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24-586: The Testors' line of products include enamel paints , acrylic paints , aerosol paints , adhesives , brushes , cutting tools, commercialised under the Testors, Model Master, Spray Chalk, and Testors Craft brands . Axel Karlson had been producing a product known as "Karlsons Klister" ( klister being Swedish for glue ), which was originally intended for use in the repair of women's stockings, but had quickly found use in other applications as well. In February 1929, Karlson convinced Nils F. Testor (1903–1967), then

48-550: A durable, hard-wearing surface that resists chipping, fading, and discoloration, making it a great choice for a wide range of surfaces and applications. Hawk Model Company The Hawk Model Company is an American brand and former manufacturing company of scale model airplanes , ships , and figures , established in 1928. Headquartered in Chicago , Hawk was one of the first American manufacturers of injection-molded plastic model kits. After some attempts to revive

72-463: A fire broke out at Testor's main Rockford facility. In addition to totally destroying the upper two floors of the four-story brick building, production lines and equipment suffered severe damage from both the fire itself and from the water used to douse the flames. Total damage was estimated at over US$ 200,000; however, in less than a year a new, larger plant was built and production continued. With

96-445: A high gloss finish, or spray paints . Most enamel paints are alkyd resin based. Some enamel paints have been made by adding varnish to oil-based paint. Although "enamels" and " painted enamel " in art normally refer to vitreous enamel, in the 20th century some artists used commercial enamel paints in art, including Pablo Picasso (mixing it with oil paint), Hermann-Paul , Jackson Pollock , and Sidney Nolan . The Trial (1947)

120-532: A possible partnership. Duromatic was the manufacturer of the McCoy hobby engine, a popular motor for self-propelled models. These talks culminated in a joint marketing agreement of the McCoy engine with Testor model airplanes, as well as an agreement for each company to design its respective products to be interoperable with those of the other. By the 1960s, plastics had risen to prominence in American life, including

144-409: Is applied with brushes and fired in a kiln. The name is something of a misnomer, as in reality most commercially available enamel paints are significantly softer than either vitreous enamel or stoved synthetic resins, and are totally different in composition; vitreous enamel is applied as a powder or paste and then fired at high temperature. There is no generally accepted definition or standard for use of

168-553: Is one of a number of works by Nolan to use enamel paint, usually Ripolin , a commercial paint not intended for art, also Picasso's usual brand. Some "enamel paints" are now produced specifically for artists. Enamels paints can also refer to nitrocellulose based paints, one of the first modern commercial paints of the 20th century. They have since been superseded by new synthetic coatings like alkyd, acrylic and vinyl , due to toxicity, safety, and conservation (tendency to age yellow) concerns. In art has been used also by Pollock with

192-482: The Nighthawk and other subsequent stealth designs. A Soviet fighter would be produced as well. To be developed Enamel paint Enamel paint is paint that air-dries to a hard, usually glossy , finish, used for coating surfaces that are outdoors or otherwise subject to hard wear or variations in temperature; it should not be confused with decorated objects in "painted enamel", where vitreous enamel

216-467: The automotive industry". Nitro-cellulose enamels are also commonly known as modern lacquers . Enamel paint comes in a variety of hues and can be custom blended to produce a particular tint. It is also available in water-based and solvent-based formulations, with solvent-based enamel being more prevalent in industrial applications. For the greatest results, use a high-quality brush, roller, or spray gun when applying enamel paint. When dried, enamel paint forms

240-546: The box. In 1984–87, Testors sponsored a video series "Adventures in Scale Modeling". The program featured half-hour segments on detailed model building with an on-location shoot featuring the item being modeled. The shows were produced by WSWP-TV. From the late 80s through today, Testors partnered up with diecast brands such as Bburago , Jouef , Racing Champions , Lincoln Mint, Maisto , etc. to rebox them as model kits, usually for younger modelers as an alternative to

264-625: The brand, rights to Hawk Model were finally acquired by Round 2 . "Hawk Model Airplanes" was established in 1928 by brothers Dick (Sr.) and Phil Mates in Chicago, Illinois . Promoted as "America's Oldest Model Company", the company was purchased by the Testor Corporation in 1970. The Hawk Company assets were later acquired by J. Lloyd International, Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa , which, in turn, sold them to Round 2 LLC of South Bend, Indiana in 2013. From its inception in 1928 to

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288-522: The commercial paint named Duco . The artist experimented and created with many types of commercial or house paints during his career. Other artists: "after discovering various types of industrial materials produced in the United States in the 1930s, Siqueiros' produced most of his easel works with uncommon materials which include Duco paint, a DuPont brand name for pyroxyline paint, a tough and resilient type of nitro-cellulose paint manufactured for

312-541: The company could not stick to its tried-and-true line of wooden models indefinitely, and so in the early 1970s it purchased IMC and the Hawk Model Company , both well-respected manufacturers of plastic model kits . Later that same decade, the Italian model kit manufacturer Italeri was acquired, further expanding Testor's line of plastic model kits, usually repackaged with photographs rather than paintings on

336-479: The company was able to expand its product line. Staying true to its status as a chemical corporation, hobbyist model cement and butyrate dope were introduced to the public. Four years later, Testor Corporation became a founding member of The Hobby Industry of America , an association of hobby parts suppliers and manufacturers. Industrial production, necessitated by World War II , caused severe shortages of raw materials for manufacturers not directly involved in

360-471: The early 1950s, the company manufactured a successful line of solid-wood aircraft models, which eventually included injection-molded generic plastic propellers. The Mates brothers exhibited built-up and painted plastic models at the Chicago World's Fair in 1934. During World War II , Hawk helped to supply plastic identification models for use in military training. In 1946, Hawk produced one of

384-499: The end of the war, the company was able to resume production of its trademark glues and paints, including adhesives for the plastics that were quickly becoming popular. Additionally, surpluses of ultra-lightweight balsa wood left over from the war enabled the company to begin producing flying wooden aircraft models as well as provide raw balsa wood for builders of custom-designed models. In 1949, Nils Testor began talks with Charles Miller , president of Duromatic Products , regarding

408-614: The first all-plastic model kits, the Curtiss R3C -1 racer. Four additional kits (all classic 1930s racers) were added in 1948; the Gee Bee , Howard Ike , Laird Solution and Supermarine S6B . These early kits were molded in acetate plastic , but from 1949 Hawk employed polystyrene in its injection-molding process. The kits were advertised as "1/4 scale", meaning 1 ⁄ 4 inch (0.64 cm) equals 1 scale foot or 1/48 scale . Additionally, increasingly sophisticated tooling

432-530: The hobby industry. Almost all model kits on the market were plastic, necessitating paints (the square, glass Testor paint bottles were sold in almost every dime store, department store, hardware store, toy store and hobby store in the US in the 1960s, making them truly ubiquitous) and glues different from those used for wooden models. Although Testor had been producing such chemicals since the 1940s, it had resisted producing plastic model kits for quite some time. However,

456-573: The manager of an F. W. Woolworth store in the Swedish district of Rockford, Illinois, to serve as office manager of his new enterprise. It was a relatively risky move for Testor, who began his career as a stockroom boy in Woolworth's Chicago store on State Street. Karlson's Klister ultimately proved unsuccessful, and Karlson returned home to Sweden. Testor borrowed enough money to purchase the firm's assets and founded "The Testor Chemical Company". By

480-409: The term "enamel paint", and not all enamel-type paints may use it. Typically the term "enamel paint" is used to describe oil-based covering products, usually with a significant amount of gloss in them, however recently many latex or water-based paints have adopted the term as well. The term today means "hard surfaced paint" and usually is in reference to paint brands of higher quality, floor coatings of

504-443: The time Testor arrived, cobblers had become the product's primary market. Coming to the conclusion that the only way to save his new acquisition was to sell the product to additional markets, Testor renamed the adhesive "Crystal Clear Household Cement" and began marketing it to households as a general-purpose repair product, while continuing to sell a large quantity to shoemakers. Testor's actions proved to be successful, and by 1936

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528-423: The traditional plastic models also reboxed at the time. In January 1986 Testors released a model kit of a hypothetical F-19 Stealth Fighter , designed using open source intelligence before the real F-117 Nighthawk was introduced. Although it was very different from the actual plane, video games and many other toys and models were inspired by this fictional design. Many features, such as canted fins, were used on

552-557: The war effort. In Testor's case, this manifested itself in difficulties acquiring the chemicals necessary to continue producing its line of adhesives and paints. As a result, the company was forced to branch out into other segments of the hobby market. To this end, Testor began producing static scale models of popular aircraft out of pinewood . These scale models proved enormously popular, and enabled Testor Corporation to survive, despite its inability to produce its flagship chemical products in any significant quantity. On February 1, 1944,

576-520: Was developed in the 1960s. By the time of its sale to Testor Corp. in 1970, the company's catalog included a wide range of realistic scale replicas of aircraft, ships , missiles, vehicles and conceptual subjects in 1:48, 1:72 , 1:96, 1:144 , and smaller scales. Among Hawk's most notable releases are: Many of these original Hawk kits have been reissued periodically using the original molds. They have been reboxed by Testor or its successors and continue to be available. One of Hawk's best selling kit lines

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