 |
| Click to enlarge, then click again for optimum size |
Remember all those great AURORA superhero and glow-in-the-dark monster kits from the '60s & '70s. You probably won't if you're under 35, but to people my age, these plastic assembly kits were one of the things that made childhood so much fun. Building things doesn't seem to be something that modern kids are interested in - they'd much rather be out destroying bus shelters and park benches than know the joy of actually creating something with their own two hands. Instead of proudly holding up a model kit and saying to their friends "I built and painted this!", they much prefer to point out their latest act of vandalism and crow "That was me and big Stef - we wuz out our effin' heads man. Effin' brilliant fun!" Oh, don't get me started.
I'm lucky enough to own several original Aurora kits, plus quite a few of the reissues by MONOGRAM, MOEBIUS and POLAR LIGHTS that have been made available over the years since the sad demise of the original manufacturer in the dim and distant days of 1978. One day I may even get around to assembling and painting them. Anyway, for all those nostalgic old fogeys like myself, here's an ad that appeared in The NEW YORK TIMES way back in 1966. Truly, it only seems like yesterday that such great kits could be seen in toyshops the length and breadth of Britain (and other countries of course). Ah, for such great and glorious days again! Anybody got an old time machine they don't want? And I ain't talkin' clocks or watches.
I think kids in the '70s were probably vandalising bus shelters too ! I have vague memories of a Frankenstein kit but I must have seen it advertised on TV because I'm sure I didn't own one. For me it was mainly Airfix stuff like battleships and planes and I definitely had a model of the 1976 Mars Viking lander. I also had model kits of R2D2 from Star Wars as well as a TIE fighter and X fighter from that film. If you haven't assembled your models by now you probably never will, Kid !
ReplyDeleteI'm sure some did, but not as many. In my day, local shops didn't need metal shutters to protect the windows. Nowadays, after closing hours, every row of neighbourhood shops looks like a fortress. Proof that vandalism has increased from when I was a boy. Don't you worry, CJ - I'll get them built - it's finding space to display them that's going to be a problem.
ReplyDelete