Alright men and women, I have a question regarding some old airplane kits my father built during the late 60’s and early 70’s. I wish I still had my hands on them but my mom got rid of them years ago. They were WWI bi-planes and tri-planes with full decal sets for all the camo colors… very small scale but well done. Any idea which manufacturer made these and are they still available or newer kits available that are just as detailed? I might be tempted to take a step closer towards the light if I could find some info on them! Thanks in advance!!![:p]
Hi JCon: I think the WW I aircraft your thinking of were made by Renwal. In the late 1960’s they came out with a series of WW I aircraft in 1/72 scale. They didn’t have decals, what they had were thin sheets of paper printed in the markings and camoflage of the aircraft. The sheets were applied with a liquid glue that was provided with the kit. I made a few back in the 60’s and they looked pretty good but you really had to be careful with the liquid cement. You can still find them at swap meets and on Ebay.
Not withstanding trying to find that particular maker… now a days there are several new (compared the 60’s that is) that make excellent kits. Edaurd, Bluemax to name 2. If you cant find the specific maker of your fathers models but wish to try WW1 birds anyways I would suggest starting there. Welcome to the light side, wheels up, throttle full bro.
-Jeff
Yes, based on your description, they were almost certainly the old Renwal kits. Now, long OOP, but still findable. Unless you want them for sentimental reasons, I would agree with Jeff that the modern releases by Eduard, Roden, Toko, etal, are much better kits.
Regards, Rick
joe it is good to see some of the light rubbed off on you. there have been some great suggestions. now one from me. i know the company you prefer to order through. go to their site and use the keyword ww1. this should bring up some choices for you. btw what happened to the 109 you were going to build.
joe
The 109 is in the future there Joe, part of an upcoming diorama with some armor scattered around. Thanks so much for the info everyone, you have been a great help to me! By the way, if its any consolation my son prefers aircraft to any other models except the big sailing ships like the USS Constitution he is currently building and my future son in law (next June) also builds planes.
JCon: found a website that has what your looking for. www.oldmodelkits.com. There listed under Renwal Aeroskin. Hope this helps.
man thanks a million Jetmech!!! I have been looking for a styrene kit of the USS Guam forever, even have a long running thread in the ships section about it…
today I say a topic about the regulus missle and through it I found a forum (long road trip on the net to get there) that mentioned a 1/600 kit by aurora of an Iwo Jima class LPH… well I followed your link and there it was!!!
This worn out old sailor salutes you! you made my job 1/2 as difficult… I was trying to persuade Trumpeter to make one and was in the process of buying the plans from navy.mil so I could send it to them…
Thanks over and over!!! (Although the plans are 23 dollars and the USS Guadalcanal model is only 150.00…) probably have better luck buying it from these people…
Thanks so much for the info my friend!!! You are awesome!