An Aviation Enthusiast´s Kit Collection

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    List of Hobby-Time Kits   Sources back to Plastic Kits 50´s & 60´s        

 

Hobby-Time

Introduction
Way back in 2004 I acquired the Hobby-Time Bell XV-3 Convertilplane (picture 1) in an auction as one of my first off the beaten track kit and put it on my website as single entry for the Hobby-Time brand.  I did not care any more about this manufacturer. Some years later I acquired the Hobby-Time vacuform Super Sarbre in an auction just out of curiosity - may be it was a bargain (picture 2).  This kit went as well in my archive  without any more attention. In 2012 I bought the McDonnell Demon, another vacuform kit, from a private seller as part of a big lot, but again I immediately stored it in my archive.

On my research on the french premium Sunil kits in 2013  the brand Hobby-Time emerged again. Some kits of this range  alledgedly were based on Hobby-Time moulds (like the Invader, picture 5). This time the brand Hobby-Time got a meaning for me and I opened this page.

History
Western Coil & Electric Company started kit production with a seies of non flying solid balsa scale models in the late 1940's under the brand Hobby-Time (Picture 3).
These models contained a few plastic parts, mainly the display stand and canopy. Sometime in the 1950s production was switched to all-plastic "box-scale" kits. Apart from the Bell XV-3, which has a larger box the fighters and bombers all used the same box size.

Hobby-Time also released three vacuformed  scale kits in approximately 1/48 scale. They could be assembled alternatively as flying or static models (picture 2).

Produktion of kits ended around 1968-69.

Plasticos Star (Costa Rica) re-issued kits 1001-1004, 1101-1104 and 1201-1204 in he the 1980's.

Sources for historical data see [ 1 ]

My Collection
Emhpasis of my collecting efforts is to aquire the Hobby-Time kits which have alledgedly been reissued by Lindberg and Sunil in order to confirm the Hobby-Time origin.

But I would add other copies of the "box-scale" series  kits should I run into them.

I would like to aquire the vacuform Douglas Skyray to complement the series of three vacuform kits.

I do not plan in the moment to aquire more of the wooden kits. I bought  the XB-51 (picture 3) and a XB-47 only to have examples for documenting the Hobby-Time history.

The Hobby-Time kits in my collection are compiled in a list, which is supplemented by kits I'm still  looking for.


Hobby-Time



Picture 1 : Hobby-Time Bell XV-3 Convertiplane. © cjk



Picture 2 : Hobby-Time North American F-100A Super Sabre. vacuform flying kit .© cjk



Picture 3 :  Hobby-Time Martin XB-51 "Panther"  solid balsa kit. Kit No. 285 Parts .  © cjk



Picture 4 : Hobby-Time Messerschmtt Me 109 box with cellophane cover.
 Cello on Boxend  © cjk




Picture 6 : Hobby-Time Republic P-47D Thunerbolt in plastic bag. ©cjk ( No larger resolution provided).
 

Picture 5 : Hobby-Time Douglas B-26 Invader . Sturdy box with wrap-around boxart. © cjk

 
      List of Hobby-Time Kits Sources  back to Plastic Kits 50´s & 60´s         

Home How it All Began Plastic Kits
50´s & 60´s
Plastic Kits
1970 up
Various Topics Books
50´s & 60´s
Contact

Started: June 2004 Revised last: February 2015 Author: cjk . .