# What did PL mean to you ?



## Nighteagle2001 (Jan 11, 2001)

Hey Guys, I'm doing a college research paper on Polar Lights, and I'm looking 
for "testamonials" on what PL ( and this BB ) has ment to you.So if you could post alittle something here, I would greatly appreciate it
Thanks in advance


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## DinoMike (Jan 1, 1970)

PL came along at just about the time I was seriously struck by a nostalgia bug, and was trying to re-acquire some of the old Aurora kits that I built as a kid, as well as several I never had, or never knew existed.

PL made it all happen for me... LIS Robot, Bride of Frankenstein, The Dick Tracy figure kit... and the BB gave an interesting insight into the mindset of the company.

I'm gonna miss all of the above....


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

Well to me, Polar Lights was a "second chance" so to speak. I got an opportunity in retirement to acquire and work on some of the models that were out when I was younger and for various reasons couldn't build then.

It was also a reason to recall all those "spooky old movies" that we so loved to be frightened by 'back then'. When I first learned of PL bringing back those memories I jumped at the chance to hold nostalgia in my hands. And, the building/painting/embelishing is a fine pastime, for someone as myself with health problems, that doesn't require strenuous activity.

As for the Polar Lights BB, I only recently became aware of it, and signed on after browsing just a few days, because I saw "kindred spirits". I learned more in technique, style, etc., than I had previously known. Someone is always willing to lend advice when you have any question pertaining to the hobby/art/craft, of modeling. There seem to be no "egos" here, just comraderie.
I feel bad for the possibilty of the model supply 'running dry' so soon after I found all the above and got back in the swing, as it were.


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## Gerry-Lynn (Mar 20, 2002)

Many found memories of my early years growing up - When, it seemed, to be a simpler time... No stress, or worries... Just being a Kid. 

I am very thankful for what PolarLights gave us - Our Youth back.

Gerry-Lynn








PS Who knows...Maybe history will repeat itself, again.


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## irocer (Aug 22, 2000)

Polar Lights has meant a great deal to me and created many possiblities I never would have gotten otherwise. Have are a few examples:

First all those repops came along giving me the chance to have some of the great stuff Aurora once made. Being born in 1964 I only got to own a few of those future classics. PL made having most of those kits possible without lossing either arm or legs. It also refired this same interest in thesame kits for a friend of mine- to date i have built him about 15 PL kits. It was an escape back to childhood for both of us.

Next thing was this very BB. What a great tool and commuication device to the masses. This is a lesson of customer service and involvement. Many companies in and out of this industry should learn from PL how this works and why in helped to make PL very successful. It was through the board and the customer service one of my greatest modeling thrills happened.

I learned that PL had board members to do testshot buildups for them. When I learned of the coming Petty Charger I volunteered to do the buildup. What an honor for the Petty nut that I am and as a modeler I was to have input into the development of a kit. My car was the first finished build, Ii did it without instructions ( only a few chassis mockup photos), no decals and nothing chromed. The car in the catalog was the next buildup, but I was first and did get to be part of the eventual kit.

Lastly PL gave us many contests to enter. Here I have been able to complete against some of the best our hobby can offer. I have been fortunate to win two of these and placed second in another. The popularity of my kits led to a Wonderfest trip in 2004. Here I was able to win several awards, but the best thing was meeting Dave Metzer and Chris White in person. While there Dave was instrumental in connecting me with Terry Webb of AFM magazine, as a result two of my kits and an article wound up in his magazine with more being build for future issues.

To sum up I have had many great experiences and opportunitys with PL. I truely hated to hear the the company was sold. I wish it could rolled right on as was another 10 years and more. I will be content with the memorys I was given by this great little giant of a model company.


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## Paraclete1 (Nov 27, 2000)

I never thought of model kits as being made by one company, so Aurora didn't have any meaning for me, but as I got back into modeling, I began to learn some of the history behind the models. As I learned more, I began to appreciate the companys that produce kits. As a kid, I wasn't allowed to by most of the kits that I wanted to buy due to money or nature of the kit. Then Polar Lights came out an offered me a chance to recapture my youth, buy some of the kits that my mother wouldn't allow me to buy. The Land of the Giants Snake Dio was a prime example. And to get some kits that I never saw in my local stores. They also allowed me to build some of the kits that the way I wanted. I was able to build the B-9 Lost in Space Robot with lights. And I got some of the kits that I never had any desire for as a kid, but found that I wanted to try and build as an adult. PL came at a time when I was able to purchase kits and the tools to do them right. To make it short, PL allowed me to relive my youth and try to do the kits justice. I just wish that there had been more time for PL to produce more.

Don


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## Dr. Pretorius (Nov 17, 2000)

For me Polar Lights has meant a great deal. They have let me collect and build the closest thing to the original Aurora kits. They also have made injection molded kits of subjects that otherwise would have been made with other(more expensive) materials, such as resin.

There is also the nostalgia factor of the Aurora re-pops. The original box art and instruction art has always been a plus.

I've been building models for 35+ years and will keep modeling for as long as I can. Hopefully I'll see another renaissance of classic figure kits in the future.

Dr. Pretorius, aka Dave


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

In the late 60s, when I was a pre-teen, I wrote a letter to Monogram Models begging them to make a model kit of the Jupiter 2 from Lost in Space. I sketched a parts breakdown, and suggested a fully detailed interior, and a size of at least 12". Thirty years later, this wonderful new model company named Polar Lights seemed to have gotten my letter, and made one of my dreams come true.

Polar Lights let me re-live some of my favorite Aurora models - the Dick Tracy Space Coup, The Spindrift, the LiS robot. They gave me hope for new kits of nostalgic genre subjects like the C-57D and the J2.

The best thing? Believe it or not, the old Aurora kit _stand_. I've always thought it was the best stand ever made for an airplane or spaceship model in flight. I had ONE, under my 1975 Spindrift model. I'd asked on the bboard if PL could repop JUST the stand, and they said it wouldn not be finacially feasible. But when they were talking about repopping the Spindrift model, I suggested on the bboard that they include the stand as part of the kit. Lisa passed the word, and sure enough, when the Spindrift came out, there was the greatest model stand in history in the box! Then they also included it in the Batplane kit! I bought five of each model JUST to get the stands :lol:, and now I have a whole line of model spaceships on display at home perched on my favorite stand.

This bboard has also been a wonderful little social spot for me. I don't always have work to do at the office, and it's been a life-saver in terms of stress relief to come here and talk models any time I want to. I've made a few virtual friends (some gone from here now, and I wish they'd pop in again).

There were a lot of models on my wish list that PL never got to. Some were considered, some weren't. A 1/35 LiS Chariot; a 24" Seaview; a 24" Fireball XL-5; a 1/25 Supercar; Babylon 5 kits; Repops of the Aurora 2001 kits; the Aurora Voyager. Still, the ones they DID do made a lot of old geezers happy, reliving some glorious days in the modeling hobby.

I felt genuinely blessed when they announced they had the Star Trek license, and doubley so when I heard Tom Sasser was mastering a TOS Enterprise. I balked at the small size at first, but it has become one of my all-time favorite kits. I'm currently building my _tenth _kitbash from it. The follow-up Klingon D7, despite a parts fit glitch caused by the factory, was also wonderful. News of the 1/350 refit has me giddy as a school girl. I've been rather disturbed by PL's other choices of Trek subjects, because it's nothing I care about. Given that the company charter was to feed the nostalgiic desires of older modelers who loved Aurora, it seems odd to be putting out _current _subjects from failed series and movies.

The news that Racing Champions had bought PL hit me like a chunk of the World Trade Center falling on me. Knowing they'd presided over the dismantling of Ertl's plastic model division, and had only bought Playing Mantis for its Johnny Lightning die cast division, filled me (and many of my friends in the hobby) with deep dread. So far, our fears have been only partly quelled by RC2's allowing the kits that were in the pipeline to be continued (well, most of them). But the uncertainty of the dark future beyond the release of the refit (and yet another goddamn NX-01) still hovers over me like another dangling piece of masonary. I despair that there will never be a 1/350 TOS Enterprise, something I've been dreaming of for decades. My "essential" Trek wish list is relatively short, but nothing on it post-dates TNG. Even being an adult and knowing "business is business," I can't help but feel betrayed that Mr. Lowe sold this joy ride out from under us.

So, ten years of hope and happiness, some fulfillment, some disappointment, and a bit of a sour aftertaste.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

I would have to echo much of what John P said above. And amazingly, he said all of that in good style, grammar, spelling and punctuation without editting his post!

I have found this to be an exceptional place to come and develop as a modeler. First when I started skulking about here back in '98 I bought a Polar Lights Lost in Space Cyclops kit - and painted it in Testors Gloss paints!!!!!!! I cringe at that these days after learning about drybrushing and other stuff. And I recently bought an airbrush and have expended into the formerly scary world of resin kits. None of that would have happened without the help of all the very knowledgable folks here. 

If we see nothing else from Polar Lights it will be very sad for me. But I really hope this little community continues to thrive. Its a great little place for us modelers to hang out.

Huzz


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

funny you should ask . becuase i was just lookin' at Mitch's Go Cart BU and it got me thinkin' how many kits like that, that i ( and probably many other modellers ) never thought would see the light of day again .
i had been into modelling since i was a kid and had been collecting vinyl , resin and the odd repops that Monogram had been putting out when PL came along re popping great old kits like the Bride , Munster's LR , etc.
just felt like the "Golden Age " of Aurora reborn only better 'cuz now i could buy multiples ( without my Mom getting on my case or being resricted by my kid sized allowance ) and customize if i wanted to . 
so they really put the feather in the cap of an already crazy figure kit guy . 
.....now if they just would have done BIG FRANKY ......
hb


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

I started building models when I was 11 years old - 48 years ago - and I wasn't very good at it. The hobby came and went in the ensuing years and seemed to finally stick in about 1971 when I discovered AMT's Enterprise. 

I remained a mediocre modeler for many years building any science fiction model that appeared in my local sci-fi shop - including Star Wars, Aliens and Star Trek subjects. 

Then three things happened. First I discovered the internet and while exploring, I found Starship Modeler, PC Modeler, CultTVMan and the boards. They led me to my next discovery of Polar Lights. And then PL released the Jupiter 2.

Knowing that there were other sci-fi modelers out there (we are not alone) gave me the inspiration to experiment and challenge myself with the Jupiter 2. That project produced a set of decals and a chapter in Steve's first book. It rejuvenated my interest in the hobby and allowed me to pick the brains of other modelers. Today, I have the proper tools and the ambition and I'm going to Wonderfest again this year just to see if I can finally move from being a mediocre modeler to intermediate modeler. 

So Polar Lights was never really the reason but it was continually the catalyst that kept me going once I'd re-discovered my love for the hobby. If Polar Lights hadn't been there, the journey would have still taken place but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.

Jim


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

From age Five, building Aurora Monster kits was a big part of my young life.
My first kit was Frankenstein. I painted his skin copper and glued his hands
upside down, but it was my introduction to many years of building models. My
last 2 monster kits I built at the age of 13 Dr Jekill, and the Hunchback. I stopped building because my brother made fun of me. I started building models
again in the early 90's when my first child was born. I started thinking of my childhood, and found I could buy resin re-casts of my Aurora models (the cost
$100-150.00!!! each). I purchased many of them. Then a company named
Polar Lights starterd re-issuing these AWESOME kits, I was so happy to get
some of my old friends back!!! Each time I build one of their kits, I step into
a time machine to a more innocent time. Their new kits have also become new
favorites to me, like the Three Stooges kits!!! Thanks Polar Lights! You may be
gone, but your legacy remains!!!


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## model happy (Dec 13, 2003)

Hi everyone I don't post much but check out the BB every day or so. I must say since the sale of Playing Mantis its been like a wake on the BB. Its just starting to come back. There wouldn't be any more talk about polar lights new releases which was always fun to read. I still like the pics and tips on how everyone made their models and hope it remains. Polar Lights was a great company in every aspect. They will be greatly missed . They brought me back to model making I'm 48yrs old and had a ball with Aurora monster models as a kid(creature feature ,monster mags and Aurora monster models were all we did from 1963 to 1967) those were great times as a kid and Polar lights brought back many found memories . They also gave me a chance to built and buy more models then I had as a kid (even though they were only 98cents ) I think that its a shame polar lights is gone (they could have done so much more) But thats life time to move on. I still have polar lights kits that are unbuilt and still have to buy a few more that I didn't get yet.I will be busy for a while . When they run out I will most likely built airplanes and ships or something I am hooked on modeling again thanks to Polar Lights


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## Matthew Green (Nov 12, 2000)

I've talked about this over at the Yahoo Universal Monster army group, but PL has GIVEN me a childhood I always wanted. I grew up in the 80's and wasn't raised to do model kits. We had our pre-painted figures. Oh, I got a little in on the Monster craze by getting Remco's UM figures but it was the REAL tail end of it. After seeing Frank, Drac and the boys at Toys R Us in the late 90's; it allowed me to be a 60's kid like I had wanted to be. I couldn't even imagine how cool it would've been to live as a kid back then. To do the corner drug store purchase of a $1 Frankenstein kit and the fresh copy of Famous Monsters of Filmland. Those must've been great growing up days.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

I can still remember going to the corner drug store and finding an aisle filled with Aurora kits; going to the local K Mart and finding all the monsters, the Voyager, the Moonbus................

Huzz


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

... they were indeed, and Polar Lights brought those days back in large measure for many of us. All of us who loved Aurora and fantasy/pop culture kits of that era were blessed to enjoy the unexpected gift that was Polar Lights. It was a great run, not as long as some of us would have hoped - but a lot longer and more productive than many of us would have expected. For me, Polar Lights was just one of those blessings in life that you don't expect and don't deserve but it comes your way anyway. Yes, it was a business - we are all more than aware of that now - but it was a business that was predicated on a certain kind of magic that's hard to hold on to, hard to sustain. I think Polar Lights had a _great_ run. It did it's job very well, and now it's gone. No complaints from me.


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## pagni (Mar 20, 1999)

*PL meant....*

The Pro:
Being able to acquire the harder to find items like the Go-Cart, Thronester and the rest of the Monster rods, as well as obtaining building copies of some of the harder to find monster kits.

The Con: (and forgive me my selfishness)
All my Original Aurora kits which I had spent years sourcing and acquiring were instantly devalued.
Thankfully Big Frankie,The Monster Scenes and Dr.Jekyll as Mr.Hyde were never rereleased.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

First, I recommend you find a copy of Mike Warsaw's Inc. article about Polar Lights (and the people behind it), the BB, and the saga of the Guillotine kit.

Like many others here I had begun collecting the icons of my youth- Aurora model kits, Famous Monsters of Filmland magazines, classic board games. This is just like people who collect comic books, dolls or baseball cards. They may tell you otherwise, but it is really a way to travel back in time. Then on the horizon a model company appears that provides another way of travelling back in time. Not only can we collect the kits from our childhood, they are reasonably priced so we can completely indulge in creative process. Peeling the wrap, opening the box. dry-fitting the parts, and ultimately building the kits transported me to a time when life was less complicated. It became a "my" time, and current worries were, for the time being, put on the backburner.

And to make things even better, we have a bulletin board where we could post comments and questions, and receive answers from the brand manager! And if that wasn't enough, we were visited by the president of the company, and given the opportunity to directly comment on the product line and our desires. While not all the kits we wanted were produced, this board was influencial in the production of one kit (guillotine) and helped decide with others. A few of the board members here also had direct involvement with the company, building samples or test shots, making recommendations, etc.

My personal experience goes a bit beyond that. Polar Lights allowed me to fulfill one of my childhood dreams - creating cover art for model kits. As I've mentioned ad nauseum before, I was greatly impressed and influenced by the art Aurora used, and by the caliber of artists they contracted. When i saw the great job Polar Lights did on the Bride kit, I had to call and find out if they were doing new subjects. They were, and the rest is history. I am still grateful for the experience, and proud of the work I've done for them. Also, as I've said before, I knew the ride wouldn't last forever, so I enjoyed it while I could! No regrets.

Are there other kits I would have liked to have seen produced? You bet. Gort and Klaatu for one, to go with Dr. Smith and the B-9 robot. A land vehicle (with Altaira) to go with Robby. A dynamic, deranged Invisible Man. A Martain War Machine. The Martian. Really, the list could go on, but there some real treats from PL, unexpected delights, like the Stooges, Michael Myers, Dick Tracy, the customizing kits, and the big honkin' C-57D. The diecast Batmobiles were beautiful, especially the 1950's version. Gorgeous Trek kits engineered by a true fan who respected the source...

Yup, no regrets.


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## Otto69 (Jan 2, 2004)

*For me PL is...*

..A chance not just to relive my childhood, but to better it. Perhaps differently from many people on this board, I have not purchased many of the PL monster kits. I love monsters, grew up with them, built the kits, blew them up, started watching more 'mature' monster movies, and still do. I'm only rebuilding a couple of the monster kits that PL offers, mostly the newer kits.

For me it was the newer kits which set Polar Lights apart. The new Wolfman. The 3 Stooges. The larger scale superhero kits. The C-57D (with interior details!). The little Enterprise (which can make 3 different versions.) The Jupiter 2, which NEVER had a decent toy available when I was a kid, and now here was a model kit (cool), with interior detail on par with a toy (cooler!) Then there are the Bat vehicles, which I had as a kid and now have again. The Addams Family (glows AND has moving parts) and Psycho houses. I think the thing that sets these apart from the monster kits for me is that they are things from movies which were not the stars of the movies, but now I have a chance to see them up close, to build them, and thus to vicariously experience some aspect of having been in, or had to do with making of, those movies.

I think back as a kid to models I liked, and most of them are the Aurora tank, vehicle, and similar kits. I'm not positive, but I think the reason I continue to find these things fascinating is that by building the kit you learn something about the item the kit represents. You learn nomenclature, you learn how a tank suspension operates, you see how flanges hold parts together. When I build other things (furniture, containers, car parts) I have an understanding of what makes a part solid or not partially because of the experience I have of building plastic models. I've always been interested in how 'things' go together and come apart, and so for me kits of houses and vehicles seem slightly more interesting than kits of monsters, though I by no means denegrate monsters trust me, I love em. But whereas a monster kit is to me primarily a challenge in painting, a kit of a vehicle/house is something to be enjoyed as you build it, modify it, etc. Once built, for me, it's less interesting. Figure kits on the other hand are the opposite. You push through the building, then spend time on the painting, shading, etc. Then at the conclusion you have a painted figure to decorate your place with.

My dad is a mechanical engineer, and brought me up with an abiding interest in how things work. So the chance to build a C-57D, or a Jupiter 2, with mega detail inside, is just the chance of a lifetime. Especially since there are so few kits like this available today. Sure, there are tank kits, but for me at least, once you've built a few tanks, you pretty much 'understand' how they work. I don't need to build the 1943 1/2 E.1 variant of the Sherman/Tiger to be happy. I'm not a 'rivet counter'. But what I wouldn't give for a buildable kit of the Aurora Sealab III (which just went for over $200 on Evilbay  ) So yes, I will buy the upcoming Enterprise Refit 'big' kit, not because I'm a huge giant throbbing Star Trek fan, but because building a kit of that size, of something which is not "designed" to exist with gravity pulling down on all the cantilevered sections, is an interesting challenge. Not to mention lighting it.

Think about it: as kid you work on a bicycle and you learn how to work on bicicyles. Build a tank kit though, or a car kit, and you learn how a tank or car goes to gether (to some degree). As a result of building kits, I'm not afraid to try taking apart, modifying, or rebuilding other things. I buy a book (aka. the instructions), and I learn to take the heads off a car and replace the head gasket, then re-assemble. I can read the instructions and "see" how the parts go together, and I believe I gained that ability from building kits.


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## kangg7 (Jun 21, 2000)

Polar lights provided me the oportunity to fulfill a dream. I remember as a 7 yr old child , finding out that aroara had the LIS robot model. I sent them a letter asking questions on how much it was and how to get one. I remember having troubles going to sleep at night because I was soooo excited at how I was going to do this kit when I got it.
When I got a reply to my letter an eternity later,[two weeks IS an eternity to a seven year old] I was informed that the LIS robot was no longer in production or available. I was crushed.
As I got older , I still had the dream of one day owning this kit. I realized that it was out of any real possability because it was a highly valued collectble, but the dream was still there . One day I would have 500 or more dollars to purchase one.
I remeber the day I saw one of these gems sitting on the local hobby shops shelf. I believe I had a cow right on the spot. Of course I had to buy it , FOR $16.00 !!!!!!! I WAS BESIDE MYSELF WITH JOY. I noticed the phone number on the side of the box and called it to tell this company how it had made a dream come true.
Shortly afterwards I was able to get online and and join the PL family.It was a wonderful feeling to know that there were alot of other modelers out there that shared my interest and tast in modeling. I was no longer alone!!!!! I also had an opertunity to express my wishes, and an opertunity to learn and be inspired by other modelers.
It's been a really great experience, and I'm glad I've had the opertunity to be a part of it all. Will I miss PL, let there be no doubt. But it's been one hell of a fun pony ride!!!!!
P.S. I am still trying to hold out hope for the future of PL under RC. I see alot of potential, but only the future will tell.

Qapla'
Kangg7 A.K.A. Dave


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## CaptFrank (Jan 29, 2005)

*What does Polar Lights mean to me?*

Polar Lights was a roller coaster.

The ride is over, and a big fat sweaty unshaven oaf is telling me to get out of the roller coaster car because the park is closed.

Star Trek is a big part of my model building. I built the AMT/ERTL 18" ENTERPRISE for years. I even gave one to my 7 year old nephew and built it with him. (We painted it different colors of fluorescent paint, BY HAND!)

When ERTL was bought by Racing Champions, they stopped production on all Star Trek kits.

Ebay was my only hope. I collected whatever I could find. (I'm still working on those 40 kits.)

Then, one day, I heard a new company was going to produce new Star Trek kits! Hurray!

I was initially disappointed by the size of the 1/1000 Enterprise. I bought them anyway. I liked the $10.00 range the kit was priced. I grabbed two Klingon D-7's when they came out. When the NX-01 was announced, I pre-ordered two. When they arrived, I opened one immediately. What a kit! It was huge! Fantastic!

The ride was getting better!

Then, a rumor floated by like a wisp of mist on the plains: the Re-Fit Enterprise in the same scale! The possibility of an accurate re-fit was staggering.

Then, the Borg came.

The ride is over.

I'll have to wait for another company to wrangle a license from Paramount in order to get more ships.

Will RC2 re-release the old ERTL kits? Doubtful. They've had the molds and licenses for years, and never did anything. 
Now that they have Polar Lights, will they re-issue? Doubtful.

What did Polar Lights mean to me?
They were a star that shone too brightly, too briefly. They were a second chance for me, as a model builder, to enjoy a hobby I've participated in for 20 years.

It was a very fun ride.


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## MangoMan (Jul 29, 1999)

I grew up building models, but it was after the Aurora era. I'd never heard of them, really. I did the classic "build models until high school then abandon them for girls" route. I got back into models around 1995, and was focused primarily on the Star Wars/Trek stuff. That was also the time I started being able to access this great Information Superhighway.

I found Quantum SF (anybody remember them?), which led me to Starship Modeller, which led me to CultTVMan, which led me to the boards. Out of curiosity, I started reading the PL board. There was a great bunch of characters here, and actual contact with a company representative! Wow! But I just didn't care about the models they were producing. Not a big monster fan, hated LIS, and there wasn't anything else coming out from them at the time.

Then they did the Sleepy Hollow kit. What a fun build! And if I needed advice, there were a plethora of experts here to help me. Next came the Mach 5. Talk about a childhood dream come true! And Robby, which was supposed to be the second in a line of robot kits after the LIS one. Their motto had it right, these were Seriously Fun kits!

But it was always the people on this board that kept me coming back. They were friends that I'd never met. Until WF 2000, that is. Then they became family. Hell, Lisa was the only person outside the family that I ever really talked to about my mother passing away.

So I stuck around. Through all the uproar over Bellringers and Guillotines, and tiny monsterlovers and Klaatu barada nikto's (which I foolishly assumed meant that the Gort kit that Lisa told me was coming was actually coming!). Through all the good times and recorders and hamster pardoning and the inponderable workings of the Duke University library system. Good times and bad, people you couldn't wait to hear from, and those you wish would just shut up and go away. You know, family.

I knew it wasn't going to last forever. Things always change, situations always change, people always change. But I'm still here, and still having fun, for the most part.

That's what a hobby is supposed to be about, isn't it?


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## Nighteagle2001 (Jan 11, 2001)

Hey guys, 

Thank you for your great responses, I'll let you know how it went


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## A Taylor (Jan 1, 1970)

They paved Polar Lights and put up a parking lot.


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## The Batman (Mar 21, 2000)

When I was a kid, my buddies and I would get together on the weekends and build model kits together. It was a great activity to interact, socialize, and learn from each other. This activity usually also took place when the Saturday afternoon movies were on television - usually the scary movies like: The Day of The Triffids, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and etc... I have some great, warm memories of those times.

Our interests in models weren't of the standard; Car, plane, tank variety. We were more focused on the fantastic. Things that we fantasized about on popular tv shows and movies, such as: Batman, Lost In Space, and of course Monsters! The Aurora Plastics Corp. tapped into this realm of our imaginations and brought it to life for us - in a collection of plastic parts for about 98 cents a box!

Those were great times. They represented a lot of FUN... but, also, a lot of learning, building, and exercising personal creativity.

Polar Lights recaptured that for me in a lot of ways. First by re-issuing a lot of the old, now rare, Aurora kits of my youth. Then, by coming out with new kits of their own - often of models I had _wished_ for from Aurora in my youth! And, perhaps most importantly, through this forum - the Polar Lights Bulletin Board - because through this online interaction I have been able to make new friendships and reclaim a long gone part of my past. 

Modeling has become a more mature expression of creativity, it is accomplished with more exacting care and precision. But, it's still a whole lot of FUN - especially because I can 'get together' with my online buddies and share thoughts, ideas, helpful hints, differences of opinion, and similar interests ( both on topic and off ). That's an experience I'll always treasure, and I can thank Polar Lights for making it so.

- GJS


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## HARRY (Mar 23, 2000)

Like the rest of yall it brought back that old childhood feeling of finding those old monster kits that ya had as a kid.The joy of puttin um together and slappin the old gloss paints on um.Displaying them proudly for all(parents,realitives and friends) to see and wonder (to themselves and one another )Whats wrong with this kid?All those monsters and that red,red blood all over them.For that feeling and since of time travel,I thank Polar Lights and the fine folk there.Change is enivetable(sp) for things and for that I'am saddened,but like the rest here enjoyed the ride.I have enough kits to keep me busy til I also come to an end.As for the BB,i lurked for a while before I chimed in.I have gotten great tips,info and personal thank you's ,sympathey and congratulations from alot of you here and for those I am truley greatful.Because of this board I got intrested in going to Wonderfest(5th year this year) and meeting stars,dealers,companies and all who have a hand in such.And by far I'am happy to have met many BB members and call them my friends.Some as far as England,others as close as in my state.That's what Polar Lights and this board means to me.Thanks again.:thumbsup:


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Like many others on this board nostalgia plays a big part in what PL means to me. Thanks to PL I was able to build kits from my childhood that previously were long gone. I was also able to acquire kits that I thought I'd never be able to afford. They also put out some cool new figure kits of their own. Building one reminded me of the first time buidling one of the Aurora kits. I've met some great people on the BB and in person. Its really cool to meet a bunch of people who you share many common interests with. I don't know if the ride is over, but we are on a different track now. I've to enough kits to hold me for some time; I'm gonna kick back, build some kits and see where it leads. 

Keep on modeling! :thumbsup: 
Rick


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

A Taylor said:


> They paved Polar Lights and put up a parking lot.


 T-shirts with that should be available at Wonderfest :lol:


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## A Taylor (Jan 1, 1970)

Ya think they'd sell?
I could print them pretty easily...


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## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

But would those RC2 people from Dyersville Iowa "get" the message?

DL Matthys


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## fjimi (Sep 29, 2004)

I'm in for the shirt! It should say "What did PL mean to you?" on the back. CAPS of course

~for many reasons~


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

A picture of a parking lot with a little tombstone that says "RIP Polar Lights" and the dates of its creation and demise.


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

What did Polar Lights mean to me? 
Well, to start with, it did provide a regular paycheck!
I really do miss most of the people I worked with, both in Mishawaka and in China.

I really enjoyed making fun stuff. 

I've worked in all kinds of jobs over the years. I've built Mobile Homes, Been a Purchasing Agent in the MH industry, Sold engineered wood, and several other varieties of building materials.
I've worked in the Hobby industry both in retail and as a buyer.

The great part of Polar Lights was that we actually MADE kits! And it seemed that people were buying those kits because those kits were fun! We certainly proved that nostalgia sells!

I still enjoy working on these projects for RC-2 because I love seeing a set of photos and drawings turned into a model kit.

Dave


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## Roy Kirchoff (Jan 1, 1970)

Polar Lights reintroduced me to the world of modeling that I had abandoned in the late sixties. It seems that most folks on this board bought and built a lot of the old Aurora monster and sci-fi kits. I on the other hand only remember building three kits: Frankenstein, Godzilla and The Forgotten Prisoner. So, PL allowed me to purchase and build models I didn’t even know were around. The original sculpts for me are the greatest joy. I really think that it took a lot of guts to produce kits that have visually improved dynamic poses, kits that say “Look at me!” , and to make them BIG. 

Believe it or not, PL introduced me to the internet. What a fountain of information playingmantis.com turned out to be after I found the URL on the side of The Addams Family House box. HobbyTalk, the Polar Lights BB, Wonderfest and many other activities were opened up to me and my wife. I had a ton of fun being in on the ground floor of the BB thing. And when PL launched their new web site I got a box full of kits just for alerting the designers to nonfunctioning links and such.

Wonderfest. Those first two Wonderfests we attended really amazed me. I had no idea that there was a garage kit industry. Man, that’s cool. And the level of talent showcased at the contest is just plain awe inspiring. When I first saw Markenstein's The Bride of Frankenstein I realized that model building wasn’t just for kids, that a real artistry could be achieved. It really made me step up my game. I was introduced to talented artists the likes of Chris White, Dave Metzner, and David Fisher. And I met a whole slew of great people who like me thought that PL was da bomb.

Like Night-owl said earlier, the ride’s not over, it’s just on another track. For me the destination isn’t as important as the journey.

RK


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## phrankenstign (Nov 29, 1999)

*Polar Lights - long may they burn.....*

Hi there guys/girl(?).........

I happened to chance upon Polar Lights when they were starting to sell The Bride of Frankenstein kit. I'd forgotten that kit had ever existed, but there it was on-line for sale on different sites around the internet. I remember thinking, "Wow! I'm going to actually have a chance to build and paint one without having to pay big $$$!" There was even a web-site with pictures of the actual kit surrounded by some black and gray spider web wall paper! At the time, I rarely liked to order anything---neither on-line nor through catalogs. I decided to just wait until I could find it at one of my local shops or department stores. Time passed.....and occasionally, I'd go back to the web-site to admire those Bride photos. It wasn't until just after Christmas when I chanced upon a shelf full of Frankenstein's Flivvers and Mummy's Chariots at the Super Kmart in Newport News, VA, that I just flipped out! They were being sold for something like $4.97!!! I frantically looked for Dracula's Dragster and The Bride of Frankenstein, but I didn't have any luck!

Once I got home, I couldn't wait to open them. It was such a good feeling to see these kits again. I'd nearly forgotten all about the Mummy's Chariot too, so it was a double bonus for me to have that kit. You see, my dad had bought Frankenstein's Flivver and Dracula's Dragster for his half-brother who lived in Mexico. My uncle was a master model builder who had an amazing skill for making his models look just like the pictures on the boxes. My dad would always buy my uncle a few models every year and deliver them during our annual visits. My uncle never failed to complete all of the models my dad had given him on our previous visit. His work on those two Aurora kits just floored me when I saw them completed a year later. They looked as close to the boxes as possible in my opinion. The fact that I never got a chance to build those by the time I started building models in the early seventies really made me feel like I'd had a secret (almost forgotten) wish fulfilled.

In the weeks that followed, I kept finding reasons to go back to the Super Kmart. It didn't matter if I needed milk, shirts, or oil, I'd always end up in the toy section looking for more Polar Lights kits. Sadly, I never found anymore there. I started frequenting hobby shops in my area more and I slowly started to realize I probably wouldn't be seeing many more PL kits.

Over a year passed by before I started seeing Aurora kits at Toys 'R' Us! At first, I thought I had to be imagining it. As I studied the boxes, I realized there had been some kind of deal with Monogram, CineModels and Polar Lights to produce The Mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolf Man. I thought it was fantastic! So I went back to the PL web-site, but I really didn't see anything about it there. I nosed around the site which by this time also mentioned quite a few other kits that had been added....and then I saw the PLBB. I clicked on it and started reading some of the posts there. I was surprised there was actually a WOMAN, Lisa Greco, who worked for the company that seemed to be heading the discussions. That's when I learned how PL's role had been to distribute the models Monogram had manufactured. I remember the discussion dealing with the little concrete posts for the Frankenstein model seemed to fit loosely in contrast to the originals that fit snugly. This kind of discussion with a company insider seemed really cool. I was fascinated by how easy it was to find out what was going on behind the scenes. The fact that everbody seemed so friendly and enthusiastic about the kits made me want to join. So I did! I registered, and I immediately found out I wasn't the only guy who was still interested in models, monsters, science fantasy/fiction, and comics. I hadn't had a conversation about Aurora kits, Lost In Space, Batman, Famous Monsters of Filmland, nor The Green Hornet with anyone who had anything other than vague recollections of any of them. Yet this place was filled with people who knew in-depth details about all of them. This place became a great place to hang out and learn all kinds of things I'd always wanted to know not only about models, but also about all of the common interests many of us shared.

Lisa set the tone for the way the bulletin board discussions would go. We talked about it being like a club house, because that's exactly what it felt like. Yes, there were a few bumps along the way. However, I always felt a strange kind of closeness to many of you here even though I've never met any of you in person. Isn't that kind of weird? I appreciate the friendship and help many of you have given me over the years.

The sale of Playing Mantis was definitely NOT something I was happy to see. (I'm happy for Mr. Lowe. I'm sure it made good business sense for him.) I felt sad because I thought it would mean the end of this PLBB. For a time, it seemed it would be. Somehow RC2 decided it was worth keeping. Perhaps there IS a future for PL. I can only hope it's bright enough to help keep all of you coming back here for years to come!

Tony (.....who doesn't feel like he's the only oddball anymore!)


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## phrankenstign (Nov 29, 1999)

*Okay...Here it is in a nutshell......*

Here's the Reader's Digest version of my last post:

Polar Lights means Aurora (Borealis) Plastic Corp. for the 21st century to me........only now I have the money to buy all those kits I wanted as a kid (along with a bunch of all-new ones) but couldn't afford!


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## Da Queen (Mar 11, 2005)

Ditto to what Metzner said. Plus, for me...on so many levels it was the best job I ever had. I miss it. I miss all y'all!

Hugs!
Lisa


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

First, that's a good college research paper you have to do there, Nighteagle; when I was at college we didn't get to study such intersting topics! And it's a good question you've asked, a different way of looking at the past ten years.

For me PL came at just the right time, as I'd only recently re-discovered Aurora by accident, after seeing the Forgotten Prisoner while looking through copies of Toy Shop in 1993 for old advertising antiques. I was suddenly able to remember many of the Aurora kits I'd seen when I was a kid. I found the Bill Bruegman book by chance in a Sci-Fi shop, and started looking in proper modelling magazines for Aurora kits. From classified ads I soon found that a whole Aurora hobby existed, and other collectors, who all seemed to have great Aurora collections already, told me of up-coming Monogram re-issues and resin recasts and so on. After a while an editor of a modelling magazine told me that there would shortly be appearing two Aurora reissues from a company called Polar Lights, and that they had a whole line of them planned. 

It seemed too good to be true, and I expected that we'd have to be content with the sporadic reissues put out by Monogram, who had just issued the Luminators, a line often joked about here on the BB since. But it turned out to be perfectly true; PL appeared, and so did the kits we'd been hoping for, especially many of the most desirable kits highlighted in the Bruegman book. And PL's activities encouraged Monogram to reissue some rare kits in 1999 which might otherwise have never seen the light of day.

The Bruegman book is still No. 1 for me; I've got all the others, and the Schiffer edition of Tom Graham's Aurora book arrived just two days ago, but the Bruegman book is still the most atmospheric for me. When I fist read the book, I would not have believed that within a few years most of the hard-to-find kits in it would be on my shelf. If PL had never come along, I'd still be chasing up classified ads in model magazines, to obtain kits with no box and with parts missing and in poor condition. 

So, the right company, at the right time, issuing the right kits, in the right boxes, at the right price. And I found that in the 1990's and up to now I could still buy the very same brands of glue and paints with which I'd attempted a few of the kits originally back in the 1970's, to recreate the original experience and to finish them with the materials Aurora expected modellers to use back then.

Fear for the future: that eventually PL will be such a distant memory that PL kits have their own books and price guides, like Aurora.

Hope for the future: that the PL kits still in preparation, such as Wonder Woman, will be issued, since most of the preparation work has already been done, and that these succeed in such a way that the bosses decide to keep going with Aurora reissues.

Hope you get an A for the research project!


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## yamahog (Nov 19, 1998)

It was just so damn much fun here. Back in the day, I think I was a Moderator a coupla times, and it was like having a backstage pass to some of the inner workings that went on. The fezzes and welcoming of new members, Da Rulz, the great threads that evolved into subject matter millions of miles away from the original post, the Guillotine, the Bellringer, the Pardoning of the Hamster, Nakka Bluto Karada, the Notre Dame Q&A, Wonderfest 2000, Yama's Hawg, Nikki Fritz and some of the best people that I've ever come across. They weren't just faceless names on a message board, they were real, they were helpful, they were caring, they were friends, they were family. Once in a while, someone would pipe in that the board should be more about modeling and less about was going on with the board members personal lives. What made the board so great and so _real_ *was* the sharing of each others lives. I know that I'm better for having "met" so many of you. 

--Hawg


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

ChrisW said:


> First, I recommend you find a copy of Mike Warsaw's Inc. article about Polar Lights (and the people behind it), the BB, and the saga of the Guillotine kit.


You mean this one
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20000315/17875.html


For me. PL was more than just the kits.
This place was the first board I ever read. The first one I became a part of.
It has actually helped to shape and change a lot of what followed for me in life. I now help mod over on the Clubhouse and run my own board for our local medieval faire. Since the official board for the faire went down, mine is the one all the regulars frequent now. A lot of the way I do things now are modeled after how I saw Yama and Lisa run things here. Obviously it works. As my board is alive and well and helping a bunch of people keep in touch with each other in the off season. It is even frequented by the managment of the faire.  

Also, if it wasn't for this board, I would have never scraped the money together to go to WF. I missed the big year for the board there. But I heard all the stories and saw the pictures. That made it so I 'had' to go the next year.
And I did. Now I wouldn't miss it. I have met a bunch of great people and had a ton of fun there. But the best part is going with my daughter. Every year we go there and share a bunch of fun and make memories that will last a life time. That would have never happened if it wasn't for this place.

So not only have I got to hang out with great people here online. And share a ton of fun with them. I have been driven to travel. I've found even more things to do with my daughter (how many dad's can say they get to hang out with their teenagers and they aren't embarassed by them?)


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

You modestly didn't mention your own Prehistoric Scenes website, Trevor, which is only the most superb site on the whole Internet, and which keeps on becoming even better every year.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

*Good People*

Yama really hit the nail on the head.

When I first started posting here I felt very intimidated; many of the dudes here were doing professional quality work and had so much knowledge of the stuff that it was amazing. Yet, even still, one of the other original members here took the time to search out the Polar Lights / Aurora long box monster re-pops when I could not get them locally and ship them to me, all the way from the mid-western USA to the east coast of Canada.

Now that's good people.

Huzz


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## scifibear2 (Oct 19, 2003)

*Long, long ago...*

Polar Lights meant to me the Robot, the Seaview, the Spindrift. It meant to me finally, at last, after being a child of the '60's, with longing and lust, an affordable, workable, reasonable JUPITER 2. It meant recapturing my wonder and fantasy of future worlds in the present time when my "assembling" skills had developed just like my balding head. It meant kits, including a most accurate TOS Enterprise, manufactured by people who cared about the hobby and the legacy. 

It saddens me that it is gone. It offers hope by asking that I develop my scratchbuilding skills to fashion that which I long for. They came, they saw, they conquered...then vanished.

It know its "only modeling", but its time came and went. I'm grateful for my renewed interest in modeling, which occurred at what I call the right time, the Internet and the opportunity that PL afforded me. It was a perfect moment, and it didn't take centuries. :wave:


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