Replicraft
The paper models from Replicraft are published in the late 1940’s. Because of that we could have put this publisher in the History section. But because we dedicated the History section to Micromodels Ltd. and Modelcraft Ltd., the models from Replicraft got a place in the New Micromodels section.
Replicraft was based at 39 Paxford Road, North Wembley, Middlesex, England. They had miniature cut-out card model kits in the Micromodels style. There is no doubt that the artist/designer was greatly influenced by the slightly earlier Micromodels but had set out to create a better product with sharper artwork and more technically precise paper engineering.
There may have been five of these Replicraft sets. Examination of surviving examples with their details of forthcoming sets gives us :
- Mite British Jets (Mite Motion Models overprinted “Replicraft”): Meteor, DH 108, Vampire, Attacker.
- Replicraft British Airliners: Tudor, Viking, Dove + vehicles
- Replicraft British Warships: Battleship, Carrier, Cruiser, Destroyer
- Replicraft British Liners: Queen Mary, Pretoria Castle, Orcades
- Replicraft EPS1 British Railways Locomotives: LMR 7P & SR 7P
1, 2 and 5 are known survivors. Examples of 3 and 4 have never shown up so they may never have been printed. The Company does not seem to have survived into the 1950s as no other identifiable products have come down to us.
Description of the British Railways Locomotives Series EPS1.
Paper outer measures 27 x 16.5 cm (10.6″ x 6.5″). Artwork and text on both sides. Folds in half to create a cover. This contains two cards each measuring 16.5 x 13 cm (6.5″ x 5.25″). The cards were stapled to the cover.
The presentation of this printed paper kit is like a slightly larger and more precise Micromodel but in a folder/cover rather than a wrapper.
Each card makes a Locomotive & Tender. There are two models:
- London Midland Region 4-6-2 Class 7P “Sir William A. Stanier FRS”
- S.R. 4-6-2 Class 7P “Channel Packet”
Some instructions are on the card together with assembly diagrams.
The scale is 1″ inch = 16 feet (1 : 192)
The last date recorded in these various details about British Railways was 1948. There is also some information about new Locomotives that are expected to arrive in 1951.
Price of the kit was 1/6 (one shilling and six pence). Micromodels priced at 1/6 date from 1948.
So this model is published in approximately 1949.
Modelcraft also published the Channel Packet, a green version.
