Hi, I'm Rob and I have a Monogram problem....
So I suspect we all have a favorite manufacturer, for me it is Monogram, especially the mid 70s to early 80s Monogram aircraft kits. Though the 1960s classics are also wonderful. they are not the best kits, but I still love building them. I seek out original issues when I can get them as the plastic in general has cleaner moldings, though often the decals are shot. On the other hand Monogram decals always did kinda suck so no great loss! I recently bought an original 1981 issue F-14A and 1974 issue TBD Devastator. I find them at Skyway models here in Seattle and usually Emil has them at a good price. I ahve my eye on a DO 335 from the first run, but I am holding off on it. So anyway what;s your love, Airfix? Tamiya, or like me good old Monogram, good solid well engineered (usually anyway!) kits.
Growing up in the 60's and 70's, it was AMT, Revell, Monogram, MPC and JoHann. Cars, and planes and a ship or two at times, but still among others Aurora and Airfix. I still remember the Revell Chevy series, 55, 56 and 57 coupes and Nomad wagons, opening doors, steering and the detailed engine blocks. Then in junior high I discovered Tamiya armor. Those were the days.!
Rob, gotta agree, during that time they were way out in front. All the classics, P-40B, ME-109E, FW-190A, Spit IX, Hurricane, Zero, P-38. Mosquito, P-39, P-51B, OS2U, Avenger, Helldiver, SBD. Built most of them.
Back "in the day", Monogram ruled! They're still a good kit for the money. These days though, Tamiya is the way to go in my opinion. My .02 - 🙂
I agree Tamiya is amazing, But the 81 issue F-14, some aftermarket seats, and a set of decals was less than half the price of the Tamiya kit. Plus for me I just have more FUN. I suppose it is counterintuitive, but building the Monogram B-17 I am having more "fun" than the Tamiya Corsair I built awhile back. Maybe it is the nostalgia factor, the Corsair is an amazing kit, just wow, I was dumbfounded at how great it was, but I love those Monogram kits 🙂
Monogram. 'Nuff said.
B-17G ?
I plan on building all of these kits. After the B-17G I will do a dual build of the Red Baron and Lil Coffin. Then I plan a digression for my 2nd Academy F-4B with an ++s load of aftermarket I bought. Then? Devastator? Tomcat? The Tomcat I plan on being from my first night on the flight deck aboard USS Nimitz in 1987, damn... Those burners 15feeetofyellowpinkredorangeblastbooom! off the cats VF-84. I love my Hawkeyes, but damn that may have been better than sex!
Nothing like flying inverted in an F-14A and you don't even know it. It was a ride and YES! it is pretty darn close to better than sex, Fly Navy!
There's nothing like the smell of JP-5 in the morning...
Love any Monogram plane from this period, especially the two and four engine bombers. My favorite Monogram kit of the 70s/80s is probably the F-84F. The fit was generally pretty good with really only the wing joints needing filler, the panel lines while raised (and I don't care either way) are extremely fine and the cockpit is simply fantastic. (Vintage Monogram cockpits is the standard against which I judge all others. Their instrument panels with the molded in detail were top notch.The B-29 is totally fun to paint up!) It is also dear to my heart as it's the first model I ever used an airbrush on way back in 1991. I also like the Devestator as well and I'm nearly finished with my third attempt in my lifetime. (I still can't seem to camouflage one as they look so good in pre war paint!)
Brilliant title... I myself feel that I might have traces of an Airfix problem... lol
Problem? What problem, the P-39 is still very good after adding a seat and some stickers. Still like the old P-40 especially with the Medallion upgrade. Add a new seat and some wheels and presto change-o you have a very nice P-40. Bottom line they're just fun to build.
Tom, Starfighter Decals in Virginia is reissuing some of the Medallion line of aftermarket sets. They have the molds. He also does some interesting decals in 72, 48, and for Star Trek models.
Accurate Miniatures... Precise molding, clear building steps and great results... yeah, only two disadvantages -
week manual and decal variants...
Monogram. Their problem today is, they don't make more kits. When they (now Revell) do, usually it's the best!
Time to re-do their old Classic line kits! I'll be on them 'Like a duck on a June bug'!
Yes some of their modern releases are great, I wish they had kept the Monogram name after they bought out Revell, but oh well business is business!
Oh Almost forgot, when I build the two cars, I am seriously thinking of building them as I would have as a kid, no paint for the bodies, no extra detailing and just minimal paint elsewhere. I will probably touch up or re-paint the chrome and drill out the exhausts though.
No, such thing as a problem with Monogram kits in my view, they are the originals - where I started out and still enjoy them today.
Would love to see Li'l coffin or the Red Baron Rob. Great post.
The Red Baron and Lil Coffin are planned for summer nostalgia builds, as a kid I typically built a couple of show rod kits over the summer break from school. Well no summer break from work, but I may buy some root beer popsicles!
For me it was always Airfix in the 1970's with there cool artwork ,all the others like Frog ,Revell etc always seemed like second best especially Matchbox with there different coloured plastics were not in the same league, nowadays I have come full circle and have decided to only build Airfix or Tamiya having been let down enough times by other manufacturers .
N.
I love Monogram too! Just peruse through my album here and you can see that the majority of my builds have been Monogram kits.
http://imodeler.com/author/garybrantley/
Monogram has usually given a lot of bang for the buck and with great accurate shapes and detail too. Some of their kits might present a bit of a challenge, but hey, we're modelers and we can do that! It's not always the arrow, but often the Indian! 😉
Great collection Gary! And looking at it made me remember I have 3 other Monogram kits I didn't put in the picture because they are in a closet upstairs! The A-26, F9F-5, and F-80C! YIKES! I better start building!
Thanks Rob! Yes, I should be putting in a little model time every day. Time waits for no one, Mick said...:)
I was a huge Monogram fan as a kid. Today, I'm an Airfix and Eduard lover.
I definitely have an affinity for Monogram.
Especially with their big WW2 US aircraft.
Their cooperation with Sheperd Paine left an important footprint in our hobby. I'll never forget when I first opened the diorama leaflet, that came with their P61.
I have to admit to the Monogram affliction as well. There are a good number of them in the stash and there's a Monogram 1/48 C-47 on the workbench now. One of my favorite modeling memories is my local hobby shop owner telling me about the impending release of the 1/48 B-17G back in the 70's. He preordered one for me on the condition that he be allowed to display it in the shop after I got it built and shown to my model club. That was one offer I didn't refuse! He was as good as his word and the model was in his front display case until the shop closed down a few years later. I was 15 at the time. My dad packed it away when I went off to school and it disappeared along the line. Wish I knew what happened to it...
Man I LOVE the C-47, I built a couple of those over the years. The last one disappeared after my household goods came from Norfolk to San Diego. They had been in storage while I was in Japan. Make sure you show us your bird when she is done!
Yes! Monogram!, Even some of their small scale are jems, F4J&B, F7F,the biplane trio, And there's the F-82 ,which got them out of the Mattel era. I'm finishing up a P-36, except for the lack of cockpit detail, I think it pretty accurate. I love the blue box era. The early Airfix boxes are cool too.
For me, it was Airfix in the 1970's.. Ah, long summers, long hair, long days inhaling toxic glue and paint.
Great post, thanks for sharing.
I think my preference is "anything old!" Most older kits were much more simple, fewer parts, less details, not much in the way of panel lines, etc. Allows for just the right amount of scratch building to try to end up with a realistic looking representation. I suppose it helps that I stick with smaller scale (72) so the "details" only need be a reasonable approximation! I'm more intimidated by newer, high-parts-count, highly engineered kits - instead of a "bringing them up to snuff" challenge, I have more of a "man - don't screw this up" mentality!
I totally agree with the "Don't screw this up" sentiment. I felt that way all the way through my Tamiya 1/32 P-51 and F4U-1A builds. I loved those kits, the Corsair being the best kit I have ever built, but man I was scared more than once. And choosing the right paint and markings...
Like your sense of humour, but it's hardly a problem. I started out with 1/72 Airfix kits when I was a kid in the 50s and 60s, moved on to Tamiya later, but have returned to my roots recently.
Some of my first kits were the Airfix P-40E and P-39.
I started to say I had never built an Airfix kit, but I did a red Arrows Hawk many moons ago. As I recall it came in a bag attached to a card. Nice little kit. I know they have since released a newer version. I did build several of the MPC "Profile Series" kits, that were Airfix kits in an MPC box. Loved that series as you got several options in one kit, rare for those days!
I have a few catalogs from 70,80,90 years
P.k
I love...cheap. Including shipping, no single engine over $40 and no multi-engine over $50. Takes a while to acquire a kit but I have time and with the Canadian dollar at .72¢ to a U.S. dollar, I'm on a buying hiatus. However, I just picked up a Hasegawa 1:48 Macchi C.205 for $25
My go to kits from back then were Monogram and Revell. My very first model was a Revell 1/32 "Flying Tiger's" P-40. The box art was just so cool ! I knew in an instant that I was destined to be a life long plastic assembler... It gave me incentive as a kid to mow more people's lawns with my push mower, so that I could buy more planes. Before too long, you could hardly see the ceiling in my bedroom... I still enjoy those kits today when they have been re released. Monogram for 1/48 and Revell for 1/32nd.
But I remember building some Aurora WW1 planes, along with their WW2 B-29, P-38, FW-190 and "Me-109" kits too. JoHan for cars along with MPC. Back then I had almost every NASCAR model built that was available in 1/25th scale. Still to this day I'm a die hard Richard Petty fan... When he quit racing NASCAR, I quit watching...
I loved Aurora also, especially their 1/48 armor kits, and Sci Fi kits. Great box art
Monogram was my first choice for years until I discovered Tamiya & to a lesser extent Hasegawa. Some brief flings with Revell & Accurate Miniatures & then a dabble with those fantastic Airfix Spitfire 22s & Lightnings. When Airfix really came good in 1/48 scale a few years ago I thought all my Christmases has come at once: I still do!
Just have a look at the forthcoming Walrus; who can blame me?