Psychographic Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 As there some people on here who have a vast knowledge of tooling and history for old companies, I'm wondering if anyone knows if any tooling for the old Aurora 1/32 hot rod kits are still around. I remember there being some cool little kits. If you can find any, they seem to go for ridiculous prices. Is there any chance we will ever see these kits re-released? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 I doubt any of them still exist. Not much from the Aurora purchase seems to have survived, which IMHO isn't too surprising considering how off-the-wall some of the subjects were -- I mean, '37 Packard and a '39 LaSalle hot rod hearse kits? If you want them, buy originals now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SfanGoch Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 Off-the-wall but cool. If you haven't seen this before, here are Aurora catalogs from the early '50s to 1977: The Aurora Catalog Pages 1950's Thru 1977! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted March 19, 2018 Author Share Posted March 19, 2018 (edited) 10 hours ago, Casey said: I doubt any of them still exist. Not much from the Aurora purchase seems to have survived, which IMHO isn't too surprising considering how off-the-wall some of the subjects were -- I mean, '37 Packard and a '39 LaSalle hot rod hearse kits? If you want them, buy originals now. I'd much rather have a Packard or LaSalle than a reissue of a custom rod with a dog house body. There were many cool hot rods from that era, Sad Sack, Chariot, Ram Rod, Wolf Wagon, Tee for Two, and more. 21 minutes ago, SfanGoch said: Off-the-wall but cool. If you haven't seen this before, here are Aurora catalogs from the early '50s to 1977: The Aurora Catalog Pages 1950's Thru 1977! What a great record of the history of Aurora kits. Thanks for posting that. Edited March 19, 2018 by Psychographic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 9 hours ago, Casey said: If you want them, buy originals now. And as Mr. Zevon said, "Bring lawyers, guns and MONEY." I just checked the 2006 edition of Tom Graham's book "Aurora Model Kits." So 12 years ago, original 1/32 hot rod kits were going for an estimated $45-70. Except for the '39 La Salle "Hearse With A Curse" and '37 Packard Ambulance "Meat Wagon." Their prices were $85-90, with the note "Collectors seek this (kit) because of unusual subject and short production." Graham says: Aurora originally released 22 hot rod kits in 1/32 scale. All used the same 409 Chevy-based engine except for kit #603, the '27 Ford T Coupe "Snap Dragin." It has a Ford 390. And the 409-based kits had different carburetors, manifolds and exhausts to make them look a little different. Your best/cheapest bet is to find one of the 6 kits from the final re-issue before Aurora shut down, with photos for box art: the Dune Buggy, '32 Ford Sedan, '22 T Sedan, T Dragster, '24 Buick Touring and '32 Ford Pickup. Their kit numbers were #620-625. The Dune Buggy was a re-issue of the earlier 1/32 Hurst Baja Boot, without the roof and spare tires. Those kits were going for $25-30 back in 2006. As you can see, Graham's book is a treasure trove of Aurora trivia, and it has small color photos of all the kits (including the 1/32 sports cars). The latest 2017 edition also covers Moebius, Polar Lights and Atlantis re-issues of Aurora kits. I don't have that book yet, but may have to fix that... https://www.amazon.com/Aurora-Model-Kits-Moebius-Atlantis/dp/0764352830 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 At least three of the Aurora 1/32s survived for a while--the '65 Mustang, Barracuda, and GTO. Monogram sold the GTO in its boxes--I have one. Never saw the Cuda in boxes but I bought a couple of them unboxed and "bagged" from Squadron in the '80s or early '90s. And I never saw the Mustang, but I did see ads for it; Monogram (or somebody) was using it as a giveaway to join some kind of modeling club. I have a Mako Shark left over from my childhood--still have the box, too. I remember building the Triumph Spitfire and it was a cool little kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddyfink Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 21 minutes ago, Snake45 said: At least three of the Aurora 1/32s survived for a while--the '65 Mustang, Barracuda, and GTO. Monogram sold the GTO in its boxes--I have one. Never saw the Cuda in boxes but I bought a couple of them unboxed and "bagged" from Squadron in the '80s or early '90s. And I never saw the Mustang, but I did see ads for it; Monogram (or somebody) was using it as a giveaway to join some kind of modeling club. I have a Mako Shark left over from my childhood--still have the box, too. I remember building the Triumph Spitfire and it was a cool little kit. It was the "Young Model Builders Club" and they used to send out both Revell and Monogram kits. I had the mustang once, and I had not idea it was an Aurora kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 Is this box art scene supposed to depict someone picking up his girlfriend after her shift is over at the hospital, or...? I can't imagine she would be to eager to ride in a car with "MEAT WAGON" on the doors. I appreciate the counter-culture/rebellious hot rodder theme in the box art, and I bought the mako shark box myself strictly because of the art, but this is really corny: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted March 19, 2018 Author Share Posted March 19, 2018 Casey, you have to remember it was the mid 60's(?) when these came out. And if you think "Meat Wagon" was bad, back in the van days, I remember a van called the "Necromancer". Could you imagine a guy coming to your house to pick up your daughter for a first date with her new boyfriend and seeing that in your driveway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 37 minutes ago, Casey said: Is this box art scene supposed to depict someone picking up his girlfriend after her shift is over at the hospital, or...? I can't imagine she would be to eager to ride in a car with "MEAT WAGON" on the doors. He's dropping her off at work. See the blacked-out rear windows of the Meat Wagon? Posing as a nurse, she'll spend her work shift secretly harvesting limbs and organs to stash in the back of the Meat Wagon. They need those things for their secret medical experiments - creating an army of neatly-groomed zombies in letter-sweaters who will kill every living thing on earth with sheer boredom. I remember those three (?) Aurora 1/32 kits in Monogram boxes. The awesomely talented, and sadly late modeler Duane J. Pfister built a great 1/32 "Used Car Lot" diorama with them. I know his dio used the Pontiac GTO and maybe the Mustang. It was in an issue of "Scale Modeler" magazine. He converted military figures into a used-car salesman wearing a Hawaiian shirt and his sucker. The cars were rusty and dented with ridiculously high price tags. Just like the real "Buy Here-Pay Here" car lots in Southern Calif. catering to young military personnel. I thought I had that SM magazine but can't find it. Starting with nothing but a set of wheels and sheet plastic from "Yard Sale" signs, Pfister scratch-built a 1/25 scale M25 Dragon Wagon tank recovery vehicle. And its trailer. Now THAT's scale modeling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 10 minutes ago, Psychographic said: Casey, you have to remember it was the mid 60's(?) when these came out. I'm aware. The kits and box art do seem appropriate for the time period, and there was plenty of overlap between the counter-culture and hot-rodder back then, too, so it makes sense. I'm just not convinced bringing any of the kits from this series would be a wise move. I do like the Old Ironsides and Chevy Custom pickup kits' box art, though: Nope, no references to anything with this one...: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggon Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 Old Ironsides is on my grail list. I just can't spend over $50 on a glue bomb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 I always liked the art for Aurora's "Demolition Demon." The boxtop text says '57 Ford, but the art (and parts) sure look like a '56 Ford. While looking for that, I found the the Airfix 1/32 scale Sunbeam Rapier. With driver escaping from burning car. Quick, send the Aurora Meat Wagon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 54 minutes ago, Draggon said: Old Ironsides is on my grail list. I just can't spend over $50 on a glue bomb. You should build one in 1/25 scale. Nobody could say whichever pickup you start with is the incorrect one, and with all those slab sides, it wouldn't be too difficult to whip up a body shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggon Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 21 minutes ago, Casey said: You should build one in 1/25 scale. Nobody could say whichever pickup you start with is the incorrect one, and with all those slab sides, it wouldn't be too difficult to whip up a body shell. Yep, I've thought about the starting with the Monogram Jinx express for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 8 hours ago, SfanGoch said: Off-the-wall but cool. If you haven't seen this before, here are Aurora catalogs from the early '50s to 1977: The Aurora Catalog Pages 1950's Thru 1977! This is a fun site. Even beyond the catalogs. A lot to see there. I love it. Thank you Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted March 19, 2018 Author Share Posted March 19, 2018 I think I would like to try to do a 1/25 scale clone of "The Chariot", but I'm not having any luck finding any pics of the box art. Can anyone help with a pic or link to one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 Looks like the Butterfly Catcher and Old Ironsides are scale siblings. Saw this one for $65 a few weekends ago, but not much of a Baja Boot fan: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted March 19, 2018 Author Share Posted March 19, 2018 Darn small images in those catalogs! I just looked with stronger glasses. The one I want to do is "The Charger" I guess that explains why I couldn't find any pics of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 10 minutes ago, Psychographic said: The one I want to do is "The Charger" I guess that explains why I couldn't find any pics of it I swear someone mentioned this kit or a story related to it not that long ago here on the forum, maybe something regarding all the kids being the artist's family? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Psychographic said: Darn small images in those catalogs! I just looked with stronger glasses. The one I want to do is "The Charger" I guess that explains why I couldn't find any pics of it Maybe this will help. It was posted in one of our box art threads. And that box art tells a great story. The more I look at it, the more I see. Somebody said the artist, Mort Kunstler, used his own kids as models for the rug-rats on the fence. EDIT: that was weird! Casey and I posted the same thing at nearly the same time. Edited March 19, 2018 by Mike999 omit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted March 19, 2018 Author Share Posted March 19, 2018 I wonder if there is a pic of the rear view anywhere to be found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 7 hours ago, Draggon said: Old Ironsides is on my grail list. I just can't spend over $50 on a glue bomb. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1970-Aurora-Butterfly-Catcher-Hippie-Truck-Van-Model/292480800554?hash=item441936d72a:g:lHMAAOSw~vNaprt- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Dave Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Now you guys have me considering converting a Revellogram Jinx Expre$$ into a 1/24 scale Old Ironsides - inspired pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 1 minute ago, Dirty Dave said: Now you guys have me considering converting a Revellogram Jinx Expre$$ into a 1/24 scale Old Ironsides - inspired pickup. Do It! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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