MG Enthusiast – July 2019

http://www.mgenthusiast.com MGEAUGUST 2019 59

the car carries number 25. In 1975 the

first illustration was reintroduced and

the box was marked ‘Le Mans’ down the

side. You could still buy this kit in the

1980s, in a less attractive box showing

what looks like a retouched photo of a

built kit, in a rather sober dark green.

Today, the Lindberg line has been

revived by a company called Round 2

Corporation, which has put many of the

classic model kits back into production,

though their current selection does not

appear to include the MGA.

This all matters to the collector

for whom the box is much more

than a container for a product. In

fact, it’s just as important as the

product itself. That’s why, if you’re

lucky enough to find a pristine boxed

Lindberg MGA kit, the last thing you

should do is try to assemble it!

of the ‘custom street rod’ type. There
was also a 1/32 scale ‘International
Sports Car’ series which, along with a
Jaguar XK 140, Triumph TR3, Mercedes
300SL, Chevrolet Corvette and Austin
Healey Sprite, included an MGA MkII.
Box artwork is a crucial aspect of the
appeal of plastic kits and the distinctive
look of Lindberg packaging was the
work of a successful commercial
illustrator called Ray Gaedke.
The kit is really a very simple one with
few parts to assemble; the ‘wire wheels’
are moulded as solid pieces and the
‘motor’ is nothing more than an elastic
band! To make things more exciting,
you could buy a trio of sports cars (MG,
Mercedes and Jaguar) in a bigger box
called the ‘Drag Strip Racing’ set. There
was also a ‘Drag Racing Set’ containing
only the MG and Jaguar but with the

ABOVE: The 1968 Lindberg catalogue depicts a wide range of sports car models and the simple rubber band motor.

addition of some accessory items such

as a ‘starting gate’ and ‘stop bumper’ to

allow a racing circuit to be set up.

As is the case with die-cast model

cars, the biggest expense for the

manufacturer lies in making the tooling.

Once this is in existence, production can

continue for as long as the product sells

or until the tooling wears out. Thus, in

common with other plastic kits, like

the Airfix ones we’re familiar with in

the UK, the Lindberg sports cars had

a long shelf life. All that was needed

was a periodic revamp of the packaging

to give the consumer the illusion that

he was buying something new. The

earliest box, launched in 1960, showed

a driver sitting in a red car decorated

with the racing number 12 and talking

to a standing figure. The second design

(pictured here) has a waving driver and

ABOVE: The 1968 Lindberg catalogue depicts a wide range of sports car models and the simple rubber band motor.