Paramount Hobbies: Sci-Fi at 55 Part I: Action-Powered Kits! by ROB C

As 2024 represents 55 years since the glorious year of 1969, I thought I would take the opportunity to reminisce about my experiences with my favorite model importer, Paramount Hobbies of Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Paramount Hobbies appears to have been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Greeting Cards, started in 1906 by brothers Sam and Charles Markoff. Paramount Greeting Cards would eventually become one of the leading card manufacturers in the world.

The company was located at a former mill at 400 Pine Street, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The company soon expanded into Canada, remaining family-owned until 1983. Paramount finally closed its doors in 2006. Historical information on Paramount Hobbies itself is sketchy.

The U.S. division, with its sales office at 999 Main Street in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, shared office space with the Hasbro Toy Company. The earliest reference to Paramount Hobbies is in 1968, and the last known sighting of new kits was circa 1972, so it might be imagined that the hobby venture had a very short window of marketing experimentation.

The only known catalog which paramount Hobbies printed was their 1969 edition, which featured most, but not all, of their current line. There was at roughly the same time a Paramount Hobbies division at 2175 Theodore Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which operated under the name Paramount Industries, and appears to have been incorporated through 1979.

With very few exceptions, all of the kits released by Paramount Hobbies were imported from Japan. The Paramount Hobbies line emphasized high-end car model kits and it is likely that these automotive kits were the most popular sellers overall.

The Paramount Hobbies line consisted of six main categories as follows, with their original manufacturers noted where known: automobiles (Imai, Bandai, Fujimi, Eidai); ships (Nichimo, Fujimi); tanks (Otaki), airplanes (Imai, Kogure, Nichimo, Otaki); space vehicles/science fiction (Imai, LS, Midori, Otaki, Nippon Model); musical instruments (Nichimo).

As the Paramount Hobbies line was rarely seen in actual hobby shops, fans had to hunt down these kits at weird places like smoke shops, convenience stores, department stores, and even greeting card shops. The Paramount Hobbies “experiment” was very short-lived, at least in its U.S. incarnation. The market was flooded with product during the time period, with model kit giants like AMT, Aurora, Monogram and Lindberg dominating the industry.

Although the entire Paramount line was cool, I was especially drawn to the SF kits they offered (called “Space Vehicles” in their catalog). As it turns out, Paramount released 21 of these SF kits in the U.S.

The Canadian branch of Paramount Hobbies actually had the larger SF line, as they were granted licenses to distribute models based on the TV series Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, and Mighty Jack; however, since I never had any of those kits, and have been unable to retrieve much information about them, this article will concentrate strictly on the 21 SF kits issued in the U.S., listed in numerical order based on their stock numbers.

Unless otherwise noted, all of these model kits were released in the U.S. in the year 1969.

A special thanks to Paul Adams of NZ for his invaluable suggestions on this article.

Rob C

USA

#1001:300 Tiger Jet (“Thunderbird”, Aoshima, 1966)

Lumped into the “Sports Cars” section of the 1969 Paramount catalog, the Tiger Jet was barely an SF vehicle, as it was a garden-variety racing car with large fins, a conspicuous “Thunderbird” decal on the front fender, and some purely ornamental missiles.

Originally issued by Aoshima in 1966, this was likely the company's attempt to cash in on the Thunderbirds craze, as Imai Kagaku had released the licensed Thunderbirds models the same year. I found a Tiger Jet somewhere in 1970, and for some reason painted it flat black.

Motorized with a Mabuchi motor, the Tiger Jet was really fast. I do not recall if the Paramount kit came with the same decals as the original Aoshima release. 1/24 scale. Worth it just for the great box illustration. Box: 7 1/2” x 10 1/2” x 2 1/2”. Retail Price: $3.00 USD

#1517 RC Thunder Jet 1/16 (“Thunder Patrol”, Aoshima, 1966)

This large (1/16 scale) super-car was, like the above-mentioned Tiger Jet/Thunderbird, a kit first issued in 1966 by Aoshima which was SF “in name only.”

Essentially a souped-up Pontiac GTO with SF-themed decals, what made the Thunder Jet special was that it was “remote controlled,” that is, powered by a remote battery pack connected to the motorized model via wires. I never saw the Thunder Jet in the stores back in the day, but managed to snag one on eBay several years ago, and the photos reflect this recent build.

Please note the Aosima brand proudly embossed on the battery pack. The battery pack also contained a plastic “rabbit ears” antenna, purely cosmetic but cooler for that. The kit did feature two giant missiles, but they were meant to be attached to the battery pack; I placed them on the car roof for added “SF effect.”

Also endearing were the misspelled “Thnnder Patrol “ decals. And you can't beat the terrific box art. At a hefty retail price of $7.95, it is doubtful if many Thunder Patrol kits made it to the local department store.

#2009:159 Jet Flash R-2 1/24 (LS, 1967) 

First issued in 1967 by LS, this was one of three “Futuristic Cars” released by LS, and powered by a clockwork motor.

One of the Paramount SF kits I was never able to obtain, this one looked promising based on the incredible box illustration, but getting the kit would have been a serious disappointment (see below).

Listed as 1/24 scale. Box: 6 1/2” x 11 1/2” x 2 1/2”. Retail Price: $1.59 USD

#2010:159 Jet Cat 9 1/24 (LS, 1967)

First issued in 1967 by LS, this was one of three “Futuristic Cars” released by LS, and powered by a clockwork motor.

Basically a Formula 1 racing car with missiles, this goofy contraption was compelling enough to inspire me to make a sketch of it. Listed as 1/24 scale. Box: 6 1/2” x 11 1/2” x 2 1/2”.

Retail Price: $1.59 USD

#2011:159 Fire Bird 009 1/24 (LS, 1967)

First issued in 1967 by LS, this last of the three LS “Futuristic Cars” was the only one I was ever able to obtain, and only in the early 2000s, on an ebay auction.

The exciting box illustration aside, the kit itself was terribly crude and ill-fitting, lacking any sort of respectable detail; this was definitely an “unassembled toy.” The obvious inspiration for the Firebird 009 was the F-104 Starfighter, and one wished that LS could have put a bit more care into this potentially interesting hybrid.

The poor pilot of this craft was not even granted a clear canopy, and the metal axles rolled aimlessly about the fuselage, which featured over-sized holes where bushings should have been. When I did manage to get one of these kits, I added axle bushings to the fuselage just to make the vehicle a bit more plausible.

Oh, and the bulky clockwork motor barely fit inside the skinny fuselage without serious maneuvering. Even for a fan of Japan SF models, this series could reasonably be called “junk.” However, the striking box art, as it appeared in the Paramount catalog, inspired me to make my own sketch.

Supposedly 1/24 scale, but I doubt it. Box: 6 1/2” x 11 1/2” x 2 1/2”. Retail Price: $1.59 USD

#3201:200 Planetoid Echo “7” (KSN Midori, 1966)

The KSN Midori Planetoid Echo “7” was one of the earliest fictional SF kits to come from Japan, produced in 1966 from an original design and not based on a TV series or movie franchise.

The incredible box illustration was an early example of Japanese kit manufacturers being fanciful, if not outright disingenuous, when marketing these products; the crude, toy-like kit inside looked very little like the beautiful and complicated machine depicted in the box art.

One of my first Paramount SF purchases, I was shocked at how crummy the actual kit was, but I built the model as best I could, and learned to love it regardless of its being so homely. In fact, the Echo “7” ended up starring in one of my animated Super 8mm movies of the time, “The Invaders From Mystery Mountain.

” The Echo “7” did feature what would become an almost obligatory feature in these “first wave” SF kits: spring-loaded working missiles. With its speedy clockwork motor, it was fun to get Echo “7” to race around the place, too.

What bothered me the most, if memory serves, is that the kit did not even include a front grill as depicted on the box art; the front of the craft was just a gaping hole, which I managed to fix somewhat by using some old 1/24 model chrome parts I had laying around.

Still, the Echo “7” was cool enough for me to sketch. This design was so popular, it was also issued in an assembled toy version, depicted in the last photograph. Box: 7 1/2” x 10 1/2” x 2 1/2”.

Retail Price: $2.00 USD

#3202:200 Orbital Ship Super Arrow (KSN  Midori, 1966

Orbital Ship Super Arrow was produced by KSN  Midori in early 1967, as a follow-up to their Echo “7” space vehicle. Another instance in which the cover illustration far outshone the actual model, the Super Arrow as built was a squat, goofy thing that almost seemed a caricature of the sleek vehicle shown on the box art.

Still, for some reason the Super Arrow became one of my favorites, and was a proud part of my collection for many years, even inspiring one of my more outre teenage sketches.

The pilot's cockpit ejected via a spring which was activated when the front sensor hit an obstacle, a cool early example of the proverbial “action powered kit.” Molded in a beautiful metallic green. Box: 7 1/2” x 10 1/2” x 2 1/2”.

Retail Price: $2.00 USD

#3203:200 Astro Boat Super VII (AAB Gamma, KSN  Midori, 1967)

This incredible flying vehicle was probably one of the most popular of the SF kits released by Paramount Hobbies in the U.S.; I've encountered several people over the years who had one, and thought it was the coolest thing in their SF collection.

The streamlined spacecraft model was originally issued in mid-1967 by KSN Midori, in conjunction with the release of the movie it was featured in, Uchu Daikaiju Girara (aka The X From Outer Space).

As there was no mention of the movie connection on the U.S. box, I purchased the kit thinking it was just another cool “original” SF design, although I did think it curious that this kit featured a fuzzy photograph of the model on the box, instead of the usual voluptuous illustration. When The X From Outer Space premiered on New York TV later that same year, and I saw the AAB Gamma on-screen in action, I almost had a teenage heart attack.

The Astro Boat became an icon among my small circle of friends, and was also featured in our Super 8mm SF epic, “The Invaders From Mystery Mountain.” The Astro Boat featured a clockwork motor, and could be built with or without motorized wheels underneath the fuselage; the wheel assembly could be detached and a Mabuchi underwater motor unit, connected via suction cup, could be attached to turn the Astro Boat into an actual boat.

Cooler than cool, the Astro Boat inspired more than one of my enthusiastic, if artistically-challenged sketches. It is difficult to even come across decent photographs of this iconic model nowadays. Box: 7 1/2” x 10 1/2” x 2 1/2”.

Retail Price: $2.00 USD

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Rob C

USA

Part II to follow