Woodsy,
I recently found an affordable copy of a catalog I had always wanted, the Plastic Models catalog from America's Hobby Center.
AHC was a popular mail order outfit located in downtown Manhattan, and in the 60s and 70s it was the go-to place for all things related to Model Railroading.
However, they also carried an extensive line of plastic display models, and I had always wanted to see what exactly they carried back then. The catalog I just snagged off eBay is from 1967, so it has a good cross-section of the hobby at the time.
In addition to the usual suspects, there were some unusual items and obscure brands in there, so here are a sample of pages from that catalog. Among items of interest are the Revell space series, including the super-rare Space Station and Moon Ship, the Strombecker "Man in Space" Satellite Launcher, Superior Plastics anatomy kits, Aurora "Whoozis" figure kits, and lots of obscure planes and cars.
A nice trip down nostalgia lane!
Rob C
USA
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Thats a fine sight, look at those wonderful Revell space kits - you could easy add a couple of zeroes onto the price of that Space Station kit now! Why dont kit makers produce more space kits of this variety now ? The Pyro dinosaurs are nice, are they the ones moulded in purple plastic? My dad collected catalogues for toys and kits for years before I was born and I recall him showing me his stash of early sixties model catalogues - I was appalled at the lack of variety that Airfix had in comparison, but that was all I could buy at the time, as specialist model shops were few and far between. Bill
ReplyDeleteI agree, that Revell Space Station caught my eye too. That is some folk’s “holy grail.” I was kind of surprised not to find more Space and Sci-Fi material in this catalog, but I guess the floodgates opened for that genre in a year or so? SFZ
DeleteThat's one horn of plenty Rob! Overflowing with goodies from our youth! I adored the Pyro dino's and especially the box art back in the Sixties and alongside other dino's I had, maybe Revell, things were just great back then. Simple and prehistoric! There are so many icons on these pages that its hard to pick. A wonderful magical find and thanks for sharing. Old Catalogues are the best Rob!
ReplyDeleteI had so many of these kits (planes mostly) and of course those Pyro Dinosaurs were just the coolest thing… SFZ
DeleteI had the pleasure of going to the America's Hobby Center building on W 22 Street on many occasions. The street level consisted of stock rooms and retail was up a steep staircase to the next level with a long room of display retail the other half being the mail order department. Mail order was run by the founder Bernie and his son oversaw retail. This was Marshall, who over the years, time permitting, would regale customers with stories of his numerous marriages. He was also an old time New Yorker who would if he thought a customer was wasting his time with indecision he would launch into a tirade of insults, some so subtle the customer was unaware it was happening.
ReplyDeleteBeing a freelance Graphic Designer for many years I was able to visit the store during the week when it was less crowded. The location was far enough away from other shopping that there was no passing foot traffic, it was a destination for devoted modelers or where adults were sent by out of town people to buy specific items.
I think it was the early 90's when the family sold the building. This led to the stock being moved to New Jersey. It also led to old stock surfacing. I bought some Airfix kits still in plastic bags with a stapled header. At first mail order was operated from NJ and a new street level retail store opened on W 35 Street. Marshall didn't enjoy doing this much, at the time the business was focused on radio control and railways and model kits were old stock rather than new.
The costs of doing business in New York City led to the business moving to North Bergen, NJ. I visited the new store a few times more for the journey than anything. A bus across Manhattan. A ferry across the Hudson River. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail then a bus to the store. There were few railway items or plastic kits as it was 90% radio control, cars, boats, planes and tanks. The store was also airy and bright the opposite of the original location, the vibe was very different.
The catalog that Rob has posted is a delight to see. There were various versions, one for kits, one for railways, one for flying models. These days a web site would be a poor substitute.
Did you get that Revell astronaut kit that you shot for the diorama that you showed me, in there Terra ? Bill
DeleteThe astronaut kit was for a college project in 1968/69. I moved to NYC in 1974. AHC was great for model trains made in the 60's that were still in stock. Old Athearn rubber band transmission trains were great for slow running.
DeleteWhat a great memory Terranova! I did almost exclusively mail order with AHC, but did visit their NY store once, in the late 1960s. Greatest hobby distributor of them all imho. SFZ
DeleteSpectacular Rob! While I recall AHC I don't remember if I had ordered anything from them. In 1967 I was transitioning away from models and toys and started into HO scale model railroading. I do remember having a number of these kits (all poorly built by me) as well as wanting a bunch more as my model building days weren't quite over yet.
ReplyDeleteI did both HO scale railroading, and plastic models from AHC. Their monthly ads in the magazines were mouth-watering! SFZ
DeleteI like how some of the models are crossed and ticked. The catalogue owner must have been noting down what they had got! Fab!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that too - I wonder if the pink lines through the prices meant Have it? Want it? Don’t want it? I would pore over these catalogs back in the day, making my wish lists of everything I’d buy if I had money! SFZ
DeleteThis is a great post, right in the middle of my nostalgic sweet spot! As an aside, I went all the way into Sydney Australia yesterday and visited Hobbyco, our last and greatest existing hobby shop (if you don't count Berg's Hobbies in Parramatta)
ReplyDeleteI used to dream in the late 70s that Hobbyco would stock some Gundam style material -well fast forward 40 years and it seems to be one of their main lines (along with the Aurora reissues)
So nice to think I was lucky enough to find them the first time around!
A wonderful collection of vintage kits. Some have been re-issued over the years, but others have not been seen in decades. There were so many odd-ball subjects being made in the 1950s and 1960s, kits that no one would even consider making today. A great trip back in time.
ReplyDeleteMy only disappointment in this otherwise amazing catalog is that there were not more Space or Sci-Fi kits, but maybe AHC didn’t specialize in them, or maybe that “wave” was a year or two off? Anyways, more than enough to whet my appetite regardless! SFZ
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