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MONOGRAM U.S. AIR FORCE AIR POWER SET

IN BRIEF:  This legendary model kit stirs memories and emotions among many modelers who were too young to build it during its first and only release.  Dem Brudders are thrilled for an opportunity to experience this kit and we are happy to share it with our readers in the model building community.

My personal connection to the Monogram U.S. Air Force Air Power kit began when I saw an older neighbor boy's Monogram Missiles set in the early 1970's.  It was one of the coolest models I'd ever seen, rating up there with Brudder Dick's Renwal 1/1 scale Visible Head or Renwal Cosmorama (1/1 scale operating planetarium!)

While drooling over the missile set, I recall being told that there was also a collection of aircraft that Monogram had done as a kit, but I never even saw pictures until many years later.  The missile set was easy to obtain during a re-release in the 1980's, but the Air Power set remained elusive.  I tried many times to obtain one on eBay, but even bits and pieces of the set commanded stratospheric prices.

Friend and correspondent who has asked to be identified as John B has a somewhat similar story and I'll let him tell it from here.

Very little color enhancement was done to this photo.  The box is a classic eleven-piece affair (top and bottom are sturdy cardboard with a glued-on glossy paper overlay with the graphics, and eight pieces of paper pasted to hold the corners together)

"While I was alive when the Air Power set was released in 1959, I was too young to have bought it, so while not literally accurate, the kit was  very much 'before my time'.

My interest in Air Force aircraft of the period is simple to account for...my father was an Air Force pilot and I spent my first 14 years living on various air bases."

The T-33 is one piece.  Most of the parts were off the sprues and no assembly was done on either kit as-received.  Shapes on each of these aircraft appears pretty spot-on.

"I don't recall specifically learning about the Air Power set until much later...long after they had become very collectable. In those pre-internet days, you'd learn about old kits from older friends, or perhaps a magazine. Unless you were a serious and talented builder who attended IPMS shows with their attendant dealer tables, old kits were hard to see and even harder to find and purchase. I had a real desire for the kit. It encapsulated the essence of my childhood. I recalled seeing many of those planes at my base's annual Open House and most had been flown, if not by my father, then the fathers of my friends. While the first generation fighters like the F-86 and F-94 are pretty much gone by that time, the "Century Series" were very much of the period as were the B-52 and KC-135. In fact in my own Air Force career, I would fly in the B-52,  KC-135 and C-130...all represented in the kit. And despite the kit's 61 year age...those types are still in active service."

The F-94C is also one molding.  Panel lines are recessed.  The tooling actually reminds me of what you would see in a classic Comet or Hawk kit.

"When I was older, I did attend a few model contests and about the same time 'antique' toy shows became common. Finally, I could see fabled old kits 'in the flesh' , but I never did see the one I was looking for... 'Air Power.'

Finally, the internet age came upon us and now it wasn't difficult to find anything. All the long lost toys of childhood were now available to us...and unlike our youth, we had the money to purchase them...and we didn't even need our parents' permission (but we might have a wife to explain larger purchases to!)."

Around 2008, a well known web site which sells older kits listed an  Air Power set. The price...well, I still don't like to talk about it. In fact, I have purged it from my memory to the extent I can no longer recall the price I paid.  It was in fine shape, all the parts were there, but the fuselage of the C-130 had been replaced with a resin casting. Despite that, I sent a check and waited for the opportunity to finally examine the kit I had been yearning for for 30 years."

The underside of this F-89 is exquisite.  Note that the F-86 has some ejector pin marks to fill!  A mold seam goes around the wing and lower fuselage.  The mold half with the most area gets the ejection pins  since that's where the plastic will stick when the mold is opened up - that's on top for the F-86!  Fortunately, it'll be easy to deal with!  

"I was impressed by the kit. It was finely molded and featured all the planes from my childhood. However, there was a  disappointment... I knew there was no way my skills would ever be of the caliber necessary to finish the kit in the way its content, rarity and cost necessitated. So, I put it in my den.

A couple of years later, I was on my way home from work; one neighborhood I passed through featured several old retail spaces that had been turned into 'antique' malls filled with various old items. One day I stopped at one, hoping they'd have a toy, manufacturers desk model of an airplane or old model kit I'd find interesting. And even though I had one, I hoped to find another Air Power kit. I asked the proprietor if she had any old model kits and she replied she did, one had just arrived the day before...an acquisition from a garage sale. To my shock, it was an Air Power kit. Nearly complete and in an unmarked box. It even had the small tube of glue included in the original kit. The decals were old and a bit curled, but the instructions  and Air Force booklet were like new. I summoned the courage to ask its price... 'Thirty dollars' she replied in an almost apologetic tone. I paid her without quibbling."

The larger aircraft have quite a few pieces.  The prop planes are depicted "in flight" with no propeller blades.

The base is a trapezoidal affair.  It is designed to accept wires upon which the planes will be mounted.  The concept is somewhat similar to their original 1/128 missile set which debuted prior to this set.  The Monogram missile set was changed up circa 1969 and then re-released in the 1980's as part of their Heritage Edition series.

Here's a side-by-side shot of the Monogram Missile Arsenal base (1969 issue; left) alongside the Air Power set base to compare sizes and shapes.

The original issue of the Monogram Missile Arsenal.

"So now I had two rare unbuilt kits...

I can't recall how I heard about the Dem Brudders website. I struck up a email friendship with Bill after making a comment on something or congratulating him on the quality of a featured build. One day, I mentioned my Air Power kits and asked if he knew someone who could finish a set in return for the other kit.
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It turns out he did know someone...himself.

So now, we'll get to see a talented modelmaker finish both sets. His will go into grace the upcoming IPMS Nationals, while the other will reside in my den, a reminder of those planes of my youth."

DECALS

Here's a high-resolution scan of the decals--not a photo, this is a scan!

Special thanks to John B for his writing and for making this project possible.  John discussed his desire to have the set built by a "talented modelmaker" (thanks for the confidence, John!), and of course I wanted one of these kits for myself.  We mutually came to the agreement that John would send me both sets, and the second set would be my payment for the build.  I decided that since I'd be building one set for someone else, I might as well build the second set at the same time and the goal was to hopefully have both finished by the IPMS Nationals in 2021 currently scheduled to occur in Las Vegas.

I need to point out that like Brudder Dick, I am extremely picky about so-called "Commission Builds."  Unless the subject and/or the payment are extremely exceptional, my default answer is a "no."  However, this arrangement, and the chance to actually experience a Monogram Air Power set for myself was irresistible.  

INSTRUCTIONS

The instructions are a large sheet of paper folded in thirds; folded, they measure 8-1/2X11 inches (approximately A4 size).

Aside from the chance to experience and build the Monogram Air Power set, I knew I had to put it on the website.  While photographing it to document everything pre-build, I knew the opportunity would be lost for a YouTube video once too much gluing was done.  So I interrupted the initial stages of the build to create a simple video description of kit components.  I was also surprised that the Air Power Set couldn't be found on YouTube, and the temptation to provide more than a spartan video description of the kit proved overwhelming.

Each aircraft gets one drawing for assembly, decals, and some painting guidance.

Once Roddy Redshirt got involved, all hell broke loose and the simple video quickly evolved into a monster.  However, the monster's electrodes got hooked up and even though we were a tad late for Halloween 2020, we gave it the juice on November 09, 2020.   The Monogram Air Power Set is on YouTube for the first time!  Initial views have been strong and the comments left so far indicate that there is definitely an interest in this kit.

The B-52 rates the largest drawing since it has the most parts.  A chart helps get the right size decals located where they go and there's some pretty good guidance about decal placement.  There's a wire chart as well to be sure you match up the right wire with its appropriate model!

Even as recently as 1988, Monogram's kits had fine raised panel lines.  The 1988 example is the 1/32-scale X-1.  Even though Revell and Monogram had merged by this time, the work on the X-1 appears to have been done using Monogram's skillset.  The Air Power kit is notable for using engraved panel lines on all models.  The box proclaims that the models were designed using original blueprints.   Shapes of the models for the most part are excellent, and the few exceptions I noted were minor.  I wondered about the shape of the beaver-tail on the C-130 and one interesting missing detail I noted was that the F-89 appears to have no nosewheel door.  These are pretty minor nitpicks.

HOW BIG ARE THE MODELS?  Compare the B-52E from the Monogram Air Power set in 1/240, top, with the Atlantis (Revell) B-52 in 1/175 scale, and the new Minicraft B-52D/E fuselage half in 1/144-scale.  1/240 scale works out to be one inch equals 20 feet.  It's precisely 6/10 the size of 1/144 scale, or not quite half as small.

THE BOOK

Cover and inside of the cover of the 24-page book that came with the Monogram Air Power kit.  Some work obviously went into this!  One of the reasons for the success of Monogram Models is because they strived to go the extra mile for their customers by providing a high-quality product.  It is obvious that they went to a lot of effort to get these models as accurate as they could.  They could have justified cutting corners because their young audience might not seem sophisticated enough to notice, but they took the more difficult route!

The paper was a high-grade bond.  No enhancement was done to any of the scans of the book.  What you see here is an unadulterated scanned image of printing done in 1959.

Since the book was published in 1959, the Korean Conflict is the latest military history included. 

Here are two examples of the pages from each model in the set, 18 included.  In our YouTube video, we introduce each plane in the set with a quick image of its page from the book.  While we don't have the space to include all the pages here, you can get an idea for what each page looks like from watching the video.

These are the last two pages of the book, which follow the pages describing each of the models in the set.  Young readers could learn all about tail numbers and serial numbers thanks to the Monogram Air Power kit!

Back cover.  The box top proclaims "24 pages of pictures and information."  Including the cover, the book actually has 28 pages total.

A price code on the box end indicated a retail price for the model kit of $3.98 USD.  Indexing for inflation in the 60 years since the set was first released to time of posting this article, this would be about $35.00.  Perhaps this was too high for a model kit back in the day; apparently, it didn't sell well enough to justify a re-release.

THE WIRES

The bag of wires in both kits was unopened.  Wires were shiny and appeared as if they could be new indicating best-quality stock and/or plating.

There really was nowhere in the Monogram Air Power kit where you could say that the manufacturer cut corners.  The weakest part of the set was the cheap newsprint mini-catalog, but of course that wasn't an official part of the model kit!

MORE BOX

Box sides feature line drawings of each plane.

Each end of the box is identical.  The UPC code was about twenty years in the future, so none of that nonsense is included.  PA56 is the order number for the kit, and 398 was a kind-of code for the suggested retail price of $3.98 USD.  This was on the high side when many kits ranged between 49 and 98 cents.  It was not exactly something you could buy with pocket money in those days--you'd have to put it on your birthday or Christmas gift wish list, wait patiently, and hope that Santa Claus and/or your parents came through for you.  This was a tall order and apparently the kit just was not a huge seller.

GLUE AND MINI-CATALOG

It was common for Monogram to include a mini-catalog insert with their kits.  In the Monogram Air Power Set, the insert was printed on standard, inexpensive newspaper stock that was not intended to last.  A few Monogram kits I have from a few years later have a mini-catalog printed on a better-quality bleached paper with a lower acid-content that has aged a lot better.

For your enjoyment, we've included the contents of the entire mini-catalog.  The long foldout has broken at some of the folds thanks to degradation of the paper over the years, and we've photographed the individual segments you see here.

Many of the aircraft on these pages have been re-released numerous times.

The "Speedee-Bilt" and flying scale models were common before all-plastic styrene models took over the industry in the late 1950's.  They were on their last legs here.

Monogram's boats and tanks are seen here.  Some have been re-released even recently,

Monogram's U.S. Missile Arsenal had two incarnations.  The earlier one, seen here, has a Vanguard, Jupiter-C, and some early cruise missiles.  Later on, the makeup of the missiles was changed.

Some of the Willey Ley space models have been re-released over the years.  the TV Orbiter is a very rare kit that hasn't been seen in a while.

This tube had a hole punched in it, possibly from the tail of the F-101.  It will need some repair (the model, not the glue!  The contents of the tube are rock-hard).

With the higher price point, Monogram decided to include a tube of glue with the kit.  The tube itself is made of lead.  Circa 1959, the negative health effects of lead exposure were not known or acknowledged!  Using this tube was probably like smoking cigarettes--not very good for you in the late 1950's!  It was some years before lead tubes were either coated, or switched to plastic.

THE BUILD

13 November 2020:  Parts fit was a bit of a mixed bag.  Fuselage halves fit together well and locator pins were lined up, as might be expected for an early run of a new kit.  There were gaps in the tail surfaces.  A gap at the tail surface of the F-101 in particular was somewhat egregious, but easy to deal with.

Fit for the fuselage parts is good.  There are broad, flat  joining surfaces.  To assure a good join, I rubber-banded everything anyway.

The worst fit encountered so far was the Albatross wing.  The pictures show side-by-side views of a modified and unmodified wing-join.  Lots of trimming was required to get the fit right here.  Note the jaggedy-trailing edge of the wing, correctly depicted on the model.  A literal cut-and-paste was done to the design of the Albatross late in its development where a straight section of wing was grafted in just outboard of the engines to increase the wingspan.

The corrected wing-join is seen on the left.  The wing-root transition and the slot to receive it had to be trimmed considerably.

None of the airplanes have a lot of parts.  But there are a lot of airplanes!

Just a sampling of putty work so far.  Note the C-130 wing at bottom left that had sinkholes opposite the engines.

Virtually every part of the Air Power set has an ejector-pin mark.  None of them were extremely deep as would probably be expected from a first-run off a new mold.  However, the vast majority of them on both kits required filling with my desire to do a contest-grade build.  The B-52 wing clocked in the most, at eight!  Some airplanes have their ejector pins on top of fuselage, some on the bottom.  Molds are normally engineered so that the mold half with the most area gets the ejector pin, since that's usually where a part will "stick" when the molds are separated.  As a general rule, the planes with a low wing will get their ejector pins on the bottom. 

The model kit has very few sink marks.  These often develop around the largest voids in a mold (thickest region of the part) as the plastic contracts when it cools.  The C-130 wing has sink marks that developed topside, opposite the engine nacelles that are more prominent on the bottom of the wing.  They're pretty shallow, but with metallic finishes, even slight irregularities are more prominent, so they have to be filled here.

WILL IT RETURN?

At the end of our YouTube video on the Monogram Air Power set, we ask the viewer to leave comments on the video so that the Internet community can gauge the interest in this model kit.  We had a question on how to specifically do this; you have to have a YouTube account to add comments to a video.  The comment section is below the YouTube viewer unless you're watching in full-screen mode. If you've never commented, it's easy to do and anyone with a YouTube channel will appreciate your feedback, especially those positive comments!  If you're not so happy, trash us.  We have thick skins.  We have to put up with Roddy Redshirt, after all. 

Regarding this page, we'd like to thank all of you for visiting.  While we get good traffic on our site (Dick's large aircraft page is popular if you haven't seen it) this has been our most popular new page which would indicate a very strong interest level in the Monogram U.S. Air Force Air Power model kit.

We'll do our best to explore the status of the tooling for this kit and the possibilities for its re-release some time--we'll share what we can about the possibility of a re-release.  We hope the last chapter of the U.S. Air Force Monogram Air Power set has not yet been written!

Scroll down a bit more to see what else we've got going on at Dembrudders.com!