I picked up these parts of a plastic Knight in armour last summer.
All chromed parts.
Looking at the design it looks like the Red Knight of Vienna.
Could it be Aurora? Why is it chromed and not red?
Is it a re-issue?
Or is it the original ...
... from 1958?
I wonder how you can tell? Anyone know?
In the 1950s there was a silver knight. Also a 1970s King Arthur was part of a Knights in shining armor. Perhaps this is related to that range.
ReplyDeleteCould be. Thanks.
DeleteDo you have the book Plastic Fantastic by Rick Polizzi?Pretty sure there's pics of the chromed knights in there
ReplyDeleteDo you mean “Classic Plastic” by Polizzi?
DeleteYeah,I'm 20 miles away from my bookshelf right now,so I had to guess at the title.
DeleteI have that book! Its in the loft! Thanks Brian!
DeleteIt's all there.Page 123.
Deleteyou had to guess the title, but recalled the page number ? Thats impressive!
DeleteI eventually came home and looked it up.
DeletePaging Paul Adams! He would know the history of this awesome kit. We were just discussing chromed model kits (automobiles, locomotives) and how difficult it would be to build them neatly, with no unsightly sprue marks or seams. Nowadays probably easier with the liquid chrome pens and paints out there, but back in the day, making a kit like this would have been tricky! SFZ
ReplyDeleteha ha, paging Paul Adams! I love that SF! Sounds like a 60's kids show like Leave it to Beaver!
DeleteFirstly, thank you for your confidence, but I know nothing about knights in armour. Woodsy - are these the only parts you have ?
ReplyDeleteThe kit appears to be the Aurora Red Knight of Vienna, in 1/8th scale. Thomas Graham dates this to 1957, and it was part of a series of foot and mounted knights made by Aurora in the 1950s.
The Silver Knight came in silver plastic, the Blue Knight in blue plastic, Black Knight in black plastic, Red Knight in red plastic, and the mounted Gold Knight in gold plastic.
In 1968 three of the kits were revised, and re-issued to tie-in with the movie Camelot. The Silver Knight became King Arthur, the Blue Knight became Sir Galahad, and the Black Knight became Sir Lancelot,
Then the British arm of Aurora produced the Knights in Shining Armour series, which were all chrome-plated, and named after figures from Arthurian legend. This was in 1973-74.
The Silver Knight became Sir Galahad.
The Blue Knight became Sir Kay.
The Black Knight became Sir Lancelot
The Red Knight became Sir Percival.
The mounted Gold Knight became King Arthur.
Thomas Graham also says that The Crusader kit was to have been re-issued as Richard I, but it was apparently not produced. It would also have been chrome-plated.
So it looks like your chromed Red Knight is a British Aurora kit from the early 1970s, sold as Sir Percival.
And this totally exhausts my knowledge of the subject.
Superb Paul! Thanks very much. I doubt anyone could say any more! I'm going with Sir Percival. The only additional info from me is that it was found at a German car boot.
DeleteLeave it to Mr Adams to solve the puzzle of the Red Knight! I vaguely recall these kits in the stores way back when, but they didn’t interest me, because it was “historical.” Now, of course, I would snap one up in a second! SFZ
DeleteThank you. Atlantis have re-issued the Silver Knight, and this is a current model at $24.99 US. It even comes with a yellow feather for the helmet plume, just like the original. But it seems like the Red Knight has not been re-issued in decades.
ReplyDeleteBlimey, how amazing it's been re-issued. I was looking at the King Arther chrome knight and chrome horse. What a kit! Looks superb. Is the horse Aurora's Black Fury?
DeleteAccording to Aurora Model Kits by Thomas Graham (well worth getting, if you are interested in old kits), the answer is yes. The Black Fury horse kit was used in the Gold Knight of Nice (and therefore the Knights in Shining Armour King Arthur), the Apache Warrior, and Confederate Raider kits. Aurora got a lot of use from that mould.
ReplyDelete