PAINT BY NUMBERS KITS BY PAUL ADAMS

Paint-by-Numbers sets first appeared in the early 1950s. 

Sets included paints, a brush, and one or more pictures divided in to segments, each of which was numbered. The paints were also numbered. Each segment numbered 5 was filled in with paint number 5, and once you had filled in all the segments, you had a finished picture which could then be framed and hung on the wall.

The idea took off, and many different companies produced these sets. Some used oil paints or watercolours, and later acrylics. There were also Colour-by-Number sets with coloured pencils or crayons. I had a few of these sets in the 1970s, with small tubs of oil paint.

In the late 1950s several US companies had the idea of combining normal three-dimensional plastic assembly kits with this new craze. It was only after discovering the Palmer African Tribal Mask sets that I realised these Paint-by-Number kits even existed.

So far, I have listed 65 kits by four different companies – Bachmann (44), ITC (10), Pyro (9), and Palmer (2). There are doubtless a few others I have missed. I will look at each of these ranges in more detail in later articles, but for now here is a quick overview of the Paint-by-Numbers kit world.

Most of these sets came out in the very late 1950s, up to the mid-1960s. The idea then seems to have died out, although Bachmann did re-issue a few kits in the 1970s and 1980s, still in their Paint-by-Numbers form.

The kits were intended for a general mass market, rather than existing modellers, most of whom would have been boys. Bachmann advertising stated the sets were aimed at ‘guys and gals young and old’, which seemed to cover everyone. The subjects chosen were clearly intended to appeal to girls as well as boys. Most of the kits depicted nature subjects, so they could also be considered educational.

It was emphasised that the sets contained everything needed to complete the model, and that they were easy to assemble. No modelling experience or tools required. Several of the ranges comprised snap-together models with a minimum of parts. The exception was Pyro, who re-issued a number of their existing glue-together kits.

The most popular subjects were Birds (25 kits, by Bachmann and Pyro), Dogs (21 kits by Bachmann and ITC), Human figures (9 kits by Pyro and Bachmann), Animals (8 by Bachmann), and African Masks (2 by Palmer).

The sets included either jars or pots of paint. Later sets had plastic pots, moulded together in a strip. Bachmann and ITC used solid cakes of paint (like pans of watercolour paint) that was mixed with a special solvent which also doubled as a cement for the kits. Pyro switched to water soluble paints for their later releases.

Palmer and Pyro only provided an assortment of general paint colours, while Bachmann and Pyro included colours tailored for each kit.

Note: all release dates taken from the Scalemates site.

Palmer Plastics

Palmer did just two African Tribal Mask sets, around 1958/59. Strictly speaking, these were not kits, as the masks were one-piece mouldings, but they were three-dimensional. Each set included four basic paint colours: red, white, blue, and yellow, with the masks being moulded in black plastic.

Pyro Plastics

Pyro re-issued nine of their existing kits, putting them in to new boxes, with a selection of general paint colours.

There were three large bird kits, all of which seem to have been ex-Precision Plastics models (I think). The entire Western Figure Series, consisting of three cowboys and three Indians, was also re-boxed.

The birds appeared first, in 1963, and came with ordinary model paints. The Western Figures followed in 1965, and included new water-based paints. These new paints were also added to the Bird kits.

ITC Model Craft

The Ideal Toy Corporation was one of several major toy companies that briefly dabbled in kits, but retired from the field in the 1960s.

They released a line of ten Dog Champions in 1960. These came in two price ranges, depending on the size of the dog. All were pedigree breeds. Several of the breeds were the same as those in the Bachmann range, but they were different kits.

Bachmann

Today, Bachmann are known for their model railways, but they once produced normal plastic kits as well. Mostly simple, snap-together models.

The Birds of the World Series first appeared in 1959, and ran to 22 kits. These were life-sized models, and came in three price ranges, depending on the size of the bird. This was the longest lived series, as part of the range was available – on and off – in to the 1980s.

Dogs of the World followed, with 11 kits. These were described as Scale-Size Models, although the scale was not stated. All were smaller than life-size. The entire series sold for the same price. Several of these dogs were the same types as modelled by ITC, but they were from different moulds. Only a few of these kits were re-issued in the 1970s.

Animals of the World contained a mix of wild and domestic creatures, and ran to 8 kits. They were again described as Scale-Size, and there were two price ranges. This was the first range to be cut back, and only one kit was re-released in the 1970s.

Finally came the Americana series of humorous human figures. This was the smallest and shortest lived range, with just 3 kits. It does not appear to have been re-issued.

Some of these sets did not last very long, and the whole line had been dropped by the late 1960s. In the early 1970s some kits were re-issued under the Nature Craft name, mostly the Birds, with a few Dogs, but only one Animal. There was another set of re-releases in the 1980s, but only of the Bird kits, and again not the full range.

Several other kits were announced, and even assigned catalogue numbers, but did not appear.

Most of the photographs are from Worthpoint. The first two show a normal set of kit painting instructions, with the different colours indicated by lines, dots, and dashes. The other shows a Paint-by-Numbers sheet for the Bachmann Tiger.

Paul Adams from New Zealand