G’day;
To assist in an article I’m trying to write I’m looking for opinion on which plastic model aircraft kits you believe have been the most influential, ground-breaking or just plain outstanding of all time. I only want a shortlist of three and I’m placing a similar request in all the main modelling genres.
Does anyone have any suggestions including why they think their choice qualifies?
Michael
Hmmm. this is a tough one. But I’m gonna cast my vote for:
1/48th Monogram Su-25 Frogfoot. IIRC, this was the first kit to feature recessed panel lines.
My vote is for the Monogram, now revell 1/48th B-17G. Why? Well, simply because it has been around for so long in near continuous production since the 70’s. And if you look around on these forums and maybe some others, you will see a few current builds of that old kit. MY .02
My opinion would be the kits of the 50’s and 60’s. These are the kits that our modeling forefathers grew up and shaped what modeling would become 40 and 50 years later. They influenced a breed of person (the modeler) that has changed over the years, but become who we are today. They may have been crude, “simple” models by today’s standard, but they shaped the imagination and skill-sets of modelers. Many will argue that today is more “assembling” than model building and having seen some of the older kits it looks like skill and improvision is definately required.
So my vote would be for the pioneers of plastci models in the '50’s and '60’s
Not that you’re bias at all B-17 guy?
I would agree, the shear longevity of that kit puts it in the top percentile. I’d wager that most every aircraft modeler has done this kit at least once.
I’d have to agree w/ the above, and also throw in the B-29 and B-24 of the same series…Another influential kit, IMO, would be the AM TBF Avenger—it really raised the bar on what we now expect to be in the box and the level of detail…
In the late 40’s/early 50’s, I bought my first plastic model airplane kit. It was a P-80, all parts, including the canopy, were molded in gray plastic. I believe the manufacturer was an outfit called “Olin”, but that maight well be a figment of my age-diminished memory. Anyway, it was the first I ever saw and the start of a long and indistiguished involvement in modelling for me.
Of course, right behind were the Aurora series in their brightly colored plastic format. I’m sure they were the grabbers for many of us older (excuses me, more experienced) participants in the hobby.
The Airfix Fordson tractor. It was originally to be sold assembled, and finished, but was deemed to be too expensive, so it was sold as a kit, and Airfix never looked back. Then there was the 1/72nd Spitfire IX “JE-J,” bagged, moulded in light blue plastic, which started the whole aviation plastic modelling scene, in Europe.
Edgar
I would have to say that the Monogram B-17G is probably the most influential plastic kit and here is the reason.
When our fathers were kids they all built products from Monogram, Revell, Aroura, and Lindberg. These companies made modeling what it is today. And out of all those kits whats the most immediatly recoginizable and awinspiring airplane from that modeling era. The answer is the B-17 becuase it is a legend in all respects. Every kid wanted to build the Big fort! and this is especially true today. I know when I began building models I wanted a B-17 so bad. I can wager that every kid who builds dreams of building the 1/48 B-17 some day. Thus this model in particular is a gateway for new model buiders to enter the hobby. Some day those new model builders become old ones and eventually make the kit again as well. The B-17 kit has litterally been a substantial part of the model airplane legacy since it was concived in the 70s.
VA
I think that if one is going to mention the RM B-17G (which I just picked one up over the weekend) there is another that has been around equally as long if not longer that is possibly even more popular. The Revell-Monogram P-40B. I know that it was one of the first kits that I remember building with my father. It was also the one I first solo’d on. It is a kit that has been around for ages, been readily available not only in our LHS, but in common stores too. It’s cheap, and it’s plentiful. It’s the kit that got me into modelling and when I came back to the hobby a few months ago, it was the first kit I thought of going out to buy.
Before JE*J, there was the first Airfix 1/72 aircraft kit, the Spitfire Mk.I, BT*K. I would argue that this kit was the more influential, because it showed that there was a popular market for injection-moulded plastic kits in Europe in general and Britain in particular.
According to Richard Humm’s Airfix Kitlist, widely regarded as the definitive work n the subject, Airfix produced no fewer than 29 aircraft kits before JE*J. Of these, several are still in regular production, including the Tiger Moth, Swordfish, Beaufighter, DH.88 Comet, MiG-15, A-4 Skyhawk and Auster Antarctic, and the Supermarine Walrus is due to be re-released this year!
Cheers,
Chris.
For me personally, I believe it was always the Monogram Phantom Mustang.
Since I could crawl it was always a marvel to see one, and to this day, stands out as being one of the coolest kits I ever saw.
I have 3 NIB just for my son, incase they never make another run.
One of each series for him.
Even have the original “speedee bilt” looking box one that started the evolution in the series by Monogram.
The one with the manual gears and bomb drops.
Of course I had to get the original “speedee bilt” as well for the collection!
Well o.k. so I have a bias towards the stang’.
But man what a cool kit over the decades.
Doc
When I first saw this thread the first kit I thought of was the old Monogram B-17G. It’s a superb kit even by today’s standards and one that, as mentioned, repeatedly shows up in current day builds. Quite a feat considering that kit’s age. I myself have built 4 of them over the course of my modeling life, and I have 2 more in the stash.
Also agree with the same company’s B-29 and B-24, and the P-40B as well. And whole heartedly agree on the Accurate Miniatures TBF Avenger series. I remember when that was released it was the kit that I felt I just had to have if only to finally get a chance to build a really detailed 1/48 Avenger without the many toy-like features of the old Monogram kit I’d built many times as a kid.
Good one, I forgot about the revell P-40B, that does rank up there as one of the firs kits I ever built solo. BUT…I wanted it to be the B-17G but dad said I needed more experience before getting into that one.
I’ve probably built a dozen of those B-17’s but only one survives to this day, aside from the 2 that I’m currently building.
I assure you, there is no bias in me picking that kit. …Or is there?
Without a doubt, the Tamiya F-16.
And I don’t say this just because I’m a Viper fanatic. The engineering that went into the creation of this model just blows any modern effort to create a plastic kit. I got to experience this first hand from the very people that deisgned it, and I can assure you, nothing like it was ever done before. The model’s dimensions are about as perfect as you can get. The ease of construction is without par, except for manybe other Tamiya kits. Mr. S Tamiya’s mantra has always been to produce quality kits that were EASY TO BUILD. Many people tend to forget this. The kit goes together almost by itself. The shapes and details are all bang on. Now is the kit perfect? No kit will ever be perfect. But thisis an excellent kit, as close to perfection as has ever been made. Then they made the decision to scale it down to 1/48, which was a very wise and just decision. It has now dethroned the top in scale for over 23 years, the Hassegawa F-16. The same attention to detail and engineering was retained for the quarter scale version, and was even improved on in a couple areas that needed it. Quite simlpy, Tamiya’s F-16 is the best engineered aircraft model kit EVER!
And just for good measure, my own Tamiya Vipers:
The bottom pic is the 1/48 Viper, converted to a Block 40, just by adding the WAR HUD and Block 40 wheels.
The top pic well…that’s my 1/32 Block 50 CJ, with TwoBobs decals, and scratchbuilt details everywhere else. If you’d like to get a look at that one, you can find it at Tamiya museum, at Tamiya headquarters, Shizuoka City, Japan! [:D]
I still remember building my first kit in 1966… It was a 1/72 Hawk Spitfire… From there I went to 1/48th Monogram kits and a sprinkling of 1/32 Revell, 1/48 Hawk and Lindberg. But I always come back to Monogram. Monogram kits were the gold standard, IMHO, especially the P-40B… When the B-17G was released in '74(?), I HAD to get it… That was my first kit to have Shep Paine’s diorama tips included, from then on, it was Monogram’s “Super Scale” kits for me…
In the later years, I’ve bought several Japanese kit maker’s offerings, but none of their aircraft gave the enjoyment of the Monogram kits… Plus, they were running about 4.00 per kit when Monogram was 1.29… Much more reachable for a kid who’s allowance was .50 cents per week…
The Lindberg B-17 kit stands out in my mind. It was highly detailed for its era. It had movable turrets, wing, rudder and stabilizer tail flaps. It had pilot figures, gunner figures for the waist guns, the belly turret and the top turret. It also had a bombardier. The scale was listed as 1/64. I think the kit was way ahead of other manufacturers at that time. It was re-released back in 2007. I still remember building it. It was one of the first plastic kits I built after years of building solid wood models.
I would pick Revell’s 1/72 Memphis Belle B-17F (I built it in 1968 as my first), and the 1/32 fighters, P-40 Aleutian Tiger, Me-109G, Spitfire Mk.1, Hurricane Mk.1, P-38J Marge, P-47D.
The Airfix 1/24 Spitfire from 1974. Introduced a whole generation to modelling, and was THE kit to have in the early 70’s. You could even buy the motor to make the prop spin.
I’d have to say that the 1/48th Monogram B-17, B-24, B-29, and Dauntless did more to capture the imagination of an era than any other time…
But more importantly, it was Sheperd Paine’s dioramas of those models (so well photographed in little booklets that were included with the kits) that had me absolutely mesmerised…
Look, the Monogram models just aren’t up to speed with the stuff you can buy today…but what Mr. Paine did with those old models was utterly awe-inspiring…and he’s still my hero…along with Gerald Wingrove and others like him…those that seem to think there are no boundaries and no limits to what can be created.
Great idea for a thread, Michael.