Aurora models were my introduction to plastic modeling and figure in my earliest memories; in fact, I remember going to school on my first day of Kindergarten clutching the Aurora 1/48 scale MiG-19 in my hand (most other kids has teddy bears and blankets, from what I can remember).  I built a pile of these kits and played with them for years.  The Moon Bus and the Pan Am Clipper from 2001: A Space Odyssey are kits that I very much regret finally throwing out in the late 1970s.  I'm not quite sure why it survived, but the ancient U-505 kit I built when I was 7 still occupies a place of honour in my display cabinet; I was thrilled when, 30 years after building the model, I finally saw the real thing at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

 

Thomas Graham's excellent history of Aurora's plastic model is a great stroll down memory lane for me, but it's much more than that.  It chronicles the rise and eventual fall of perhaps the most innovative company in plastic modeling history.  From their earliest garishly moulded 1/48 scale World War II fighters through to their incredibly successful monster models and science fiction kits, Aurora had something for everybody.  The box art (which was truly stunning by the 1960s) may have been much better than what was in the box, but these kits still could not be topped for fun.  My love of armour kits, for instance, began with Aurora's line of 1/48 scale kits, and some of my favourite subjects (the X-15, S-Tank, 155 mm Long Tom, and the MBT70) are probably such because of the kits of these I had as a child.

 

All of the big parts of Aurora's history are here, from their humble beginnings pirating a couple of Hawk kits (the 1/48 XF9F Panther and XF-90) to their domination of the industry in the 1960s.  Unlike companies such as Revell and Monogram, Aurora was more interested in being the first on the market with a subject as opposed to the best.  Hence, some of their kits were based on mockups or preliminary designs and often had compromises in their design and details to make them easier for young modelers to build.  While the purists may have snubbed their noses at this approach, I can personally say that being able to build something quickly and easily which was also robust enough to stand up to hours of play got me thoroughly hooked on the hobby.

 

Of course, Aurora is remembered today for its classic monster figure models, and their story receives deserved prominence in this book.  The genesis of these kits is recounted in some detail, along with their impact on popular culture and the many modifications and other kits that this hugely successful line of kits spawned. 

 

Some of the most fascinating stories in this book relate to the models Aurora produced and almost produced that pushed the bounds of good taste: their stillborn series of torture and execution devices in the "Chamber of Horrors" series from 1969 (only the working guillotine was ever released, although the book has photos of patterns for "The Hanging Tree" and "The Rack" - twist the lever and the victim's arms would actually come off!) and the highly controversial "Monster Scenes" series, which consisted of a mad scientist, Frankenstein's monster, Vampirella, a scantily-clad female victim, and a series of torture devices in a laboratory motif which were designed to form a playset (!).

 

As well as discussing Aurora's history, this book gives a great insight into how the plastic model industry works and how plastic modeling became so popular (one striking figure mentioned is a Gallup poll from 1957 which reported that 80% of teenage boys listed plastic modeling as their favourite hobby - one wonders what the figure is now?).  The friendly rivalry between the manufacturers is interesting as well, especially tales of how the designers for the major North American companies would get together and compare notes to avoid duplication in releases.  That sort of thing doesn't seem to be going on any more ...

 

Over half of this book is devoted to a complete list of all iterations of Aurora's kits, including those that have been released since the company's demise in 1977 by other manufacturers.  Illustrations of the box art variations of many of the kits will trigger the memories of several generations of modelers.

 

This is a great book for anybody who remembers buying Aurora kits.  I highly recommend it for anybody interested in where and how the plastic model hobby began.