opinions on Glencoe models?

I have a Gelncoe Duck my dad bought at a toy store in the 80's.  It features a retractable landing gear. It builds into a nice looking model.  I don't recall any fit issues.  It was a nice relaxing built.  One of my favorite kits -- partly due to the subject. 

Glencoe is a good company that reissues old (and I mean OLD) kits. The Duck is an old ITC kit from the '60s (Ideal Toy Company). Some of its other kits have Hawk origins (such as the Viscount). Do NOT expect kits of Tamiya or Hasegawa, or Revell/Monogram quality. They are buildable reissues of collectible kits.

Glencoe models can be hit or miss.  In any case, being older kits, they lack the sharp detail, such as cockpits or interiors, but some of them can build into very nice models. I haven't built the duck, so can't comment much on that particular kit.

To me one of the gems is the Glencoe Curtiss Condor.  There are some fit issues, but nothing an experienced modeler can't handle, and it builds into a VERY nice model.

I even have a Glencoe model of the old TWA Moonrocket that used to be at Disneyland years ago.  I bought the model many years ago but haven't built it.  They made a series of rockets from the old Disneyland "Tomorrowland" series- real oldies designed by Wernher von Braun and Willy Ley.  I built one of those and was not at all pleased with the quality- thin plastic, poor fit, etc.

But that was those.  I think the quality varies greatly from one model to another, especially depending on its age.

Those were the old Strombecker kits from the 1950s that Glencoe dug up, cleaned up and repopped so folks could relive building kits from their childhood without finding and buying an original collectible Disney licensed kit that would have cost hundreds of dollars, even if you found one that had been glue bombed together.

I built the Glencoe "Retriever Rocket" when it was first reissued in the 90s. It is featured on the Disney Man in Space TV show, but was used to fly to the moon, orbit a few times, film the surface from the observation dome and return to Earth. Glencoe describes it as a ship used to retrieve ships returning from missions to Mars. I've got the Disney Tomorrowland DVD set that has a lot of the Glencoe space ships featured in different episodes.

For a 1950s kit, it was pretty neat. It was nice to be able to build a nostalgic kit without paying collector's prices. That was Glencoe's goal. Don't buy Glencoe kits if you're looking for a high quality model. Buy them because you're looking to relive kits from the 50s.

Absolutely correct!

I built the original Strombecker TWA moon rocket way back then, and a couple others.  Did you know that Glencoe was not allowed to sell their version with the TWA logo, like the original, due to copyright problems?  So they included decals that said "Fastway"  and most people soon figured out that they could cut apart the decal to get "TWA"  !

One good thing about Glencoe kits- the decal sheets. Often they are worth the price that you will pay for many of the kits, around $10-$15.

I have the 80's boxing of the Duck.  '88 I think.  Nice kit.  I did same one back inthe day and don't remember any issues with it.  Looks great sitting on the shelf with the other 1/48 Navy planes!

Eagle90

The museum near here has one which is why I'm interested in it

Glencoe reissues many older kits, as has been mentioned.

But it also often cleans them up and as also mentioned, includes state of the art decals.

The WWI kits in their stable are the ancient Aurora offerings from the 50s, but have the decal locators removed and some detail added, and new decals.

They are still in business as its essentially a one man operation, and offer many classic and hard to find kits at cheap prices,

Link to their website:

www.glencoemodels.com/index.html

Strange website- i don't see any way to purchase one of their models.

I never knew that they did the X-1B... and in my preferred aircraft scale of 1/48... oh my!

Hi....the Glencoe duck is in 1/52 scale.....if you like this plane try to serch the classic airframe.......;)

Italian Starfighter

Hi....the Glencoe duck is in 1/52 scale.....if you like this plane try to serch the classic airframe.......;)

Hey Starfighter...good catch!  I noticed it says 1/52 on the instructions, but on the box itself I saw 1/48.  BUT......after a closer look, it actually says "Approx. 1/48 scale"!    I did not pay attention to detail!  Anyway, thanks for the correction...sure it won't be the last time I'm wrong! 

Eagle90

stikpusher

I never knew that they did the X-1B... and in my preferred aircraft scale of 1/48... oh my!

Hey Stik, I noticed that in the last FSM!  Oh I HAVE to get one of those too!

Eagle90

Here are a couple of pics of the Glencoe Curtiss Condor, which I think is their best kit.

IIR they had a nice little Grumman Duck, or was it a Goose? I also built a Curtiss Condor, 50 ears ago, and IIR I think there is a real one still flying. Neat airplane. Those are all very old and primitive kits and most are re-boxed kits from other manufacturers. But, as stated above they are very reasonably priced and can be made into a nice replica. They can be used as an inexpensive way to practice building and finishing skills, as well a s scratch building skills.

I just bought a Glencoe 1/32 McDonnell XV-1 Convertiplane for $10 at a HobbytownUSA in Augusta, GA< yesterday. I'm impressed with the detail of the kit. Not a lot of interior detail, but the surface detail looks great, with recessed panel lines. I couldn't believe it when I saw the price - I did a double-take when I saw that it was a 1/32nd scale kit for $9.99! Snatched that baby up quick! Looking forward to building it.

That website is a little odd. On the home page there's a picture of a big, three-masted schooner. It almost has to be a reissue of the old, old ITC yacht Atlantic. But the Glencoe online catalog doesn't list it. 

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on that kit. I have a small piece of the ship in my office, and the only other kit available is the one from Bluejacket - which costs several hundred dollars. 

Devil Dawg

I just bought a Glencoe 1/32 McDonnell XV-1 Convertiplane for $10 at a HobbytownUSA in Augusta, GA< yesterday. I'm impressed with the detail of the kit. Not a lot of interior detail, but the surface detail looks great, with recessed panel lines. I couldn't believe it when I saw the price - I did a double-take when I saw that it was a 1/32nd scale kit for $9.99! Snatched that baby up quick! Looking forward to building it.

Hey DD,

Great find!  I have one of those (seen better days after 21 years of the Air Force boxing her up to ship off).  Here she is after MANY years of wear and tear!  And missing a few pieces still!    Threw the ruler in there for you to have a size comparison. 

Thanks for the picture, Eagle. How well did it go together?

Devil Dawg

Thanks for the picture, Eagle. How well did it go together?

Hey DD,

Not a bad kit.  Some seams for sure need some attention.  The worst ones were around where the wings attach to the fuselage, and where the twin booms attach to the wings.  Lots of filler there.  It has raised rivets all over that seem to be a little big, but no real issues.  The skids attaching to the fuselage were a little wonky too, but over all, nothing that a little time and some sanding can't handle.  It is definitely a unique addition to any plane collection!

Eagle90

Hey , DON :

That is a nice old plane isn't it ? I have built numerous ones over the years .Got lost in moves etc. Now I have started another . Love that little plane !     T.B.