I miss the America I grew up in. The local hobby shop was better than Disneyland. From arts and crafts construction paper and pipe cleaners. To plastic model kits and Estes rockets. I remember the glow in the dark monster models and my F15 Eagle best. Thank you for this trip down memory lane.
I really liked the ending where the founders were credited with enriching all of our lives. When I think about how much I learned and how rewarding the hobby was, and how it propelled my career paths, I was reverent in seeing the pictures of the people who made it happen. It became a personal connection.
I just went to the comments as I watched this. As usual I don't read many comments till I watch. Just as I got to your comment the part you mentioned came up. I feel the same way. 🙂👍
I’m weaker than you guys. I retired a few years ago, and moved overseas with my wife. Before going, I bought and shipped 29 model kits. Some were over $50, but I couldn’t pass up the original boxed Boothill Express.
EXCELLENT summary of the American plastic model companies. As a kid growing up in the 50s and early 60s, I built over 100 models spread out from the three company catalogs. They hung from my bedroom ceiling - sat on my dresser - adorned my window sills and were physical representations of my hopes and dreams. I am now long retired from the cockpit of my Boeing 767. but I wonder what I career i would have had if it weren’t for those models.
Excellent! I went on to be a Union tradesman. I think my passion for building models fueled my passion for building the real world. When I fly over Minneapolis at night....I can pick out lights I made happen.
I really appreciate this video. My father was Vice President for International Operations for Revell back in the '60s. I was a young kid at the time. Two favorite memories: 1) I assembled a plastic model of the _Santa Maria._ I went through great pains to paint that beautiful ship. I taught myself how to "age" the wood. I even stiffened all the rigging! Well, my dad was impressed. He took it to work. It ended up on display at his office! That was over 50 years ago! 2) Since my dad was in charge of International stuff anytime a foreign visitor arrived at Revell corporate he had to entertain them. We would take the VIP wherever they wanted to go in Southern California! _Guess_ where 103% of them wanted to go! YUP....Disneyland! So, mom and dad would pack up us kids in the car as we made the personal sacrifice of going to Disneyland! I have lost count. But I do remember having a shoebox __full__ of the old A B, C, E - unused ticket books! So, for me this video was a nice trip of nostalgia! Thank you!
@@lenshilt Yes, we lived in a new city, at the time - Hacienda Heights. That was back in the '60s. We moved from Los Angeles to a newly built home. The commute was about 40 miles or about an hour and a half...or more! Ironically, later in life I had a similar commute, to a brand new city at the time to cities an hour to an hour and a half away!!!
Well sir you are one lucky guy! I remember some of this same models as I wished I could afford one of the largest sets! I use to visit the toy shops' model sections just to check out the new model kits
@@colorin81colorado Ricardo (by the way, I _LIKE_ that name!), I was very fortunate. There was an endless supply of model kits coming my way when I was a kid. I could ask my dad for any kit in the catalog and I would get it - free. It wasn't in a pretty box (fresh from the factory floor) with all needed parts and instructions. Also, I now remember my dad giving me kits that were being tested. They weren't out in the stores yet. Anyway, I was asked to build them then give my opinion. I don't think I was allowed to keep them thou. (trade secrets!) I wish could remember which ones. My dad was a wonderful dad and provider. He worked very hard. I'm glad we share so memories! I hope you were able to build Revell kits. I recall that the detail on them was pretty good compared to the competition. Thank you for sharing!
@@born2bbald12 hey thanks for commenting back! I did get to build a few models but I moved on to Lego when I started to have children of my own so we could build them together and not mess them up! I'm glad you had a good dad, many young people nowadays do not have one and we all suffer because of it. Make sure you leave some diary or record behind to tell your children or just to share good memories with us all! Cheers from Brisbane Australia!
There are a lot of us still out there who remember the pleasures of building these old kits during the rainy afternoons of our youth; the enjoyment that we derived from these hobbies are forever in our hearts.
@@PaleRider54 Since I've been into cars my hole life I still build models of the classics and muscle cars, Building models actually was a start towards working on real cars. And since I always try to build my cars stock I have to study the real cars to get the details right, I could go on about this subject, Building models helps when it comes to critical thinking, and since I have over 300 models in my collection along with alot of diecast models I can honestly say that Revell monogram kits are about the best for the money !
Larry Wilson Some of the best times of my life. My twin brother and I would save up our .78 cents to buy an Aurora or Monogram. It was the early 60’s and a great way to tune out the assassinations and the nightly body count from Vietnam.I still love to build them and still hang them from the ceiling!
@@wallace11824 my problem is finding new plastic cases to put my cars in you see that for over ten year's now I haven't been able to find them at the local Walmart and when I did find them at the hobby shops (also disappearing) they used to cost an arm and a leg, so when I dust those I have to be careful. Of course Hobby shops disappearing bothers me also, I guess its beacuse of the internet and Amazon but still that was something special and a part of my life that I enjoyed!
I was a Revell kid in the '70's, and often poured over the extensive color catalogs they published, dreaming about my next build. I'll never forget my 1957 Nomad, which was so large it fully exemplified the "shoebox" Chevy's lol. I had that same cutaway sub Mr. Blazer is holding in the video, and I had the U.S.S. Missouri. Bought that at a department store called Murphy's in my hometown that was a sort of Walmart-esque small chain. I had the B-52 from that 1:32 line, and it was HUGE! My family was a low-mid middleclass finance family, so we didn't have central A/C. We used box fans in the warm months, and I'll never forget lying in bed and seeing the big silhouette of that B-52 hanging from the ceiling, swaying gently left to right in the dark. I flew a lot of bombing sorties lol. I'll say that I also built a lot of Monogram models, and my third place choice was Tamiya. Their kits were usually smaller scale, but VERY detailed. I can't remember ever having an Aurora kit, but since I did build Monogram...I guess I did! I recognize so many of my old models from your video. So many great memories! I hope that even though the companies are defunct now, somehow someone had the love of history to preserve the molds. Their destruction would be a big tragedy. You got my sub.
Nothing matched my childhood elation like walking into a well-stocked hobby shop in the seventies. My personal forte was military vehicles and especially tanks...mostly revel. I went for the battle hardened look...weathering, dents, a little rust...Not immediately, but eventually they all succumbed to firecrackers in my backyard. As it pains me to say, watching their demise was almost as satisfying as building them. Thank you for such a wonderful video.
I really enjoyed this Doc. as a man of 74 yrs. I was in the big middle of this time when many of us boys in the late 50's and 60's, before we noticed cute girls, used to buy a model about once a week if possible. One of my favorites was a plane called The Pogo-Stick with dual props and took off straight up. Revel's car kits in the 60's seemed to be a favorite. We also spent a fortune on all the little glass paint jars by Testors. I am so thankful I grew up then where we rode bicycles for miles and miles everyday and sold pop bottles to get our money for the kits. Seems like a much better time to be alive and would go back in a heartbeat if I could. Thanks for this great visit to happier times~!
I agree...people had a desire to treat each other well then. Today, with all the claims we have "progressed", look at how much drama and politics has destroyed what is good. I hope we learn to treat each other better and get rid of the drama and politics as a form of entertainment for the bored and foolish who don't even realize they have a much more to live for, many more talents to hone. I really think this simple thing (deciding to treat each other better) is the solution to most of today's troubles.
Yes to all three posts. Yes to the Beatles, and all the other great rock groups. Yes to building lots of model airplanes. And yes to freedom to ride our bikes far from home. Just be home for dinner.
Looking at all those boxes with the unforgettable artwork, reminds me of just how many of the models I built. At one time a model of most of the allied (and some axis) military planes of WWII. About 40 or so. Piper Cub and Storch to Coronado and Mariner.
It's your past guys. Times were good for us because we were white and either affluent enough....or young enough to avoid Vietnam. I know people who had it bad in the 60's and 70's. My kids grew up in the 90's and 2000's. They had great childhoods! I made damned sure of that. But to sit around and go on the internet claiming life was great back then....and terrible now is just pathetic. You guys don't understand that you lived "privileged" lives. I lived in the poor part of town in the 60's and 70's. I still had a great childhood....but make no mistake. I had friends from broken homes....lots of drugs and alcohol used by their parents. They don't see these as "GREAT TIMES" I also remember some of the older boys going off to Vietnam. Some never came home! It wasn't the times that were great.....it was your parents that were great. They were able to raise you in a safe and stable area. Kids today who have great parents.....are doing JUST FINE!
When we were kids in the 60's we built the monster kits. The Mummy, Frankenstein, Wherewolf, Phantom of the Opera. My parents gave me an Aurora slot car set for Christmas in 67. Thanks Mom and Dad !
I remember how it was in the 60's as one of three young brothers. All within 3 years of other. We made hundreds of models of different kinds. After years of learning our craft we all finally agreed on building 1/72 scale models of aircraft all with gear up. 1/72 was great because big planes were available. Making models gear up and doors closed was extremely difficult make to look perfect. I remember closing the door where it almost looked perfect, only to have it pop inside slightly, making it impossible to pull out without getting glue everywhere! We hung them from the rafters in a well-built wooden shed, all facing the same direction. They are still there to this day!
I must have built over a hundred plastic models when I was a kid. Mostly military aircraft, but also rockets, a nuclear sub with all the internal details, and a 3' long aircraft carrier. I spent many an evening assembling and painting them. Monogram was my favorite brand. Many years later I was in DC for a one week marketing assignment, and we had a half day at the end to just look around. I did a quick tour with one of the managers, ans we visited the Mall and the Smithsonian Air Museum. I could name most of the aircraft and tell her their histories as we walked thru the place. She asked me how I knew so much about aircraft, and I was a little embarrassed to admit it was from building all those models. Monogram included information on the model, and I still remembered it as an adult.
I had a series of surprisingly similar experiences. First, Revell 1:72nd-scale kits of 1) USAAF and USN combat aircraft, predominantly of the Second World War; 2) and U.S. Navy warships (to my exasperation, not in the same scale; I am poor at maths!). Also, Star Trek models, especially of the Starship Enterprise, NCC-1701. I like contemplating the military's future. Decades later, some veterans in my apartment complex went to the USAF museum in Vandalia, Ohio; to my deep gratitude, they had a remaining seat (I just had learnt of it even as they were boarding the bus!). When we had arrived, I asked the volunteer escorting me round (the place was *enormous*, and I am significantly myopic!) not to tell me the names of any of them, as this was my chance to test my knowledge; over the following two hours or so, I had not missed one! I recited from memory the manufacturer, the designation, the nickname, the service branch, and the type (e.g., Boeing B-17G "Flying Fortress" USAAF Heavy Bomber). I even was able to distinguish between a Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" USAAF Fighter -J and -L variant! All thanks to Bert Kinsey's Detail and Scale books, round thirty of which I had packed into my satchel. Maybe we are polystyrene cousins.
I used to draw the instruction manuals for the Revell / Monogram kits around 1990-93 as well as the kits made by Ertl toy company. It was pretty cool going to stores and seeing the kits on the shelves and show people all the kits I had drawn.
Molded a lot of Revell models in the 70s at our molding company in Santa Monica when we had openings in one of injection molding machines. It was pretty cool and gave me a brake from molding some uninteresting parts for other companies. We were custom molders for 47 years .
As an old draftsman, I envy you! That is awesome! Into model trains now andd would love to have met the Train Miniatures and Athearn artist! Chances are I saw your instruction but plastic models were fading into my N and HO trains!
Great documentary! As a kid in the early 70’s, I was a voracious builder! Flash forward to today, I suffered a serious spinal injury, leaving me barely able to walk, and with serious problems with my manual dexterity. After trying all sorts of physical therapy, with very limited success, I found 1/72 Sopwith Pup model in a box of my old toys left from my parent’s house. It was unbuilt, in the blister-pack from @1970. Long story short, I built the tiny thing, with a great deal of difficulty. Soon I was buying kits from E-Bay, my dexterity became exponentially better! Best physical therapy ever!!!
Model building was great fun as Boomer kid. My dad was a railroad hobbyist with HO trains... I built military kits... and a ship. When I first got into slot cars, Strombecker, then Monogram in 32nd scale were on the track my dad built from Masonite. Sincd he was a train guy, he built authentic scenery, pit area, hand made guard rails, great attention to details... Slot cars got more complex and very fast quickly. Dad and I were on it. Dad worked part-time at a small hobby shop, brought home magazines of the lastest equipment and tech. I sucked it up like I was starving... got to building.Dad and I built a bigger, faster track, foregoing the scenery. I couldn't wait to get home from school to build faster slot cars from scratch, frames from piano and brass plate and wire. When a commercial track opened in town, I was ready... I won the first four races. I was an instant celebrity. I had graduated HS, and was off to college... slot cars gave way to social interests, and eventually, guitar playing, which became my occupation ever since.😮 I did get back into slot cars in the mid 80's. I loved building the newer cars, was good at it, but my dfiving skills had waned.... Still had a good time though. I still have these cars, but have no interest in investing time and money into it... I'm a homeowner now..😢. and a lifetime of accumulation to sort, get rid of.... probably the slot cars and all the parts and equipment go too. Sure had some good times building. Great video...Thanks.
@@dleifteHsemaJ I've built partscasters, a Tele and a Strat... Next is a "Greenie" Les Paul... Retirement has made my life busier than ever... What I like best is no loaded alarm clock next to my bed. I'm still playing, solo acoustic, and in a trio... mostly Swing, with upright bass, sax, me on the Tele. Maybe I'll have my own band... all I need is time... sheesh!
As a kid I built alot of Revell and Monogram, Aurora as well as AMT , Tamiya and several others , stopped in my mid 20s due to ex inlaws looking down on it as waste of money and time , I sure did enjoy those endless hours building and painting , into the we hours of the morning . This vid brought back lot of older memories .
Since they are ex-inlaws, what's stopping you from getting back into model building? I'm back into it now after a 20+ year hiatus. I'm building all of the kits my father bought in the mid 70's, inluding a few Revell kits and one Aurora. I've also got my own stash from 20+ years ago to finish off, and I seem to keep buying new kits. They range of paints and tools available now is amazing. You can certainly blow a few bucks on materials, and the kits are not particularly cheap in New Zealand, but it's a great hobby.
Just found this and want to thank you. It brought back lots of memories as I bought kits from all three companies. At one time I had all the monster kits from Aurora and a dozen WWII fighters from Monogram. I also had their B-17 and B-29 kits. In fact I have an unfinished B-29 kit sitting in my garage.
Yep !!! From 1958-1962 I spent ALL the money I earned on 3 things, comic books,baseball cards,and 1/24 scale model cars by Jo-Han,Amt,and Revell. Fantastic times they were !!!
1960 I stopped buying kits in favour of dating girls. Not the best move I could have made, but there you go. In the early 1990s it was back to assembling plastic kits again and it's been steady building right up to this day.
I got my models in the early -mid 60s. I had most of the Monster models and of course Batman and Superman and Superboy. My paint jobs were pretty bad 😂
@@jaybrown1828 A man after my own heart! Where were you when I was spending MY allowance on the same things? You gotta be a great guy with a last name like Brown! I’m a Brown also...Kathy B. 3/31/24
I worked at Revell Models about 40 years ago. They had a guy who would "professionally" build all of their models - and these were displayed in their showroom. The detail on the battleships was amazing - even some rust in the right areas. They were a fantastic company to work for, and a lot of good people worked there. One thing we'd do is get models that had damaged packaging, but were still good inside, and give those to some of the kids in the neighborhood. Kids would show up out back on Fridays and always said thanks, regardless of what we had to give them.
Splendid doc on these three plastic model powerhouses!! Models were a huge part of my childhood that I'd forgotten. Thanks for stirring up these memories!!
My childhood flashes before my eyes. I had sooo many of these kits when I was younger. In my teens I migrated to the more detailed kits and diorama building... but Aurora, Revell and Monogram started it all.
I bought my first plastic model in 1952, I continued to build models all through my school years , to this day I still build and fly model airplanes, I'm 76 yrs old now , and still buy and build a plastic model, many thanks to those companies that kept me interested in model building. The hobby has grown immensely. So glad I was a part of the early history , great memories..
I know the feeling I'm in my late 40s an still build an fly model airplanes as well every time I fire up one of my old os max engines I still get a rush.. An of course I lov the exhaust smell lol
My oldest brother bought the Guillotine back in the 60s. Grandma was horrified. For the following decade, it was handed down from one brother to the next until I inherited this piece of awesomeness. The body of the victim was hollow, and you were supposed to fill it up with red dye, so the blood would pour out into the basket when you chopped his head off. Oh, the good ol' days....
My Husband told me about theses torture models sold in the early 70s the rack iron maiden etc and they would fit together like a giant chamber of horrors they got shut down real fast by concerned Mothers and feminists because it showed all Women in them and they are hard to find just like an old comic book series in the 60s called witches Tales it only sold so many and got shut down also because it was so graphic.
Wow... Fantastic stuff... 64 year old here who in and around 1966 loved Hi-Flier Kites, Estes Rockets, Matchbox Cars and Aurora racetracks with 1:32 slot cars! Also loved building and painting the Aurora Monster Models! What great memories I have of all of that... Thanks for the fantastic video!!!
This brought back a lot of fond memories. In this age of computer games, I think a lot of kids are missing out on the virtues that scale modelling gave us. Patience, hand-eye coordination, artistic skills, etc. I think it would be great to see the hobby make a comeback.
@LTrain 45 Hardly. While video games have shortened the time for technical training for things such as pilots, (especially drone pilots, per a USAF report to congress) they do not give you the hands-on fabrication and engineering problem-solving skills that modelling does. Apples and oranges comparison. Neither skill set is bad, just different. There is a big difference between pushing a button to create a crafted item in a video game, and having to figure out how you are going to make real world parts fit together properly. For scratch builders, it is practically a junior course in structural engineering. My modelling skills sure came in handy as a fabricator when the boss would come around with some project drawn on the back of a cocktail napkin with estimated dimensions and say "here, build me a prototype of this". I could tell when an engineer was a video gamer, I was correcting their blueprints when they wanted me to drill a hole in solid steel that then turned at a 90 degree angle......
The Aurora monster and character models were such a huge part of my childhood. For three or four years there I built every one of them, but my dad finally put his foot down when I asked for the guillotine. Beginning of the end
I had most of the Monster models I'm thinking 1962, I was 4 years old my paint jobs were pretty bad 😂 And of course Batman and Superman and Superboy when they came out.
I miss the America I grew up in. The local hobby shop was better than Disneyland. From arts and crafts construction paper and pipe cleaners. To plastic model kits and Estes rockets. I remember the glow in the dark monster models and my F15 Eagle best. Thank you for this trip down memory lane.
I very much enjoyed this! I dragged my dad to the local hobby store each time I finished a model and begged him to help me get a new one. So many hours sitting at the desk in my bedroom fantasizing how it would come out when I was finished. This was late 60’s-early 70’s. I took a turn toward model rockets eventually but the excitement of the building process and anticipation of the finished model stayed the same. Such great memories returned watching this documentary - thank you!
I hated Revell models as a kid and built many Monogram models. Now with Covid and staying at home, at 53 Years Old I am trying to get back into model building.
It is very hard to accept the fact that model built is not a part of an individuals life anymore. I wonder how many have grown up to build the real thing. I feel this activity should be restarted. Maybe, just maybe fewer youngsters would be in trouble were prone to build models....
@@davidrobinson7112 WHY? Sport, I grew up in the rough part of town in the 60's and 70's. I knew lots of older kids who got into lots of trouble. The most talented kit builder in the neighborhood (BY FAR) grew up to be on the FBI's most wanted list. He was extremely talented. Extremely smart. His divorced Mother couldn't keep him on the correct road to success A bitter shame! He could have become anything. I wonder if he's still alive?
It's amazing that the kits I bought as a kid around 1970 were $2.50 for a Revell kit ($25 last I checked). which I thought was the best at the time (it also had the best decals). Monogram was good too. Hot wheels. Tonka trucks (The all metal trucks), Cox gas powered aircraft and cars. My dad was Air Force and brought home large posters of military jets that he'd hang on our bedroom walls. My brother and I bought model airplanes and hung them from the ceiling and displayed model cars on top of our dressers. We could easily spend a full day in our room building a single model. My brother got an HO slot car racing set for Christmas one year and that ended up being a huge hit. My friend across the street had one too and his older brother (I think 10 or 11 at the time) would take lighter fluid and douse a car with it, light it and drive the car around the track on fire. We thought he was crazy. My kids now (as is every kid) are into video gaming. My youngest son saved (from doing chores) enough to buy the components to build a high end video gaming PC. His older brother helped him build it and he still uses it to this day (he's 14 now).
I got into model building when I was 5? I came down with the measles. Doc said my parents had to keep me in and quiet. So my folks figured out how to keep me busy. Thanks for the video! Lots of fun memories!
Model building taught me as a kid. A lot of mechanical skills. Working on model kits, following instructions, all helped me fix my real cars and trucks as a young man. And has given me the ability to look at most mechanical problems and figure them out. So, thanks to all these guys who started these companies.
I built so many of these models when I was a kid. My Dad taught me how and my weekly allowance went straight to the hobby shop! Thanks for doing such a great job on this story!
By the age of ten I had 110 model airplanes hanging from my bedroom ceiling. All Monogram and Revell. Thank you for this great documentary. Great work and thoroughly enjoyed it.👍🏻
I was born 1960 and Aurora was a big part of my child hood.Aurora cars and track was the cat meow.They made some great stuff,Batmobile,Good Humor ice cream truck and a lot more.The track suck some times with guide pins and clips but it was racing at it's best.It was good to see this and learn more about a great era and time in life
My first as the original Revell X-15 at five years old. It was, naturally, a mess! I recently ordered the same model on eBay (for a lot more than Mom paid) and an original Mercury/Gemini combo kit which I’d also built at about ten. These versions ended up as fine scale models when finished. Amazing what patience, maturity and experience does! I loved All Three manufacturers. Kept me busy for hours. I loved for trips to the drug store with my Mom and the chance to shop the model shelves. I’m sorry there gone but pleased Revell Germany is out there. I’ve ordered some of their contemporary kits. Very happy with them. Oh yeah, and all those airplane models that stirred my imagination? They made me a Naval Aviator years later! Thanks for the inspiration boys! Cause I coulda ended up an accountant...lol.
I also had my first model when I was 6. My parents were going to some evening thing and left me with my grandparents. They let me with a model of a B29 and a tube of glue. I never had seen a model be put together but my dad had a few models I would play with. Now as anyone who started young with plastic models knows the glue that that came in the tubes, (we all know the orange and white Testors tubes.). That if you are nor careful that glue can get all over your fingers and when you hold the parts it will etch your fingerprints onto that part. So by the end of the evening I had a B29 all put together and had my 6yo fingerprints etched all over it. I think somewhere I still have that model. By 9 I found that I did pretty well at construction and painting. I got a kit that had 4 Blue Angels Grumman F-11 Tiger jets. I entered it in a contest and i won first place for my age group. My model sat in a display case at our airport for a few months. I still have one of then here on my desk. From 6-18 I put together scores of models. Mainly planes and jets but now and then a car too My time to be able to build models dropped off a lot when I went to college then was married and working. i am now 63 and I still have a number of models out in my garage I hope I could someday work on but still never find the time now.
These models were an important part of my childhood but I got extra nostalgic about the "monster-models" as that was something that been hidden deep in my memory bank. Thanks for posting this video.
Man, this brings back memories of childhood in the 1960's and early 70's. I remember kids my age all building model ships (to start with and airplanes later) and placing them on the floor of a bedroom with other kids ship models to form fleets. Most were Revell models that involved different size scale ships which was not always appreciated in those same size boxes. This model building was fun and kept us off the streets for a few years. After leaving the military and before he died my father gave me a box of models I had built decades before. It brought tears to my eyes.
I deeply appreciate the time and effort you put into this video. I cannot imagine the number of hours I spent in our basement cutting trimming gluing painting rigging staging...what a wonderful time it was.
My friends and I built and customized many Monogram and AMT car models, and built and raced Aurora slot cars, in the late 60s and early 70s when we lived near Boston. We loved the Monogram Tom Daniel hot rods. It took us about two weeks of allowance to save enough to buy a $2 kit at Caldor. I recall ordering parts from Monogram for our projects. The company would send back an invoice (usually less than 75 cents), we would send then an envelope of coins, and a couple of weeks later would receive a package of parts. Very exciting! As 12-year-olds, we dreamed of visiting exotic Waukegan Avenue in Morton Grove, Illinois, as honored customers and sifting through Monogram's warehouse of parts. Years later (1980) my family moved to Glenview, Illinois, and I was astonished one day while driving to pass the Monogram plant. I was, at last, in Morton Grove! Childhood memories came flooding back. The plant is gone now, replaced by condos. Sad, but this video brought back memories of great times. When I went off to college, I carefully packed up a huge collection of customized Monogram cars, Revell dragsters and funny cars and Tamiya military vehicles. I still had them when I moved to my first apartment in Chicago in 1983. A few months later, burglars cleaned out my building's storage area. Every one was gone. All I had left were the instruction manuals from each kit. The upside was that I got $5 to $10 for each of the lost models from my insurer (but only because the kit instructions proved that I had owned them).
OMG! This brings back so many memories of a HUGE amount of time spent from the age of about 7 to probably 18...lots of fun building the kits from ALL of the manufacturers. Also, I got a free Frankenstien kit, because my dad worked for a company who cleaned and refinished stores that had fire, smoke, or water damage back in the early 1970's. He brought me home a kit of Frankenstein. Silver, Black and Green Testors paint. That was all that I could get at the time. I was about 8 or 9, I think. I've built several of the kits that you show during this video. Can't remember them all, but I recognized a few. Still building kits, and I'm now 56. Fantastic! Thank you for doing this!
Did you notice that there was no Gidget Griffin/Francine Lawrence plastic model figurine that has ever been manufactured during the Carefree 50s movement and the Sentimental 60s era? No plastic model company has ever thought about creating one of those kinds.
Man.. Trip down memory lane.. Thanks! I recognized a bunch of the kits I did as a kid. These kits got me into rc aircraft for a bunch of years. The skills developed with the plastic models were a huge help with balsa kits and covering. Sadly I can't see well enough to do the fine work any more
What a terrific video! Thank you so much for producing and sharing this! Images of those Revell WWII fighter planes take me back to the mid 70's. I not only had a wonderful time building the P40, Stuka, Corsair, Spitfire, and others, but I gained valuable craftsmanship skills. These models were so much more than toys. Thanks again.
I remember going to the hobby store to get a model. I would build it and hang them from my ceiling in my room. It was a much better time and I miss it.
Yes, it was a great time back then. I used to buy the model cars, planes, and ships at Gibson's. I remember the car models were only about a dollar and a half, but it took me a while to save that much. I had a lot of those model cars, I wish I still had them.
What a wonderful and informative walk down memory lane. I saw models that I built in the 1950's and 1960's. it is a shame we can't get today's youth to build models and let their imaginations soar like we did. Nice presentation of the three model makers !
My parents at first would only buy me the Snap-Tite models because my mom didn't think that airplane glue was safe. When I started working a paper route in the 1970s (another long-gone activity), I bought for myself my first scale model requiring glue, an SBD Dauntless by Monogram, and the adventure really got going. Thanks for such a well researched and enjoyable video.
Great work on the documentary. Growing up model building was a part of our lives. Among the aircraft I built were mostly Monogram and Revell with some Aurora and Lindberg. Aircraft: Grumman's F4F Wildcat, F6F Wildcat, F8F Bearcat, and F9F Panther, North American B-25 Mitchell, Boeing B-17, Messerschmidt BF109, Hawker Hurricane; Curtis P-40 Warhawk/Tomahawk, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, General Dynamics F-16 Eagle, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom and more. Warships: CV-6 USS Enterprise, several of the Essex Class Aircraft Carriers, Several World War 2 USN Battleships, Troop transports, Destroyers & Cruisers. I had a full task force. My father flew several of the aircraft such as the in USAF B-25, T-33, T-37 and for Eastern Air Lines the Boeing 727 where he ended his career as a Captain. Between my Dad and my brothers we had several of the Monster figures and the Aurora/Aurora AFX slot cars. This video takes me down memory lane.
What a wonderful documentary. :) I've been building fine scale models since I was a boy, and to this day. (I am 62 now). Nothing is as gratifying as creating your own beautiful model from the kits and then using the airbrush to bring them to life.
I made my first model airplane at age 6. I made a total of over 300 models. Revell and Monogram were Great kits. It was a Great hobby. I still have 4 kits I never finished. I'm 56 now. Guess it's never to late to start again.
... I was born in '51, and I got into building models in a big way. I consider that deep experience with assembling all kinds of things from instructions to have been invaluable. My models taught me order of battle, mechanical logic, and common sense. I became a multimedia fine artist, and everything I can do was based on this invaluable early experience.
I was a member of the Revell Master Modelers Club in the '70s! I enjoyed building all the cars well into high school, which was a huge part of me becoming a very successful auto restorer in adulthood... I really liked the 'Deals Wheels' line, and recently won a bidding war on Ebay on the ZZZZZZ/28 kit. I ended up paying 80 bucks for it, but I surely would have paid more. That kit reminds me of me and my dad assembling that car in 1973, shortly before my parents divorced.
Excellent historic presentation. Too many memories of building models in my early years to ever count. Thank you for the effort to create this program. I learned the value of completing my own projects at an early age and the pride of self accomplishment when others praised what I had created. Even if it was from a kit, the attention to fine detail and finish were appreciated. Thanks again.
Excellent documentary. Thank you! I was one of those kids. We were lucky enough to have an actual hobby shop in our little (back then) town. My father was in the Air Force and we lived near an airbase that repaired Viet Nam era aircraft. It was McClellan AFB in Sacramento California. It was easy for us to get hooked on model building. We could see the aircraft flying in and out from our house..... We used to go to a nearby park (Gibson Ranch) that was in the path of the runways. It was amazing to watch the C-5’s coming in to land. The incredible and eerie groan of the jet engines. They would come in flying extremely low and slow. It appeared that they could fall out of the sky because they were so big and flying so slow. It was a much simpler time.
@@maxsmodels I think a lot of us "Military Brats" had some of the awe, and inspiration rub off in building, and detailing models. Dad was a Navy Warrant Officer, and we saw a LOT of different stations with new, and awesome aircraft, and testing platforms. Like at China lake NWTS, we saw a LOT of the newer Aircraft and missiles before the public even knew they existed ! When I worked at NASA's Dryden facility in California, I watched as the SR-71 prototypes, the YF-12, were tested, and evaluated, as well as lots of the current, and former aircraft developed
Wow, these companies were how I spent so many hours of my elementary school time in the late 60's and early 70's. I enjoyed this video immensely. Models, paint, and Testors glue... Yep, hours of enjoyment and a life-skill that's helped me for decades - "Read and follow the instructions!" Building models was a great part of my young life and taught me plenty of skills that I've used for decades! Great video, thanks for sharing!
I JUST WATCHED YOUR STORY AND IT WAS VERY WELL DONE. I AM SEVENTY ONE NOW AND REMEMBER MANY HOURS ENJOYING MODEL BUILDING. NOW I TEACH THIS CRAFT TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO LOVE THE PROCESS EVEN MORE, EXCEPT WE ARE BUILDING FULL SIZE SOLAR POWERED RACE CARS THEY USE TO COMPETE IN A NATIONAL SERIES. THEY HAVE LEARNED WELL AND HAVE WON THREE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. THEY RACE NASCAR SPEEDWAYS AND ACROSS COUNTRY, FORT WORTH TEXAS TO CALIFORNIA. WITHOUT MY MODELING DAYS, I AND THEY WOULD NOT HAVE GONE THIS PATH. GOD BLESS ALL MODELERS!
I'm so glad I found this video!..when my father passed away 11 years ago he left me over 50 unassembled revell and monogram model airplanes still in the boxes. He had collected them over his years as a vietnam vet and sometimes took over a year to build one at a time. It drove me nuts!..I started building my own in the early 80s but I never had the patience to do the great job my father did. I still have them all he left to me, sitting in my basement. I tried selling them in ads and such,but kids would rather play video games these days. I don't know what to do with them,.. maybe one day I'll build that cool black widow night fighter plane,the box looks so cool. Thanks for doing this video,I had no idea of the history of these companies.
I knew exactly what model you where talking about the second I saw black widow. I use to stare at it in the model section at Walmart way back in the day. She's a beauty.
@@Flint-Dibble-the-Don well,..I can make a bunch of these yours, including the black widow,..for a reasonable price,they are literally just sitting in my basement collecting dust..I need the space for my rock shop anyhow..
I was that kid from age 5 through 14, 1967 through 1976, looking for my next model from these 3 companies. Opening the box, seeing the "tree" of parts, or in Aurora's case, loose in the box, reading the instructions, getting the right paint colors, learning the finer points of detail (like cutting a paint brush to one bristle and filling in the red lettering on the Lincoln hub cap under a microscope) and how it matters, finessing fits (fit and finish) and decals...these kits , plus erector sets taught so much and provided hours upon hours of a hobby and, most of all, learning. I actually was in a Target earlier this year and looked at what was available on shelves in the toy area. Zilch. I figured it was video games and computers that killed this market. Thanks for putting this together, as I was obviously wrong.
I had to double check to see if I was reading one of my own posts as you and I are from the same ‘tree’ mold so to speak. I used to have to have find best quality horsehair brushes. Like you say, I even took bristles out to like (1) hair so I could paint the eyeballs on the pilots !
I was a detail specialist, I won the Revell model car contest, both in paint,upholstery and detail as well as my age category. My car took an entire year, hand rubbed lacquer bronze metallic. The tiny dipstick had oil, all sparkplug wires, even under the dash wiring, cut the doors open and made hinges, pearl naugahyde upholstery on rotating seats. I won two big trophies but only built one car because it took so long. Later used those skills to custom paint electric guitars, motorcycles , helmets, cars. It was a hobby that I loved as a 12 year old. I still build custom guitars .
Thanks for the history of the three model companies, I really enjoyed hearing the information you provided. While I haven't put together a model in four decades I still remember enjoying hours of fun assembling some of the more difficult models. I still have a 1969 Camaro model that I put together about 1978 in it's original box. But even earlier than that I still have a letter from Revelle from about the 1972-1974 timeframe when I entered a random model contest, probably from a comic book or magazine, and several months later receiving the letter saying that I had won a selection of models from Revell. Several weeks later I received three or four large boxes of model airplanes, ships, cars, and a large assortment of paint and of course, the glue. For a 12-14 year kid in the early 70's it was like Christmas! I look forward to seeing more videos from you!
This was an outstanding video Max. I am 66 years old and seeing some of those images of kits I built or that my late father built and painted for me (when I was still too young to do it myself) really brought back some sweet memories. To say it tugs at the heart strings does not really say enough. The box cover art is a story unto itself (and I have read a couple of those books). I remember those images so vividly. I used to clip the Revell box art covers and pin them to my wall. Once again... great job editing and narrating the video. Very informative. Thanks for this happy flashback. I will send this link to a couple of old buddies that I know will enjoy and relate to it....and a shout out and thank you to your very understanding wife...I have one of those too....I totally get what you mean.
Oh yes! The cover art was a very important part, as it made us develop imagination and appreciation capacity. Those paintings are to be assessed as true works of art, nothing less. When I was a boy in 1967-1968, a large bread company here in Mexico, launched a large album with stamps. All their products bags came with anything from two to five stamps, and most of them were the exact reproductions of the Revell line of kits box cover art... the small stamps were about 4x3in size and had a short but well written explanation in the back, often with main specifications about the airplane, ship or craft. The most rare and valued stamp, which many collectors never got, was the one for the SR71 Blackbird, then a little known airplane.
This brought back great memories and much more respect for the industry. Well done. I have shared this video with all my dear friends and to my brother in Law Gary, who still builds models to this day at 75 years young. It's his hobby and it keeps him young.
Such a delight to come across your video today! Earlier this week I rediscovered all 72 models I'd built as a kid 4th -7th grade packed away in the attic of my parents house. Mostly planes/jets, several ships/submarines, a few tanks, the space shuttle, and godzilla. I remember the frustration of the glue & sometimes melting the plastic using too much, I also never understood why anyone would intentional sniff it? I would hang the planes/jets in dog fight positions from my ceiling with thread and knew I wanted to become a pilot & join the Air Force when I grew up. Thanks for posting this video, it really brought back so many good and vivid memories from childhood!
Thanks for putting this documentary together. What a great story. Really brought back memories of those model kits. I loved them all. The model kit section of G.C. Murphy's and other department stores was my first stop to see the model kits. Of course, my mom and dad could always find me in that section when it came time to go home.
Thank you for the eye opening and interesting documentary! I had many Revell models as a kid - AirFix and Revell were the ones we had most commonly, but the Tamika ones, we could never afford - they were the adult models!
Max, thank you for a great history lesson! I can tell you a little bit of what has happened to some of the Revell and Monogram molds since the demise of Hobico. Most went to Revell Germany, many are still in limbo in China, but some of the molds from Illinois have made their way to Atlantis models, and the 81-98 molds for the stock car kits are now in the hands of Salvinos J R Models of Corona California. We are now producing some of them under our name and expanding the line by making other 1:24th scale bodies to fit on the GM chassis, and adding them to our own line of 1:24th scale stock cars from the 1970s. We feel like we are now the stewards of these kits, these 3500 pound amazing works of engineering art molds, and plan on continuing their production for many years! Thanks again for the great video, I’m going to check your page to see what you have on the actual molds and designing. Jim Rogers Designer Salvinosjrmodels.com
Thanks for this wonderful story! I grew up building many of these kits c. 1969-1980 but never imagined any of this background. It's a great combination of nostalgia and education about the realities of business history.
Thank you for this fascinating history that I never knew anything about. Started building these way back in the day. There was even a "Visible Man" and "Visible Woman" model where you put in all the organs and painted the veins and arteries. But we also had the monsters and I don't know who made some of the cars, which was where I was most interested. All the Rat Fink rods and such. But there were also detailed ones where you had to build the whole car and engine uwing color thread for the spark plug wires. Right now I have 2 Wart Hog A-10 Thunderbolts waiting. These are Branded as Revell+SnapTite. I guess kids these days build virtual planes and cars and boats--speaking of, you didn't say whether these ever ventured into the sailing ship models? Those were also very popular. Thanks again for this flashback!
I can still remember how happy and proud I was when I received my Revell Master Modeler certificate and patch. Very good history of a huge part of so many kids lives.
I was born in the late 1950s. I built my first model, a Lingbergh sport plane, when I was 3 years old, with a little help from Dad. I was hooked. Still am. Problems now are no different than when I was 12; they take all of my allowance, and I have no room to put them anywhere.
I finally got back into modelling after a long hiatus: a bagged Revell 1:32 Stuka missing about 10 parts, but with instructions and a very good decal sheet. Over time, I manages to hoard a bunch of the Revell and Matchbox 1:32 kits. Through the early 1970s, I loved the Revell catalogs. That is until a neighbor got his hands on the 1976 Tamiya "catalogue". It was a thing of wonderment and beauty. I have fond memories of those days.
My Uncle Cushy Forte sculpted the original bucks for MonoGram, using a pantograph to reduce the scale. I still own one of his wooden bucks, it's awesome! I modeled as a kid and still do today at 63 a wonderful hobby and this was a wonderful story, thank you!
I have over 6000 models of every description in original factory sealed boxes. I find the artwork on the boxes much more satisfying than the model itself. I have transportation cars,trucks,aircraft,ships,monsters ,t.v.stars etc.
I thought my cousin had the largest collection he has a 24 by 24 garage that's full he can just get the minivan in he bought some models recently last month he has nowhere to put them he has no more space no more nothing he's got like 2000 model car kits military plane and otherwise in about 19,000 Matchbox Hot Wheels dinky and Corgi are display cases and such but 6000 my cousin would go nuts he loves the old boxes so do I
Yes, the artwork was very intriguing, especially on the Aurora monster kits. I often would wonder how well the plastic kit was going to match the artwork before opening the box. The plastic never did seem to match all that well, but that was ok because I saw the artwork as a technical challenge to see how well I could paint the kit to match as close as possible.
As a kid, I loved building these model kits! I built a 1963 Jaguar XK-E, and many other cars, as well as airplanes and a few ships. I even built the Gemini Spacecraft, which was a larger model! It came with 2 astronaut figurines that sat inside, and the 2 doors opened so you could see inside! I think that last models that I built were the "Big Daddy Roth" models that were comically exaggerated and extreme! Ah, what a great memory of my youth! Thank you for this beautifully informative video!
Just found this, and think it's wonderful! Thank you for sharing the history of these companies and giving me some background on all those great kits I built as a kid.
Absolutely shaped my childhood. Sends waves of goose bumps out all over... One funny note: the song from Rocky Horror Show, "creature double feature" I think it was called, plays in the background (during the Frankenstain model display) in this video. Thank you for such a well researched, well written, and executed video of a HUGE part of my childhood! Really, this stuff led to my career as a machinist.
Wonderfully entertaining video and brought back fond memories of my Aurora Frankenstein, Wolf Man and Phantom of the Opera models, and later dragsters and funny cars. Thank you.
Thank you for the video. I live next door to Elk Grove, IL. Can't believe my childhood was so closely linked to where these models were made. I'm sorry kids today will never know the joy of building plastic models with their own hands. How I wish I'd kept mine. So sad.
Thank You for the great history documentary! I built many, many of these in the 70's which were our chief source of entertainment. It often took weeks to scratch up the $3.88 they cost then! I never considered sniffing the glue or Testors paint for a thrill; it seemed a pretty stupid notion! Great trip back in time when life as a pre-early teenager was so much better. I built skills then that have served me well everyday since!
Superbly done presentation! Building models in the 60s and early 70s was one of the most enjoyable aspects of my formative years. I always built them by myself....and relished every moment. Seeing this video reminds me of the dozens of aircraft, ships, and cars that I purchased and build. Most of my friends at the time were into it as well. I feel sad that young people will not know the joy of building something like these with their own hands.
I think a big part of the problem now is how freakin' expensive the kits are. Car model kits are $20 to $40+ now. I slowed down buying models when they got up to $2. That was a lot of money for me back then. Kids now days would rather spend that money on a video game, or a bag of weed. Maybe it's a good thing that they have no idea just how high we got back in the day building models with jars of airplane dope (later renamed model glue) in unventilated corners of our bedrooms.
I can remember riding my 10 speed 5 miles across West Jacksonville to buy the Thunderbirds set, and precariously ride back home with this giant box. This bittersweet place we find ourselves now.....
I 1963, when I was sixteen I had left school and was working for a company call London Artid Plastics in Slough, Buckinghamshire UK. I operated a plastic injection moulding machine making Revell model kits. Needless to say I was able to build many kits as I got them for virtually nothing. The company office had a glass case where all the models I built were displayed for customers to see when they visited. Best job I ever had before I joined the army
Fascinating stuff! As a kid in the 1960s, I was hooked on model kits. Thanks so much for providing such a fascinating look at what was going on behind the scenes.
What a marvelous historical video of a hobby that I personally enjoyed from the age of 10 in 1956 to the present day although I no longer build plastic models of any kind. Up until now I had no idea how complicated the model manufacturing business was and what all the major names within it would eventually fall victim to! Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
I miss the America I grew up in. The local hobby shop was better than Disneyland. From arts and crafts construction paper and pipe cleaners. To plastic model kits and Estes rockets. I remember the glow in the dark monster models and my F15 Eagle best. Thank you for this trip down memory lane.
I really liked the ending where the founders were credited with enriching all of our lives. When I think about how much I learned and how rewarding the hobby was, and how it propelled my career paths, I was reverent in seeing the pictures of the people who made it happen. It became a personal connection.
I just went to the comments as I watched this. As usual I don't read many comments till I watch. Just as I got to your comment the part you mentioned came up. I feel the same way.
🙂👍
As an old man, I'd still like to build them, but I can't bring myself to pay fifty bucks for what I used to get for ninety-eight cents.
Amen to that.
Yooooooooooo
I’m weaker than you guys. I retired a few years ago, and moved overseas with my wife. Before going, I bought and shipped 29 model kits. Some were over $50, but I couldn’t pass up the original boxed Boothill Express.
When you and I were 10-12 it was as had to scrape together.99$ as it is to afford $50.00 (on fixed income)
and at a time when getting 2 cents for a returned bottle actually meant something
Built my first Model in 1956...a Revell B-25....I am 77 and still love building models!
That's awesome I have a B-25 Mitchell bomber model kit. Its a bigger scale.
EXCELLENT summary of the American plastic model companies. As a kid growing up in the 50s and early 60s, I built over 100 models spread out from the three company catalogs. They hung from my bedroom ceiling - sat on my dresser - adorned my window sills and were physical representations of my hopes and dreams. I am now long retired from the cockpit of my Boeing 767. but I wonder what I career i would have had if it weren’t for those models.
Excellent!
I went on to be a Union tradesman.
I think my passion for building models fueled my passion for building the real world.
When I fly over Minneapolis at night....I can pick out lights I made happen.
I really appreciate this video. My father was Vice President for International Operations for Revell back in the '60s. I was a young kid at the time. Two favorite memories: 1) I assembled a plastic model of the _Santa Maria._ I went through great pains to paint that beautiful ship. I taught myself how to "age" the wood. I even stiffened all the rigging! Well, my dad was impressed. He took it to work. It ended up on display at his office! That was over 50 years ago! 2) Since my dad was in charge of International stuff anytime a foreign visitor arrived at Revell corporate he had to entertain them. We would take the VIP wherever they wanted to go in Southern California! _Guess_ where 103% of them wanted to go! YUP....Disneyland! So, mom and dad would pack up us kids in the car as we made the personal sacrifice of going to Disneyland! I have lost count. But I do remember having a shoebox __full__ of the old A B, C, E - unused ticket books!
So, for me this video was a nice trip of nostalgia! Thank you!
Was that the Revell factory in Venice, Ca.?
@@lenshilt Yes, we lived in a new city, at the time - Hacienda Heights. That was back in the '60s. We moved from Los Angeles to a newly built home. The commute was about 40 miles or about an hour and a half...or more!
Ironically, later in life I had a similar commute, to a brand new city at the time to cities an hour to an hour and a half away!!!
Well sir you are one lucky guy! I remember some of this same models as I wished I could afford one of the largest sets!
I use to visit the toy shops' model sections just to check out the new model kits
@@colorin81colorado Ricardo (by the way, I _LIKE_ that name!), I was very fortunate. There was an endless supply of model kits coming my way when I was a kid. I could ask my dad for any kit in the catalog and I would get it - free. It wasn't in a pretty box (fresh from the factory floor) with all needed parts and instructions. Also, I now remember my dad giving me kits that were being tested. They weren't out in the stores yet. Anyway, I was asked to build them then give my opinion. I don't think I was allowed to keep them thou. (trade secrets!) I wish could remember which ones.
My dad was a wonderful dad and provider. He worked very hard.
I'm glad we share so memories! I hope you were able to build Revell kits. I recall that the detail on them was pretty good compared to the competition.
Thank you for sharing!
@@born2bbald12 hey thanks for commenting back! I did get to build a few models but I moved on to Lego when I started to have children of my own so we could build them together and not mess them up!
I'm glad you had a good dad, many young people nowadays do not have one and we all suffer because of it.
Make sure you leave some diary or record behind to tell your children or just to share good memories with us all!
Cheers from Brisbane Australia!
There are a lot of us still out there who remember the pleasures of building these old kits during the rainy afternoons of our youth; the enjoyment that we derived from these hobbies are forever in our hearts.
It was the detail painting that I got the most fun from, being very careful to remove any brush hairs from the model's surface.
@@PaleRider54 Since I've been into cars my hole life I still build models of the classics and muscle cars, Building models actually was a start towards working on real cars. And since I always try to build my cars stock I have to study the real cars to get the details right, I could go on about this subject, Building models helps when it comes to critical thinking, and since I have over 300 models in my collection along with alot of diecast models I can honestly say that Revell monogram kits are about the best for the money !
Larry Wilson
Some of the best times of my life. My twin brother and I would save up our .78 cents to buy an Aurora or Monogram. It was the early 60’s and a great way to tune out the assassinations and the nightly body count from Vietnam.I still love to build them and still hang them from the ceiling!
@@wallace11824 my problem is finding new plastic cases to put my cars in you see that for over ten year's now I haven't been able to find them at the local Walmart and when I did find them at the hobby shops (also disappearing) they used to cost an arm and a leg, so when I dust those I have to be careful. Of course Hobby shops disappearing bothers me also, I guess its beacuse of the internet and Amazon but still that was something special and a part of my life that I enjoyed!
Shame we gotta get old!
I was a Revell kid in the '70's, and often poured over the extensive color catalogs they published, dreaming about my next build. I'll never forget my 1957 Nomad, which was so large it fully exemplified the "shoebox" Chevy's lol. I had that same cutaway sub Mr. Blazer is holding in the video, and I had the U.S.S. Missouri. Bought that at a department store called Murphy's in my hometown that was a sort of Walmart-esque small chain.
I had the B-52 from that 1:32 line, and it was HUGE! My family was a low-mid middleclass finance family, so we didn't have central A/C. We used box fans in the warm months, and I'll never forget lying in bed and seeing the big silhouette of that B-52 hanging from the ceiling, swaying gently left to right in the dark. I flew a lot of bombing sorties lol.
I'll say that I also built a lot of Monogram models, and my third place choice was Tamiya. Their kits were usually smaller scale, but VERY detailed.
I can't remember ever having an Aurora kit, but since I did build Monogram...I guess I did! I recognize so many of my old models from your video. So many great memories! I hope that even though the companies are defunct now, somehow someone had the love of history to preserve the molds. Their destruction would be a big tragedy.
You got my sub.
Thxs for memories forgot the ships and subs grand stuff
Nothing matched my childhood elation like walking into a well-stocked hobby shop in the seventies. My personal forte was military vehicles and especially tanks...mostly revel. I went for the battle hardened look...weathering, dents, a little rust...Not immediately, but eventually they all succumbed to firecrackers in my backyard. As it pains me to say, watching their demise was almost as satisfying as building them. Thank you for such a wonderful video.
Your parents allowed you to play with firecrackers? In their yard? My folks never indulged in any fireworks. And we lived in suburbia.
Every report card we got a trip to the hobby shop for a new model and then pizza.
I really enjoyed this Doc. as a man of 74 yrs. I was in the big middle of this time when many of us boys in the late 50's and 60's, before we noticed cute girls, used to buy a model about once a week if possible. One of my favorites was a plane called The Pogo-Stick with dual props and took off straight up. Revel's car kits in the 60's seemed to be a favorite. We also spent a fortune on all the little glass paint jars by Testors. I am so thankful I grew up then where we rode bicycles for miles and miles everyday and sold pop bottles to get our money for the kits.
Seems like a much better time to be alive and would go back in a heartbeat if I could. Thanks for this great visit to happier times~!
I agree...people had a desire to treat each other well then. Today, with all the claims we have "progressed", look at how much drama and politics has destroyed what is good. I hope we learn to treat each other better and get rid of the drama and politics as a form of entertainment for the bored and foolish who don't even realize they have a much more to live for, many more talents to hone. I really think this simple thing (deciding to treat each other better) is the solution to most of today's troubles.
I was happiest listening to the Beatles while building models and racing slot cars with my friends and Dad back in the day.
Yes to all three posts. Yes to the Beatles, and all the other great rock groups. Yes to building lots of model airplanes. And yes to freedom to ride our bikes far from home. Just be home for dinner.
Looking at all those boxes with the unforgettable artwork, reminds me of just how many of the models I built. At one time a model of most of the allied (and some axis) military planes of WWII. About 40 or so. Piper Cub and Storch to Coronado and Mariner.
It's your past guys.
Times were good for us because we were white and either affluent enough....or young enough to avoid Vietnam.
I know people who had it bad in the 60's and 70's.
My kids grew up in the 90's and 2000's.
They had great childhoods!
I made damned sure of that.
But to sit around and go on the internet claiming life was great back then....and terrible now is just pathetic.
You guys don't understand that you lived "privileged" lives.
I lived in the poor part of town in the 60's and 70's.
I still had a great childhood....but make no mistake.
I had friends from broken homes....lots of drugs and alcohol used by their parents.
They don't see these as "GREAT TIMES"
I also remember some of the older boys going off to Vietnam.
Some never came home!
It wasn't the times that were great.....it was your parents that were great.
They were able to raise you in a safe and stable area.
Kids today who have great parents.....are doing JUST FINE!
When we were kids in the 60's we built the monster kits. The Mummy, Frankenstein, Wherewolf, Phantom of the Opera. My parents gave me an Aurora slot car set for Christmas in 67. Thanks Mom and Dad !
Loved the monster kits but had the 1966 Batman model. Cool times.
I remember how it was in the 60's as one of three young brothers. All within 3 years of other. We made hundreds of models of different kinds. After years of learning our craft we all finally agreed on building 1/72 scale models of aircraft all with gear up. 1/72 was great because big planes were available. Making models gear up and doors closed was extremely difficult make to look perfect. I remember closing the door where it almost looked perfect, only to have it pop inside slightly, making it impossible to pull out without getting glue everywhere! We hung them from the rafters in a well-built wooden shed, all facing the same direction. They are still there to this day!
Absolutely OUTSTANDING video, this is what I'm looking for when I watch youtube. This is the standard that should be met! Great job!
thanks
Agreed👍
I second that motion!
Outstanding comment Kent. I totally agree and I told him so in my comment.
Very professionally done right down to the period music in the background. Thanks for the education and memories...
I must have built over a hundred plastic models when I was a kid. Mostly military aircraft, but also rockets, a nuclear sub with all the internal details, and a 3' long aircraft carrier. I spent many an evening assembling and painting them. Monogram was my favorite brand.
Many years later I was in DC for a one week marketing assignment, and we had a half day at the end to just look around. I did a quick tour with one of the managers, ans we visited the Mall and the Smithsonian Air Museum. I could name most of the aircraft and tell her their histories as we walked thru the place. She asked me how I knew so much about aircraft, and I was a little embarrassed to admit it was from building all those models. Monogram included information on the model, and I still remembered it as an adult.
You definitely picked the right museum, and that's a cool story.
@@erichanhauser3190 Indeed! I myself learned a lot about WWII warships and warplanes I built in my 6th grade year (1986-87).
I had a series of surprisingly similar experiences. First, Revell 1:72nd-scale kits of 1) USAAF and USN combat aircraft, predominantly of the Second World War; 2) and U.S. Navy warships (to my exasperation, not in the same scale; I am poor at maths!). Also, Star Trek models, especially of the Starship Enterprise, NCC-1701. I like contemplating the military's future.
Decades later, some veterans in my apartment complex went to the USAF museum in Vandalia, Ohio; to my deep gratitude, they had a remaining seat (I just had learnt of it even as they were boarding the bus!). When we had arrived, I asked the volunteer escorting me round (the place was *enormous*, and I am significantly myopic!) not to tell me the names of any of them, as this was my chance to test my knowledge; over the following two hours or so, I had not missed one! I recited from memory the manufacturer, the designation, the nickname, the service branch, and the type (e.g., Boeing B-17G "Flying Fortress" USAAF Heavy Bomber). I even was able to distinguish between a Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" USAAF Fighter -J and -L variant! All thanks to Bert Kinsey's Detail and Scale books, round thirty of which I had packed into my satchel.
Maybe we are polystyrene cousins.
When I was 12.....early 70's.
I could tell you the brand, model, and year of 80% of the cars driving down any busy street.
I grew up in 60's and these were my Go-To kits.
I'm someone who's going for something that's adult like.
I used to draw the instruction manuals for the Revell / Monogram kits around 1990-93 as well as the kits made by Ertl toy company. It was pretty cool going to stores and seeing the kits on the shelves and show people all the kits I had drawn.
Hey, that IS cool! Must've been a great job.
Thats pretty neat
Molded a lot of Revell models in the 70s at our molding company in Santa Monica when we had openings in one of injection molding machines. It was pretty cool and gave me a brake from molding some uninteresting parts for other companies. We were custom molders for 47 years .
As an old draftsman, I envy you! That is awesome! Into model trains now andd would love to have met the Train Miniatures and Athearn artist! Chances are I saw your instruction but plastic models were fading into my N and HO trains!
@@williamgrimberg2510 The nostalgia over all this hurts, doesn't it, friend?
Great documentary! As a kid in the early 70’s, I was a voracious builder! Flash forward to today, I suffered a serious spinal injury, leaving me barely able to walk, and with serious problems with my manual dexterity. After trying all sorts of physical therapy, with very limited success, I found 1/72 Sopwith Pup model in a box of my old toys left from my parent’s house. It was unbuilt, in the blister-pack from @1970. Long story short, I built the tiny thing, with a great deal of difficulty. Soon I was buying kits from E-Bay, my dexterity became exponentially better! Best physical therapy ever!!!
No way! Thats amazing. Thanks for sharing, maybe it can help my dexterity as well! Wow!
I almost forgot about Lindbergh Models as well.😮😅
Wow! What an inspiration to us all. More Power to you!
Cool story bro.....no sarcasm intended!
God bless you, buddy - you have courage and we all benefit from your story
Model building was great fun as Boomer kid.
My dad was a railroad hobbyist with HO trains... I built military kits... and a ship.
When I first got into slot cars, Strombecker, then Monogram in 32nd scale were on the track my dad built from Masonite. Sincd he was a train guy, he built authentic scenery, pit area, hand made guard rails, great attention to details...
Slot cars got more complex and very fast quickly. Dad and I were on it. Dad worked part-time at a small hobby shop, brought home magazines of the lastest equipment and tech. I sucked it up like I was starving... got to building.Dad and I built a bigger, faster track, foregoing the scenery.
I couldn't wait to get home from school to build faster slot cars from scratch, frames from piano and brass plate and wire.
When a commercial track opened in town, I was ready... I won the first four races. I was an instant celebrity.
I had graduated HS, and was off to college... slot cars gave way to social interests, and eventually, guitar playing, which became my occupation ever since.😮
I did get back into slot cars in the mid 80's. I loved building the newer cars, was good at it, but my dfiving skills had waned.... Still had a good time though.
I still have these cars, but have no interest in investing time and money into it... I'm a homeowner now..😢. and a lifetime of accumulation to sort, get rid of.... probably the slot cars and all the parts and equipment go too. Sure had some good times building.
Great video...Thanks.
@@dleifteHsemaJ
I've built partscasters, a Tele and a Strat...
Next is a "Greenie" Les Paul...
Retirement has made my life busier than ever... What I like best is no loaded alarm clock next to my bed.
I'm still playing, solo acoustic, and in a trio... mostly Swing, with upright bass, sax, me on the Tele. Maybe I'll have my own band... all I need is time... sheesh!
As a kid I built alot of Revell and Monogram, Aurora as well as AMT , Tamiya and several others , stopped in my mid 20s due to ex inlaws looking down on it as waste of money and time , I sure did enjoy those endless hours building and painting , into the we hours of the morning . This vid brought back lot of older memories .
Since they are ex-inlaws, what's stopping you from getting back into model building? I'm back into it now after a 20+ year hiatus. I'm building all of the kits my father bought in the mid 70's, inluding a few Revell kits and one Aurora. I've also got my own stash from 20+ years ago to finish off, and I seem to keep buying new kits. They range of paints and tools available now is amazing. You can certainly blow a few bucks on materials, and the kits are not particularly cheap in New Zealand, but it's a great hobby.
I grew up in the 50's and 60's and spent a great deal of my childhood building plastic model airplanes, ships and cars.
Great memories!
Just found this and want to thank you. It brought back lots of memories as I bought kits from all three companies. At one time I had all the monster kits from Aurora and a dozen WWII fighters from Monogram. I also had their B-17 and B-29 kits. In fact I have an unfinished B-29 kit sitting in my garage.
I shoveled snow all winter back in the 70s and spent it all on models, and I'd do it again if I was 11 or 12.
Yep !!! From 1958-1962 I spent ALL the money I earned on 3 things, comic books,baseball cards,and 1/24 scale model cars by Jo-Han,Amt,and Revell. Fantastic times they were !!!
1960 I stopped buying kits in favour of dating girls. Not the best move I could have made, but there you go. In the early 1990s it was back to assembling plastic kits again and it's been steady building right up to this day.
I got my models in the early -mid 60s.
I had most of the Monster models and of course Batman and Superman and Superboy. My paint jobs were pretty bad 😂
Shoveling snow proves what a dedicated model builder you truly are! Bless your heart.
@@jaybrown1828 A man after my own heart! Where were you when I was spending MY allowance on the same things? You gotta be a great guy with a last name like Brown! I’m a Brown also...Kathy B. 3/31/24
I worked at Revell Models about 40 years ago. They had a guy who would "professionally" build all of their models - and these were displayed in their showroom. The detail on the battleships was amazing - even some rust in the right areas. They were a fantastic company to work for, and a lot of good people worked there. One thing we'd do is get models that had damaged packaging, but were still good inside, and give those to some of the kids in the neighborhood. Kids would show up out back on Fridays and always said thanks, regardless of what we had to give them.
Amazing recollection- thanks for your part of the Story, Gringo. ✔️
Splendid doc on these three plastic model powerhouses!! Models were a huge part of my childhood that I'd forgotten. Thanks for stirring up these memories!!
My childhood flashes before my eyes. I had sooo many of these kits when I was younger. In my teens I migrated to the more detailed kits and diorama building... but Aurora, Revell and Monogram started it all.
Don't forget Testers/Italerai!
I love an "Old School" documentary that carefully tells the stories of a "Golden Era"...
The 1/24th Santa Maria plastic model is very rare. That was Christopher Columbus' principal wooden exploration ship. 🚢 😳 😍 😍 😍 😄 😄 👌 😅 🚢
I bought my first plastic model in 1952, I continued to build models all through my school years , to this day I still build and fly model airplanes, I'm 76 yrs old now , and still buy and build a plastic model, many thanks to those companies that kept me interested in model building. The hobby has grown immensely. So glad I was a part of the early history , great memories..
I know the feeling I'm in my late 40s an still build an fly model airplanes as well every time I fire up one of my old os max engines I still get a rush.. An of course I lov the exhaust smell lol
My oldest brother bought the Guillotine back in the 60s. Grandma was horrified. For the following decade, it was handed down from one brother to the next until I inherited this piece of awesomeness. The body of the victim was hollow, and you were supposed to fill it up with red dye, so the blood would pour out into the basket when you chopped his head off. Oh, the good ol' days....
Ha! Ha! That's Great!
.
I still have it!!!!!!
My Husband told me about theses torture models sold in the early 70s the rack iron maiden etc and they would fit together like a giant chamber of horrors they got shut down real fast by concerned Mothers and feminists because it showed all Women in them and they are hard to find just like an old comic book series in the 60s called witches Tales it only sold so many and got shut down also because it was so graphic.
I built one of those too.....very cool!!
Used to have the Polar Lights re-issue, but it disappeared in a move, alas. Nearly unavailable now.
Wow... Fantastic stuff... 64 year old here who in and around 1966 loved Hi-Flier Kites, Estes Rockets, Matchbox Cars and Aurora racetracks with 1:32 slot cars! Also loved building and painting the Aurora Monster Models! What great memories I have of all of that... Thanks for the fantastic video!!!
glad you liked it
Same age.
Same exact stuff in my bedroom.
My husband has been building models since he was young I cant wait to show him this video thank you
This brought back a lot of fond memories. In this age of computer games, I think a lot of kids are missing out on the virtues that scale modelling gave us. Patience, hand-eye coordination, artistic skills, etc. I think it would be great to see the hobby make a comeback.
GANDAM
Life is still primarily lived in the physical world.
It even somtimes gave us frustration tolerance, because no matter how difficult some steps became, we found the way to overcome them .
@LTrain 45 Hardly. While video games have shortened the time for technical training for things such as pilots, (especially drone pilots, per a USAF report to congress) they do not give you the hands-on fabrication and engineering problem-solving skills that modelling does. Apples and oranges comparison. Neither skill set is bad, just different.
There is a big difference between pushing a button to create a crafted item in a video game, and having to figure out how you are going to make real world parts fit together properly. For scratch builders, it is practically a junior course in structural engineering.
My modelling skills sure came in handy as a fabricator when the boss would come around with some project drawn on the back of a cocktail napkin with estimated dimensions and say "here, build me a prototype of this".
I could tell when an engineer was a video gamer, I was correcting their blueprints when they wanted me to drill a hole in solid steel that then turned at a 90 degree angle......
You are so correct, it's sad to see my grandson with more interest in video game's than building things...
The Aurora monster and character models were such a huge part of my childhood. For three or four years there I built every one of them, but my dad finally put his foot down when I asked for the guillotine. Beginning of the end
That Aurora guillotine kit was a scream. They should have come out with the gallows, electric chair, gas chamber, and leathal injection gurney!
The Frankenstein kit was one of my first builds in the early 1960s. I enjoyed every moment.
I had most of the Monster models I'm thinking 1962, I was 4 years old my paint jobs were pretty bad 😂 And of course Batman and Superman and Superboy when they came out.
I miss the America I grew up in. The local hobby shop was better than Disneyland. From arts and crafts construction paper and pipe cleaners. To plastic model kits and Estes rockets. I remember the glow in the dark monster models and my F15 Eagle best. Thank you for this trip down memory lane.
@@russellponder940 I met Curt Swan and shook his hand, THAT HAND !
I very much enjoyed this! I dragged my dad to the local hobby store each time I finished a model and begged him to help me get a new one. So many hours sitting at the desk in my bedroom fantasizing how it would come out when I was finished. This was late 60’s-early 70’s. I took a turn toward model rockets eventually but the excitement of the building process and anticipation of the finished model stayed the same. Such great memories returned watching this documentary - thank you!
I hated Revell models as a kid and built many Monogram models. Now with Covid and staying at home, at 53 Years Old I am trying to get back into model building.
It is very hard to accept the fact that model built is not a part of an individuals life anymore. I wonder how many have grown up to build the real thing. I feel this activity should be restarted. Maybe, just maybe fewer youngsters would be in trouble were prone to build models....
I hated revell too. Too basic. I was an Airfix kid.
@@davidrobinson7112 WHY?
Sport, I grew up in the rough part of town in the 60's and 70's.
I knew lots of older kids who got into lots of trouble.
The most talented kit builder in the neighborhood (BY FAR) grew up to be on the FBI's most wanted list.
He was extremely talented.
Extremely smart.
His divorced Mother couldn't keep him on the correct road to success
A bitter shame!
He could have become anything.
I wonder if he's still alive?
It's amazing that the kits I bought as a kid around 1970 were $2.50 for a Revell kit ($25 last I checked). which I thought was the best at the time (it also had the best decals). Monogram was good too. Hot wheels. Tonka trucks (The all metal trucks), Cox gas powered aircraft and cars. My dad was Air Force and brought home large posters of military jets that he'd hang on our bedroom walls. My brother and I bought model airplanes and hung them from the ceiling and displayed model cars on top of our dressers. We could easily spend a full day in our room building a single model. My brother got an HO slot car racing set for Christmas one year and that ended up being a huge hit. My friend across the street had one too and his older brother (I think 10 or 11 at the time) would take lighter fluid and douse a car with it, light it and drive the car around the track on fire. We thought he was crazy. My kids now (as is every kid) are into video gaming. My youngest son saved (from doing chores) enough to buy the components to build a high end video gaming PC. His older brother helped him build it and he still uses it to this day (he's 14 now).
I got into model building when I was 5? I came down with the measles. Doc said my parents had to keep me in and quiet. So my folks figured out how to keep me busy. Thanks for the video! Lots of fun memories!
I built models from all 3 companies in the 70's as a kid. Thanks for taking the time to walk me down memory lane and provide their stories!
It's three a.m. and I'm reliving my childhood. Thank you.
Now I'll have to wake up in reality.
ah for gteh sweet escape of nostalgia
Model building taught me as a kid. A lot of mechanical skills. Working on model kits, following instructions, all helped me fix my real cars and trucks as a young man. And has given me the ability to look at most mechanical problems and figure them out.
So, thanks to all these guys who started these companies.
I built so many of these models when I was a kid. My Dad taught me how and my weekly allowance went straight to the hobby shop! Thanks for doing such a great job on this story!
Those models were a big part of my childhood. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
By the age of ten I had 110 model airplanes hanging from my bedroom ceiling. All Monogram and Revell.
Thank you for this great documentary. Great work and thoroughly enjoyed it.👍🏻
I was born 1960 and Aurora was a big part of my child hood.Aurora cars and track was the cat meow.They made some great stuff,Batmobile,Good Humor ice cream truck and a lot more.The track suck some times with guide pins and clips but it was racing at it's best.It was good to see this and learn more about a great era and time in life
I built my first model at the age of six and I've never stopped building them. I'll turn 67 in April. P. S. Loved the history lesson!👍
My first as the original Revell X-15 at five years old. It was, naturally, a mess! I recently ordered the same model on eBay (for a lot more than Mom paid) and an original Mercury/Gemini combo kit which I’d also built at about ten. These versions ended up as fine scale models when finished. Amazing what patience, maturity and experience does! I loved All Three manufacturers. Kept me busy for hours. I loved for trips to the drug store with my Mom and the chance to shop the model shelves. I’m sorry there gone but pleased Revell Germany is out there. I’ve ordered some of their contemporary kits. Very happy with them.
Oh yeah, and all those airplane models that stirred my imagination? They made me a Naval Aviator years later! Thanks for the inspiration boys! Cause I coulda ended up an accountant...lol.
I also had my first model when I was 6. My parents were going to some evening thing and left me with my grandparents. They let me with a model of a B29 and a tube of glue. I never had seen a model be put together but my dad had a few models I would play with. Now as anyone who started young with plastic models knows the glue that that came in the tubes, (we all know the orange and white Testors tubes.). That if you are nor careful that glue can get all over your fingers and when you hold the parts it will etch your fingerprints onto that part. So by the end of the evening I had a B29 all put together and had my 6yo fingerprints etched all over it. I think somewhere I still have that model. By 9 I found that I did pretty well at construction and painting. I got a kit that had 4 Blue Angels Grumman F-11 Tiger jets. I entered it in a contest and i won first place for my age group. My model sat in a display case at our airport for a few months. I still have one of then here on my desk. From 6-18 I put together scores of models. Mainly planes and jets but now and then a car too
My time to be able to build models dropped off a lot when I went to college then was married and working. i am now 63 and I still have a number of models out in my garage I hope I could someday work on but still never find the time now.
These models were an important part of my childhood but I got extra nostalgic about the "monster-models" as that was something that been hidden deep in my memory bank.
Thanks for posting this video.
Man, this brings back memories of childhood in the 1960's and early 70's. I remember kids my age all building model ships (to start with and airplanes later) and placing them on the floor of a bedroom with other kids ship models to form fleets. Most were Revell models that involved different size scale ships which was not always appreciated in those same size boxes. This model building was fun and kept us off the streets for a few years. After leaving the military and before he died my father gave me a box of models I had built decades before. It brought tears to my eyes.
Absolutely true ! See my comments in the main section
I deeply appreciate the time and effort you put into this video. I cannot imagine the number of hours I spent in our basement cutting trimming gluing painting rigging staging...what a wonderful time it was.
My friends and I built and customized many Monogram and AMT car models, and built and raced Aurora slot cars, in the late 60s and early 70s when we lived near Boston. We loved the Monogram Tom Daniel hot rods. It took us about two weeks of allowance to save enough to buy a $2 kit at Caldor.
I recall ordering parts from Monogram for our projects. The company would send back an invoice (usually less than 75 cents), we would send then an envelope of coins, and a couple of weeks later would receive a package of parts. Very exciting! As 12-year-olds, we dreamed of visiting exotic Waukegan Avenue in Morton Grove, Illinois, as honored customers and sifting through Monogram's warehouse of parts.
Years later (1980) my family moved to Glenview, Illinois, and I was astonished one day while driving to pass the Monogram plant. I was, at last, in Morton Grove! Childhood memories came flooding back. The plant is gone now, replaced by condos. Sad, but this video brought back memories of great times.
When I went off to college, I carefully packed up a huge collection of customized Monogram cars, Revell dragsters and funny cars and Tamiya military vehicles. I still had them when I moved to my first apartment in Chicago in 1983. A few months later, burglars cleaned out my building's storage area. Every one was gone. All I had left were the instruction manuals from each kit. The upside was that I got $5 to $10 for each of the lost models from my insurer (but only because the kit instructions proved that I had owned them).
OMG! This brings back so many memories of a HUGE amount of time spent from the age of about 7 to probably 18...lots of fun building the kits from ALL of the manufacturers. Also, I got a free Frankenstien kit, because my dad worked for a company who cleaned and refinished stores that had fire, smoke, or water damage back in the early 1970's. He brought me home a kit of Frankenstein. Silver, Black and Green Testors paint. That was all that I could get at the time. I was about 8 or 9, I think. I've built several of the kits that you show during this video. Can't remember them all, but I recognized a few. Still building kits, and I'm now 56. Fantastic! Thank you for doing this!
Did you notice that there was no Gidget Griffin/Francine Lawrence plastic model figurine that has ever been manufactured during the Carefree 50s movement and the Sentimental 60s era? No plastic model company has ever thought about creating one of those kinds.
Man.. Trip down memory lane.. Thanks!
I recognized a bunch of the kits I did as a kid. These kits got me into rc aircraft for a bunch of years. The skills developed with the plastic models were a huge help with balsa kits and covering. Sadly I can't see well enough to do the fine work any more
What a terrific video! Thank you so much for producing and sharing this!
Images of those Revell WWII fighter planes take me back to the mid 70's. I not only had a wonderful time building the P40, Stuka, Corsair, Spitfire, and others, but I gained valuable craftsmanship skills. These models were so much more than toys.
Thanks again.
I remember going to the hobby store to get a model. I would build it and hang them from my ceiling in my room. It was a much better time and I miss it.
It was a much better time, and I miss it as well.
100% with you Robert. I spent 50% of the money I made shoveling snow, mowing lawns on models. I loved to build tanks and funny cars
Yes, it was a great time back then. I used to buy the model cars, planes, and ships at Gibson's. I remember the car models were only about a dollar and a half, but it took me a while to save that much. I had a lot of those model cars, I wish I still had them.
And heating up pins to make bullet holes.
I used to build model airplanes, then hang them up in the backyard then shoot them with a bb gun. I know. Unexplained destructiveness.
What a wonderful and informative walk down memory lane. I saw models that I built in the 1950's and 1960's.
it is a shame we can't get today's youth to build models and let their imaginations soar like we did.
Nice presentation of the three model makers !
My parents at first would only buy me the Snap-Tite models because my mom didn't think that airplane glue was safe. When I started working a paper route in the 1970s (another long-gone activity), I bought for myself my first scale model requiring glue, an SBD Dauntless by Monogram, and the adventure really got going. Thanks for such a well researched and enjoyable video.
Fascinating documentary. Narrated clearly with a comfortable cadence. Filled with interesting facts and photos. Thank you.
👍👍👍
Great work on the documentary. Growing up model building was a part of our lives. Among the aircraft I built were mostly Monogram and Revell with some Aurora and Lindberg.
Aircraft:
Grumman's F4F Wildcat, F6F Wildcat, F8F Bearcat, and F9F Panther, North American B-25 Mitchell, Boeing B-17, Messerschmidt BF109, Hawker Hurricane; Curtis P-40 Warhawk/Tomahawk, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, General Dynamics F-16 Eagle, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom and more.
Warships:
CV-6 USS Enterprise, several of the Essex Class Aircraft Carriers, Several World War 2 USN Battleships, Troop transports, Destroyers & Cruisers. I had a full task force.
My father flew several of the aircraft such as the in USAF B-25, T-33, T-37 and for Eastern Air Lines the Boeing 727 where he ended his career as a Captain.
Between my Dad and my brothers we had several of the Monster figures and the Aurora/Aurora AFX slot cars.
This video takes me down memory lane.
What a wonderful documentary. :) I've been building fine scale models since I was a boy, and to this day. (I am 62 now). Nothing is as gratifying as creating your own beautiful model from the kits and then using the airbrush to bring them to life.
This was outstanding. I was an avid modeller as a kid in the 70's and into the early 80's. Sad that Revell/Monogram is no more.
These companies got a LOT of money from me over the decades. I salute them. A quick look at my shelves shows my fealty.
Same. That Cutty Sark model has been sitting on the mantel for 40+ years. This was the backstage story of my modeling youth.
I just last year built a 1/32 Revell P-51B, and have another one in my stash. And this month finished the Revell's 1/96 scale Golden Hind.
Got a lot of my Lawn Mowing MONEY in the 1970's!!!
Indeed, although I can think of worse situations & pursuits. ; )
I made my first model airplane at age 6. I made a total of over 300 models. Revell and Monogram were Great kits. It was a Great hobby. I still have 4 kits I never finished. I'm 56 now. Guess it's never to late to start again.
... I was born in '51, and I got into building models in a big way. I consider that deep experience with assembling all kinds of things from instructions to have been invaluable. My models taught me order of battle, mechanical logic, and common sense. I became a multimedia fine artist, and everything I can do was based on this invaluable early experience.
I was a member of the Revell Master Modelers Club in the '70s! I enjoyed building all the cars well into high school, which was a huge part of me becoming a very successful auto restorer in adulthood... I really liked the 'Deals Wheels' line, and recently won a bidding war on Ebay on the ZZZZZZ/28 kit. I ended up paying 80 bucks for it, but I surely would have paid more. That kit reminds me of me and my dad assembling that car in 1973, shortly before my parents divorced.
I'm still thinking about the AMC Pacers and Gremlins. Also, Dodge Colts and Plymouth Champs.
Excellent historic presentation. Too many memories of building models in my early years to ever count. Thank you for the effort to create this program. I learned the value of completing my own projects at an early age and the pride of self accomplishment when others praised what I had created. Even if it was from a kit, the attention to fine detail and finish were appreciated. Thanks again.
Excellent documentary. Thank you! I was one of those kids. We were lucky enough to have an actual hobby shop in our little (back then) town. My father was in the Air Force and we lived near an airbase that repaired Viet Nam era aircraft. It was McClellan AFB in Sacramento California. It was easy for us to get hooked on model building. We could see the aircraft flying in and out from our house..... We used to go to a nearby park (Gibson Ranch) that was in the path of the runways. It was amazing to watch the C-5’s coming in to land. The incredible and eerie groan of the jet engines. They would come in flying extremely low and slow. It appeared that they could fall out of the sky because they were so big and flying so slow. It was a much simpler time.
Thanks for watching and commenting, glad you enjoyed it 😉
@@maxsmodels I think a lot of us "Military Brats" had some of the awe, and inspiration rub off in building, and detailing models. Dad was a Navy Warrant Officer, and we saw a LOT of different stations with new, and awesome aircraft, and testing platforms. Like at China lake NWTS, we saw a LOT of the newer Aircraft and missiles before the public even knew they existed ! When I worked at NASA's Dryden facility in California, I watched as the SR-71 prototypes, the YF-12, were tested, and evaluated, as well as lots of the current, and former aircraft developed
@@siseley1 thanks for your story!
Wow, these companies were how I spent so many hours of my elementary school time in the late 60's and early 70's. I enjoyed this video immensely.
Models, paint, and Testors glue... Yep, hours of enjoyment and a life-skill that's helped me for decades - "Read and follow the instructions!" Building models was a great part of my young life and taught me plenty of skills that I've used for decades!
Great video, thanks for sharing!
I JUST WATCHED YOUR STORY AND IT WAS VERY WELL DONE. I AM SEVENTY ONE NOW AND REMEMBER MANY HOURS ENJOYING MODEL BUILDING. NOW I TEACH THIS CRAFT TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO LOVE THE PROCESS EVEN MORE, EXCEPT WE ARE BUILDING FULL SIZE SOLAR POWERED RACE CARS THEY USE TO COMPETE IN A NATIONAL SERIES. THEY HAVE LEARNED WELL AND HAVE WON THREE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. THEY RACE NASCAR SPEEDWAYS AND ACROSS COUNTRY, FORT WORTH TEXAS TO CALIFORNIA. WITHOUT MY MODELING DAYS, I AND THEY WOULD NOT HAVE GONE THIS PATH. GOD BLESS ALL MODELERS!
I'm so glad I found this video!..when my father passed away 11 years ago he left me over 50 unassembled revell and monogram model airplanes still in the boxes. He had collected them over his years as a vietnam vet and sometimes took over a year to build one at a time. It drove me nuts!..I started building my own in the early 80s but I never had the patience to do the great job my father did. I still have them all he left to me, sitting in my basement. I tried selling them in ads and such,but kids would rather play video games these days. I don't know what to do with them,.. maybe one day I'll build that cool black widow night fighter plane,the box looks so cool. Thanks for doing this video,I had no idea of the history of these companies.
I knew exactly what model you where talking about the second I saw black widow. I use to stare at it in the model section at Walmart way back in the day. She's a beauty.
@@Flint-Dibble-the-Don so did I!!!
@@Flint-Dibble-the-Don except it was Kmart at the time, before Walmart came around.
@@Flint-Dibble-the-Don well,..I can make a bunch of these yours, including the black widow,..for a reasonable price,they are literally just sitting in my basement collecting dust..I need the space for my rock shop anyhow..
@@manisteerocks7092 If you have any local model shops, you may be able to sell the complete kits to them.
I was that kid from age 5 through 14, 1967 through 1976, looking for my next model from these 3 companies. Opening the box, seeing the "tree" of parts, or in Aurora's case, loose in the box, reading the instructions, getting the right paint colors, learning the finer points of detail (like cutting a paint brush to one bristle and filling in the red lettering on the Lincoln hub cap under a microscope) and how it matters, finessing fits (fit and finish) and decals...these kits , plus erector sets taught so much and provided hours upon hours of a hobby and, most of all, learning.
I actually was in a Target earlier this year and looked at what was available on shelves in the toy area. Zilch. I figured it was video games and computers that killed this market. Thanks for putting this together, as I was obviously wrong.
I had to double check to see if I was reading one of my own posts as you and I are from the same ‘tree’ mold so to speak. I used to have to have find best quality horsehair brushes. Like you say, I even took bristles out to like (1) hair so I could paint the eyeballs on the pilots !
@@65gtotrips And it made it look so much better! Taught patience and a steady hand.
I was a detail specialist, I won the Revell model car contest, both in paint,upholstery and detail as well as my age category. My car took an entire year, hand rubbed lacquer bronze metallic. The tiny dipstick had oil, all sparkplug wires, even under the dash wiring, cut the doors open and made hinges, pearl naugahyde upholstery on rotating seats. I won two big trophies but only built one car because it took so long. Later used those skills to custom paint electric guitars, motorcycles , helmets, cars. It was a hobby that I loved as a 12 year old. I still build custom guitars .
@@davidcollin1436 That's amazing.
Thanks for the history of the three model companies, I really enjoyed hearing the information you provided. While I haven't put together a model in four decades I still remember enjoying hours of fun assembling some of the more difficult models. I still have a 1969 Camaro model that I put together about 1978 in it's original box. But even earlier than that I still have a letter from Revelle from about the 1972-1974 timeframe when I entered a random model contest, probably from a comic book or magazine, and several months later receiving the letter saying that I had won a selection of models from Revell. Several weeks later I received three or four large boxes of model airplanes, ships, cars, and a large assortment of paint and of course, the glue. For a 12-14 year kid in the early 70's it was like Christmas! I look forward to seeing more videos from you!
This was an outstanding video Max. I am 66 years old and seeing some of those images of kits I built or that my late father built and painted for me (when I was still too young to do it myself) really brought back some sweet memories. To say it tugs at the heart strings does not really say enough. The box cover art is a story unto itself (and I have read a couple of those books). I remember those images so vividly. I used to clip the Revell box art covers and pin them to my wall. Once again... great job editing and narrating the video. Very informative. Thanks for this happy flashback. I will send this link to a couple of old buddies that I know will enjoy and relate to it....and a shout out and thank you to your very understanding wife...I have one of those too....I totally get what you mean.
Oh yes! The cover art was a very important part, as it made us develop imagination and appreciation capacity. Those paintings are to be assessed as true works of art, nothing less. When I was a boy in 1967-1968, a large bread company here in Mexico, launched a large album with stamps. All their products bags came with anything from two to five stamps, and most of them were the exact reproductions of the Revell line of kits box cover art... the small stamps were about 4x3in size and had a short but well written explanation in the back, often with main specifications about the airplane, ship or craft. The most rare and valued stamp, which many collectors never got, was the one for the SR71 Blackbird, then a little known airplane.
This brought back great memories and much more respect for the industry. Well done. I have shared this video with all my dear friends and to my brother in Law Gary, who still builds models to this day at 75 years young. It's his hobby and it keeps him young.
Such a delight to come across your video today! Earlier this week I rediscovered all 72 models I'd built as a kid 4th -7th grade packed away in the attic of my parents house. Mostly planes/jets, several ships/submarines, a few tanks, the space shuttle, and godzilla. I remember the frustration of the glue & sometimes melting the plastic using too much, I also never understood why anyone would intentional sniff it? I would hang the planes/jets in dog fight positions from my ceiling with thread and knew I wanted to become a pilot & join the Air Force when I grew up. Thanks for posting this video, it really brought back so many good and vivid memories from childhood!
Thanks for putting this documentary together. What a great story. Really brought back memories of those model kits. I loved them all. The model kit section of G.C. Murphy's and other department stores was my first stop to see the model kits. Of course, my mom and dad could always find me in that section when it came time to go home.
Brings back memories. As a boy, I had the Frankenstein, Werewolf, Phantom of the Opera and, yes, even the model guillotine. I wish I still had them.
Yup, had all the monsters, and a bunch of cars and a few planes. Great times!
Polar Lights has reproduced all the monster kits.
...I remember building all of the Knights in armor
@@TheWolfsnack Yep, me too!
I still have the Godzilla model.
Thank you for the eye opening and interesting documentary! I had many Revell models as a kid - AirFix and Revell were the ones we had most commonly, but the Tamika ones, we could never afford - they were the adult models!
Max, thank you for a great history lesson! I can tell you a little bit of what has happened to some of the Revell and Monogram molds since the demise of Hobico. Most went to Revell Germany, many are still in limbo in China, but some of the molds from Illinois have made their way to Atlantis models, and the 81-98 molds for the stock car kits are now in the hands of Salvinos J R Models of Corona California. We are now producing some of them under our name and expanding the line by making other 1:24th scale bodies to fit on the GM chassis, and adding them to our own line of 1:24th scale stock cars from the 1970s. We feel like we are now the stewards of these kits, these 3500 pound amazing works of engineering art molds, and plan on continuing their production for many years! Thanks again for the great video, I’m going to check your page to see what you have on the actual molds and designing.
Jim Rogers
Designer
Salvinosjrmodels.com
thanks
@@maxsmodels How about the AMT kits from the 1960's, and early 70's ??
Thanks for this wonderful story! I grew up building many of these kits c. 1969-1980 but never imagined any of this background. It's a great combination of nostalgia and education about the realities of business history.
Thank you for this fascinating history that I never knew anything about. Started building these way back in the day. There was even a "Visible Man" and "Visible Woman" model where you put in all the organs and painted the veins and arteries. But we also had the monsters and I don't know who made some of the cars, which was where I was most interested. All the Rat Fink rods and such. But there were also detailed ones where you had to build the whole car and engine uwing color thread for the spark plug wires. Right now I have 2 Wart Hog A-10 Thunderbolts waiting. These are Branded as Revell+SnapTite. I guess kids these days build virtual planes and cars and boats--speaking of, you didn't say whether these ever ventured into the sailing ship models? Those were also very popular. Thanks again for this flashback!
I can still remember how happy and proud I was when I received my Revell Master Modeler certificate and patch. Very good history of a huge part of so many kids lives.
Oh good lord - I had totally forgot about that! I wish I still had mine.....
Polystyrene is therapy for those of us born in the 60's! Can't do without it now and still building.
I was born in the late 1950s. I built my first model, a Lingbergh sport plane, when I was 3 years old, with a little help from Dad. I was hooked. Still am. Problems now are no different than when I was 12; they take all of my allowance, and I have no room to put them anywhere.
i just bought a F4f model after many many years out of the hobby
We can start a club. Old nerds who built models and dioramas as kids. Who's in?
I finally got back into modelling after a long hiatus: a bagged Revell 1:32 Stuka missing about 10 parts, but with instructions and a very good decal sheet. Over time, I manages to hoard a bunch of the Revell and Matchbox 1:32 kits. Through the early 1970s, I loved the Revell catalogs. That is until a neighbor got his hands on the 1976 Tamiya "catalogue". It was a thing of wonderment and beauty. I have fond memories of those days.
@@jmfa57 My wife likes my stuff, and it's all around the house!
My Uncle Cushy Forte sculpted the original bucks for MonoGram, using a pantograph to reduce the scale. I still own one of his wooden bucks, it's awesome! I modeled as a kid and still do today at 63 a wonderful hobby and this was a wonderful story, thank you!
I built many of those kits in the 50's 60's and 70's. This video really brought back a lot of memories. Thanks Max!
I have over 6000 models of every description in original factory sealed boxes. I find the artwork on the boxes much more satisfying than the model itself. I have transportation cars,trucks,aircraft,ships,monsters ,t.v.stars etc.
Wow 👌 can you sell me a car or truck so I can built one 🤔❓please.
I thought my cousin had the largest collection he has a 24 by 24 garage that's full he can just get the minivan in he bought some models recently last month he has nowhere to put them he has no more space no more nothing he's got like 2000 model car kits military plane and otherwise in about 19,000 Matchbox Hot Wheels dinky and Corgi are display cases and such but 6000 my cousin would go nuts he loves the old boxes so do I
We need a museum of culture to house them.
Yes, the artwork was very intriguing, especially on the Aurora monster kits. I often would wonder how well the plastic kit was going to match the artwork before opening the box. The plastic never did seem to match all that well, but that was ok because I saw the artwork as a technical challenge to see how well I could paint the kit to match as close as possible.
As a kid, I loved building these model kits! I built a 1963 Jaguar XK-E, and many other cars, as well as airplanes and a few ships. I even built the Gemini Spacecraft, which was a larger model! It came with 2 astronaut figurines that sat inside, and the 2 doors opened so you could see inside! I think that last models that I built were the "Big Daddy Roth" models that were comically exaggerated and extreme! Ah, what a great memory of my youth! Thank you for this beautifully informative video!
These models were a big part of my childhood. Interests and skills I developed from building these models are still with me to this day.
Man, you just threw me back to my childhood - thank you very much for this great story
Loved all of these and especially the Revell catalog circa 1972. Still build models and man are they incredible.
An EXCELLENT chronicle. I remember all three companies.
Thanks
Just found this, and think it's wonderful! Thank you for sharing the history of these companies and giving me some background on all those great kits I built as a kid.
Absolutely shaped my childhood. Sends waves of goose bumps out all over...
One funny note: the song from Rocky Horror Show, "creature double feature" I think it was called, plays in the background (during the Frankenstain model display) in this video.
Thank you for such a well researched, well written, and executed video of a HUGE part of my childhood!
Really, this stuff led to my career as a machinist.
Wonderfully entertaining video and brought back fond memories of my Aurora Frankenstein, Wolf Man and Phantom of the Opera models, and later dragsters and funny cars. Thank you.
This was a flash back of my youth. I grew up building these models. Good story to hear.
Great video about some of the best model kits from my childhood. Thank you so much for making this video available!!
Thank you for the video. I live next door to Elk Grove, IL. Can't believe my childhood was so closely linked to where these models
were made. I'm sorry kids today will never know the joy of building plastic models with their own hands. How I wish I'd kept mine. So sad.
Thank You for the great history documentary! I built many, many of these in the 70's which were our chief source of entertainment. It often took weeks to scratch up the $3.88 they cost then! I never considered sniffing the glue or Testors paint for a thrill; it seemed a pretty stupid notion! Great trip back in time when life as a pre-early teenager was so much better. I built skills then that have served me well everyday since!
Superbly done presentation! Building models in the 60s and early 70s was one of the most enjoyable aspects of my formative years. I always built them by myself....and relished every moment. Seeing this video reminds me of the dozens of aircraft, ships, and cars that I purchased and build. Most of my friends at the time were into it as well. I feel sad that young people will not know the joy of building something like these with their own hands.
I think a big part of the problem now is how freakin' expensive the kits are. Car model kits are $20 to $40+ now. I slowed down buying models when they got up to $2. That was a lot of money for me back then. Kids now days would rather spend that money on a video game, or a bag of weed. Maybe it's a good thing that they have no idea just how high we got back in the day building models with jars of airplane dope (later renamed model glue) in unventilated corners of our bedrooms.
I can remember riding my 10 speed 5 miles across West Jacksonville to buy the Thunderbirds set, and precariously ride back home with this giant box. This bittersweet place we find ourselves now.....
I 1963, when I was sixteen I had left school and was working for a company call London Artid Plastics in Slough, Buckinghamshire UK. I operated a plastic injection moulding machine making Revell model kits. Needless to say I was able to build many kits as I got them for virtually nothing. The company office had a glass case where all the models I built were displayed for customers to see when they visited. Best job I ever had before I joined the army
What a wonderful story! We are about the same age!
Fascinating stuff! As a kid in the 1960s, I was hooked on model kits. Thanks so much for providing such a fascinating look at what was going on behind the scenes.
What a marvelous historical video of a hobby that I personally enjoyed from the age of 10 in 1956 to the present day although I no longer build plastic models of any kind. Up until now I had no idea how complicated the model manufacturing business was and what all the major names within it would eventually fall victim to! Thanks for the walk down memory lane!