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Injection molded plastic assembly kits are the popular (and about the only) means currently available on the market to make small scale display models. With pre-molded and formed parts, the kits have become highly detailed (and expensive in many cases) - creativity and craftsmanship are not necessarily required to assemble the plethora of plastic parts into a recognizable airplane, but the authentic painting, reworking parts, weathering, customizing with added detail, diorama settings, etc. have elevated plastic kit "bashing" into an art form - go to any IPMS show and marvel at the miniature airplanes which defy your visual perception - they appear to be real airplanes yet your eyes signal that the craft is only a few feet away! I have a few on display in the gallery that were constructed by a professional and they are elegant, yet any 8-year-old could have assembled the same kit parts to create an equivalent form, just not elegantly.

Of course, plastic kits haven't always been around, although if you are a "boomer" or a later addition to the planet's burgeoning population, you may easily believe that hobby shops (an endangered species) have always been built around a cluster of plastic kit boxes. At one time you could even walk into your local hobby emporium (if it wasn't run by a crotchety old man) and open one of those kit boxes to review the contents. Now they're sealed in a non-permeable plastic wrap and you are considered to be a potential thief if you suggest that you might like to peek inside of that sacred container of plastic pieces.

The majority of hobbyist-built solid display models were constructed from wood until the plastic revolution struck by around 1950. Wood model kits commanded the market from their beginnings in the late 1920s up to the advent of plastic model kits. Wood kits varied greatly in quality and difficulty of construction - some were just blocks of wood and a plan, but others had pre-carved and pre-cut parts, some very nicely formed. By the end of WWII, and into the 1950's, many wood kits became more sophisticated with the addition of metal and plastic detail parts along with accurate decals. Many examples of wood kits are offered on this website and the history of one well known wood manufacturer, StromBecKer, can be viewed by Clicking Here. Solid wood kits (a natural, "green" product!) became an insignificant part of the hobby market as the 50's proceeded and the oil-based plastic industry took over (so that's what happened at the gas pump).

The first injection-molded plastic kits did not originate in the U.S., nor were they sold here. The British FROG Penguin assembly kits, in 1:72 scale, first came out in 1936. The first plastic kit was the Gloster Gladiator with a date of November 30, 1936. The 1:72 scale was commercially established by the British Skybird series of wood kits earlier in the decade. The early FROG Penguin kits were made from cellulose acetate but wartime shortages dried up the supply of plastic and FROG made a few 1:72 wood kits with plastic parts until 1946. The original Series 1 of FROG Penguin cellulose acetate kits was completely dropped by 1949. FROG went back into the plastic kit business in 1955 with a new series of kits, but now constructed of polystyrene.

The Lines Bros. Ltd. FROG Penguin Hampden, Kit 58P, in 1:72 scale, came out in February 1940. Production wound down as WWII precluded the use of plastic for non-strategic items. The plans were well drawn and a very detailed instruction sheet was included.

The first American plastic kits were introduced in the late 1940's; the Varney 1:48 scale PT-17 Kaydet may be the first and appears to be the first advertised in model magazines with a full page in the May 1946 Air Trails. This PT-17 kit is semi-solid and made of yellow acetate and is representative of the desk-type manufacturer's models, such as Topping, being offered at the time. The Hawk Model Company came out with a 1:48 scale, all plastic kit (#600) of the Curtiss R3C-1 with a plan dated 1946 and they had a line of seven plastic kits on the market by 1950. Lindberg came out with six 1:48 scale racers in 1948-1950 carrying the name of O-lin. Renwal and Empire also had kits that came out during the later 1940s, so any of these companies could have been the "first," an honor that will probably never be established.

COMET

PL-24 Aero Commander 680 1:81 $30.00
PL-802:98 Convair B-58 Hustler 1:96 $55.00
PL-501:69 Republic P47 Thunderbolt 1:53 $30.00

AURORA

102-79 Sopwith Camel 1:48 Oval logo $40.00

HAWK

503-98 Viscount Picture Gallery multiple decals 1:96 $155.00
209-200 Lockheed U-2 1:48 1962 $110.00
563-100 Westland Mk II Lysander 12 1/2" $25.00
565-130 Cessna Super Skymaster 1/4" 1968 $30.00
510-100 Ryan ST/PT-20 1:48 1966 $30.00
215-200 Grumman F8F-2 1/4" Bearcat Chrome Plated 1968 $35.00
562-100 Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat 1/4" $22.50
600 Curtiss Racer 1:48 Red,White,Blue one-piece box $175.00
601 Gee-Bee II 1:48 Red, White, Blue one-piece box $175.00
207-200 Authent-I-Plated Lockheed T-33 1961 $25.00
618-60 Supermarine S6B 1:48 $SOLD$

LINDBERG

72542 Curtiss P6E 1:48 $SOLD
567 B-70 1:169 $45.00
404:29 Knight Twister 1:48 $35.00
R503:79 Republic Seabee 1:48 Boy Craft $SOLD$
533-98 Winnie Mae 1:46 $48.00

MONOGRAM

PA148:150 AC-47 Puff the Magic Dragon pre-painted 1966 $45.00
PA31-149 TBF Avenger 1958 $47.50
PA53-98 A3J Vigilante 1:76 $45.00
PA33-98 F-105 Thunderchief 1:72 $50.00
Grumman F4F Wildcat 1:48 1960
PA54-149 Douglas SBD Dauntless 1:48 $48.00

RENWAL

212:100 2 for $1.00 Antoinette 1908, Voisin Farman 1:72 Aero-skin fabric not printed $20.00
550:149 NIKE Box Only $5.00
802-1095 The Visible V8 Transparent Operating Auto Engine 1/4 size 1960 $275.00

1415-100 Boeing Clipper, Craft Master 1:144 $40.00

ENTEX

8515B Beech Bonanza V35 1:48 $10.00

AMT

T638 Beechcraft G17S Staggerwing 1:48 1977 $50.00
T639 Stinson Reliant SR-9 1:48 1961 $50.00

UPC

5052-100 Jake Aichi E13A1 1:50 Marusan $$10.00

IMC

401:200 Lear Jet 1:40 $40.00
482-100 F-100D Super Sabre 1:72 Batle Damage Parts 1956 $30.00

PYRO

321-1.49 Hall Springfield "Bulldog" 1961 $35.00

STALCO

SWF 298 Space Needle Century 21 Official Hobby Kit 1962 $300.00

HOBBY-TIME Western Coil & Electric

901:98 U.S. Army Convertiplane Bell XV-3 1:43 (see Helicopter Page)

NICHIMO

3500 Hughes H-500 Helicopter "1/20 Identical Scale" motorized (see Helicopter Page)