Frog Supermarine Spitfire Mk14 and V-1 - (RAF or SEAC Kai Tak), 1/72, F194
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG+
$29
Final logo issue from the late 1970s. Well molded kit like most all Frog models. Includes V-1 and Spitfire. Spitfire has optional markings for 'Punjab' Sq RAF Dienst Belgium 1945 or No.132 Sq RAF SEAC Kai Tak Hong Kong 1945. This kit has not been started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions. Frog is considered the father of injection molded model kits. The Lines Brothers opened Frog in 1932, capitalizing on the fever caused by Lindberg's solo transatlantic flight. Almost overnight the western populations became 'Air-Minded', and anything aviation was in high demand. Frog created a quality line of stick and tissue rubber powered aircraft and gliders as well as innovative ready-to-fly rubber powered aircraft that required no assembly. The box even contained a built-in rubber motor winder and fuselage holder. Model airplane flight competitions were popular in Great Britain, and one category was 'Rise Off the Ground', or ROG. By changing this to 'Flies Right Off the Ground', the FROG name was born. In 1936 Frog created a line of injection molded plastic models, the first such kit line in the world (Hawk sold a line of injection molded aircraft models in 1934 but they were factory assembled and painted). Named 'Penguin' after the bird that does not fly, the kits were innovative beyond the means of production. At a time when models were simply built by wingspan, the Penguin line was a constant 1/72 scale. Furthermore, a large 1/72 Short S.30 Empire class flying boat contained a full interior and lights! A line of accessories such as AA guns, tractors, hanger, ambulance, sound locator, searchlights and lighting kits were quickly added to the line. WWII caused a pause in production. After the war the box color changed from silver to green, and Penguin kits were also marketed in the USA. Production ended in 1950. Frog quickly expanded and released the Red, Blue, Orange, Black, Green, Gold Token, Spin and Comet series as well as Trail Blazers and several others. It is noteworthy that while most manufacturers in the 1940s/50 were making toy-like models, Frog attempted to make very realistic models. For example, 'detailing' kits with excessively large rivets was once very popular. Frog ignored this trend and continued to mold aircraft with fine panel lines and no rivets. As a result, Frog kits can be built into very realistic replicas. Production ended in the late 1970s, but Frog molds are still in use around the world.
Hawk De Havilland Comet IV BOAC with Interior - and Ground Support, 1/153, 507-100
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good-
$95
Rare. Great hardbox kit from 1958 with interior and Bill Campbell artwork. The fuselage has a long flip-up panel to show full interior with all seats, bulkheads and even passengers. Also includes detailed landing gear, scale fuel truck, air conditioner truck and airport transport bus as well as full color BOAC decals and Mobilgas decals for the truck. This kit has never been started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions.
Airmodel North American AJ-1 Savage - Bagged, 1/72, 161
Vacuform Model Kit, Box Condition: Good-
$26
Basic vac kit with main airframe parts and clear canopy. Very crisp and well detailed moldings with recessed panel lines. Complete and never started. A certain degree of modeling skill is required to build vacuform kits. They are not recommended for beginners.
Tamiya Aichi M6A1 Seiran With Eduard Mask Set XF071, 1/48, 61054-2200
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG
$29
Includes never used and compete Eduard mask set for the canopies and beaching dolly wheels. The actual kit is very high quality and has never been started. The parts are still in the internal factory sealed bags and includes decals and instructions.
Pegasus Ryan FR-1 Fireball - Bagged, 1/72, 2002
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG
$24
Early US Navy operational propeller driven + jet engine dual propulsion carrier-based aircraft. Limited run injection molded kit with all very fine recessed panel line detail. Cleanly molded and well detailed. Includes cast metal detail parts and full decals. Never started. Factory sealed bag or inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions.
Comet Boeing 707 Jetliner 367-80 Dash 80, 1/300, PL16-29
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good+
$55
Very rare. Civil version of the 707 prototype. In the 1950s Comet made a beautiful line of small scale aircraft and missile models with colorful boxes. When Comet went out of business, these molds saw action for years with Aurora. This is the one-piece flip up box of the '707 - Dash 80.' And it is a nice kit of the famous prototype, the world's first commercially-successful airliner. Well molded with fine recessed panel lines in 'In-Flight' configuration with stand and prototype decals. Never started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions.
Kader Boeing 707 BOAC, 1/190, 399
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG++
$42
From the 1960s. Nicely molded for that time and features very fine raised and some recessed panel line detail, display stand and very colorful and complete decals. Decals are in amazing 'near mint' condition. Never started. The parts that were factory sealed are still in the factory sealed bag; the larger parts that were never sealed have been inventoried complete and includes instructions.
Revell F-105B Thunderchief - 'S' Issue, 1/75, H285-89
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG++
$79
1958 first issue with dramatic hardbox artwork. The box has excellent color and gloss. Features optional position landing gear, movable wheels, four bombs, pilot figure and hinged cockpit canopy and refueling probe. The kit has never been started. Inventoried 100% complete including decals and instructions.
Revell Boeing B-52 Giant Stratofortress - Pre 'S' Kit, 1/175, H207-98
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good-
$79
2nd release of this classic Pre 'S' kit from 1954. Features the higher profile box (1.5" high) with great artwork. Inside the kit has the four piece stand and the revised instructions showing it. NOTE: this kit has two parts neatly assembled- the fuselage halves have been assembled to 'near mint' quality. There is no other assembly and zero painting. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions.
Airfix Fokker F-27 Friendship Aer Lingus, 1/72, 583
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good-
$79
From the late 1950s. Type two logo kit with full Aer Lingus markings on two decal sheets. Features full cockpit, moving rudder, elevator and ailerons, retracting landing gear, optional position cabin doors and rotating propellers & wheels. Never started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions present.
Airfix BAC-111 (One-Eleven) Braniff Airlines - Craftmaster Issue, 1/144, 2-88
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good-
$54
Hard to find Craftmaster issue. Features optional position landing gear and working airstair rear door. The kit has never been started. Inventoried 100% complete including decals and instructions. Braniff decals look 'excellent' but please always take precautions before using any older kit decals. There is an article (on this website) on how to save old decals.
Aurora Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, 1/270, 494-49
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Exc++
$145
Very rare and even rarer in this condition. First issue and with the one-year only rectangular logo. Dramatic Jo Kotula box art with 1956 date. The box is the finest I have seen. It has like-new color and gloss, four solid corners, no repairs, no tape or tape marks, no tags or tag marks, no fading, and no tear or missing litho. The only flaws are the light edge and corner wear shown at the bottom right and other (even lighter) shelf wear that probably not even visible in the photo. Molded in correct silver and clear with correct rectangular clear stand. A nice kit for that time, it features full centerline landing gear and outrigger struts and gear doors as well as clear cockpit canopy, outboard slipper fuel tanks, display stand and decals. It has the correct early rectangle-base clear Aurora stand, which is also shown on the instructions. Molded in the correct gloss silver and clear. Never started. Inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions. Instructions are mint and the decals are 'near mint.' It is interesting to note that this is not a reissue of the Comet molds - the two models are not even close to the same size or scale. This kit is original to Aurora, was made before Aurora acquired the Comet molds and also varies in a great many details. It appears that Aurora never even re-issued the Comet B-52, probably because they had a superior model already in the same low price range.
MPM Kawanishi N1K1 'Shinden' George, 1/72, 72123
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Exc++
$16
Kit features fine, all recessed panel line detail, many photoetched parts and decals for four aircraft. Never started. Factory sealed bag or inventoried 100% complete with all parts, decals and instructions. During construction of the NiK1 Kyofu (Strong Wind) float plane, the design team at Kawanishi did a study of converting that aircraft to a land-based fighter. The design seemed very promising, but the Japanese Navy rejected it. Kawanishi decided to privately fund the building of prototypes regardless. The aircraft flew and flew well, but the navy was unimpressed as they ordered the J2M Raiden into production. Kawanishi, undaunted, built four additional prototypes. The IJN was finally won over, and funds were released to produce the fighter. Production problems were solved in time for the Shiden (Violet Lightning) to see action before the end of the war, but not in significant numbers to change the tide. The Shiden was an excellent aircraft, but a modified version, NiK2-J may have been the finest Japanese Naval fighters of the war.
ESCI McDonnel Douglas F-18 Hornet (early) - US Navy or Marines, 1/72, SC9001
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG++
$12
Kit features fine raised and recessed panel lines, good cockpit detail, two piece optional position canopy, AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder loadout and decals for Navy and Marines Prototypes No.5 and No.6. The kit has never been started. Internal factory sealed bag or inventoried 100% complete including decals and instructions.
Special Hobby Sopwith Schneider, 1/48, SH 48012
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: VG
$39
Hard-to-find. Very neatly molded and nicely detailed model. The kit has never been started. It has been inventoried complete with all parts and includes decals and instructions.
Special Hobby Dh-103 Hornet F.Mk.3/4 - RAF No. 45 Sq Butterworth Malaya 1955 / No. 33 Sq Butterworth 1955 / No. 64 Sq Linton-on-Ouse 1948, 1/72, SH72054
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Exc
$27
Limited edition kit that is well detailed and features injection molded parts with all fine recessed panel lines, injection molded canopy and resin and PE details, film instruments, full cockpit, optional drop tanks and a paint guide and markings for three different aircraft. The kit has never been started. The parts are still in the internal factory sealed bags and includes decals and instructions.
Special Hobby Arado Ar-231 V-2 Prototype Different Tail - German WWII Submarine Aircraft, 1/48, SH48061
Multimedia Model Kit, Box Condition: NM
$39
Very well detailed limited issue kit in large 1/48 scale. Features quality all fine-recessed panel line injection molded parts and complete decals. The kit has never been started. The parts are still in the internal factory sealed bags and includes decals and instructions.
Precisia 1769 Le Fardier and Cugnot Automobile, 1/43
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good
$245
Very Rare. From the late 1950s. It is very finely molded for that time and is approximately 6 inches long when assembled. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot was a French inventor who built the world's first automobile that could carry passengers. He first built a model in 1769, then the full sized version in 1770. He was a military engineer and the French Army showed great interest as this would an ideal way to move field artillery. The model and vehicle was know as fardier a vapeur (steam dray) and it did work, although not well enough for the Army to abandon horses. In 2010 a perfect copy was built at Arts et Metiers ParisTech and it performed perfectly. This is the only assembly kit known of this remarkable and historical vehicle. It is molded in red plastic and has 63 parts. The kit has never been started. All the parts but the frame are still in the factory sealed bag. The frame is intact and complete but never sealed. The instructions are present and in 'very good++' condition. They are in French but there is an old hand-written translation (from the early 1960s) of every word included. Precisia kits are so rare and almost never turn up for sale in public- only a small handful since 2009. Little is known about them beyond the fact that they are of high quality and cover unusual subjects. For years advanced collectors knew of Precisia and assumed them to be metal models...an easy mistake to make since no kits had ever been seen. We have only learned in the past 18 or so years that they were plastic. Precisia also made a 1900 Tonneau Renault 4 CV, Bugatti 1927, 1899 Grobron-Brillie and 1898 Coupe Peugeot model kits. Arnold Madderom reports that the 1898 Coupe Peugeot is molded in 3 colors- blue, black and clear plastic in 1/32 scale 1-32. The Gobron-Brillie is in 1-24. As far as the 1900 Tonneau Renault 4CV and Bugatti 1927, he has never seen them and has never heard of anyone seeing them; they were announced but probably never released.
MPM Messerschmitt Me-262 A-1a / U3 & V056, 1/72, 72113
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good-
$26
Limited issue kit. Nicely molded with recessed panel lines and many photoetched parts. The kit has never been started. The parts are still in the internal factory sealed bags and includes decals and instructions. NOTE: the decals are still sealed in the factory bag but have signs of very light staining. The A-1a/U3 was a very early reconnaissance fighter variant of the '262. It had two obliquely mounted Rb 50/30 cameras replacing the Mk 1089 cannon. It is not known if any production variants (A-4) of this aircraft were ever built. The A-1a/U3 was later fitted with FuG 218 radar equipment for night fighting and was rename V056. This aircraft was flown by Oberst Hajo Herrmann from Jagddivision 20, who reported excellent results. This lead to the development of the Me-262B-1A two seating being equipped for night fighting. The kit has never been started. Internal factory sealed bag or inventoried 100% complete including decals and instructions.
Sierra Phonix D.II - (D-II) - Bagged, 1/72, 72-19
Vacuform Model Kit, Box Condition: Good-
$18
Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarch WWI reconnaissance aircraft. Very high quality vac kit with excellent molded detail. Includes many cast metal detail parts. Never started and complete.