E & H Grace Ltd., London

[Mark Braunlich]

Is anyone familiar with kits made by E & H Grace Ltd, London, during the WW2 years or thereafter?   I have one and a half kits made by them and I think they must be the finest, most accurate and detailed 1/72 solid scale kits made in that era, and there were a lot of kits from numerous firms during that period when materials for flying models (balsa and rubber) were unavailable.  My first exposure to the firm was stumbling upon the remains of a Grace Junkers Ju-88-A6 kit at an aerojumble sale near Heathrow in 1998 which I snapped up for the asking price of £1.50.  The plans and full size templates are all that remain but there were envelopes full of Skybirds and other firms' transfers stuck in the lot.  Later, I found a complete unbuilt Grace de Havilland Mosquito kit.  I will eventually scan the plans and get them posted to the web site but they are quite large and full of detail not found in their contemporaries.  I was hoping some of the readers here may know of the other models the firm produced or any other history of the company.

Mark

[Mark Braunlich]

Here's link to a wooden toy horse cart made by E & H Grace Ltd in 1930.
This is pretty nice for wooden toy  .

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O92949/pull-along-toy/?print=1

Mark

[dave_t]

Here is another one-
http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=80411&sos=0

[Balsabasher]

Yes I know of the kits made by Grace,they did a whole series of models including a cheapie rubber driven range which comprised stripwood and printed parts,Grace solids were well advertised in the old 'Aeromodeller' during wartime,next time I stumble across one of their advertisements I will scan it and place it into the nostalgia section.
Thats a nice find Mark.
Barry.

[Mark Braunlich]

Barry,
Thanks for uploading the Grace clip-wing Spitfire Mk VB in Member-Submitted Plans.  Again, it is very good by the standards of the day.   I also much appreciate the list of 1:72 scale offerings by E & H Grace Ltd.  The firm must have been blessed with a draughtsman with a keen eye for capturing accurate shapes from the meager information that was then available. (Or a spy in the Air Ministry  )

Mark

[dave_t]

A Lancaster- http://www.para-phenalia.com/cart/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=1574

[Balsabasher]

It is amazing what is surfacing these days ! yes another typical Grace plan pack complete with the fittings,I still have these particular fittings in my collection and may just use them on a wooden Lancaster one day ? they will look much better on a built up model,the cockpits always go yellowed due to being moulded from thin celluloid sheet.
Barry.

[Mark Braunlich]

An E & H Grace Ltd. kit of the Consolidated Liberator with some misc other model airplane parts.  Note the molded plastic cowl fronts.  Looks like the plans are missing.

[lastvautour]

Where do you keep finding these treasures? I have yet to see a vintage model kit in my neck of the woods.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

They do surface Lou,usually when someone passes over and people find old kits put away in attics and drawers in sheds etc,the best place in the UK was Aerojumbles,dont know if you have these in Canada but they are goldmines for things like this? EBay has virtually taken over now with the odd solid model on there for sale.
I have just retrieved my solid model kit stash and decided to build them up into worthwhile models recording the process here,the wood is yellow and proably brittle but if it needs replacing then so be it,I also have a big bag of solid model accessories like cowlings,tin props,wheels,moulded celluloid canoppies which will be used on these as well,decals are the only thing normally un-useable they are cracked and you can try and flood them with varnish to seal them or photocopy and paste them on,or better still make into new transfers,the point is these old lits are not getting any better and you do not get much for them on EBay,I sold an Airyda Catalina PBY to test the water, it only realised a few pounds so better to build them I think,I found a late Skybird Westland Lysander,the only Skybird that I have ever owned,it has a blueprint for a plan,this has spindled parts for the fuselage etc.
A trip down memory lane,I remember the day when model shops had shelves full of kits behind the counter.