2012 GET RICH STRATEGY? TRY OLD KITS AND DINKY TOYS

David Jefferis reports:

International finances are such that 2012 could be a difficult year if you’re the investing type. However, a relevant question for the scale model fan is: “Does the model and miniature world offer any money-making opportunities?” Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is a guarded yes, as old plastic kits continue to be valued buys for connoisseurs, assuming they are mint and boxed, in unbuilt condition, and with all parts present and correct.

Three kits are best

It may seem slightly weird that a kit drops in value the moment it starts to be assembled, yet the situation is comparable to a fine wine, which gains value until it’s opened - then you have to glug it down, pronto. So for the kit collector, there can be just one logical strategy. As model guru and collector Mat Irvine points out: “Three kits is the optimum - one to build, one to kitbash, and one to lay down for the future.” Well, Mat’s the one to know!

Bell UH-1 kit

There are some marvellous old-stagers out there. How about spending $925 USD (£590 GBP) on a rare Monogram Phantom Huey from 1969? The Vietnam War-era helicopter kit sports a transparent plastic skin, with full internal detail showing fuselage framing, cockpit and engine. An assembled Huey measures some 508 mm (20 in) long, with the main rotor blades rotating to form a near-600 mm (24 in) diameter sweep. If you care to actually build this 1:24 scale kit, the supplied electric motor will turn both main and tail rotors, power supplied courtesy a set of batteries in the base. There’s more - a sound unit makes the memorable Huey ‘slapper-slapper’ noise, familiar to anyone who has seen one of these choppers in action, or indeed seen a movie such as the classic Apocalypse Now. The kit has 184 parts, moulded in no less than six different shades, and is supplied as it came from the factory, with shrink-wrap inside the box to keep the contents in pristine condition: parts on top, instructions, decals, and so on below.

Chris Craft kit

Or how about a late-1950s 762 mm (30 in) long Marx Chris Craft Constellation motor yacht at $595 USD (£385 GBP)? Reckoned by many to be one of the finest kits of its kind ever made, there’s plenty of fine detail in the 225 parts, and the 1:20 scale kit can be made for radio control, or as a static display model. There are cast-metal accessories, and the plastic components come in classic 1950s-era shades of turquoise, brown, peach, white, clear, and chrome. Sculpted figures include the captain and his crew, a pair of voluptuous bathing beauties. 

Motorized equipment

This particular kit is rare enough, but even better is the supplied ‘Twin Electric Motor Power Kit'. This has two electric motors, motor holders, battery holder, wiring, switches, full instruction sheet and more. The Chris Craft itself is not quite unassembled - a few parts, such as the rudder post and propshaft post, have been installed and one of the girls has a bathing suit that’s been painted red. If you don’t want a Chris Craft marred by the pre-painting, there’s a mint condition alternative at $750 USD (£485 GBP).

South African Dinky Toy

Diecast vehicles may go for even greater sums, and in Europe at least, the name Dinky Toys is synonymous with long term financial gain - at least, providing it’s mint and boxed. And of course, like all these golden oldies: “They’re not making ’em any more” so future values are pretty well set fair.

Detail note
The one we show here is a rare South African issue Dinky of a German car, an Opel Kapitan, Number 177, painted in mid-blue with ‘silver detailing’ (aka ‘possibly applied by a youthful, slightly wobbly, hand’), red interior, and spun-metal wheels. The box is in ‘very good’ condition, though apparently not the correct South African export version, but the car's rarity storms through and, matching box or not, the Kapitan is up for sale at an estimated price at auction of £700-900 GBP ($1100-1400 USD). The sale finishes on January 19, so if you’re interested, now could be the time to place your bid.

Rare kits available from Old Plastic Model Kits, a gem of a site, here.

Dinky Toys Opel Kapitan auction here.

2012 PRODUCTS REVEALED - INCOMING KITS FROM REVELL-MONOGRAM

From Mat Irvine:

Here’s a look at Revell-Monogram kits for release in 2012. I’ve previously  mentioned the recreated Renwal Blueprint series, with the futuristic Teracruzer and Mace missile, but there’s much more coming down the line.

Car kits

First up, the lime-green 1932 Ford 'Rat Roaster' (above) shown at October’s International iHobby Expo in Chicago was a taste of things to come, as the car will soon be released as a brand-new 1:25 scale kit. In fact, there’s a feast of US wheels coming our way, as the Rat Roaster will be joined by a 1950 Oldsmobile Coupe, representative of an automobile marque that has largely slipped through the running boards until now. This fully-detailed kit, seen as a test shot at iHobby, will have various build options, including the choice of finishing as a plain-Jane stock version, or hopped up as a mild custom. Both the Ford and Oldsmobile should be available early 2012.

Metal to plastic Corvette

The 1962 Corvette will also be available around that time. It isn’t totally new, having been issued before, but it previously had a metal body, and was made as a ‘Route 66’ machine. The new kit will be all-plastic, but various updates should freshen it up. And there’s more, even if at first glance we seem to have had a 1957 Ford before, but not this version, the Ford Custom. This may seem very similar to other 1957 models, but is actually shorter, and with different details.

SSP two-packs

Amongst the SSP (Selected Subjects Program) releases will be two duo kits (above), the 1:48 scale Mercury and Gemini spacecraft, and a pair of deeply cool-looking 1:25 scale Tony Nancy dragsters. 

Underwater Demolition Team

For fans of things that float comes a reissue of the 1:32 scale UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) boat, complete with frogmen. This will be released as a Revell kit, as it was last time around in 1992, though it had started life as a Monogram kit, back in the early 1960s. Even then, it was very detailed and comprehensive, features which were typical of Monogram kits of the time. It was titled: ‘US Navy Frogmen’, and came complete with a five-man underwater demolition team, a rubber liferaft, and the UDT vessel. Now you still get the liferaft and figures - they have full scuba gear - but the UDT boat takes pride of place. As the kit is made to a standard scale, even if you don’t build it ‘as intended’, it could still be very useful as a supply source for a range of bits and pieces - support for other models you might have planned.

More info here.

Renwal mentions in SMN here.

Revell-Monogram at the 2011 iHobby Expo. Note products from Revell-Germany are displayed at right.

Bill Lastovich of Revell-Monogram adjusts a display.

MONOGRAM BLACK WIDOW HOT ROD

Mat Irvine looks at a blast from the past:

Although the vast majority of modern car kits are fully detailed with many intricate parts, sometimes it’s nice just to do a straightforward easy build - and this can also involve a blast from the past, like this 1:24 scale Monogram Black Widow.

Bzzz... the insects are coming

Monogram made its first car kit in 1954 and within a decade had a wide range of automotive subjects for the modeller. These included what could be termed the ‘Insects in Color Series’, in that it included the Green Hornet, Yellow Jacket, Blue Beetle, and Black Widow. (Yes, we know Black Widow spiders aren’t insects, but it spoils the flow if the list goes, ‘Insects and Arachnids…’)

Tasty hot rod

The Monogram Black Widow is a generic vehicle that wasn’t based on a particular original, instead incorporating various hot rod features from the 1950s and ’60s. This is basically a mix of favourites - a 1927 Ford T with pick-up bed, a classic small block Chevy engine, and Moon Disc wheel embellishers. 

The extended decal sheet includes many markings, but you don’t have to use them all!   

The SSP Program

The Black Widow was around for many years, while kits got more sophisticated, but was eventually dropped, being considered too simple. But then Revell-Monogram introduced the Selected Subjects Program (SSP) which aimed for the reissue of many of these early kits. At that time the Black Widow wasn’t amongst them and the heydays of the SSPs, with up to 48 reissues a year passed, as frankly, most of what was available had been reissued. However the SSP concept continues, and individual kits do get issued from time to time. 

Improving a basic kit

The kit is very straightforward to assemble, but still has 54 parts, moulded in black, white, chrome-plated and clear. The engine block is simply two halves, with separate chrome-plated rocker covers and intake manifold. You can easily improve it by washing transparent red paint in the grooves of the rocker covers to bring out the detail. Although from an era when this wasn’t commonly modelled, there is a semblance of a distributor, so adding ignition wiring is a possible detailing job that will be rewarding. 

No more motor

One thing that has not been reissued is the original motorization option, which means there’s an odd triangular part that you may very wonder: “Where does that piece go?” It was actually part of the electric motor support that fitted under the bodywork!

Two of the other Monogram ‘four wheeled insects’ not reissued as yet, the Blue Beetle and Yellow Jacket.

Blue beetle wanted

Back to our ‘insects’ (and spiders), the Green Hornet has already been reissued as an SSP, so maybe we can hope for the others at some point - for me, the Blue Beetle is tempting, based as it was on a Ford Model A pickup, with a range of surfing and diving gear for the pickup bed.

Life-size Black Widow

Intriguingly, having started as a fictional 1:24 scale model kit, there is a 1:1 scale Black Widow on the show circuit, though it isn’t a precise replica. However, building a full-size car from what started as a model isn’t new, as I showed in my Zingers article, though admittedly even ‘full size’ they weren’t exactly drivable. However Monogram’s Red Baron did get built as a full-size show rod, that was driveable.

Thanks to Revell-Monogram for the review kit.

Visit Revell here.

View the full-size Black Widow here.

MARKING THE 51st ANNIVERSARY OF THE X-15 ROCKET PLANE’S FIRST FLIGHT

Mat Irvine reports
Today’s the day in 1959 that test pilot Scott Crossfield took the North American X-15 rocket plane on its first flight. This was an unpowered glide only, after being dropped from under the wing of an eight-engined Boeing NB-52, and reached a speed of 840 km/h (522 mph), just ‘one small step’ compared to the X-15’s eventual record of 7274 km/h (4520 mph).

Aurora makes the first X-15 kit
Because of its exotic nature, the X-15 was a natural for model kit companies, especially in the early years when plastic kits were part of a new industry. One of the first such kits came from Aurora in 1959; the real craft had only just been revealed, which makes it understandable that some details were wrong.

X-15 in fit-the-box scale from Revell
After this came Revell’s far more accurate version, one that has survived in various releases for many years. But it had a slight problem in that it was not made to a generally accepted scale. It came from a time when many kits - especially kits from American companies - were made to ‘fit the box’. The companies had a set number of box sizes, and new kits were literally built to fit inside these standard boxes. So Revell’s X-15 ended up being made to 1:65 scale, not that far from the more usual 1:72, but not really close enough for purists.

In fact, it was not until 1987 that Monogram issued the first conventional injection-moulded X-15 kit to the popular international 1:72 scale.

New X-15 kits from Czech model companies
In recent years the Czechs have taken over the X-15 kit world with MPM and Special Hobby (both part of the CMK empire) both issuing kits in 1:72, 1:48, and even 1:32 scale. To date, the X-15 remains the most kitted of all the X-Planes - the number of different issues has reached almost 30.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 The first kit of an X-15, from Aurora. It had no undercarriage, was moulded in white plastic, and had spurious markings. Model courtesy the Collection of Andrew P. Yanchus.
2 Aurora’s second X-15 issue had an undercarriage, came in black, and had more accurate markings.
3 The box for Revell’s first X-15. This has lasted the longest of any X-15 kit, and was available until very recently.
4 The first conventional injection plastic kit to 1:72 scale, from Monogram. It was the X15A-2 version, with external tanks. The kit could be finished in black, or the ablative white used for some flights. Of course, that original Aurora ‘in white’ issue wasn’t entirely wrong - although no-one could have known then that white X-15s would eventually fly!
5 The 1:48 scale Special Hobby X-15A-2.
6 The biggest X-15 is the 1:32 scale Special Hobby kit. This picture shows a display at the One Small Step exhibition, currently showing at the Sensation Science Centre, Dundee, Scotland. The 1:32 Gunze Sangyo Ford  Galaxie Skyliner makes a good looking in-scale companion.

Visit the Sensation Science Centre here.

You can view a selection of X-15 models at the UK store Hannants here.

MONOGRAM WRIGHT FLYER MODEL DIORAMA

After putting together the Wrights article yesterday, Mat Irvine searched through his MMMM (Mat’s Marvellous Model Museum, a place of awe and wonder for any model fan) and hunted out this nice little diorama he built some years ago.

It uses the Monogram 1:39 scale kit as the showpiece, mounted on a 457 mm (18 in) circular base. The ground is a simulation of the dunes in the Kill Devil Hills area, North Carolina, where Orville and Wilbur Wright made their historic flights in December 1903. Note the complex rigging on the model, always an issue with those of us with less than nimble fingers, though not for Mat. Earlier kit issues supplied rigging thread in the box, more recent ones have left you to supply your own.

Mat also looked out some pictures that he took of the actual spot, and the two shown here give you an idea of the area. Note though, that these were taken in high summer - in December, the dunes are somewhat barer and breezier!

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1-3 Views of the 1:39 scale Monogram Wright Flyer.
4 Kill Devil Hill, looking toward the Wright Brothers National Memorial at its summit. The information board in the foreground is placed roughly where the Wrights made their first flight.
5 Closeup of the Memorial Tower, a massive 18 m (60 ft) granite monument that was dedicated in 1932. Out of shot are a marker stone and fascinating visitor centre.

CELEBRATING THE FIRST FLIGHT OF THE WRIGHT BROTHERS

Mat Irvine reports
Today’s the day back in 1903 that Orville and Wilbur Wright became the first humans to make controlled powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine, the Wright Flyer. The morning started with a short hop piloted by Orville (a decision made by tossing a coin) lasting just 12 seconds, and covering just 36.6 m (120 ft). This is less than the wingspan of many modern airliners, but it was a success and the rest, as they say, is history.

Because of its significance, the Wright Flyer has been turned in many a model, from diecast replicas to plastic kits, and perhaps more appropriately, wood and tissue paper kits.

The most comprehensive kit comes from Hasegawa in its Museum Models series. This is 1:16 scale and a ‘multi-material’ kit in that it contains more than one material. Mimicking the original, a lot of the 301 parts are wood and brass with a sprinkling of white metal and plastic. But this model is for the really dedicated, and is not idly called a ‘museum’ model - many actually do end up in museums. It’s not presently in production at Hasegawa, but kits are available from stock in model stores off and online.

Probably the most familiar Flyer is from Monogram. Produced in the early days of the company, it first appeared in 1958, and has been in and out of the catalogues over the decades, so one of the issues should still be found easily. It matches the famous photograph of the first flight in that you get Orville at the controls, with Wilbur running alongside. And that isn’t all, for the bits and pieces of paraphernalia visible in the historic photo are supplied too - launching ramp, starter battery, brush in a pot, workbench, even the g-clamp.

The only thing against this kit is that it’s to a weird fit-the-box scale of 1:39, but in a diorama setting scale is less important and considering its age, the kit still looks good.

So what kits are available off the shelf right now? Not a lot, sad to say, but click the link to find out what Amazon has in store. Best of the bunch is the decent Aviation Archive 1:32 Flyer from Corgi, which comes with figures and takeoff ramp. It’s available at a cracking price here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 The original historic photograph, taken on a plate camera. Although set up by Orville, the shot was actually tripped by John Daniels, one of the local life-savers the Wrights roped in to help.
2 Five issues of the Wright Flyer, with the first Monogram release in the front. The Revell kit at top left was issued in 2003 to celebrate the flight’s centenary.
4 Tonka is rightly famed for its tough tin toys; less well known are its kits, such as this Wright Flyer diorama.

Photographs of the kits courtesy Mat Irvine.

FIRST LIGHT - LOOKING AT NEW PARTS FOR THE AIRFIX SATURN V REISSUE

A MAT IRVINE REVIEW
About mid-August you should be able to buy the reissued Airfix Apollo Saturn V kit. You’ll immediately note that there is new box-art, showing the huge rocket heading for orbit. However, what may not be apparent is that this issue now has the upper - Apollo - sections corrected. All previous issues (and the kit was first issued 40 years ago, in 1969) have been incorrect.

It was wrong in two aspects. Firstly, the Service Module (SM) - the cylindrical part below the conical crew-carrying Command Module (CM) - was too thin. Consequently, this affected the Boost Protective Cover (BPC) that covered the CM at launch, and the Spacecraft Lunar Module Adaptor (SLA) that housed the Lunar Module (LM). The height of the SM was correct, but the diameter was too small.

Secondly, the Service Module had the wrong radiator pattern. It showed a Block I pattern, which was correct for uncrewed flights, but all manned flights used a Block II SM, with a different radiator pattern. Airfix was not the only company guilty of this - Saturn V rocket kits from Monogram, Revell and AMT also had the Block I pattern.

The only kit from a mainstream manufacturer, (as against a ‘garage’ or specialist), with the Block II was the 1:32 scale Monogram Command Service Module (CSM). This has been recently reissued by both Revell US and Revell Germany - see SMN’s previous post on this subject.

But now you can add the Airfix kit to the ‘got it almost right’ list, even if corrections have waited until the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11. There are nine newly-tooled parts: the SM is new, and this has entailed new bulkheads, SLA and BPC. Just one niggle though - the Command Module has not been re-tooled, so its diameter is still too small, but frankly, you can’t see it anyway when the BPC is in place.

The pictures show the attractive new box-art (top), the assembled rocket (middle) and note here that the original rectangular base has returned. The bottom picture shows the new-tool Apollo parts (far right) compared to the old.

Visit Airfix here.

ALL THAT GLISTERS IS NOT GOLD

Here is an odd story, which goes way back to when the 1:32 scale Monogram Apollo CSM kit was new in 1970. It was issued with the Command Module (CM) plated in ‘gold’. In reality this was a ‘gold’ lacquer sprayed over a chrome-plated finish (which is actually a fine aluminium mist, deposited in a vacuum chamber, but comes out with a chrome-look, and is commonly used on model car grilles and bumpers.)

However, the gold finish was a misinterpretation of NASA photographs that showed the returned CM bobbing on the ocean. The CM had indeed taken on a gold colour, but it came from the extreme heating of re-entry which had turned the exterior to a goldish tinge. See the photo (top) which shows the Apollo 11 CM.

In reality, at all stages before re-entry Command Modules had a ‘chromed’ appearance, where strips of shiny Mylar-type, flame-retardant tape had been applied - which also shows up on the left of the CM in the photo). In the model, this resulted in the ironic situation that as Monogram had to chrome-plate the CM part before gold lacquer was applied as a top coat, it would have been better to have stopped there! 

The kit has been reissued as part of both Revell Germany and Revell US Apollo 40th anniversary lineup, (the only kit shared between the two divisions), though both feature ‘Revell’ logos.

However, and this is even odder, whereas Revell-Germany has used neither gold lacquer nor even chrome plating, Revell-US presents the kit exactly as the Monogram original, complete with a gold-coloured CM - and both kits were produced in the same Chinese factory!

If you want to go the chrome route with the Revell-Germany issue, this can be reproduced either by using Alclad Chrome paint (sprayed over gloss black, otherwise it will not come out chrome), or by using strips of chrome Bare-Metal Foil.

Alternatively, the gold lacquer can be removed from the Revell-US issue using rubbing alcohol or similar, enough to remove the lacquer but not the chrome plating.  

Mat Irvine

MAT’S US DIARY: REPORTING FROM THE WINDY CITY

Taking a week off in the US, I’m in the Chicago area, visiting an old friend and fellow modeller, Dean Milano. Dean lives very close to one of Chicago’s largest hobby stores, Al’s Hobby Shop in downtown Elmhurst, so one of the first tasks is to drop by, and it’s strange how things turn out. A casual conversation with Jeff Clark in Al’s has him asking, “Are you going to the Ferrari show?” This, it transpired, was being held at a Ferrari, Maserati, and other exotic machinery, showroom in Hinsdale, due south of where we are staying. So Dean and myself duly set off on Saturday.

It was a smallish event, but the showroom had put aside a room for model dealers’ tables, and as one does, you start bumping into a number of people you know. A small model competition was being held, featuring cars that were not necessarily Ferrari, Maserati, or even Italian – there was a nice Tamiya Mini for example.

You also got a chance to visit the showroom workshops, where a range of exotic vehicles could be maintained in surroundings which were clean enough to eat your dinner off! And pride of place (shown above) – probably an S-100 Jaguar, right-hand drive and all – just to show those Italians a thing or two.

The pictures show (top to bottom) a Tamiya Mini competition entrant; new resin kits; Dean Milano (middle), with Bill Lastovich of Revell-Monogram (left) and Fred Cady, of Fred Cady Decals. In front is half a million dollars-worth of full-size Jaguar SS-100. Fred is now retired, and these pictures were posted as a tribute.

Mat Irvine