1/32 Revell Highway Pioneers Five Kit Gift Set - 1903 Model A Ford / 1910 Model T Ford / 1909 Stanley Steamer / 1903 Cadillac / 1900 Packard
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good-
Very rare. From 1952 or '53. This is one of (if not) Revell's first gift set. It is Gowland-produced with no part number. Gowland designed and molded these kits as well as providing the box artwork (signed D.K. Gowland) and instructions - Revell did the marketing. Inside, the kit is correct with all cardboard dividers, all small parts still factory sealed in the correct wax paper bags, cars molded in red, black, dark blue, yellow and green, tires molded in black and correct instructions. The models have never been started. All kits have been inventoried 100% complete with all parts present. Before the 1950s 'model building' never made the top 10 list of boy's activities. Hobbies were nothing new to America in the 1930s/40s, but they were not mainstream. By the late 1910 and early '20s, many dedicated modelers were building flying or static airplanes, ship, train, automotive or other subjects. Basic kits existed, but the majority of these models were built from scratch, which demanded a high talent level developed from years of experience. By the 1930s, the 'Aviation Craze" had taken hold of this country and kits appeared everywhere. However, it was estimated at the time that at least 80% of these were never sucessfully completed (and fewer than that flown). That changed in the early 1950s with the advent of plastics and affordable injection molding equipement. The phenomenon of the all-plastic Revell/Gowland & Gowland 'Highway Pioneers' car kits was a significant force in proving that model building as a hobby could have mass appeal, provided that the kits were easy enough to build and finish. These 1/32 scale vehicles were completely molded to shape in color and could be built in an hour after dinner. When complete, they looked much like the real car. The Highway Pioneers series lead to the production of other subjects in plastic and the effect was revolutionary. By the early 1960s, model building was the #1 past time of American boys...and adult males as well!
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