Here's a companion thread to the one I started on "your very first monster magazine!" When did you build/buy/receive your very first monster model?
Mine was Aurora's Creature, bought sometime in the very early part of 1964. My school was having a "hobby week," and the principal announced that we were all expected to bring in an example of our hobby. Only problem: I had no hobby (gee, it feels funny to type that, since I'm a hobby fanatic now). A brand-new W.T. Grants store had opened up in our town the November before, and I remembered seeing several towers of Aurora monster models there. So, on Friday, we all trundled off to Grants. I quickly found the aisle and stood there gazing at the colorful display before me. From floor to at least 7 feet high, there were Aurora monsters in their gorgeously painted boxes. I had a tough choice to make! I could buy The Mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, but I settled on the Creature, since he's my absolute favorite monster (to this day, too).
One thing I forgot to buy was paints. Believe it or not, I actually had some dim idea that paints were included in the box! As we drove home, I slit the cellophane and opened the box. Immediately I was hit with that very distinctive (and now nostalgic) smell of fresh styrene! Then, I read the instructions, as well as the Creature's story (wasn't that great? Aurora always gave you bang for your buck). Alas, no paints...but I was hit with a brainstorm! My sister had a paint by number set in her closet. I could use those!
Bad idea! The oil based paints never really dried, and The Creature remained sticky until I repainted him the next year. I also made the mistake of painting him AFTER I'd put him together. Eventually, I understood that directions were meant to be followed, and my subsequent models were much easier to complete and display.
Well, The Creature got me started. Within two weeks, I'd added The Phantom of the Opera and Frankenstein to my little menagerie. The Phantom's face proved to be too much for my little boy acumen, so the blob of paint his face turned out to be was hidden by his mask (ah, ain't I a crafty devil?).
When I proudly brought my three models to school, my spirits deflated. There before me, in the gym, were literally dozens and dozens of Aurora monsters--all better painted than mine! It was both a revelation and a disappointing moment. Aside from the stream of criticism I received for putting the Phantom's mask on his face, somebody actually picked up my Creature, only to have it stick to his hand. That opened the floodgates for laughs and jeers, and I eventually skulked out of there with my eyes glued to the floor.
Still, it didn't discourage me. From the 5th grade through freshman year, I built all the "big" Aurora models and branched out to include Revell's Flash Gordon and Phantom. I didn't just stick to monsters, either, though cars and planes did nothing for me. When I think back to my collection (long gone now, destroyed by many moves and the passage of time), it's with intense nostalgia. I can vividly recall putting together each one, and the circumstances surrounding those events. As I painted the Phantom, I was listening to "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on the radio, sung by some unknown group called The Beatles. When I built Superman, I'd just seen "Dracula, Prince of Darkness" that afternoon at the local moviehouse. When I bought and built the Batmobile, I'd just seen Batman at the same theater. King Kong and Godzilla were Christmas 1964 presents; the night before, I'd watched The Munsters, and it was the episode where Grandpa leaves home and does a magic act at a seedy club. So many memories!
Today, thanks to Polar Lights and other enterprising souls, I've managed to find many of the models I'd once held so dear. There are a few I'd love to get my hands one: Spartacus, the Men From Uncle; Hercules and Lion; Wonder Woman, Robin; the Batmobile; Zorro; Flash Gordon and the Phantom. Only a few, really.
When I look at these great models, I'm immediately transported to a more golden time in my life--when things were uncomplicated, and all I had to worry about was homework. No bills, no lines around the eyes, no graying hair. Yep, I was a 60's kid and damned proud of it!
Let's hear your stories!
Rod
Mine was Aurora's Creature, bought sometime in the very early part of 1964. My school was having a "hobby week," and the principal announced that we were all expected to bring in an example of our hobby. Only problem: I had no hobby (gee, it feels funny to type that, since I'm a hobby fanatic now). A brand-new W.T. Grants store had opened up in our town the November before, and I remembered seeing several towers of Aurora monster models there. So, on Friday, we all trundled off to Grants. I quickly found the aisle and stood there gazing at the colorful display before me. From floor to at least 7 feet high, there were Aurora monsters in their gorgeously painted boxes. I had a tough choice to make! I could buy The Mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, but I settled on the Creature, since he's my absolute favorite monster (to this day, too).
One thing I forgot to buy was paints. Believe it or not, I actually had some dim idea that paints were included in the box! As we drove home, I slit the cellophane and opened the box. Immediately I was hit with that very distinctive (and now nostalgic) smell of fresh styrene! Then, I read the instructions, as well as the Creature's story (wasn't that great? Aurora always gave you bang for your buck). Alas, no paints...but I was hit with a brainstorm! My sister had a paint by number set in her closet. I could use those!
Bad idea! The oil based paints never really dried, and The Creature remained sticky until I repainted him the next year. I also made the mistake of painting him AFTER I'd put him together. Eventually, I understood that directions were meant to be followed, and my subsequent models were much easier to complete and display.
Well, The Creature got me started. Within two weeks, I'd added The Phantom of the Opera and Frankenstein to my little menagerie. The Phantom's face proved to be too much for my little boy acumen, so the blob of paint his face turned out to be was hidden by his mask (ah, ain't I a crafty devil?).
When I proudly brought my three models to school, my spirits deflated. There before me, in the gym, were literally dozens and dozens of Aurora monsters--all better painted than mine! It was both a revelation and a disappointing moment. Aside from the stream of criticism I received for putting the Phantom's mask on his face, somebody actually picked up my Creature, only to have it stick to his hand. That opened the floodgates for laughs and jeers, and I eventually skulked out of there with my eyes glued to the floor.
Still, it didn't discourage me. From the 5th grade through freshman year, I built all the "big" Aurora models and branched out to include Revell's Flash Gordon and Phantom. I didn't just stick to monsters, either, though cars and planes did nothing for me. When I think back to my collection (long gone now, destroyed by many moves and the passage of time), it's with intense nostalgia. I can vividly recall putting together each one, and the circumstances surrounding those events. As I painted the Phantom, I was listening to "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on the radio, sung by some unknown group called The Beatles. When I built Superman, I'd just seen "Dracula, Prince of Darkness" that afternoon at the local moviehouse. When I bought and built the Batmobile, I'd just seen Batman at the same theater. King Kong and Godzilla were Christmas 1964 presents; the night before, I'd watched The Munsters, and it was the episode where Grandpa leaves home and does a magic act at a seedy club. So many memories!
Today, thanks to Polar Lights and other enterprising souls, I've managed to find many of the models I'd once held so dear. There are a few I'd love to get my hands one: Spartacus, the Men From Uncle; Hercules and Lion; Wonder Woman, Robin; the Batmobile; Zorro; Flash Gordon and the Phantom. Only a few, really.
When I look at these great models, I'm immediately transported to a more golden time in my life--when things were uncomplicated, and all I had to worry about was homework. No bills, no lines around the eyes, no graying hair. Yep, I was a 60's kid and damned proud of it!
Let's hear your stories!
Rod
