Memories of a kit builder...

[Herr Hussmann]

My first kit was Aurora's Hunchback Of Notre Dame. I used the glow pieces, with the rest of the kit in brown plastic- although I had no paint for it yet, it was still such a kick to have the model. Coincidently, the 1939 version starring Charles Laughton was on TV later that day (or was it the next?) and I wondered why my kit didn't look like Laughton.

[Hepcat]

I might also add that now I assemble and paint all of my models myself which is a good thing seeing that my brother is 72 and my mom is 94!

Congratulations!

 

[Hepcat]

Coincidently, the 1939 version starring Charles Laughton was on TV later that day (or was it the next?) and I wondered why my kit didn't look like Laughton.

And your Glo kit would not have looked like Anthony Quinn either.

 

[Herr Hussmann]

Certainly not the box. The cover (the box was the square-shaped glow box, not the rectangular "frightening lightning" one) featured Quasimodo as a shaggy, permed hair creature like Chaney, as opposed to the kit itself which had a combed-back coif, which looked like no version of the character that I know of.

The contours of its face vaguely resembled that of Glenn Strange.

[Hepcat]

My first kit was the Aurora Frankenstein (which was my first Universal monster toy) followed by Dracula, then the Wolfman, then all the others as they were released.

Wow! You were in from the ground floor.

At first my brother would assemble and paint the kits, but eventually he handed the painting job off to my mom.  I've been very fortunate in that I've kept all of my original Aurora monsters and superheroes. They've all been repaired, refurbished, and repainted.

You're lucky! The models most of us built as kids are long gone.

 

[scarey1scd]

Hello all! I will try not to be long winded here!. I was somewhat of a regular here abt 2-3 yrs ago, this is my 1st post since I went thru my hard times/bad times, sold off most of my collection to take care of things...I know many of you have been in the same position...thats a story for a different post lol. Anywho, this one caught my attention today and I wanted to share about the models.

Ive always collected "halloween" related items, but I went thru many phases in my younger years. Comic books, trading cards, etc.You name it I probably wanted to collect it at one time. My passion for the last 20+ years has been halloween and horror related collecting. Which brings me to my story...

Picture the early to mid 90s... I was all about Hot Wheels cars. I put an ad out in the paper about them and had an older gentleman contact me letting me know he had some "red lines" from when he was a kid. I went to his house, bought a couple cars, and we started casual conversation. I told him that I was into horror movies and he said "Hold on a second". He went into another room and came back with Aurora Frankenstein, Dracula, Werewolf, and Mummy models. Built, and unpainted. He said his parents got them for him when he was a kid. He built them but chose not to paint them, and he didnt know why but he always felt the need to hold onto them thru his life. I saw them and I was just blown away...they just seemed like something out of my reach at the time. He must have seen my eyes light up when I saw them because after a few minutes he just said "Here, take them with you". I asked him how much and he said " They are yours..."

I cant remember his name...but I remember him. I remember that day, and how it made me feel.  I still have those 4 models. Ive bought other original boxed versions of the same thing, but I still have those 4 models. They are on the highest shelf in my living room. They brought me to where I am today. I never want to sell them. Im hoping someday ( when Im old of course lol) I will find another generation that I can pass them onto and keep the love for collecting and horror moving forward...

[Hepcat]

We didn't have any idea what we had when we were young. I thought the toys and kits that were out when I was a kid would always be available.

Precisely correct! We thought that whatever was around when we were kids not only had been around forever, but would continue to be around forever. Yes, yes, we knew different comics came out every month and different baseball and hockey cards came out every year, but that was different!