Monarch Models is a 21st Century Canadian company, which specialises mainly in horror and science fiction themed figure kits. They have deliberately set out to copy the look and feel of the old Aurora figure kits, but covering subjects that Aurora never produced.
Monarch Models Co., Inc., is based in London, Ontario, Canada. It seems the firm disappeared for a while, but was revived after a few years, and is again releasing new kits.
Part of the original Monarch line was a Gorgo kit. This carries the copyright date 2013 on the box, and has the model number 410-149.
In the days of Aurora in the 1950s and 1960s, the suffix would have been the retail price, but I am sure the Monarch kits sell for a lot more than $1.49. I think this is simply part of the whole 'Vintage Aurora Look' that Monarch is aiming at.
The 400-series numbers are also a nod to Aurora, with all the Aurora Movie Monster kits being numbered in the 400-series, starting with Frankenstein's Monster at 423.
The regular kit was followed by a Frightening Lightning Strikes version with Glow-in-the-Dark parts, numbered 460-200. The copyright date on this version is 2014. Again, this resembles the classic Aurora Glow-in-the-Dark versions of their movie monsters.
Scalemates give the kit scale as 1/200th. I have seen some sales listings for this kit describing it as 1/8th scale - the same as the early Aurora monster kits. The boxes say Made in P.R.C. (People's Republic of China).
Just like vintage Aurora kits, Gorgo includes a diorama base, with London clearly taking a battering. There is also a moulded plastic name-plate.
There are no decals or clear parts. The Monarch instruction sheets are printed in colour, rather than black and white, as they would have been in the 1960s.
There were two different boxes for the 2013 model, although the numbers are the same. Purely for the sake of convenience I am referring to these as the Day and Night boxes.
The Day Box has Gorgo trampling London, with a blue sky and lots of smoke in the background. This kit appears to be moulded in black plastic, although I am not sure if this applies to all models in this box style.
The Night Box is darker, and has search-light beams lighting up the sky. This kit appears to be moulded in green plastic.
Both have King Brothers (the makers of the film) Presents above the name Gorgo. Neither has the Monarch name or logo on the top, only on the sides and ends.
The Glow kit re-uses the Day Box artwork, but adds the Monarch name in an Aurora-style oval. Also added are a white lightning flash and a green star, just as on the original Aurora Glow kits. King Brothers Presents has been deleted, and the typeface used for the name Gorgo has been changed.
These kits were moulded in a mix of bright blue plastic, and white Glow parts.
Eight photographs from Worthpoint.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
*
Addendum
I sent a copy of this article to Max from Max's Models, and he replied that he had actually done one of his excellent model company history videos on Monarch. In fact, a combined video on Polar Lights, Moebius, and Monarch.
This answers several of our questions, so a very big Thank You to Max. Coverage of Monarch begins 10:11.
Scott McKillop founded Monarch around 2006.
The company only made five kits, including Gorgo, between 2007 and 2015.
The others were Nosferatu; Sinbad; The Ghost of Castel Mare; and a Dracula/Jekyll & Hyde triple kit.
Some of these were available in both regular and Glow-in-the-Dark versions.
Other kits were announced, but not produced.
Ceased operations around 2015.
Popped up again around 2018, with new kits.
These pages from the Universal Monster Army show the later kits.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Wowee! Yet ANOTHER retro plastic kit maker I never heard of! More great detective work Paul! Yes, Monarch, like Polar Lights and Mobieus, really tried to channel the vibe of Aurora in the 60s, a company many of us were of course in love with. I built many of the Aurora war planes in the early 60s, but when they started the monster line, man, it was all over for me! The thrill of building Godzilla, Frankenstein, Rodan, Dracula, etc., still gives me goosebumps. Gorgo would have sold out if Aurora had licensed it back then. I’m sure I would have bought several lol. After being a “vintage kits only” snob for many years, I have learned to appreciate the value of these new/reissue makers, especially Polar Lights, Glencoe and Atlantis. Thanks for posting, this really made my day! SF_Ziggurat
ReplyDeleteThank you. I am glad you enjoyed it. I only started modelling in 1974, and I do not recall seeing any Aurora kits in NZ back then. But if there were any, I am sure they would have been out of my price range. There were no old horror movies on TV back in those days, so I would have had no idea who these monsters were, and no interest in building them. It is only in the last two or three decades that I have come to know, and love, these old horror and SF movies. I too enjoy the re-issues of old kits by Atlantis and Polar Lights.
ReplyDeleteFab write-up and research Paul and thanks for sharing on MC. Of the two box versions I prefer the first, the one without floodlights. I also prefer that logo, much more akin to Aurora. The Frightening Lightening gimmick is also a welcome nod to Aurora's influence but like their original kit box art I personally found the lightening bolt a distraction from the artwork underneath. All fascinating stuff though and thanks!
ReplyDelete