Lindberg Line models history (music)
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- čas přidán 19. 03. 2020
- This is a brief history on what I could find out about the enigmatic Lindberg Line model company with a light musical backing track.
some images used courtesy of oldmodelkits.com
I did find out from scalemates.co that Paul Lindberg was born in April 1907 in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents settled there from Sweden. By 1930 his family had moved to Chicago and Paul was working as a designer in the aviation industry. In 1940 he was working as a writer (magazine probably). His last venture was a company in Ft. Lauderdale called "Lindco Industries" a maker of plastic products during the 1970s. I don't think he retired. He passed away in 1978.
PS: Got the post credit glitches fixed. - Zábava
After building 60 +years I remember Lindberg very well ! I would mow a couple lawns and head straight to the five and dime store in town and stare for ever at the kits wondering where I was going to spend my $1.50 ! The box art was the clincher ! They were great kits for the time !
To this day, I still have the Lindberg Statue of Liberty Kit that I bought and assembled back in the early 90s.
I built several Lindberg warbird kits in the early 60s, particularly liked the P-47D and F4U Corsair kits that had those dc motor kits. I never had any problems building the motors, they always worked for me. Those were great kits!
I thoroughly enjoyed making the 1/125 Blue Devil Destroyer - it needed a lot of modification, but looked smart when done.
I too built the Blue Devil around 1978. In 2001, I built another one (much better skills by then) as a request from a WW2 "Tin Can" sailor. He was so overjoyed with the finished product and would be able to bring it to his next reunion, that he was very thankful. I was happy to build the kit for him and his former shipmates, but I had just built a model. He helped win a world war and I let him know how thankful I was to him and his shipmates for doing that.
Maxsmodels Thanks for another one !!! Wow ,that was a supprize seeing Skokie on the fire truck That dumpster at Lindberg was our main stop and I know the building on Monticello st. was there in the mid 50s for sure and possibly earlier. I was born in 53 and always remember it being there. We lived in the middle of 8200 block and if you went past the next block it was the second factory from the corner on the second block going S. to Oakton ST. I remember those crappy u put together motors however they must have contracted with a Japanese company later on because they were already assembled and we had shoe boxes full of little electric motors .We were motorizing everything we could think of.
Yep, Grew up there and remember taking tours of the old Monogram models factory near Milwaukee & Oakton not too far from the Lindberg Factory. Franklin Park was Home to the Badger Airbrush factory as well so we had it all in our area growing up. There was a Paasche plant as well, Badger is still there though everyone else is gone now.
Ultra respect for the band's rendition of Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" a mainstay of every school disco in the UK in the 70s!🤣🤣
As a kid I was always jealous of my neighbor who could always build these models better than me. Regardless, a lot of fun and sadly a hobby not shared by many kids these days.
thank you for going to the trouble to research all this.
Yes, thanks for that
Us young boys back then learned a lot of things building models- mechanics, art, design, history, creativity, painting, eye-hand skills, PATIENCE, and last but not least - budgeting. "What do I buy next with my $2.15?"
Nice history on Lindberg plastic kits! I built the Lindberg American LaFrance Skokie pumper fire truck with electric motor as a kid (late 1960s). My Dad, who was a pretty good electrician, assisted me in assembling the motor to be able to power the truck. Worked pretty well, but with no steering, the all red plastic pumper had a habit of running into the wall.
You are the first person to ever tell me that little motor ran well but you dad was an electrician....that was pretty much what it took. :)
@@maxsmodels Do a video about a british company called Red Star please?
I loved Lindberg kits as I grew up. Great kits at good prices. Plus available just about every place. Woolworths and Trifty's were two I recall. Great video.
It's sad to see young people's creativity being devoured by technology. I don't know if it was model cars, or my guitar. But some form of creativity has always been there to get me through the hardest times in my life. Had I not discovered your Channel, I would not have known that there was a very interesting history behind the people and the industry of model cars and planes. It's nice to see that someone took the time to tell the stories.
Not really. Their hobby interests are being redirected. A lof of younger modelers have adopted 3D print modeling, CAD modelling, and computer coding. Their models are built and displayed in cyberspace. A lot of even taken to modding with the intent of adding new model variants to an existing game. I have been observing and admiring some of their work on various gaming forums.
@@ph11p3540
Also, you can find Gunpla in places like Target; modeling itself isn’t quite as shaky as it seems.
@@ph11p3540and if America ever needs to tool up to produce destroyers and fighters for a war, we'll have a huge supply of 3d printer operators and coders ready to fill the need.
It`s nice to see a line from my childhood still exist. I remember buying the Lindberg T-55 when it came out. I still have it.
I know I’ve said this before, but I love these mini-documentaries. Really, you do such great work! Please continue to do them if you can.
Thank you for making this series with lots of humour and serious research.
My first full time job was in a hobby store. Lindberg ticked me off because they didn't use consistent box sizes so it was very difficult to stock the shelves neatly. I did however get really good at box Tetris. ;)
Great series.
I worked in a hobby shop a long time ago, and the owner was really smart by dropping Lindberg. He was so frustrated with the local kit distributer pushing poor kit brands on his business that he started his own major hobby and toy distribution company. This was a very successful dicision on his part and his company became the exclusive Japanese kit importer for all of Canada, Mickeran Mercantile.
"Box tetris"...ha ha ha..described it perfectly tho!
I lived about 6 blocks from them when they were in Skokie must have been in the late 60s when I discovered the Lindberg model co. We used to go in their dumpster and find factory seconds and the boxes with the great artwork. It was mostly planes and battleships back then. But when you are 10-11years old it was treasure
As a kid I would have swan dived into that dumpster!
You too. I went through the dumpsters behind the plant in the alley in the late fifties early sixties.
I love this series. It's been fun hearing about the histories of these companies. I've learned a ton and you have the perfect voice for this lol.
You do such a great job with these historical videos! Love them!
Wow Max, What a fantastic history of an iconic model maker. Brought back so many memories. I sent this vid off to my brother who is quite the auto modeler reborn maybe 30 years ago. I need to break from my model railroading for a short time to do a pickup truck kit.thanks for another rekindled hobby. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for another well done video on a classic American model company. Most of my model building and collecting is of Revell, Hawk, Aurora and Monogram. Lindberg did have some interesting subjects in their product line over the years, particularly the space kits and many of the automotive kits.
Thanks for the wonderful story about one of my favorite model companies. I still enjoy building models after all these years!
As I recall it was difficult to distinguish the parts from the flashing in the few Lindberg kits I tried to build. lol
But then I maybe I was a Hasegawa type snob.
Love your vids! Really appreciate the research effort! and passing it on to us. Brings back so many fond memories.
Cheers!
Love your kit manufacturer videos, a real trip down memory lane, thank you. I remember those electric motor kits, got real excited about it, put it together, didn't work of course and that actually killed any interest in a Lindberg kit, never bought one after that motor. When they were into HO scale trains, I do remember that their freight car trucks were recommended as an upgrade to stock trucks as they had a very low rolling resistance. Thanks again, looking forward to the next videos.
Great video and a wonderful historical article....loved those kits back in the day....have a couple still...never had problems with the electric motors I just followed the instructions and they were good working for the kits involved....
Another wonderful professional show and great history.
Yep, the picture of the Starprobe spaceship confirms my memories that Lindbergh released that to, although the box of the one I bought had earlier artwork. I still had most of it's parts lying around and thus recently "restored" it by scartchbuilding the missing bits and at the same time converting it to the BZ-88 as used in many an old Italian SCI-Fi flick (Spaceman, Battle Between the Worlds, etc.). Big fun!
Just discovered a couple of Lindberg truck models in my HO train stash! Wonderful vid! Thanks!
I had a Lindberg Tall "T" kit when I was 9. I built the motor with some help from my dad and it ran! I was thrilled. Kits like that and toys that you actually had to wire, like my Marx electric train and Aurora Model Motoring set taught me a lot about electricity. By the time I was 11 or 12 twelve I was rewiring lamps and switches and outlets in the house.
awesome
Maxmodels Since this is just Lindberg Ill share this . I was at the dumpster and opened up an airplane model box and was shocked to see the tip and another piece of a human finger Well when they landed on the ground my friends and I poked them with a stick under a rock My Dad was talking to a neighbor on the sidewalk when I rode up on my bike and told him. They laughed it off saying that it was probably plastic. So the next day I told my 5th grade teacher she said to bring them in so we did after school in a box with cotton. They immediately called the Police. What had happened was a lady got them caught in the door of an injection molding machine ( Pre OSHA ) days and thats what they did to dispose off them. I got In trouble for being in the dumpster and remember something about "We could get sued" ? whatever that was. True story and we continued going in all the factory dumpsters until we started chasing girls.
WOW...the dangers of model making. Some poor person is still walking around with a thumb and 3.5 fingers. YIKES!
This series is great. I really like the history of modelling. Lindberg kits, though not very detailed were varied in their subject matter. I have many aircraft and military kits but I wish companies with would be more diverse with their subjects, perhaps science kits which Lindberg did
Pretty cool...my mom grew up in Skokie! Crazy how often I hear the name of that little north Chi suburb city everywhere I go!
Great video again! Great ending song .Thank you, CRJ
Great history; Very interesting learning about all these companies, since I built a lot of models and never knew any of this. Really appreciate the Ballroom Blitz, and had never heard an instrumental only version.
Finally caught up with this episode. Nicely done!
thx
As a child in 1950's Britains I saw some Lindberg models in a local newsagents shop - they'd previously been difficult to get due to post war import restrictions on trading with the US. I had a model 'Q Ship', possibly an airliner or two, a hot rod T Ford and a 1950's Mercedes Benz.
Later, after they'd aquired the English firm Impact's moulds, via Pyro, I had a couple of those reissues, and also still have a couple of Pyro Ford Model A's. But I haven't seen any Lindberg kits here for some years now - presumably the shipping costs and possible lack of a wholesale importer have taken their toll?
Thanks for explaining the origin of the name - I'd always thought it to be connected with Charles Lindberg. Dooooh!
I like your channel since I love model building! (I love kit building too.) I noticed that the BMW motorcycle you showed in this episode is the first photo I have seen of a motorcycle in all of the videos of yours I have seen. Those were my favorite model types. I had Kawasaki's, Hondas, Suzuki's, Husky's etc. Mainly dirt bikes, but had several enduros and street bikes too (though I would never ride a bike on the street. Please do a video of motorcycle models if you haven't already! Thanks for your work.
Some of my favorite Lindberg kits of my youth, I have recently found and built again.
The Lockheed Winnie Mae, the F11F-1 Tiger, the Ford Cougar II car, and others. Some are showing their lack of detail, like the 1/48 F-80C that has thin solid wings, the F-94 Starfire labeled as 1/48 but is way too small, maybe 1/64th.
I have the boxed B-58 Hustler I need to build. I often build these old Lindberg kits for the memories, rather than for accuracy. Many were issued when the aircraft were still prototypes, and never updated, so they aren't quite "right". The A4 Skyhawk, the F4D Skyray, the F7U Cutlass and others. Some, like the Skyhawk and Skyray, can be modified to a production version. I am glad the old Lindberg kits are still available.
I owned a Gremlin named Gretta. I drove it everywhere and when the road ended I had to go through the woods and cross creeks, ditches and places people could not walk. What fun!
I have a 1960's Mad Mangler that is our oldest Halloween Decoration. He is painted like the picture on the original box cover!
I acquired an unfinished Lindberg B17 when I was 11 from a neighbor. He had totally destroyed one of the electric motors trying to assemble it. It was very difficult getting the motors shaft through the all the metal plates. I did get two working out of three.
For me this model line brings back many memories. I can recall in early 1970's when one could find a kit in just about any retail store. The motorized kits were a lot of fun. A favorite was HMS Hood. Could do figure 8's and turrets would rotate. I still love the kits and do not hesitate to aquire one if I can. Currently I have a Kingfisher float plane. Along with a America's sailing ship and a destroyer escort to build.
Thanks max. These vids really take me back to some great memories. Thanks again!
Paul Lindberg pass away in the middle 70's of cancer in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. I started working for Paul when I was 16 years old in his plant in Ft. Lauderdale called Lindco Industries for 7 years. Left there shortly after his death.
oh the time I spent...love this
I bought a model of the Bismarck made by Lindberg in the 80's that had an electric motor. A friend of mine liked it and bought a model of a British battleship. He built it and we took it to a local lake and turned it loose. It was pretty windy that day and the water was a little choppy. That little battleship did great motoring around for about 30 minutes before it came close enough to shore where he could fish it out of the water. The only problem with it was that it allowed too much water in around the propeller shaft. He fixed that by caking Vaseline around the shaft at the hole in the hull. He sailed it several more times and bought a Tirpitz model to sail along with it.
They also had 1/48 scale. The McDonnell XF-88 and Republic XF-91 were molded in that size. Informative video, by the way.
Built a ton of Lindberg kits. They were either shot up or blew up whichever mode of destruction I had handy.
Thanks for reminding me, I built the motorcycle models as well and made one into a 3 wheeler
Thank you for posting.
I loved Lindberg kits. I remember building a paddle wheel boat sometime in the 50s. It was a small stern wheeler and had an electric motor. It worked fine and I floated it my bathtub to watch it go.
Simple kits but that is just what a kid needs to start with
Great Vid on Lindberg. They also ventured briefly into making some monster type model kits. There was Krimson Terror, Mad Mangler, Green Ghoul, & Creeping Crusher. These were simple 2 piece kits that included a small tuft of hair to glue on the head. They are super hard to find now unbuilt and if you do find one they are pretty expensive. Lindberg also had a line called Lindy Loony Repulsives, strange looking creatures that included Glob, Voop, Zopp, & Blurp. I wish they would reissue all of these.
Interesting! I built some Lindberg models way back when. Some were well detailed, others had the same detail as a piece of blank copy paper.
I built that Statue of Liberty model. Don't remember it being a Lindberg. AND, despite my wife's best efforts to recycle it, it's still sitting on a shelf in my garage collecting dust!!!! The Statue was molded in SoL green and the crown spikes were fairly sharp!!! Maybe I should post it on Instagram!
I like the instrumental 'Sweet' Ballroom Blitz version, nice touch for the time traveling, rv
One of my first kits was the ME262, bought one as a memory inducer at a model show/contest a few years ago. More detailed than I remembered but rather heavy handed. All of my early kits wound up as firecracker bait on the Fourth of July and other special ocassions. I'm back into it as a serious hobby now that the kids are gone and have their own kids. Relaxing past time that keeps me out of the bars, money better spent than toilet water.
I recently built the Round2 "re-pop" of the Lindberg Me262 and Stuka, conveniently boxed in a double kit. I had built both as a kid in the 1960's and this was a pure nostalgia build for me. They are GREAT STARTER kits for young people. The Me262 jet still amuses me to this day. While not 100% accurate, Hey ? Opening gun ports and canopy, retracting gear and movable surfaces. You can't help yourself from holding it up, making a diving motion, while going "zzzzZZZZZSSHHHHHHHEEEEESH".
Great Vid. A this time you can buy some Lindberg kits at Hobby Lobby. My first Kit was of the USS Arizona by Revell. Still love building them. Just need the time and a safe spot to display them.
I worked for a car lot where the owner had 'The Orange Crate' that they made a model of. He used to make me spray off his driveway. He would not let me get near the car, he knew I would want to take it for a stunt drive, stuntgirl
Great documentary! One small footnote - about the time in the 1960s when Revell introduced a series of 1/72 scale famous WWII fighters likely in competition with Airfix and FROG which had a larger catalog of 1/72 planes, Lindberg came out with a line of late WWII German jets and more obscure experimental German aircraft, (minus swastikas) He 100, He 162, Do 335, Arado etc. I was a kid then but recall these being coveted, as the subjects were rare then.
I built the Do 335; awesome kit of an awesome plane.
Awesome info. Thanks for sharing
Fascinating story, many thanks for it
Thanks for posting this. I don't remember any Lindberg decals with swastikas on them; even before the Nazi march in Skokie. To the best of my recollection, German aircraft kits - such as the Arado 234, the He 162, and the Me 163 - did not include swastikas. I was told that this was because Lindberg kits were exported to many countries that did not permit swastikas to be shown. This seemed reasonable, as Lindberg kits always provided instructions in several different languages (including German.)
One Lindberg kit I'd like to see reissued by Round 2 is their fanciful depiction of the Soviet "MiG-19." And while they're at it, I'd like to see their 1/48 scale jet aircraft kits include their tow tractor, and other ground equipment accessories.
I worked for Paul Lindberg at his plant in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. called Lindco Industries. Paul died in 1978 from cancer.
I bought some old Lindbergh kits at a garage sale. They were all pre WWII era airplane kits in plastic and even a few old stick & tissue kits.
I love model box art. Cool video.
Always loved the Mini-Lindies! Just purchased several at a toy train show, all NIB.
Thank You for all your model videos. They bring me back to my childhood. I must have built most of the military kits (planes, tanks, ships) from all of them in the early to late 1970s. Will you be covering the 1/72 line of soft plastic figures. I guess they are mostly Airfix (molds) if I remember it right. Thanks, John
Sure would like to see the Stinson kit and others like.it. Would build out to some nice stuff with all the new paints.
Found a Navion and Ercoupe kit a few years back at a flea market they were ex Lindberg kits but were from Mexico, guess that's where the Stinson and Super Cub molds went.
5:17 I had that 1/8th scale Model T. I was given it already built from someone my mom did hair for. It was huge. It has been lost in time I'm afraid.
I had Lindberg models of the Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 in 1:50 scale. I didn't notice this when I bought them, but I did notice they did not match my various 1:48 or 1:72 models. At this scale the planes were tubby and had stubby wings.
OMG - i had forgot about those electric motors that required assembly. What the heck were they thinking? I think that was my earliest acquaintance with what i call "What the Hell" marketing, like New Coke.
I've always wants a model of the beautiful wonder bug from the 1970s and his counter part. Remember when a junk dome buggy change from junk to a beautiful purple metal flake dome buggy with a mouth and big head light eyes. We use to love that show on Saturday morning on cartoon day
I love all the classic cars
You're right. There's absolutely no info on Paul Lindberg. Couldnt find a single reference to him on Wikipedia. Thanks for the extremely informative video!!
I sometimes have a dream that I am able to go back in time to the old stores I used to buy models at. I have the money I make today and take it with me. I get 100's of models and go to pay for them. The hobby shop owner laughs at me for trying pay with "funny money". Damn I forgot that our money is different now. Then I wake up discouraged. Oh well.....I can dream cant I ? I love your videos brings back lots of memories. thanks
sweet dream
That is a Sweet soundtrack!
I have both of the '34 Ford pickup kits pictured, and actually the roadster one on the left seems to be totally different tooling. (Maybe an old Palmer or Pyro kit?) It's weird. Also, since Round2 owns both Lindberg and AMT, the one on the right has now been brought back into the AMT fold and rereleased with the original box art. Pretty funny actually.
I remember building some of the kits shown i the mid to late 50s. The P/F 80 was definitely one. It was the first kit I ever painted.
Don't forget "Love is like oxygen"you get to much and you know what!
Mini Lindy "Ford camper", is a chevy pickup. I see you're a Sweet fan, good choice!
Excellent
Hey! I built the Spitfire airplane kit! Thanks for posting this video!
All That Scal"in sound's Fishy 2 Me ! Thank's 4 the Memories . YYZ , Mohawk-Planker .
As a boy in the 50s and early 60s I grew up less than a mile from the Lindbergh factory in Skokie on Monticello Ave. The plant was block north of Oakton St on the west side of the street . It was a very nice red brick two story plus basement mfg facility. I like other kids could be found dumpster diving. I remember ending up with a fully assembled ship complete with battery operated motor. Most of the time you would only find plastic waste such as the spruces or flash. I can add one very interesting detail. For a while ( and I owned one ! )Lindbergh produced a flying model of the Mustang but rather than gas it ran off batteries. It was very similar in size to a gas powered equivalent. The batteries required were big ones.
I love the Transparent Alien kit. I believe you can still get those.
Round Two has not done a lot with Lindberg and Hawk in a few years now!
Has anyone else noticed at about 5:40 of the video (and 12:59, near the end), that Lindberg sold a mini-lindy series Ford camper, but the illustration is a Chevy pickup/camper? 😀
I have a Lindy B-17 in the attic with 4 of those electric motors. To date, I have managed to get two such motors running. They are flip motors, like the motor in that old Snoopy airplane kit.
I think my brother and I built Lindberg Line models of HMS Hood and Bismarck. I picked HMS Hood. They were motorized.
I had the Tirpitz. Can't remember the scale. It was just over 2-feet long and was motorized.
@M S I forgot about the turrets being able to move. Yeah, there was a plastic linkage that attached them to the motor and made them move.
I too built the Lindberg motorized HMS Hood back about 1975. It had the cam system that allowed you to set the rudder to run the ship in a circle, straight ahead and even a figure eight. I eventually took my Hood to Axe Head Lake in Des Plaines, IL on a warm summer evening to sail it. It took off from the shore line, but didn't come back close enough for me to retrieve it. It continued to sail in circles away from me. It was also slowly taking on water as I overlooked packing the motor prop shaft with something like grease or petroleum jelly. In the end, just like a real ship, the bow of the Hood went almost vertical and she slid under. I was devastated! I suspect styrene plastic doesn't break down much over time and to this day I bet that Lindberg HMS Hood is still there at the bottom of Axe Head Lake.
@@WAL_DC-6B I lost my Tirpitz much the same way. I even attached fishing line to it but it still got away from me. I did pack the prop interface with petroleum jelly but the water still came in because the spinning shaft tended to displace the jelly no matter how I packed it in.
@@rredhawk Wow! So you even packed the prop shaft on your Tirpitz and still suffered the same fate like my Hood. My condolences. Makes you wonder how many other of these Lindberg battleship models have been lost to a watery grave over the decades.
Great video.
I live in Sydney Australia,-out of the blue,as a kid,-I got one of those "shooting star"-kits--no body knew what glue to use,to put it tog-ther,!!-(this was 1956)-someone said "nail-polish"--and it got stuck to-gether with Moms pink-nail-polish !!--it kinda worked,-but that polish really stank!!--BUT I wish I had that kit now .Ha-Ha!
Some memories of Lindberg.
First, they tended to be less detailed and accurate than say Revell and Monogram. But they made up for it in their quest for my money. They tended to have higher part counts -- which equated to more play value in assembly, more working features, retracting gear, moving control surfaces which equated to more play value afterwards. They also had some really charismatic kits, I remember their Vulcan which came on a base and mechanism that changed the attitude of the plane matching the control surfaces. A favorite of mine was a 1/64 B-17G that seemed enormous at the time.
Ive got some relic slot cars of theirs that I don't know the history of. A friend in the business passed a box of the on to me in the '70s. They were 1/32, of early 60s F1 cars (BRM and Porsche, which were not forces to be reckoned with at the time). They had a steering mechanism where the front wheels were controlled by the angle of the guide flag.
That 1/8 scale model T and its derivatives were shameless money grabs from the (far better) Monogram 'Big T'.
Nice. Good vid. Keep at it!
Aye! I remember the pirates. Man, he had alot of obscure stuff. I'm not sure I ever bought one of his. I stuck with Monogram and Revell. I did mostly 1/24 and 1/25 cars especially the older ones (older than the 70's when I was building them).
Lindberg had great model kits. I built a German U-Boat kit that actually came with a battery operated motor. The instructions said it would work in the water. Not believing it, I took it to a lake to try it out. I launched the U-Boat and it cruised on the surface for a bit, then disappeared and went under water. I figured it must have sunk and was gone. Then to my surprise, a minute later it surfaced and continued cruising. I chased after it using a small rowboat and retrieved it. I couldn't believe it actually worked. I never put it in the water again and displayed it for many years.
My favorite Lindberg Line model was the B-17 bomber. A large model suspended from the ceiling. The Hawk brand was a cheesy line in which the parts did not fit properly.
I dreamed of the 1: 125 scale 'Blue Devil' destroyer or the Bismarck ,Hood battleships when I was a kid .And now Trumpeter fulfill me with the 1:200 scale battleships.However I bought the big Yamato ship in 1978.
I remember building up an electric motor from a lindberg kit for a ship model. When that thing fired up and the model ship puttered around the bathtub that was the greatest thing ever !
Back in the last century, mid 60's, there was an ad for 4 ho scale Lindbergh models on a pop tarts box.