# What box evokes the most emotion?



## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

It might sound like a dumb topic, but just think about it for a moment. I adore my Auroras, but pics of the art can be found easily. There are heaps of kits out there that aren't so easy to find pics of. One of the ones that gets to me when I see it is the AMT Graveyard Ghoul Duo. It's not that it's truly outstanding box art, it's the fact that I had this kit once and never ever saw the kit again. Another is the late '60s boxing of the li'l Coffin. I loved the pic of the car with Mr Bones leaning on it in front of a haunted house. I also love the logo on the box.
As stupid as this is gonna sound, I got a little teary when I finally found my King Chopper after decades of searching. The art took me straight back to my 9th birthday and the great times I had then. 
We all have emotional triggers and that beautiful kit is still my strongest!!
What about yours?

Chris.


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Definitely the Addams Family Haunted House model box...just the sight of it sends a chill down my spine...the spooky graveyard ...gnarled trees ...ghosts floating past the broken window panes...eerie candles flickering in dark corners of unspeakable rooms ...lightening flashes silhouetting bats in a thunderous sky .yeah all I've got to do is close my eyes during a thunder storm and that box art of the Haunted House fills up the old Skull Cinema...and man I love it :thumbsup:
Mcdee
PS...Great thread Chris


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

There are a few kits whose box art remind me of the "good ol' days", but the one that tops 'em all is Tom Daniel's "Ghost of the Red Baron". Nothing fancy, but it brings me right back every time.


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## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

the '79 Ertl Enterprise


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## Roguepink (Sep 18, 2003)

Whatever kit I'm currently working on, but military airplanes are absolutely the best box art out there. I think any of the AMT/ERTL refit enterprises make my blood run cold and my teeth begin to grind. Not only are the kits rubbish, the box art is often very poorly done, hardly accurate, disproportionate, all that the kit itself has represented over the years.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

I know what you mean Roguepink. The later AMT/Ertl boxes have some atrocious art! For a long time I was put off buying their new-tool '57 Chev because I thought it looked terrible on the box. I finally bought a second hand Pro Shop version at a swap meet and had a shock when I saw the actual moldings! I really believe box art can make or break a kits popularity. It's great to see manufacturers going back to illustrations.
Zombie, I remember the Ghost kit and love it but I never had one when I was a kid (same as the King Chopper) but, for me anyway, the KC kit was the one! I think it was the bikes lines and the vulture that sealed it for me. Let's hope Frank and TD get together and rerelease the Ghost. It'd be even better if Revellogram put it out as an SSP style release a'la S'Cool Bus.

Chris.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

I can't....I just can't...I won't do it!


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Go on Fluke- you know you want to. We're all friends here and we won't think any less of you..........

Chris.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

.......and get thrown off the island?....no way dude!


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

The Stooges kits from Polar Lights.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

On a safe G rated and more on topic note:

For me....I say The PL *C57-D* hands down! I sure hope that kit see the shelves again one day...I have sold the two that I have had.....darn darn darn!!


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Ok Fluke- I just reread the heading and it clicked!!:lol::lol::devil:. I must be thicker than I thought!
Speaking of which how's the rodent porn selling?.......

Chris.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

LOL!!

Not good at all pal......seems that rats have very little access to computers and they are lowsy typers....no orders yet at all 

.....and to make matters worse.....this little monster just ate my star stud rat!


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Awww.....cute Fluke! I'm sorry to hear about your rat mate. 

If they cut you in on the action, you could do all the selling. "Pimp My Rat" would be a good title. That just cost you 2% of the gross. If I can be of any more help........

Chris .:dude:


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## spawndude (Nov 28, 2007)

I find the box art of space related models from the 1950's to be very inspirational.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Which ones? The Strombecker and Revell space art was cool.

Chris.


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

The Bride Of Frankenstein. Thats one I didnt buy as a kid. But I admired the box many times. by the time I was ready to buy it, they couldnt be found. I kicked myself in the butt for many years till PL did a reissue.


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

fluke said:


> I can't....I just can't...I won't do it!





Auroranut said:


> Ok Fluke- I just reread the heading and it clicked!!:lol::lol::devil:. I must be thicker than I thought!
> Speaking of which how's the rodent porn selling?.......
> 
> Chris.


Yeah Chris...when I first saw the heading I thought...hoo boy this is gonna be some spicy topic...but then I figured I was the only perv in the group...thank God for Fluke
Mcdee


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## Dr. Pretorius (Nov 17, 2000)

I don't know if I've ever had a great emotional response to box art. The one that made the biggest impression on me was Aruora's Creature. In fact it was the B+W picture on the instruction sheet that spooked me a bit when I was four years old and my older brother had built the model. The figure of the Creature coming out of the gloomy backround sent a chill down my spine. It reamins a favorite to this day.

Years later when I aquired a Captain Kidd model, I was blown away by the cover art. For me it's one of the most dramatic paintings in a long list of great model box art. Kidd's defensive stance over his treasure hoard and the line of light from the rising sun falling across his lower half tell a great story.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

mcdougall said:


> Yeah Chris...when I first saw the heading I thought...hoo boy this is gonna be some spicy topic...but then I figured I was the only perv in the group...thank God for Fluke
> Mcdee


I'm so lonely- so very lonely.........I've forgotten........ 

Chris.


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

i love the customizing kit BA on the skull/rat one . also the Forgotten Prisoner is great . 
on the Customizing kit it just brings back memories of when i first got one and thinking how i could tie together the monsters in one big scene like the House of Frankenstein type flicks . 
hb


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## chevy263 (Oct 6, 2003)

This works for me  A 1/4mile wheelie in a Hemi powered animal of a car!!


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

What box evokes the most emotion? The one on that waitress in Bay City in 1994. She looked almost exactly like Wynona Ryder (but with larger breasticles). WahOOOOOOOooooo! :woohoo: :wave: 

I ain't a skeerd


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## RHINO#1 (May 19, 1999)

HOWDY GANG!!!!!!!:wave: I WOULD HAVE TO SAY ALL OF THESE: http://morbidmonster.com/AuroraFantasy/index.html WOW SHEENA IS HOT:devil: BUT FOR REAL [superhero] AURORA SPIDERMAN [horror] PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AURORA, TWO GREAT KITS AND TWO GREAT BOXES :thumbsup:.....LATER..........RHINO:devil:


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## Duck Fink (May 2, 2005)

For some reason the boxes I remember best from my childhood are the MPC Millenium Falcon and the Revell visible V-8 enigine. It takes me back to putting that stuff together at my grandparents house. The visible V8 was a little hard for me at the time but I got a couple of seconds worth of rotations out of it before it seized up! I especially liked the Millenium Falcon box. It had those cool looing lit up pics on the side of the box.


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## frankenstyrene (Oct 5, 2006)

The Skinner box does it for me every time.


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## yamahog (Nov 19, 1998)

Auroranut said:


> As stupid as this is gonna sound, I got a little teary when I finally found my King Chopper after decades of searching. The art took me straight back to my 9th birthday and the great times I had then.


Not stupid at all. When I was 9-years-old, that "King Chopper" was something I really wanted. It sat high up on the top shelf of the toy department at the local JC Penney, right next to a "Big Red Baron." Even now, when I walk into that same JC Penney, I remember that "King Chopper" sitting so high up on that shelf...

--Hawg


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

oh heck yeah , i remember those "top shelf" kits like Big T , Gigantic Frankenstein . 
the unreachables ! 
great memories! 
hb


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

The title of this thread leads to thoughts that could easily get me thrown off of this board !!


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## yamahog (Nov 19, 1998)

Dabs,
I was thinkin' back to my college years, until I realized he was talkin' 'bout model kits.

Ah, the King Chopper....Man, I wanted that kit bad.


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## spindrift (Apr 16, 2005)

The original 1968 Aurora LAND OF THE GIANTS snake box art by Harry Scharre...definately the most dramatic box art ever- I just adore it!
Next to that Kunstler's two LOST IN SPACE cyclops kits art are just beautiful...
Gary:thumbsup:


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

yamahog said:


> Dabs,
> I was thinkin' back to my college years, until I realized he was talkin' 'bout model kits.
> 
> Ah, the King Chopper....Man, I wanted that kit bad.


The title was supposed to be "What box ART ......" but, knowing this group like I do, someone would have written "Penthouse".....
Yamahog, I didn't get King Chopper for my 9th birthday. It was $6.50. My birthday money was $4.25. So I bought Li'l Coffin instead. I saved my pocket money for KC, but when I went back, it was gone and I didn't see the kit again for 35 years. I paid an obscene price for it, and I'll be buried with it!!

Chris.


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## yamahog (Nov 19, 1998)

It IS the coolest of all bikes. And the big box made even more impact. I got the rerelease years leter, but it was called by a different name.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Do you mean Satans Cycle? That was a cool kit too. I think it still had the vulture but I can't be sure. If you want to turn your kit into the KC,I have a second set of decals. I think they're in the KC box. If you want them, PM me. You can have them. I'll have to check the condition, but I'm sure they're still good.

Chris.


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## RHINO#1 (May 19, 1999)

*Big Bad Cool Trike!!!!!!!*

HERE YA GO YAMAHOG: http://www.tomdaniel.com/85_kits/frm_85kits.html ENJOY:thumbsup:..............LATER.........RHINO!!!!!!:devil:


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## yamahog (Nov 19, 1998)

Auroranut said:


> Do you mean Satans Cycle? That was a cool kit too.


That's it! "Satan's Cycle." Not quite the same "feel" of the King Chopper, but still the same kit. Thanks for the offer of the decals, but I rarely use 'em. 

Rhino--Thanks for the link. Good stuff.

--Hawg


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

No worries Yamahog.:thumbsup:

Chris.


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## yamahog (Nov 19, 1998)

Chris,

I see that you're in Brisbane. One of my all-time favorite shows is "Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo." I imagine it's rather legendary in those parts?


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

I remember watching it when I was a kid. The ranger station is still there but you don't hear much about the show anymore. I remember coming home from school, and it came on at 4:00. I think Batfink came on first. Man, that was a long time ago!. I think it's out on DVD.

Chris.


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## yamahog (Nov 19, 1998)

That 'roo could do everything; answer the phone, fly a helicopter, etc. He put Lassie to shame.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Skippy was cool, but you had Mr Ed!! Now that was a smart animal. He could talk!! All Skippy could do was go "tsk tsk". It makes for a short phone call!

Chris.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Its interesting to analyze the link of emotion to a stimulus. Someone mentioned the graveyard ghoul duo. I remember buying that kit, but I have bad feelings linked to it - the day after I bought it I came down with a bad case of flu. It was summer and I was stuck inside with a fever. I looked at the kit but didn't even feel up to putting it together. So there was nothing at all wrong with the kit, its just the circumstances around it.
THe Creature, OTOH, has positive feelings associated with it. Besides the punch-you-in-the-face-knock-down power of the illustration (what a color combo - a simple complimentary color scheme, but WOW), I really, REALLY wanted it, and got it as a birthday present. I remember opening it and just going ape$**+ over the scales, claws, detail, etc., all molded in that fantastic green metallic. Opening an original creature still brings back that feeling!


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## yamahog (Nov 19, 1998)

CDub,

I got that feeling (the good one) with The Forgotten Prisoner. Got it when I was 9 or 10. Great box art. Lots of cool bits & accessories. Assembling it downstairs by myself was kinda creepy though. I had the glow version.


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## NeilUnreal (Feb 17, 2001)

When I was about five, we lived in a subdivision near the outskirts of the city. The yards were huge, there were a lot of big trees and some woods, and it was pitch dark at night.

I thought the original Aurora Wolfman box cover looked like a night scene from our back yard, with the house on the box being our house. It made quite an impression on a five year old. At least it kept me from any temptation to roam the neighborhood at night, lol.

Seeing it still gives me a bit of a chill, though now accompanied by nostalgia. Would that all life's monsters remained those on model box covers...

-Neil


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

True philosophy, Neil.
One of the gratifying aspects of art is when it draws you into the scene and you personally relate to it.
A few years after I painted the Wolf Man cover for PL I had occasion to take our aging dog out in the middle of the night. Our house backs up to field and forest, and as I walked the dog it dawned on me just how similar the scene was to the one I painted for the cover - low lying fog, diffuse bluish grey light, a full moon casting black shadows before the trees. I can't tell you how HAPPY I was to see that! I was on the verge of howling but thought it best not to disturb the neighbors...


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## mrmurph (Nov 21, 2007)

A lot of the old Aurora boxes have good memories associated with them. Be hard to pick just one. The Phantom of the Opera, Bride of Frankenstein, and Jekyll as Hyde are definitely sentimental favorites.


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## NTRPRZ (Feb 23, 1999)

For me, Lost in Space 420. It just has many memories for me.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

My introduction to plastic modeling came via those wonderful monster model box art paintings by James Bama. But Aurora's graphic designers were great at making _any _model look appealing, no matter who painted the covers or even if photos of the finished kits appeared. I still remember being bowled over by the cover pic of the Moon Bus from _2001: A Space Odyssey._

The first Polar Lights reissue I purchased was the Addams Family House repop. I recognized the artwork immediately. And when I saw the PL logo, I realized that a new age in plastic modeling was about to begin...!

Mark McG.


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Forgotten Prisoner, Phantom of the Opera, Dr Jekyll, and the Neandeerthal Man are all in joint 1st place, all of them having made a big impression on me, and which I never forgot!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

*Eh - ?*

Did I read that right? You, Cro-Magnon Man were impressed by the box art for the Neanderthal Man kit? Not the Cro-Magnon Woman art?

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Mark McGee, this century is getting away from me.


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## crazy mike (Aug 26, 1999)

Wasn't the pictures on the box, it was the box itself. There was no way that a monster that big, came out of a box that flat and tiny.


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

What box evokes the most emotion? errr uh... Any box with Pizza in it! But seriously, I really enjoy the new box art for the Creepy-t and the Mummy Machine. The PL Wolfman art is really great, and the '99 mummy too. Cool stuff!


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## Duck Fink (May 2, 2005)

You know what? I have to ring in again. The Evil Iron Trike and the Dragonfire Trike from Revell really conjure up some good memmories. Even though they are just built-ups on the box I absolutely LOVED these kits and I was fascinated with the box art as a kid. I could not get all of the parts to stick though because I was niave regarding scraping chrome parts before glueing. It constantly fell apart when I played with it.


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

speaking of PL , the Chris White Phantom of the Opera art work really knocked me out . thought the same as McGee , a new era beginning . 
hb


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Mark McGovern said:


> Did I read that right? You, Cro-Magnon Man were impressed by the box art for the Neanderthal Man kit? Not the Cro-Magnon Woman art?
> 
> Not that there's anything wrong with that...
> 
> Mark McGee, this century is getting away from me.



That's right, Mark, Cro-Magnon Woman should have been right up there as that was the first Aurora kit I ever built. But when I started searching for the kits again in the 1990's I found that I couldn't remember much about the Cro-Magnon Woman kit or box, I only had a vague memory of it. But the kits I mentioned, such as Forgotten Prisoner, I had remembered in detail!


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## deadmanincfan (Mar 11, 2008)

Boy, this is a tough one...the Aurora LOST IN SPACE Robinson family diorama (sans chariot) was my first model so that evokes an emotional response...but the PL repop of Bride of Frankenstein gets a strong reaction too, 'cuz after never finding it as a child I FINALLY got it. 
These days, and I've told this to Scott McKillop and Frank Winspur, just thinking about working on Moebius's and Monarch's kits brings back all those wonderful childhood feelings...like waking up early Saturday morning, tuning in to ABC and watching Filmation's JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH or FANTASTIC VOYAGE...then switching to CBS for SUPERMAN, THE LONE RANGER, and JONNY QUEST...working on a model during the commercials...then driving to the nearest large town (my home town was pop. 750) forshopping...and looking for the latest Aurora kit...*sigh*...good times...and good feelings...feelings I thought I'd lost...


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Just today I had another Blast from my Past...I got my hands on an original Madame Tussauds guillotine 1964...by Aurora (complete and unmade) There weren't many made with the name Madame Tussauds printed on the box and although I had a guillotine model as a kid ...it never had that name printed on it...for 54 years old I sure feel 12 :thumbsup:
Mcdee
PS Still an excellent thread Chris...sent you a PM


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

OOps wrong thread again, sheesh !!


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

[IMG-LEFT]http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/071112/homer_l.jpg[/IMG-LEFT]


kit-junkie said:


> What box evokes the most emotion? errr uh... Any box with Pizza in it!




Mmmmmm . . . . Pizza . . . .




The original Hawk Weird-Oh box art brings back a lot of fun memories. Also the illustrations of Virgil Exner's "modern classic" car designs on the Renwal Revival boxes -- which generally looked a lot cooler, sleeker and prettier than the finished models.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

mcdougall said:


> Just today I had another Blast from my Past...I got my hands on an original Madame Tussauds guillotine 1964...by Aurora (complete and unmade) There weren't many made with the name Madame Tussauds printed on the box and although I had a guillotine model as a kid ...it never had that name printed on it...for 54 years old I sure feel 12 :thumbsup:
> Mcdee
> PS Still an excellent thread Chris...sent you a PM


What can I say Mcdee? :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::woohoo:
Excellent mate!!! PM answered. I wrote a novel, and they knocked me back to 1000 letters!!! Who left the peasants in charge of the settings?!!?
So You've got 2 PMs!

Chris.


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