Merit Kits and the Missing BlueBird

We got a lot of comments on the recent Merit Kit story by Aldo Zana. A lot. For years, your Editor, holed up in a very northern Minnesota town in the 1950s, thought he was the only guy in the world who knew about Merit kits.

Boy was I wrong! And thankfully so. After Zana’s excellent and comprehensive article appeared in VeloceToday, there was a sudden rejoinder from all over the world. One astute reader knew that there was one we missed, a fifteenth Merit kit. Then along comes our longtime reader, Bob Graham, who once ran a hobby shop in Richmond, Virginia. He said he knew all about that mystery Merit kit, and in fact had one. Scroll down to find out more about the missing Merit…

Like many of our readers, I once owned almost all of the Merit kits. I have three left, all missing various windscreens, mirrors and exhaust systems. Above is the most intact of all three, the 250F Maserati. Note the wire wheel decals…they worked out well and weathered the storms of the past 60 years.

The Gordini was among my favorites, and I haven’t decided if it is smart to recreate the missing mirrors, exhaust system and windscreen. What do you do when yours needs repairs?

Bob mentioned to me that he had a few unbuilt Merits left. I got dibs if affordable. Now here’s his story….

The BlueBird Merit Kit

By Bob Graham

As a lover of the Merit kits and having spent more than 40 years in the retail hobby business, I would like to make a few observations. The Merit kits were available in hobby shops in the US. I sold the whole range including the elusive BlueBird jet boat. If I remember correctly we obtained them through Polks Hobbies in N.Y. who was also a wholesaler. I collected my own complete set and put them aside for a time I felt would lend itself to a proper build. I finally built them some ten to fifteen years ago. They were old even then. The exception was the BlueBird. I had failed to save one of them, even in the day a scarce kit. It took years to finally find one. I have only seen one since for sale. For years people from around the world beat me down that it was never produced. I had to send out photos to prove its existence. The magazine seller I remember selling them in Road & Track was Robert Bentley. He also sold the early 1/43 Solido miniatures. I bought my Lotus 18 from him. Still have it.

The Merit kit wheel centers and wind screens were made of a cloudy clear styrene. The Strombecker cars used molded plastic wire wheels and celluloid wind screens. They also did a racing and road version of the AH 100-6 and the MGA. In addition, there was a Ferrari Lancia, an early Maserati 250 F, the front engine Scarab, and an elusive Aston Martin DB 3, which I have never found. There was a resin copy available some years ago in Australia.

The Strombecker and Merit D Jag and the 54 MB W196 are not from the same molds. The Strombecker is longer, especially in the nose, has molded wire wheels, and steerable front wheels. They were designed to run in a circle on an enclosed electric motor with a tether connected to a battery pylon and later with a pickup for the slot car tracks. Their Ferrari Lancia is far better detailed, as is the Maserati.

The Merit boxes were all the same for the first 12. The Alfa and the Talbot were pictured on the original box but I don’t believe either was ever available without engine detail. The Alfa 159 and the Lago Talbot both came in their own dedicated boxes with individual art work.

I built all the kits right out of the box, including the decals which had lasted quite well. Most were painted with Tamiya spray paint . The Gordini was done with Testors light blue to keep it different from the Talbot.

I have kept several unbuilt kits as well, just as back ups in case I should want to do another version. The SMER kits were indeed pirated off the Merits. You can add them to you collection without guilt. No one can tell if you paint them.

The collection holds pride of place in my model collection. I would give up all the others before the Merits. They are a constant reminder of where my love of motor sport began to burn. It hasn’t flickered since.