SCALE MODEL NEWS

THE VISUALS ON MODEL KIT BOXES are what the marketing men call ‘primary sales tools.’ Simply put, if you can spot an attractive box in a store or on screen, the odds are that you’ll want to home in for a closer look.  SMN report:  Today's kits may use photographs, artwork, or a blend of the two. For example, many boxes in the Airfix range display a handsome photorealistic look, aided by CGI (Computer Graphic Imagery) software. Back in the heyday of the plastic kit, the 1950s and 1960s, box art was usually created by hugely talented commercial artists, mostly unsung heroes of the illustration world. Kits were graced with beautiful paintings, many of them fit to be framed and hung on a wall. However, in graphic studios it was usual practice to leave a visual unsigned, or even to paint out a signature before printing. The practise sounds brutal, but clients were promoting particular products, rather than any individual artist’s style of work. But over the years, it’s good to repo...

Celebrating five years of Scale Model News, here we  look  again at Revell box art, and the artists who created them. The visuals that decorate kit boxes are what the marketing men call ‘primary sales tools’. Put simply, if you can spot a decent box from a distance - or today, easily on screen - the odds are that you’ll go over to have a closer look. Photographs have often been used, but art seems more satisfying and certainly more exciting. And latest boxes from Airfix achieve a photorealistic look with the help of CGI (Computer Graphic Imagery) software. We looked at the variety of art from Revell in November 2010, but the time these boxes date from goes back much further, "...in the heyday of the plastic kit, the 1950s and 1960s, box art was generally created by hugely talented commercial artists, mostly unsung heroes of the illustration world." The  tugboat  (above) was painted by John Steel, and is good enough to be framed and hung on a wall.  But we noted ...

Mat Irvine reports Old friend Andy Yanchus in New York, past Project Manager at Aurora, and a kit historian - with a much wider knowledge than me - points out that the Revell Germany Classic Kits reissue of the Chance Vought Cutlass F7U-3 (see SMN July 3) is not from the actual original. The very first version Revell tooled up was the F7U-1, which had a more pointed nose. In addition, and as was common with these very early kits, it had no cockpit or undercarriage. However it did have a stand, a simple two-piece design moulded in the same colour as the main parts. Added details However, Revell soon upgraded the Cutlass, along with the two other fighter kits it manufactured, the Lockheed Starfire and Grumman Cougar. These featured ‘new-fangled’ details, such as a cockpit and undercarriage. At the same time, the Cutlass tooling was changed to the later version, which had the more rounded nose. Revell swivel stand At the same time, Revell replaced the original stands with a transparent ty...