Monogram Models - The Monogram Approach

The Monogram Approach

By the late 1950s, the company moved steadily into the car scene especially with its Hot Rods and race cars. In 1956 it released a Sprint Car, one of its first car kits. In 1959 its 1932 Ford Deuce 5 window coupe was issued. One 1962 kit, however, showed the company's prowess and intent - the "Big T" (kit PC 78). This was a huge 1/8 scale 1924 Ford Model T rod complete with hot-rodded Chevy engine. The 24 page 8 1/2 x 11 inch instruction booklet showed that the model came with an optional electric motor to power the wheels and featured customizing tips by Darryl Starbird, the famous Kansas customizer (Monogram 1962). The manual also shows how sophisticated the company's catering was toward Hot Rod culture - long before Hot Wheels or the Detroit muscle car craze.

As the 1960s progressed, Monogram and Revell squared off as rivals in the scale model market. While companies like AMT and MPC focused almost exclusively on cars, Monogram and Revell were always diversified into aircraft, naval craft and other military vehicles. Monogram aircraft kits were known for imaginative "operating features", such as a spring-loaded ejection seat on their F-105 Thunderchief model (operated by a tiny plastic tab on the side of the plane) and a tactical nuclear bomb which could be dropped from the RB-66A model - which also featured a moving tailgun turret.

In the 1970s, Monogram wanted to portray a different perspective on its kits and add some spark to sales. It hired modeler Sheperd Paine to construct and paint aircraft models and dioramas which were used for photographs on boxes and on instruction booklets (DeRogatis 2005).