Hi,
I have been looking in to the various Visible anatomy kits by Renwal, especially the animal, bird, fish, and insect kits. Interesting models, although I have never had any. Thought they might be of interest. I am working my way through all the animal kits. Here is a look at the Insect Science set.
Renwal Insect Science Set
US company Renwal was famous for its large-scale anatomical models. Slightly different was the 801 Insect Science kit. It comprised a single large-scale cut-away model, and an assortment of five smaller models, all mounted on a display stand.
This is the description in the 1966 Renwal catalogue:
A classroom favorite ! Fun to build, INSECT SCIENCE makes an eye-catching, instructive display piece when assembled. The cutaway FIELD CRICKET, 10 times actual size, contains all organs, glands and muscles. Kit includes 5 companion specimens in the "full round", attractive stand, all necessary decals and an elementary biology primer.
The kit came in a large box, and was priced at $2.98. It lasted well in to the 1970s in the Renwal catalogue, which showed an assembled example. The 1973 version in colour.
Apart from the giant Field Cricket, the kit contained smaller models of the Blue Bottle Fly, Malaria Mosquito, Red Admiral Butterfly, Giant Water Bug, and Polistes Wasp. The set came with an illustrated Handbook on insects. The set was Created in Consultation with, John C. Pallister, Entomologist, Dept. of Insects and Spiders, The American Museum of Natural History, New York City. The kit was moulded in several colours, including brown, turquoise, and clear plastic for the insect wings. The display stood an impressive 16 inches tall.
Here is the Scalemates entry.
Box and Assembled models.
From Sturgis Antiques and Collectables, a look at the kit parts in their box.
After the demise of Renwal in the 1970s, this kit seems to have disappeared until it was re-issued by Craft House Corporation, under the Skilcraft name, in the 1990s. It seems Skilcraft usually omitted the stands that came with the original Renwal kits, but not in this case.
The Scalemates entry for this kit says release date 1998, and New Tool, when it is clearly the old Renwal kit. The name has changed to Insect Lab, number 74547. No scale is given.
The Skilcraft box says Six Kits in One - Modeled From Actual Specimens (a claim not made by Renwal, at least not on their box tops) - Ideal for School Projects - Includes Illustrated Pamphlet.
This time around all the parts are moulded in a single colour, a sort of pinkish fawn. Even the old clear parts are now moulded in opaque plastic, and will need to be painted. It seems the Skilcraft kit comes with a plastic magnifying glass and tweezers. I found photos of the magnifying glass in different colours.
Four photographs, in two batches, all from Worthpoint.
Here are the last two photographs for the Renwal Insect Science set, showing the later Skilcraft issue
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Fabulous research Paul. I really enjoyed this post. I find these educational kits fascinating and wonder if kids back then we're more interested in nature than they are now. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI think kids are MORE interested in Nature than we were, given all the environmental concerns there are now, but they are much LESS interested in making model kits than us.
ReplyDeleteHa ha. That made me chuckle Mish. There are some old kits like this in the specimen cupboards at school. I'm the only person who ever looks at them so you maybe right!
ReplyDeleteLovely work Paul! These visible kits fascinate me and I'm ever closer to making my own Designer toys inspired by them!
ReplyDeleteI won the Renwal Glow-in-the-Dark Skeleton kit in the late 1960s, for getting one of my "Creature Quotes" on our local Saturday Night horror movie TV show, Creature Features! Good god was I proud of that kit! I will refrain from revealing the embarrassing quote itself...
ReplyDeleteGo on Zigg! What was the quote?
DeleteThank you. I am glad these kits are still popular. Wow, a glow-in-the-dark skeleton kit, what a great prize.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lewis. I look forward to seeing the results.
Interesting point Woodsy. A lot of the advertising for these kits, the box tops and sides, and the instructions all emphasised the educational value of the kits, and their usefulness in school work and school projects. Most included a booklet on the subject, usually written by an expert in the field, or prepared with the cooperation of a major university or museum. That was the case with the Insect Science kit.
The box tops often showed a school-age boy and girl with their books, studying or working on the model. Most kits were aimed at boys, so including girls in the photos clearly shows the manufacturers were aiming at an audience outside the usual kit-building world.
These kits were not cheap, but there was a lot to the models. They were certainly outside the usual pocket-money price range, but their educational value made them an investment.
Apart from the nature and human anatomy kits, there were a number of other educational kits tied in to some aspect of science. There were a number of cut-way models of car and aircraft engines showing how they operated, a nuclear reactor, dinosaurs and dinosaur skeletons, and great architectural landmarks. Then you have the various chemistry sets and build your own electronic devices. All intended to help educate and train the scientists and engineers of the future.
I just wish more of these kits would be re-issued so I could get my hands on them.