Aurora Plastics Corporation
Aurora Plastics Corporation is an American company based in Brooklyn, New York which was founded in 1950 to manufacture toys and injection-molded plastic model kits. The company's original founders sold the company to outside investors in 1969. By 1977, the company had ceased to exist as an independent company and several of its product lines were sold off toMonogram and other companies during the 1970s.
Original Aurora logo
Some of the company's most popular product lines included the "monster" figure kits from a number of classic science fiction film and television productions. These kits were later re-released byPolar Lights, a company which was originally established byPlaying Mantis expressly for this purpose. The brand name "Polar Lights" itself was a homage to the "Aurora" brand.
In 2007, the original founders' family announced that the company had been reconstituted and was planning to release model kits under theA Plastics Corporation brand in 2012,[1](X) but no kits were ever released afterwards. Still, while the founder's family were not able to revive the brand, two newcomers did follow in the footsteps of Aurora; the already mentioned Polar Lights, andMoebius Models. The latter in particular can be considered as a true heir to Aurora, since its product range closely mimics the one as originally carried by Aurora. This was fully intentional as indicated in the company's mission statement.[2]
Star Trek association[]
Aurora's association withStar Trek was relatively short-lived and spanned the period from 1966 to 1972 when it released only fourStar Trek model kits. During that period,AMT opted not to release and license theirStar Trek kits in foreign markets. Instead, a deal was brokered that allowed Aurora to lease the molds from AMT and produce and market the models under their own name for foreign markets.
Their 1972 products were released through their British subsidiaryAurora Plastics Co. (UK) Ltd. and featured "As seen on BBC TV" markings on the sides of their boxes. Although the castings and packaging were virtually identical excepting the brand imprint, Aurora's releases of the four models were not legally associated with AMT. Aurora created and released theSpock model kit in 1972, the firstStar Trek figurine model kit ever produced. In a reciprocal move, the company leased the molds of the model to AMT which released the kit in the United States two years later. AMT eventually acquired ownership of the production assets for the kit from Aurora in 1976.
Star Trek releases[]
| Item | Scale | Release | Item No. | Notes | Boxart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USSEnterprise | 1:635 | 1966 | 921 | Original Aurora release; kit used AMT artwork with Aurora identification (notice original Aurora logo in red square); box dimensions of Aurora kit are different than AMT counterpart; Aurora printed instructions for their version of the kit as well as decal sheets and these kitsdid have lighting in the saucer section as also indicated in instructions. |  |
| 1972 | Use of AMT's second set of molds; new box |  | |||
| Mr.Spock | 1:12 | 922 | Original Aurora release |  | |
| D7-classKlingonbattle cruiser | 1:635 | 923 | released asKlingon "Alien Battle Cruiser" |  |
See also[]
External links[]
- AuroraPlasticsCorp.com – official website
- Aurora Plastics Corporation atWikipedia