Moshe Posted January 29, 2002 Posted January 29, 2002 Anyone here remember Aurora models? They were absolutely the best model company of all time (IMHO).
DougRichards Posted January 29, 2002 Posted January 29, 2002 Originally posted by Moshe:Anyone here remember Aurora models? They were absolutely the best model company of all time (IMHO). I remember Aurora models. But I wish that I didn't. They rate as highly as Lindburg. They were so great that they were both so popular that they are still releasing a huge range of kits every year.......... [Edited by DougRichards (29 Jan 2002).]
Jacques Posted January 29, 2002 Posted January 29, 2002 Actually, Aurora went our of business a long time ago. Thier molds were sold to Polar Lights, who have been re-releasing them. Apparently all those older baby-boomer types love those old monster kits!
Steven P Allen Posted January 29, 2002 Posted January 29, 2002 Aurora had some decent kits, though not by modern standards. Their 1/48 armor is the only game in injection-molded town in a lot of cases. Lindberg IS still turning out kits every year, though, admittedly, mostly reissues. Again, though, Lindberg is the only manufacturer that paid serious attention to small boys and 'phibs.
Moshe Posted January 30, 2002 Author Posted January 30, 2002 Aurora had some great military kits. Their Cobra attack choppers were excellent. The sci-fi stuff was good too. Glad to see Polar Lights doing the re-issues. They are obviously targeting the retro-flashback crowd. Maybe by today's standards Aurora is not impressive, but they inspired a generation of engineers (IMHO). That's what it was all about. They were also easy for Kids to build. We had a blast combining parts and doing hybrid model creations.
nfafan Posted February 1, 2002 Posted February 1, 2002 Originally posted by Moshe:Anyone here remember Aurora models? They were absolutely the best model company of all time (IMHO). Yes, remember them well! Great? Well, best company on the planet to create plastic monster kits! Frankenstein was my first serious model, was down hill from there. Just about every monster they made, including their Big Frankenstein, Guillotine kit and Monster Customizing Sets, some superheros too, Batman, Superman, Superboy. Disn't do their historical figures or scenes.Have a few unbuilt Monogram "Illuminators" re-issues and Polar Lights monsters stashed away. The "Illuminators" plastic is a PITA to work with... Liked their "12-OClock High" kit too, their "Desert Rats" set was a clunker. Wished I'd kept these old kits.. Only have their Centurian (my crude attempt at a Isreali conversion) a Churchill III (recently recovered) and an unbuilt MBT-70 left, all their other armor I built is long gone. Ahh, nostalgia!
Mark Walter Posted February 6, 2002 Posted February 6, 2002 Not Aurora, but does anyone remember the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean models from the 70s. They were dioramas of pirate skeletons and usually there was some sort of movable feature where you push someting and the skeleton would raise his arm for example. I remember eagerly rushing off to get the latest one when I had enough money (probably $1.00 but it was a lot for me then). I think they were pretty neat, but they don't seem to have the collector following that the old Aurora monster stuff has. Just as well I suppose, all mine are long since blown up or melted, and I'd kick myself if I saw one sell for some outragous price on ebay. [Edited by Mark Walter (06 Feb 2002).]
Michael Eastes Posted February 7, 2002 Posted February 7, 2002 I was a great fan of Aurora as a kid, esp. the tanks. Then one day I went to a store and saw three kits-AMX30,M41,and T55,all by Tamiya,all motorised. I got the T55 and my friend George West got the other two. Aurora didn't do it for me after that...
John Eary Posted February 7, 2002 Posted February 7, 2002 That sounds familiar, Mike. My pals and I drooled over Aurora, Monogram, Airfix 1/72...basically anything we could get ahold of. Then the Tamiyas appeared followed by some nice Italeri stuff (like Pz IV). The old stuff looked pretty shabby after those. Now, looking back at the 70s Tamiya stuff there's some real stinkers (although some are still pretty sharp). Makes me wonder what a state of the art kit will look like in another 30 years.
Moshe Posted February 8, 2002 Author Posted February 8, 2002 Makes me wonder what a state of the art kit will look like in another 30 years. Imagine personalized rapid-prototype machines, where you download the specs, and it forms the model (in whatever configuration) while-U-wait.
John Eary Posted February 8, 2002 Posted February 8, 2002 Could be! And since it involves computer use, it will still be a challenge for me. Oh joy! Besides the rapid replicator, how about a laser jet painting device by HP? Weathering options on the toolbar and high resolution settings for your "competition" models. Not long ago, I built the "Lost in space" robot for my older brother. It was a kick. Now he has his eye on the Jupiter II. We'll see. [Edited by John Eary (08 Feb 2002).]
Geoff Winnington-Ball Posted February 8, 2002 Posted February 8, 2002 Originally posted by Moshe:Aurora had some great military kits.... In the sixties I built every single one of their 1/48 WW1 aircraft models. My mother threw the lot of them out (and a whole lot more) after I went away to university in '71. Man, was I pissed.
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