Aurora is Back

"The Return of the Return of Things to Come" titled Famous Monsters of Filmland, back in the 70s when the mag was still in the hands of Forrest J Ackerman. This obvious parody of a work by H.G. Wells, came to my mind because the famous Aurora Plastics Corporation announces its return almost 30 years after closing in New York, and because both, mag and factory, are closely related in my memories.

Once I finished the whole Renwall visible line (from Visible Man to Visible Insect, from Visible Cow to Visible Dog), the next models I did were the Atomic Power Plant (Revell) and the Andrew Jackson sub. One day I saw a Frankestein Flyvver, got it, assembled it and a Universal monster fever began for me: again, from Dracula to the Mummy, from the Wolf Man to The Forgotten Prisoner of Castle Maré (coproduced between Famous Monsters people and Aurora) were assembled at least once by my hands. It was sad to say good bye to Aurora, almost at the same time when my interest in modelism began to wane. One of my latest efforts was the replica of a witch, which, of course, didn't got a good look, because my inspiration was over.

Some of these models became classics eagerly sought after by hard core collectors, in spite of the fact that both Polar Lights and Monogram reedited them. Therefore, they have been in the market ever since, however, some of them can command very high prices in auctions, although it is necessary to find them in mint or pristine condition in order to appeal to the collector´s wallet.

Aurora was created by Joseph E. Gianmarino in 1954. In its web site, BTW, as spartan as its former models, you will find the history of the company as well as the real destiny of its original molds (urban legend wanted them destroyed from long ago). For every lover of modelism, visiting Aurora´s site is a must. Please do so, you will enjoy it.
Image: Frankenstein Flyvver. Modeler: Liquid Metal.