ITC Model Craft was the hobby kits arm of the Ideal Toy Corporation, of New York City.
Following on from their Dog Champions paint-by-numbers kits, was a series of Marvel Metal kits. These were intended to provide the look and feel of an expensive bronze statue, but at far less cost.
The advertising for these kits, and the instruction sheets, all carry a copyright date of 1960, and they appear to have been released in either late 1960, or 1961 - the kits were certainly advertised in the February 1961 issue of Boys' Life, a magazine aimed at American Boy Scouts.
They appear to have been aimed at the same craft and hobby market as the paint-by-numbers kits, rather than at modellers. Trade advertising for the kits describes them as easy, exciting kits for boys and girls of all ages. Just like the various paint-by-numbers sets, this was another attempt to get girls interested in modelling. Each set came with everything needed to complete a bronze-like model, so there was no need to buy any modelling supplies.
The kits themselves were very simple, with few parts, and were all moulded in black plastic. There was a tube of ITC cement; a bottle of finishing compound; a brush; and a metallic rod. As with the earlier Dog kits, there was no display base on which to stand the finished models.
Like many kits of the period, it was emphasised in the advertising that the finished models could serve a variety of purposes other than display. They could be used as bookends, trophies, or paperweights, although in each case they would have needed a base to give them some weight. In those days most boys would have had the wood-working skills needed for such a task.
From the advertising, and the description on the side of the box, it appears that the model was first assembled, just like any other kit. Then the finishing compound was brushed on, and the rod (described in the instructions as a wand) was rubbed over the model to give it a metallic finish.
The steps are shown in a period trade advertisement.
1 Simple plastic parts snap and glue together for perfect fit (cement included)
2 Exclusive MARVEL METAL compound applied in minutes
3 Rub entire animal with MARVEL METAL wand for gleaming metallic finish
The kits look to have been short-lived. They were not included in the final ITC catalogue from 1963, and there are not many listings for them on Worthpoint or Ebay.
There were six kits in the series, all depicting various jungle beasts from Africa or Asia. All were Big Game animals. There were two price ranges. The $1.69 kits came in blue boxes, and the $1.98 kits in green boxes. The animals do not appear to have been made to a common scale, but were all around the same size.
$1.69
3851 Lion - 9 inches long
3852 Tiger - 11 inches long
3853 Rhinoceros - 9 inches long
$1.98
3854 Giraffe - 11 inches high
3855 Elephant - 11 inches high
3856 Gorilla - 9 inches high
The side of the boxes show all six kits, along with six of the ten Dog Champion kits in what appears to be a similar bronze finish. I have not come across any listings for Marvel Metal versions of the Dogs, although three were released around 1963 in a chrome-plated finish. I assume the Marvel Metal Dogs were not actually issued ?
Those shown on the side of the box were:
German Shepherd
Collie
Boxer
English Bulldog
Cocker Spaniel
Beagle
Oddly, the models do not seem to have been released without the Marvel Metal finish, as normal kits, with painting instructions for a more life-like look.
As far as I am aware, these kits have never been re-issued.
Photographs from Worthpoint and Ebay.
Paul Adams
New Zealand
Paul, this is Herculean research.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of these kits.
They would not have been of interest to me, apart from the gorilla, and the metallic finish, which would have drawn me in.
I'm guessing some kind of dusted and buffed in sheen ?
Thank you. Never having seen one of these kits in the flesh, I do not know exactly how the finish worked. But years later Aurora produced a similar range of animal kits that were covered in a metal foil, and then given a coat of black paint to give them an antique look.
ReplyDeleteI had a brief look to see if Marvel Metal was explained better. I wondered if it might be like the metallic wax Rub N' Buff, but couldn't find our. However I did find this fascinating run down on ITC models....
ReplyDeletehttps://www.oldmodelkits.com/blog/plastic-model-kit-history/itc-ideal-toy-company-model-kit-history-and-cam-a-matic-action-used-in-the-halibut-uss-enterprise-thor-mercer-duesenburg-and-battling-betsy/
Thanks for your efforts. The best information I could find was in an old ITC ad for the series.
ReplyDelete1 Simple plastic parts snap and glue together for perfect fit (cement included).
2 Exclusive MARVEL METAL compound applied in minutes.
3 Rub entire animal with MARVEL METAL wand for gleaming metallic finish.
Just how all that works, I have no idea. Click on the image of the Tiger box side, and these steps are shown more clearly. From this image it appears that the Marvel Metal compound comes in a tube, but it actually seems to come in the bottle. The tube is the cement, and the wand is the metal rod.
The kits came in two price ranges - the Tiger, Rhinoceros, and Lion all sold for $1.69, and came in blue boxes. The Giraffe, Gorilla, and Elephant sold for $1.98, and came in green boxes.
All carry copyright dates of 1960. Another forgotten kit line.
Another forgotten kit line indeed! So many attempts to get the hobby away from cars and planes and tanks! SFZ
ReplyDeleteAnother great post Paul. You're a true model historian.
ReplyDelete