Woodsy,
I've been both excited and inspired by Paul Adam's great articles on obscure model kits, and they got me to thinking of some of the more unusual lines of model kits I bumped into along the way.
One which Paul mentioned in one of his recent articles was the rare line of Bird Model Kits by Louis Marx. Imported from Hong Kong, these tiny and simple kits were often (not always) beautifully hand-painted. A friend bought many of them back in the 60s, and they were so unusual, even at the time. I recall they made an impressive display.
Anyways, I looked in a reference book called "In Plastic" by John W. Burns, which lists so many of the strange and unusual model kits released from the 1950s to the 1980s, and he has an entry for these Marx Bird kits, along with the complete listing of kits available.
This info is probably also online somewhere, but I thought I'd pass it along for anyone interested.
Rob C
USA
Great memories Rob! Thanks for the info! Guess what's coming later this week from Paul!
ReplyDeleteThank you to Rob C for this. It is great to know that I have inspired someone to join in the hunt for the many weird and wonderful kits that once existed, but are now largely forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI actually did an article on these kits recently, but I do not have any of the books by John W. Burns, although I have heard of them.
The Marx bird kits each contained just six pieces, and that included the stand. Left and right body halves, including the feet, which were rings that slid over the twig portion of the stand; left and right wings; and tail. Apart from the individual kits, there was at least one 15-kit boxed set. Most of the boxes are marked Made in Hong Kong, but a few have Made in Taiwan instead.
I see that just below the Marx entry, there is a heading for the very obscure Maryland Toy Corporation. At some point in the 1970s or 1980s, they re-issued the Precision Plastics trophy kits from the late 1950s. Any information on these re-issues would be most welcome, as there is very little on the company.
Yes, I vaguely recalled your article on these Marx kits, but couldn't be sure, so I sent this along. Its really a bottomless pit when you get into it, the wide world of hobby kits! Your Bachman "Birds of the World" article is absolutely awesome!
DeleteSFZ
Your Marx Birds article Paul is scheduled for tomorrow morning! How's that for timing Rob!
ReplyDeleteThank you, SFZ. Bottomless pit is a very good description - there are just so many weird kits out there. I have just discovered a series by the Japanese company Bandai, called Animal Bowling - which is just as strange as it sounds. Working on that one now.
ReplyDeleteI actually saw one of those Bandai kits available online somewhere maybe about ten years ago - it was a Buffalo Bowling Set! Did not know it was a series, but knowing the limitless Japanese imagination, I’m not surprised! SFZ
DeleteAhhh! I have a great Shigeru Komatsuzaki Art book that features the box art for Buffalo Bowling!
DeleteOnce seen, never forgotten. The other two kits in the series were a Wild Boar and a Rhinoceros. Each kit came complete with a set of ten bowling pins for your rampaging beast to knock down.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Buffalo Bowling article Paul! I'll post it soon. Great research!
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