REVELL MODEL BUILD-UPS - The Story of Original Revell Hobby Shop Displays in the 1950s and 60s!

[@namcat53]

The box art is amazing. The early Monogram and Revell kits had the best. Those were magic times for us kids.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed!

[@kcmjlp4890]

another FABULOUS vid and trip down modeling memory lane. THANKS again.

[@MovieMakingMan]

I had a couple of dozen model planes hanging from my ceiling as a kid. I loved making them.

[@singermcl1]

What a great trip back to that era. I built close to 120 models, and it was a kind of rite of,passage in those days. Summer trips by bus to the local hobby shop and hours spent building and painting our creations. Staring at the box art and pouring over every word and every detail. Heady stuff. It was a magical time. Thanks for another great one.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks for the comment Marc - and yes, it was the entire package of parts, direction sheets, decals, etc. that made that modeling experience so magical.

[@RobertWheeler-xh3zc]

Showing the Electra brings back memories. My town had a pair of elderly sisters who owned a magazine/ comics and smoke shop. They also varried some models one of which was the Electra. Had no idea how valuable it would become but glad that I never built it.

[@leerussel2033]

I got the American Airlines 707 and Electra when I was a kid. I got the order form from the seat pack on a flight. I still remember building the planes and how proud I was of them. Wish I still had the Electra.

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

I'm a 90s kid (born in '84) and I absolutely loved going to the local hobby shop to get model airplane kits and model rocket kits; heck, they even had Warhammer figures (I played fantasy not 40k). My best friend's older brother would take us when he got his driver's license since he was into RC Airplanes; as an elementary school age kid, those rides to the hobby shop were always much anticipated. I've tried to get my nephew into model building; like many parents (or uncles in my case) I'm always looking for ways to pry kids away from screens. He didn't quite get into models; he's built a few but it's not really a hobby. However he's really taken to robotics and we've been to the local hobby shop to buy robotics kits for his birthdays. So I'm glad he's carrying on the model building legacy in his own way!

[@rustykilt]

In Australia so many Hobby Shops have closed. As a kid, it was the best just to go to our local hobby shop and view the latest models. Now I buy online as there are so few shops. In Australia we are also so far behind the US and UK in receiving new accessories and kits, but I assume its because we are such a small market in view of population despite living in a huge country. Watching you video takes me back, and I remember some of the NASA models, Astronauts and space craft with towers. I have not seen any of these since the 60's.

[@adamfischer6768]

Just found your channel and perusing through your videos. Your mention of Zahn's Airport brought back some great memories. We had a flying club at my high school in Long Beach. One of our first field trips was to Zahn's in 1975 where we toured the FBO there. I remember this huge teletype machine chattering away printing out the current weather. We later returned for familiarization flights in a Piper Cherokee. This was the seed for my 41 years in aviation. During collage I worked in the Flight Line at Beechcraft East and Flightways at Republic Airport. I live near Lido Beach and remember the Nike base there in the 1960's. Thank you for the great content and memories!

[@smokencoffee7680]

The conversations of my cousin Steve and I would have over what we saw in the local hobby shop front windows over the years. Talking about what we would want as a future hobby project. Treasured memories. (My cousin Steve passed away 2 years ago) Also my Aunt Barbara would go to the same hobby shop for yarn and sewing equipment, because they had one of the nicest areas for that as well in that shop. The whole thing was personal, we knew the family that ran the shop, and they knew a lot of our family as well. (Aunt Barbara was my Mom's oldest sister.) At that shop I was "John" because reference to "Johnny" there, was in reference to my dad. The original John who drooled over the window displays. Only 2 places where I was called John while growing up, hobby shop and my Great Aunt Annie. The rest of the time I was Johnny. Thank you for your service in the USAF. I was USAF from 1998- to 1992.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Wonderful comment and story, thanks!

[@brinx8634]

Thanks for a great trip down memory lane. Born in 1947, I was about the right age to get hooked on model building during its "golden age". I have fond memories of building Revell and Monogram kits, specially the F-89 Scorpion, a Snark missile molded in bright red, Monogram's beautiful Connie and B-66 that dropped a bomb with a push of a button. I grew up in an oilfield town of less than 500 people. Trips the nearest real hobby shop in Edmonton, almost 100 miles away, were the focal point and highlight of my youth. Fortunately back then, models were sold at various other outlets. Though my flying days have past I still enjoy building models, and there are more kits and accessories available than ever before. Unfortunately, this second golden age of modelling may end quite abruptly when we old farts are gone. C'est la vie.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Wonderful comment, thanks, and we were born the same year!

[@davidshell1738]

Great video Mike I’m a bit younger (born in 64) so my hobby shop memories are from the 70s Chuck’s Model Shop in Hawthorne Ca. A really neat little shop but ol Chuck was kind of a jerk. He still got my paper route money though for models and rockets 🚀 ✈️ Thank you for the presentation!

[@glennweaver3014]

Wonderful presentation Mike. This one hits me right in the heart, as vintage model kits have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Like many others, I started out using my meager fifty cents a week allowance to buy a kit and a tube of glue. My first was an Aurora F9F Cougar that I messed up pretty bad by using too much glue on the canopy and clouding it up, not to mention getting glue fingerprints all over the tiny model. As I got better, the Revell Douglas A3D Skywarrior and Lockheed Neptune came next. Had to save for two weeks to get each of these since they were a whopping ninety eight cents! After I started earning some real money delivering newspapers, (six dollars a week) I was able to build many of the classics we now remember with delight. The Monogram SA-16 Albatross, Monogram C-47 with paratroopers, Revell Electra, DC-7 and Constellation. And on and on. When the kit collecting hobby started to take off in the 1970s, I jumped right in with both feet. I attended every Bob Keller show in Southern CA in pursuit of reclaiming the great memories found in the models of yesteryear. My collection grew as my wallet shrank. It has been a very rewarding hobby. I'm still amazed that these treasures with the incredible box art are still around to be enjoyed. Look forward to more like this.

[@hertzair1186]

I do the same...have over a hundred vintage kits from the ‘50’s....including some real rarities such as the Monogram Rascal Missile, Hawk MOL, Monogram AirPower Set, Comet Atlas Missile, etc.....to me kit collecting is like collecting rare art!

[@markfrommontana]

Wow Mike, what a trip down memory lane for me. I was 5 years old in 1959 and was already begging my parents to buy me a model plane, inspired by the small collection of jets assembled by the older brother of my best friend. I even knew what I wanted , an F-86 Sabre. But that was going to be a difficult wish to fulfill wince my family lived in a town of less than 1,500 folks on the North Dakota prairie; a town without a either a 'dime store', and certainly not a toy store or a hobby shop! However we had a small drug store in town, that at any one time, might stock a dozen or so models in a small section of one shelf, and one day that year my dad brought home a gift for me of....a Revell Snark missile. Well, it wasn't a Sabre, and it didn't even have a pilot, but it had wings and it was a plastic model. Most importantly, it was the only modern military model in the Rexall Drug store when my dad had visited the store the day before! We had to go back to the store for model cement (my dad was not a model builder, so this was all new to him), and then we built that missile within a day or two. Red plastic, so no paint (that came later!) and quite a few smudge marks, but it was my first model. I was emboldened to ask my parents for an allowance when I started first grade and after consideration, my wish was granted --$.25 a week contingent of course upon exemplary behavior. I started saving for model kits and visiting the local Rexall Drug store every week to see what I might acquire --I budgeted for a model every other month! You know, I never did see a Sabre (or F-100 Super Sabre) in that little store, but within the 2 or 3 years of my model building "career", I had purchased and built an F-89, F-101, F-106 and my all time favorite an F-104, (all by Revell) Postcript: In 1965 we moved to a 'metropolis' of 11,000 in the Rocky Mountains of Montana; a town with a real hobby shop--okay it was a Bicycle and Hobby shop; even better for a 11 year old who also desperately wanted to have a 10 speed bicycle. By then I was earning additional money by washing cars and mowing lawns (in preparation for a newspaper delivery route) a year or two later. I earned the money for a bicycle (and a lot more model planes--and cars--and even the occasional PT boat and tank!) Thank you so much for this video! Love your channel.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Mark, and loved your hobby shops story. A giant RC model of the F-86 was the very first display model I ever saw in a hobby shop at age 6 - 'still remember it like it was yesterday!

[@pgroove163]

@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 i grew up in queens , nyc..not to far from you on long island..lots of great hobby shops ...also used to ride with friends on bikes to a hobby shop in Queens Village , L.I..all through the 1960s...

[@pgroove163]

good old newspaper route..

[@Tipman2OOO]

Thanks for sharing! Sounds magical, wish I could have grown up in a small town.

[@hertzair1186]

I was always surprised that Revell nor Monogram ever made an F-86 kit in the 1950’s… as it was the premier fighter of that era….didn’t see a Monogram F-86 until 1980’s……

[@garfieldsmith332]

It is nice to see that some of those original builds are still around. I remeber building the Neptune when I was a kid. The colour scheme on the box sold me. The stores in my neigbourhood never did have any display models to view. Thanks for posting.

[@kennethkwilinski4899]

Back in the day when I was a kid. I built a few models for our local hobby shop so they could display. I was paid with a model or two. Never got cash.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks for the comment, and sweet deal you had with that hobby shop!

[@davidduganne5939]

That's a nice memory--I had a similar experience with a "dime store" manager. He knew I bought kits there when I could afford them. One day, out of the blue, he handed me a wood Conestoga wagon model and asked if I would "put it together" so he could use it in a display. We didn't even discuss "compensation"--heck, another model to build seemed pretty rewarding to me! When I brought the completed project back to the store, I was told I could have any 2 plastic models I wanted! One of the kits was my first helicopter--a large "Huey". The other kit was a Monogram Cessna 180...

[@knoxbfly]

GREAT memory trip!! Thank you!

[@markbradley2367]

Seeing the diecast 707, reminds that when I was a kid the real thing was metal and the models were plastic. Now the real thing is plastic(787) and the models are metal! Great show Mike .

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

What a fabulous point, thanks!

[@henrysanchez4810]

Awesome video, my Brother and I grew up building Revell kits, And I'm still doing it today, I'm currently building a Revell 1:48 F-14 Tomcat...

[@johnmoran8805]

Haha! The neon reds and orange date way back. It was for recovery. Easy to see, so they could figure out what went wrong. Love this channel! Thanks!

[@PlasticImaginationWorkshop]

Super interesting. My wife would disagree with that last statement but, that's OK. She still puts up with me. Have a great day.

[@bigbob1699]

When I was a kid , 9 -10 years old , I made such a pest (good customer ) that the owner gave me modals to build and put in his window . Good times .

[@WAL_DC-6B]

I have an old, early 1960s American Airlines "Welcome Aboard" seat packet (you'd get this as part of your flight on American). Within this folder is a flyer for the Revell "Jet-Powered Electra Flagship." It also says, "Exciting Souvenir of Your Flight." For $1.00 you could buy the kit prepaid or completely assembled $5.00 prepaid. You sent your money to, Skyway Models, Dept. AA, P.O Box 25782, Los Angeles 25, California. I actually have this AA Electra kit. One built up (not factory) on its stand and the other still in the box (all contents in a sealed clear plastic bag).

[@radiationking9875]

In the UK, specifically , in Elm Park, Hornchurch, we had a hobby shop that had displays just like this. Had the classic model shop smell and was proper vintage English inside. It opened in the 50s and it was the go to for my dad growing up in the 60s-70s and it was still going as it was up an til recently when it was forced to close down through a combination of covid restricting their supply of models but also the ownership of building went up in price. If there are any model shop owners on here or know one, here's a tip. To keep going, make sure it sells not just models, make sure it sells diy stuff as that might be why our hobby shop survived for over half a century, virtually unchanged. Not everyone buys models from shops anymore

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment, thanks!

[@masudashizue777]

The Revell B-47, purchased in a department store in Japan, was one of the first models that I built. It was before the time I began painting my models so I put the decals directly on to the plastic.

[@gatblau1]

I’m sorry to hear that Tony from T&A Hobby Lobby passed away. I lived a few blocks from that hobby shop and I loved walking into the smell of glue and airplane dope that was always hanging in the air, and of course the great selection of model kits and related stuff. My dad was always stopping in there to buy aircraft magazines.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great story and thanks for the comment! And yes, Tony was a wonderful guy and passionate modeler.

[@charlieledoux8406]

From early Revell/Aurora/Monogram, etc came my wings and time flying the B52 and F4. Amazing series of excellent videos, Mike! More please

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks for the comment Charlie, and wonderful that those early models inspired your Air Force career! We'll feature more vintage model videos soon.

[@hertzair1186]

I remember my hometown having a dedicated hobby shop up until I think mid-70’s....since it was downtown and we lived somewhat rural, I had to get most of my kits from the closest drugstore, mall or 5&dime. I now am an avid collector and have nearly all the original S kits from the 50’s, including that Revell Electra. That geared B-47 was a surprise!

[@jimmcmahon217]

Very interesting and informative! Sorry to hear of Tony's passing...the man was a walking encyclopedia of model history. There wasn't a personality in the business he didn't know, or didn't know something about that wasn't common knowledge. Saturdays in his shop were often a "who's who" of the hobby. I still silk models exactly the way Addie taught me to 40-odd years ago! Please post more!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Wonderful comment, thanks!

[@andrewkaminskas7721]

recently I found the 1973 B-29 - 'Dauntless Dotty' revell kit in original packaging while digging around a friends attic

[@Skeeterguy24]

Mike, another great video! You brought back my memories of the Nike base at Lido Beach. Even as a kid, I couldn’t believe it was right there along the beach an parkway! I believe it was dismantled in in the 60s but the base was there for a long time. Love the closing humor...

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Official Nike Site listing shows the "NY 29/30" base as now being used by the Long Beach School District: "Triple magazines visible, overgrown and abandoned. Many of the original structures, fencing, pavement, light poles, etc., still remain. Also being used for school bus parking." Thanks for the comment.

[@paulchsney5994]

I never built the P2V kit, but I did help to disassemble one in Dayton OH. LP-2J. The same color scheme, and with a APU. I was in a P2 squadron at NAS NOLA, and we were given a chance to take all the parts we wanted, before it was to become a training tool for the fire fighting school. Did not have the skis, but still had all the electric equipment warming blankets. Besides tons of smaller parts, we got a complete 3350, and prop. Didn’t take the jets though.

[@mikealexander4166]

Tony was a great guy. Got to know him when he was at Smith Bros on Reseda Blvd. Sad to see him pass.

[@chuck9987]

Another great video! Re The Nike Missile, there was a Nike base about 4.5 miles away. The radar antenna's were up on top of the Palisades in an installation called Mt. Nebo, easily visible. Everybody assumed the missiles were up there too. They were actually located in a parking lot off of State Route 303 on a National Guard base! About a quarter mile in surrounded by trees around the base perimeter. Chuck

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Charles, and yes, those Nike sites (and separate radar-direction facilities) were very effectively hidden among the unsuspecting populace at the time!

[@chuckpf7018]

So many memories. I was a Revell kid also on Long Island...Hicksville seemed a long way from Venice. The one in California...Who knew there was two?

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

I was building models in Rockville Centre at the time!

[@tommyanderson-filmmaker3976]

We had a Nike Base in Milwaukee WI actually in the high end neighborhood and it was a Wisconsin Army National Guard Unit that was on active duty. I always wanted the model as a kid.

[@Palaemon44]

One of my cousins went to a Catholic high school next to the Nike emplacement just north of Los Angeles International Airport. About 20 years ago I did some work at the former Nike site on top of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The site has been taken over by the city of Rancho Palos Verdes city hall and it happened to contain a USGS first order survey marker that we were using as a reference point for testing satellite land surveying products. We had equipment located in what used to be one of the Army maintenance shops. There are public hiking trails on the land and one of the trails going past the building is named Nike Trail. I imagine most people seeing the trail name nowadays assume it must be named after the shoe company because it’s a walking trail.😅

[@Yosemite-George-61]

Man, that DC-7 looks beautiful !

[@davecollins3710]

Sweet post, Mike. Thanks

[@davidgreen5099]

good morning, Mike!!! thanks!

[@wkelly3053]

Really great. I love the scalloped edging and date stamped on the Caravelle kit photo. Probably a couple of weeks waiting for that roll of film to come back from the developer... the anticipation of how your pictures were going to turn out is a concept forever lost. Also, just to mention, the F-89 did have afterburning engines. Thanks Mike.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks for the great comment, and yes, I took my roll of film to a Stationary Store, as they were called, and waited a week to get my crummy prints back. And yes, good catch on the J33 engines having afterburners on the F-89D Scorpion. I was thinking of the prototype XP-89 which didn't have them.

[@peterdaba6651]

My Father was a Pilot for America Airlines and we flew quite a bit on Convairs, DC-6 and 7's in the 50's On Mercury non stop coast to coast flights the flight attendants gave mail in vouchers to the children and Revell sent you a DC-7 model. It was a promo as Americans Mercury service was there all First Class. I Still have quite few of these kits built and in the boxes,Plus lots of other airline memorabilia from American and the Airline I flew for which merged more times than I want to remember- My favorite was Piedmont airlines when we when to US Air they just said take what you want -I did

[@joek12569]

Great video Mike, from another artist and modeler!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Many thanks!

[@dansotelo228]

OMG! I used to go to T&A in Burbank from Highland Park and spend at least an hour or two getting supplies and models there.. Small world.

[@reidlibby7159]

So did I!

[@jetsons101]

Mike, this is no lie, I'm working on a Allison 501- D13 model kit as I watch this video. My kit is an Atlantis USA made re-issue that just came out a bit ago. It's a bit more than $4.98 now. Thanks for posting--back to work.

[@paulalexander2928]

My brother and I were Revell addicts here in Canada. We always waited for the next release . We bought ours from three different hobby shops for in some cases $1.49 Canadian and some of the Hawk models for 67 cents. Great tour down memory lane thankyou>

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Glad you enjoyed the video, and yes, we all share those wonderful modeling memories!

[@JackFlemingFan1]

Thanks Mike for posting your excellent build-ups video(s)! I never really gave much thought about model kits from the mid to late 1950's. I started to get into building model airplanes and cars in the mid to late 1960's. All of your videos really have opened my eyes and I am amazed at what you show. Keep up the great work you're doing with all your videos!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks for the nice comment Jack - greatly appreciated!

[@johnplaninac9980]

What a great program to watch, we just watched very informative and interesting. Great work keep them coming.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks John! Plenty more to come.

[@garycromack5892]

Fantastic! Over here in the UK we didn't have Revell to much, much later. I was brought up on Airfix models.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Gary. In New York in the 1950s, there were only two stores that carried models from the UK - saw the stunning FROG BOAC Britannia ($4.95 back then!) and bought my first Airfix kit - the Blackburn Buccaneer. So different from Revell, and absolutely fabulous!

[@johndavey72]

Thankyou Mike . Being across the pond it was always Airfix for me . But it's easy to understand why your loyalties would be with Revell. Pioneers of plastic modelling . What l found prophetic was how much money was thrown at defences in the 1950's . Was it 15,000 SAM 's ? What would the cost have been to build and maintain ? $1million ? .....each ! Makes you think ! I particularly enjoyed Jimmy Stewart holding that B47. Have to say the Americans were never shy of showing off their latest warfare. I do know that it was done on purpose to make the "potential enemy" think twice ! And finally for me , Monogram was by far and away the very best for cars ! Very enjoyable .Thanks Mike.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Wonderful comment, John , thanks, and yes, it was actually 25,000 Nike Hercules SAMs manufactured for air defense against the perceived 'Soviet threat' during the Cold War. Yes too on my focus on U.S. model kits, as buying FROG, Airfix, Heller, and Faller kits involved train trips into New York City to go to either Polk's Hobby Shop or FAO Schwartz toys to find "imported kits from Europe." The stunning FROG BOAC Britannia cost $5.00 back then compared to 98-cents for a full-size Revell kit, although that Britannia model was twice the size, and to this day, one of the most impressive models I ever had. Thanks for watching!

[@bennybenitez2461]

The P-3 is my old Patrol Sqd. VP-64 “LU” Condors of NAS Willow Grove, PA.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Very cool - 'hope I did it justice!

[@fucqtheworld]

Interesting that the Revell American Airlines 707 kit you show (7:00) has all the boiler plate rivets sanded off. They were huge and took a lot of elbow grease to sand off. Of course, if you were a kid, you didn't bother.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks for the comment Richard, and yes, model building sure was a different experience for us back then.

[@whirlybird3189]

Nice informative for us guys who grew up back then!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks, and glad you liked it!

[@wst8340]

B - 47 My first Father and son build on a summer night long ago .

[@lancerevell5979]

"Red makes it go faster!" Even today, car and motorcycle enthusiasts claim the same! 👍 😉

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Love it! In the Air Force, we coined the (fictitious) term for red flight test schemes as "Chroma-Kinetic Augmentation!"

[@zefkosta]

Thanks, I've spent hours glued to hobby shop windows.

[@JAGRAFX]

Excellent presentation of some models that we have not seen for a long time. Nice craftsmanship as well on your part. Readers may be interested that we used to cut off the bottoms of the Revell navy ships like the USS Missouri, the USS Arizona, or the USS Forrest Sherman right at the water line. We would pack the insides with modeling clay available at the hobby store and seal the bottoms with balsa sheeting or or pain sheet plastic. Subsequent to sanding down everything to a good finish; we would spray-paint all with the dark gray monotone color characteristic of the cast iron miniature ships being produced domestically and in England. Modelers at shows would ask "Where ever did you get these" since the finished products invariably gave the impression that they somehow were much smaller than the originals with full hulls on the provided Revell support stand.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great story, thanks!

[@Bogie3855]

I had a large collection of Airfix 1/72 models. Rockliff Air Base and air museum was a busride away from my home in Ottawa when I was a kid. We saw at the last show I got to a 1909 Bleriot and an Avro Lancaster B1 being flown. Being a museum they would fly new rebuilds before it got placed in the museum lineup.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment, thanks!

[@jon00tz]

Reminded me of that whole 50’s early 60’s scene like yesterday…..New aircraft being built and tested monthly. (Never imagining that the sky would one day be home to an endless stream of cookie cutter look alike twinjets ) The endless stream of Radar Connies & Neptunes in & out of Idlewild! I became an instructor at Sig Uylderts Flying School at Zahn’s airport in the mid 60’s and I think we may have even met once through a guy named Hal Bemis in Manhasset. Also well remember the NIKE base at Lido and hoping the missiles would be in launch position when myFather drove us to the beach….All great stuff…Thanks

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Reading these comments is like being in an epsiode of Ralph Edwards' "This Is Your Life!" Were you by chance piloting Sig's green-and-white Cessna 150 in the Great South Bay practice area when Hal performed a perfect barrel-roll around it in his straight-tail 172? I also remember a big pilot party he threw at his house. He was flying Canadair CL-44 freighters for Seaboard World at the time, then with Flying Tigers after the merger. What did you do after the Zahn's years, and thanks for writing. Small world!!!

[@jon00tz]

@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 5949T was Sig's green & white 150 but I wasn't in it at the time. .Hal's 172 # ended in 01A. I think I was at that party and none to sober ! I went on to work as a Dispatcher / Ops' Officer for Air France at JFK.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

@@jon00tz Yup, my logbook shows Hal's 172 as N6001A. I remember him showing home movies of his Marine KC-130 days at that party. Neat that you had an aviation career at JFK, and thanks for writing!

[@royalanania3306]

Walking is healthy for the body,and mind,but building models saves your. I have breezed through this pandemic. While everybody freaks I travel with my models .

[@danf321]

Before Lockheed closed in Burbank I was lucky enough to get into the Lockheed employee store where I bought their mahogany carved TWA Connie Super G (exactly like the Monogram kit) and a P3 Orion. I cherish those models today.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Awesome that you got to do that! Also heard that Douglas in Long Beach, and Grumman back in New York sold models in their company stores back in the day.

[@alanclarke3228]

Very good video! The unpainted silver plastic looks great on those models! I enjoy the vintage kits (and box art) a lot more than the new ones.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed Alan, and thanks for the nice comment.

[@singermcl1]

Mike, as an avid former model builder, I’d love to know the story of HOW these models were molded. Who built the master? What material? How did the parts get molded? I’ve always wanted to know how those original injection molds were made. Maybe fodder for a future episode. Thanks for another entertaining video.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Hi Marc, Thanks for your questions, and best source for those answers is Max of "Max's Models" on KZbin. He covers the histories of all the major model manufacturers, and has great photos and info on injection molds, production techniques, et al. He's at: kzbin.info?search_query=max%27s+models

[@bigbob1699]

#1. Politicaly correct , The Nike Missals were (nucellar capable) , the live fire you see was proberly out of a battery on the West coast , not NY . I have an opened but not made kit . I served as a fire control crewman out side of Boston for three years . The Chinese Communists' did not over run us on my watch .

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

That launch photo was taken at Nike Station NY 29/30, Lido Beach, Long Island.

[@casinocal924]

Mike, great work. Please continue to share your knowledge. I love the seeing the models as much as the box art. SUBSRCRIBED😀

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Many thanks, and great to have you onboard!

[@peterszar]

I lived in a small village on the border of Buffalo, NY, called Sloan. We had a fantastic little hobby shop called Jenny's. It was owned by a sometimes cranky, older lady, but she was still cool. She play acted cranky I think. I wish I knew where to find all those cool old Revell, Monogram, or even AirFix models that I could buy. Oh well.

[@devonnewest7990]

Thank you for this. Really enjoyed and takes me back. You put a lot into your videos. Class act, wonderful channel and thank you for your service! 🇱🇷

[@MShilobrit]

Great job Mike! Love your art work over the years! I built quite a few Revell, Hasagewa, anfAurora kits too!

[@cosmokazi]

That was awesome! Thanks for all the info! So interesting to learn about these kits. Thanks Mike!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks for the nice comment Cosmo, and 'hope all's going well with you. Plenty more model videos to come.

[@danielbayer278]

My uncle had built the DC-7 as a kid. It was still at my grandmother's house when I was growing up.

[@danf321]

Whoa! I’m watching this again and just realized that at 7:42 you did NOT mention the fact that that was an image of James Stewart building this kit. Probably a cross-promotion with his movie Strategic Air Command, where after he flies the B-36 for most of the movie, the new replacement plane is the B-47.

[@scottoates8702]

Ditto! Talk about an appeal to kids! The man who shot Liberty Valance and kissed Grace Kelly!

[@pugs11ful]

Weighing in very late here but just finished reading the book "Jimmy Stewart, the truth behind the legend" and in it I was pleased to discover that Jimmy Stewart was a lifelong model airplane builder. In fact, after a spat over politics, his best friend Henry Fonda, who was also an avid modeler, showed up at the door with a kit and they rebonded over a model.

[@johnaitken7430]

Compare purchasing power cost of kit relationship. Then vs now

[@whirlybird3189]

Yeah, if you had a dollar back then, you were good to go!

[@Setebos]

When I was growing up in Austin there was a Winn-Dixie which had an absolutely incredible build-up of an Aurora Phantom of the Opera on display in its model kit section (back when model kits could take up an entire wall).

[@bluesky0762]

Loved this, Mike. Great work!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks, and appreciate the comment. Plenty more modeling posts to come!

[@normanlong2191]

Great show !!!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Norman!

[@philorkill]

I love your videos. Amazing blast from the past! Thank you for sharing!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

[@tonerotonero1375]

Lots of gorgeous stuff here. Heller released a re-edition of its 1/100 scale caravelle. The level of detail is for sure in direct line with its era.

[@HE-162]

I grew up 3 minutes from one of those neighborhood NIKE sites; NY-23. By the time I came to be, the site had been out of service for 30 years, and the surrounding area developed with homes for the “unfathomably” rich. Having grown up in a nearby neighborhood of post war cookie cutter homes for the returning GIs, which was backed right up against the ultra wealthy surrounding NY-23, I found it surreal to think there were once nuclear missiles in their backyards. Frankly, I still do. I still take my dog for walks over there from time to time, and the 3 storage bunkers are still intact, though nothing else remains. I often wonder if the people who live nearby and work on the property are even aware of it’s history. I think I need to get me one of those missile kits!

[@johndavey72]

Hi Mike. Great reply ! You twigged a memory with that Britannia! My elder brother had a number of Frog models amongst them a Britannia ! As a 6 year old it looked almost big enough to get in and fly ! "The Whispering Giant " Back I the late 1980's l worked with a technician who had been a regular passenger on these and indeed worked on them . On one occasion one of the engines failed just before take off ! It was a well known fact that the Proteus could be a bit of a nuisance ( and the prototype indeed had to pancake well on fire with potential buyers on board into the Bristol Channel !) and the standing joke amongst aircrew was that it was the most reliable 3 engined aircraft in service ! Anyway , back to the failed take off ! The crew asked the passengers ,who all worked for the airline , would they object to the Britannia taking off on 3 engines as to wait for parts would delay their return by a number of weeks . .....They voted to go ! I guess the flight back went ok as Desmond was standing next to me regailing this tale ! Cheers Mike !

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Love it!

[@anaetadesireechandler4122]

When I was younger my late grandmother lived on the 2000 block of glencoe

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

I remember the houses on that street back then, thanks!

[@vernonsaayman9741]

Mike ,my p2v7 boxtop by kishady is a natural metal finish and what looks like a night patrol over a place ive tried to work out as,,barbers point,..a home depot for the sq marking on the fuselage, enjoying your trips into yesterday

[@workshop3757]

Cool .

[@johnpinckney4979]

I can only imagine the brass H0 locomotives available in your base hobby shop back then...

[@russdewolf8705]

T & A Hobby Lobby was one of my weekly hang outs for the longest time, though my hobby was free flight & RC by then instead of plastic kits. Kids and an ever more serious work load put it all on hold right about the time when Addie passed. Sorry to hear that Tony has passed on as well.

[@bernardscheidle5679]

Most of the propeller airliner kits had the special Twilight Zone episode William Shatner/Gremlin parts that you could glue onto the wing next to an engine, where it was trying to PEEL BACK the ENGINE COVER and mess with the ENGINE!!! VERY SCARY!

[@douglasw.7864]

I wonder if the Revell F-106 tooling still exists. It’s one I would love to see reissued if it does.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great question, Douglas, and hopefully Atlantis Models can find them and re-introduce that kit. One of my "Top-Ten" lifetime favorites!

[@lancerevell5979]

I'd like it too. I was a USAF avionics tech in the late 1970s and worked on the F-106.

[@jerrymccrae7202]

I came along a few years later. Dad would bring home 10cent kits. And i could "stay up" and we'd build it. Didnt take long. About the cost....i was in 7th grade 1969 and remember how i could afford the Revell F111 jet for the high price of......$2.00!!!!

[@jim5870]

Wish I had one of those Allison 501 models!

[@alantoon5708]

I think that the last factory built up that I saw was around 1983, when Revell had one of their then new 1/32 F-15 DRF painted in the European One camouflage. On another episode you mentioned that at one time there were 45 different types of aircraft that were being built in Southern California. Now there might be only one. The model business is like that, too, with most everything being imported. Even the Testor's line of products is about to be no more...

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Very true!

[@Ficon]

So many of these old kits are still the only game in town unless you want to pay $100 for a limited-run lump of resin that will require even more work and look no better. Just need new decals.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed 100%!

[@richardlong3745]

I got to Lackland AFB on 2/14/1967 to start Basic Training.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Small world Richard - I was exactly two months and one day behind you! (3701st Basic Military Training Squadron in the old barracks.)

[@richardlong3745]

@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 I was in 3725 Squadron in old wooden barracks also. Looking on Google Maps now there's nothing left of Lackland AFB I remember back in '67.

[@tselone]

I like that photoshop effect, different look to the model 😎

[@garymills6702]

The Allison T56 kit has been re-released by a U.S. Company called Atlantis. Not motorised though!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Just heard about that, thanks!

[@kcouche]

Well...our Cub Scout Master had a clue...and arranged for our pack to have a tour of the Castro Valley, CA Nike site. Upstairs, downstairs and they even raised a missile for us. Add to that drama...a few years later I was of the age to sneak over to fish in lake right next to that missile site. Which lake was out of bounds for fishing. It seemed dangerous--very dangerous-- to not only run the gauntlet of park rangers who most certainly were hidden behind trees and bushes, ready to pounce, but also to not be caught by platoons of Army guards we knew must be waiting with loaded M1's--no, with Thompsons--to mow us fisherboy's down. Not to mention the sheriff's deputies who might see us walking across town with fishing poles. What give aways! But we were sneaky and I'm here to tell the story.

[@finlayfraser9952]

Good Stuff!

[@alantoon5708]

My first model was the Revell F9F Cougar....

[@davidrivero7943]

An ME 109 that got spritzed with gas , set on fire & captured by a Polaroid Camera. I dont recall. Thanks for the trip back.

[@loodwich]

I am younger than you, but I remember as a kid build several of them (more than 40)... For me, Revell was low quality and only bought if I haven't another possibility, Hasegawa, and Tamiya were my favorites. But I was a child in 1990... The quality of the plastic models was better than those that you are showing, and it gives the first glance at aeronautic engineering.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment, thanks!

[@Robutube1]

Fascinating stuff! I wonder if the beach-bathers felt safer or less safe with those missiles so close? Also, thanks for the tip on the hidden sex-appeal of a model kit - why didn't they make that clear that on the box?!

[@davidduganne5939]

Loved it! I took a look on Google Street View/3D to see the old Revell address on Glencoe. Wonder how much of that structure is from the Revell era? "Wakefield, MA" was another mail-order address that fascinated me. That was my first connection to stick and tissue modeling, when our family lived in a very remote area of New Mexico.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Good question on the Revell factory, but sadly, that one-story white stucco industrial building (along with many other older structures on that block) was torn down in the late 1990s when that entire area of Marina del Rey was modernized with shopping and restaurants. The "4223 Glencoe" address now belongs to a two-story digital media studio complex.