April 2025 Update: Old Revell and Aurora kits reissued

[Snake45]

The old solid nose Monogram Douglas Invader in 1/67....since it has USAF markings, I guess that makes it a B-26B.

Yes, it's an 8-gun B-26B. Not very detailed, but for my money, in overall shape, still the most accurate Invader kit ever made, in any scale. I did one as a solid "desk model" for my Dad of his airplane back in the '70s, and repaired and restored it about a decade ago. It sat proudly on his dresser for many years, until Mom knocked it off and broke off a wing and several prop blades, necessitating the repairs/restoration

[JohnB]

Snake

Nice work on the Invader. My big brother built one back in the day along with Monogram's similar scale B-25H.

Some purists out their nose up at the old box-scale kits, but as you demonstrate, they make nice desk or display models for someone who doesn't need a $40-60 super detailed kit.
Also, at $20, a good way to get kids into modeling.

I remember for many years, until Airfix came out with their 1/72 Invader, it was the only one available in any scale.

Too bad it doesn't have a glass nose option, that way you could build the plane from Always. Of course you'd have to get rid of the turret and sand down the decal placement lines....

BTW..Was your dad in the 13th BS?
That's the unit that comes to mind when you see a black Invader.

[Snake45]

BTW..Was your dad in the 13th BS?
That's the unit that comes to mind when you see a black Invader.

37th BS, 17 BW, same as Bob Mikesh, though later.

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[Steve Nelson]

I picked up the 1/12 Wright Cyclone recently. It's not a "visible" kit, but I think it does have one cutaway cylinder (I haven't studied it that closely.) Problem is, I did a bit of research online and apparently it's a single magneto model with no prop governor..in short, a Sherman tank engine with a "club" prop stuck on.

Naturally they're bringing back the CV990. That one was on my "holy grail" list for decades until I ran across a Revell boxing a few years back. Fortunately it only set me back 40 bucks, probably not much more than what the Atlantis boxing will retail for. I understand the kit was based on a prototype and actually has the wrong engines for a production aircraft. That doesn't matter to me as I've always wanted to build a diorama of a long-gone restaurant I once worked in that was made from the engine-less carcass of a 990.

All in all, I think it's great that Atlantis is bringing back some of these "moldy oldies." They're a great trip down memory lane for us oldsters, and hopefully some simple and (relatively) inexpensive kits might get some of the younger crowed interested in the hobby.

Cheers!

Steve

[JohnB]

All in all, I think it's great that Atlantis is bringing back some of these "moldy oldies." They're a great trip down memory lane for us oldsters, and hopefully some simple and (relatively) inexpensive kits might get some of the younger crowed interested in the hobby.
Cheers
Steve

That's why I'm talking these guys up.
I'm not getting paid. Really.

The Atlantis 1/64 B-25 at $20 is half the price of the new Airfix 1/72 Mitchell. No, in terms of detail there is no comparison, but the ancient Revell is certainly good enough for a beginner. After all, all the expert modelers past a certain age, got their start with kits like that.

The MSRP for their 990 kit is $21.99, but if you get their emails they usually have a 10% discount. Also, many hobby chains (Hobby Town) have them at MSRP (you can save on shipping).
Vintage Flyer has several 990 decal sets for $17.50, so all in you are just short of the $40 you paid for your vintage Revell kit.

And while they haven't done much to improve the old aircraft molds, they have offered better decals with multiple options and stands. It's not out of the realm of possibility they won't improve them, they have made improvements (adding "glass" and re-tooled wheels and tires) to several of the car kits they have reissued.I

I'm not sure even they know what they have. Sadly some of the old classic kits have been lost (or sold off during Monogram ownership), but if they get enough response, they'll reissued more.
They are aware of the interest in the old 1/240 Monogram Air Power set, if the missile collection does well, maybe they'll retool it.

[JohnB]

Just in time for Memorial Day, Atlantis has released the artwork for their re-release of the Monogram B-26 in 1/67.


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[JohnB]

Here's the new artwork for the F-100C and B-36.

About the B-36...if you want to have the red arctic markings, to be correct you should leave off the jets.
The kit is of a jet-equipped model, so a D, F, H, J or H.

There were something like 15 Bs modified for arctic use, called GEM program (I have not found a number of them with the red, perhaps all?), but as Bs, they would not have had the jets.

To do a correct B, all you would have to do is leave off the jets and re-serial it (the converted Bs kept their original serial numbers).
The serial on the decals "452057" is the one Revell scribed on the original molds, at any rate, according to my sources, it is a fictitious serial.
And in case you are wondering, Sixty-four of the 73 Bs were converted to Ds.

The new F-100 artwork is striking, though I don't know if any Cs were used in Vietnam...not that it matters given the external similarity between it and Ds.


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[JohnB]

Atlantis is not the only firm using the old Aurora molds.
Glencoe, another smaller firm, has been reissuing old Lindbergh, ITC, Lincoln, Hawk and Aurora kits (and perhaps others) for the last 30 years or so. They have a very esoteric line up....armour, aircraft, space, figures, ships.

They have done some of the old Aurora 1/48 scale WWI series...The Albatros, Nieuport and SPAD, and though not WWI, certainly in the ballpark...the Martin MB-2.

Now they have reissued the Aurora JN-4 "Jenny".
This comes on the heels of the Atlantis re-issue of the ex-Lindbergh Jenny in the same scale.
It comes with several alternate decal options.
It would be interesting to compare the kits.

The Glencoe website description of the kit is incorrect.
Aurora did re-use their Jenny kit after its original 1956 release.
In 1960 (according to the Scalemates kit history site) it was matched with their DH-4 and issued as a "Barnstorming" set.
Coincidentally, Atlantis is using some of those fictitious civil markings in their Jenny kit.


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[JohnB]

It has been awhile, but Atlantis has announced a new aircraft kit , ( they have been busy with ships, cars and figures).

They are re-releasing the Monogram Boeing SST from 1968 and last seen in 1973. It is 1/400 scale and comes with a stand and moveable swing wings (Boeing later revised their design to have fixed wings).
The original kit have United markings, this will have Boeing house colors and Pan Am.
The inclusion of Pan Am markings is significant because in the past, Atlantis officials have said the licensing fees for them and other airlines had become prohibitively expensive. Hence the house markings for their recent 707 kit and NASA for the Convair 990.

Atlantis says more information on future releases will be released soon in their 2023 catalog.

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[JohnB]

Another older kit, this time from Revell

The BOMARC Surface to Air Missile.
It was last released by Revell as late as 2016 as one of their "SSP" re-issues.
Personally, I half expected any old kits re-issued that recently (by the old Revell) would still have their molds in Germany or China or where ever and would have been included in the asserts received by the new Revell, but apparently that is not the case. Some were obviously included in the sale to Atlantis.

It is in 1/56 scale and comes with an intricate moveable launch platform.
Like the last Revell issue, it comes with an extensive decal set in USAF, RCAF and CAF markings. The USAF titles come in either red or white.

When the missile was new circa 1959, Aurora also did kit of it in 1/48 scale. It was only issued once. Monogram did a smaller version in their "Space Missile" collection in its original '50s and revised updated '80s versions.
The newer version has also been recently released by Atlantis.


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[JohnB]

Though it was announced awhile ago, Atlantis has now released the box art for the upcoming reissue of the Lindberg 1/48 Curtiss Jenny kit with the long time Lindbergh artwork.
This follows in the steps of Glencoe re-issueing the similar scale ex-Aurora kit...see August 2022 post above.

What makes this interesting is Atlantis, which got many old Aurora molds from Revell of Germany (which got them from Monogram)...did not get most of the famous Aurora WWI/inter-war kits. (In an email from one of the company officers, I was told they got one). Many of the kits went to K&B and later, Glencoe.

However, Atlantis apparently did get some Aurora paperwork and decal files, so Atlantis is offering the 1960 Barnstomer (Jenny and Dh-4 set) reissue decals with their Jenny release. So, in case you're keeping score, you can get reproduction Aurora decals with the Lindberg kit.

I may try to get a Glencoe kit to compare them. The other day I found an old Lindberg issue in my garage, it would be fun to compare the similar age kits side by side....and to see which decals Glencoe has.
I have been very impressed with Atlantis decals, so if you want to build the Glencoe/Aurora kit, you might want to pick up the Atlantis just for the decals.

Why should a WIX member care?
Well, it's best known for being the mount of Barnstormers in the 1920s, after all, a unknown future airmail pilot named Lindbergh had one, which he famously flew to his Army trading in Texas.
But remember, they were built to train WWI pilots. They were widely used in the US, Canada and UK. There are many paint and decal options.

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[JohnB]

Glencoe's catalog has another surprise, the ex-ITC Beech G17 Staggerwing.
I have never seen one built, way before my time.
It would be interesting to see, the only ex-ITC kit I have seen is the Grumman Goose re-released by Lindberg...It has issues (wrongly shaped and too small vertical stabilizer).
I'd like to see this up close if for no other reason than see if this is better than the ITC Goose.

It's in 1/32 scale and according to Scalemates, was last released in the '70s by Staggerwings Unlimited out of Illinois.

It will be usefully larger than the old AMT 1/48 kit and the various 1/72 kits of the type.

The box art shows the usual Beech "bird". But remember, the type had a lot of military use, so you could paint it in USAAF, USN or RAF colors to go with a 1/32 collection. Might be best as a ferry ship casually parked next to a fighter. (Note: the model is a post-war G17 an improved, cleaned up vetsion, no not 100% correct for a wartime D17. But to be honest, very few would notice it.)

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[JohnB]

It's been awhile that Atlantis has released a new old aircraft.

They surprised me by announcing a resissue of the Revell Convair B-58 Hustler in 1/91 scale. A later box said It measures out to be nearly a foot long, so it's decent size despite being non-standard.

It was originally released in 1957, while the bomber was still being tested, and according to Scalemates, last released in 1987...so 36 years ago. At that age, it will be new to many of you.
The box art is from the initial release and shows a red/white marked prototype over a normal example.


The kit had five changes in box art for U.S. releases, plus a couple more for international kits.

Remember that Revell's long time rival (and later partner) Monogram made a similar box scale kit in 1/121 scale. It featured a dropable fuel/weapons pod (Monogram was big on working features at that time) and was last released in 1996.

Similar sized Hustlers were released by Aurora in 1/76 and Lindbergh in 1/85.
Monogram also did a 1/240 as part of their famed "Air Power" kit. It was later released with a B-57 and B-66 as a Bomber set.

Italeri/Testors finally did a B-58 in 1/72 in 1984.

The big Revell 1/48 B-58 was initially released by Monogram in 1985.

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[JohnB]

Well, Atlantis finally made some new aircraft reissue announcements.

The largest, both in size and importance considering the rarity of the subject and the fact the kit hasn't been seen for decades, is the reissue of the 1/108 C-141A Starlifter.
It was one of Aurora's later kits and was for many years, the only C-141 available. It has not been available since Aurora ceased operations in the early '70s. Scalemates indicates it was only issued once. I have heard that it was often built as a "desk model" for Air Force 141 guys. Some of you older guys may have built it, but I'm not sure I've even seen it built. It's scale of 1/108 comes out to 1 inch equals nine feet, so exactly halfway between 1/72 and 1/144. Given the size of the aircraft, it should be impressive. Atlantis usually does nice decals, hopefully they'll have multiple options though A models were primarily NMF and later, gray/white. One, built as a civil demonstrator, eventually ended up with NASA as a flying telescope, that might be an interesting conversion...or an excuse to put one in civil colors.

The announcement also mentioned the rare Revell 1/128 WV-2 Warning Star, a Lockheed Super Constellation radar aircraft. It hasn't been seen in decades. It is the same airframe as the Air Force R/EC-121D....so you could build it as that....though there may be decal placement lines to deal with.

Along the same line, and in pretty much the same scale as the C-141, the Revell 1/104 P2V Neptune. It was issued with and without skids, so we will have to wait.
Again, there might be placement lines....but it could be marked in many way, it had a long USN career so it could be blue or the later gray/white. Another variant would be the Air Force RB-69 ELINT aircraft. It also served with just about every Western country, so if you have the decals, your choices are endless.
Also expected are the Revell Skyrocket Navy research plane and the old F-94C Starfire (to go along with the Revell/Atlantis F-89 Scorpion....both of which guarded the DEW line in countless boys bedrooms on the '50s-'60s).

Other models coming out include the Lindbergh Convair "Pogo" fighter and the Saab Draken, both in stated 1/48.
I will provide updates and box art when available

Finally, in case you didn't see it elsewhere on WIX, allow me to mention that a frequent poster to this forum recently passed away...RIP "Snake45".



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[JohnB]

A surprise...
We all know that Monogram and Revell merged before the economic troubles which saw Revell Germany become the surviving entity.
Thus, it has reissued many legacy Revell and Monogram kits.
With the sale of most of the really old (50-60s "box scale" and ex Aurora) molds to Atlantis, the new Revell has been re-issuing only the more modern Monogram kits from the 70s-on.

So, I was surprised to see the return of the 1956 vintage T-28 Trojan kit, now in Red Bull markings.
It was originally released as a US Navy T-28B in then period yellow, the following year came out in silver as a USAF T-28A.
I believed they switched props, but probably not the engine/cowl (the AF aircraft had a different/smaller engine and a two-blade prop).

Like many Monogram 1:48 kits of the period, it had folding landing gear and opening canopy.

Scalemates says it was last seen in 2008, a release which I've never seen in person.

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