A Brief History of Aurora Plastic Model Kits
September 4, 2007 – 12:04 pmAurora was one of the most prolific names in American Modeling from 1952 to 1977. The line was very diverse and included aircraft, ships, tanks, missiles, figures (monster and many others), science fiction, automotive, animals, guns, totem poles, HO train items, electronic kits, “Coppersmith” sets, prehistoric scenes and more.
The Early Years
In 1950, Abe Shikes and Joseph Giammarino created Aurora as an injection molding job-shop. Injection molding was booming and business went well. In 1952, they hired a salesman named John Cuomo. The plastic model kit business was just beginning, as the three decided this was the future of Aurora.
Brooklyn Era
Kit production started in the Brooklyn Plant in late 1952. These kits were in one-piece flip-top boxes and carried the circular logo and the “U-Ma-Kit” slogan. The first two kits were the 1/48 F9F Panther Jet (kit #22) and 1/48 Lockheed F-90A (kit #33) with no landing gear or missiles and minimal rivet and panel line detail. Box art was simple and used one or two colors. There is no price extension after the kit number.
Issues exist with the instructions printed on the inside of the box and with the instructions printed on a separate piece of paper. If you have the early Hawk releases of these kits, you will notice that they are almost copies of each other, down to the stand design. The Hawk kits predate the Aurora kits but there is no evidence of mold swapping; Aurora simply copied the dimensions of the kits and made their own molds.
Aurora marketing strategy was simple and effective. Revell and Monogram prided themselves on making kits that were highly accurate and had the maximum number of operating features. Aurora simply wanted to sell the most kit to a younger audience for less money. Accuracy suffered, but the market did not care. The kits were superior to the old carved or pre-shaped wooden ones. Shikes and Giammarino kept overhead low and operated with a minimal staff. Aurora had no trouble turning a profit. It was the right strategy for the time, but not for the future.
The success of these kits in the marketplace encouraged Aurora to cut 6 more molds. They were the P-40E, Me-109, Yak-25 (Mig-19), F-86D, Zero and P-38L. These kits with the F-90 and F9F constitute the famous and rare “Brooklyn Eight” from 1953.
Other Brooklyn releases include the USS Nautilus submarine. Price extensions were used for the first time. All eight did not have landing gear or missiles and have minimal panel line and rivet detail. The rectangular stand was retained with “Brooklyn” etched on the base. The circular logo was dropped and a new one with the word “Aurora” curved into a rising sun was substituted. The “U-Ma-Kit” logo was retained on the sides and the “Famous Fighters of All Nations” slogan was introduced on the box top. Due to the weakness of the one-piece box, two piece lift-off boxes were used. These are “hard-boxes”, or boxes of stiff cardboard with a paper lithograph or “slick” glued to the top box. Box art became very colorful and action-packed, which certainly lead to increased sales.
West Hempstead Era
Plastic kits were selling well in the middle 1950s. In a survey, approximately 80% of all young boys said that modeling was their primary hobby! Wooden kits had been very popular for decades but the future belonged to plastic. Aurora moved to a larger facility in West Hempstead in 1954 to meet demand. The two-piece hard box became the mainstay. The first logos from the new plant were “Aurora” curved into the rising sun but with “West Hempstead” replacing “Brooklyn” immediately below it on the box sides.
Some short releases were made using Brooklyn box art and this logo with the Brooklyn price extension. The “U-Ma-Kit” logo was dropped and price extensions appeared after kit number shortly after. The previous releases had the molds modified for increased rivet detail, and landing gear and bombs or missiles were added.
The F6F, Spitfire, FW-190, XFV-1 Pogo and Convair XFY-1 kits were introduced as well as the Milk Truck, Gas Truck, and many others. By about 1955 the logo was given flash of color and read “Aurora Line”. External pressures resulted in Aurora dropping the swastikas from German Aircraft box art at this time, creating some rare box variations. Box art was quickly touched up with replacement German crosses while completely new art was developed.
In 1956 the WWI aircraft kits were released with the new rectangular “Northern Lights ” large logo and some new WWII aircraft were released as well. Also in 1956 Aurora obtained the molds from Helicopters for Industry and released the S-55, H-21, H-25, HOK-1 and Hornet with the “Northern Lights” logo.
In 1957 the famous oval Sunburst “Famous Fighters” logo was first used as on this Regulus with Launcher and the rectangular stand changed to the triangular base stand.
The first Aurora airliner kits were introduced near this time. Most aircraft decal markings remained identical to the older versions but now included a stand decal. The last use of the SBFF logo was about 1959. In 1960 the same Sunburst was used, but the words “Famous Fighters” were dropped, as shown on this N-156 (F-5)
In some cases, the “Famous Fighters” was retained on the side panel logo but without the sunburst. The era from 1953 to 1960 can be confusing for Aurora due to the numerous variety of price extensions, logos (or combinations of logos), box art, plastic colors and instructions. Some have commented that Aurora must have had poor quality control at this time. Instead of jumping directly to that conclusion, it is important to remember that Aurora Plastics Corporation was a business. Excess stock of boxes, instructions, stands, etc represented a dollar value of inventory. The parts were used, even if not in the “correct” way. You may find a rectangular stand or Aurora Line instructions in a SBFF box. The collector should be aware that this could also be a “married” kit with parts from another box. (Such variations, either from the factory or otherwise, will be noted when possible in model descriptions on this site). People living in West Hempstead have told me of “Aurora Sales” to local boys. Sometimes kits with no boxes were sold for 25 cents direct from the factory. Still others went through the trash to recover parts of kits in hopes of making a complete kit. Test shots, used to verify correct mold operation, also exist and can be in transparent or odd colored plastic. On rare occasions test shots were accidentally packed and sent to the market place.
The 1960s were busy for modelers, and Aurora and its competitors released many kits. In 1963 Aurora purchased Comet and many ex-Comet kits were released. Aurora leased three molds from Strombecker for the T-37, A-37 and TT-1. Movie and Television tie-ins were used when possible. In 1965 Aurora released several WWII aircraft kits with the “Twelve O’clock High” logo. The B-17 kit was a special release with three B-17s, bombing base, stands, a poster and special battle damage decals. B-25 and B-26 kits were released with battle damage decals, as well as some single seat fighters but without special decals.
Ships were released in special promotional boxes for the movies “Dr. Doolittle” and “The Buccaneer”.
The famous Monster, Movie and Television figures began production, as well as the Coppersmith and Electronic kits. New airliners were introduced, and some old kits were re-boxed with new art and decals and new airlines emerged. In the early 1960s the logo changed to the oval with the “Aurora” inside. The sunburst and Famous Fighters were dropped. Price extensions were still being used at this time but are often over-stamped with a new (higher) price or blanked/punched out.
A Change of Owners
In 1969, Charles Diker, a former Revlon Vice-President, gained control of Aurora through stock purchases. Shikes was the last of the original three to leave. Diker did not agree with how Aurora had been run, and was determined to turn it into a larger corporation and to diversify. Spending was increased, and quality was improved.
The Demise of Aurora
In about 1970, Aurora introduced the “Big A” logo consisting of a large “A” with the word Aurora written in the crossbar, as in the complicated Sealab kit.
Box art, which has been fairly consistent through the 1960s, changed again. Model building as an established hobby was maturing and older builders were demanding accuracy. Aurora was introducing fewer new molds and the accuracy of some older molds was less than perfect. Monogram continued to expand its line of accurate kits, as did Revell. International competition was making inroads into the US market with very accurate products as well. In about 1972 Aurora modified the molds from many WWI aircraft to make them more accurate. Some new, more accurate molds were made including the Skycrane, Cheyenne and Moscow. They were greatly improved kits, but it was too little, too late. Aurora had lost money every year since Diker took over. Nabisco bought Aurora in 1971and Diker left in 1975. The former president of Mattel Canada was brought in, Boyd W. Brown, but the years of quick sell products and high spending caught up. In 1977 Aurora ended all kit production and Nabisco sold all the molds to Monogram. During shipment to Morton Grove, IL, five molds were destroyed: Jet Commander, Albatross CIII, Halberstadt CLII, Breguet XIV and Skymaster.
Monogram released some of the WWI kits, submarines and a few airliners in the 1970s. Monogram was bought by Odyssey in 1986. Revell was purchased by Odyssey at time also, and the three company’s molds were pooled together at Monogram’s old plant. If you know of any mold swapping of Aurora kits under Revell or Monogram names from 1986 forward, please email me. Obviously, the molds for many Aurora kits still exist as evidenced by the reissued from Polar Lights/Playing Mantis. The condition of the molds that have not been used for years is questionable. Molds must be maintained or they will decay and become unusable. If you can confirm mold status on any of the old Aurora molds, please email me.
International Sales
Aurora did market kits internationally from the 1950s forward. “Playcraft Toys” in Great Britain marketed these kits in boxes and in hangers with header cards from about 1957 to 1964. Price extensions were dropped for Playcraft issues. This is the only known Aurora release in bags with header cards, making these kits desirable to collectors. From 1968 on Aurora kits were marketed in Great Britain by Aurora/Great Britain. From 1958 on Aurora distributed kits from Aurora/Netherlands. Sometimes the artwork on these kits varied from the USA artwork, such as on the F-107 kit. Aurora/Canada issued kit for that market from 1964 on. Again, there is some box art variation in a few cases, like the B-25.
Credits: Many thanks to John Burns, Tom Graham and the innumerable number of collectors who have helped to compile this information over the years. Without your tireless attention to detail, this would be impossible.
Alan Bussie