Air Show Thrill Seeker

In late 1926, Lloyd Stearman, Fred Hoyt, and George Lyle chartered Stearman Aircraft, Inc., with fabrication in Venice, California, with final assembly and test flights taking place at Clover Field, modern-day Santa Monica Airport. Established in 1927, Stearman Aircraft Corporation had a vital role in the fields of military and general aviation. Wichita, Kansas, was a hub for aircraft manufacturing of the era, and Stearman moved his company there by the late 1930s, now the site of Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. Stearman operated as a Boeing division until September 1941, when it was redesignated the Wichita Division, Boeing Aircraft Company.

Arguably, the most famous Stearman was the Model 75 (Navy PT-17), introduced in the early 1930s. More than 10,600 were built. The biplane became the primary trainer for both the United States Army Air Corps and the United States Navy through the 1940s. In the immediate postwar years, they became trusted crop dusters, the ubiquitous aerobatic performer, and the ride for wing walkers at air shows. Many by this time had installed a larger Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior engine and a constant-speed propeller to increase the maximum takeoff weight and climb performance. Many Stearmans are still active today on the air show circuit.

Revelling Over Aircraft

In the early 1940s, California entrepreneur, Lou Glaser, founded an injection molding company, Precision Specialties, that performed contract work for other manufacturers. Glaser realized that Revell should be selling children’s toys, specifically plastic model kits. The first Revell-made mold was the 1953 USS Missouri. The first three aircraft kits followed quickly. The F-94C, F7U-1 and F9F-6 were molded without landing gear and with minimal panel lines and rivet details. Decals were included and the stands were simple, small and molded in the color of the aircraft.

Revell quickly released more kits and went to a two-piece cardboard box with a lithographed “slick” artwork on the top. From 1955-59 the “S” logo was used. These kits have a yellow “S” in a red oval on the box ends to advertise the use of “Revell S Cement”.  The first three aircraft molds were modified to show increased rivet detail and were given landing gear. More kits were released as plastic models caught on, including the B-29, B-36, B-47, F-84, DC-7 and more. All aircraft came with the famous “Globe Base” transparent relief world map for desktop display. The “S” kits were perhaps the most extensive line of models available. Airplanes, pleasure boats, cars, trucks, tanks, guns, military ships, ocean liners, animals and more filled the catalogs.