Fish are not a common subject for model kits. An exception is the Renwal Visible Trout Assembly Kit. This differed in a number of respects from the other models in the Renwal Visible Series.
Model number 817-498 sold for $4.98, and depicts a small Brook Trout. It is still an impressive 16 inches (40cm) long - making the model life-sized, or 1:1 scale.
This description is from the 1966 Renwal catalogue, which can be found on the Box Art Den site:
The brook trout, favorite of America's fresh-water fishermen. This is truly an outstanding model - 16 inches long, and beautiful as well as instructive. One side is sparkling transparent plastic that displays in fine detail the intricate yet compact organic and bone structure of this graceful fish.
The other side realistically simulates the speckled body no rod-and-reel enthusiast can resist ! The Visible Fish comes complete with a stand suitable for table display or wall mounting, and an illustrated fish-anatomy booklet.
There seems to be some doubt about the release date of this model. The Scalemates site says 1959; some listings say 1950s/1960s, or 1964. The model has a high catalogue number, which suggests a fairly late date, but this assumption rests on Renwal releasing their kits in numerical order. I would still guess early 1960s. This kit was listed in the 1966 Renwal catalogue, but was gone by the 1969 edition.
The box top shows both sides of the model, and states: A trophy for every rod-and-reel enthusiast - Fun to build...beautiful to display ! This is very unusual, none of the other kits in the series were promoted as being 'Fun to build'. It seems the educational aspects of the kit were taking a back-seat to pure modelling fun. It was also the only Visible kit to be sold as a Trophy model, although other firms had previously offered various hunting trophy models. It also included cement, which again is unusual.
The box still mentions the skeleton, vital organs and transparent skin, anatomically accurate. A Handbook on fish is included, but this is mentioned only in very small writing - again the educational aspects of the kit were not emphasised as much as with other kits in the series. This adds to my impression of a late release date for the model.
The left side of the fish was moulded in smooth clear plastic, while the right side was textured and pre-finished in realistic Trout colours. The skeleton was moulded in the usual bone-coloured plastic, with the internal organs in pale pink. It seems the stand came in different colours. The box top shows a wood-brown, but photos show either black or pale pink. The support arms were clear plastic.
After a long absence from the shops, this model was re-issued, along with most of the other Renwal Visible Kits, in the 1990s under the Skilcraft name by Craft House Corporation of Toledo, Ohio.
The Skilcraft Visible Trout was model number 74634. The box top stated 'Modeled From An Actual Specimen', and 'Ideal for School Projects', so education was back in favour. This time around both body halves were in clear plastic.
Scalemates listing for the Renwal kit:
Scalemates listing for the Skilcraft version:
Box Art Den 1966 Renwal Catalogue page:
Shows the Skilcraft instruction sheet.
All photos from Worthpoint.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Yowee another bizarre kit I never heard of. I had to look twice to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. Amazing! SFZ
ReplyDeleteThank you, SFZ. I will never run out of material for these articles, as there are just so many weird and oddball kits out there. I love these kits, even if I have never actually seen any of them.
ReplyDeleteAnother great bit of research Paul.
ReplyDelete