Glencoe Models

[Brian Austin]

I was surprised to find Glencoe's website to be fairly up-to-date.

I wasn't sure they were still a going concern.

They offer a wild variety of reissued old kits.  Their small-scale automotive kits originated with ITC Model Craft (Ideal Toy Corp) in the '50s.

http://www.glencoemodels.com/Online Catalog/MiniKits/MiniKits.html

Images from the website:

(More built-up samples can be found at  http://www.glencoemodels.com/Gallery/TheGallery.html

 

Background info and pictures regarding the original ITC/ Ideal kits and toys.

https://www.oldmodelkits.com/blog/plastic-model-kit-history/itc-ideal-toy-company-model-kit-history-and-cam-a-matic-action-used-in-the-halibut-uss-enterprise-thor-mercer-duesenburg-and-battling-betsy/

 

I have built two of their locomotive kits (turning them into nifty Christmas tree ornaments in the process) and I picked up their little Jaguar XK-120.  They aren't too bad for their size and age of tooling.  Now I want the Le Sabre and Indy Racer.  :-)

[Snake45]

Very cool, thanks for bringing this to our attention! 

[stavanzer]

http://modelingmadness.com/scott/cars/previews/01013.htm

 

Kit review of the Buick "LeSabre" Show car

Tiny Kit. Looks like a Cereal Box Prize. (which it may have been for all I know.)

[TooOld]

Cool old models !  I'd be interested in a couple but I went thru every link on every page of the website and there's no place to order anything . 

[SfanGoch]

Check out HOBBYLINC. About half of the product lineup is available.

Edited June 18, 2019 by SfanGoch

[Casey]

Related, since Glencoe owns some of the former ITC molds: https://www.oldmodelkits.com/blog/plastic-model-kit-history/itc-ideal-toy-company-model-kit-history-and-cam-a-matic-action-used-in-the-halibut-uss-enterprise-thor-mercer-duesenburg-and-battling-betsy/

[keyser]

Jeez, I need another Duesy SJN, and the Staggerwing (issued in mid-late 60's for Staggerwing club), Bonanza.

[unclescott58]

On 7/11/2020 at 11:02 PM, keyser said:

Jeez, I need another Duesy SJN, and the Staggerwing (issued in mid-late 60's for Staggerwing club), Bonanza.

The Stagger caught my eye. How good or bad was this and Bonanza kit? How does the ITC Stagger compare to the AMT kit, which I like a lot? 

 

[Dave Van]

I'll take the Dragnet 1955 Ford 4 door in 1/25......wonder what it was like???

[Mike999]

2 hours ago, Dave Van said:

I'll take the Dragnet 1955 Ford 4 door in 1/25......wonder what it was like???

It's in the always popular 1/19 scale. ?  But you get an official Joe Friday badge in the box, so there's that.

The first link below is a Worthpoint listing that shows the parts layout. The second link is a Mat Irvine article at Scale Model News, where he compares it to the Revell '57 Ford police car kit.

Jack Webb trivia:  he grew up dirt-poor in the old Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles.  Raised by his mother and grandmother after his father ditched the family.  The developers flattened Bunker Hill and "gentrified" that whole area in the 1960s.  You can see the original  Bunker Hill in many old movies on TCM.  Especially "Kiss Me Deadly" from 1955, which also stars a '54 Corvette and a bunch of vintage British sports cars.  Also Cloris Leachman in her very first movie part.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vtg-1955-dragnet-joe-friday-police-252389651

https://www.scalemodelnews.com/2014/08/dragnet-style-law-enforcer-from-times.html

 

Edited July 31, 2020 by Mike999
goof

[keyser]

5 hours ago, unclescott58 said:

The Stagger caught my eye. How good or bad was this and Bonanza kit? How does the ITC Stagger compare to the AMT kit, which I like a lot? 

It's ok. Done in 60's so panel lines,etc not up to standards. It's 1/32, so bigger than rest. Here's a current listing for a Staggerwing club issue on the bay 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EXTREMELY-RARE-Beechcraft-Staggerwing-1-32-scale-plastic-model-kit/233662680818?hash=item3667618ef2:g:iZYAAOSwtjdfFjOa No affliation, I'd have bought it in old days. Bonanza similar kit, also 1/32.

The nicest Staggerwings imo are the AMT G17, 1:48; the Roden D71, also 1:48. Sword did stellar range of 1:72 Staggerwings including a float plane. 

I'd like to find an early V35 Bonanza with the door window and the "opera window" only. Seemingly only way to get one is saw it up project.

[Dave Van]

5 hours ago, Mike999 said:

It's in the always popular 1/19 scale. ?  But you get an official Joe Friday badge in the box, so there's that.

The first link below is a Worthpoint listing that shows the parts layout. The second link is a Mat Irvine article at Scale Model News, where he compares it to the Revell '57 Ford police car kit.

Jack Webb trivia:  he grew up dirt-poor in the old Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles.  Raised by his mother and grandmother after his father ditched the family.  The developers flattened Bunker Hill and "gentrified" that whole area in the 1960s.  You can see the original  Bunker Hill in many old movies on TCM.  Especially "Kiss Me Deadly" from 1955, which also stars a '54 Corvette and a bunch of vintage British sports cars.  Also Cloris Leachman in her very first movie part.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vtg-1955-dragnet-joe-friday-police-252389651

https://www.scalemodelnews.com/2014/08/dragnet-style-law-enforcer-from-times.html

 

You are speaking my language!!!! 

I grew up in LA 1960 to 1970. I was fascinated with Bunker Hill......it was pretty bad by the 60's but still a lot of the BIG old houses. My buddy;s Dad worked for a construction company that flattened most of the Hill. He HATED his job,,,,,but it paid so well he left and started his own company. He always told us of the buildings he saw. And I am a big Webb fan.....I watch every Dragnet (60's version) on METV daily. He was working on a new Dragnet when while filming Eps 1 he died from the heart attack........I'd love to have seen what he had planned! 

The Ford ITC kit does not look to bad....I'd buy one today anyway! Thanks 

[unclescott58]

4 hours ago, keyser said:

It's ok. Done in 60's so panel lines,etc not up to standards. It's 1/32, so bigger than rest. Here's a current listing for a Staggerwing club issue on the bay 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EXTREMELY-RARE-Beechcraft-Staggerwing-1-32-scale-plastic-model-kit/233662680818?hash=item3667618ef2:g:iZYAAOSwtjdfFjOa No affliation, I'd have bought it in old days. Bonanza similar kit, also 1/32.

The nicest Staggerwings imo are the AMT G17, 1:48; the Roden D71, also 1:48. Sword did stellar range of 1:72 Staggerwings including a float plane. 

I'd like to find an early V35 Bonanza with the door window and the "opera window" only. Seemingly only way to get one is saw it up project.

From what I can see, using the above link, it does not look too bad. I like the decals. Offering one a choice to do it in just about any color combination one could want. I don't know it worth $50. But, at the right price it might be worth picking up. 

I'm glad to hear you find the AMT G17 to be one of nicest Staggerwing kits out there. I agree. I've built two over the years. And I was pleased with them both. I've wondered about Roden kit. And I can't remember if I've know about or even seen the Sword kits in the past or not? I feel like I may run across them. But, I'm not sure. 

[Mike999]

On 7/31/2020 at 6:11 PM, Dave Van said:

I grew up in LA 1960 to 1970. I was fascinated with Bunker Hill......it was pretty bad by the 60's but still a lot of the BIG old houses...

Yep, some of those old houses were huge and rambling.  Most were originally private mansions, built before all the rich people moved from downtown L.A. to Pasadena. ?  Then they got turned into boarding houses.   Many Bunker Hill residents were retirees from city or county government, and the courts, which were all in the same neighborhood.  For $10 a week back in the 1950's, they got a room with a sink and hot plate, and a shared bathroom down the hall.

I lived in L.A. for many years, but the old Bunker Hill was long gone by the time I got there.  I learned a lot about it from this great book.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Mike999
omit

[Junkman]

As far as I'm aware based on personal experience, Glencoe is a one man show, run by a guy who traced his roots to Glencoe in Scotland.

I once approached him about reissuing the S.S. France, which is a 1/450 scale model originally made as an assembled shop window display for travel agencies in the early Sixties.
He told me well, that's actually a good idea, all that needs to be done is throw the moulds into the machine, get some plastic dye and order some cartons from the printer.
This made me think, if it's that easy, then what are the likes of Round2 dicking about all the time?
Anyway, not a Month later, brand new S.S. Frances were offered by the usual sources on eBay.

 

Contact him. Not only is he a great conversationalist, but he is very open minded to boot, and a bit on the likeable eccentric side.

 

Edited August 7, 2020 by Junkman

[Dave Van]

On 8/2/2020 at 9:41 AM, Mike999 said:

Yep, some of those old houses were huge and rambling.  Most were originally private mansions, built before all the rich people moved from downtown L.A. to Pasadena. ?  Then they got turned into boarding houses.   Many Bunker Hill residents were retirees from city or county government, and the courts, which were all in the same neighborhood.  For $10 a week back in the 1950's, they got a room with a sink and hot plate, and a shared bathroom down the hall.

I lived in L.A. for many years, but the old Bunker Hill was long gone by the time I got there.  I learned a lot about it from this great book.

Dragnet had a few episodes based on a declining Bunker Hill.......even covered how many retires lived in the old homes now apartments. 

I have to look for that book!!!! Thanks

[Mark]

On 8/7/2020 at 6:54 PM, Junkman said:

 

I once approached him about reissuing the S.S. France, which is a 1/450 scale model originally made as an assembled shop window display for travel agencies in the early Sixties.
He told me well, that's actually a good idea, all that needs to be done is throw the moulds into the machine, get some plastic dye and order some cartons from the printer.
This made me think, if it's that easy, then what are the likes of Round2 dicking about all the time?
Anyway, not a Month later, brand new S.S. Frances were offered by the usual sources on eBay.

 

 

 

For one thing, few of the ITC/Glencoe tools were ever modified over the years.  They haven't been updated to next year's version, modified from civilian to military versions (as some ship and aircraft model tools were), or butchered into something else just to follow the trends of the day (as with many car kit tools). 

They haven't been sold or moved as many times as other companies' stuff either, with some of it being scattered to the winds or scrapped along the way.  Since ITC wasn't as big as other companies in its heyday, they probably didn't sell as many of any one item either, leaving the tools in better condition for Glencoe to put back into production.

Too, I'd bet Glencoe is flying well under anyone's radar in cases where licensing is concerned, reducing costs and allowing production decisions to be made quickly. 

[Mike999]

On 8/7/2020 at 7:11 PM, Dave Van said:

Dragnet had a few episodes based on a declining Bunker Hill.......even covered how many retires lived in the old homes now apartments. 

I have to look for that book!!!! Thanks

Just a few days ago on Turner Classic Movies, I caught a movie shot in 1961, mostly around the Angel's Flight/Bunker Hill neighborhood.  "The Exiles."  It's not a very good movie. Sort of a semi-documentary, following some Native Americans as they drink and carouse over one Friday night.

The shots of downtown L.A. in 1961 made it worth watching (with Fast-Forward!).  Along with Bunker Hill, we see a lot of old Main Street.  And one long scene takes place at a gas station on Sunset Blvd.  We also get to see lots of neat vintage cars.

Edited August 9, 2020 by Mike999
goof

[SfanGoch]

1 hour ago, Mark said:

Since ITC wasn't as big as other companies in its heyday

It certainly was, Mark. Ideal Toy Company, in its heyday during the 1960s through the mid 1970s, was one of the top three U.S. toy companies, behind Marx and Hasbro.

[Mark]

But they were about as big in model kits, as AMT was in board games...

[SfanGoch]

Your comment was specifically about ITC, which was Ideal Toy Company. ITC refers to the entire company, not just the ITC/Model Craft division; therefore, in terms of sales, it was one of the Big Three toy companies, regardless of how you wish to parse it.

[Mark]

Well, I was referring to it strictly from the model kit standpoint (this isn't a "toys and games" message board, so I wasn't expecting anyone to bring those into the discussion).  In the model kit arena, ITC jumped in in the Fifties along with many other companies.  For whatever reason, they decided not to stay in that business.  By the time that happened, they weren't considered to be a major player in model kits.  So, I guess I'll stick by what I said initially.