Category: Classic Plastic Model Kit Reviews

By Fred Boucher

Introduction

During a golden age of aviation tarnished by the Cold War, many new aircraft were produced, including what became known as cruise missiles.  One was the Martin TM-76 Mace.  Aurora was always quick to cut tooling for models of contemporary subjects, and in 1958 issued their kit MACE – TM -76 GUIDED MISSILE.  Once again, Aurora had the weapon on the shelf before it was actually deployed.  TM-76 was first flown in in 1956 but was not active until 1959.  The kit number is 130-.79.  The “.79” was Aurora’s MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price), a part of the box despised by retailers.  Aurora also scaled it to 1/48.

Aurora’s one-and-only issue of this missile 

I do not recall Aurora rocket and missile kits vying for shelf space at my town model outlets: City Cycle Hobby Shop, Bell or Davis Drug Stores, Value Village; nor at Kresge, Woolworths, Sears, or JC Pennys.  Perhaps my modeling interests made space and missile subjects invisible to me at that time, or perhaps Aurora had already discontinued the kits!

Box side (click to enlarge)

Continue reading “Aurora Mace TM-76 Guided Missile Kit Review”

By Fred Boucher

Introduction

In 1958 Aurora released a Thor rocket but the model did not sell well.  To get more use from the mold, they added a galactic instrument payload intended for moon exploration.  This was released in 1959 as the U.S.A.F. 4-Stage Rocket Lunar Probe with Launching Pad and Servicing Tower.  The kit number on the box is 385 – 2.49, with “2.49” being the retail price of $2.49, or approximately $25.00 in today’s dollars.  Compared to model prices today that was an exceptional value for a multi-stage rocket and payload, with launch facility and figures!

The Lunar Probe #385–2.49 (left) and the earlier Thor IRBM #380-198

I do not recall Aurora rocket and missile kits vying for shelf space at my town model outlets: City Cycle Hobby Shop, Bell or Davis Drug Stores, Value Village; nor at Kresge, Woolworths, Sears, or JC Pennys.  Perhaps my modeling interests made space and missile subjects invisible to me at that time, or perhaps Aurora had already discontinued the kits!

Continue reading “Aurora’s U.S.A.F. 4-Stage Rocket Lunar Probe with Launching Pad and Servicing Tower – Kit Review”

By Dennis Sparks 

Another top-quality build Dennis!  Thank you so much for the article -AB 

Beginning  in 1909, almost all of the first aeroplanes that had been acquired by the US Army Signal Corps were either Wright or Curtiss “pusher” designs, with engines that were situated behind the pilot. As might be expected with this new technology, during the first five years of flight operations crashes were both frequent and too often fatal. Realizing that the location of the engine was a factor in some of the fatalities, on 25 February 1914 the Army grounded all of their remaining “pusher” aircraft, leaving them with almost no aircraft to fly.

Curtiss Model D Pusher (courtesy Wikipedia)

Seeking to purchase safer aircraft, both Martin and Curtiss responded to the Army request with designs for two-seat biplane trainers with the engine and a “tractor” propeller mounted in the front of the aircraft. The Army bought three Martin Model T aircraft, which curiously enough were specified to be delivered without engines, as for reasons of economy, they wanted to re-use some of the engines that had been salvaged from crashed aircraft. Later the Army purchased an additional fourteen Martins which were to be delivered with a variety of new-built engines. And while both the Army and the Navy also later acquired a few examples of the Martin Model S floatplane which shared a common heritage with the Model T, the type has largely faded into obscurity.

 Martin Model T (from the movie A Girl Of Yesterday) and Model S – click to enlarge (courtesy Wikipedia) 

Continue reading “A “Classic Build” of a 1/48th Lindberg Curtiss JN-4 Jenny”

By Dennis Sparks

Dennis is an active and talented IPMS modeler in and around Kentucky.  I saw his superb build of the classic Pyro/Life-Like kit at the Cinicinatti IPMS show and he was kind enough to let me place his article on the website – AB

A relatively brief history of Armand Deperdussin and his aircraft…

Armand Deperdussin (pronounced as “depper-DUE-sin”) was born c.1860-1870 (accounts vary) in or near Liege, Belgium (or possibly in or near Paris, as again, accounts vary). He held a number of jobs a young man, including working in a pharmacy and as a traveling sales representative for a Belgian chocolate firm, and still later was a singer in a Brussels night club. In Paris in 1902, he decided to venture into business on his own; borrowing enough money to begin buying imported silk in large quantities and then re-selling it in smaller portions to Parisian dress shops at a handsome profit. Possibly aided by the threat of the loss of the silk trade from the Far East during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05, he quickly both amassed a fortune and simultaneously developed a real flair for extravagant spending.

Armand Deperdussin (courtesy Wikipedia) and the Pyro issue of his aircraft, kit number P603-100

Continue reading “A “Classic Build” of a 1911 Deperdussin Type A Monoplane”

By Fred Boucher and with Kit History by Alan Bussie

Kit History 

Aurora’s Nieuport 28 [sic] was the eighth model of Aurora’s 20 “Famous Fighters” 1/48 World War One aircraft. It was released in 1957 with two other single-seaters and three two-holers.  The first release is kit number 108-69 with the oval logo, ‘Famous Fighters’ in the border, northern lights in the center back ground and the Parent’s Magazine seal on the lower left.  The short box sides have a yellow background.  Box art is by the famous Jo Kotula.  This was one of his earlier aircraft illustrations for Aurora.  Inside, the kit was molded in gloss light gray and black.  The mold quality was certainly a step above the earlier Aurora efforts.

Aurora 108-69, the first issue Nieuport 28 

The second issue was changed very little and probably came out in about 1958 or 59.  The 10 cent price increase was reflected in the new part number of 108-79 and the Parent’s Magazine logo was still included.  This time, however, the short box sides have a blue background instead of yellow.  The parts inside are identical.

Continue reading “Aurora Nieuport 28 Kit Review and History”

By Fred Boucher and with Kit History by Alan Bussie

Kit History 

Aurora’s Albatross D-3 [sic] was the fourth model of Aurora’s 20 “Famous Fighters” 1/48 World War One aircraft.  It was released in 1956 with five other single-seaters. (Curiously, although Aurora released their “Sopwith Tripe” years later, it was originally numbered 100.)

The initial issue first appeared in Aurora’s 1956 Catalog and on dealer’s shelves the same year.  The kit number was 104-69.  Jim Cox did the box art and the instructions.  1956 was the first year for the large rectangular ‘Northern Lights’ logo.

First Issue Albatross D3, # 104-69 

Aurora rolled out a new logo in 1957.  But creating new box art was costly, so they simply modified the old art with the new oval ‘Famous Fighters’ logo with the northern lights on the inside background.  The price went up ten cents, changing the part number to 104-79.  The Parent’s Magazine seal was added at the left.   This issue was probably produced from 1957 until around 1960.

Continue reading “Aurora Albatross D3 (Albatros D.III) Kit Review And History”

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By Fred Boucher and with Kit History by Alan Bussie

Introduction

From the horrible yet exciting depths of the Cold War came the Myasishchev M-50 / M-52 ‘Bounder,’ a Soviet supersonic bomber.  From ‘Bounder’ leapt the bogeyman M-60, a Soviet design for a nuclear-powered bomber.  From the M-60 radiated this Aurora model of the terrible and amazing Russian Nuclear Powered Bomber.

The one and only USA issue of the Russian Nuclear Bomber from 1959 

Myasishchev M-50/M-52 ‘Bounder’

An enormous four-jet bomber first ripped the sky over the Soviet Union in 1957.  A long sleek fuselage on a delta wing, ‘Bounder’ publicly roared over in the 1961 Aviation Day flyby.  Though intended to be a supersonic strategic bomber the big beast would more accurately have been code-named “Blunder” as one aviation wag put it.  The big bomber was devoid of high-speed flight understanding.  Not long after ‘Bounder’ was flown in the presence of Westerners, the Myasishchev Bureau was disbanded.  ‘Bounder’s’ engines were used on the Tupolev Tu-22 ‘Blinder,’ which shares similar fuselage lines with ‘Bounder.’

Continue reading “Aurora Russian Nuclear Powered Bomber (M-50/M-52 Bounder) Kit Review and History”

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By Fred Boucher and with Kit History by Alan Bussie

Kit History

In 1959 Aurora released two more 1/48 World War I ‘Famous Fighter’ aircraft kits.  The first was number 135-69, the Fokker D-VIII ‘Flying Razor.’   The second kit, and the subject of this review, was the Halberstadt CLII,  #136-98.  As with all Aurora kits of this period, the logo is oval with the sunburst in the center background and the words ‘Famous Fighters’ written in the oval border.  Jo Kotula, who took over for Jim Cox in about 1957, did the box artwork.  The parts were molded in black and gray plastic.

First release Halberstadt, #136-98

The kit proved successful, as were the vast majority of the WWI series.  When Aurora was associated with Parent’s Magazine, the box top had their seal of approval.  The model inside remained identical.  The artwork remains dated 1959, but this issue may have extended into 1960.

Continue reading “Aurora Halberstadt CL.II Kit Review and History”