SMN Weekender:
Grazing through a pile of old aviation mags earlier this week, we came across rare treasure in the form of a pile of ads for barely remembered models and kits. With some scratching of our memory cells, some did seem familiar enough, but we had to work hard to track down the story behind a full-page advert for the 'Vapour Trails' range of model aircraft.
Memories from the past
Our search led us to Martin Bull, who posted an interesting tale about Vapour Trails. In his words: “When I was very young (like about seven) I vividly remember my Mum (“to keep me quiet”)... buying me a 'Vapour Trails' Gloster Javelin. It was in a neat little box, and displayed by sticking a piece of white flex into the jet outlets (the 'Vapour Trail’...) I remember being allowed to choose from a few and went for the Javelin because of the shape. Eventually, it went the way of all childhood toys, I'm afraid, but for some reason I never forgot it....
Flying from a window pane
In fact, the Vapour Trail white flex did more than stick out of the tail, for there was also a suction cup included in the small box, which you licked and stuck firmly on a window. So the little aircraft - just 1:200 scale - looked like it was flying, once the flex was skewered via a ball joint into the suction cup. Self-adhesive decals were also included, while positioning was indicated by circular depressions moulded into the plastic.
Range of jets on offer
Martin goes on: “...Apparently, Playcraft (who also owned Corgi) introduced this range in late 1961 and included a Sea Vixen, Scimitar, Hunter, Javelin and Lightning. Sadly, Vapour Trails wasn't a success; they soon disappeared and today are almost entirely forgotten. But as an early foray into aircraft under the Corgi name, it's nice to spare them a thought here.”
Smart collector wallet
Martin’s pix, which we show here, include the box, inside which was a small flyer suggesting model fans send off for a ‘smart wallet’ to hold Vapour Trails leaflets, enclosing as stamp to cover return post. Those were the days! And thank you, Martin.
Vapour Trails crash
Later, we got talking to an older collector, and he recalled his disappointment with the Hawker Hunter he bought as a teenager: “They were so small - the Hunter’s wingspan was only about two inches (50 mm) across.” There was another problem, too: “The suction cup kept falling off the window!” So these are two clues to the market failure of Vapour Trails - a pity though, as they were a cute idea. There are some still around for avid collectors - we found Gloster Javelin delta interceptor (above) on eBay at a ‘Buy it Now’ price of £99.99 GBP ($158 USD), so they’re not exactly cheap.
Aurora kit range
Other goodies in the advertising pile included one for Aurora kits. The Regulus II came with an operating launch platform, while the twin-rotor Piasecki H-25A represented state of the art vertical-lift capacity for US forces at the time, though not so much for modelmakers - the nose glazing was very basic indeed.
Pull of Hollywood stars
Kit companies weren’t averse to bringing in some big names - Revell used movie star Stanley Baker to sprinkle some glamour over their ship kits. He featured in Sea Fury, a drama about tugboat captains battling for the hand of a sultry beauty, played by the luscious Italian actress Luciana Paluzzi. Nice Revell kit, reasonable actors, indifferent movie, said model and film critics of the time.
Rising star, falling star
Airfix was a bright star for UK modelmakers, with news of the company’s latest kit releases awaited eagerly each month. We’re pleased to say that Airfix is still around, and better than ever, which is more than can be said for Keil Kraft, a maker that concentrated on balsa wood semi- and non-scale planes and boats.
Martin Bull here.
Fascinating stuff on Keil Kraft here.
Info on the Keil Kraft Hawker Hurricane plastic kit here.
Airfix kits here.
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