A Brief History
of Scale Modeling
As I Recall It
by John Loughman
HyperScale is proudly supported by Squadron.com
The story of injection molded plastic (polystyrene) scale models
begins in the early 1950's when two businessmen (Lewis Glasser in
America, founder of Revell) and (Nicholas Kove in England, founder
of Airfix) decided independently of each other to use their
injection molding equipment to produce toys that the purchaser would
put together with a suitable adhesive . Initially, painting the toy
or model was an option only if the purchaser was able to obtain
suitable household paints or artists oil paints.
Although the scale detail was crude by today's molding standards
both businessmen were surprised by the sales reaction of people who
readily accepted their offerings and soon a wider range of model
types began to appear. Neither of the two men were model hobbyists
in any sense of the word and Lewis Glasser was even to boast that he
had never made one of his company's model kits. Their interest in
model kits was purely profit driven and particularly in the early
years of Revell it could be safely said that the interests of scale
detail and accuracy never interfered with profit making. In fact
Revell's scale policy at the time was to make the kit fit one of
several sized cardboxes which resulted in very unusual scale
variations. That said, it is difficult to understand how at the same
time, Revell produced an excellent series of well detailed 1/90
scale sailing ships even by today's standards, complete with rigging
cord and long lengths of chain. (incidentally, this chain was
coveted later on by AFV modelers). The Cutty Sark ship model was
probably the most popular of the range and countless kits were
bought and stored by purchasers to build in their retirement many
years to come. In fact by the time retirement came around many of
the builder usually had shaky hands and poor eyesight and induced
younger people to build the kits for them.
Airfix soon realized the value of constant scale kits, introducing a
range of 1/72 aircraft models and 1/76 scale tanks, plus model
railway accessories. The 1/72 scale model aircraft line complemented
the pre-war Frog range of bakelite aircraft kits and the postwar
balsa "solid model" kits which provided acetate canopies and die
cast wheels and propellers. The "solid scale" fraternity took to the
plastic kits with fervor and skills obtained with the former balsa
kits served them well when changing over to plastic. Eventually the
balsa wood solid model kit firms such as Kiel Kraft in the UK
,disappeared although Kiel Kraft had a final fling with an injection
molded 1/72 Hawker Hurricane with retracting wheels, but it was too
late to compete with Airfix and Frog who now had dominance in this
scale.
Revell began producing American car kits to a constant scale around
about the time the slot car craze was developing and the popularity
of these kits encouraged the company to hold large model car
competitions throughout many of the American states. It was a very
long time however, before Revell introduced constant scale aircraft
kits and by then other manufacturers on the scene, particularly
Monogram, had a firm grip on this aspect of the model market.
The early success of Airfix and Revell saw the rapid emergence of
other firms in various countries into the lucrative pocket money
hobby market. At this stage of the emerging hobby, the cheap price
of plastic models meant that a determined modeler could purchase and
build most of the range of kits available in hobby shops and if a
small disaster occurred when the lady of the house accidentally
knocked a model of a shelf or mantelpiece with a feather duster it
was not a disaster of any great magnitude, except perhaps in the
case of a sailing ship model.
Model kits were now appearing ranging from simple aircraft kits with
single piece flat wings with two fuselage sides to complex ship and
car models. The instruction sheets were in English language and
often contained construction photos and detailed assembly drawings.
In most cases the kits parts were identified by name and there was
an educational aspect connected with the hobby. The major downside
to the emerging serious modeler was the often crude decal or
transfer sheet associated with the model kits. Early Airfix aircraft
kits usually provided roundels of indifferent size and a set of
squadron markings and crude fuselage serial numbers. Any other
markings such as stencil markings and alternative markings were non
existent.
It did not take long for some modelers with a background in the
printing trade to realize that there was a small market for
alternative and improved decals, one of the first being the firm of
HisAirDec which also produced a small magazine promoting its
products.
The new breed of solid scale modelers initially modeled in a vacuum
, eagerly seeking scale drawings and color information from the
commercial aviation publications and flying scale magazines such as
the British "Aeromodeller" which from time to time published 1/72
scale aircraft drawings. Occasionally modelers considered themselves
lucky if their library had a volume or two of "Aircraft of the
Fighting Powers" produced during the war years and terribly suspect
in outline accuracy, but then the only game in town. Individual
model collections began to grow quickly with the regular release of
new affordable kits. Modelers became used to repainting and decaling
old kits as new marking information came to light and with no peer
group pressure criticizing prominent seams, decal varnish, and odd
dihedrals it was a most enjoyable and heady period. Now and then a
model kit might have two sets of decals stuck together which for the
modeler was the equivalent of winning the lottery.
The more enterprising modelers would approach the hobby and toy
shops seeking to display their models in exchange for a kit or two,
leading to contact with other modelers and visits to see the
respective collections.
In 1956 Harleyford Publications produced "Aircraft Camouflage and
Markings" which quickly became the "bible" for aircraft modelers.
Although later careful research would highlight numerous errors and
omissions the publication had a beneficial effect on the hobby as
modelers began to produce models with markings much different to
those supplied in the kit boxes. Around the same time the German
researcher Karl Reis published a book on German Camouflage Colors
which became the definite reference for a long period of time. To
produce the recommended colors of Dunkelgren and Swartzgren modelers
usually used Humbrol nr 30 for the former and added some black for
the latter. In fact the ubiquitous H30 doubled or tripled as British
green, American Olive Drab and Japanese Green, until competition
caused Humbrol to introduce its range of "Camouflage Colors"
providing a range of finishes for a whole range of camouflage
themes. Humbrol's early attempt to market a true "Olive Drab" was
disastrous as most production runs produced a color more suitable
for painting vehicle tires.
In 1981 most modelers of German aircraft model were stunned by the
color scheme revelations contained in the series of books on
"Luftwaffe Camouflage" produced by Kookaburra publications which
provided alternative schemes in many cases to those put forward by
Karl Reis. Owners of large collections of built up models were in a
quandary as whether to repaint in the new recommended colors and
risk marring the decals or purchase fresh decals and strip the paint
from the model. Those with large collections of unbuilt German model
themes breathed a sigh of relief.
About 1960 the Airfix magazine appeared on the market. Although
owned by the Airfix company ,it operated relatively independently
with apparent editorial freedom and soon attracted a variety of
modeling authors who contributed regular articles ranging from kit
reviews to kit conversion articles and a variety of how to do it
articles, One of the most prominent was a former Royal Navy sailor
named Chris Ellis. Although initially a model railway enthusiast, Mr
Ellis produced a host of articles on naval and military items and
eventually served a time as Editor. He is seen today as the person
who encouraged and developed the enormous interest in small scale
armour kits, through his informative and encouraging articles on
construction and conversion. The theme of small scale armour
conversions and scratch building was also encouraged by George
Bradford from Canada through his eagerly sought after and hard to
find AFV News. In the late 1960's the Miniature Armoured Fighting
Vehicle Association brought our a regular magazine call "Tankette"
which provided armour modelers with excellent 3 view drawings which
complemented the range of drawings produced by the short lived
Bellona Publications.
The 1960's period has often been described as the "boom times" of
plastic modeling. Magazines devoted to scale modeling and reference
material appeared, vacform models began to appear , aftermarket
firms began producing improved decals and kit replacement parts,
Humbrol Paints began producing a large range of flat and gloss
enamel paints aimed specifically at the model enthusiast and the
International Plastic Modelers Society started in England and
rapidly spread to America, Australia and eventually to most parts of
the western world. Most countries had a National committee and each
branch had its own committee. Newsletters and magazines were
produced by these groups as a means of keeping isolated members in
touch. .These publications gave a number of budding historians a
chance to publish reference articles based on WW2 photographs and
material they had often obtained by corresponding with pilots and
aircrew in the 1950's.
Aircraft camouflage and markings research also found an outlet in
these publications, sometimes leading to the authors publishing the
collected information in book form. In an eagerness to get into
publication quickly, numerous items were published as fact without
proper research and documentation and any modeler using old model
magazines as reference material would do well to read the next two
or three issues and note the errata and corrections that followed
the articles. Later in the 1970's and onwards, the "Letters to the
Editor" section of popular modeling magazines often produced serial
entertainment as authors and their detractors savaged each other
espousing their own particular point of view. Even today ,a magazine
article on "Olive Drab " paint will reverberate for at least several
issues.
The early IPMS clubs in all countries operated and existed under
various difficult conditions (and perhaps they still do). Initially
aircraft modelers and aviation enthusiasts formed the larger part of
the membership. Advertising was usually a simple notice in a hobby
shop specializing in flying models and model trains. Recruitment was
often accomplished by obliging hobby shops allowing membership
application slips to be placed inside kit boxes on the shelf ( this
was long before shrink wrapping occurred) . Membership was spread
through many city and country towns and one of the difficulties was
finding a meeting place central and accessible to most members and
also affordable. A typical meeting might be held on a week night
starting at 7.30 pm and usually breaking up at 9.30 usually due to
hiring restrictions. The late evening times and transport problems
also made it difficult to attract juniors.
Most of the early members of IPMS in most countries were in their
early or late twenties and often involved in aviation historical
societies and some even authors in their own right. Others were what
was come to be known as "armchair modelers". These well meaning
persons sometimes dominated vital committee positions and exercise
editorial control the magazine publications.
In order to keep members informed the committees in each country and
some branches produced a regular newsletter and/or magazine. Postage
was reasonably cheap at the time for registered publications and
overseas postage was dearer but usually within the reach of the
clubs. International phone calls were generally prohibitive due to
the need for long discussions.
In time the UK, USA and Australian branches agreed to exchange
magazines on a reciprocal basis. This was very beneficial to all
providing a great wealth of hints, reviews and scale drawings as the
only easily obtainable model reading matter was the Airfix Magazine
and Flying Review/Air International. The latter included several
pages devoted to new model kits issues and a page of drawings in
color. Frustratingly , the drawings usually showed only one side of
a camouflaged aircraft and one half of the top view. When pressed to
change, the magazine stated that the drawings were included for the
aviation enthusiast and not for the benefit of modelers. This is
probably why most modelers quickly browsed through the magazine and
then replaced it back in the newsstand.
Each IPMS magazine editor was under pressure to include as many
"bangs for bucks" per issue and eventually as membership rose the
magazine paper quality improved together with cost increases.
Overzealous editors wanting color magazine covers could blow their
particular club's budget very quickly. Printing the magazines was
usually fraught with problems in rising costs, delays in printing,
often needing a change of printer and further delays and even
regular changes in magazine editors could induce further hiccups.
The general members, particularly those unable to attend meetings
wanted their magazines on time and were frustrated by delays or mail
problems and tended to make life difficult for the club secretaries.
The emergence of IPMS and its regular modeling surveys gave the
hobby a united lobbying front for the first time to impress upon the
modeling companies the need to improve the level of detail and
decals in their kits. Most of the modelers at that time failed to
understand that their combined purchasing power amounted to
virtually nothing when compared with the "kid pocket money " market
which was happy with oversize rivets, raised panel lines and thick
clear canopies.
As IPMS developed so did the beginning of regular club model
competitions. Initially this had a beneficial effect on the hobby as
the more skilled and daring modelers began to "push the envelope"
and a spirit of co-operation resulted in the creation of many
spectacular models, a number of which are still regarded as
landmarks in the history of plastic scale modeling. The Historex
Chasseur officer animated conversion by Ray Lamb, the Monogram B-17
Diorama by Shep Paine and the Esci Harley Davidson with scratch
built rider by the late Bill Hearne readily spring to mind. Another
influential individual was Francois Verlinden, an active Belgian
modeler with an acute business sense, who eventually turned a
cottage industry into an international business.
Unfortunately, the competition scene saw the development of a small
modeling "elite" in some clubs which often deterred more timid
modelers from entering competitions and in some cases the intense
rivalry saw the competition scene develop into a "blood sport"
compounded by the need to categorize competition winners as either
"first" "second" or "third". Sometimes, the regular competition
winners were also committee members and tended to resist efforts to
group the better modelers into a separate competition group. It was
a long time before the "Out of the Box" category was introduced,
initially for the benefit of the beginner or less accomplished
modeler.
Although the UK Model Engineer Society had for many years used a
"Gold", "Silver" and "Bronze" award system it was left to the
Americans to introduce this system to the plastic modeling scene to
bring common sense back to the competition scene.
One of the unfortunate facts of many model competitions is that
models are often judged by modelers who have not entered in or are
not fully conversant with that particular category with the result
the standard of judging often falls short of the standard of
modeling. An interesting later development was peer group judging
introduced by the innovative Francois Verlinden in his Mastercon,
where competition entrants voted for their entered category,
naturally not being able to vote for their own model.
In the 1970's there began a downturn in the commercial aspect of the
hobby with the introduction of arcade computer games. At the same
time a world energy crisis occurred which also caused a paper
shortage. A number of publishers had to decide between books or
magazines. As the hobby had always been fully dependent on the "kid"
market with its abundance of pocket money, the result of young
people flocking to arcades to play "space invaders" and similar
games saw the hobby kits starting to gather dust on the shop shelves
and consequently the manufacturers balked at introducing new kits.
Airfix attempted to solve their problem by re-issuing their kits and
upgrading the kits series with a subsequent price hike. Other
manufacturers increased the size of the boxes leaving a considerable
amount of air space in the box which was jumped on by some consumer
authorities. Another downer for the hobby was the replacement of
"box top" art by photographs of often poorly painted models
apparently to avoid legal repercussions from any modeler frustrated
in achieving a finish similar to the box art work. The resulting
model boxes left many fledgling modelers to surmise that the boxtop
finish shown was the best that could be achieved.
The Vietnam War also had a downturn effect on the hobby especially
in America where mainly Revell and Monogram were reluctant to
produce new military aircraft and armour models, even though
Monogram had a promising series of 1/32 military vehicles. The
emerging Japanese Toy and Hobby industry had no such inhibitions and
saw a niche market in the 1/35 and 1/72 - 1/76 armour markets.
Exercising a greater degree of accuracy and attention to detail in
their product , firms such as Tamiya, Hasegawa and Fujimi quickly
established supremacy in the market place a position which they
still hold today although other Asian manufacturers such as Academy
and Trumpeter are proving to be their equal in many respects.
In the mid 1980's the personal computer effect saw the demise of the
arcade games and the beginning of a return of juniors to the hobby
although this new generation of hobbyists tended to lack a parent
with a previous interest in modeling. Before long however, this
resurgence was overtaken by the new craze of radio controlled cars
or buggies produced in the main buy Tamiya who saw this as a license
to print more money. With so much previous radio control experience
by hobbyists in America it is a constant source of wonder why Revell
and Monogram were never to invest and dominate this particular
field.
As we progress steadily into 2003 those modelers who became involved
in the hobby of plastic scale modeling at the start of the
1950's,after exchanging Gem safety razor blades for Xacto hobby
knives, can look back on 50 years of gradual evolving change in the
nature of our chosen hobby. Starting with a dearth of reference
books and magazines we are now faced with a bewildering array of
reference photo books , cd-rom's and web site walk rounds. From
early Humbrol thick pigment paints that often varied from batch to
batch there are dozens of acrylic and oil based paints brands
matched with hundreds of various gloss, satin and matt colors, not
to mention umpteen shades of Olive Drab.
Tools now range from power tools, compressors and air brushes,
exotic tweezers, files, drills. Where once there was only Humbrol
body putty (ugh!) we now have fillers galore, fiberglass resin ,
super glues and any other product from the space age. We veteran
modelers can only watch amazed as newcomers to the hobby readily
embrace multi-media kits as beginner entry and instantly achieve a
well built and finished model that would have formerly have taken a
toll in blood ,sweat and tears and time, not to mention hours of
research and use of initiative. I suppose, collectively over these
early years in particular , much blood was spilt from sharp knives,
double edged razor blades and slipping pin vices, fortunately as far
as I am aware, none of it was fatal, although I am sure quite a few
septic fingers resulted.
Like the medical profession, where at the start everyone was a
"general practitioner" , new entrants are more likely to specialize
in a particular field, usually because of the huge range of
available model kits in that field. How could one modeler build one
of every type of 1/72 scale aircraft , especially when encouraged to
enhance each particular kit and thus increasing the time involved.
How then could he also build all of the 1/72 scale armour and/or
1/35 armour let alone 1/48 aircraft and scales above.
Over 50 years of active modeling and about 2000 plus kits behind me
of good, bad and indifferent standard (I do know the difference) I
am glad I was able to tackle just about every type of scale model
kit available in every available media and also venture into the
fields of scratch building and model railways, because dabbling in
different types of models and scales results in a cross
fertilization of ideas and techniques, not to mention meeting other
modelers in the various fields of endeavor. As well as enjoying the
company of other modelers I am glad I was able to share the hobby
interest with my two sons and now my grandchildren.
Even with this vast experience behind me I would not dare to predict
the way the hobby will progress over the next ten years let alone
the next 50 , except to say that it will always be a source of
contentment and relaxation for those prepared to take up the hobby
no matter what their station in life is. They will always get out of
it what they put into it.
Apart from a potted history of the Airfix company several years ago,
a definitive history of the development of the plastic scale hobby
kit industry is yet to be written. The story of the unnamed and
unsung draftsmen, tool and pattern makers involved in the hobby over
the years would make fascinating reading, particularly relating the
trials and tribulations of injection molding and the story of the
kits that never made it to the metal cutting stage.
The corporate history side would also make extremely interesting
reading especially when you consider that at one stage Revell and
Airfix virtually had a license to print money for ever. The demise
of the Frog company and the collapse and sale and resale of Airfix,
Matchbox, Revell and Monogram must have valuable lessons for
business executives alone. The swift rise of the Japanese model
companies and their eventual domination of the high quality end of
the hobby would make fascinating reading. Other interesting
sidelines would be the occasional friction and boxing matches
between IPMS USA and IPMS Great Britain caused mainly by the delay
or failure of magazines to arrive as promised and the width of the
Atlantic Ocean and a common language. IPMS 's long insistence that
that only kits constructed mainly of plastic could be entered in
competitions had a big say in the emergence of various independent
modeling clubs and groups as metal figure modelers and wooden ship
modelers wanted to compete in these mediums but still be a member of
a multi category club. The new clubs tended to include "scale" in
their title in lieu of "plastic". (Although I have not been a member
of IPMS for many years, leaving to start a ":scale" model club, I do
not regret the time spent involved at various levels IPMS
Australasia.) The development of Webzines and Club web sites on the
Internet as a modeling tool and reference system phenomenon would
necessitate a book of its own.
Like any other collective group be it military, sporting or other,
the hobby has generated its own source of heroes, legends and myths.
Rumors of forthcoming kits and their gestation period( remember the
Monogram Catalina) magnificent models broken or damaged on the way
to competitions, bun fights over competition results, debates over
scale color (never-ending) ,dirty deeds done dirt cheap, armchair
modelers upsetting active modelers, distributors and model shops
ignorant of their product and how to promote and sell it. Perhaps it
is time for the significant model clubs and organizations to conduct
an "oral history" campaign so that information will be available for
anyone prepared to document our hobby as far as it is possible.
Be warned though, it will be necessary to delve through nearly 30
years of Airfix magazines, hundreds of kit catalogues, IPMS
magazines, dozens of scale military and aircraft magazines plus
early editions of Air Enthusiast and Air International just to build
up the background knowledge to attempt a start. Perhaps the best way
would be to have a collective attempt rather than an individual
attempt.
If I had room and time I would write much about the characters
,oddballs and events this hobby has produced (Ed Roth and his Finks
spring to mind), the Airfix Riveter, the Matchbox Ditch digger,
trying to glue together the Monogram 1/72 B-52 with stringy tube
glue that dried on one fuselage side before you could effectively
glue the other, the various model magazines that came and went,
hobby shops and proprietors (Bruce Hearne of Melbourne take a bow)
model club meetings in strange and weird surroundings, occasional
embezzlement of club funds by itinerant treasurers (not only IPMS)
fending off criticism of making "war toys" by worried mothers and
home hosted committee meetings where one remaining member is
oblivious to hints that supper is over and he should be heading home
and letting the host and his wife get some sleep, and searching
through the shag pile carpet to locate a kit piece that just took
off for parts unknown, just to mention a few.
You may or may not agree with my foregoing remarks and comments but
please do not send me your criticisms ; instead sit down and write
your own story on what you think is the history of modern scale
modeling. I will be pleased to read it.
Text Copyright © 2003 by John Loughman Page
Created 09 March, 2003 Last updated
08 March, 2003
Back to HyperScale Main Page
Back to Reviews Page
|