Berkeley Models

Lore & Background

Berkeley Models was founded by Bill Effinger in a three-car garage in Brooklyn in 1933 to support himself through engineering school. The company's name came from his family's home address at 53 Berkeley Place. Its first rubber-powered kits, the Consolidated Fleetster and Fokker triplane, appeared in 1934, followed in 1935 by the Buccaneer, the first gas-powered model-airplane kit. By November 1935, Effinger was advertising six kits in his 'Master Models' series of scale designs with 20-inch wingspans. In 1936, the Cavalier kit featured a nine-foot wingspan.

Effinger made the company his full-time career after graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 1938, later earning a degree in aeronautical engineering from MIT. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy, leaving day-to-day operations to James F. Barry Jr., who had been hired as head foreman in 1935. After the war, Effinger moved Berkeley to a facility on Railroad Avenue in West Hempstead, Long Island. By 1952, the company claimed distribution through 85 distributors and 4,500 dealers, and in 1957 Effinger estimated two million kits had been produced. The company created the advertising mascot 'Bill Berkeley' in 1952.

Reader's Guide

Berkeley Models holds a significant place in model aviation history as a prolific producer of model kits. The company introduced the first gas-powered model-airplane kit, the Buccaneer, in 1935, a milestone that helped shift the hobby from rubber-powered to engine-powered flight. By 1957, 100 of its 150 models introduced over the years remained in production, reflecting the company's sustained output and market presence. Its designers included notable figures such as Dr. Walt Good, Paul Plecan, and Dick Korda, contributing to a diverse catalog. The company's bankruptcy around 1960 led to its absorption by Fox Manufacturing, with the Berkeley brand continuing until June 1962. Afterward, part of the kit line was picked up by Sig. Effinger was elected to the Academy of Model Aeronautics Hall of Fame in 1986, with then-executive director John Worth describing Berkeley as 'probably the most prolific producer of model kits' in terms of numbers of different kits produced and volume of products advertised.

Did You Know?

• The company's name came from the address of founder Bill Effinger's family home, 53 Berkeley Place in Brooklyn.
• Comic-book artist Don Heck, future co-creator of Iron Man, spent a year drawing model-airplane views for Berkeley circa 1957.
• By 1957, Berkeley Models had produced an estimated two million kits.