he did used the U.S. twice for symmetry and because the length/width ratio worked well for half a chess board. At any rate, when the pieces were all set up ready for play, the tallest missiles maybe ten inches tall or so, it was an imposing looking chess set.
The one I always hoped to find and never did was the AGM- 28 Hound Dog. Yeah, Vista Del Mar AKA the Playa Del Rey Municipal Drag Strip way back in time.
I confess with me the priority as a kid was WW2 aircraft, jets, tanks, research aircraft, ships, unmanned aircraft and rockets. It was more than education, it was recruitment (they got me 😁). A friend of mine was on the design team for the SNARK.
I loved building those missiles! For my 13th birthday, my uncle gave me an Estes rocket kit for a present and I was in love with flying rockets for years!
The Nike missile systems were such a big part of our defense during the Cold War until their decommissioning. The Soviet Bomber threat was a very very real possibility, our defense was built to combat it until the day of ICBMs changed the game...crazy time realky
Terrific video regarding the early American missile and cruise missile kits from the late 1950's and early 60's as well as the history of the Nike missile! Here in and around Chicago we had about 11 or 12 U.S. Army Nike missile sites defending the metropolitan area from approaching Soviet bombers (Illinois ANG North American F-86L's based at the military section of O'Hare Field use to provide cover as well into the early 60s). These sites include the suburbs of Palatine, Arlington Heights, Addison not to mention the two Nike bases along Chicago's lakefront. Little if any remains today of these facilities. Addison may still have some type of radar platform remaining in a city park that's appropriately named, "Nike Park."
Thank you so much for this one. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs. So, we got Nikes once in a while..just raised on a launcher..lol Also, B58s would crack someone's window now and then. I humbly suggest the old Revell Jupiter C kit..with gantry. That had some lovely, almost haunting box art. It's been a good day, a new post from Mike and i found a model part that i thought the carpet monster had eaten!...
back in 58, 59? my parents had just got OUT of the tavern business in Milwaukee, they had purchased a house and were supporting 2 sons, (me and Paul,) and my grand father and his sister my great aunt....at Christmas time the guy they rented the tavern to, had stopped paying rent, Dad had just switched jobs and money was VERY TIGHT, EXTREMELY TIGHT.... that Christmas all dad and mom could afford for me were a few models, including THE SNARK......I still can remember and picture in my mind Dad building that model with me....at the time, as a kid, I was thrilled with what I got....only later in life did my parents tell how embarrassed and bad they felt that all they could afford at that hard time were a few models......they both, in later life, so repaid us at Christmas time with (totally unneeded) better gifts.... thanks for the memories....btw, one of those models we built, was an x plane "the stilletto" which when I ran into it .at the USAF museum in Dayton... brought memory tears to my eyes.....
Wonderful story David - thanks for sharing! Having lost my Dad early, things were tough for our family, and similar to your story, the model that stands out in my memory as such a special and wonderful experience is the Revell Regulus II missile. Just seeing that box art today brings back all those memories. Thanks again and all the best, Mike
As said before, this was definitely a ride in the Way-Back machine. Great video, and man, did you stir up some old memories. Not only of buying and building these kits, but as a kid in Peoria, IL. There was an actual Snark Missile on display in the parking lot of Sheridan Village shopping center. You could walk up to it and actually touch it. Of course, I had to get to the local hobby shop and pick up my kit of it. Thanks again Mike, I am really liking your videos. Thank Max (Max's Models) for leading me to your channel.
I built the Snark, Bomarc and Hawk kits. Still thought manned aircraft more interesting especially since I Love Round Engines(WWII aircraft were my interest since my father flew B-24s in the war). But I still was fascinated by all things Space, so I built me some rockets. And flew a few too. Great video, Mike. I learned a lot of what I'm sure I knew back when I was 10 but have forgotten(that was 59 years ago). All I did when I watched this was nod my head, and say, "ya...that's right!"
The way you combine aviation art, historical information, personal observations, memories and plastic scale model kits is pure magic. Thank you Mike! Around 1960, my uncle gave me a Thor ICBM launcher model kit. I do not recall the model manufacturer. The model had an electric motor which pulled back the hangar and the missile on its launcher would elevate. I believe the missile actually was spring launched. I was very impressed with this Christmas present and wish it had survived my childhood.
I think the Snark kit is currently being produced by Lindberg. I see it for sale at Ollie's everytime I go there, and so tempted to buy one, despite not having built a kit in twenty years.
I just recently bought that kit. I didn't realize it was so big in 1/48 scale. I haven't decided on the paint job; The red ones were the test vehicles, the operational were light gray. There is on like that on display at the USAF Museum in Ohio.
Mike...many thanks for this great presentation as you came upon my kit-collecting focus...the vintage plastic model missiles of the 1950’s. Over the years, I acquired virtually all of the produced plastic missile kits, even lucky enough to find the very rare Monogram Rascal, Comet Atlas, Aurora Regulus with launcher, Revell X-17, etc. The kits became rare for collecting because as you mentioned, missiles and rockets were all the rage for a few years, then seemed to lose their appeal, and sales, so the kits were rarely reissued.
Well done, thanks for the missile memories...I had almost all of these kits when I was pup. I remember I saw a Nike Ajax displayed at the old Fort Totten in Queens, the missile base pads are still there today and for a time in the 60s to 70s an upper stage of the Ajax was displayed as a gate guardian.
"Missile models" were very hot in the 1950s because New York City and Paris dress designers used very pointy "missile cone" bra styles on their fashion models that would light most men's rockets. Three, two, one, and we have LIFT OFF, all systems GO! KA-BOOM!
Mike... Great video. When I was kid modeling was my thing and still is. Every kit you have described at one time or another I have built. The average price back then was just a little above or below a dollar and for a 12 year old kid like me might as well cost a fortune. However my father was a great dad and once a month we would go to the stationary store where they had a little selection of model kits and he would let me pick one. Great day's and memories. Thanks for the ride back without the delorian..;) John....
Great video. One correction @2:02: The Snark was powered by a J-57 engine just like an F-100 or F-102, not a J-75 like an F-105 or F-106. Another correction @11:54: The Revell Honest John and Adams Honest John were not the same model. Revell's was 1/48 scale and Adams' was larger at 1/40 scale. Not to mention the Adams kit came with the launcher while the Revell kit came with crates to display the disassembled missile being transported on a flatbed truck. The only thing the two kits had in common was the name "Honest John" on the box.
SF-88 is a Nike missile base located in the Golden Gate Recreational Area near the north end of the bridge and southwest of Sausalito. Much of it has been fully restored and during the tour they actually bring a Hercules missile up from the underground magazine and elevate it to firing position. Most of the restoration work was done by veterans who actually worked at the base back in the day. There are probably covid restrictions curently in place, and it was only open on Saturdays during normal times, but well worth a visit if you are in the area.
I believe the missile lift at SF-88 was used in the "Summit Meeting Part-2" episode of the ABC-TV series "The Invaders". It was temporarily redressed to depict the entrance into the secret EURAC facility.
Love the rocket/missile kits from the 1950s. I've built the Corporal missile by Renwal. I have the Nike, Lacrosse, and Mace with Terracruser. Fun stuff from the early days of modeling. Bill
Love the video. I built a few of those over the years. Monogram Missile Arsenal my favorite build of them all. The Atlantis company will be reissuing the Nike kit this year. Hopefully sales go well and they release other missile models.
I built that back in the '70s. I replaced the plastic base with a big chunk of redwood with about 10 coats of varnish and put all the missiles' names on it with Chartpack rub on lettering in white. I had to go to an actual LIBRARY to find pictures for reference! It looked pretty good, all I have left is a photograph of it and a couple of the small missiles like the Sidewinder and Dart which I scratch built copies of for the display to get them closer to scale. The display itself was lost in the mail when I shipped a bunch of boxes when I moved. I'm glad I still have the photo, though.
Wow once again great job, thanks for all the info. I remember the missile launch site south of Shreveport Louisiana -called Stonewall Missile Launch site.
The Cruise Missile book is fantastic. Great photo's and great information. It isn't just historical missiles from the cold war era. There is a lot of great info (and photo's) of the current variants, the Tomahawk and the ALCM and the JSM. Great photo's. I used it as reference material to build and paint the re-issued Revell Snark kit. Re the Nike bases. NY-03/04 was about 4.5 miles away from where I grew up in Rockland County. The radar control was visible for miles sitting on top of "Mt Nebo", a ridge on the Pallisades sill overlooking the Hudson. We always assumed the missile pits were up there too. Nope. They were in/on an Army National guard base down in the valley behind "Mt. Nebo" off of Route 303 behind a stand of trees. About a quarter mile off the road! The base covered the pits with asphalt and now use it for storage/parking.
Lovin' my Snark, 1/40th Nike Hercules, Atlas Mercury (Revell), Saturn Vs (various scales) 1/12th V-2 (with interior). Airfix R-7/Vostok/Soyuz, Monogram's missile arsenal, Glencoe Explorer 1 and Explorer 1 + booster, Titan-Dyna-Soar, Revell Hawk, Airfix Bristol Bloodhound, Honest John, I think I must have a missile-kit addiction. Thanks for the reminder! 1:00 Revell's Corporal, Nike, Redstone (woops, forgot those)
Another fantastic missile and kit overview by Mike Machat. I can’t wait for another one covering the remaining missiles and rockets. Just on small correction: The Martin missile photo has Matador written on the fuselage, but it is really a Mace. The following kit is correct. Matador came first and had a smaller and more pointed warhead. It was replaced by Mace, with a blunt and larger warhead. They were developed from a preliminary German WWII design.
Yes, that is correct. Not quite sure why the Mace in the Martin Company photo had the name "Matador" written on it other than for security purposes back then. Good catch!
There was also the hobby of Rocketry in the 1960's with the rockets and launching supplies located in most of the same shops that sold the models, my buddy was into that hobby, we would build and launch real rockets that resembled machines built by NASA. The small solid fuel rocket engines that you purchased for your rockets, always had a small explosion that came out of the top of the engine when its burn was done, to push out a parachute, so you could watch your rocket float to the ground, recovery was always a fun part of the hobby.
There are two versions of the Corporal missile kit, one with the transporter/erector built by LeTourneau and one without, both have the launcher and guidance radar set and figures. I'm working on one of each right now. I'm going to put a white, test painted missile on the launcher and a O.D. green tactical painted missile on the transporter and display them together. There's actually quite a few parts in the launcher and the transporter, while simple, still has a lot to it. I've also got the Mace, LaCrosse and Snark on display and several more missiles in the stash.
Very interesting, Mike! I guess aircraft will always be more tangible to most especially when you think about how many kids got to see a real live missile back in the day. There were 30 Nike Ajax that were located at Grosse Ile, MI just across the Detroit River from where I live (on the Canadian side). I read they were active from 1955 to 1963 and would have been about 2 miles dead west from our local Walmart! Cool stuff!
I built a 1990's reissue of the Revell Lacrosse Missile with mobile launcher a surface to surface missile. I highly recommend this kit if you find it. That army style truck is superb.
In October 1962 I lived just 17 miles west of New York City. I was 11 years old, sitting on our living room floor, building a detailed model of an Atlas ICBM and its launch apparatus, when the breaking news of the Cuban missile crisis came on the TV. I never completed that model. In August of 1966 we moved to within about 7 miles of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Talk about going from "Ground Zero East" to "Ground Zero West" ! Thanks be to God, I am still alive and living at "Ground Zero West"
Those missile kits were before my time but I built and collected many space kits: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo Saturn, Shuttle, and Star Trek. Still have most of them! One that stands out is the AMT 1/200 manned rockets of the 60s.
Gosh I had those all over my room. Snark, Nike Hercules, Atlas, Bomarc. My favorite was the Monogram missile arsenal that had 31 from Genie (or was it Falcon?) up through Atlas mounted on a little stand. It came with a booklet with pictures and an article about each one.
The launching of Sputnik in 1957 got just about EVERYBODY'S attention in a big way. I think companies like Revell should have maybe sent a thank you letter to Nikita Khrushchev. But I think rockets and missiles already had some popularity. I served on the USS Norton Sound and was amused to find out that Revell made a kit for it in 1956 and no doubt because it had been reclassified as a "Guided Missile Ship" from its original classification as a seaplane tender. Of course, the box art shows a missile being launched from the fantail.
Mike, great video, thanks for posting. Growing up and building models in the 50's and 60's the only models that interested me were cars and the desire get a real one !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Mike. At 7:00 is that P.V. hill looking to San Pedro. I think that's the place we, "as kids," would sneak into after all the missiles and support items were removed. I never realized how great the box art was till I started watching your videos. Were the Playa Del Rey
Excellent video Mike. I remember building most of those kits. Almost everything I built in the late 50s to late 60s were military of some sort. It was n ice seeing all those gorgeous box covers again. Thanks for posting.
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 It most certainly was. Military models of all genres. Then Aurora came out with their monsters, the Japanese with all the science fiction stuff, then all the companies expanded their lines with kits of all types. Still the mid 50s to mid 70s seemed the best.
I had a model that was a 9inch x 4 inch blue plastic deck with 30 rockets on it, tiny sidewinders in front, ICBM's, Atlas, Nike, Posidon, Bomarc toward the rear rows. . . .all varying sizes . . .I only have a little 2 inch Honest John left. . some 50 years later.
Thanks for making this. The only Nike-Hercules I've ever seen was on display in Japan at the Air Self-Defense Force museum at Hamamatsu. Never seen one in American markings!
Got a bit of a laugh out of the Aerobee Hi because of who made it. A subsiduary of a long-ago former employer of mine. Do the phrases "Boss Angeles" or "Boss Radio" ring any bells? Yeah... I worked for them for a couple of years on my way up the ladder. BTW, my grandfather only built one rocket model. A Saturn V in the summer of 1969. His life spanned from the Wrights at Kitty Hawk to Moon landings, Jumbo Jets and the Concorde.
I was a bit disappointed that you didn't show the wonderful Atlas missile on its launch stand (I suppose by Revell, but it was a long time ago!). The launch stand dwarfed the missile itself, and you can see why the military went for solid rocket ICBMs as quickly as they could.
When I worked at Thiokol-Huntsville about 1990, Orbital Sciences said they found a whole warehouse of Bomarc solid rocket Boosters, and asked us if we thought they were usable. I pulled the drawings, and yep they said Boeing 1957. OS went to look at them, and reported that they were not usable, old propellant types from the 50s was not stable.
Hi Mike, another great video. Look forward to this every week. I must point out that, according to Bill Yenne, the Snark was powered by a J-57, not a J-75.
Good catch. I read the paragraph on page 82 that said "Early N-69 models.....but later variants were equipped with ...J75 engines." He was talking about the N-69 proposal, not SM-62.
Great video, I watched it when it first came out, and ordered the Yenne book. I still have not had it explained how missiles like the Snark and Regulus can fly without a tail plane?
I built a lot of WWII aircraft in the early 60s. I did start building rockets after the space program took off. I think the first was a Vanguard. After that all of the rockets that launched Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I was definitely a space cadet. LoL.
I bought (to my parents chagrin) and built almost all the winged missiles you showed. My standing gift request for Christmas and B-day were models. I also said rather than you (them) pick out what they thought I wanted; take me with you (forget the surprise) and let me get the "right one". I always saved the box top art 'cause I thought it was so neat. Thanks for the trip down the lane. Most of them are gone now. Do you know what a cherry bomb does to a SNARK. I liked and subbed. P.S. I preferred the Ajax to the Hercules 'cause the Nike site was about 3 miles from my house and I used to go there on my bike to see the alert preparation exercises.
Maybe Mr. Machat can explain to us why not a few of aircraft and missile kit paintings of the fifties had yellow and red skies. They sure had visual impact, but were utterly unreal. To me a blue sky would be much better, factualy and visualy.
Thanks for the comment, and yes, there were definite reasons those colors were used. This video explains why in great detail: ua-cam.com/video/0sHWWKM6v6A/v-deo.html
My late pop served on the gray back when she was a missile boat. He made several deterrent patrols with the reg one. But he also was on board when the testing of the wreck to happened is that was the only submarine to launch them.
I was surprised to learn that the Nike Hercules had a nuclear capability. I remember as a kid reading about a third version, the Nike Zeus, that was supposed to have a nuclear warhead, but I don't know if they were ever actually deployed.
When I was in the Navy, I had an MTC (Missile Technician Chief) who started out on the Regulus missile. I one asked him what was his memories of that system. He said, "Everytime we launched one, we had to repaint the sail of the submarine."
Mike, I thought the name Snark came from the whimsical poem "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll from 1885. While the poem states that a Snark can be a Boojum, the Northrop Snark is certainly not a Northrop Boojum. Either way, I should have bought that "Snark Attack" bumper sticker when I saw it.
The answer to this one is "all the above" Vik, as it was indeed the poem's "Snark" that came from the snake-shark contraction. After many of the early test missiles crashed well short of their targets in the South Atlantic, that p[art of the ocean came to be known as "Snark-infested waters!"
Actually, there very nearly was. The Snark was a long range subsonic/transonic (Sorry Mike), and the supersonic follow-on was going to be the Northrop Boojum. If I remember correctly, the Boojum lost out to the North American Navaho, which in turn lost out to the brand new (then) Atlas and Titan ICBMs.
Great question Luke, and it was the onboard Mark I day/night celestial and inertial-navigation guidance system that controiled the missile's line-of-flight to the target. Pretty advanced stuff for 1955! Test flights of up to 5,350 miles were made, but were not that accurate hitting specific targets within the design goal of 8,000-ft. Program was cancelled in 1960 in favor of larger, more powerful, and more accurate liquid-fueled Atlas and Titan ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles). Great seeing you and John today!
My guess with the box art at 12:30 is the one guy is broasting away in his asbestos fire-suit, cussing the technician while waiting for him to finish making some last-minute repair and get out of there so he can fuel the missile up. Typical military SNAFU
Another excellent history from Mike. This really strikes a chord! When I was seven years old, In early 1961, I had been begging my parents to buy me a plastic model kit for several months. I even knew what I wanted: An F86 Sabre. We didn’t have a toy store or a hobby store in our small town and my parents were noncommittal about shopping for a model even though I reminded them that there were a few model kits at the local dime store and the small drugstore. Well, one day I came downstairs and there was a box in wrapping paper and it wasn’t even my birthday. I tore off the wrapping paper and there was a plastic model kit but it certainly wasn’t a Sabre. No, it was a Revell Snark missile. I loved the box art and I loved the bright red color but I was disappointed to see that there was no pilot as this wasn’t a jet fighter but rather a cruise missile. Still, it was a model kit. My dad helped me put it together with the tube of glue he had also thoughtfully purchased. As I recall. It was the only model kit my folks ever purchased for me. From then on, I bought my own models, searching high and low at the little dime store and drugstore for what was available. I used my allowance money which I start to receive shortly after my first model episode or should I say “incident”. 😉
Terrific story Mark, thanks!
Your story sounds like most of the generations between the 60's to the 80's. Certainly does with me. Still attacking the plastic since my first kit some time around 1970. Got to meet some great folks, travelled to some astounding places, seen loads of History, helped preserved some of that history by working on museum aircraft too. Worked as an aircraft mechanic as well. Now working in the model Industry. Also created the "Unofficial Airfix Modellers forum' that has over 2000 members. That first kit (a Revell Hurricane) has made my life what it has been. A damn good one.
Incidentally I picked up a second hand kit of the Snark a couple of years ago that I am restoring. And I have one of those original Revell Hurricane kits to build for nostalgia too
All the best
Greg W
@@crazybrit-nasafan Great to hear you are working in the model industry. I suspect building models has had a more significant impact on our lives than folks, who have not loved a hobby, would or could imagine. I have some happy memories building a few Airfix kits over the years. This past decade I’ve been a frequent buyer of products from Airfix’s corporate sibling, Scalextric.
Cheers. 👍
I remember getting models at Sears, then later at hobby stores
A friend of mine, a commercial artist, back in the 1960's made what he called a "20th Century Chess Set" from a lot of missile kits. He used different sized missiles to represent the king, queen, and bishops. He was careful to have one side all U.S., and the other side all Soviet. He said it took him a long time to find everything he needed in the right sizes. The knights were a small mobile missile truck with one missile on top. Castles were tanks. The pawns were each a small round plastic base he made upon which was one standing and one kneeling rifleman figure (maybe an inch tall). He felt that was apt for "pawns". He painted the pieces in a stylized way, not prototypical. All U.S. ones were two shades of a soft blue color blue. All Soviet ones were two shades of sort of crimson/salmon color (hard to describe). The chess board was two back to back maps of the United States with the colors for the squares on the two sides similar to the pieces. "Neutral" countries Canada and Mexico that partially showed were in two shades of grey. I can't remember how he handled the oceans. Yes, the board art was not U.S. and USSR, but he did used the U.S. twice for symmetry and because the length/width ratio worked well for half a chess board. At any rate, when the pieces were all set up ready for play, the tallest missiles maybe ten inches tall or so, it was an imposing looking chess set.
With apologies for this belated reply, many thanks for a wonderful story!
I absolutely loved the BOMARC, my favorite of all the missle kits!
Brought me back to a summer in the late 60's. I built a lot of the missiles that you covered. Thanks. Boy weren't we geeky kids.
Yes, and 'loved every minute of it, thanks!
Mike, thanks for the ride on the way-back machine once again.
The one I always hoped to find and never did was the AGM- 28 Hound Dog.
Yeah, Vista Del Mar AKA the Playa Del Rey Municipal Drag Strip way back in time.
I confess with me the priority as a kid was WW2 aircraft, jets, tanks, research aircraft, ships, unmanned aircraft and rockets. It was more than education, it was recruitment (they got me 😁). A friend of mine was on the design team for the SNARK.
Recruited for a war you were too late for. Kinda lucky really.
I loved building those missiles! For my 13th birthday, my uncle gave me an Estes rocket kit for a present and I was in love with flying rockets for years!
I built a Vanguard in about 1964... one of the first plastic kits I built.
The Nike missile systems were such a big part of our defense during the Cold War until their decommissioning.
The Soviet Bomber threat was a very very real possibility, our defense was built to combat it until the day of ICBMs changed the game...crazy time realky
Terrific video regarding the early American missile and cruise missile kits from the late 1950's and early 60's as well as the history of the Nike missile! Here in and around Chicago we had about 11 or 12 U.S. Army Nike missile sites defending the metropolitan area from approaching Soviet bombers (Illinois ANG North American F-86L's based at the military section of O'Hare Field use to provide cover as well into the early 60s). These sites include the suburbs of Palatine, Arlington Heights, Addison not to mention the two Nike bases along Chicago's lakefront. Little if any remains today of these facilities. Addison may still have some type of radar platform remaining in a city park that's appropriately named, "Nike Park."
Thank you so much for this one.
I grew up in the Chicago suburbs. So, we got Nikes once in a while..just raised on a launcher..lol
Also, B58s would crack someone's window now and then.
I humbly suggest the old Revell Jupiter C kit..with gantry. That had some lovely, almost haunting box art. It's been a good day, a new post from Mike and i found a model part that i thought the carpet monster had eaten!...
back in 58, 59? my parents had just got OUT of the tavern business in Milwaukee, they had purchased a house and were supporting 2 sons, (me and Paul,) and my grand father and his sister my great aunt....at Christmas time the guy they rented the tavern to, had stopped paying rent, Dad had just switched jobs and money was VERY TIGHT, EXTREMELY TIGHT.... that Christmas all dad and mom could afford for me were a few models, including THE SNARK......I still can remember and picture in my mind Dad building that model with me....at the time, as a kid, I was thrilled with what I got....only later in life did my parents tell how embarrassed and bad they felt that all they could afford at that hard time were a few models......they both, in later life, so repaid us at Christmas time with (totally unneeded) better gifts.... thanks for the memories....btw, one of those models we built, was an x plane "the stilletto" which when I ran into it .at the USAF museum in Dayton... brought memory tears to my eyes.....
x-3 STILETO JUST WATCH ANOTHER OF YOUR VIDEOS
Wonderful story David - thanks for sharing! Having lost my Dad early, things were tough for our family, and similar to your story, the model that stands out in my memory as such a special and wonderful experience is the Revell Regulus II missile. Just seeing that box art today brings back all those memories. Thanks again and all the best, Mike
As said before, this was definitely a ride in the Way-Back machine. Great video, and man, did you stir up some old memories. Not only of buying and building these kits, but as a kid in Peoria, IL. There was an actual Snark Missile on display in the parking lot of Sheridan Village shopping center. You could walk up to it and actually touch it. Of course, I had to get to the local hobby shop and pick up my kit of it. Thanks again Mike, I am really liking your videos. Thank Max (Max's Models) for leading me to your channel.
I built the Snark, Bomarc and Hawk kits. Still thought manned aircraft more interesting especially since I Love Round Engines(WWII aircraft were my interest since my father flew B-24s in the war). But I still was fascinated by all things Space, so I built me some rockets. And flew a few too. Great video, Mike. I learned a lot of what I'm sure I knew back when I was 10 but have forgotten(that was 59 years ago). All I did when I watched this was nod my head, and say, "ya...that's right!"
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
I remember building Revell's Terrier and Talos missile kits.
...and the Air Force "Thor" IRBM by Revell!
Maybe the great Styrene River is keeping kit prices balanced and under control for enthusiasts as time goes by.
Thanks, Mike.
The way you combine aviation art, historical information, personal observations, memories and plastic scale model kits is pure magic. Thank you Mike! Around 1960, my uncle gave me a Thor ICBM launcher model kit. I do not recall the model manufacturer. The model had an electric motor which pulled back the hangar and the missile on its launcher would elevate. I believe the missile actually was spring launched. I was very impressed with this Christmas present and wish it had survived my childhood.
Appreciate the kind words, thanks, and that Thor model sounds awesome!
Thank you for this series. A refreshing look into aviation history.
I think the Snark kit is currently being produced by Lindberg. I see it for sale at Ollie's everytime I go there, and so tempted to buy one, despite not having built a kit in twenty years.
I just recently bought that kit. I didn't realize it was so big in 1/48 scale. I haven't decided on the paint job; The red ones were the test vehicles, the operational were light gray. There is on like that on display at the USAF Museum in Ohio.
Mike...many thanks for this great presentation as you came upon my kit-collecting focus...the vintage plastic model missiles of the 1950’s. Over the years, I acquired virtually all of the produced plastic missile kits, even lucky enough to find the very rare Monogram Rascal, Comet Atlas, Aurora Regulus with launcher, Revell X-17, etc. The kits became rare for collecting because as you mentioned, missiles and rockets were all the rage for a few years, then seemed to lose their appeal, and sales, so the kits were rarely reissued.
Update…I just got the massive 1959 era KMT Nike Hercules kit that you mentioned you had and used as a science fair science project!
Well done, thanks for the missile memories...I had almost all of these kits when I was pup. I remember I saw a Nike Ajax displayed at the old Fort Totten in Queens, the missile base pads are still there today and for a time in the 60s to 70s an upper stage of the Ajax was displayed as a gate guardian.
One Christmas I had a rocket bonanza. Revell's Nike, Redstone mercury, and ah, socks.
I often just got what was in the S&H Greenstamps catalog…
Fantastic video Mike thank you. Some lovely history, and great box art :)
Thanks for the trip in the Wayback Machine!
"Missile models" were very hot in the 1950s because New York City and Paris dress designers used very pointy "missile cone" bra styles on their fashion models that would light most men's rockets. Three, two, one, and we have LIFT OFF, all systems GO! KA-BOOM!
Mike...
Great video. When I was kid modeling was my thing and still is. Every kit you have described at one time or another I have built. The average price back then was just a little above or below a dollar and for a 12 year old kid like me might as well cost a fortune. However my father was a great dad and once a month we would go to the stationary store where they had a little selection of model kits and he would let me pick one. Great day's and memories. Thanks for the ride back without the delorian..;)
John....
Great video. One correction @2:02: The Snark was powered by a J-57 engine just like an F-100 or F-102, not a J-75 like an F-105 or F-106. Another correction @11:54: The Revell Honest John and Adams Honest John were not the same model. Revell's was 1/48 scale and Adams' was larger at 1/40 scale. Not to mention the Adams kit came with the launcher while the Revell kit came with crates to display the disassembled missile being transported on a flatbed truck. The only thing the two kits had in common was the name "Honest John" on the box.
It is simple, the guy in the HAZMAT suit is in the military and the other guy is a civilian contractor (😁).
Perfect!
SF-88 is a Nike missile base located in the Golden Gate Recreational Area near the north end of the bridge and southwest of Sausalito. Much of it has been fully restored and during the tour they actually bring a Hercules missile up from the underground magazine and elevate it to firing position. Most of the restoration work was done by veterans who actually worked at the base back in the day. There are probably covid restrictions curently in place, and it was only open on Saturdays during normal times, but well worth a visit if you are in the area.
I believe the missile lift at SF-88 was used in the "Summit Meeting Part-2" episode of the ABC-TV series "The Invaders". It was temporarily redressed to depict the entrance into the secret EURAC facility.
Another great episode. Please keep the excellent content coming. I remember the Monogram kit with all of the missiles in it!
Love the rocket/missile kits from the 1950s. I've built the Corporal missile by Renwal. I have the Nike, Lacrosse, and Mace with Terracruser. Fun stuff from the early days of modeling.
Bill
Love the video. I built a few of those over the years. Monogram Missile Arsenal my favorite build of them all.
The Atlantis company will be reissuing the Nike kit this year. Hopefully sales go well and they release other missile models.
I built that back in the '70s. I replaced the plastic base with a big chunk of redwood with about 10 coats of varnish and put all the missiles' names on it with Chartpack rub on lettering in white. I had to go to an actual LIBRARY to find pictures for reference! It looked pretty good, all I have left is a photograph of it and a couple of the small missiles like the Sidewinder and Dart which I scratch built copies of for the display to get them closer to scale. The display itself was lost in the mail when I shipped a bunch of boxes when I moved. I'm glad I still have the photo, though.
Wow once again great job, thanks for all the info. I remember the missile launch site south of Shreveport Louisiana -called Stonewall Missile Launch site.
The Cruise Missile book is fantastic. Great photo's and great information. It isn't just historical missiles from the cold war era. There is a lot of great info (and photo's) of the current variants, the Tomahawk and the ALCM and the JSM. Great photo's. I used it as reference material to build and paint the re-issued Revell Snark kit.
Re the Nike bases. NY-03/04 was about 4.5 miles away from where I grew up in Rockland County. The radar control was visible for miles sitting on top of "Mt Nebo", a ridge on the Pallisades sill overlooking the Hudson. We always assumed the missile pits were up there too. Nope. They were in/on an Army National guard base down in the valley behind "Mt. Nebo" off of Route 303 behind a stand of trees. About a quarter mile off the road! The base covered the pits with asphalt and now use it for storage/parking.
I remember very few missile kits in the mid-'60s, when I first became interested in scale models, though I did get a Renwal Hawk kit about then.
Lovin' my Snark, 1/40th Nike Hercules, Atlas Mercury (Revell), Saturn Vs (various scales) 1/12th V-2 (with interior). Airfix R-7/Vostok/Soyuz, Monogram's missile arsenal, Glencoe Explorer 1 and Explorer 1 + booster, Titan-Dyna-Soar, Revell Hawk, Airfix Bristol Bloodhound, Honest John, I think I must have a missile-kit addiction. Thanks for the reminder!
1:00 Revell's Corporal, Nike, Redstone (woops, forgot those)
Another fantastic missile and kit overview by Mike Machat. I can’t wait for another one covering the remaining missiles and rockets.
Just on small correction: The Martin missile photo has Matador written on the fuselage, but it is really a Mace. The following kit is correct. Matador came first and had a smaller and more pointed warhead. It was replaced by Mace, with a blunt and larger warhead. They were developed from a preliminary German WWII design.
Yes, that is correct. Not quite sure why the Mace in the Martin Company photo had the name "Matador" written on it other than for security purposes back then. Good catch!
There was also the hobby of Rocketry in the 1960's with the rockets and launching supplies located in most of the same shops that sold the models, my buddy was into that hobby, we would build and launch real rockets that resembled machines built by NASA. The small solid fuel rocket engines that you purchased for your rockets, always had a small explosion that came out of the top of the engine when its burn was done, to push out a parachute, so you could watch your rocket float to the ground, recovery was always a fun part of the hobby.
I had that SNARK Revell model as a kid. It was a 1983 rerelease though. It was molded in red plastic. 🤘😎🤘🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
As a young person it's interesting to see the history of my hobby
There are two versions of the Corporal missile kit, one with the transporter/erector built by LeTourneau and one without, both have the launcher and guidance radar set and figures. I'm working on one of each right now. I'm going to put a white, test painted missile on the launcher and a O.D. green tactical painted missile on the transporter and display them together. There's actually quite a few parts in the launcher and the transporter, while simple, still has a lot to it. I've also got the Mace, LaCrosse and Snark on display and several more missiles in the stash.
Very interesting, Mike! I guess aircraft will always be more tangible to most especially when you think about how many kids got to see a real live missile back in the day. There were 30 Nike Ajax that were located at Grosse Ile, MI just across the Detroit River from where I live (on the Canadian side). I read they were active from 1955 to 1963 and would have been about 2 miles dead west from our local Walmart! Cool stuff!
We might see the Revell Nike soon. It's on Atlantis 2021 release list!
I built a 1990's reissue of the Revell Lacrosse Missile with mobile launcher a surface to surface missile. I highly recommend this kit if you find it. That army style truck is superb.
I do have that one as a build-up, and agree 100%, thanks!
In October 1962 I lived just 17 miles west of New York City. I was 11 years old, sitting on our living room floor, building a detailed model of an Atlas ICBM and its launch apparatus, when the breaking news of the Cuban missile crisis came on the TV.
I never completed that model.
In August of 1966 we moved to within about 7 miles of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Talk about going from "Ground Zero East" to "Ground Zero West" !
Thanks be to God, I am still alive and living at "Ground Zero West"
Those missile kits were before my time but I built and collected many space kits: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo Saturn, Shuttle, and Star Trek. Still have most of them! One that stands out is the AMT 1/200 manned rockets of the 60s.
Another great one Mike.
My older brother built the original Bomarc kit. Neat stuff.
Well I just might have to start working on that Snark kit I have. I like face on one of the tanks on that Snark at the beginning of this video.
Gosh I had those all over my room. Snark, Nike Hercules, Atlas, Bomarc. My favorite was the Monogram missile arsenal that had 31 from Genie (or was it Falcon?) up through Atlas mounted on a little stand. It came with a booklet with pictures and an article about each one.
I remember that Monogram Missile Arsenal, and thanks for watching!
The launching of Sputnik in 1957 got just about EVERYBODY'S attention in a big way. I think companies like Revell should have maybe sent a thank you letter to Nikita Khrushchev. But I think rockets and missiles already had some popularity. I served on the USS Norton Sound and was amused to find out that Revell made a kit for it in 1956 and no doubt because it had been reclassified as a "Guided Missile Ship" from its original classification as a seaplane tender. Of course, the box art shows a missile being launched from the fantail.
Mike, great video, thanks for posting. Growing up and building models in the 50's and 60's the only models that interested me were cars and the desire get a real one !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was a Nike site in LLoyd Harbor as well. On Long Island’s North Shore
And one out near Roslyn as well to protect the Brookhaven National Laboratories. Plenty of defense assets on Long Island back then!
Hi Mike. At 7:00 is that P.V. hill looking to San Pedro. I think that's the place we, "as kids," would sneak into after all the missiles and support items were removed. I never realized how great the box art was till I started watching your videos. Were the Playa Del Rey
Yes, that's the place.
I always wanted the Snark kit. I finally got the Atlantic kit this past year.
(With apologies for this late reply.)
Excellent video Mike. I remember building most of those kits. Almost everything I built in the late 50s to late 60s were military of some sort. It was n ice seeing all those gorgeous box covers again. Thanks for posting.
Yes, it was an amazing era for modeling!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 It most certainly was. Military models of all genres. Then Aurora came out with their monsters, the Japanese with all the science fiction stuff, then all the companies expanded their lines with kits of all types. Still the mid 50s to mid 70s seemed the best.
I had a model that was a 9inch x 4 inch blue plastic deck with 30 rockets on it, tiny sidewinders in front, ICBM's, Atlas, Nike, Posidon, Bomarc toward the rear rows. . . .all varying sizes . . .I only have a little 2 inch Honest John left. . some 50 years later.
The Nike missles were a very hot model when I was a kid. All the kids had to have one.
Thanks for making this. The only Nike-Hercules I've ever seen was on display in Japan at the Air Self-Defense Force museum at Hamamatsu. Never seen one in American markings!
Never knew about those JASDF Nikes, thanks!
Got a bit of a laugh out of the Aerobee Hi because of who made it. A subsiduary of a long-ago former employer of mine. Do the phrases "Boss Angeles" or "Boss Radio" ring any bells? Yeah... I worked for them for a couple of years on my way up the ladder. BTW, my grandfather only built one rocket model. A Saturn V in the summer of 1969. His life spanned from the Wrights at Kitty Hawk to Moon landings, Jumbo Jets and the Concorde.
I was a bit disappointed that you didn't show the wonderful Atlas missile on its launch stand (I suppose by Revell, but it was a long time ago!). The launch stand dwarfed the missile itself, and you can see why the military went for solid rocket ICBMs as quickly as they could.
When I worked at Thiokol-Huntsville about 1990, Orbital Sciences said they found a whole warehouse of Bomarc solid rocket Boosters, and asked us if we thought they were usable. I pulled the drawings, and yep they said Boeing 1957. OS went to look at them, and reported that they were not usable, old propellant types from the 50s was not stable.
One of these days, by hook or by crook. These celestial level devices will be used in volume. 💥
i just picked up Revell 3 models on Ebay pretty cheap and original
Congrats! Those are really great kits.
Hi Mike, another great video. Look forward to this every week. I must point out that, according to Bill Yenne, the Snark was powered by a J-57, not a J-75.
Good catch. I read the paragraph on page 82 that said "Early N-69 models.....but later variants were equipped with ...J75 engines." He was talking about the N-69 proposal, not SM-62.
Great video, I watched it when it first came out, and ordered the Yenne book. I still have not had it explained how missiles like the Snark and Regulus can fly without a tail plane?
I built a lot of WWII aircraft in the early 60s. I did start building rockets after the space program took off. I think the first was a Vanguard. After that all of the rockets that launched Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I was definitely a space cadet. LoL.
11:47 the Revell Honest John was 1/48 scale, the Adams Honest John was 1/40 scale, different molds.
Thanks for the info!
I bought (to my parents chagrin) and built almost all the winged missiles you showed. My standing gift request for Christmas and B-day were models. I also said rather than you (them) pick out what they thought I wanted; take me with you (forget the surprise) and let me get the "right one". I always saved the box top art 'cause I thought it was so neat. Thanks for the trip down the lane. Most of them are gone now. Do you know what a cherry bomb does to a SNARK. I liked and subbed.
P.S. I preferred the Ajax to the Hercules 'cause the Nike site was about 3 miles from my house and I used to go there on my bike to see the alert preparation exercises.
Maybe Mr. Machat can explain to us why not a few of aircraft and missile kit paintings of the fifties had yellow and red skies. They sure had visual impact, but were utterly unreal. To me a blue sky would be much better, factualy and visualy.
Thanks for the comment, and yes, there were definite reasons those colors were used. This video explains why in great detail: ua-cam.com/video/0sHWWKM6v6A/v-deo.html
My late pop served on the gray back when she was a missile boat. He made several deterrent patrols with the reg one. But he also was on board when the testing of the wreck to happened is that was the only submarine to launch them.
It should say regular 2
Great comment and story, thanks!
Mike, thanks for the great presentation. I was wondering about the intake of the Regulus II, which seems to be depicted as damaged on the Revell kit.
Good question Bert, and that's actually the outer edge of the left-hand main landing gear door showing next to the intake. Never noticed that before!
Very informative feature. Great job!!!
I was surprised to learn that the Nike Hercules had a nuclear capability. I remember as a kid reading about a third version, the Nike Zeus, that was supposed to have a nuclear warhead, but I don't know if they were ever actually deployed.
When I was in the Navy, I had an MTC (Missile Technician Chief) who started out on the Regulus missile. I one asked him what was his memories of that system. He said, "Everytime we launched one, we had to repaint the sail of the submarine."
Did he ever say how long it took to get the missile ready for launch after surfacing?
@@mjw1955 : He probably did but that was back in 1975 and I forgot what he told me.
Mike, I thought the name Snark came from the whimsical poem "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll from 1885. While the poem states that a Snark can be a Boojum, the Northrop Snark is certainly not a Northrop Boojum. Either way, I should have bought that "Snark Attack" bumper sticker when I saw it.
The answer to this one is "all the above" Vik, as it was indeed the poem's "Snark" that came from the snake-shark contraction. After many of the early test missiles crashed well short of their targets in the South Atlantic, that p[art of the ocean came to be known as "Snark-infested waters!"
Thanks for the clarification. Clearly the Boojum is deadlier than the Snark which is deadlier than the Oozlefinch!
Actually, there very nearly was. The Snark was a long range subsonic/transonic (Sorry Mike), and the supersonic follow-on was going to be the Northrop Boojum. If I remember correctly, the Boojum lost out to the North American Navaho, which in turn lost out to the brand new (then) Atlas and Titan ICBMs.
@@peterstickney7608 Good catch on the speed, thanks!
I built an Atlas (?) that had the launch pad and service vehicles at 1:200(?)
Any chance of a part two for ICBM/manned rockets.
Great video of these!
Glad you liked it, thanks!
Do you know who the kid is on the covers of the multi missile kits of Monogram?
Great questioin, Ken, and I do know that all the kids on those Mongram and Revell box tops were chosen from Hollywood modeling and acting agencies.
How were these missiles guided, if they were guided at all?? Were they just pointed in a general direction until they ran out of fuel???
I'm curious.... have you ever ventured into model rocketry, e.g. flying Centuri or Estes rocket kits?
Thanks for your question, and no, I've never done model rocketry. Enjoy watching the launches, though!
How was the SNARK guided?
Great question Luke, and it was the onboard Mark I day/night celestial and inertial-navigation guidance system that controiled the missile's line-of-flight to the target. Pretty advanced stuff for 1955! Test flights of up to 5,350 miles were made, but were not that accurate hitting specific targets within the design goal of 8,000-ft. Program was cancelled in 1960 in favor of larger, more powerful, and more accurate liquid-fueled Atlas and Titan ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles). Great seeing you and John today!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Awesome!! I had lots of fun thank you for lunch and the awesome info!!
My guess with the box art at 12:30 is the one guy is broasting away in his asbestos fire-suit, cussing the technician while waiting for him to finish making some last-minute repair and get out of there so he can fuel the missile up. Typical military SNAFU
12:23 apparently it's pronounced Aero as in Aerodynamics and Bee, Aerobee Hi
Imagine living across the street from 48 nuclear warheads! Whow!
The guy in the hazmat suit is union and the guy without is non-union.
Love it!
you seem to be tethered to aviation history
Yes, that is the purpose of the channel. Thanks for watching!
1:17 😂
The waters off the Cape are snark infested.
Love it! (With apologies for this late reply.)