# What's the oldest kit in your stash?



## conkerking (May 18, 2020)

I was having a rummage in the shed to see what I'm going to do next and I got to wondering how old some of the kits are, given the boxes look pretty retro on some of them. I thought it might be the Whirlwind at the top, but no, according to the fascinating Scalemates that's a relatively youthful 39 years old, whereas the Avenger at the bottom dates from 1973. Anyone beat that?  (It would be a shame to actually build it somehow!)

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## Airframes (May 18, 2020)

The Whirlwind kit may well be a 'more recent' issue, but it actually dates from the earl / mid 1960s.
Without checking, I have no idea which is the oldest in my stash ( in terms of when I got it ), but, at a guess, the oldest in terms of the original moulds is possibly the Hasegawa 1/32nd scale Bf109E, which was originally a Frog mould from the late 1960's / early 1970's, and it's been in my stash around ten years I think.
There's some in there that I've had for over twenty years too.

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## conkerking (May 18, 2020)

Airframes said:


> The Whirlwind kit may well be a 'more recent' issue, but it actually dates from the earl / mid 1960s.
> Without checking, I have no idea which is the oldest in my stash ( in terms of when I got it ), but, at a guess, the oldest in terms of the original moulds is possibly the Hasegawa 1/32nd scale Bf109E, which was originally a Frog mould from the late 1960's / early 1970's, and it's been in my stash around ten years I think.
> There's some in there that I've had for over twenty years too.



Sorry yes this actual boxing is from '81, but the same kit goes back well before that. Who knows when it was actually moulded? I don't know anything about the model kit business, but I imagine a new boxing is a way to shift stock that isn't going anywhere. The Avenger was a new release in '73 (I was four years old!) so it's easy to pinpoint when it was moulded. The decals on both these look a bit "tired"!

PS everything in my stash has been there at least 10 years!

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## Airframes (May 18, 2020)

I remember building a couple of the original Airfix Whirlwinds in the early 1960's, from kits that had been around since at least the mid 1950s, but from memory, the release in your kit was the 'up-dated' version, I think from around 1965-67.


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## N4521U (May 18, 2020)

I think it would be the Jenny.
However This is my Total stash!!!!!!!!
And what I am going to do with it!
Sad isn't it.

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## Crimea_River (May 18, 2020)

1980 vintage Monogram F-18.


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## T Bolt (May 19, 2020)

Bill I heard somewhere that Jenny was the first injected plastic scale model kit. Period.
And yes I have it, finished on my display shelf.

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## GrauGeist (May 19, 2020)

I have a 1962 Chevy Nova model kit from 1963 (NIB) waiting for me to get off my arse and do something with it.
Aircraft-wise, I have a Lindburg He162 kit (1/72) from the early 70's (also waiting for me to get off my arse).


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## s1chris (May 19, 2020)

Until last month when I built it, it was this Bulldog that I’d been saving to build as the one I flew back in my youth.
Nice little kit. Now only have modern (ish) kits left.






Edit: Kit was boxed / dated as 1973.

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## rochie (May 19, 2020)

I think mine might be a Fujimi P-51 D from 1987


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## at6 (May 19, 2020)

I have an old Aurora SNJ-4 in my stash. That may well be the oldest kit that I have. As far oldest based on when I bought the kit, that could easily be my Monogram C-47 kit from Kmart back in the 1970s still unbuilt.


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## conkerking (May 19, 2020)

N4521U said:


> I think it would be the Jenny.
> However This is my Total stash!!!!!!!!
> And what I am going to do with it!
> Sad isn't it.
> View attachment 582026



I've got a soft spot for that PR XIX, when I first started doing models I built a couple of them, really nice kit.


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## conkerking (May 19, 2020)

By the way, my 1973 Frog Avenger still has the price stickers on it, whoever first bought it got a great deal - down from 32p to 25p!

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## at6 (May 19, 2020)

N4521U said:


> I think it would be the Jenny.
> However This is my Total stash!!!!!!!!
> And what I am going to do with it!
> Sad isn't it.
> View attachment 582026


That's all you've got? Try 500+.

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## buffnut453 (May 19, 2020)

I have a Frog De Havilland Mosquito from 1968. Not the oldest on this thread but certainly in the oldest 5 methinks!

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## Capt. Vick (May 19, 2020)

at6 said:


> That's all you've got? Try 500+.



That's cute.  That only puts you in the mentality deranged category. Now to be a full-on psychopath you're going to have to pump up those numbers.

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## N4521U (May 19, 2020)

at6 said:


> That's all you've got? Try 500+.



Nooooooo thanks,
I Want to stay married. We live inna small house.

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## Bernhart (May 20, 2020)

not sure of my stash, might be the monogram 1/48 scale Catalina, its big and not sure I have somewhere to put it. Oldest kit is one I built over 30 years ago, the monogram P39

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## Airframes (May 20, 2020)

I believe Jan has the original kit that DaVinci made, when designing his helicopter. Very rare of course, as no one believed him, therefore the market was extremely limited .....................

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## Dave Goessling (May 21, 2020)

I have these. Probably a few more someplace incl. some Airfix bagged kits. An Airlines Percival Proctor, Monogram Avenger original boxing.
I remember exactly where and when I bought that Spitfire kit:

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## TheRealMrEd (May 21, 2020)

I think the olddest kit I have in the stash is an Aurora Hiller X-18 -- last time I built one of these was in 1972. Or, might be the old Visible V-8, or the Airfix 1/72 TBM , last built around the same time, and the oldest built model still on hand...

Ed


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## Airframes (May 21, 2020)

That Frog Spitfire brings back memories - built about three, "in flight" in a formation hanging from the ceiling, and moulded my own canopies for them. I remember they didn't have wheel wells, just etched outlines, to be painted black if "wheels down " !


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## s1chris (May 21, 2020)

Maybe a silly question.

But do you ever think the value of these older kits will increase?
Collectors items?

Is it foolish to build them (enjoyment aside) when they could fetch a pretty penny one day?

Personally, I’ll build anything I buy.
But just a thought as I guess there’s a side to model kits other than builders.


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## Airframes (May 21, 2020)

There is a large market for "kit collectors", even for just the empty boxes. 
Older, "vintage" kits can fetch silly prices where collectors are involved (similar, I guess, to stamp or art collectors), and even relatively new kits, currently temporarily withdrawn, but will be e-released in a couple of years, are sold for stupidly inflated prices. 
It sometimes annoys me, if I need a particular kit for a commission build, for example, probably the only one of it;s type around, and then find that what's really worth, say £10 or £15, is advertised for four, five, six times that price, or more, on auction sites and second-hand kit dealers, due to its "collectability".
I want to build the bl**dy thing, not stick it in the attic !!!

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## fubar57 (May 21, 2020)

Capt. Vick said:


> That's cute.  That only puts you in the mentality deranged category. Now to be a full-on psychopath you're going to have to pump up those numbers.


Jan must have a special category all to himself

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## Airframes (May 21, 2020)

It's a Swettish thing ............... Mowdel in de stovel, kits in de Kupbord .............. Ah, Beer !!!

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## Barry Bromley (May 21, 2020)

I have around 1,500 boxed kits most in collector grade, dating from 1942. The oldest is a wooden block ( you have to carve the fuselage) kit based on the aircraft recognition models used by the ground forces. I've got some pretty rare US and British kits and a Russian attempt at a Spitfire from around 1960 with one of the worst examples of box art I have ever seen!

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## J4F-2 (May 22, 2020)

The oldest one I can think of offhand is a Frog Short Sealand. (Image found on line, mine is out in the garage)

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## s1chris (May 22, 2020)

Barry Bromley said:


> I have around 1,500 boxed kits most in collector grade, dating from 1942. The oldest is a wooden block ( you have to carve the fuselage) kit based on the aircraft recognition models used by the ground forces. I've got some pretty rare US and British kits and a Russian attempt at a Spitfire from around 1960 with one of the worst examples of box art I have ever seen!



That’s a an impressive amount.
I imagine displaying them all in a viewable way is a challenge.

The wooden block kit sounds fun. Not least because as a child I’ve have had to of been let loose with a carving knife to make it.

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## mozit (May 22, 2020)

Mine's this Aurora 707 Clipper, pretty sure it's the 1958 boxing with white text in English in the logo. The 1961 release didn't have the white text.
Stash around 1500 land, sea and air from WW1 - current.

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## Lucky13 (May 22, 2020)

Same age as me....51!

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## Lucky13 (May 22, 2020)

Now for something completely different....I bet you Terry, are young enough to remember these....

The guy who found it said...."I found this in an old box of stuff, the paint looks like it's still good after a good shake up. This is very old indeed...."

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## Airframes (May 22, 2020)

Yep, I remember those !
They were [email protected], so I used Humbrol (in the 'tartan' tins in those days), and still do .............. even though they've been 'up and down' in quality over recent years.

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## Lucky13 (May 22, 2020)

L


Airframes said:


> Yep, I remember those !
> They were [email protected], so I used Humbrol (in the 'tartan' tins in those days), and still do .............. even though they've been 'up and down' in quality over recent years.



First one I've seen!


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## Lucky13 (May 22, 2020)



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## Dinger (May 22, 2020)

Dave Goessling said:


> I have these. Probably a few more someplace incl. some Airfix bagged kits. An Airlines Percival Proctor, Monogram Avenger original boxing.
> I remember exactly where and when I bought that Spitfire kit:



WOW! - Henschel 129 is 1966, Aurora D-VIII is 1959, as is the Frog Spitfire - The F-86D wins at 1956!

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## conkerking (May 22, 2020)

s1chris said:


> Maybe a silly question.
> 
> But do you ever think the value of these older kits will increase?
> Collectors items?
> ...



Old stuff has its appeal to old(er) folks I think. Possibly a nostalgia thing. I'm very outdoorsy and vintage Karrimor and Berghaus rucksacks from the 70s and 80s are very much in demand (apparently there's a Karrimor rucksack collectors' club in Malaysia or something daft). I got hold of a mint condition Berghaus day sack from the very early years of the company for a fiver on ebay, so suspiciously new looking that I asked Berghaus if they had done some kind of reissue, but no they looked at my photos and confirmed it's the real deal. And I will never use it.

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## miguel batista (May 22, 2020)

My older kit is a Airfix´s Stuka, from the 60´s.

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## Dinger (May 22, 2020)

miguel batista said:


> My older kit is a Airfix´s Stuka, from the 60´s.
> View attachment 582471


Might be older than that my friend - Scalemates has that particular packaging as 1959!
Junkers Ju 87B, Airfix 1395 (1959)

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## Airframes (May 22, 2020)

Yep, one of their early (ish ) kits.
I well remember the bagged kits of that period. Every Saturday, off to Woolworths - turn right just inside the entrance, and there was the model counter, with the bagged Airfix kits on a 'peg board', at 2 Shillings each (10 Pence), and the larger, boxed kits below.
The 'Stuka' was one of the first I built back then.

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## Barry Bromley (May 23, 2020)

Whenever I open an old kit box, the smell of the old plastics is intoxicating. It's a unique smell, peculiar to kits from the 60's and earlier. The other noticible thing is the quality of the molding and detail, absent from all but the best kits of today. Early Monograms, Auroras and Revells are beautifully made. Too good to build!

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## Ol 45 (May 26, 2020)

Since I've been modelling for 60+ years I've managed to accumulate a few old kits.
Some I admit I bought when they were fairly new in the 50's so I thought I'd try
to post a few shots of some of my oldest. The Brifault kit is circa 1954 and the
Olin kits about 1950 or so.

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## Ol 45 (May 26, 2020)

I am so sorry that I have repeatedly posted this item. I tried to edit it to delete the second post and it just
popped up again. I'm learning..... I hope.


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## fubar57 (May 26, 2020)

Wojtek will fix you up

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## Wurger (May 26, 2020)

Done.

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## NevadaK (May 28, 2020)

I wish that I had photos to share, but my stepfather has about a dozen 1960's era USSR made unbuilt helicopter kits. The cream of the crop is a 1/72-ish Mil-6. The bodies are all cast out of white plastic with remainder being cast in black plastic.


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## thom regit (May 28, 2020)

Numerous bagged Airfix from the 60's. 
Older than many of you.


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## rwhiting (May 29, 2020)

Hi. This is my 1st post as I've just been lurking up till now. I have these 2. The Helldiver says '1966' and the Hawk is probably from about the same time. I just tossed the Revell F-111 I built in about '66 and the Aurora P-51 with the removeable engine covers was from '64-65. I still have the Monogram P-47 I started in '72 (at 17, I'm currently 64), but I haven't finished yet so I think I probably would win if this was "Who's has longest unfinished build"

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## Spielmann (Jun 18, 2021)

Hello !
I think my oldest kit in my stash is this one (Issued in 1947-1948) :

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## special ed (Jun 18, 2021)

The oldest unbuilt would be from the early 60s but I still have Hawk P-51D and several Aurora completed and several assorted Lindberg and Hawk which have been re-kitted during moves.


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## SaparotRob (Jun 18, 2021)

I have an unbuilt Academy B-17B for about 20 years. I have Airfix P-51D, Spitfire MK IX, BF-109F and a Hasegawa B-239 that I started about 16 years ago. I was going to paint the Buffalo some kind of blue and slap some star roundels on it. No one I know would know it's wrong.


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## SaparotRob (Jun 18, 2021)

That was then.

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## at6 (Jun 18, 2021)

I have an Aurora SNJ kit from the 60s.

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## ARTESH (Oct 20, 2021)

WOW! Some really really old stuff here! Quite nostalgic.


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## Maxrobot1 (Dec 15, 2021)

This is how old I am.

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## Maxrobot1 (Dec 15, 2021)

Pactra was pretty good stuff.

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## Maxrobot1 (Dec 15, 2021)



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## nuuumannn (Dec 15, 2021)

I have an old Kader Hendley (not a typo) Page Victor kit still in its box that I bought in Buenos Aires (of all places) for a paltry 20 pesetas. Here's one, saving me from posting a pic:






Kader (Lincoln) Handley Page Victor - The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum







uamf.org.uk





I've got some first edition Matchbox aircraft kits, too, dating from the early 1970s.

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## Barry Bromley (Dec 27, 2021)

I have close to 900 "collector" kits in the cupboard. These are a few. One which stands out is the Russian "Spitfire"(green thing) which as far as I can make out is the old Frog 72nd mould, reboxed with that wonderful boxart. The Helldiver from Hawk is a solid carved job and also has a paper from a Warhawk model of the same era. This was when aircraft recognition models were being "re-purposed" as recreational model kits. The Gaedke box art is always a favourite. Somehow he captured the magic of aviation. Before you ask, the Space Missiles has now been sold.

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## SaparotRob (Dec 27, 2021)

Wow.


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