A real oddity today . . . and a real
survivor! I believe this is an old Aurora
shop-window display model, from the early days of both model kits and hobby
stores, and has managed to survive a transatlantic crossing with no more damage
than two broken block & tackle lifting-rings, both of which I have in a
little self-seal bag somewhere!
And the transfers, the original waterslide
transfers are being slowly shed like the last fragments of a snake's old skin! Although the modern Atlantis re-issue has the same sheet on
better quality stock!
Back in the day, the early plastic kit
manufacturers - Adams (Revell/Frog), Hawk, Monogram, Pyro, SNAP and Aurora, (among
others) - would set out-workers to constructing so many of each new kit, which
would be sent out to adorn the windows or display cabinet's of selected hobby
shops to show the finished article.
A basic paint job was added along with a
full set of transfers (as per the instructions!), in this case a reasonably
austere scheme of black and silver . . . yes, I know, but you should see the
gloss Buckingham or racing-green some of them got! It was a different era, and
the companies knew 'little Johnny' might be using a tin of household gloss from
the garage!
A few highlights. The construction is
professional (clearly liquid-poly has been used - long before it was
commercially available), everything has been properly trimmed back, all flash
and gate marks cleaned-up and the paint seems to have been airbrushed on the
runners and touched-up only where necessary, the highlights on the rear deck
achieved with a printers roller and only a team building the same kit all day
could get the tracks that perfect . . . oh, is that just me . . . Mr. Gardenglove
Fingers!
I don't know if these are worth much,
after-all you can still buy the kit most days of the
week somewhere on the secondary-market as about three Aurora boxings, two (?) Lindberg
or the current [full price!] Atlantix
and make it how you want it, so it's probably more of a curiosity? And . . . when you find those 1:30th/1:50th hard 'styrene crew figures in a rummage box, with a basic flesh, silver and gloss black paint-job, they probably came from display models?
1:48th scale, M-46 General Patton Medium/Heavy Tank . . . it just managed to be an M-[19]45! And if you do find one the Atlantis is a slightly different moulding (but matches late Aurora tooling) with the MG placed forwards, two (too thick) aerials added and some other, lesser changes
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