# Really?



## djmadden99 (Dec 23, 2008)

I'm as big a fan of Aurora as anyone but $1600 for an opened Frightening Lightening kit and almost $700 for a faded box?

Aurora Frightening Lightning Mummy box | eBay


Aurora Frightening Lightning Wolfman Box | eBay


:surprise:


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

It is rare that this happens these days, if it were 30 years ago, this would be commonplace. I have Aurora boxed kits such as both U.N.C.L.E. , [original issue] Zorro, Alfred E. Neuman. P.S. Sabertooth Tiger, among others, that don't move. Ebay is teaming at times with Aurora kits in better condition that don't move. Maybe a resurgence may be coming in Mass.


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Wow I wonder what My MIB Addams Family Haunted House would fetch lol
Bidding wars got to love 'em
This one blew me away last May
Yeah.....$9,600.00 USD or $12,380.57 Canadian ! 
PLUS POSTAGE LOLOL

1966 Aurora Godzilla Go Cart original with box | eBay
That Broke all records !
....and in case you're wondering the sale DID go through.... I've talked to the seller over at the Clubhouse....
Denis


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Hell, nobody even wanted my Blue Knight for $35.


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## Proper2 (Dec 8, 2010)

This is just insanity, plain and simple. Some people have lost all sense of perspective and reality.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Proper2 said:


> This is just insanity, plain and simple. Some people have lost all sense of perspective and reality.


Indeed. I guess that separates 'people who actually want to sell a thing' from 'people who have fantasies about how valuable their stuff is' .

It's somewhat understandable, I suppose. If one has a kit that supposedly is worth $1000 (based on what other sellers are offering it for) and one lets it go for $50, one might always fret over the possibility the buyer isn't a person who appreciates getting a kit for a decent price that goes ahead and builds it to recapture some of their youth, but rather is a despicable person who bought it just to try and 'flip' it for that phantom $1000. 

Never mind that nobody buys it at that price.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Steve H said:


> Indeed. I guess that separates 'people who actually want to sell a thing' from 'people who have fantasies about how valuable their stuff is' .
> 
> It's somewhat understandable, I suppose. If one has a kit that supposedly is worth $1000 (based on what other sellers are offering it for) and one lets it go for $50, one might always fret over the possibility the buyer isn't a person who appreciates getting a kit for a decent price that goes ahead and builds it to recapture some of their youth, but rather is a despicable person who bought it just to try and 'flip' it for that phantom $1000.
> 
> Never mind that nobody buys it at that price.


Did I miss something? both those kits sold at very high prices.

The price was worth it to at least 2 people.


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Steve H said:


> Indeed. I guess that separates 'people who actually want to sell a thing' from 'people who have fantasies about how valuable their stuff is' .
> 
> It's somewhat understandable, I suppose. If one has a kit that supposedly is worth $1000 (based on what other sellers are offering it for) and one lets it go for $50, one might always fret over the possibility the buyer isn't a person who appreciates getting a kit for a decent price that goes ahead and builds it to recapture some of their youth, but rather is a despicable person who bought it just to try and 'flip' it for that phantom $1000.
> 
> Never mind that nobody buys it at that price.


Aurora Frightening Lightning Mummy box | eBay SOLD FOR $1,600.00

Aurora Frightening Lightning Wolfman Box | eBay SOLD FOR $676.66 

1966 Aurora Godzilla Go Cart original with box | eBay SOLD FOR $9,600.00

These weren't asking prices....These kits SOLD for those amounts recently...

People do pay huge amounts for these kits. 

Denis


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## Proper2 (Dec 8, 2010)

mcdougall said:


> Aurora Frightening Lightning Mummy box | eBay SOLD FOR $1,600.00
> 
> Aurora Frightening Lightning Wolfman Box | eBay SOLD FOR $676.66
> 
> ...


Like I said: insanity.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

mach7 said:


> Did I miss something? both those kits sold at very high prices.
> 
> The price was worth it to at least 2 people.


No, you didn't miss anything, I made assumptions that seem to be completely in error. OOops. 

The Godzilla go-kart I can almost understand but the others, yikes. 

I won't further make myself seem even more stupid by wondering if the winning bids may have been shills and no real money changed hands (because that was indeed a thing at least at one time), I just hope people didn't sell the house to afford such things. 

Mind, I've spent crazy insane money on what should be cheap things in the past but nothing in the thousands of Dollars range. That's a life to have, eh?


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Proper2 said:


> This is just insanity, plain and simple. Some people have lost all sense of perspective and reality.


I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Some people have more money than brains.


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## Proper2 (Dec 8, 2010)

Zombie_61 said:


> I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Some people have more money than brains.


That is a fallacy, since someone who fits that description lacks the ability to hold on to his money. "A fool and his money are easily parted," and all that sort of thing. :wink2:


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Proper2 said:


> That is a fallacy, since someone who fits that description lacks the ability to hold on to his money. "A fool and his money are easily parted," and all that sort of thing. :wink2:


I suppose a case could be made that some people are so wealthy that "cost" and "value" have little or no meaning to them. I wish I were in that position.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

There is a local doctor who runs a chain of eye car stores, When I visited him to approve some sign sketches I noticed that in the corner of his very large office was a fossilized skeleton of a sabretooth tiger. The real deal, a museum quality exhibit as an office decoration.
Some people have a different scale of living- if it makes them happy and they want it, it is theirs. I have bought cars for less than what they spend on dinner.


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Here is the Clubhouse thread about the Godzilla Go Cart sale 

THE CLUBHOUSE ? Login

The seller finally got his money and he is investing it in making a 1/12 resin Moon Suit, which is already up for pre order...

Denis


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## djmadden99 (Dec 23, 2008)

I guess I asked the wrong question in my first post. What I should have said was, "What job do these people have and how do I get in on it?"


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Zombie_61 said:


> I suppose a case could be made that some people are so wealthy that "cost" and "value" have little or no meaning to them. I wish I were in that position.


Also, value is subjective.
What something is worth to me, can be totally different than what it is worth to you.

Another thing to consider. How often do these boxes turn up?
I don't search for them so I have no idea how rare they actually are.
If they don't turn up often, then whoever bought them probably wanted them bad enough to pay for them.
And if they have the disposable income to pull that trigger, more power to them.

Trust me. I have the same thoughts when it comes to Godzilla resin kits.
But apparently there are enough people out there willing to shell out $250+ for a 4" resin figure. Or $500+ for 12" figures.
I'm not one of them, so I just have to sit on the sidelines and dream.


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

The "Frightning Lightning" long boxes were the rarest of all the Aurora monster boxes - out just a short period of time. They looked too much like the original long boxes on the shelves so they went with the square "Glow" boxes to show a better view of the kit on shelves and also to use up more shelf space so other manufacturers wouldn't have as much thus limiting the competition. If you have the contents to put in these boxes you would have a valuable kit that is still desirable to collectors today. As Trevor said: all collecting is subjective. As an Aurora lover I appreciate these particular boxes but don't have the $$$$ to add to my collection. If I had that kind of money I wouldn't hesitate to pay a high price to obtain them. 
Steve


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I sometimes wonder when a super rare kit becomes available is it bought and then displayed intact/unopened as a part of history or is it built?


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

I think the majority of the time the rare kit is displayed as bought and no intention of building. I usually keep mine unbuilt but don't have a problem if someone buys and builds the kit. I usually try to find a built-up to restore for my collection keeping the rare kit as a display unbuilt.
Steve


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Yeah, now some of those kits are thought of as an investment so they're not built. That's fine, and like others say more power to those that can indulge in such things. 

And in a way it's good. I think technology has advanced to the point where it's possible to scan an unbuilt kit in a non-destructive way and maybe then the kit can be 'revived', re-released for a new generation. But THEN we get into the whole roundabout discussion of if there WILL be a new generation that has any interest in building a model kit. 

And of course we must not forget that many of those old, beloved models from our youth are sheer PIGS to build  There's a number of helicopter and aircraft kits Aurora released in the old days, subjects that have never been re-released, that I recall seeing in those little catalog folders that used to be included with a kit (Revell and Monogram did that as well) that I would LOVE to build but I'm sure that half of the building would involve tears of frustration over fit and look. 

I mean, who is going to make a styrene kit of something as obscure as a Sikorsky S-56 Mojave? Aurora did. *sigh*


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

John P said:


> Hell, nobody even wanted my Blue Knight for $35.


slap a frightning lightning sticker on it


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Anybody want a slightly mangled 1975 Tarzan box? I built the kit, but I wasn't sure if I should throw the box away.


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

Aurora's aircraft kits were crude at their best (and I am being nice:wink2 The boxart was the best thing about them. One thing you can say about Aurora was that they weren't hesitant in issuing obscure subjects. Most of their WW1 aircraft were pretty nice though especially given the amount of data out there at the time. I guess that's the charm in their old kits now.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

To be fair to Aurora with their aircraft, when they started, their kits were about on par with a lot of other companies, and they intentionally strove to produce a simpler, cheaper, kit with a lower price point than say, Revell. THat served them well until the mid 60s when they had to rely on their old tooling in a market now being pushed by more accurate, in scale, detailed, and larger models. What sold well in 1953 was harder to sell in 1966 and imposible to sell in 1977 when Aurora went bankrupt.

Some of their aircraft kits were pretty nice, as were some helicopters and ships. Monogram sold versions of the A-7 Corsair II jet and F-111 bomber and some of the pretty nice WW1 planes. SOme of those still turn up under the Revell brand. 

Supposedly the WW1 kits were a cut above the other planes because Aurora had access to a good reference book with accurate scale plans. 

Aurora, also being cheap, bought and recycled a lot of kits from other outfits. They picked up molds from Comet, Helicopters for Industry, ,Crown, and a few other early bird plastic makers.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

scooke123 said:


> Aurora's aircraft kits were crude at their best (and I am being nice:wink2 The boxart was the best thing about them. One thing you can say about Aurora was that they weren't hesitant in issuing obscure subjects. Most of their WW1 aircraft were pretty nice though especially given the amount of data out there at the time. I guess that's the charm in their old kits now.


I can't disagree. But that's part of the charm, the box art was amazing. 

I mean that large scale B-25 (I think 1/48? or even 1/32?), a pig of a kit but that box and the sheer SIZE of the thing was mind blowing. I think I still have that partially built in storage. 

Even as simple as the kits tended to be (Revell and Monogram always had little action features that made them fun but a pain to build RIGHT in those crude days) but an Aurora plane was always better than a Hawk kit.


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

The B-25 in 1/32 scale was a screw together kit converted from their line of gas-powered u-control planes. The other B-25 was 1/48 scale. Both had impressive box art. The 1/48 scale kit was even released as a 12 O'clock High kit with battle damaged decals. I remember the first ME 109 I built in that maroon plastic! The boxart was way cool on that one! Plane inside didn't come close to matching the artwork on the box. That is the great thing about those old kits - really bring back some good memories. Talking about the Hawk kits - what about the early Lindberg aircraft?:freak:


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I have the 12 O'Clock High Mitchell. It's the same as their older kit just with new decals. The box art is the same as the old kit too just with the 12 O'C H added. The decal sheet has stuff like bullet holes and flames to put on the bomber's wings. I've seen some decal sheets for sale cheap on eBay too, so you could get a common "Big A" box Mitchell and do it up like the 12 O'C H kit without spending too much money. Somehow I think you also got the same basic decal sheet in the 12 O'C H Marauder with just the display stand name being different.


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

Yeah the Marauder had the same decal treatment. None of the smaller aircraft in the series had different decals though, only the 2 bombers. I think all the kits were molded in olive drab though - at least all the ones I've seen.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

scooke123 said:


> Yeah the Marauder had the same decal treatment. None of the smaller aircraft in the series had different decals though, only the 2 bombers. I think all the kits were molded in olive drab though - at least all the ones I've seen.


I know the Mitchell and Mustang were in OD. I haven't seen the Messerschmitt or Focke Wulf kits


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

Tried to find one of the FW but no go. Got box art but no kit guts pics.

I have bit into the impossible. A child of the '60s, and I love models, even the crap Auroras. Have owned so many I could not count, but not all, so, I have taken it upon myself to build a modeling catalog database featuring at least every model through the '60s and up of all the US modelling companies, with pics of kit assembled OOB painted or not, box art, instruction sheets of variation repops, decal sheet, plastic color changes, and parts laid out to show how many and what they looked like.................MAN what a job!

So far the Aurora section is over 40K jpgs now and Revell with all the kits they make......................I'll be likely doing this when I die.


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