Aurora Plastics Corporation
American maker of plastic model kits and slot cars.
Aurora Plastics Corporation was an American toy and hobby manufacturer, best remembered for its plastic scale models of cars, aircraft, and characters from television and film during the 1960s. Its main rivals in the modeling world were Revell and Monogram.
The company was founded in March 1950 by engineer Joseph E. Giammarino and businessman Abe Shikes in Brooklyn, New York, initially as a contract injection molder of plastics. It moved to West Hempstead, Long Island, in 1954. In 1952, the company hired salesman John Cuomo and began producing its own line of plastic model kits, marketed with a very small staff. Aurora aimed at younger hobbyists than its competitors, offering smaller, simpler, and cheaper models with less detail.
The first kits, released in late 1952, were 1:48 scale aircraft: an F9F Panther jet and an F90 Lockheed. The early logo featured narrow white letters in a semicircle; the familiar oval logo appeared in 1957. Boxes were simple orange, and the slogan was "U – Ma – Kit" (You Make It). Aurora copied the first two kits from Hawk models. By 1953, six more aircraft molds were added: the Curtiss P-40E Warhawk, Messerschmitt Bf 109, North American F-86D, Lockheed P-38L Lightning, a fictitious "Yak-25" (later sold as "Mig-19"), and the Mitsubishi Zero (called "Jap Zero" on the box flaps). These eight kits were known as the "Brooklyn Eight."
Aircraft remained a sales backbone through the 1950s and 1960s, with the popular Famous Fighters line covering World War I, World War II, jet age planes, and helicopters. The company also produced sailing ships, warships, tanks, and other military vehicles. Some planes, like the Blue Angel F-4J and McDonnell-Douglas Phantom II, were in 1:48 scale; larger aircraft like the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker came in roughly 1:100 scale, and the Convair B-58 Hustler was offered in a tiny 1:200 scale.
By 1965, Aurora offered many automobile kits in 1:32 "slot car" scale, including the Triumph TR3, MG-TD, Jaguar XK120, Austin-Healey 3000, Alfa Romeo GT convertible, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL convertible, 1958 Ford Thunderbird, the American Cunningham, and Indianapolis 500 winners like the Monroe Special and Fuel Injection Special.
Aurora's biggest success came with figure kits.
Quick Facts
- Fate
- Sold to private investors in 1969, then other owners, becoming a brand
- Founded
- 1950
- Founder
- Joseph E. Giammarino
- Hq Location
- Brooklyn, New York / United States
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Products
- Scale model cars, airplanes, action figures, slot cars
- Brands
- AFX
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Aurora Plastics Corporation was founded in March 1950 by engineer Joseph E. Giammarino and businessman Abe Shikes in Brooklyn, New York, as a contract manufacturer of injection molded plastics. With the hiring of salesman John Cuomo in 1952, the company began manufacturing its own line of plastic model kits, targeting young hobbyists with smaller-sized, less detailed models at a lower price than competitors Monogram and Revell. The first kits, released in late 1952, were 1:48 scale aircraft models: an F9F Panther jet and an F90 Lockheed, sold under the slogan 'U – Ma – Kit' (You Make It). By 1953, six more aircraft dies were added, forming the 'Brooklyn Eight' collection.
Aurora's product lines expanded to include automotive kits in 1:32 'slot car' scale by 1965, and media tie-in figure kits based on Universal monsters, which became the company's most popular offerings. The Frankenstein kit appeared in 1961, followed by other monster figures and later monster vehicles. Licensed models from TV shows and comic books, such as the Batmobile from the 1966 TV series, were also introduced. In the late 1950s, Aurora acquired the rights to the Model Motoring slot car racing system from UK toy manufacturer Playcraft, launching its first HO-gauge racing sets in fall 1960. The early vibrator drive cars were replaced in 1963 by the Thunderjet pancake motor, and by 1965 over 25,000,000 cars had been sold.
Reader's Guide
Aurora Plastics Corporation left a significant mark on the hobby industry through its accessible, low-cost model kits that appealed to a younger demographic. Its figure kits, especially the Universal monster series, remain highly valued by collectors. The company's Model Motoring slot car system, particularly the Thunderjet and A/FX series, became top sellers, with over 25 million cars sold by 1965, and fostered a vibrant aftermarket of hop-up parts and tools. The slot car craze declined by the end of the 1970s, attributed to the maturing of the baby-boom generation and the fragile economics of the industry. After the parent company Dunbee-Combex-Marx ceased operations in 1980, the Giammarino family attempted to reintroduce the Aurora brand, but those attempts never carried out. Aurora's legacy endures through its iconic box art, often by artist James Bama, and the enduring collector interest in its kits.
Did You Know?
- Aurora's first two kits were copies of Hawk kits measured and copied to their own molds.
- The Aurora oval logo did not appear until 1957; earlier logos used narrow white letters in a semi-circular form.
- Aurora's early slot cars used a vibrator drive system based on a door buzzer, producing a loud buzz.
- The company produced a 19-inch tall Giant Frankenstein kit in 1961.
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