Aurora Model Kits
Aurora Convair VR XFY-1 Pogo, 1/48, 60
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG++
$155
1955 hardbox design. Please note the early Aurora rectangular logo, which was used from about 1953 to 1955. However, the factory has blacked out all the price extensions, so this one may be from around 1957/58. Rare, large scale model features working counter-rotating props and is molded in gloss silver and clear. The kit has never been started. It has been inventoried complete with all parts and includes decals and instructions.
Aurora Cutty Sark Clipper Ship, 1/260, 432-198
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Fair
$45
Excellent builder kit. Nicely molded, smaller scale full-hull kit. Kit features molded rat lines, detailed deck and fittings, display stand and rigging instructions. Molded in green, wood tan and black. The kit has never been started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts including flag sheet and instructions. NOTE: the smallest yard has 1/3 of the tip broken off and that tip is missing.
Aurora British Churchill Tank, 1/48, 327
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed NM
$95
Still factory sealed. 1972 Big A softbox issue is in investment-grade condition. Features elevating gun, rotating turret, figures, operating treads and bogies and battlefield display stand.
Aurora Ryan X-13 Vertijet With Trailer And Launcher, 1/48, 376-198
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG
$425
Old hobby shop stock that has never been up for retail sale. Very rare kit dated 1957; first and only issue. Very nice, large-scale model for that time with a fully operational mobile operations trailer. The aircraft is molded in gloss silver & clear while the trailer/launcher is bright yellow. The kit has never been started. When you open the box, it is exactly as it left the factory down to the packing tissue paper. The silver parts (aircraft) are still in the factory sealed bag. The yellow parts and clear canopy were never factory sealed and are inventoried complete. Includes 'excellent' condition decals and instructions. The box grades 'very good' which is rare for this kit. The red color is in unusually good shape, which is rare; as you may know, it usually ages poorly. The colors are bright and vibrant, all four corners are solid with no repairs, there is no fading, no tape, no price tags and no stains. Flaws include edge wear as shown and 3 small litho chips as well as creases visible at the lower left corner and center right. Although not perfect, it is one of the best I have seen.
Aurora Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, 1/74, 374-198
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG++
$129
1962 issue with colorful pre-war high-visibility paint in the artwork. Please note that this is the first issue of this box art because of the 'Famous Fighters' in the border of the Aurora logo. Box is in 'very good++' condition with nice color and gloss, four solid corners and no sign of price tags or tape. There is light general wear as shown. Kit features retracting pontoons and rotating props. This version has the desirable large clear two-piece 'World' triangle-base stand. Molded in gloss silver and clear. Never started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions.
Aurora 12 O'Clock High P-38 Lightning, 1/48, 346-130
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG++
$185
Very rare first and only hardbox issue from the tie-in promotion with Twentieth Century Fox Televisions smash hit "12 O'Clock High." Dated 1965. Some of the most valuable models are linked to TV or movie promotions and the "12 O'Clock High" series from Aurora is no exception. This example has like-new color and gloss, four solid corners, no tape, tags or tears and zero fading. The only flaws are very slight foxing and very slight general corner wear. The kit has never been started. It has been inventoried complete with all parts and includes decals and instructions. Other kits in the series included the B-17, P-51, Me-109 and FW-190.
Aurora USS Skipjack Submarine Phota-Scope Issue, 1/228, 614-180
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good
$125
Rare. 1970 issue featuring the Phota-Scope. In place of the nuclear reactor, Aurora put a tube that has a magnifying lens at the top and a film transparency of a submarine interior at the bottom. So when you lift the hatch, you looked through the magnifier to see the inside of the sub. It was an interesting idea, and Aurora extended Phota-scope to some tank kits around the same time. The kit has never been started. Inventoried with all parts, magnifying lens and tube, phota-scope picture, decals and correct instructions present. The box looks much better than the 'good' rating but is graded as such because there is a closed tear in the box top at the sail of the sub.
Aurora Atomic Submarine Nautilus SS571, 1/242, 500-98
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Exc
$179
Rare, Brooklyn-produced, early 1950s U-Ma-Kit. This was Aurora's first naval model. Molded in the correct glossy very dark gray plastic and includes a display stand and decals to match the box art. Never started and complete with all parts, 'very good++' condition decals and 'near mint' instructions. The box has excellent color, four solid corners with no repairs, no fading and no price tags. The only tape is the factory sealing tape on the long sides. There is a light grease pencil price at the top center as shown and general shelf/edge wear.
Aurora De Haviland DH-10 Bomber, 1/48, 125-198
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Exc+
$125
Dated 1957 with classic Jo Kotula box art. This is the edition with the '198' price circle in the upper right and no Parent's Magazine approval seal. Box is in 'excellent+' condition with like new color and gloss, four solid corners and no tape or price tags. Flaws include very, very light wear and creasing. Molded in gloss olive drab and clear. Never started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions. Even includes the original tissue packing paper.
Aurora Regulus II Guided Missile with Launcher, 1/48, 378-249
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG
$379
1958 release of this kit featuring classic Jo Kotula boxart. The large 1/48 scale missile comes with a fully operational scale launcher. The hardbox has 'very good' color and gloss, four solid corners, no price tag or tape tears and no torn or missing litho. Flaws include general wear and edge and corner wear as shown. The kit has never been started and is factory new inside right down to the original tissue packing paper. Aurora factory sealed the silver parts and the red missile parts; these are both still sealed. The deep blue parts were not sealed but have been inventoried 100% complete. Includes decals and instructions in 'excellent' condition. This kit must be shipped insured. The Aurora "Missile Line" is legendary. In the late 1950s, the first missile model kits sold briskly, so Aurora and Revell both planned extensive lines. However, the missile modeling craze disappeared as quickly as it started. Models that were in the works were canceled or completed if they were far enough along. Those that were completed were fine efforts but sold poorly and had very short lives, making them rare collector items today.
Aurora De Havilland Tiger Moth, 1/48, 110-79
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed VG
$70
Still factory sealed but the seal has split on the bottom and left, and the box has damage as shown on the left. First issue dated 1958 with brilliant Jo Kotula box artwork. This was a very nice kit for that time.
Aurora Convair 990 Jet Mainliner United Air Lines, 1/107, 397-198
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Exc++
$1299
Very rare kit from 1962. First and only issue. This is the largest injection molded kit ever made of the very fast Convair 990 airliner. The box has as-new color and sheen with four solid corners and no repairs. There are no price tags, tape or price tag/tape marks. The only flaw is light edge wear. The model is molded in the correct white and clear plastic, with the large clear triangle display stand and full color United decals. The kit has never been started. It has been inventoried 100% complete including all parts, decals and instructions. Decals and instructions are both flat with slight yellowing being the only flaw. NOTE: shipping insurance is required with this kit. The Convair 990 and its near sister 880 were very high performance airliners. Unfortunately they did not find favor with commercial operators. The commercial failure of the 990 caused Aurora to pull these molds from production shortly after the introduction of the kit. The 990 was a larger and faster (Mach .91) airliner than the 880, but it failed to meet it's range criteria for east to west crossings of the USA. As a result, only 37 were made. Interestingly enough, several 990s continued to be operated by private owners and NASA operated two for decades after the last one was phased out of commercial service. Only 65 880s were produced from 1959 to 1962. The aircraft was designed to be smaller and faster than the DC-8 and 707 - this market did not develop, however, and if it did it could have been served with less expensive designs.
Aurora AT-6 Texan, 1/48, 70-69
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG+
$135
From 1956. Rare first issue of this classic kit. Has early rectangular logo "Aurora Line" logo. Molded in silver and clear plastic. Includes the correct early rectangular clear base Aurora stand, the correct instructions showing this base, and the correct early Tatem decals which Aurora issued without a stand decal. (Aurora issued stand decals with kits with the introduction of the triangular 'world' base style clear stand. The kit has never been started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions.
Aurora Cutty Sark Clipper Ship, 1/260, 432-198
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed NM
$79
Still factory sealed. Nicely molded smaller scale full hull kit. Kit features molded rat lines, detailed deck and fittings, display stand and rigging instructions.
Aurora Martin B-26 Marauder, 1/46, 371-259
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG
$325
Very rare first issue from the early 1950s. When Aurora moved to the West Hempstead plant, they planned a series of very large scale bombers. All kits released up to this time had been small. Aurora's instincts were correct, and the B-26, B-25 and B-29 were a big sales success. This box art was done by Jim Cox and was only used for about one year, making it very rare. The kit has never been started and is inventoried 100% complete with the original tissue paper, all parts, large clear stand, instructions and decals. The box has very good color, four solid corners (no repairs), no fading, stains or tears and no price tags or tape (other than the factory sealing tape). It does have moderate general wear as shown, a small (3/4" x 3/8") price tag tear on the left short side, edge wear (more on the on the left than the right) and litho chips on the top long side along the edge.
Aurora Curtiss Hawk P-6E, 1/43, 116-100
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed Mint
$110
Still factory sealed. The kit is dated 1958, but this is obviously a later issue as the Aurora logo does not say 'Famous Fighters' in the border and has no sunburst. Due to the 100 price extension, it is most likely from 1960 or '61.
Aurora Flying Sub Test Shot - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Seaview Submarine) Bagged, 1/60
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed Mint
$275
Very rare item for the advanced collector. This item was from the estate of Dave Cockrum, the world-famous Aurora box artist, sculpture and kit designer. However, he is even more famous for his long history with DC and Marvel Comics. When working at Aurora, Dave had access to 'The Room'. In it were test shots from almost every Aurora kit ever made; employees were welcome to come in and take a kit when they pleased. This Flying Sub came from that room. It is a rare test shot molded in the usual test shot color - white- and includes the clear parts. Although the kit is complete, it does not have a box or instructions like most all test shots.
Aurora Wall Bracket Display Stand
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed Mint
$55
Factory Sealed Aurora Line logo from about 1954.
Aurora Aurora ATLANTIS Merchant Raider Factory Model, 1/456
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: No Box
$1400
In the 1950s and early 1960s the major model manufacturers would create factory-built and painted display models. These were intended for hobby shops to help stimulate sales. These were disposable items that were produced in very low numbers, so they are very rare today. Here is one of the rarest of the rare: The 'Rattlesnake of the Ocean' Merchant Sea Raider Atlantis factory build up by Aurora. The unbuilt kit is among the most valuable and rare Aurora single kits, making the factory built display much more so. This one is in excellent original condition. The painting is 1950s professional quality as is the gluing. The glue has held up well and all parts of the ship are very solid. The ship is very clean. The original paint is almost flawless with some light scratches on the port side. The 'ATLANTIS' decals are perfect. The stack 'K' starboard decal is mint; the port one is missing 2mm of the white top on one leg of the 'K'. The factory cardboard wood-tone base is 100% intact with typical corner splits on the bends and edge wear. The removable covers display is mint with all 10 gun/hanger covers present. The kit is now 100% complete. It was missing 4 small parts which I am providing. I took them from an original Atlantis kit, so they are 100% correct. (they are the propeller, 'Y' rear crane, rear flag and rudder) Overall, this is an excellent and rare investment piece for the advanced Aurora collector. Shipping insurance required. From modeler Stephen Payne: Recommend that the builder or collector of this kit add the following books to their collection-The German Raider Atlantis by Captain Bernhard Rogge & Wolfgang Frank & Sea Raider Atlantis, Story of a German Surface Raider by Ulrich Mohr & A.V. Sellwood. The first book is by the ATLANTIS commander, Kapitan zur See Bernhard Rogge. He oversaw the transformation and outfitting in Bremen and captained the ship during her 602 day operational voyager which sank or captured 22 ships totaling 144,384 t (142,104 long tons). Rogge also was one of the few German officers of flag rank who was not arrested by the Allies after the war due to the way he had exercised his command of Atlantis. Captain J. Armstrong White, captain of the British CITY OF BAGHDAD, which Atlantis sank in July 1941, stated, "His treatment of prisoners left respect, instead of hatred."The second book is by the ATLANTIS First Officer, Ulrich Moher. Both books read much the same as the events related are the same, but it is interesting to see these events from the two perspectives. Captain White (see above) wrote the foreword to Atlantis, the Story of a German Surface Raider, written by U. Mohr & A. V. Sellwood.The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis (HSK 2), known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 16 (SHIP 16) and to the Royal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted merchant vessel to German Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary cruiser) used for commerce raiding. Commerce raiders did not seek to engage warships, but rather attack enemy merchant shipping; the measures of success are tonnage destroyed (or captured) and time spent "at large" holding up enemy resources. Atlantis had the longest raiding career of any German commerce raider in either world war.