![]() By the 1960s scale modeling was a full-fledged hobby with thousands of models covering hundreds of subjects. By the mid-1950s, more detailed kits and models that could be customized appeared. In 1951, Revell introduced its first all-plastic model kit of an early automobile: a classic 1910 Maxwell, in which the driver was a scaled-down version of radio comedian Jack Benny. The returning war veterans were also able to afford the automobiles that rolled off Detroit assembly lines they also built models of the cars they owned-and the ones the dreamed of. Monogram Models introduced its first kits of warships in 1945. When soldiers and sailors returned home, they had more time and money for recreation, including building models of the machines they knew so well. The exploits of navy ships, both small and large, in the Pacific also fired imaginations. Slim fighters and heavy bombers intrigued many hobbyists who saw the real aircraft flying overhead on the way to war. Second, the machines of the war stimulated the public's interest in Their versatility made them ideal for mass-produced model kits. First, plastics were invented and perfected during the years before and during the war. World War II moved modeling into a full-scale industry and hobby for two reasons. Citroen, the French car manufacturer, produced delightful models that are now valued collectibles. In the 1920s, some firms produced scale models of their products out of metal and wood as promotional models. Balsa wood pieces were machine-cut to fit together easily and could be painted and rigged like the originals, although they were fragile. Early in the twentieth century model ships and airplanes were sold in kits. Industrial technology was found to have its own beauty, and large machines like locomotives were admired and copied in miniature. They are also highly prized today among antique collectors.ĭuring the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, inventors of new tools, machines, artworks, and other objects began by building models of their ideas. During the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815), French prisoners of war carved beautiful model warships from wood scraps these models are so detailed that they have become documents of warfare and ships lost at sea. Many ancient models survived in the tombs while the original objects did not these have given historians an understanding of what life in ancient civilizations was like. Scale models of buildings, boats, and furniture were buried in tombs of ancient Egyptians to represent possessions the dead took into the next world. The most advanced kits are called customized kits and provide the model builder with a variety of styles of engines, bumpers, hubcaps, and other details of an automobile (for example), as well as options for making a truly unique model suiting the builder's imagination. ![]() The level is described on the box containing the kit, and, as the names suggest, the kits become increasingly complicated with more steps in assembling and detailing the models. The next three levels are beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The plastic parts simply snap together in a sequence depicted on an instruction sheet these models are an excellent introduction to the kinds of pieces in a model kit and prepare a novice builder for the next step. The plastic pieces are made in the same colors as the original and virtually no tools, adhesives, paint, or other equipment are needed to build them. Snap-together models provide all the pieces with tiny tabs that fit in specially shaped holes. Model kits are made in approximately five skill levels. Many of the same engineering skills go into producing scale models as into the real machines represented. Scales typically range from 1:24 to 1:100 a 1:24-scale model is 1/24th of the size of the real object. "Scale" indicates that the model is a miniaturized version of an actual object, like an automobile, made to a specific fraction of the real thing. They're sold in specialized hobby and craft stores as well as toy, department, and drug stores-even supermarkets may carry them. Scale models or model kits are produced by the millions and give hours of pleasure to hobbyists.
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