Aurora really started to get it in gear with the release of Frankenstein. This is the first of the 13 monster kits and these were arguably some of their most successful kits. Some reference material says there were hundreds of thousands of these made, some say they numbered in the millions. All I really know for sure is if you wanted one during the 1960's you could find it at almost any 5 and Dime or Department store. Hobby shops had them too, but I don't really think of hobby shops until the '80's because they just were not that prevalent in my area. The Cap's Hobby Hints in DC comics did make me aware these things must exist somewhere, just not in the neighborhoods where my mom shopped. Kind of like the box newsstands you saw in the comics. You assumed there must be some magical land that had them, they just were not anywhere around me.
Aurora issued the basic "long box" (14" x 4") Frankenstein and is probably the reason for a whole generation of kids growing up calling the monster Frankenstein. I know this is the Monster and Frankenstein was the Doctor, but do you see anywhere on this box this kit is called "The Frankenstein Monster" as opposed to just plain Frankenstein? Didn't think so.
The artist for the boxes was James Bama.
This kit sold super well thanks to all of the afternoon movie programs and late shows showing old monster movies since Universal and Screen Gems made a deal and 550 movies made before 1948 were suddenly available for television.
At one point Aurora had two sets of Frankenstein molds and was running them 24 hours a day in an effort to keep up with demand. They were making a Frankenstein kit every 8 seconds according to some reports.
This kit has been re-issued so many times under so many logo's and company names it is possible to find a copy you can paint up and put on your shelf for $20 and sometimes less if you are not determined to have the original.
The artist for the boxes was James Bama.
This kit sold super well thanks to all of the afternoon movie programs and late shows showing old monster movies since Universal and Screen Gems made a deal and 550 movies made before 1948 were suddenly available for television.
At one point Aurora had two sets of Frankenstein molds and was running them 24 hours a day in an effort to keep up with demand. They were making a Frankenstein kit every 8 seconds according to some reports.
This kit has been re-issued so many times under so many logo's and company names it is possible to find a copy you can paint up and put on your shelf for $20 and sometimes less if you are not determined to have the original.
Below are images of the 1961 long box, the 1969 Frightening Lightning box, and the square glow in the dark box (12" x 12") which came along shortly thereafter. I have heard kids could not tell the original box from the Lightning box so Aurora designed the new square box to help them out. I can honestly say I did not know any kids who were old enough to build model kits who could not tell the box with the lightning bolt from the one without it. I think the new square box sold better than the Lightning box because it was completely new in shape, size and appeal and, most importantly, there was a new group of kids buying it. After all, if you were 5 to 7 in 1961, you just turned 15 or 16 and there were probably more interesting things going on in your high school life than whether or not your Frankenstein model kit had a glow in the dark head. Like girls and cars. If you were a girl who built kits, you probably spent some time thinking about boys and cars. I knew a couple of girls with real nice collections. And they didn't blow theirs up with firecrackers. Think they were probably smarter than the boys. Just sayin.
Below the boxes you will see a photo of my built up. I will also mention that I just never cared for the glow in the dark feature, even as a kid, so to this day if I have a kit that features glow in the dark parts, I prime them and paint them just like the rest of the kit.
Ramblings
Found another AMT 3-in-1 kit at Hobby Lobby today. This one is a re-issue of the 1925 Ford Model T from 1964 which has two complete cars in the box and at least 11 variations which can be built. Another one that I am excited about laying my hands on.
Diorama Diary
Pressing on, I have finished, at least for the moment, the complete Checkpoint. I have a lot more to do getting the basic figures ready for this project. Here is a photo of the whole group. I am not finished with these figures. These are the only figures in long coats from all the sets, so I am thinking of repainting them into black coats. If I do not repaint the two sentries, I will probably replace them with the two sentry figures from the German Patrol set from ICM, from which until now I was probably only going to use the officer and shoeshine boy.
Pressing on, I have finished, at least for the moment, the complete Checkpoint. I have a lot more to do getting the basic figures ready for this project. Here is a photo of the whole group. I am not finished with these figures. These are the only figures in long coats from all the sets, so I am thinking of repainting them into black coats. If I do not repaint the two sentries, I will probably replace them with the two sentry figures from the German Patrol set from ICM, from which until now I was probably only going to use the officer and shoeshine boy.
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