Testor Corporation

Lore & Background

Testor Corporation began when Axel Karlson produced 'Karlsons Klister', a glue originally intended for repairing women's stockings but soon used by cobblers. After acquisition, the product was renamed 'Crystal Clear Household Cement' and marketed to households while still sold to shoemakers. By 1936 the company expanded into hobbyist model cement and butyrate dope, and in 1940 became a founding member of The Hobby Industry of America.

During World War II, raw material shortages forced Testor to branch into pinewood static scale models of popular aircraft, which proved enormously popular and kept the company afloat. A fire on February 1, 1944 destroyed the upper two floors of its Rockford facility and caused over US$200,000 in damage, but a new, larger plant was built within a year. After the war, the company resumed production of glues and paints, including adhesives for plastics, and began producing flying wooden aircraft models using surplus balsa wood.

In 1949, Nils Testor began talks with Duromatic Products president Charles Miller, leading to a joint marketing agreement for McCoy hobby engines with Testor model airplanes. By the 1960s, plastics dominated the hobby industry, and Testor's square glass paint bottles became ubiquitous in American stores. The company resisted producing plastic model kits until the early 1970s, when it purchased IMC and Hawk Model Company, later acquiring Italian kit manufacturer Italeri. In 1986, Testors released a model kit of a hypothetical F-19 Stealth Fighter based on open source intelligence, which inspired many subsequent toys and games.

Reader's Guide

Testor Corporation's significance lies in its long-standing role as a supplier of essential consumables—paints, glues, and tools—for the scale modeling hobby. Its square glass paint bottles were a ubiquitous presence in American retail from the 1960s onward, making the brand synonymous with model painting for generations of hobbyists. The company's survival during World War II through the production of pinewood aircraft models demonstrated its adaptability, while its post-war embrace of plastic-compatible adhesives and paints positioned it for the industry's shift away from wood. Acquisitions of IMC, Hawk Model Company, and Italeri allowed Testor to offer plastic model kits without developing them in-house, and partnerships with diecast brands extended its reach to younger modelers. The 1986 F-19 Stealth Fighter kit, based on publicly available information before the real F-117 was revealed, became a notable cultural artifact that influenced later stealth-themed designs in video games and toys. Testor's legacy is that of a steady, behind-the-scenes enabler of the model-building hobby, providing the materials that make finished models possible.

Did You Know?

• Testor's original product was 'Karlsons Klister', a glue for repairing women's stockings.
• A fire on February 1, 1944 caused over US$200,000 in damage to Testor's Rockford facility.
• Testor's square glass paint bottles were sold in almost every dime store, department store, hardware store, toy store and hobby store in the US in the 1960s.