Aurora Sealab III Re-issue

Hi Woodsy

Doll and Hobby Georgia is another small company reproducing vintage Aurora plastic kits, which have been unavailable for decades.

 Their latest project is the U.S. Navy Sealab III kit - the real Sealab being an underwater base for divers and undersea exploration.

Aurora kit number 721 was only available 1970-71. It was to 1/93rd scale, and was moulded in orange plastic, with a green base.

It had interior detail, and optional clear or opaque hull halves. There were also two scuba divers.

According to Scalemates, the only releases have been by Aurora in 1970; a resin copy by Masterpiece Models (J & S Technologies LLC) in 2017; and now a plastic version from Doll and Hobby Georgia in 2025. 

This video by CultTVman, the man behind D&HG, takes a detailed look at the kit, and its production from new moulds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRFzEYunE-Y

The new version comes moulded entirely in yellow plastic, and has over 150 parts, including four divers. Really interesting.

If you want one, it is a pretty expensive kit at $80 or $90 US, but that is still going to be a lot cheaper than a vintage Aurora model. 

The box art is the same as the original Aurora model, except that the U.S. Navy title has been removed.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

MONSTROUS HANDS

 I love obscure facts about obscure toys.

Here are Lincoln International's monsters.

I read on the brilliant Plaid Stallions that the hands of the Werewolf, Mummy and the Fly were based on the fabulous hands of the Aurora Wolfman, pictured below.

My own observation is that maybe Imperial's Classic Movie Monster Wolfman has the same hands too.

Have you any of these toys readers?

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Another hand!

Mort Kunstler 1927-2025 RIP

Aurora box top artist Morton (Mort) Kunstler has passed away this month.

28 August 1927 to 2 February 2025 – age 97.

Apart from his work for Aurora, he later became famous for his Western and American Civil War paintings.

His Aurora work included several aircraft, and the two Man From U.N.C.L.E. figure kits.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

AURORA! REALLY?

I saw this Skittle Bowl game in a junk shop and couldn't believe it was by Aurora!

Is this the same company who released the monsters?

How different could you get!

Its Wild! The Aurora Black Fury All Plastic Assembly Kit by Paul A

The Aurora Black Fury All Plastic Assembly Kit came up this year, so I thought it was time for a quick look at all the different versions. Between 1959 and 1968 Aurora released three horse kits, and two of these were used as the equine half of several mounted figures.

Black Fury - King of the Wild Horses was the first of these. It was also the largest, at 1/8th scale, and was 11 inches long, and 9 1/4 inches tall.

Although I can not see a copyright date on the parts, the earliest box design is dated 1958, and Thomas Graham in Aurora Model Kits gives a release date of 1959. It looks like Aurora planned to issue this kit with and without a rider from the outset, and all the kits appeared at much the same time.

The address on the side of the box is Aurora Plastics Corp. (later Aurora Products Corp.), West Hempstead, L.I., N.Y. - which is Long Island, New York state. Much later the ZIP postal code 11552 was added.

The kit contained only 12 parts (left and right body halves; four inner leg sections; left and right tail halves; and four horse shoes, which were not needed for the wild Black Fury, or the Apache Warrior on Horse. There was no base.

The various mounted kits also included saddles, reins, etc. Some of the horses were also moulded in different colours to the usual black.

Woodsy asked about the significance of the name Black Fury. Charlton Comics had launched a comic in 1955, called Black Fury, which lasted until 1966.

It was about a wild horse, and his adventures in the Old West. He had his own herd, and humans tangled with him at their peril.

There was also a TV series called Fury (1955-60) about a boy and his horse. Fury - King of the Wild Stallions, is also black, but the series was set in the present day West.

There is no mention of the comic book or the TV series on the Aurora Black Fury box or instruction sheet, but surely the name and the western setting can not be a coincidence ?

The Black Fury kit was initially included in the Famous Fighters series, before being moved to the Wild Life series in the 1962 catalogue. It was last seen in the 1975 Aurora catalogue.

It seems that the solo Black Fury kit has not been available in decades. However, the Gold Knight and Confederate Raider have been re-issued by other companies, with the horse being moulded in different colours.

400 Black Fury - horse kit

Also included in the Apache Warrior, Confederate Raider, Gold Knight of Nice, and Knights in Shining Armour King Arthur mounted kits. Twelve parts in black plastic. Three different box designs.

The earliest box, copyright date 1958, shows Black Fury protecting his herd of horses against a hungry mountain lion (barely visible, to the left of the picture). There are two versions of the Aurora logo - with either Famous Fighters or Educational Kits on the blue outer ring.

The second has him rearing up on his hind legs. This also has a 1958 copyright date on the box, although Scalemates says 1963.

The last box has Black Fury against a purple and orange sky, mane and tail flying. The kit is moulded with the right foreleg raised, but this style of box shows the left foreleg raised instead.

There are two variations of the box - either undated (the earlier version, 1969 according to Scalemates), or dated 1972 with a list of Aurora branches in various countries. This box has the Aurora name on a large letter A.

The instruction sheet was the same in each version, and is dated 1958. The back of the sheet promoted various other Aurora kits and product lines, and changed over the years.

The kit number remained 400, but the suffix changed as the price increased over the years, from 400-98 (98 cents) to 400-130 ($1.30), before the suffix was dropped entirely. Obviously, the mounted kits were more expensive.

401 Apache Warrior on Horse - included the Black Fury kit in brown plastic. Not re-issued.

Number later re-used for the White Stallion.

402 Confederate Raider - included the Black Fury kit in black or brown plastic. Re-issued by Moebius with the horse in tan.

Number later re-used for the American Buffalo.

K-5 Gold Knight of Nice - included the Black Fury kit in black plastic.

Also 475 new box, 885 Chrome-plated King Arthur (released in Britain by Aurora Plastics (U.K.) Ltd). The horse parts were not plated, only King Arthur and the accessories; and the horse was still moulded in black.

Re-issued by Monogram, with everything moulded in light grey.

Ten photographs from Worthpoint

Paul Adams from New Zealand

The Aurora Sabre Tooth Tiger Kit by Paul A.

Back in April I found some original, 1970s vintage Aurora kits at a fair. Four models from the Prehistoric Scenes series, that were only available between 1972 and 1976.

Aurora was one of the Big Three American kit companies, along with Revell and Monogram, but they went out of business in 1977. Aurora were best known for their figure models.

The Prehistoric Scenes were a range of 1/13th scale cavemen and dinosaurs, all of which came with a scenic base. They were simple, snap-together kits, but were very well detailed.

Over the years the dinosaurs have been re-issued, but the prehistoric humans and most of the mammals have not. Just this year, Atlantis finally re-issued the Saber Tooth Tiger and Cave Bear kits from this series, the first time they have been available since the 1970s.

The kits I found had been assembled (but not glued together), and partially painted. Whoever built them originally did a good and careful job.

After sorting through the parts, I found there were all the main parts for four models, with only a few minor accessories missing. I had the Saber Tooth Tiger, Cro-Magnon Man, Cro-Magnon Woman, and the Neanderthal Man.

Since he is the only one I could replace (with the Atlantis re-issue) if things went horribly wrong, I decided to start off by restoring the Saber Tooth Tiger, or Smilodon. This is kit No.733, and originally contained 24 parts (including the nameplate, which I do not have).

The kits may be simple, snap-together models, but they have two full sets of limbs giving a choice of pose. The limbs also move, or can be swapped around as desired.

First, a couple of photos showing how I got the model. I carefully took the model apart, without breaking anything, and removed as much of the original paint as I could using regular brown Dettol disinfectant, which is an effective paint stripper that will not dissolve the plastic.

The only part missing from my Tiger kit was the nameplate for the base. Everything else was there.

The base is one piece (this was later changed to a larger, two-piece base), with a two-piece tree, and the two-piece leg of some small animal. Painted in various shades of green, grey, and brown.

To help with the leg assembly, not only are the limb parts numbered, but they are also marked L or R, for Left or Right half. This certainly helps to keep everything organised, and shows the thought that Aurora put in to these kits.

There is an odd hole in the centre of the chest - I wonder if the spear of the Cro-Magnon Man would fit ? Since the spear is one of the parts missing from my Cro-Magnon Man kit, I can not check this.

The inside of the mouth needs to be painted before assembly. I used a dark pink, with a lighter pink for the tongue.

Off-white for the teeth and claws, and dark grey for the paw pads. Tiny black dots for the whisker holes - fanatics can drill these out and add actual whiskers.

The model is mainly a sandy yellow, with cream for the lower body and chin. I did think about adding some tiger stripes over the hindquarters, like a Tasmanian Tiger, but decided to keep things simple, and went with a plain coat.

I borrowed a book on Big Cats from the library to help with painting the face. The eyes, nose, and mouth are out-lined in matt black.

The eyes are gold, with a black dot for the pupil. Using metallic paint for the eyes gives them a slight lift that really makes them stand out, but the area is so small it is not obvious that the paint is metallic.

Sanding down the joins in the body and legs risked losing the moulded fur texture, so I just scraped these down lightly with a knife blade, and accepted that the joins were going to be visible to a certain extent.

The copyright date 1971 is visible inside one body half, and under the base. Overall length of the Tiger is just over 6 inches, or 15 cm.

This is a wonderful kit, and it is again available from Atlantis for anyone who missed it in the 1970s, along with the Cave Bear. I am now a big fan of the Prehistoric Scenes series, and plan on getting the re-issues to go with my Aurora originals.

Hope you like it.

Here is my earlier look at the Aurora boxes.

https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2024/04/pauls-aurora-prehistoric-scenes.html#comment-form

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Atlantis and Aurora Kits Update!

kindly forwarded by Paul A,

New Zealand

SAVE10 PERCENT

We hope everybody is having a great weekend! Now up for Preorder is the Aurora Blue Knight and The USS Bainbridge Both kits will feature the Aurora classic oval logo. These kits have not been issued for over 45 years! Get them while you can. Mickey Thompson Funny car we have about 24 in stock. All preorders have shipped along with the willy ley Orbital Rocket! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE ORDERS. If you spend $100.00 you will receive a free Atlantis Tee Shirt. You must add the Tee Shirt to the cart and choose your size. The price on the Tee will go to Zero once you have added $100.00 of Atlantis Products to the Shopping Cart. USE COUPON CODE NAME SAVE10 TO RECEIVE 10% OFF YOUR ORDER! Take a look at the Atlantis Appreciation group on Facebook! Leave us a review on Google and post your Atlantis builds we would appreciate it. We always get a lot of questions about molds, please read this blog post. Atlantis make awesome kits! The orbital rocket has never been reissued!   Atlantis thrives on keeping those childhood dreams alive. We have received so many calls and emails with this exact sentiment. We thank you. We did not realize the impact these old kits would have on all of you and ourselves. To take you back to these great memories is a blessing. Plenty more to come! If you are in need of any parts please submit requests to the Parts Requests We ship parts around the world and have the best customer service in the business. Once again we thank you all for the support! 2024 will be a great year for the Atlantis Nation. Most important Stay Healthy and Safe and build some models and make those new memories! Respectfully, Peter Vetri President Atlantis Toy and Hobby Inc.

Atlantis Toy and Hobby | 435 brook avenue Unit-16 | Deer Park, NY 11729 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice

The Aurora White X-15 Kit

Hi Woodsy,

In 1959 Aurora released a 1/48th scale kit of the North American X-15 supersonic research aircraft. The initial version was moulded in white and clear plastic - you had to paint on the red trim.

There were only eleven parts in the original kit, plus a two-part display stand in clear plastic. There was no undercarriage or cockpit detail, and the markings were engraved.

The kit was later revised, an undercarriage added, and the model was moulded in black plastic. This version was given new box art.

The box top said X-15 Satelloid Rocket Plane, and 'World's First Manned Space Ship'. Box art for the first version was by Jo (Josef) Kotula (1910-98), and shows the X-15 high above the Earth.

The term Satelloid covers low altitude satellites that need engines to maintain their altitude. A term I only know from its use on the Aurora kit box.

The kit number was 120-.98, the suffix meaning it originally sold for 98 cents. The copyright dates on the box and instruction sheet were 1958.

The Aurora kit came out the same year that the real X-15 first flew - two years before the first manned space flight. The X-15 only went in to space between 1962 and 1968, a year after the first manned rocket flights.

The three North American X-15 rocket planes made a total of 199 flights, between 1959 and 1968. Of the 199 flights, 13 exceeded an altitude of 50 miles, or 264,000 feet, and therefore crossed in to space under the definition of space used by the US Air Force.

The pilots of these flights were therefore awarded Astronaut Wings. The five USAF pilots got their Wings in the 1960s, but the three civilian pilots in the test programme had to wait until 2005 to receive their civilian Wings from NASA, by which time only one of the pilots was still alive.

Only two of the flights, both in 1963, exceeded 100 kilometres, or 62 miles, which is the definition of space used by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale/International Aviation Federation. The Wikipedia page for the X-15 includes a list of all 13 space flights.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_X-15

While the original Aurora kit is now a rare piece of modelling history, in a totally fictitious colour scheme, it would still be fun to paint up a normal X-15 model to match the box art. Even better, display it alongside a black version.

A word of warning. A number of on-line sales listings for this kit show the revised version in black plastic, with undercarriage, in the original issue box - as far as I know this is not correct.

Four photographs from Worthpoint.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

AURORA, MEGO AND CO: ARTO'S FANTASTIC JUTHBACKA FINDS

Arto has been kind enough to share pictures of his recent and amazing haul of vintage goodies at the Juthbacka vintage fair on the western coast of Finland.  The Juthbacka fair attracts sellers from Sweden too. 

A super post to end the summer, Feast your eyes!

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Aurora long box monster kits and Mego monsters, Super Heroes, Star Trek/ Space 1999

Assorted Super Heroes: Batcopter, Secret Wars, Super Powers and an Italian Diabolik figure, a candy box top!

Micronauts, Choc Rockets and Car [I have cropped this image and removed an amazing item that, with Arto's permission, will feature on the blog's anniversary  - our 16th bloggiversary - on September 15th. Watch this space!]

Atlantis and Aurora Kits

Hi Woodsy

Some time ago I signed up for emails from Atlantis Toy and Hobby, so I can keep up to date on their planned new releases. They recently announced that they have registered the old Aurora oval logo with the US Trademark office, and will be using it on some future kit re-issues.

First up will be a re-issue of the Blue Knight of Milan, and a re-stock of the already re-issued Silver Knight of Augsburg. So Aurora kits, and the Aurora name, will soon be back in the shops.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

The Greatest Catch of All Time

 I saw this fabulous framed print in a Kingsbridge charity shop this week. I wish I'd have got it now! 

I was immediately drawn to it because it reminded me of series of Aurora kits that fascinated me since first seeing them in Rick Polizzi's Classic Plastic book, Great Moments in Sport, the box art of which is simply stunning and includes boxing, football and baseball.

My favourite is Willie Mays

 Famous baseball Catch, a beautiful illustration.

I got to wondering if they they were the same artist of both the print and the box art?

After some digging, sadly they're not but they are both very well-known American artists in their own right.

The top framed print is by the late Frank McCarthy. I found the same image in an old fictional story, the Take-Charge Guy, from a May 1952 Colliers magazine online. Looks like they issued prints of it judging by what I saw in Kingsbridge. I don't know if the play shown is fictitious. Do you?

The Aurora box artist on the other hand was Mort Kunstler, who is still around and creating art. From what I can see online no prints of the Willie Mays painting are available, which is a shame.

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153593459825036&vanity=mortkunstler

Willie May's incredible move is known simply as The Catch and is widely seen as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, baseball catch of all time.

Here it is in real life, an amazing shot borrowed from Wikipedia, showing The Catch for the New York Giants, New York, 1954.

Have you got any baseball art or collectables or even the Aurora sports kits readers? 

AN AURORA KNIGHT?

 

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?