1/32 P495 Revell Highway Pioneers Six Kit Gift Pack - Foreign Car Seires / 1953 MG TD / 1907 Renault Limo / 1911 Rolls Royce / 1913 Mercedes Torpedo / 1953 Jaguar XK-120 / 1915 Fiat Tourer
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Good
Very rare set from about 1953 which includes all six models, a glass bottle of Pactra Cement, a brand-new Pactra set of legendary 'Namel paints in 8 colors: red, yellow, blue, white, black, gold, chrome silver and thinner and a brush. Never started; all six kits are still factory sealed in the original 'krinkle' bags and include the correct instructions. Molded in dark green, bright red, very light green, yellow and light blue plastic. Inside, the kit is correct with all cardboard dividers. 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. Starting the 1910 and '20s, many dedicated modelers began 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. The availability of wooden model kits expanded rapidly after Lindberg's flight due to the nation-wide 'Aviation Craze.' However, it was widely reported by hobby publications that because of the high degree of skill required in building wooden aircraft that less than 80% of the kits purchased were successfully completed (and far fewer flown). That changed in the early 1950s with the introduction of plastics and injection molding machinery. The phenomenon of the all-plastic Gowland & Gowland 'Highway Pioneers' car kits was a significant force in proving that model building as a hobby could have mass appeal, since the kits were easy enough to build and finish. These 1/32 scale vehicles could be built in an hour after dinner and looked much like the real car - and had zero carving or painting required. 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! The instructions in this issue highly illustrated and show several gift set boxes: the giant 'Collectors Kit' with 10 cars, glue and paint, H42 Series II with 5 cars, H37 Series I yellow box with 5 cars and H-49 Series III with 5 cars. Strangely there is no mention of this set.
This item has been sold.
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