ITC Model Craft was the Hobby Division of the Ideal Toy Corporation of Hollis, New York.
About 1960 it launched a range of Paint-by-Numbers kits - the Dog Champion series. All depicted pedigree dog breeds. Of the ten kits in the range, six covered the same breeds as the Bachmann Dogs of the World series.
If the poses seem rather stiff and formal, ITC advertising explains the reason. The German Shepherd 'has the stance and form of a blue-ribbon winner' - and to prove it there is a blue-ribbon on the top of every Dog Champion box.
This magazine advertisement is from the January 1960 issue of Boys' Life (a US magazine aimed mainly at Boy Scouts). It also states 'ITC Dog Champions - the world's only scale-model dog kits - are only 98c and $1.49'.
These kits are normally dated to 1960, but the fact that the Boys' Life issue is dated January 1960, and magazines usually come out at least a month ahead of their cover dates, makes me wonder if the kits were actually released in late 1959, perhaps in time for the Christmas gift-buying season ?
There were two price ranges, 98 cents and $1.49. The small dogs in the 98 cent range stood 6 inches tall, while the large dogs at $1.49 were 8 inches tall. There was a small gap in the numbering of the kits, separating the two price groups.
A picture of a boy painting his new German Shepherd model, while his own German Shepherd looks on admiringly, appeared on the front of the 1960 ITC Hobby Kits Catalog (US spelling).
3814-149 German Shepherd
3815-149 Collie
3816-149 French Poodle
3817-149 Greyhound
3818-149 Boxer
3822-98 English Bull [Bulldog]
3823-98 Wire Haired Fox Terrier
3824-98 Cocker Spaniel
3825-98 Scotch Terrier
3826-98 Beagle
Six of these breeds were also in the Bachmann Paint-by-Numbers Dog range: German Shepherd; Collie; French Poodle (called a Standard Poodle by Bachmann); Boxer; Cocker Spaniel; and Wire Haired Fox Terrier (Wire-Haired Terrier).
The Dogs unique to ITC were the Greyhound; English Bulldog; Scotch Terrier; and the Beagle.
The Greyhound box shows the dog running, but the model itself is standing, like all the other dogs.
The English Bulldog is referred to simply as an English Bull, which looks a little odd.
All the box tops featured a painting of the Dog Champion against a plain coloured background. But the pages from a 1960 catalogue show the Dog posed in front of a small and unobtrusive scenic background. This artwork did not appear on the boxes, but two of the images made it on to the instruction sheets for the German Shepherd and the French Poodle. The rest of the kits repeated the plain painting from the box top, but in black and white.
All the kits were simple, with a minimum of parts. Mostly left and right body halves, including the head and outside legs. The inner legs, sometimes a face, and a few other details completed the kit. Unlike the Bachmann Dogs, there was no display stand.
The paints were again solid cakes, mounted on a small palette. There were five generic 'doggy' colours, which were common to all the kits: black, white, brown, tan, and either red or pink. These could be mixed together if required. Finally a brush. The paints needed a solvent, and several types are mentioned in the instructions. Some sheets refer to turpentine, another to something called Carbona cleaning fluid.
The back of the instruction sheet featured the painting instructions, which were fairly detailed.
This was another short-lived range, and there are not all that many sales listings for the kits on-line.
Marvel Metal
In 1960 ITC launched a range of kits called Marvel Metal. These were plastic kits (all seem to have been moulded in black plastic), to which a substance was applied, and then rubbed to produce a metallic look, like a bronze statue. The series comprised six wild animals. The side of the boxes also show six of the Dogs in a similar finish. The German Shepherd; Collie; Boxer; English Bulldog (rather than English Bull, as on the Paint-by-Number kits); Cocker Spaniel; and Beagle.
I have not found any listings for these kits, or examples of boxes, so I do not know if the Dog versions were ever released ? The wild animals were certainly available.
Silver Dog Champion series
Three of the large Dogs were released in a chrome-plated finish, the instruction sheets carrying the copyright date 1963, and they were shown in the 1963 ITC catalogue. By this time the standard Paint-by-Numbers kits were no longer listed. The boxes carried the name ITC Hobby Kit, rather than the previous ITC Model Craft. These kits seem to be especially rare, coming close to the end of ITC kit production. In fact, I could only find photos of the Collie and Boxer, but not the German Shepherd.
The box tops boasted:
Nothing to Paint
All Parts Pre-finished in Gleaming Mirror-like Silver
Handsome Display Base [walnut-colored according to the catalogue]
9 Inches High
The 1963 catalogue lists these kits as new, and each consisted of 12 parts. They were packed 12 kits to a shipping carton. Did the suffix to the catalogue number indicate the number of kits per box, as 6 + 4 + 2 = 12 ? The retail price was $2.00.
It was necessary to scrape the chrome plated finish off the parts where they were to be glued together, as polystyrene cement would not work on the chrome. The Silver versions also came with display bases, on which to pose the finished models.
3840.6 200 German Shepherd
3841.4 200 Collie
3842.2 200 Boxer
According to Scalemates, a German company called Progress-Werk Nurnberg distributed various Heller and ITC kits in Germany, including at least six of the Dogs. The German Shepherd was listed as Rintintin, the famous movie star, and the Collie as Lassie. Only the box for the latter is shown. The other kits listed are the Boxer, Bulldog, Scotch Terrier, and Fox Terrier. Apart from the Scalemates listings, I could not find anything further on these models.
As far as I am aware, these kits have never been re-issued by anyone.
Twelve photographs, all from Worthpoint
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Wowee, amazing article! I was completely unaware of the ITC dog kits. I’ve mentioned before, I had a few of the Bachman kits at one point. Fun to build, murder to paint! Can you imagine trying to get the shading right on the French Poodle?!?! SFZ
ReplyDeleteThanks. That might be why these kits never sold back in the day - no one ever saw them in the shops, because retailers did not stock them. No stock - no sales. With no sales, the kits were soon withdrawn, and most of these oddballs have never been re-issued. Very sad for fans of oddball kits.
ReplyDeleteDiamond Dogs I get, but Chrome Dogs? They sound like some 2000 AD comic strip!
ReplyDeleteA great post Paul and really well researched. I can well see why kids and adults made and painted animal model kits like this. Maybe a sign of simpler, less frantic times.
ReplyDelete