Hi, Dear Readers. Hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving holiday.
And now…
How many of you know what this item is used for?
Do the names “Revell” and “Monogram” mean anything to you?
If these brands bring back smiles, chances are you have fond memories of these:
I never made model cars or airplanes myself as a kid but I have vivid memories of my brother Kenny doing tons of them.
He was crazy about them when he was about this age.
(That’s Kenny and my dad, Ben Roffe, at Camp Ojibwa, circa 1967.)
The date stamp on this picture is no fluke. Model car kits hit the zenith of their popularity in the early ’60’s. Kids were just plain car-crazy back then and if you couldn’t afford a snappy convertible, an awesome monster truck or a cool dragster, you could always build one.
Kenny would wheedle and cajole my dad or mom into a trip to E.J. Korvette’s to feed his habit.
Remember that place?
It was on Dempster- right down the street from where Par King Miniature Golf used to be.
As a teen, I use to patronize Korvette’s myself. It was a really keen place to buy record albums. Remember those?
…Anyway, when he wasn’t at camp or playing baseball, Kenny loved buying those model kits. He’d chose one carefully and then guard it zealously until he could get it back home safely.
Kenny had a process to his model-building.
(And well I remember it.)
STEP ONE: Unceremoniously dump entire contents of kit onto kitchen table.
STEP TWO: Locate instruction manual.
STEP THREE: Throw away instruction manual.
STEP FOUR: Hastily break off model pieces from that plastic tree-like thing to which they were attached.
STEP FIVE: Open glue.
STEP SIX: Just go for it! Glue everything in sight on the model where they look as if they might belong
STEP SEVEN: Euphoria! A finished model car or airplane. No feeling like it! (Or was it the glue?…)
STEP EIGHT: Pause for a moment of quizzical despondency because there are three or four left-over parts still on the kitchen table. Where do they go? Are they important?
STEP NINE: Nah. Euphoria again!
STEP TEN: Scheme to get Mom or Dad to drive back to Korvette’s next Saturday.
Yay! Plastic models and glue!
Now that brings back a lot of sticky memories 🙂
-MAS
Thanks, Early Bird! And I’ll always be stuck on you- and some of your puzzle clues. 😊🤫
Still have glue on my thumb and I’m sure there are a few spare parts on the kitchen floor at 810 Lawler! Do you remember my slot car racing phase?
I do! Where did you get those- and were they set up in the basement? Did Dad help with any of these DIY projects? I don’t remember him doing them.
The cars were taken to a track and you would rent a slot and race the other cars. Dad would drive me to Skokie or Evanston. I loved it!
It’s all coming back to me. Was Tom Thumb involved at all?
Don’t forget the “newspaper transfers” caused by the parts that came attached to the Chicago Tribune thanks to an overflow of glue. Our model cars and planes would have swaths of Jim Murray Pontiac and the Sunday funnies glued to our models.
Very nice detail(ing.) Thanks, Rick!
Yes!!
I always used a liquid glue that used a small brush to glue the parts. Not as messy and more controllable than tube glues. Liquid glue worked great until our dog jumped on my lap and it spilled.
Needless to say my father was not thrilled at the cost of re-finishing that section of our dining room table.
Thanks for sharing that personal and painful re-finishing story. I’m sure you were not alone as boys the country over ruined tables and rugs with that glue. But it was worth it, I bet. 😊👍🏎
Being an only child back in the day, I spent hours putting these models together and loved it….mostly cars, but some planes. Used to get the small set of Testors paint and put the final touches on them too….unlike my cousin John (who still lives in the Chicago area)…he was a perfectionist…his models were all made with 3 coats of paint. I gave all my models away to a little friend in the neighborhood when I thought I was too old to hang on to them years ago. Looking back I wish I still had them now, but my little buddy Jimmy didn’t have much then so I gave him my models, baseball cards, and comic books. We moved away so I lost touch with him, but I can only hope he got the pleasure out of those items over the years and maybe he even still has them or maybe even paid them forward too.
Wow, Steve! Glad to hear from someone who actually probably followed the directions. I bet your models were swell. And you were a good guy to give them to that kid. Nice, nice story. Thanks. 👍🏎
The real excitement was to go into the ravines and place a cherry bomb in the car and then lite the plastic on fire. We really were stupid back then, and maybe still.
You always liked to live dangerously. 😊🏎💣
Ellen ,
I built the entire monster series of models…. creature from the black lagoon, Frankenstein , Dracula, the mummy etc. I displayed them all on a shelf in my room. Unfortunately the scared me so much at night that they were soon relegated to a closet..
Loved them and all the other cars , planes and big daddy funny cars I built.
To quote Bob Hope………. thanks for the memories!
Dave
Thanks for sharing this story, Dave. Sorry you were scared but all this model-building probably left you able to make a darn good crown, I bet. Happy holidays and see you around Catfish Lake- and the volleyball court.