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General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: Frank Imbriaco on November 10, 2016, 04:08:27 PM
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Long, long before Tower, Horizon Hobby, and all the other major hobby suppliers, there was AHC in NYC owned by Bernie Winston. Likely, the first mail order hobby supplier .Opened in 1931 , it advertised full page ads in magazines like Model Airplane News, Flying Models, RCM Modeler and other magazines everything you needed for the model airplane fraternity- Free Flight , Ukie , R/C plus powered cars, trains and boats. You know, back when everyone built and used silkspan, silk and dope.
Their discounts were excellent and if you were in the hobby during the 40s, 50s, and 60s , that was typically a modeler's first stop.
I remember their engine trade in program. Mail in any old engine , regardless of condition , and you got 25% off a new engine of your choice. Like most kids of the day, I had precious little money and swapping a tired O&R 23 for a new McCoy 35 back in 1964 was an amazing deal. Another time, I raided my coin collection and taped(both sides) Barbary quarters, Mercury dimes and Buffalo nickels to buy a Berkeley Bulp Pup kit. They probably laughed and no doubt made out better), but they were dealing with an 11 year old kid...
Guys who lived in the city made frequent trips to AHC, but it really wasn't a huge place. But every square inch was utilized. One of their employees, Sam Bridges, was an ace combat flyer. I hear that he's in the Chicago area.
In the 80s, AHC sort of lost it's luster. Bernie had passed and the business had a much smaller profile under his son. I just googled them and what came up was a new address- but not sure if they are still in business.
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Yes. Many times. Great place. Got to see Sam Bridges at a recent Nats,in muncy.
My good friend Milton Graham had a part time job at AHC
Jose Modesto
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I use to look at those ads and dream. I did order Model Railroad stuff from them once. A box of Athearn freight cars and a Miller mini air-pump and spray gun set. Circa 1974-75 as I recall. My dad was stationed at RAF Wethersfield in England at the time, excellent service to APO addresses as I recall. The model plane stuff came later, but the local BX/PX at RAF Lakenheath did a not bad job of keeping Sterling kits and Fox engines in stock.
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I visited their store in Manhattan and got to know Marshall a bit.....he didn't tolerate folk who just wanted to "look".....after all, it was New York!
You had to climb about 100 steps to get to the place, or so it seemed.
I did pique his interest once to the point that he invited me behind the counter and into the massive back room, which also had a stairway down a flight to what was the store bellow's mezzanine.....cool stuff, and not a computer in sight!
His son, Rob opened a branch in River Edge NJ , WITH a computer....he gave it a pretty good try.
Then the whole deal moved onto Kennedy Blvd with a warehouse and a RC car track on the roof.....
I only saw Marshall there once....
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Pretty much anyone over the age of 50 remembers those full-page AHC ads in 'Model Airplane News' (back before it became an RC rag).
I could be mistaken, but I think AHC's stock was bought-out by one Curtis Mattikow (aka 'Easytiger') sometime in the '90s. Anyone know something about that?
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I was the first black person they ever hired. The first day there, I sold a $450.00 Graupner RC helicopter to a Frenchmen. The other sales people went ballistic. They said a black has no business being here, much less selling expensive equipment. I was just a young teenager at the time.
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Saw their ads many years ago in the "real" Model Airplane News, just inside the front cover.
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I bought my first engine from them. I was maybe 14 saved and collected pop bottles and ordered a Cox golden bee. Seemed like forever before it came in the mail. it went on a brand new baby flite streak.
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Mike. I had a long conversation with Curtis A few years back. AHC had a small show room for a hobby shop with the amount of inventory they had on had. ( Their customer service Sucked...) When Curtis bought them out. The inventory was astronomical to say the least and then some. There was a basement the size of the buildings foundation. Plus another 7 sub basements each about a 5th the size of the main basement... I could relate about the size of basements being like that. My grandparents owned a grocery store back in the day. The model train inventory was around $2,000,000.00 alone. When they ordered product it was always by the case. Inventory control needless to say was nonexistent... Curtis had to rent a airplane hanger to warehouse it all, about the size to house 4 single engine planes to relate to the
size of the inventory.
He also bought out Elmer Roth's Hobby's warehouse inventory sometime in the late 90's. That was 2-18 wheelers loaded to the gills.
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All that I remember about AHC was the crappy engines they produced and hoodwinked the modeling public with. Bad kits, never had the items that I really wanted and their service flat out sucked. Oh and those catalogues continuously advertised items that had gone out of production long ago. For laughs we used to call to order one and berate the guy who answered the phone why he didn't have it if it was in their catalogue. after all we were W/A teenagers. I remember the empty cases with old catalogues on them the very last time I ever wasted my time going there. In comparison Polks was modelling heaven.
They were at the WRAMS show and a friend of mine bought about $300.00 worth of engines and stuff. He asked about a bag for some of the items and the old lady complained that those bags cost her a nickel apiece. That was the AHC I remember.
Good riddance to them.
Dennis
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Wasn't aware AHC produced their own engines.
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I mail ordered a lot stuff from AHC in the 1957-1960 time frame. Then I was able to get LHS's including Royal Craft & Joe's.
I had a very negative experience with "easytiger" on one of my first Ebay deals. He was kicked of "the bay" soon after due to many other borderline deals and bad feedback.
When I mentioned his "handle" at club meeting everybody's hand instinctively went to their wallet.
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Wasn't aware AHC produced their own engines.
It was called a Deezil. Horrible engine. One problem was the liner would rock in the case.
Mark Troutman has won a FF event with one and that REALLY augers Bill Schmidt!
I walked up the stairs to AHC in the 80s. I was expecting to enter a fantastic place and I was underwhelmed.
The guy working the counter was pretty much a vinegar/water solution dispenser.
I heard a story about a wholesaler who got stiffed real big right before they shut down.
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Thank you for clearing that up.
I called and ordered a Jetco Sabre Stunt back in the day. They didn't even put it in a shipping box or a brown paper wrap. They just put brown gummed shipping tap around the box. Totally messing up the box label. At least the kit wood was very good.
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When the folks decided to move to southern Missouri my Junior year of high school I would order stuff from them. If not in stock they would supply a better item. Still have the little booklets they include with my order. Usually my brothers would ask what I needed and bring it down from Charley's Hobby Shop in KCK. Then I moved back to KCK in late 62. Had no need for them after that. By the way did get to Polks in Chicago while at the 70 NATS. My brother and my self were in awe.
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I was the first black person they ever hired. The first day there, I sold a $450.00 Graupner RC helicopter to a Frenchmen. The other sales people went ballistic. They said a black has no business being here, much less selling expensive equipment
Bastards.
Brett
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I was the first black person they ever hired. The first day there, I sold a $450.00 Graupner RC helicopter to a Frenchmen. The other sales people went ballistic. They said a black has no business being here, much less selling expensive equipment. I was just a young teenager at the time.
Appalling and ignorant behavior. And more the worse as you were young and impressionable.
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Appalling and ignorant behavior. And more the worse as you were young and impressionable.
Completely despicable, but I bet they didn't have even a twinge of conscience about it. I grew up in the south and I saw crap like this all the time.
For the most part, people who do things like this are of such limited capability that they *have* to find excuses for their shortcomings by finding someone to pick on or scapegoat. They feel threatened by anyone showing even the slightest spark of capability.
I think this sort of overt racism is largely a thing of the past. The new versions are far more subtle and far more insidious - undermining success to try to keep minorities of all types dependent on the largesse of others. And yes, that's a political point.
Brett
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Well said Brett!
Years ago, my wonderful Grandfather ordered my first model airplane engine (OK Cub .049 original), and some kind of hollow log kit from AHC. I had no fuel, and no battery, so neither kit, nor engine every made it into the air!
Years later he bought me a McCoy .049 diesel, and a Jim Walker Firebaby ARF, both of which flew great.
I taught myself, and all my farm friends (both of them) ;D to fly with that combo. We enjoyed many flights that Summer, until the poor Firebaby got so fuel soaked, it wouldn't stay together.
I used to drool over the AHC slag engine ads, but Grandpa was a little wiser than I, and no doubt saved me a lot of grief by not ordering any of them.
Bill
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As a kid, I used to dream over the AHC and the centerfold Scientific ads. Circling the items I wanted, hoping Dad would fulfill my wish. He never did, worst, he would laugh at me with that "you don't know what you're wishing for" look. Instead, he would come home with goodies like an AJ FireCat with an Enya 29 (airflow exaust) or the best, a California Models Spacer with a Torp 23. When the Spacer was finished, we went to Vessels Ranch and got Sal Taibi to help trim it!
Later in life, I lusted after a Yamaha 80 motorbike. Dad said I should get a Hodaka. I laughed at my Dad and said you don't know what you're taking about, it's not Hodaka, it's called a Honda! Dad said get in the car- went to Hockies motorcycle shop, came home with a Hodaka!
Back on topic- later as an adult, I placed an order for a half dozen kits with AHC. Only got one and shipping was twice the cost of the kit. Dad was gone, but I could here him laughing!
Norm
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On my first ever overseas trip in 1989 I was in Manhattan and I just had to see AHC that I had seen since the 60's in the model mags. Like someone said, I was also underwhelmed because I had visions of this huge, glamorous hobby shop. I saw just one stocky guy named Marshall in there and there was a lady customer with a young boy before me. She asked Marshall in a very larney voice "I would like to buy something for my son that doesn't break". Marshall replied in a loud voice.........."Lady, everything in my shop breaks, NEXT!" I was almost afraid to be ........NEXT, but I did buy a Carl Goldberg Stuntman and a Cox Black Widow for a good price and way less than I would pay in South Africa. Marshall was however not too unfriendly to me.
Keith R
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Ah, AHC. Dreamed n' schemed about some of the kits there. Still well remember the Sneeker, and its ilk being advertised.
Norm said:
"Dad said get in the car- went to Hockies motorcycle shop, came home with a Hodaka!"
I'll bet 'cha still don't have the Hodaka, huh? Too bad if'n you don't. Vintage vinduro bikes are fun. Here's my latest acquistions:
1973 DKW (German mfg.)...
(http://www.vscalecreations.com/bikes/DKWleftsideSM.jpg)
1972 Zundapp (German mfg.)...
(http://www.vscalecreations.com/bikes/72_Zun_GS125_1.jpg)
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I was the first black person they ever hired. The first day there, I sold a $450.00 Graupner RC helicopter to a Frenchmen. The other sales people went ballistic. They said a black has no business being here, much less selling expensive equipment. I was just a young teenager at the time.
Hard to believe racism would exist in liberal New York.........(sarcasm)
Racism is a heart problem, not a geography problem.
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I'd believe that the service AHC gave in the 50s and 60s when Bernie Winston ran the business was actually quite good. Yes, things came slow- there wasn't Priority Mail , Fed X or UPS. Just lowly Parcel Post, but the shipping was cheap by today's standards. And, I don't recall ever getting stiffed back them. They treated young customers quite well.
There was a definite change when Marshall Winston took over in the 70s. No doubt, he was short on social graces. Like others, I was turned off by his curt behavior ;particularly at the WRAM Show . He had a hustler's approach.
Too bad he wasn't like his Dad who truly knew the hobby. I still have my little handbook " Glow Engine Guide". Bernie wrote that and others.
Anyway, the mag ads gave me something to dream about when I was a kid .
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Pretty much anyone over the age of 50 remembers those full-page AHC ads in 'Model Airplane News' (back before it became an RC rag).
I could be mistaken, but I think AHC's stock was bought-out by one Curtis Mattikow (aka 'Easytiger') sometime in the '90s. Anyone know something about that?
The story of Easytiger Models can be found on the Hip Pocket Builders' Forum, described by Easytiger (Curtis Mattikow?) himself. It was on, I think, around the end of last year when he started a build thread. Tried to find the link and put it on here but I'm computer challenged when it comes to gleaning past info off these forums.
Ara
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I had one bad time with Marshall, circa 1972. Went to the city, wanted a 26.995 Ace pulse rig, on sale for about $23. Asked Marshall for it and he snarled that he could not do a frequency spec. So the black kid clerking there walked back halfway around the shelves, where I could see him but Marshall couldn't. He then held up the items until I nodded to him that the brown flag (26.995) was the one I wanted. He brought it up, made the sale and I went on my way. I dunno why it took an act of rebellion to give the customer what he wanted, but Godspeed to him anyway. Marshall W. never got another nickel from me.
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I also pored over those late 50's AHC ads, trying to decide which plane I would buy IF I had any money. And oh! a kit and engine combo!! Don't dare to even dream! ;D
The thought of something built by my own hands that could actually FLY was enthralling! And it still is to this day.
While I never ordered from them, in 1957 my older brother managed to order the kit (don't remember which) that began our journey into model building and flying.
So my memories are all good.
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I remember well the AHC adds, and like so many like minded kids circling and saving and coveting and wishing
Army brat mostly overseas and fortunately the PX/BX system (or Sears catalog) kept my dad and us kids fulfilled with enough hobby free time stuff...that and the HeathKit catalog
We never ordered from ACH, but during the same time, I did save my allowance for crap from the back of comic books.... Dad let me do it ( I am sure as an object lesson)
I can not comment on the business or quality...but I fondly remember the winter days reading every inch of the ACH ads and dreaming
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Back when NVCL hosted its first or second Musciano Contest Curtis Mattikow attended. In the back of his Explorer he had these huge Tupperware trays of .049 engine parts from engines I had never seen before. Growing up we bought Cox 049s and we saw the OK Cub advertisements in the magazines. But there must have been a lot of manufacturers churning out small engines...
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A couple of our group in Pullman, WA, ordered steel fin Fox .15/Ringmaster Jr. combos from AHC, including me. About $8.99? I recall that service was slow, taking a good month or likely more. USPS might have been a part of that, or maybe they held Mom's check until it cleared? That was enough for me, I guess, because I didn't repeat that exercise in frustration. :P Steve
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I remember the AHC ads in the model magazines. They listed stores in several city's. New York, Chicago and San Francisco come to mind. Sometime during the summer of 1950, I ordered a BUZZ 35 from the San Francisco store. The BUZZ was listed in several sizes up through a 60. I think the price for the BUZZ35 was $4.95 plus s&h. The motor was a real piece of junk, what we today call a "slag" motor. The piston had two grooves, but no rings. I guess maybe they were there to help lube the cylinder and piston. The thing was made like a Chevy Vega. I mounted the thing on a block of wood and did actually get it to run briefly a couple of times. It vibrated badly and never would have worked in a model. I never ever bought anything else from AHC!!! I guess as a ten year old boy, I sent in the money and hoped for the best. I wonder how many of those things they actually sold??
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Marshall did all right. He sold the air rights and building on 23rd and sixth.
My best friend and I took the D train. Or rode our bikes. Went up there often. Save a fifty cent allowance in the late fifties and it was possible to buy what we needed. We were kids. Real kids. Flying UC wherever we could. Dealt with the father and the other old guys. Always sold stuff as featured in the add. Loved the newspaper print catalogues. A post World War II catalogue of what was available in the hobby. Better discounts were elsewhere. Rays in Brooklyn or Jamaica Queens sold Fox35s and Johnsons for around five bucks.The British engines in the display cases of AHC always fascinated me. Polks was strictly list price by the way. In the early 21st century, as I got back into the hobby, desperately needing R and R, I tried to find AHC at the old address. Gone. I stumbled on an AHC add somewhere. For a short time Marshall had opened a retail store near Broadway in the 30's I believe. There he was. Hairpiece flopped askew. Barking like on Orchard Street. "This business cost me three marriages and most of my money. Dammit, I'm doing it again." Faded. Gone. No current record of AHC.
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Dennis :
You probably also remember Brown's Hobby ( not to be confused with George Brown's shop in Staten Island) in NYC ,too. The wife asked a friend who worked in the city to pick up some stuff for me there. Still have my shellac -coated R/C plywood flight box from them ; circa 1974.
Some finishing comments about AHC. The president(co-founder) of the Union Model Airplane Club (Union , NJ) in the 40s,50s and 60s was Mr. Vernon Davies. I never called him by his first name because he came to our weekly meetings wearing a suit and tie. Mr. Davies worked in NYC and had an arrangement with Bernie Winston. AT EVERY Thursday nite meeting , he took our orders on small slips of paper for kits, engines, props , glue - you name it and delivered it the FOLLOWING week at the Thursday meeting. Repeat and repeat. Oh, and we got all of it at 40% off !!!
The club had nearly 100 members , most of whom were kids. Fellow members Larry Scarinzi, Bob Hunt, Red Reinhardt, John D'Ottavio and many others all benefitted from Mr. Davies and Bernie Winston's belief that kids were essential to the hobby.
Suddenly (and sadly), Mr. Davies didn't show one Thursday meeting- he had retired and phiff ! - the deals were gone.
Scarinzi began a hobby business of sorts -selling out of the trunk of his big black 58 Dodge. It was rumored that he hooked up with Bernie as his supplier.
By that time(1969-70), other big hobby outlets appeared on the scene.
I will always remember the news print AHC ads -with the cartoon" little guys" leaping for joy or holding a megaphone or some other emphatic expression , announcing/referring to this price and that sale...
Today, the internet has no such memorable catch. Kids of our day will never forget this stuff. Kids of today will never remember the internet ads because they come in a blur and so frequently. I stared at each and every AHC ad to the point I could memorize them. Looking back, I probably would've done much better in school had my mind been free of that clutter.
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Ditto on that last sentence Frank. For me it was airplanes and then Hot Rod mags. No hot rods of course. That took money! But the dreams they inspired.........
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Don't remember the year but on my very first New York layover the first place I "had" to find was AHC! Wandered around looking for this fabulous hobby skyscraper. Eventually discovered the stairway! Wow!
On the good side I strolled around and around looking at every nook and cranny, amazed at the conglomeration of "stuff".
The wandering ended when the man behind the counter advised I would have to buy something, leave or be escorted out; my choice.
Thus the first was the last visit. I'd grown up in hobby shops where you could shoot the whatever for hours...usually with the proprietor.
Ted
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Wow! Frank from UMAC! When I finally got a real job on 23rd St. in NYC I HAD to go to 22nd st just to check it out. By that time I was married with chillun's but yes, AHC got me fired up again. I had mail ordered from them while in private school in New Bloomfield, PA. Never a problem...But Marshall's venomous voice became a source of entertainment for me. Then one day I took my new bride to the store (fully warning her of what to expect). As expected, he teed of on me, and I learned something about my new bride! Man, she cut him off at the knees........... He never teed off on me again!
Off subject: Mr. Davies, what a guy! I'll bet you remember TightNine Clear dope and mystery fuel by the gallon! And little Bobby Hunt tripping over your lines. And "Red" flying fuel soaked airplanes it 55 gallon drum trash barrels. Fox .35's bolted to the picnic tables with fuel lines stuck in a can of Testors 39.
Ah yes!
Ward-O
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I believe I purchased my Aristocraft Grumman F3F from AHC. But it could have been Polk's Hobby, I believe also in NY.
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Yep 22nd St. D Train stops at 23rd.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Off subject: Mr. Davies, what a guy! I'll bet you remember TightNine Clear dope .
Ward-O
[/quote
Ward : Like so many of that era, Vernon Davies was a man of the times. Never a cuss word ,kind with kids and never an
argument. A perfect gentleman and representative of the hobby. How refreshing. Where have they all gone ?
Scarinzi and I had a recent conversation about Tite Nine. His ancient fleet still looks great and he used that stuff exclusively . Young Hunt a line tripper ? Not long ago, our group( Weider ,Hampshire) were out for some line jerkin'. Bob instructed me to hold the handle/lift the lines so that they weren't in contact with the ground. Naturally, I faded out and when he reach me at the center of the circle , he wasn't all smiles.
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Wow! I never knew AHC was so bad. I bought my first radio controlled airplane rig from an AHC ad in flying Models. Back around '79, I think. It was a Kyosho Papillon with a Futaba 2-channel radio. I don't remember if it was a package deal or not. The directions were in Japanese, and I'd never built a plane before. The results weren't pretty. It flew exactly once, and that was because I tried and crashed it so many times and repaired it each time with thread and glue that one day it must have magically balanced out just right. But the landing broke something off, and the new thread and glue threw it back out of balance it it never successfully flew again. Ah, the joys of self discovery...
Mark
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". . . the man behind the counter advised I would have to buy something, leave or be escorted out; my choice."
Ted
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Obviously didn't realize who he was talking to! LL~
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Yep been there many times. I took Linda there on a visit from St Louis when we were engaged. She couldn't believe the caustic Marshall. I just laughed.
Milt.
I didn't know you worked there. I am sure glad that you are now with us in Texas, my friend.
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Pretty much anyone over the age of 50 remembers those full-page AHC ads in 'Model Airplane News' (back before it became an RC rag).
I could be mistaken, but I think AHC's stock was bought-out by one Curtis Mattikow (aka 'Easytiger') sometime in the '90s. Anyone know something about that?
Found it!
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Found it!
Failed to mention that Reply #48 has the AHC info.
Ara
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Obviously didn't realize who he was talking to! LL~
At the time, Mike, neither did I!
Ted
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Hi Frank,
My friends and I lived downtown on the Lower East Side. We never made it up to the Bronx, where Brown's was. (Was Brown's in the Bronx?) It would have taken an hour to get up there by subway, if we had known about it. Someone told us about Ray's. Price was right. We took the Jamaica line out there. I think it's the L-Train now. The swaying wooden elevated of that era freaked me out. Too far to bike ride. We rode our bikes all over Manhattan tho. Sometimes in the snow. These days, driving through Manhattan in my Civic, I wonder how we did it. Was traffic thinner then? We felt safe enough. Too bad Van Cortlaund Park was over an hour away. We heard stories of great times there. Gene Martine told me a few years back that he rode the subway with his airplane, traveling up to Van Courtlandt Park.
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Found this is a book.... The name of Gotham Hobby is closely linked with America's Hobby Center ( AHC ) because both organizations were founded by brothers of the Winston family. AHC was started by four Winston brothers before WW2. When WW2 started, two brothers took their share of AHC and went into the service. When they returned the remaining two brothers were not interested in having the returning brothers rejoin AHC. Therefore, the returning two brothers started Gotham Hobby. Gotham made engines like the Deezil and other bargain engines. Bruce
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According to their adds, Browns Hobby Shop was across the street from the Van Courtland Park in the Bronx. Which is 1,100+ acers.
The story goes a free flight plane it a car. That ended all model airplane flying.
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I bought a couple of combos (engine & kit) from AHC. Tword the end, I bought the TF Tudor kit from them. I still have it.
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Ah, AHC. Dreamed n' schemed about some of the kits there. Still well remember the Sneeker, and its ilk being advertised.
Norm said:
"Dad said get in the car- went to Hockies motorcycle shop, came home with a Hodaka!"
I'll bet 'cha still don't have the Hodaka, huh? Too bad if'n you don't. Vintage vinduro bikes are fun. Here's my latest acquistions:
1973 DKW (German mfg.)...
(http://www.vscalecreations.com/bikes/DKWleftsideSM.jpg)
I still have may 1947 Hodaka and 1974 Canam 250
Mr. Bob
Countyline Hobbies
574-540-1123
countylinehobbies@yahoo.com
www.countylinehobbies.com
1972 Zundapp (German mfg.)...
(http://www.vscalecreations.com/bikes/72_Zun_GS125_1.jpg)
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My dad wouldn't let us mail order from AHC, but your right; we used to drool over those catalogs. What he would do was to take us to Rich's Hobbytowne in Parsippany New Jersey. Now that was an amazing place for kids. They had car racing circle tracks, control line circles (2 or 3 as I remember and O gauge trains running inside. Heck, I even remember boat ponds and I think there was a steam power train running on occasion It was like going to the county fair, but without all the distractions.
We were allowed to buy one model kit OR accessories that we needed. We would rush home, build them up and crash them. Then we would moan and groan till he took us there again. I was a lucky kid. My dad was a civil air patrol scout. This was probably late 1950's to early 60's. Miss those days.
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I only visited AHC twice...first was in early sixties when they were on 22nd. street...up that long flight of stairs. I was in the Navy at the time. The second time was when they moved to 31st. street. They were still moving and CL items were sparse. The salesman (owner?) was in a phone argument with someone, apparently over warranty stuff for an RC car. I left.
I bought some mail order stuff from them back in the late sixties. No problems.
George
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Got my first ST46 and ST60 there. Used to trade engines all the time and would send them to AHC for discounts on stuff. Very cool and I miss them.
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Mr. Bob said:
"I still have may 1947 Hodaka and 1974 Canam 250."
Now that's pretty cool. (Got a feeling that's a typo on the 1947 Hodaka, though. Bet you meant 1974?)
I wore all my vintage stuff plum out back the day and kept trading up until some 18 or so years ago I begin to have the desire to again own some vintage iron.
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I'd believe that the service AHC gave in the 50s and 60s when Bernie Winston ran the business was actually quite good. Yes, things came slow- there wasn't Priority Mail , Fed X or UPS. Just lowly Parcel Post, but the shipping was cheap by today's standards. And, I don't recall ever getting stiffed back them. They treated young customers quite well.
There was a definite change when Marshall Winston took over in the 70s. No doubt, he was short on social graces. Like others, I was turned off by his curt behavior ;particularly at the WRAM Show . He had a hustler's approach.
Too bad he wasn't like his Dad who truly knew the hobby. I still have my little handbook " Glow Engine Guide". Bernie wrote that and others.
Anyway, the mag ads gave me something to dream about when I was a kid .
That is an accurate assessment. Marshall was not Bernard. He TRIED to be. I had stuff Marshall wrote when he was a kid and teenager, trying to write model airplane books like his father did.
Now...Marshall was no saint. Not was he totally evil, either. But he was what he was...a lot of the bluster was just what passed for old school New York humor...
Example...I was there when two black guys walked into the store...Marshall stage whispers to the first guy:
"Don't look now, but a BLACK GUY just followed you in!"
Which was meant by him as humor.
But...I understand a lot of people did not get his sense of humor.
And sometimes he was just plain old RUDE. Sometimes.
He did not LIKE the hobby or hobbyists. He grew up in that store and was there for fifty some odd years, he did not like going to work there.
He really liked raising race horses, that was his thing.
My understanding is that when he passed, his children did not attend his funeral. Think about that for a bit. He was NOT a generally happy person.
Hmmmm, Just musing.
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Mike. I had a long conversation with Curtis A few years back. AHC had a small show room for a hobby shop with the amount of inventory they had on had. ( Their customer service Sucked...) When Curtis bought them out. The inventory was astronomical to say the least and then some. There was a basement the size of the buildings foundation. Plus another 7 sub basements each about a 5th the size of the main basement... I could relate about the size of basements being like that. My grandparents owned a grocery store back in the day. The model train inventory was around $2,000,000.00 alone. When they ordered product it was always by the case. Inventory control needless to say was nonexistent... Curtis had to rent a airplane hanger to warehouse it all, about the size to house 4 single engine planes to relate to the
size of the inventory.
He also bought out Elmer Roth's Hobby's warehouse inventory sometime in the late 90's. That was 2-18 wheelers loaded to the gills.
Only SLIGHTLY exaggerated. The building had SIX floors and TWO subbasements. Each full footprint. The stuff there was staggering, going all the way back to 1922. For real.
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Pretty much anyone over the age of 50 remembers those full-page AHC ads in 'Model Airplane News' (back before it became an RC rag).
I could be mistaken, but I think AHC's stock was bought-out by one Curtis Mattikow (aka 'Easytiger') sometime in the '90s. Anyone know something about that?
I know something about that!
Seeing your signature...I feel encouraged. I dropped AMA also. To know someone of your calibre did so proudly also makes me feel better.
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Back when NVCL hosted its first or second Musciano Contest Curtis Mattikow attended. In the back of his Explorer he had these huge Tupperware trays of .049 engine parts from engines I had never seen before. Growing up we bought Cox 049s and we saw the OK Cub advertisements in the magazines. But there must have been a lot of manufacturers churning out small engines...
Ah. The AHC trade in program. The deal was, trade in ANY engine and get an O&R 23 for $3.95. They must have gotten a really good deal on the O&R engines, did not matter much what they sold them for. They also had a deal where you sent in any trade in and got a discount on any new engine. That discount still left a profit on the engine. Remember that AHC would buy direct from the manufacturers in huge quantities, and most items were 100 percent markup, so you could offer 33 percent off and still do well.
So...what did they do with all the trade in engines?
NOTHING. They threw them into giant cardboard boxes in the basement that ended up being too heavy to lift. You can be sure that any Elf Sixes and Morton Radials were picked out, but I ended up getting thousands of engines, mostly 049s, and many I had never heard of or seen, really interesting stuff, And many that were not so interesting. Like...what do you do with 250 Wen Mac 049s? Sell them in buckets of fifty. For real.
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but I ended up getting thousands of engines, mostly 049s, and many I had never heard of or seen, really interesting stuff, And many that were not so interesting.
So, what happened to all those .049s? After about 8 or 9 years of doing the Musciano event interest tapered off in our club. We had a lot of club members always saying "yeah, let's do it again!" but then only about 4 of us building new stuff for the contest. So, we dropped it. And now,if we are lucky, we maybe have one .049 fun fly in the summer. Seemed like years ago the world revolved around .049s. Now, it's pffft!
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So, what happened to all those .049s? After about 8 or 9 years of doing the Musciano event interest tapered off in our club. We had a lot of club members always saying "yeah, let's do it again!" but then only about 4 of us building new stuff for the contest. So, we dropped it. And now,if we are lucky, we maybe have one .049 fun fly in the summer. Seemed like years ago the world revolved around .049s. Now, it's pffft!
The engines are scattered around the world....
The Musciano event...what you say happened is FINE, Who wants to do the same thing year after year? It ends up getting boring. There is not THAT much depth to the hollow log models, they are mostly the same model with slightly different shapes. After two or three years of attending I was all done. Still fun, but how long do you want to do it?
Hey...just thought of something.,.I sent a really nice Scientific P82 with two green anodized Don Garry Special Babe Bees down there many years ago to be proxy flown. Never got it back. Any idea if it is still around? I was proud of that one, don't remember if I ever flew it.
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I'd never seen this thread before. I spent many hours going over their ads when we'd get a new model mag. They put out a small catalog a few times and as a junior and high schooler I carried these along with my school books (and read through them far more). I couldn't afford much in the catalog but I had to dream.......You couldn't pry the thing away from me! We had quite a few good hobby shops around KC in those days but AHC had very many things the hobby shops never carried. I think part of that was how most hobby shops bought from traveling jobbers then and if the jobbers didn't buy from Jetco or .....the local didn't have it. This was before UPS or FEDEX. A little later there was a hobby wholesale business here who sold to all the shops. I worked in a hobby shop through high school and on a few occasions went there with the shop owner to pick up a load. Again if they didn't carry certain things you couldn't really buy it-just want to.......unless you ordered from AHC and paid snail mail.
Dave
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I'd never seen this thread before. I spent many hours going over their ads when we'd get a new model mag. They put out a small catalog a few times and as a junior and high schooler I carried these along with my school books (and read through them far more). I couldn't afford much in the catalog but I had to dream.......You couldn't pry the thing away from me! We had quite a few good hobby shops around KC in those days but AHC had very many things the hobby shops never carried. I think part of that was how most hobby shops bought from traveling jobbers then and if the jobbers didn't buy from Jetco or .....the local didn't have it. This was before UPS or FEDEX. A little later there was a hobby wholesale business here who sold to all the shops. I worked in a hobby shop through high school and on a few occasions went there with the shop owner to pick up a load. Again if they didn't carry certain things you couldn't really buy it-just want to.......unless you ordered from AHC and paid snail mail.
Dave
Those AHC catalogs were the book of dreams and STILL awesome if you find one.
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I have kept three or four AHC catalogs from the mid 50s through the mid 60s. They make fine encyclopedias for looking up kits, motors, prices, etc, from the era. For example, you can find all of the Eureka kits (B-36, B-29, etc), along with a postage stamp sized illustration of the model. Currell
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I have kept three or four AHC catalogs from the mid 50s through the mid 60s. They make fine encyclopedias for looking up kits, motors, prices, etc, from the era. For example, you can find all of the Eureka kits (B-36, B-29, etc), along with a postage stamp sized illustration of the model. Currell
When I cleaned out AHC, I did not get any Eureka kits...but I got a TON of landing gear and canopy sets, they were a goldmine. Many kits were sold without the gear. That nice spring loaded stuff.
AHC had...EVERYTHING.
There were seperate dream books for trains, cars, plastics...not everybody knows that. They probably did more with trains than planes.
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Curtis: I think I still have your Scientific Hollow Log F-82 Twin Mustang and F-86 Sabre. The latter was in some sort of aluminum mylar covering. I scratch built another F-82, and it did well in the Musciano Speed event. Noseheavy with two Fox 049s, and it would sit in a nice groove. Currell
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Pretty much anyone over the age of 50 remembers those full-page AHC ads in 'Model Airplane News' (back before it became an RC rag).
I could be mistaken, but I think AHC's stock was bought-out by one Curtis Mattikow (aka 'Easytiger') sometime in the '90s. Anyone know something about that?
Yup, used to get their catalog. Great stuff. Loved their C/L plane and engine combo deals. I got a few things from them. Used, Money Orders . No credit card, no paypal,
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In 1967 bought my first big engines (K&B Stallion.35) from AHC via U.S. Mail using an order cupon from a Model Airplane news. My uncle bought me one and I the other with money that I had saved. I used one on a Flying fool and the other on a Veco mustang. When I joined the service I gave the engines to my cousin. I don`t remember if in my collection of books and mags I might have a catalog saved but I used to love receiving them.Here is a pic of the Flying fool with the Stallion.35.
Juan
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Curtis: I think I still have your Scientific Hollow Log F-82 Twin Mustang and F-86 Sabre. The latter was in some sort of aluminum mylar covering. I scratch built another F-82, and it did well in the Musciano Speed event. Noseheavy with two Fox 049s, and it would sit in a nice groove. Currell
I had forgotten the sabre! Aluminum tape covered! How about the launcher thing for my Enterprise Moonliner? I got the plane back, but it needs that rack thingie for the full buck rodgers effect...
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I ordered a lot of stuff from AHC, as they were the supplier that had everything a teenager
wanted. In the day deliveries took weeks and money orders were much cheaper than today.
Ordering stopped when my selective service draft notice arrived in late 1965. Here's a scan
of the 1966 catalog I kept at 160 pages
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Curtis: I have to disagree a bit re the sameness of the Scientific Hollow Logs. There are about 85 models eligible for the Musciano Meets, and they do vary considerably. For example, the 23" span Bullet makes a pretty decent stunt plane, as does the 23" Mustang. Zambelli, A Musciano regular, will agree that the key here is to build lightly. They do better than the standard 18" span Logs. I had some Musciano luck in Stunt, using these larger ships. Also, the early 50s models had thicker airfoils than the later, pretty standard 1/8" that you would see. For Speed, our F-82s work well, with the two engines. The ME-109 is another fine choice for Speed, since it has such a small cross section. I had some luck with them, using Fox 049s. And so forth...Oh yes, the Triplane, if done right, has a lot going for it in Scale competition.
For Team Race, I would agree with you, since the result is usually based on pit times. You could use any number of model types and be successful.
The AHC catalog had some great Scientific ads, and also showed the models individually, with those tiny pics.
Currell Pattie
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Curtis: I have to disagree a bit re the sameness of the Scientific Hollow Logs. There are about 85 models eligible for the Musciano Meets, and they do vary considerably. For example, the 23" span Bullet makes a pretty decent stunt plane, as does the 23" Mustang. Zambelli, A Musciano regular, will agree that the key here is to build lightly. They do better than the standard 18" span Logs. I had some Musciano luck in Stunt, using these larger ships. Also, the early 50s models had thicker airfoils than the later, pretty standard 1/8" that you would see. For Speed, our F-82s work well, with the two engines. The ME-109 is another fine choice for Speed, since it has such a small cross section. I had some luck with them, using Fox 049s. And so forth...Oh yes, the Triplane, if done right, has a lot going for it in Scale competition.
For Team Race, I would agree with you, since the result is usually based on pit times. You could use any number of model types and be successful.
The AHC catalog had some great Scientific ads, and also showed the models individually, with those tiny pics.
Currell Pattie
Fair enough,,.musciano was very creative...but you notice that many people were like me, after a few years, been there, done that, and would not build and attend anymore...Musciano himself is also a very nice guy!
His creativity...he built MANY more models than the Scientific stuff...I remember he had a damn crazy RC TV Truck in one of his books...try to imagine that...
The AHC catalog was all done by hand...I had some of the stamp blocks used to do it, like the order block and such...make no mistake, it was guys with razors and paste putting those little scientific pictures onto a sheet by hand for printing...
So...what will it cost to get my twenty years missing models back?
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Was AHC purchased by Polk's Hobby?
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Charles,Curtis bought them out.
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Was AHC purchased by Polk's Hobby?
Polks folded long before AHC did.
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Was AHC purchased by Polk's Hobby?
Yes, I now see that.
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I sent a really nice Scientific P82 with two green anodized Don Garry Special Babe Bees down there many years ago to be proxy flown. Never got it back. Any idea if it is still around? I was proud of that one, don't remember if I ever flew it.
I'm glad Currell has it. When you posted that, I was thinking "Yikes! I don't even recall the plane, much less who flew it for you!"
I don't recall seeing the Moonliner at our contest, but that wasn't a Musciano design was it? I have a copy of the assembly instructions for one that came in the kit, but there never were a regular set of plans for it. AHC probably offered it in combo with a Wen-Mac.
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I'm glad Currell has it. When you posted that, I was thinking "Yikes! I don't even recall the plane, much less who flew it for you!"
I don't recall seeing the Moonliner at our contest, but that wasn't a Musciano design was it? I have a copy of the assembly instructions for one that came in the kit, but there never were a regular set of plans for it. AHC probably offered it in combo with a Wen-Mac.
I don;t know if my planes were actually flown or not...never heard anything. The moonliner is not Musciano but I thought it was cool as sin and guys would want to see and fly it. I did get the model itself back, but not the launcher thingie. My moonliner kit came out of the Elmer Roth Hobby haul from Oregon.
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Kern's Hobbies in Binghamton NY was one of those old entire building hobbie shops. Kern had some business tie's to both Polk and AHC as he was on the phone with them several times a week. Model trains came from them and coins went to them. Leo Kern was a expert on coins. I worked there as a part time job from 1954 -1965. We sold thousands of dollars a day in model trains in season. One time I went to both AHC ans Polk and was surprised how small there were compared to Kerns. He was one of the first to have AMA RC contest. I got every thing free when I worked there. We would build combat models on the counter tops during slow days.
Side Note Kerns was next to the Susquehanna River and just around the corner was the hotel where several Dick Clark shows were filmed and my wife Rebecca can be seen in those old films. They were filmed outside in the parking lot next to the river. We also flew CL models there for local TV 12 and I have seen that film several times over the years.
I was at Kerns the day it closed and bought out a lot of his CL stock. I also worked for TRI City Photo and Hobby during this same time on the east side of Binghamton. The old Tri City building is still there on Robinson St
Fun nostalgia trip back to the good old day EddyR
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Found it!
Just read it, great story!
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Kern's Hobbies in Binghamton NY was one of those old entire building hobbie shops. Kern had some business tie's to both Polk and AHC as he was on the phone with them several times a week. Model trains came from them and coins went to them. Leo Kern was a expert on coins. I worked there as a part time job from 1954 -1965. We sold thousands of dollars a day in model trains in season. One time I went to both AHC ans Polk and was surprised how small there were compared to Kerns. He was one of the first to have AMA RC contest. I got every thing free when I worked there. We would build combat models on the counter tops during slow days.
Side Note Kerns was next to the Susquehanna River and just around the corner was the hotel where several Dick Clark shows were filmed and my wife Rebecca can be seen in those old films. They were filmed outside in the parking lot next to the river. We also flew CL models there for local TV 12 and I have seen that film several times over the years.
I was at Kerns the day it closed and bought out a lot of his CL stock. I also worked for TRI City Photo and Hobby during this same time on the east side of Binghamton. The old Tri City building is still there on Robinson St
Fun nostalgia trip back to the good old day EddyR
You say you were surprised at how small AHC and polks were compared tp Kerns...but both AHC and polks were five floors or more...and both sitting on very very prime manhattan real estate. So the showrooms would be smaller...but...that building AHC was on 22nd street sold for some 10-20 million dollars...which would probably buy most of downtown Binghamton!
Never knew Kerns...thanks for the memories, the day of the hobbyshop is long over.
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Hi Curtis: The F-82 is at Saint Simons Island, Ga, and the Sabre is in Shelby Township, Mi. I am in Keswick, Va right now, where my wife and I are building a house. We will be in Ga by the middle of the month, and I can ship the F-82 back to you. I don't recall if it has the Cox motors on it or not. It is in perfect shape. I recall having trouble getting them to run correctly. Let me see if I can find them.
I can have a friend ship the Sabre from Mi. It is also in good condition. I will cover the cost of shipping for both, but will need your address.
Currell
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A bit more re the F-82 Hollow Log Scientific model. I had a medical issue in either '07 or '08 (afib). so my F-82 was proxy flown at the Kalamazoo Musciano Meet of that year. It won Speed at 66 mph. This may be a Musciano Meet record. The closest second place was 63 mph. Getting a single engine Scientific Hollow Log (they are all single, except the Twin Mustang) over 60 mph on a two port Cox Black Widow, Fox 049, a hot OK Cub, or any other eligible engine, is pretty good. The NVCL club used Proto rules, measuring 10 laps from a standing start, where Kalamazoo measured after two laps in the air, thereby giving you a higher mph figure. I would build all the Hollow Log models as light as possible (10 grams for an extremely hollowed out log fuselage, including the firewall), and under 10 grams for the wing (I was quite anal about this, weighing things constantly during the building process). Through this process, you could reduce the weight vs a stock Scientific kit by 2/3rds or more. It transformed the flying ability, both for Speed and for Stunt. These models would accelerate like crazy under the standing start rules. You could have an engine run that was slightly off a competitor's, rpm wise, and still win, due to the advantage in getting off the ground faster.
Curtiss, my memories of your F-82 contest results are hazy now, but I believe your F-82 was first in Concours at NVCL one year. It did not fly, due to problems with the Cox engines. You did a more scale-like job on the F-82 than I. Mine was built purely for speed, so I did not have landing gear, radio antenna, etc. I think you had rockets or maybe a wing tankon your wing, too, but I will have to check on that.
Musciano Meets were fun. If you chose the right model, such as the Bullet, and built lightly, they would wingover, lazy eight, loop, fly inverted, and maybe some other daring-for-Hollow-Log maneuvers, with ease. I did come in second in Stunt one year, and it was all about choosing the right airplane, not the pilot.
I went Musciano crazy for a few years. Built four racing ME-109, and I think I won once, and came in second, in a few meets. One year, a NVCL Twin Mustang blew me away, which prompted me to build one.
One year, when flying Team Race, I completed the two pit 70 lap Final for second place. Two laps later, the Cox Black Widow pulled completely off the blackplate! Talk about luck. Boy, those races were fun...
Scott, now that I am in Va, maybe I can rejoin NVCL. I owe a bunch of back dues!
Enough rambling for a while...Currell
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As a high schooler back in the late 50's AHC was my hobby shop when I lived in southern Missouri. Otherwise I would give a list to one of my brothers and they would visit Charley's Hobby Shop in Kansas City KS and they would bring me stuff if he had it. The thing that amazed me was if AHC didn't have an item in stock they would send a comparable item or a better one. Once I graduated from high school and returned to KCK, AHC was forgotten. Used to be a good selection of hobby shops in the KC area. H^^
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I liked the used and trade in engine stuff. Bought my first ST 46 and 60 from them.
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I was the first black person they ever hired. The first day there, I sold a $450.00 Graupner RC helicopter to a Frenchmen. The other sales people went ballistic. They said a black has no business being here, much less selling expensive equipment. I was just a young teenager at the time.
Its always amazed me how some people react to things. Like them thinking that you had no business there because of your skin color. That stuff always pissed me off. Yet there you were, doing the same job they were, and apparently doing it well. Sounds like they were jealous to me. I hope you kept at it and showed them what being a decent human being was all about. Sounds like they needed some lessons on the subject. Good for you!
Gary
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Hi Curtis: The F-82 is at Saint Simons Island, Ga, and the Sabre is in Shelby Township, Mi. I am in Keswick, Va right now, where my wife and I are building a house. We will be in Ga by the middle of the month, and I can ship the F-82 back to you. I don't recall if it has the Cox motors on it or not. It is in perfect shape. I recall having trouble getting them to run correctly. Let me see if I can find them.
I can have a friend ship the Sabre from Mi. It is also in good condition. I will cover the cost of shipping for both, but will need your address.
Currell
Cool!
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A bit more re the F-82 Hollow Log Scientific model. I had a medical issue in either '07 or '08 (afib). so my F-82 was proxy flown at the Kalamazoo Musciano Meet of that year. It won Speed at 66 mph. This may be a Musciano Meet record. The closest second place was 63 mph. Getting a single engine Scientific Hollow Log (they are all single, except the Twin Mustang) over 60 mph on a two port Cox Black Widow, Fox 049, a hot OK Cub, or any other eligible engine, is pretty good. The NVCL club used Proto rules, measuring 10 laps from a standing start, where Kalamazoo measured after two laps in the air, thereby giving you a higher mph figure. I would build all the Hollow Log models as light as possible (10 grams for an extremely hollowed out log fuselage, including the firewall), and under 10 grams for the wing (I was quite anal about this, weighing things constantly during the building process). Through this process, you could reduce the weight vs a stock Scientific kit by 2/3rds or more. It transformed the flying ability, both for Speed and for Stunt. These models would accelerate like crazy under the standing start rules. You could have an engine run that was slightly off a competitor's, rpm wise, and still win, due to the advantage in getting off the ground faster.
Curtiss, my memories of your F-82 contest results are hazy now, but I believe your F-82 was first in Concours at NVCL one year. It did not fly, due to problems with the Cox engines. You did a more scale-like job on the F-82 than I. Mine was built purely for speed, so I did not have landing gear, radio antenna, etc. I think you had rockets or maybe a wing tankon your wing, too, but I will have to check on that.
Musciano Meets were fun. If you chose the right model, such as the Bullet, and built lightly, they would wingover, lazy eight, loop, fly inverted, and maybe some other daring-for-Hollow-Log maneuvers, with ease. I did come in second in Stunt one year, and it was all about choosing the right airplane, not the pilot.
I went Musciano crazy for a few years. Built four racing ME-109, and I think I won once, and came in second, in a few meets. One year, a NVCL Twin Mustang blew me away, which prompted me to build one.
One year, when flying Team Race, I completed the two pit 70 lap Final for second place. Two laps later, the Cox Black Widow pulled completely off the blackplate! Talk about luck. Boy, those races were fun...
Scott, now that I am in Va, maybe I can rejoin NVCL. I owe a bunch of back dues!
Enough rambling for a while...Currell
I had no idea...
Yo...I'm a CONTROL LINE CONCOURS WINNER.
And...
A CONTROL LINE SPEED CHAMPION.
Chicks are going to MELT when they hear that!
I'm just happy to hear it got flown! I remember the pair of green anodized Babe Bees Don Garry made for me for that.
I did not attempt to keep it light, pretty sure I had 12 coats of brushed brodak black dope on it...I was going for looks, not weight.
I know I never put the rockets on, because I found them in a bag many years later.
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Its always amazed me how some people react to things. Like them thinking that you had no business there because of your skin color. That stuff always pissed me off. Yet there you were, doing the same job they were, and apparently doing it well. Sounds like they were jealous to me. I hope you kept at it and showed them what being a decent human being was all about. Sounds like they needed some lessons on the subject. Good for you!
Gary
I'm not sure I would read too deeply into that...Marshall Winston was equally obnoxious to all people irrespective of skin color, If you were a Pole, Eskimo, or black, he would be sure to make some crack about it, that's not racism, that's just him.
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As a 12 to 14 year old out in the desert of northern Nevada, AHC was about the only place to buy balsa, kits, engines etc. My first from them was the two for one kit by Scientific of the P51 and F86 and an OK Cub .049 B kit. Remember the little 4 x 4 paper with the punch outs. Get enough of them and you got a subscription to to MAN. If you had a back order or out of stock, you had to redeem the credit slip within30 days. Never did and they still owe me $2.89. LL~ LL~ LL~I still have some of the balsa I got from them back in 1955. Like rock. H^^
Visited their "store" in 1967 when my tin can pulled into NYC, Up those long stairs and met the most cranky guy ever. 4 Sailors were not happy campers when we left. The young guy that waited on us was a real snot. I thought my buddy Ralph was gonna deck him. LL~ LL~ H^^
AHC was a lifeline to the hobby for many, many people who lived in rural areas or overseas. They had EVERYTHING and they would mail ANYWHERE. And they would ship one tiny item or twenty five. For all intensive purposes...they INVENTED mail order discount hobbies.
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Scott, now that I am in Va, maybe I can rejoin NVCL. I owe a bunch of back dues!
Currel: We are still meeting at Frost Intermediate School in the winter and flying at Meadowood!
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I moved to NJ in 1984....found AHC in 87 or so, Then it was necessary to hike up to the second floor (the first floor has 15-20' ceilings) and the display space was dingy and about 20' square, ringed by cabinets.
I met Marshall and he asked what I wanted. When I replied that I was "just looking", he stomped off. He returned and did manage to show me a kit. I passed on the kit but did buy some stuff.
Next time, I was hunting for something and chatted him up, saying that he was probably the only place on the Planet that had one.... It was a train car for my father. Marshall let me come in back of the counter and we climbed two flights and he rummaged through what looked like debris and, VIOLA, the car was there and in a box, unmolested. I thanked him profusely.... never asked the price, and he gave me a real deal.
He was always nice on return trips....
His son ran a location in River Edge and lamented that his father would NEVER computerize. I believe that his name was Robb?
They opened a location on Kennedy Blvd. with an RC car race track on the roof, and most of their nifty stock was gone. Instead cheesy RC ARFs and the like.
River Edge was pretty well stocked, but soon closed. The Kennedy location survived for a couple more years...mayhaps until 2002 or so?
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I would say that with respect to AHC , the two greatest pleasures I experienced were reading their ads and receiving their brown packages with my name on them.
Nirvana for an 11 year old dreamer.
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I would say that with respect to AHC , the two greatest pleasures I experienced were reading their ads and receiving their brown packages with my name on them.
Nirvana for an 11 year old dreamer.
Right there. Right on, What joy. My favorite was the Collectors Closeout Corner at the far left corner of the ads...there would be all these models from the forties and fifties for twenty five cents apeice(this was the seventies) and I could get a TON of them for ten bucks. Which is why I am the only fifty year old guy who remembers powdered casein glue that came with Strombecker solid kits from his childhood...
I owe so much to AHC. Warts and all. At least Marshall was not DULL. Too much of this world today, well...they boiled all the flavor out of the soup. I'll take a Marshall Winston over politically correct blanditude any day.
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Curtis: Not a champion at all, but a Musciano participant that had a lot of fun.
Send me your snail, and I get the Twin Mustang back to you when I get back to St Simons. Currell
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Curtis A little more on Kerns. I told about the retail building but he had the largest slot car track in the northeast around the corner in another building. He had the US and World Championships there two times. Longest slot car drag strip in the US.
Kerns was also a narrow store on the first floor but was huge on the upper floors. Marine Midland bought the entire block and removed all the old buildings in the late 1970. I did a search on Google for a picture of the old store but could not find any. It has been gone for a long time now but the memories still live on. I rode my bike to get there in 1955.
Ed
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Obviously didn't realize who he was talking to! LL~
To be fair, Mike. At the time he was talking to "nobody"!
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To be fair, Mike. At the time he was talking to "nobody"!
With all due respect...we ALL were nobody!
EVERYBODY came into the 22nd street store. People from around the world. It was a mandatory stop for anyone with a hobby thing...and remember...model trains DWARFED model airplanes.
Marshall knew princes and presidents. Or, at leasst they BOUGHT from him. And you know...I doubt any of them EVER forgot Marshall.
Baby Doc Duvalier used to come in with a private jet and buy 25 models at a time...DeNiro, Rod Stewart...a long long list.
Nothing unusual about, say, a Swiss Airline pilot dropping in and filling up the cockpit jumpseat of his 747 with a $2000 ducted fan jet...
AHC was a DESTINATION...
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One thing that is apparent in this thread is the owners seemed to be not very nice people. The customers that came in to Kerns asked for Dick Nito,Ron Boors,Ed Ruane,Jerry Hickey on and on. Leo would open and one of us would close. If you were not friendly you would not work there. I worked there before many on here were born. New York and Binghamton are very different places. You could spend the afternoon looking and walk out without buying any thing. There was no junk rooms as everything was on shelves and inventoried.
Leo loved coins and had I think that was his reason for keeping the store open. I remember Leo giving me a new K&B 35 when they were the hot combat motor. He had decals that said Kerns Hobbies and asked me to put on the wing.
Leo wanted out as the late 60's came and he offered to sell me the business and the building. He wanted to retire to Florida and run his coin business from the store front and his home in Florida. Leo and I were good friends and he trusted me to run the place when he was away on trips. I never worked there full time except on summer vacation when still in school.
I remember people coming in with 1/2A motors that they could not get running ,bad plug, he would hold it in his had and start it and run it. I did it also but used a glove on my hand.
It was the type of hobby shop we all want to remember but few have been it.
EddyR
NOTE I am sure i have forgotten all the long days ,grumpy Leo , and low pay. Ha Ha on me. #^ #^ #^
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My story isn't as grand as everybody else's, but AHC was where I got m first RC plane and radio, a mail order Kyosho Papillon and a two channel Futaba. Probably around '78 or'79. I knew nothing about building an airplane. The heat shrink sock for the wing was a mystery to me. I slid the wing in it and used my mom's hairdryer on it, and it shrunk, alright. Shrunk so much that the outer bay on each wing was uncovered. Strapping tape took care of that. A Babe Bee out of a Cox plastic for power. Balance? What's that? I tossed it and crashed. Fixed with thread and glue. Out the next day. Toss and crash, thread and glue. Toss and crash, thread and glue. Eventually, it did fly. I think I added enough glue in just the right place that it balanced by accident. Of course, that one flight ended in a crash landing, so more thread and glue. Nope, no more balance. Never did get a second successful flight.
But, like everyone else here, I loved poring over the AHC ads and dreaming.
Mark
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My story isn't as grand as everybody else's, but AHC was where I got m first RC plane and radio, a mail order Kyosho Papillon and a two channel Futaba. Probably around '78 or'79. I knew nothing about building an airplane. The heat shrink sock for the wing was a mystery to me. I slid the wing in it and used my mom's hairdryer on it, and it shrunk, alright. Shrunk so much that the outer bay on each wing was uncovered. Strapping tape took care of that. A Babe Bee out of a Cox plastic for power. Balance? What's that? I tossed it and crashed. Fixed with thread and glue. Out the next day. Toss and crash, thread and glue. Toss and crash, thread and glue. Eventually, it did fly. I think I added enough glue in just the right place that it balanced by accident. Of course, that one flight ended in a crash landing, so more thread and glue. Nope, no more balance. Never did get a second successful flight.
But, like everyone else here, I loved poring over the AHC ads and dreaming.
Mark
Great stuff there!
As an aside...maybe five years ago, I built and flew a Papillon for electric. Back in the day, I always wanted one. The covering sock was crusty, so I used transparent monokote. Flew fine...but after one flight, I gave it away. That's all I needed, the one flight. After that, it would have been boring. In 1979...I wanted one bad.
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Amazing. HereÂ’’s no 103 comment on this thread. I grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. My friends and I rode our bikes up to 22nd and spent our allowance when we had enough. Flew control line wherever we were not chased.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Curtis, I also found a Papillon kit a few years ago and put it in my build queue. I plan to use it for templates to make three planes. One built as it should be built, using 40 years of experience and modern equipment, other than the Bee engine. One as an electric. And one built exactly the way I built that first one, mistakes and all, just to see how it would've flown with an experienced pilot flying it.
Mark
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Curtis, I also found a Papillon kit a few years ago and put it in my build queue. I plan to use it for templates to make three planes. One built as it should be built, using 40 years of experience and modern equipment, other than the Bee engine. One as an electric. And one built exactly the way I built that first one, mistakes and all, just to see how it would've flown with an experienced pilot flying it.
Mark
Um. Build ONE, and see if you want to do that same thing three times after you do the one!
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My experience with AHC was via my dads Model Railroader magazines, which was also my primary hobby as a kid.
Gary
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My experience with AHC was via my dads Model Railroader magazines, which was also my primary hobby as a kid.
Gary
Model Railroading was a MUCH bigger hobby, and AHC did MUCH more business with trains. Like our model airplane hobby, that hobby is facing collapse, too. Such is life.
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As a 50+ year model railroader, I would say "collapse" isn't quite the word. "Adjusting" (in some cases severe adjustment) is a better term.
The basic hobby of model railroading is still doing well. Segments of it isn't faring so well (sound like C/L woes?), and the outlook in those segments is a bit gloomy.
Doing well:
* HO scale. Still a very good market for all the more popular persuasions of modeling preferences. Good market for new products, as well as a good buyers market in the secondary market.
* N scale is still doing okay.
Not doing so well:
The 3-rail world -
* "Traditional" type 3-rail trains, of which the huge bulk of Postwar Lionel comprises, is in trouble. Simply put, the "Baby Boomers" that fueled the nostalgia-based market are aging out as well as passing on. The subsequent 3-rail generations do not have near the interest in Postwar, or traditional sized 3-rail trains. As Postwar/Traditional hobbyists die out, their sizable collections are being dumped on the market. Postwar price points are about 50% what they were some 10-15 years ago. Worse, there's no hope of a reversal in sight.
* "Scale" 3-rail is doing fair, but again, the secondary market is saturated with deceased modeler's collections. This poses a problem for the mfg-er's of 3-rail trains. The big players in 3-rail mfg-er's are trying to infiltrate the HO scale market, but that is a significant challenge given their "toy train" mindset.
There will be a model trains hobby into the foreseeable future (albeit smaller), but it will evolve as it always has since its conception well over 100 years ago.
The great thing about model railroading is there is no governmental interference that has negative impact on the way the hobbyist enjoys his hobby, or that will impact the "business" of model trains. (Model trains have yet to be perceived by our fool government as a terrorist threat, nor can they be perceived as interfering with the prototype, as is the case with "flight patterns/no fly zones" in model aviation.)
Hope this helps.
Andre
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As a 50+ year model railroader, I would say "collapse" isn't quite the word. "Adjusting" (in some cases severe adjustment) is a better term.
The basic hobby of model railroading is still doing well. Segments of it isn't faring so well (sound like C/L woes?), and the outlook in those segments is a bit gloomy.
Doing well:
* HO scale. Still a very good market for all the more popular persuasions of modeling preferences. Good market for new products, as well as a good buyers market in the secondary market.
* N scale is still doing okay.
Not doing so well:
The 3-rail world -
* "Traditional" type 3-rail trains, of which the huge bulk of Postwar Lionel comprises, is in trouble. Simply put, the "Baby Boomers" that fueled the nostalgia-based market are aging out as well as passing on. The subsequent 3-rail generations do not have near the interest in Postwar, or traditional sized 3-rail trains. As Postwar/Traditional hobbyists die out, their sizable collections are being dumped on the market. Postwar price points are about 50% what they were some 10-15 years ago. Worse, there's no hope of a reversal in sight.
* "Scale" 3-rail is doing fair, but again, the secondary market is saturated with deceased modeler's collections. This poses a problem for the mfg-er's of 3-rail trains. The big players in 3-rail mfg-er's are trying to infiltrate the HO scale market, but that is a significant challenge given their "toy train" mindset.
There will be a model trains hobby into the foreseeable future (albeit smaller), but it will evolve as it always has since its conception well over 100 years ago.
The great thing about model railroading is there is no governmental interference that has negative impact on the way the hobbyist enjoys his hobby, or that will impact the "business" of model trains. (Model trains have yet to be perceived by our fool government as a terrorist threat, nor can they be perceived as interfering with the prototype, as is the case with "flight patterns/no fly zones" in model aviation.)
Hope this helps.
Andre
Good post, there. More specific and accurate than mine.
This stuff goes in cycles...I'm heavily into restoring cars...a Model T in 1980 went for $25000, guys who had one when they were young came into their money, retired, and restored or bought them. 30 years on...those guys are all DEAD and their collections came onto the market, and now a Model T ain't worth squat. Just like your Lionel trains. Note that wartime or prewar model airplanes are dead, too. What used to be a $150 Cleveland kit, well...now you are lucky to find a buyer at all. Stuff from the Seventies is hot right now. Same with cars.
Mind you...the cream always rises to the top, a Rolls Royce will always be a Rolls Royce, and worth more than a Ford...Sixties model airplanes are losing interest and value because those guys are dying, Seventies and Eighties stuff still have some interest.