Some nostalgia (in French) with the old Aurora 1/48th range
Aurora
Hosted by Darren Baker
Early days of 1/48th - Aurora
Drader
Joined: July 20, 2004
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Posted: Monday, March 13, 2006 - 06:28 PM UTC
Grumpyoldman
Consigliere
Joined: October 17, 2003
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Posted: Monday, March 13, 2006 - 06:43 PM UTC
Tanks for the memories.... 
Sabot
Joined: December 18, 2001
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KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
Posted: Monday, March 13, 2006 - 07:25 PM UTC
That site has always been one of my favorites. I've always been fond of the old Aurora kits. They were my first armor models. I still have many of them.
shado67
Joined: October 16, 2003
KitMaker: 220 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - 12:12 AM UTC
OK, I am sure someone has asked this already.......but what happened to the Aurora molds? Who ownes them and have they ever been re-ssiued?
I remeber as a kid they were a major brand and had a wide variety of kits.
I remeber as a kid they were a major brand and had a wide variety of kits.
Sabot
Joined: December 18, 2001
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
Posted: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - 12:30 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Monogram Models, Inc. (now Revell-Monogram) took over the molds when Aurora went under. There was an infamous train wreck between Long Island, NY (where Aurora was) and Morton Grove, Illinois (where Monogram was). Many molds were damaged beyond repair. Other molds were scrapped for their metal value. Others were left to rot in the weather.OK, I am sure someone has asked this already.......but what happened to the Aurora molds? Who ownes them and have they ever been re-ssiued?
I remeber as a kid they were a major brand and had a wide variety of kits.
Some were reissued. The Aurora Panther G and M4A3E8 Sherman tank were packaged with a Monogram P-51D and FW-190 respectively along with a diorama base. These were the last two, and only, releases of former Aurora tank kits.
Many of Aurora's old kits are still circulating in Polar Lights/Aurora, Revell-Monogram and Revell packages. These are mainly the sci-fi, super hero and movie monster kits.
blaster76
Joined: September 15, 2002
KitMaker: 8,985 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 03:29 AM UTC
1961----my first model an Aurora Patton tank. I don't have that particular one as I played with it for a couple of years until it had been broken and reglued so many times it was toatlly glue covered. I do have one now in the 48th scale collection as well as an old Stalin and Japanese medium tank. Of course I have a ton of the Bandai most of which I built in the mid 70's
SkateOrDie
Joined: September 09, 2005
KitMaker: 747 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 04:10 AM UTC
If you ask me any 1/48th scale armor and figures & diorama accessories are nothing but model kits that go well with army men and O scale trains. Esp. if you happen have a WW2 troop train passenger cars and the right locomotive you could put any US armored vehicle or any other vehicle except motorcyles on the right flatcar and super glue them down and have correct detail(tie downs,chains,MPs,soldiers,etc) you'd have an actual moving diorama! Or you could get an O scale German WW2 loco and/or railroad cars you could have US armor,vehicles,and figs clashing, pushing back, and killing/destroying German armor,vehicles,and figs for another working dio with germans cramming into railcars to retreat. But to answer any Qs that may come up, no I don't have an O scale train set, even though I'd love to have both an N scale layout,a HO scale layout, and an O scale layout (With Lionel Stuff) to go with Model Military. Just my 2 cents
IdiotStick
Joined: January 06, 2006
KitMaker: 63 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 04:19 AM UTC
Here we go again. 
Halfyank
Joined: February 01, 2003
KitMaker: 5,221 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 04:33 AM UTC
Oh does that bring back memories. I'm like Steve rather than Robin, I didn't keep anything from those days. It got built, it got played with, it got destoyed, or it got thrown out when Mum or grandma cleanded my room.
I think I must have had them all. One I don't see here that I thought was Aurora, but it might have been Airfix, was a Sturmguchutz III. I think that was the first model kit I ever made by myself.
I think I must have had them all. One I don't see here that I thought was Aurora, but it might have been Airfix, was a Sturmguchutz III. I think that was the first model kit I ever made by myself.
Sabot
Joined: December 18, 2001
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 05:21 AM UTC
Quoted Text
The only one I kept from my childhood was the MBT70. The rest did not survive the Great Sandbox Wars of the 1970s.Oh does that bring back memories. I'm like Steve rather than Robin, I didn't keep anything from those days. It got built, it got played with, it got destoyed, or it got thrown out when Mum or grandma cleanded my room.
I had forgotten about Aurora kits until one day while stationed in Texas, my wife convinced me to stop at an antique store on the side of the highway. In the store there was an old box for the M109 for $5. I bought the box and inside was a complete M109 and MBT70 still unbuilt.
I've since found a builder's kit of the MBT70 and used it to rebuild my original MBT70. My original kit was badly build with tube glue. Many of the detail pieces were missing or broken. It was unpainted and most of the decals were gone, damaged or peeling. It looks OK now.
Larry_dunn
Joined: March 01, 2004
KitMaker: 79 posts
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Posted: Thursday, March 16, 2006 - 10:49 PM UTC
For the most part, they really weren't bad kits at all, were they?
Sabot
Joined: December 18, 2001
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
Posted: Thursday, March 16, 2006 - 11:41 PM UTC
Quoted Text
The Panther was a mixture of variants. The Patton tank in the square box showed an M48 on the boxtop but had the old M46 inside. Same deal with the Tiger.For the most part, they really weren't bad kits at all, were they?
md72
#439
Joined: November 05, 2005
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Posted: Thursday, March 16, 2006 - 11:54 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Monogram Models, Inc. (now Revell-Monogram) took over the molds when Aurora went under. There was an infamous train wreck between Long Island, NY (where Aurora was) and Morton Grove, Illinois (where Monogram was). Many molds were damaged beyond repair. Other molds were scrapped for their metal value. Others were left to rot in the weather.
Did ALL the functional tools end up with Mono? I've got an AMT issued 1/48 B-26 kit from the late '70's that I'm sure is the old Aurora B-26B. The fits, features and generally poor research (6 bar invasion stripes)seems in line with Aurora's work.
Shado1
Joined: July 24, 2003
KitMaker: 211 posts
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Posted: Friday, March 17, 2006 - 10:46 PM UTC
Quoted Text
I've since found a builder's kit of the MBT70 and used it to rebuild my original MBT70. My original kit was badly build with tube glue. Many of the detail pieces were missing or broken. It was unpainted and most of the decals were gone, damaged or peeling. It looks OK now.
Thanks to Major Rob's opinion of the old Aurora MBT70 (fairly accurate overall shapes, but no detail), I picked one up at a modeller's flea market, and after much modification and the addition of over 850 scratchbuilt parts, I ended up with this:
It's still not dead-on accurate, but it was as close as I could get!
I'm working on another Aurora MBT70 as we speak, which will be built straight OOB as a comparison piece to display with the one above. Thanks also goes to Major Rob for this build, too, as I got this kit via a trade with him!
Thanks, Major Rob!
An LHS has several other Aurora armor kits on the shelf...the Centurion, the Tiger, and the M109 SPG. Been thinking about snatching them up, but at 6,000 yen (about $50 USD) a pop, I think they're a bit overpriced. Said that, I did pay 5,000 yen ($42 USD) for the MBT70 you see above...but I really wanted that one!
Drader
Joined: July 20, 2004
KitMaker: 3,791 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 04:33 PM UTC
Renewing another old thread - making up for lost time 
In with my other Grail stuff was the Aurora Japanese Medium tank, which luckily only cost me £8. Worth it for the nostalgia, but possibly not for anything else. Specially if Tamiya bring one out. Glad I got it though.
Super MBT70 too!
In with my other Grail stuff was the Aurora Japanese Medium tank, which luckily only cost me £8. Worth it for the nostalgia, but possibly not for anything else. Specially if Tamiya bring one out. Glad I got it though.
Super MBT70 too!
Sabot
Joined: December 18, 2001
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 05:32 PM UTC
I've got both the Monogram and Aurora history books. They lay out the fate of most of the 1/48 scale armor kits. The Japanese tank is one of the Aurora kits that I never got. Just didn't get it for some reason.
Drader
Joined: July 20, 2004
KitMaker: 3,791 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 06:55 PM UTC
Looking at the Japanese tank in the box, it seems that Aurora started off with an oversized turret and made the hull wider to suit. Judging by pictures, this seems to have happened a few times with Aurora (check the Centurion).
My one come with a vac-formed base which I don't remember from the first time (which would be early 70s I suspect).
I think they may have looked at Aberdeen's one at some point since it has the same strips on the bow (as modelled by Airfix) which IIRC are for a dozer blade. The box artist also managed to copy the crab's claw hatch of the ordinary Type 97, even though the model gets it right. Innocent days.
Nearly forgot - some of the Polar Lights (=Aurora :-)) were reverse-engineered by making moulds from existing models.
My one come with a vac-formed base which I don't remember from the first time (which would be early 70s I suspect).
I think they may have looked at Aberdeen's one at some point since it has the same strips on the bow (as modelled by Airfix) which IIRC are for a dozer blade. The box artist also managed to copy the crab's claw hatch of the ordinary Type 97, even though the model gets it right. Innocent days.
Nearly forgot - some of the Polar Lights (=Aurora :-)) were reverse-engineered by making moulds from existing models.
thathaway3
Joined: September 10, 2004
KitMaker: 1,610 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 07:43 PM UTC
Sure does bring back memories! I know that I had both the M4A3E8 as well as the JS III. And they got played with and broken and re-glued just like everyone else's and are LOOONG gone.
I was interested to notice the reference to an Honest John laucher but no picture available. I remember having a model of the old truck launched HoJo with a separate missle. Even had detachable plates to put on the arms to stabilize the truck on firing.
Does anyone else remember having that kit and was Aurora the only company to make that?
Tom
I was interested to notice the reference to an Honest John laucher but no picture available. I remember having a model of the old truck launched HoJo with a separate missle. Even had detachable plates to put on the arms to stabilize the truck on firing.
Does anyone else remember having that kit and was Aurora the only company to make that?
Tom
Drader
Joined: July 20, 2004
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Posted: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 07:51 PM UTC
Sabot
Joined: December 18, 2001
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
Posted: Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 04:36 AM UTC
I checked my stash and I've got an extra Aurora Long Tom if you're interested.
PantherF
Joined: June 10, 2005
KitMaker: 6,188 posts
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Posted: Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 06:31 AM UTC
I was lucky enough to obtain a few MBT-70 kits from ebay ... one kit I never had a chance to build back then.
All I remember is that they were my first introduction into armor modeling. I quickly moved on into Tamiya kits and never noticed the Aurora line had vanished!
Jeff
All I remember is that they were my first introduction into armor modeling. I quickly moved on into Tamiya kits and never noticed the Aurora line had vanished!
Jeff
thathaway3
Joined: September 10, 2004
KitMaker: 1,610 posts
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Posted: Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 10:25 PM UTC
That's the ONE! I remember the box art!!!
Tom
JPTRR
Managing Editor
#051
Joined: December 21, 2002
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Posted: Saturday, March 25, 2006 - 08:11 AM UTC
Quoted Text
All I remember is that they were my first introduction into armor modeling. I quickly moved on into Tamiya kits and never noticed the Aurora line had vanished! Jeff
Wow, Jeff--my experience, too
Once again I enter a thread late, but here's my M-109 that I salvaged from a grab bag. I have had to do a lot of cleaning it up (glue splotches), but this is it with a shot of scratch-filling auto primer.
I intend to paint it in the MERC (is that what the elaborate 1970's camo was called?).
I'll post pix of my Chi-Ha, too, if anyone is interested.
Larry_dunn
Joined: March 01, 2004
KitMaker: 79 posts
Armorama: 79 posts
Posted: Monday, April 03, 2006 - 01:35 AM UTC
Quoted Text
The Panther was a mixture of variants. The Patton tank in the square box showed an M48 on the boxtop but had the old M46 inside. Same deal with the Tiger.
Right, but I mean they built up as decent little tank models once you get past things like that. There some Asian kits out today, with all the modern technology, which look more toylike than the Aurora tanks did.
Drader
Joined: July 20, 2004
KitMaker: 3,791 posts
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Posted: Monday, April 03, 2006 - 03:25 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Once again I enter a thread late, but here's my M-109 that I salvaged from a grab bag. I have had to do a lot of cleaning it up (glue splotches), but this is it with a shot of scratch-filling auto primer.
Shouldn't the sprockets be at the front ?
I would like to see the Chi Ha photos very much, inspire me to get mine built.
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