| Rare. From about 1953. Early Gowland-produced set with no part number. Gowland designed and molded these kits as well as providing the box artwork and instructions - Revell did the marketing. Inside, the kit is correct with all cardboard dividers, tires molded in black and the cars molded in red, black, dark blue, yellow and green, correct instructions and the small parts are in the factory wax paper bags. The models have never been started. All kits have been inventoried 100% complete with all parts and instructions. Before the 1950s 'model building' as a hobby did not even make the top 10 list of boy’s activities. Hobbies were nothing new to America in the 1930s/40s, but they were not mainstream. Shortly after the turn of the century, many dedicated modelers built flying or static airplanes, ship, train, automotive or other subjects. Basic kits existed, but the majority of these models were built from scratch, which demanded a high talent level developed from years of experience. That changed in the early 1950s. The phenomenon of the Revell/Gowland & Gowland ‘Highway Pioneers’ car kits was a significant mover in proving that model building as a hobby could have mass appeal, provided that the kits were easy enough to build and finish. They could be built in an hour after dinner and looked like the real car. The 'Highway Pioneers' series helped lead to the production of other subjects in plastic. The effect was revolutionary. By the early 1960s, 'model building' was the # 1 past time of American boys. |
