MONOGRAM MODELS: A BOOK REVIEW BY PAUL ADAMS

Hi,

Happy Birthday again!

Here is another look at one of the reference books from my bookshelf, again kit related.

Monogram Models, Thomas Graham, Schiffer Publishing, USA, 2006, 2nd Edition 2013.

The 2nd Edition is still available.

This is the third book by Thomas Graham, in a series that covers the Big Three US kit companies. Unlike Aurora and Revell, both of whom started out as general plastics companies, Monogram Models began in 1945 as a maker of wooden ship kits. The range expanded to include cars and aeroplanes. 

Soon the kits were including plastic parts for the smaller details, then came the switch to all-plastic models. In 1977 Monogram bought the moulds of the former Aurora company, and would eventually be merged with Revell.

My 1st Edition volume runs to 159 pages. The first 136 on glossy paper in full colour, with the last 23 pages on plain paper comprising a detailed listing of all the Monogram models up to 1986, including the early wooden kits. There is a detailed history of the company, and the people behind it. 

As before, there are some historical photographs in black and white, but most are in colour. These show box art paintings, actual box tops, built models, and factory-assembled models for display in shops, which came on attractive, eye-catching cardboard display bases. 

Monogram were famous for their car models, and high quality aircraft, but they still produced a few oddballs: wild custom cars, science fiction spacecraft, several sets of guided missiles, and a series devoted to cartoon Beagle Snoopy.

This is another great company history, packed with detail.

Paul Adams from New Zealand