Lindberg Heinkel He-111, 1/64, 580-200
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG
$36
Large hard box issue from 1967. Features movable control surfaces, 'good' cockpit, working landing gear, two scale engines, removable cowling, engine ground display stand, crew and mechanic figures and a clear display stand for the aircraft. The kit has never been started. It has been inventoried and NOTE: missing the mechanic's arm. Otherwise complete with all other parts and includes decals and instructions.
Hasegawa Kawasaki T-4 Blue Impulse - Acrobatic Team, 1/72, SP96
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed Exc+
$19
Still factory sealed. Very finely molded with 68 parts, all very fine recessed panel lines, full cockpit, two piece canopy, drop tanks and a painting guide and colorful decals for the Blue Impulse Team.
Orange Crush-Revell 1907 Sears Touring Buggy, 1/32
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good+
$79
Very rare kit with a fascinating history. Around 1958/59, Orange Crush of Mexico offered a promotion. They offered free, colorful, plastic model cars if you collected correctly-marked Orange Crush bottle caps. The models are 1/32 scale Revell Highway Pioneer series - although there is no mention of Revell or Lodela anywhere on the box. Orange Crush had the boxes and even the instructions specially made for them with no mention of a manufacturer. They were never given numbers. The boxes were very thin and fragile cardboard. This has contributed to wear and you must be very cautious with them. The kit has never been started. The parts are still in the internal factory sealed bag and the instructions are sealed in the bag as well. You could redeem your caps two ways - at the Orange Crush truck and at a Modelandia Hobby House. The box sides show the 18 cars in the series. Orange Crush also released two full-color booklets and a complete paint set for the cars. A colorful cardboard box held 7 colors of paint in glass bottles, complete with 'Orange Crush' screw-on caps! The entire promotion was done in coordination with Modelandia Hobby House which had up to 19 stores. Modelandia's name appears on each of the boxes and the paint as well. Robina S.A. was the bottler or distributor of Orange Crush in Mexico at that time. The box side lists the other 18 kits with small color pictures of each and shows three sizes of OC - Family Size (Familiar), Grand (Grande) and Normal. You could also obtain models with Titan bottle caps. Titan was also bottled by Robina and came in large (Titan) and smaller (Titancito) sizes and apparently more than one flavor. We do not know how Orange Crush had access to the plastic kits or who sealed the internal bags with the Crush instructions inside them. We can assume that it may have been Lodela, since they would have had access to the Revell molds. It is not know for how long the promotion lasted, but Orange Crush was one of the most dominant soft drinks in Mexico at that time. Here is one clue: some boxes claim that Modelandia had 13 locations; other boxes, which obviously came later on, claim 19 locations. This may indicate that this promotion went on for a significant amount of time.
Testors SR-75 Penetrator Spyplane, 1/72, 4078
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG
$72
Includes all accessories shown on box top. Large kit of the secret aircraft that has reportedly replaced the SR-71. Model is over 26 inches long when assembled. Never started and inventoried with all parts present, 'mint' condition decals and instructions. Includes paint and glue, but no knife or brushes. This is the pre 1994 'lower parts count' version of this kit. In 1994 Testors had a reissue that simply added a tree of parts with landing gear, cockpit, clear, etc.
Dolphin Scire Submarine - Gibralter and Alexandria Assault Version - Adua Class 600 Italian Navy, 1/400, 003
Resin Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed NM
$74
Still factory sealed. Very rare. Dolphin made the only kit of Italy's most renowned submarine, famous for the amazing attacks in Gibraltar and Alexandria harbors using 'Chariots.' This is a resin, metal and PE model kit of the attack version. And thanks to Dusty Rhodes who wrote that Scire was lost to depth charge attack by HMT Islay, and shore battery gunfire, in Haifa Bay, 10 August 1942. In 1984, a joint Italian-Israeli team recovered a hull section and artifacts, which were shipped to Italy and incorporated in a memorial to the boat and her crew. The Gibraltar operation is interestingly depicted, with a degree of artistic license, in the 1959 docudrama film, The Silent Enemy.
Strombecker Lockheed VTO XFV-1 Vertical Take-Off Fighter, 1/72, C50-89
Wood Model Kit, Box Condition: VG+++
$95
Strombecker was famous as the premier hardwood preshaped model manufacturer before plastic kits were introduced. In the 1940s and 1950s, Strombecker kits were flawlessly engineered but not inexpensive. All wooden parts are hardwood and are precarved to shape - usually only a quick sanding would finish them. This kit is hardwood with many plastic injection molded parts, so it was produced in the transition from wood to plastic. The prop hubs, spinner, tip tanks and fuselage are wood, while the wings, prop blades, scoop and tank fins are red plastic while the canopy is injection molded in clear. Full color decals are furnished as well as a "Join the Strombecker Model-Makers Club" brochure. The kit has never been started. It has been inventoried complete with all parts and includes decals, instructions, sandpaper, sanding stick and club form present.
Hawk Chrome Plated Lockheed U-2 - (Authenti-Plate), 1/48, 300-300
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Fair
$90
1962 completely chrome plated hardbox kit with Bill Campbell artwork. Large scale with 20 inch wingspan. While the box is only fair, the chrome is above average condition with typical light wear. Never started. Factory sealed bag or inventoried 100% complete with all aircraft parts, decals and instructions.
Frog Bristol 138/A Trail Blazers Issue - Green Series, 1/72, F165
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG++
$36
Very nicely done kit in the Frog tradition. On the 28th of September, 1936, the Bristol 138/A climbed to an altitude of 49,967 feet to establish a new world altitude record. In 1937 it climbed to 53,967 feet where the windscreen cracked. The pilot was saved by the pressure suit he was wearing. NOTE: this kit has "professional" quality minor assembly as follows: bulkhead, floor and radiator baffle installed in one fuselage side. There is no other assembly. The actual aircraft has been inventoried complete including decals and instructions. NOTE: missing display stand.
Supermodel Cant. Z-1007 bis Alcione Bideriva - (Z1007), 1/72, 10-006
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good+
$38
1970s model of the dual vertical stabilizer variant and well detailed for that time. Never started. The parts are still in the internal factory sealed bags and includes decals and instructions.
Aurora German Gotha G.V Bomber, 1/48, 126-198
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Exc
$79
Ross Abare issue Gotha in 'Excellent' condition. Mr. Abare, a rare kits dealer in the earliest days of the hobby, contracted with Aurora to produce a copy of the original 1958 kit. However, Aurora has the printers use the mid 1960s oval logo without the 'Famous Fighters' in the border- thus forever separating the Abare issue from the original issue. Mr. Abare was reportedly quite upset, as he wanted exact copies. Molded in deep burgundy and black plastic. Never started. It has been inventoried complete with all parts and includes decals and instructions. The box has perfect color and gloss but some very light general wear and a light crease in the upper left hand corner.
Formaplane Rogozarski IK-3 - WWII Yugoslavian Fighter - Bagged, 1/72, C5
Vacuform Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed
$22
Bagged kit that is still factory sealed. Very high quality vacuform kit from about 1987. Features recessed panel line detail and raised detail were appropriate, full cockpit, optional position landing gear, prop and clear canopy. Vacuform kits are not recommended for modelers who do not have experience building them.
Testors Soviet Oscar SSGN Nuclear Submarine - Bagged, 1/700, 903
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed
$10
Still factory bag sealed. Includes an 8.25 inch long Oscar Cruise Missile Submarine that can be built full hull or waterline and includes a display base. Does not includes any other model - only the Oscar.
Aurora Fokker Eindekker - (E-III Eindecker), 1/48, 134-100
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG+
$59
1963 issue with Jo Kotula artwork. This kit was part of Aurora's very popular and successful 1/48 WWI series. The line started in 1956 and was expanded through the 1960s. Never started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions present. This is the second issue because the box side logos does not have 'Famous Fighters' in the border of the logos. Thank to Dusty Rhodes for pointing out that the decals are for serial 419/15, Bayerische Feldflieger Abteiling 9, Autumn 1915.
Aurora Douglas M2 Mailplane - (M-2), 1/48, 111-98
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: NM-
$85
First issue dated 1957 and in amazing 'near mint-' investment-grade condition. The box has like-new color and gloss, four solid corners with no repairs, no tags or tape or marks from either, no fading, no missing litho and no tears. It does have very light wear and a light crease at the lower left corner as shown. This classic Jo Kotula artwork kit is molded in deep gloss burgundy and black. Never started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions present. Decals are in amazing 'near mint' and flat with slight yellowing as the only flaw. The instructions are 'excellent++' and have little yellowing. This is the very first issue as it has the instructions missing the clear windshield part and NO small additional instruction sheet showing it. This aircraft has a fascinating history. From the internet: The United States Post Office had been running the air mail service since 1918 mainly using variants of the de Havilland DH.4 biplane. In 1925, it decided to modernize and placed an order with Douglas for a replacement aircraft based on the Douglas O-2 observation biplane. The company modified an O-2 by covering over the forward cockpit to make a mail compartment and moving the pilot into what had been the observer's cockpit. The aircraft was designated the DAM-1 (Douglas Air-Mail-One) but this was soon shortened to M-1. The M-1 used the same Liberty engine as the DH.4, which was available in large numbers. Small modifications were made to the exhaust system to keep fumes away from the pilot and the design was considered a success, but was not ordered into production. When the Contract Air Mail (CAM) routes were introduced, the newly formed Western Air Express Company (later Western Airlines) ordered six mailplanes with the designation M-2. The main change from the M-1 was that the tunnel radiator was replaced with a frontal type. It also had the provision to carry a passenger instead of mail in the front cockpit. Just before Western Air Express introduced the aircraft into service (in April 1926 from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City), the Post Office ordered 50 aircraft designated M-3 for its major route network. The M-3 had only detailed differences from the M-2.
Sunbeam Bristol Britannia (ex-Frog) - Soviet Military Transport, 1/96
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Fair
$79
Many Frog molds made their way to the ex-Soviet Union, probably in the 1960s. Of them, this one is perhaps the most interesting. This kit represented quite a research problem, but Mark Zandy has provided information from his Soviet kit collection. The manufacture is Jaroslavl Chemical Plant "Lutch" (Jaroslavl is a town on Volga river). "Lutch" can be translated as "Ray", but "Sunbeam" is a better interpretation. Rovex sent this mold to the USSR in 1977 in an agreement between Dunbee-Combex-Marx and Novoexport, but the Bristol Britannia didn't receive the Novo kit number and this kit had been produced only for the Russian market. The price was 2 rubles, which I am told was expensive at the time. The number on the box OCT 17-296-75 refers to the number of an industrial standard for plastic toys production that was established in 1975. The box states "assembly kit of a transport plane" and it is clearly in USSR military markings. The scale is stated as 1/72, which is incorrect. Inside the box is the Frog model of the Britannia, which is 1/96. What the Soviets were doing with a model of the Britannia in Soviet military markings is unknown to me. There are no instructions or decals, but it was easy to determine that the kit is missing one propeller retainer (easy to make or can be left out as it does not show) and is missing four propeller blades. The kit also has a clear windshield and full landing gear, gear doors, etc. The kit has never been started. "Lutch" received 4 ex-Frog molds. For the domestic market kits were numbered: No. 196 -- Hawker Tempest V (bagged), No. 197 -- P-47D-25 Thunderbolt (bagged), No. ??? -- Bleriot XI (bagged) , No. 214 -- Bristol Britannia (you can see this number on the box: Article Jr 085 -- 1 -- 214). At least two different boxes were issued for the Britannia. Dusty Rhodes may have an answer as to how a Britannia could even come close to wearing a Soviet Star insignia - "...you pose a very good question about why anyone would have thought of issuing the kit with Soviet markings. From Woodley, Bristol Britannia (2002), and some online sources, I now think there may be a vaguely sensible reason. Bristol sold four Britannia transportsto Cuba in 1959, under an exception to the US embargo. The state airline Cubana ran these until around 1975, including leases to Czechoslovakia. Some of the aircraft were used to transport Cuban troops and Soviet equipment to communist insurgents in Africa. Castro apparently thought the use of British a/c was a big to do; Woodley (p. 90) describes an instance in which Fidel flew around Cuba in one of the ships and making a radio broadcast. I found no evidence that Soviet military or other markings were even temporarily applied, but as a result of all this, it might not have seemed unreasonable to someone to use red stars on the box art for this kit."
Hasegawa North American F-86F Sabre Jet - JSDF, 1/72, JS015-100
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good+
$18
Very early Hasegawa kit with the first logo. This is one of at least two early logo issues with this part number and different box art. Includes JSDF decals. Nicely molded. Never started. Factory sealed internal parts bag with decals and instructions.
MPM Avia B-534 IV Series - Czech Air Force 41st Sq 4th Air Regiment Hradec Kralove / Slovakian Air Force Ukraine 1941, 1/48, MP6004
Multimedia Model Kit, Box Condition: VG+
$16
Large 1/48 scale kit of the very attractive biplane. Features very high quality main vacuform parts with fine recessed panel lines and injection molded details. Vacuform part detail is better than many injection molded kits. Includes cockpit detail and clear vacuform canopy as well as a full painting guide and decals for both aircraft listed. The kit has not been started. NOTE: missing both wheels. These are simple disks which are hardly visible with the wheel pants on (see box art). Otherwise inventoried with all other parts, decals and instructions.
Victor Stanzel & Co Lil' Raider Mono-Line 1/2A Stunt and Combat Model
Wood Model Kit, Box Condition: VG
$75
From the 1950s. Flying gas model for control line. Completely pre-fabricated kit featuring fully formed balsa and hardwood fuselage, fully formed hardwood engine mount, thick, clear plastic wing tips and canopy, die-cut wing ribs, fully shaped and notched leading and trailing wing edges, die-cut fin and rudder, factory-hinged stabilizer, formed wire landing gear, hardware, detailed instructions and covering tissue. The kit has never been started. It has been inventoried 100% complete with all parts and instructions. Please note that there is very light bug damage on the instructions but heavy bug damage on the white tissue paper.
ESCI Fiat G-91 Gina Pan - Frecce Tricolori, 1/48, SC-4028
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good
$32
Larger (1/48) scale Gina that features cockpit detail, optional position speed brakes and canopy, detailed gear wells, smoke tank and blocked gun ports. Includes large and colorful decal sheet for the Italian Air Force Acrobatic Team 313 Gruppo G-91R-1B (modified). The kit has never been started. The parts are still in the internal factory sealed bags and includes decals and instructions. In 1961, the US Army evaluated four 'Ginas' for possible use in the close support/forward air control role. Despite much anticipatory rejoicing by Army aviators, this interesting project was abandoned when most fixed wing types were transferred to the USAF.
Aurora Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1/125, 143-130
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Sealed Mint
$79
Still mint in the factory seal. Dated 1963 and from the larger (1/125 scale) of the two ex-Comet molds. Kit features cockpit and cabin clear windows and full landing gear and a 'tanker' rear end and flying boom (although the box art does not show it). Molded in gloss gray and clear. This model was given a clear Aurora two piece 'triangle world' stand, unlike many of the other Comet kits which only had a modified version of their original stands included. Of course this is not the production KC-135 but a model of the Boeing prototype.