1:48 AURORA 'FAMOUS FIGHTERS'-ONGOING!
1:48 AURORA WWI COLLECTORS' CLASSICS!
With carefully checked content and all loose parts individually bagged to mitigate against loss, we have a large number of these venerable kits being prepared for sale right here-many with extra parts and new decals!
*The first batches are now available!
AURORA KIT NO.100-98-SOPWITH TRIPLANE 'BLACK MARIA'
Appropriately enough, this Aurora kit of Flt. Cmdr. Raymond Collishaw's aircraft was moulded in Canada, part of the parent company's Rexdale, Ontario operation and includes instructions in French and English. Containing just 26 parts, this is a relatively easy model to build, having made a few cosmetic improvements before assembly. Our example is absolutely mint and that includes the colourful box with its sixties typography and Jo Kotula's artwork ramping up the nostalgia stakes even more. Transfers provide markings for N5492, Collishaw's single-gunned triplane with which he scored 18 confirmed victories. Our kit comes with extras: over 20 spare parts left over from an abandoned early build plus a 1:48 scale RNAS resin pilot from Copper State Models-a great addition to the kit's own figures. Aurora's all-black Sopwith Triplane remains one of the best in their 20-strong WWI series and we have just the one example.
**CONTAINS EXTRA PARTS & DECALS!
AURORA KIT NO.101-69-FRENCH NIEUPORT 11
Accurate in outline but with a few scale anomalies across its 37 parts, this mint example of an early issue Aurora Nieuport 11 is moulded in olive and black. Many smaller items remain on their respective runners and all are bagged for extra protection. As befits most plastic WWI aeroplane kits of this vintage, certain parts benefit from refinement, whilst embossed roundels and rudder stripes are a constant reminder of an arcane practice. These aircraft were often used for the noble art of 'Balloon Busting' employing electrically-fired Le Prieur rockets from their interplane 'Vee' struts. Aurora provide eight of these weapons, albeit somewhat over-scale, that nevertheless provide a dramatic final touch. Spare cowling, rotary engine and airscrew from another example are included.
*CONTAINS EXTRA PARTS!
AURORA KIT NO.104-SOPWITH CAMEL
Sopwith's classic Camel was an inevitable release by Aurora and they made a decent job of it although it's slightly over-sized at 1:46 scale. 36 parts moulded in the usual glossy olive plastic reserved for their British subjects, there's also the usual black runner of smaller parts, ground panel and mechanic figure that set the kits apart from their contemporaries. Jim Cox did the box art and his yellow-painted Camels strike a jarring note but they certainly stand out and one has to consider the youngsters' market Aurora were aiming at in the 1950s. The plastic content of our kit is in first class condition with all parts accounted for and carefully sealed in polythene bags. Both box and decal sheet are somewhat worn though and the latter may require several clear acrylic spray coats before dousing items in distilled water. Despite non-standard cockpit opening and large centre-section cutouts-both correct by the way-this builds into a very presentable Camel once some effort is expended.
**CONTAINS EXTRA PARTS & DECALS!
AURORA KIT NO.103-69-BRITISH SE-5 SCOUT
AURORA released their SE5 as part of the first Series B WWI set, one of two British fighters in the initial group and which has been copied and distributed by over two dozen manufacturers over the past seven decades and continues to this day! Our genuine first edition contains 36 parts that present a basically good-looking 1:46 scale model of an SE5A with some necessary amendments and detail additions.The content is in good condition with minor wear and tear on the colourful box-all parts are mint, and have been carefully checked. Priced at 69 cents in 1956, the kit proved extremely popular at the time and it has a very long pedigree culminating in Monogram and Revell re-issues in the late 1980s with reworked moulds and all-new decal options. These old Aurora kits were relatively easy to build by young modellers back in the day and pioneering dual-colour plastic kept painting to the barest minimum.
AURORA KIT NO.104-GERMAN ALBATROS D-3
Very good example of a very early issue of Aurora's Albatros D-3 and one of the first in the series to feature their iconic oval logo on the box. Contains 32 parts in dark green and black with ground base, figure and nameplate. It has some well-known deviations from true 1:48 scale, and deep-bellied fuselage aside, outlines conform closely with currently-available general arrangement drawings. Despite being marketed as a D.III the over-cooked piscine fuselage marks it down as later D.V/D.Va versions which demand rounded rudders and extended tailskid fairings to complete the illusion. Wing and tail parts are slightly too large for true 1:48 scale but there is sufficient plastic for allowing them to be cut down to size relatively easily. This early issue bears one of Jim Cox's timeless art pieces with a pair of Albatrosse set against a deep yellow skyscape-so typical of the period and simply dripping in nostalgia!
AURORA KIT NO.105-69-FOKKER DR.I TRIPLANE
With just 33 parts the Aurora Fokker DR.I was the easiest, and one of the quickest, to build from their WWI range. Moulded in semi-translucent burgundy and solid black, the plastic content of this 1956 first issue is mint, although the box is a little worn and grubby in some places. The kit is actually larger than the stated 1/4'' scale being closer to 1:43 which does however take up more room in the standard-sized Aurora box-perhaps that was the way it was intended? The kit has a few extras including a white metal/PE Oberursel rotary from Copper State Models and a spare decal sheet. Once those embossed markings are eliminated, a few other issues taken care of and some after market extras applied, Aurora's original dreidecker will really come to life-even if it is left unpainted as per the accompanying photos-but the less said about their misguided 1972 revised 're-tool' the better!
**CONTAINS EXTRA PARTS & DECALS!
AURORA KIT NO.106, FOKKER D-7
Moulded in dark green and black, this 36 part kit has long been considered to be too large at 1:46 scale. Actually this is a misnomer as only the fuselage kingpost and the wings are over-length-the remaining major components are all true 1:48... Jim Cox was behind the gruesome Hell Angels-inspired box top art that nevertheless was retained by Aurora for over 20 years whilst most other kits in the series were updated to feature new John Steel artwork. Contents of our D-7 are in perfect order and all detached pieces have been bagged in batches for safe keeping including an original decal sheet -not really useable so a modern near-equivalent has been provided. The box is admittedly a little beaten up with some tape adhesive residue, much of which has been removed and the surfaces cleaned to reduce the build up of grime. This particular example was labelled for Aurora International, produced by Aurora Plastics Nederland of Nijkerk, Holland circa 1958 and contains a large fold-out instruction sheet printed in several languages.
AURORA KIT NO.108-79-NIEUPORT 28
Released in 1957 the Aurora Nieuport 28, being the first US service aircraft to enter combat, was understandably popular with American modellers. The colourful box contained 35 light grey and black plastic parts with decals for Captain Edward V Rickenbacker's 'No.12' of the 94th Aero Squadron in 1918. The kit is well moulded and accurate when compared to present day scale plans and requires very little extra work to achieve an accurate model. Aside from a somewhat aged, though complete, decal sheet, plastic content of our sole early boxed example is mint and all loose parts have been bagged. The box is equally pristine with very minimal wear evident. One of the best WWI kits ever produced by Aurora that showed a marked improvement over earlier kits in the series, it was re-issued by Aurora in 1972, and again in 1995 by Glencoe Models with extensive decal options.
THE 1972 RE-ISSUE!
Aurora re-issue of their classic Nieuport 28 from 1958 with a brand new boxing, fresh decals and vacform ground base. Other than a change of colour for the main parts, plastic content was unchanged from the original other than deletion of the mechanic and ground chocks. This is one of Aurora's best kits in their 1:48 scale series with outlines according almost exactly with latter day scale plans so only minor outline adjustments are required. Overall surface detail is good with reasonably convincing fuselage stringers and upper surface wing ribs: tailplane and co-joined elevators are devoid of detail which is as it should be. Only chore is removing all the etched markings positions with their extra wing roundels-not all Nieuports carried them under their top wings and never above the lower... NB: Identical versions of the kit were generally available in the UK under the K & B label -an Aurora subsidiary.
**CONTAINS EXTRA PARTS & DECALS!
AURORA KIT NO.109-69-GERMAN PFALZ D-3
THIS is a complete example of the 1957 Aurora Pfalz D.III from their early 'Famous Fighters' series that included warplanes of both World Wars. The box and contents are virtually mint and for collectors the kit is a prime example of what, for its day, was one of the US company's most popular releases. Artist Jo Kotula provided the dramatic box top artwork considering a red Pfalz would attract greater attention than a silver one! The outlines of the wings are pretty accurate and true to 1:48 scale with only a very slightly undersized fuselage and tail-plane- barely noticeable on completion. The decals with our kit are the originals and may not be useable now. This particular kit is 100% genuine Aurora from their West Hempstead, Long Island plant in New York City.
AURORA KIT NO.112-98-DE HAVILLAND DH-4
AN original 1957 1:48 scale release from Aurora Plastics Corp., of Hempstead , Long Island, New York, USA, the De Havilland DH4 remains one of the best WWI aircraft kits they ever did -and certainly one of the rarest. Our kit is complete with all 38 olive and 16 black parts accounted for. Based on early William Wylam drawings, the DH4 is generally accurate in outline,carries reasonable surface detail and offers almost endless scope for conversion to any number of WWI and post-war variants. The plastic content is in near mint condition with most smaller parts remaining attached to their runners and those few that have escaped, recaptured and confined within polythene bags. Transfers are basic featuring the wing and fuselage roundels, together with a fin flash designed to fit the under-sized kit part. No serial number is allocated. Bonus items include black-moulded wheels; two Scarff rings and a pair of Lewis guns with mounts. The box is somewhat worn in a few places and minor internal repairs at one end have been made to retain integrity.
*CONTAINS EXTRA PARTS!
AURORA KIT NO.113-F.2B BRISFIT
THIS is an original Aurora F.2B Brisfit kit, one of six WWI kits the American manufacturers released in 1957 but this one is a UK Playcraft production. Plastic content is mint with almost every part still attached to the runners. Moulded in glossy olive green and black, it is surprisingly accurate with outlines that accord well with modern drawings although the curious inverse wing camber requires modification. Some of the more heavily-modelled items: guns; radiator front; struts; etc., demand remedial work to bring them into line and all the embossed markings have to go. Decals are showing their advanced age providing rudder and fuselage serials for a post-war Avro 504N! As a major bonus the box includes revised parts from the 1976 re-issue with wings; tail-plane; fin/rudder-all bereft of embossed markings; revised strut design, plus wheels and Lewis guns. The dual option decal sheet offers a pair of wartime' Biffs' bearing the markings of Nos. 22 and 48 Squadrons, and a few coats of acrylic clear spray is recommended before using them.
AURORA KIT NO.125-DE HAVILAND DH-10 BOMBER
AURORA produced two WWI bombers in their series-the once much-coveted Gotha G.V and the lesser-known De Havilland DH10 of which only one, F1867, was ever used in action on the day before the Armistice was signed. Aurora's kit was a big beast spanning over 43 mm and with over 70 parts presented quite a challenge for even experienced modellers of the time. Wings featured untypical wing aerofoil sections with no rib detail on their undersides. Although marketed as a DH10, the kit actually represents the later DH10A with engine nacelles mounted directly to the lower wing panels. Outlines are reasonably accurate apart from an over-sized fin/rudder that can be filed into submission. Moulded in glossy olive and black, our kit is in good condition with most parts having long parted company with their runners and thus secured in separate polybags. The box has seen better days and sports more evocative Jo Kotula artwork : yellow skyscapes seemed to be a recurring theme with Aurora's artists whose brief was to make the kits eye-catching enough to attract younger modellers-in this they regularly succeeded!
AURORA KIT NO.126-1-97-GOTHA BOMBER ORIGINAL
THIS classic Aurora kit was moulded in rich metallic burgundy with extensive 'accessories' moulded in black and includes five figures along with an extended ground-base. Due to its popularity it became something of a kit collector's 'Holy Grail' in the 1960s prompting a private enthusiast to collaborate with Aurora issuing an additional 1000 run to be sold at bargain prices. Comparing main parts with more recent scale drawings shows them to be tolerably accurate in scale and outline providing a sound basis upon which to build whilst refining some of the chunkier aspects. Misshapen bombs and incorrectly-shaped power eggs are main drawbacks, the latter proving a challenge of remodelling. Our genuine 1958 kit includes 1:48 scale nacelle drawings for adventurous modellers wishing to scratch-build their own... Decals provide markings for one machine. Some marks on box...
**CONTAINS EXTRA PARTS AND DRAWINGS!
1964AURORA KIT NO.134-129-FOKKER EINDEKKER
WITH a retail price of One Dollar and 39 Cents on first release, Aurora's Fokker monoplane was among the last of their WWI kits. Scaled up to 1:42 to fill up the standard box it was moulded in beige and black plastic with one of the largest decal sheets of the range. Outline accuracy is good for the most part with minimal attention needed for the wings, although the fuselage does slim down aft of the cockpit in plan view. The Eindecker was one of Aurora's select few of WWI kits to feature rib detail under wings and tail-plane although refinement of some smaller parts will be necessary. The undercarriage assembly is rather heavily moulded but to be fair, Aurora needed these to be robust to support the rather weighty model... Decals provide eight Cross Patee on white fields but only a single serial number to port-the starboard being absent from both sheet and fuselage mouldings. With just 27 parts, this is one of the Aurora's easiest to build and our example is absolutely mint inside and out-the colourful box is particularly well preserved and also includes a unique period sales leaflet promoting 'new Apollo Moonship' kits- a fabulous slice of history in its own right!
AURORA KIT NO. 135-79 -FOKKER D.VIII
ONE of Aurora's simpler productions with just 31 parts, the first runs of these kits were moulded in a bright metallic lime green along with a black accessory runner bearing airscrew; rotary engine; machine guns; wheels; nameplate, etc. Serious enthusiasts will note various anomalies including the wing's narrow chord and untypically squared-off tips-although the latter accord almost exactly with those of the Frankfurt-based Krupp Company's experimental stressed wing design-see page 30 of DATAFILE 25. Scale drawings across this book's centre pages reveal the tail-plane's missing cut-out, truncated axle wing and slightly short fuselage -all easily curable by experienced modellers. Decals are well past their sell-by date but after-market four-colour 'lozenge' decal panels are included to cover fuselage, tail-plane and fin areas. All plastic content is mint although the box is somewhat worn in places. Jo Kotula's colourful artwork was based on a drawing produced by pioneer US modeller and author Walter Musciano.
*CONTAINS 4-COLOUR 'LOZENGE' DECALS STRIPS!
AURORA KIT NO.136-98-HALBERSTADT CL-II
ONE of the last three WWI kits Aurora produced, the Halberstadt dating from 1959 with the Breguet 14 and Albatros C.III released four years later. They all featured rib detail under their wing and tail surfaces which marked a distinct improvement over the majority of earlier productions. The Halberstadt was moulded in mid grey and black plastic which remains in extremely good condition overall and most parts bear convincing surface detail. Modifications are mainly confined to correcting some minor outline deviations and thinning the wing leading edges when erasing the etched markings. The decals are in OK condition and include tail-plane stripes along with the single bogus serial. Markings are suggestive of a Schlasta 27b CL.II with black and white striped tail that Aurora correctly provide in their 1972 reissue-we provide a set of these in the kit. There are also a number of ex-Mirage parts: gun ring; wheels; exhausts and a complete set of parts for a detailed Mercedes engine. The kit box with its evocative Jo Kotula artwork is also in very good condition.
**CONTAINS EXTRA PARTS & DECALS!
AURORA KIT NO.141-100-BREGUET 14
RELEASED in 1963, Aurora's kit of the French Breguet 14 came as a pleasant surprise and an imaginative choice of subject. Moulded in dark bottle green with the customary black runner of accessories, it built into an impressive looking model. Over the years we have acquired a number of these classics-all are in good condition and all are complete having been carefully checked for content. Surface details of the Breguet kit-we'll call it an A-2 despite the blanked-out fuselage windows-was much improved over many other Aurora kits although embossed decal positions persisted. The only real bugbear is the treatment of wing ribs that were moulded incorrectly at right angles to the leading edges requiring some deft surgery to represent their true positions. If memory serves, the Breguet was not a difficult model to build and if the familiar French camouflage is carefully applied, only requires refinement of smaller items to create a worthy replica. In 1972 it was re-issued by Aurora and now incorporated B.2 Michelin bomb racks, moulded in tan and deep brown with all-new decals of superior quality..
**CONTAINS EXTRA PARTS & DECALS!