I used to love Lodela when I was a kid but didn't last long, I went with my family to Texas for shopping and I brought with me a 1/8 1932 Ford Roadster by Monogram, at that point I fell in love with Monogram and never looked back at Lodela
I myself was a close friend of Apolo López de Lara, his brother César and other relatives who managed the company. His first aircraft kit was the P-39 Airacobra. I visited them in 1977 and at the same time Apollo visited Bogotá some weeks later. Extremely nice people. I sold them balsa wood for the control line models they made apart from those injected with Cox moulds. I also distributed their kits throughout Colombia, a few years after Revell ceased to inject here in Colombia.
I have a amazing memories about this brand. In 1975 a very close friend gave me 3 (yes, three!) Model kits (F4U, ME109E and P51D) all for my birthday, all of them LODELA. Time passes by and belive it or not ALL of them are survived, no matter the accidents or the ageing plastic. A tribute to this company. P.S. I also have an F105, F104C And a F4 GSR MK.2 the latter unassembled in its original box...😆
It is very good to see the great LODELA brand in this excellent video, but at the time, very sad to learn of its demise. Your grandfather is responsible of helping a whole generation of mexican modelers being created from childs that were able to purchase his kits at extremely reasonable prices, with good quality and helped us to become better persons! You should feel very proud of your grandfather!
LODELA!!! It was the first company I knew of. I used to watch The Black Sheep Squadron with my grandma in Mexico City. Thus my first ever kit was a Revell/Lodela 1/32 F4U Corsair. This my friend, is where I started. Thank you for making this. And you can shorten Banco Nacional de Mexico, to it's more common, and trade name-Banamex.
maxsmodels It’s the most common name. My aunt worked for Banamex for years. I never, heard her call it by the long name. In fact I didn’t know that it had a long name until I saw a TV advert that said it.
Beautiful video ! I used to build models Revell lodela back in Guadalajara Mexico, I had a terrible childhood but getting immersed in the beautiful box art wile building my models made me forget all the bad stuff, your video is a beautiful tribute to the lodela brand thank you 🙏
OMG! Lodela was my main source of all kinds of model kits back in my young age: trucks, racing cars, monsters, ships and airplanes. I had their excellent paints and fine cement that was the best in the market back then, man, your video brought back so many great memories and nostalgia for those beloved products, this company surely will be missed! I'm so emotional right now! Thank you for making this video.
Yes, yes I built a few of them back in the day when I was a kid. The glue was not the best and the paints were limited in color options and finishes. For many of us those models were the introduction to the world of modeling. Back then you could find them in supermarkets in the toys section, alongside the glue and paints. Thanks for this video. Brought back memories.
Hello! ❤ I belong to the Lodela family. Thank you so much for this video, it’s fantastic! Thank you for remembering those who built something of the Lodela brand
I remember those LODELA COX models back in the 70s..There was a Hobbie store called "LA BARRENA" ( spin fall ) in Monterrey México, they used to sell balsa wood models, lodela plastic models, monokote, ambroid paper and resin, you bring me back memories from México in the 70s.
By the way Max. Thank you for bringing me some really fond memories. I built most of the catalog of Revell Lodela. Well except the airliners. Never like that. Greetings from Mexico City. 😜👍🏻
Everytime I see the Revell Stuka my childhood comes washing back over me. That kit is very iconic to me. It was one of my first model planes I ever built with a little help from my late Father. I've never seen this Mexican brand of kits. Thanks for your video! And the fond memories of when it was dangerous to be a kid! I say that with much sarcasm. Toys were better, and models were a plethora.. lol.
Now I want an Orange Crush...and more Pedro Infante! Glad I live in California, both are readily available. I never built a Lodela kit, but in the early 90s a few were available in some grocery stores around here.
Well, here in Mexico there were several companies in 60's and 70's that injected plastic models, including AMT, Lodela being the largest one. In the 80's a company named "Negociadora de Comercio Internacional" , NECOMISA for short, which has one of the biggest hobby stores in Mexico City, agreed with Monogram to inject their molds in here. When Revell and Monogram merged, Lodela who has the agreement with Revell, took the business out from NECOMISA, and sell both brands until they ceased the relationships with Revell. Until mid of 2000's Lodela had a strong selling force and you can find kits in self service stores, drug stores, hardware stores, neighborhood stores and they were also were used as promotional items; on occasion, you can pull a 1/72 model out from a chocolate powder can. I get Me-109s and 262s, Brewster Buffaloes, Spitfires from there. Pegaso brand was property of NECOMISA. And yes, Titan was a mexican soft drink brand, elaborated by the same company that made Orange Crush here in Mexico. Edit: BTW, NECOMISA also injected Lindberg models in here.
Necomisa was anothern mexican plastic model company, they used to sell Monogram models. In the late 80's I saw Lodela models listed in the Squadron catalog as Revell Mexico so I think a few Lodela boxes crossed the border. Thanks for this video, it certainly brought warm memories, as a kid I spent a significant part of my allowances on Lodela products and I still have a bunch of boxes in the stash. Quality was good enough for kids and advanced modelers also, in those days my favorite subject was the US Navy and Lodela delivered: the Fletcher destroyer, the Saratoga aircraft carrier, the Arizona battleship.
Max, thank you. I was born and raised in Mexico City. The first kit that I ever assembled was the SS Nautilius from Revell Lodela, it was a promo, you had to get several empty packages from chocolate from Nestle and for $6.00 MX (at that time something around $0.50 US), this was in the fall of 1963. I built several kits from Revell Lodela, most of them 1/25 cars, they were exactly the same as their American counterparts.
Sept. 13, 2022---Thanks for the memories & history lesson. Started building kits in '74 and somewhere in my unbuilt stash, think I've got 2 of the 1/32 Lodela kits.....P-47 and Mosquito. As you might tell, I don't build a lot of models and now I'm into 1/35 zombie/apocalypse dioramas.
I always thought Lodela was just a licensed Mexican company, that distributed Revell, Airfix,Aurora etc, products. Never figured, they actually had an injection plant based in Mexico. One 'strange' thing about this wonderful hobby in Mexico... from a million people; only one or two people know or care about building plastic models! I've never understood that..! Your presentations are very informative and I really like them! Thanks for sharing them!
@@maxsmodels Thanks for the reply! This lack of info in these areas might very well be part of what I was saying about this hobby in Mexico. Either it's too expensive to practice or the is the simple fact that " because these things are too fragile and break very easy; nobody pays attention to them.." I still wonder why is this way? Thanks again and Salud..!!
My first model was a Mitsubishi Zero, from Lodela, that my dad bought me a few years ago...1980!!! I did built a 1/32 Stuka, in Afrika Corps scheme. I also had a DeHavilland Vampire, with the FAM (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana) Sheme. The plastic quality was similar to the styrene used un USA. I also had a lot of painting bottles, and the liquid cement was very good. Thank you very much for this video!!!
Another informative video! Gravity isn't just a good idea... it's the LAW... Built a Lodela PBM Mariner from the old Revell molds... was exactly how I recall making the original... plastic was fine.
I lived in Mexico in 1964-65, and I bought Lodela kits, as they were just Mexican versions of the 1/72 scale kits of the World War Two fighters that I was interested in, then. As far as I could tell, they were identical to the U.S. versions, except the instructions were in Spanish.
And in those years, the price of the 1/72 scale fighters like the Spitfire, Me-109, Fw-190, A6M5 Zero, P-47, P-51, Polikarpov and similarly "fat" Brewster Buffalo, and many others, was only 6.95 mexican pesos, printed on the box, at that time it was like 55 US cents, but most stores sold them for 6.25 about 50 US cents. Truly affordable and helpful price for almost anybody. That helped a whole generation of children and youngsters to become modelers. Comparing those prices to present day kit prices, results in an ugly exercise! With the current exchange rate of more than 25 pesos for dollar today, and getting worse, and the prices for good quality kits, the difference is outrageous, and will kill the hobby for a large fraction of people. Too sad. I guess the hobby will never return to its golden era, regardless of the quality and perfection of todays kits, it is becoming a hobby for wealthy adults only. I guess it is costly to produce smaller runs of kits, and that the cost of creating new molds is high, but then it will result in a "Spiral Dive" for the business: higher prices resulting in lower sales, resulting in less people buying and becoming modelers, and less modelers meaning less business.
From a modeller south of Rio Grande, you brought so many memories from my childhood. All the models I *attempted* to build when I was a kid were Lodela-Revell. And I had the paint kit too!
Thanks max. For talking about a company.I've never heard of .you narrator is is interesting.about company I've never heard of.you do a good job.& video about them.thanks again from Ohio.
I still have a unopened box, stashed away, and of course, I'm planning to build it some time soon. My lovely Lodela, the best school to learn how to build and fix plastic models.
I only ever saw one Lodela kit in a hobby shop in Canada, and I bought it. It is a 1/32 scale Mosquito bomber. The box art indicates it is the 50th Anniversary for the Mosquito aircraft first flight in 1940, so that makes the kit a 1990 production date. I think it contains decals for the aircraft "City of Edmonton". I can not comment on the kit as it is still shrink wrapped.
Yes I remember this kit. The only problems with it was 418 RCAF City of Edmonton Squadron did not use the Mosquito Mk IV, they used the Mk VI. If you can get the conversion kit, you have a nice model kit.
Lodela kits could be found in some SoCal hobby shops, mostly their Latin American liveried airliners. I think I'm remembering this correctly, but Revell used to offer decal sheets for many airlines that they didnt box (late 60s-early 70s). You could write to them, get a mimeographed sheet and order them at 25 cents each. I didnt build airliners but one of the other local boys did. He painted his liners by brush, slathering on Testors silver, then after a few days, polish it up with an old t-shirt. Pretty cool to a 12 year old!
My first scale models were LODELA and I was a regular customer at their store, I still have several LODELA models and I always look for more on the market
I had a Monogram/Lodela 1/48 P-47 in FAM markings back in the mid 80's that I bought in Tijuana, Mex. Still have the Revell Stuka, Thunderbolt, Spitfire and Typhoon in 1/32 and the BRE 240Z Race Car 1/25. It was pretty wild finding Brand New "Vintage" kits on the shelves down there!
Max: Good video. Interesting to see the twists and turns in the model business. Thanks for putting this together. Can’t resist the opportunity; May the fourth be with you!
Wow! A name from the past! I remember building some Ed Roth monster kits many years ago. I bought them from someone in Texas, not sure if they were Lodela, but were made in Mexico. They were Revell molds in plastic bags. Great blooper reel!
I built a Lodela Kit when I was a kid, I had de Mexicana DC10 and in my opinion it was a great model to have. Unfortunately I lost it when I moved to another house
Visiting relatives in mexico we went to a shopping mall .. as a kid I remember seeing stacks of these kits . The dc10 mexicana was one I bought ....oh what memories!
If my memory serves me right, Revell had a series of mold leasing agreements in which local companies injected plastic in Revell molds and boxed the models with locally made decals and instructions. Lodela was the Mexican partner, but they also had Kikoler in Brazil, Ceji in France and probably others as well. I don' t remember seeing their kits too often down in Central American stores, rather the US versions. They must have had some marketing agreements in place.
All through the 1970's i searched for the Revell Swissair Convair 990 Coronado to no avail. Finally found the Lodela version ( Famisio Jet Commercial) through a firm called RFV hobby imports in 1981. My personal Holy Grail. No issues with the kit or decals; it went together like any other Revell kit of the day.
Scott Spilis I remember R.V.F. Hobby Imports! I remember sending a self addressed stamped envelope to them in 1982 for their list. The ad for it was in an issue of Scale Modeler.
I had a Lodela repop of the Revell Bomarc missile. What I remember about it was the massive amount of mold release on the parts. Tat kit really needed to be washed before assembly!
I purchased a Lodela/Revell 1/72 Mexican Air Force P-47D back about 1977 through someone in Texas who'd import these kits. I seem to recall his first name was Ron. Anyway, the model came without the clear cockpit canopy which was never replaced and consequently I never built it.
I am in the process of building the 1/32nd scale Hawker Typhoon 1B (car door) and I have both Revell USA and Lodela/ Revell Mexico Both are excellent quality and the fit for Lodela is spot on. Some where in the big stash I know there are a few more Lodela kits.
The several commenters stating that LODELA's quality was very similar to Revell's, contradict one opinion that their plastic was of lower quality. Perhaps a few times that could happen, but overall, it was good. Years after I had built many of their kits, I found during a visit to a plastics factory in my school days studying Chemical Engineering, that the Polystyrene resin, the plastic bought by LODELA was indeed top quality polymer fabricated in Mexico by Industrias Resistol, with European specifications. As always, sometimes things happen, and LODELA could have used other suppliers material, but most time it was perfectly good.
I remember Lodela kits rather well. I ran into them when I was stationed at Ft Bliss in Texas, and crossed the border into Juarez. I still have some of the kits, in particular, the T-6 Texan and Alpha Jet (Heller molds). I did get a hold a Mexican Air Force B-25J kit, and F-5E which were Airfix kits. I liked the kits because of their Latin American air forces markings. When I returned to visit the in-laws I noticed that the Lodela boxed kits were disappearing, and that they were importing the cheap Italeri-knock off Lee kits (they were in Lee boxes, but had Lodela stickers on the box). I purchased the Mirage 2000 kit, and was very disappointed about how bad the kit was....and there weren't any Lodela decals, just the cheap Lee decals in the kit.
Max, I enjoy all of your videos, and indeed I enjoyed this one. This Lodela Company was the main option to start with modeling back in the day in Mexico, as they not only re-package but also did some on the injection work, and also developed local versions for the Latinamerican airlines livery and the Mexican Airforce roundels, and regarding your selection for the song, really nice! Congratulations Max!
Max: Pedro Infante, the famous actor and singer, was also a pilot, and he died in the crash of an old Consolidated B24 Bomber that was sold and converted to a Cargo plane. Curiously, LODELA produced a good model from Revell of the famous B24 that got lost on the desert afyer returning from the Ploesty raid in WW-II.
Fascinating as ever, a new one on me, I'd be very surprised if any Lodela kits reached the UK ! They do seem to have missed a trick by not doing a few Carrera Panamericana car kits tho....
Well to put it blunty. Im Mexican, and I love War birds because of Lodela. Its very sad to not see them anymore in the supermarket shelves. I actually bought many models right from many Wal Marts indeed.
I've only seen some of these kits on eBay. The 1/72 B-25 shown was the same snap together kit that most of us have built under the regular monogram boxing ☺. This video should have been released on Cinco de Mayo 😛
The main reason for Lodela to manufacture Revell's kits in Mexico rather than import them was that in those days (60's and 70's) Mexico was under a general official economic policy to avoid imports to promote local industrialization. So, imported model kits paid very high taxes (the goverment regarded them as toys) and they were very expensive. Lodela targeted a wider national market, focusing on low budget kits that sold for half a dollar (in those days the exchange rate was $12.50 pesos per US Dollar and Lodela popular 1/72 line of WWI and WWII plane kits sold for about $6 pesos each) Lodela kits were sold on drugstores, supermarkets, hardware stores, paper good, stationery shops and toy stores and that made them very popular among kids and adoults. In those days, Lodela had only two national competitors on the Mexican model kits market: AMT (that sold expensive car and sci-fi kits) and NECOMISA (another national company that sold mostly Monogram recasts at a lower price, but also with a plastic of lower quality than Lodela.) But in the 1990's Mexico opted for an open market policy, so imported model kits were available at lower prices than before. Lodela could not compete with this new supply of models and soon its products began disappearing from the shelves of supermarkets and drugstores. The company began to have deep debts and all kind of problems. That was the beginning of the end for Plásticos Lodela.
I had a few of the Lodela kits from time to time, and they were mostly repackaged Revell or Airfix kits. I'd say the quality of the molding was usually a little less than the standard Revell and Airfix stuff, and the decals not so good, either but I still had fun building them in any case.
When I was a kid I often visit Lodela’s department X for spare parts and decals. I n fact my first model kit was the Lodela’s version of the Skycrane in 1/72.
Thank you Max! Very interesting manufacturer I've never heard of. I collected some material for you on the history of YT/Krugozor 1960's kits. I've sent you a message by the FB messanger but probably did something wrong. Keep you videos coming!
I've seen Monogram kits such as the 1/48 OS2U Kingfisher with Mexican decals and Spanish writing on the box but I honestly can't remember at the moment if they were Lodela reboxings or not. *Edit* A quick perusal of eBay shows two of the Mexican Monogram Kingfishers. Apparently Monogram had an agreement with someone else south of the border.
I built the Neptune on skis, and the Orion too. Both looked great placed side by side... your comment made me go back in time probably 56 Years, and remember that both models were bought by adding the money allowances of a good friend and mine, so we built them together and we agreed that both models were kept by one of us for a week, and by the other the following week!
sure did.... in Mexico ( tijuana) you walk in to the big supermarkers... they had lots & lots of models , that is gone now :( every time i went to the market i got one.. they were very well made. and very low price, in the 90s i remeber they were always on sale like 3 for the price of 2..... i regret not collecting them.
@7:15 LOL " Holy Crap! This house sounds like the cockpit of a 747 with 3 engines on fire " Yup reminds me of the injection moulding plant I used to work at after a long lunch break.
In the late 70's Orange Blossom Hobbies in Miami, Florida had some Revell/Lodela kits available. I had bought the 1/72 P-47 kit primarily because it came with decals for the Mexican air Force. I was surprised to find that even though the finish was natural metal, the kit was molded in black plastic! and not exactly attached to the sprues...
Mi cielito lindo/my Beautiful Rainbow sky ! Is about as best as I can translate it because, Cielito means gorgeous Sky ! The gentleman who sang it was Mexican but this song was also sung by Desi Arnaz a.k.a. the Cuban Ricky Ricardo married to Lucille Ball McGillicuddy ! 🌊🐺
maxsmodels I was born in Havana Cuba, I was taught Cuban-salsa ! But since I’ve been in the states and I discovered rock ‘n’ roll !!! If it isn’t rock ‘n’ roll, then it ain’t s*** ! So says the Beatles and Pink Floyd ! 🌊🐺
Pegaso/Necomisa (I think they were the same company) reboxed old Lindberg and Hawk molds for the Mexican market. They even had the box bottoms you could cut out to make a cardboard diorama, just like the early Lindbergs. Plastic quality was OK and the decals were usually very good. They were also pretty cheap, at least in Mexico City. I think they were the ones who made the Mexican Monogram repops, at least I can recall the old box scale Lockheed Constellation in one of their boxes, with the same decals (TWA and MATS) that came in the US boxing but with instructions in Spanish.
Interesting, I never heard the microwave at all or that company before. Another good vid and no, I think I can one hundred percent say that that line of models never made it north into Canada, that is for sure.
I have the Revell Lodela DC-8, purchased second hand in Canada. Haven't built it yet. The vertical stabilizer on one fuselage half is seriously warped but should straighten out in hot water. Was planning to build it in Air Canada livery but the Viasa scheme is so colourful and unusual that I may just end up going with that.
Only built a couple back in the '80's while I was stationed at Camp Pendleton. I had a girlfriend down past TJ and was always going down there on long weekends! Found them while shopping with her. One was a De Havilland Vampire and the other was a helo, though I don't remember what kind now - and I don't think it was a U.S. built bird. Both were 1/72 and had FAM markings.
I'm Mexican and all the models I had as a kid where lodela, it was sand years later to return to the hobby and find out there where out of production, now all the models have to be imported and sandly it is pretty expensive
I feel surprised to find a video about Lodela here, since my general impression is that modelers north of the Rio Grande are not at all interested in what happens in the modeling world south of the border. In any case, I am happy for the video, which has indisputable nostalgic tones for me, since I grew up and lived many years in Mexico City, and it was there that my love for model building developed, so I am very familiar with the Lodela kits, of which I built several dozens during my childhood and adolescence, and also some as an adult. In case someone is interested, I will mention some points about Lodela and modeling in Mexico. As it is said in the video, Lodela is a contraction of the surname of its founder, López de Lara. Lodela was one of the two largest Mexican companies of plastic kits; the other big Mexican company was Necomisa, which is also a contraction of Negociadora de Comercio Internacional, S.A. Both companies specialized in producing licensed plastic kits in Mexico, usually using the molds of major foreign companies, beginning in the 1950s, and they had a long life of almost sixty years. Lodela produced Revell, Heller, Airfix and AMT kits in Mexico, while Necomisa produced Monogram and Lindberg kits. Both companies produced some original kits, and also toys, but their specialty were plastic kits made under license from other companies. In general, the same “box art” from the originals was used, but sometimes new box designs were also made, with original art made in Mexico, some of it of very high quality. In addition, frecuently the original kits were adapted to represent Mexican versions for the local market, so then new decals, instructions and box art were made. For example, with the original molds from Revell, Heller and Monogram, Mexican versions were made in all the important scales of the P-47 D Thunderbolt, the B-25 Mitchell, PT 17 Stearman, AT-6 Texan, T-33 Shooting Star, F-5 Freedom Fighter, DeHavilland Vampire, and Douglas DC-3, all in service with the FAM, or Mexican Air Force, with excellent quality decals. Also, Mexican versions of many airliners were made, with the insignia and colors of the main Mexican airlines, Aeroméxico and Mexicana. As far as I can judge, the quality of the Lodela and Necomisa kits was equivalent to that of the originals by Revell, Monogram or Lindberg. The same molds were used, of course, and the plastic was similar. I don't know if this applies to all the kits produced by these companies, throughout their sixty years of existence, but from my own experience, having assembled dozens of Lodela and Necomisa kits, as well as dozens of other original Revell, Monogram or Heller kits, I don't see any quality difference between them. In Mexico there has always been a strong community of enthusiastic modelers, and a keen fondness for model collecting. Since I was a child in Mexico City, in the 70s, there were several model shops where you could buy all the main American, European and Japanese brands. I grew up assembling models from Tamiya, Italeri, Hasegawa, Airfix, Matchbox and Aurora, in addition to the brands already mentioned. But, the big difference between foreign and Mexican brands was this: if you wanted to buy an airplane from Monogram or Revell in its original version, or a tank from Tamiya or Italeri, or a monster or spaceship from Aurora, one necessarily had to look for it at a hobby shop, of which there would be little more than a dozen in Mexico City in those years; but, instead, there were literally hundreds of places where any child could find Lodela or Necomisa kits, as these were sold in all supermarkets, department stores, toy stores, craft stores, and even drugstores. The mentality of the time was to see them as simple toys, and therefore they were everywhere, even in the most modest stores, and they were extremely cheap. Instead, Tamiya or Hasegawa or Italeri were never cheap, and were only available at specialty hobby shops. On the comment about the He-111 tail insignia, uncensored and PC free, well, in Mexico there is no law prohibiting showing swastikas, and therefore, there was never any reason for Mexican model companies, like Lodela, Necomisa, Pegaso, etc., to omit them from the box art or the decal sheet. But, if they used the original box art fron Heller or Revell, and this was censored, they didn’t have any reason to restore the swastikas either. And as for Pedro Infante, one of the most popular singer-actors in Mexico in the 40s and 50s, as an anecdotal detail it can be mentioned that he was the inspiration for the popular idol singer Ernesto de la Cruz in Coco. Only, the real Pedro Infante was a pretty nice man, while Disney made him a villain. Finally, in case someone is curious to see Mexican airplane models, I include here the following link, where you can see some modelers from Mexico City discussing the details of a collection of airplane models, many of them from the Mexican Air Force (not necessarily Lodela, but several brands, including some scratchbuilt as well). ruclips.net/video/gQCr_FaEJH8/видео.html
I have a Pegaso Navion. The Lodela kits made some penetration in the southwestern USA, Texas, California etc. My wife is from Venezuela which is why I am so well acquainted with Pedro Infante plus I always loved that song. Thanks for the comment. Max
I am no language expert, but I grew up in Southern California : Mexico is pronounced MAY-hee-ko in the Espanol.....[pronounced ay-span-yol]. Probably not something ya need to know every day, but in California there are a LOT of places with Spanish names due to the Mission System established in..........olden times. Rule of thumb, J is always the H sound.....the X can be a Z or an H. And that's all I know.
Развлечения
For us Mexicans Modelers, LODELA was a huge hit, we miss it. Thank you for the video.
I used to love Lodela when I was a kid but didn't last long, I went with my family to Texas for shopping and I brought with me a 1/8 1932 Ford Roadster by Monogram, at that point I fell in love with Monogram and never looked back at Lodela
❤
I thank you so much for these amazing kids memories of my childhood! Those were the golden years of modeling
I myself was a close friend of Apolo López de Lara, his brother César and other relatives who managed the company. His first aircraft kit was the P-39 Airacobra. I visited them in 1977 and at the same time Apollo visited Bogotá some weeks later. Extremely nice people. I sold them balsa wood for the control line models they made apart from those injected with Cox moulds. I also distributed their kits throughout Colombia, a few years after Revell ceased to inject here in Colombia.
I hear Colombia is a pretty violent place. How do you stay alive ?
WOW, that is awesome.
I have been to Bogota a few times. beautiful city but I had a little trouble with the thin air.
Please excuse my countryman's ignorant comment. How did Revell's deal to inject in Colombia work?
@@mybluebelly you should check your sources. It isn't a freaking war zone.
I have a amazing memories about this brand. In 1975 a very close friend gave me 3 (yes, three!) Model kits (F4U, ME109E and P51D) all for my birthday, all of them LODELA.
Time passes by and belive it or not ALL of them are survived, no matter the accidents or the ageing plastic. A tribute to this company.
P.S. I also have an F105, F104C And a F4 GSR MK.2 the latter unassembled in its original box...😆
I'm daughter of Cesar López de Lara, granddaughter of Apolo López de Lara. Thanks for creating this video it brought us very good memories.
It is very good to see the great LODELA brand in this excellent video, but at the time, very sad to learn of its demise. Your grandfather is responsible of helping a whole generation of mexican modelers being created from childs that were able to purchase his kits at extremely reasonable prices, with good quality and helped us to become better persons! You should feel very proud of your grandfather!
LODELA!!! It was the first company I knew of. I used to watch The Black Sheep Squadron with my grandma in Mexico City. Thus my first ever kit was a Revell/Lodela 1/32 F4U Corsair. This my friend, is where I started. Thank you for making this. And you can shorten Banco Nacional de Mexico, to it's more common, and trade name-Banamex.
I was afraid if I used Banamex viewers would get confused. Thanks :)
maxsmodels It’s the most common name. My aunt worked for Banamex for years. I never, heard her call it by the long name. In fact I didn’t know that it had a long name until I saw a TV advert that said it.
Black Sheep Squadron got me too. There's never been another show like it.
Whats is the recidence in mexico😊
It's Great to see the history and origins of other model companies. I never knew a Mexican model company existed. I wish they still existed
Beautiful video ! I used to build models Revell lodela back in Guadalajara Mexico, I had a terrible childhood but getting immersed in the beautiful box art wile building my models made me forget all the bad stuff, your video is a beautiful tribute to the lodela brand thank you 🙏
OMG! Lodela was my main source of all kinds of model kits back in my young age: trucks, racing cars, monsters, ships and airplanes. I had their excellent paints and fine cement that was the best in the market back then, man, your video brought back so many great memories and nostalgia for those beloved products, this company surely will be missed! I'm so emotional right now! Thank you for making this video.
Yes, yes I built a few of them back in the day when I was a kid.
The glue was not the best and the paints were limited in color options and finishes.
For many of us those models were the introduction to the world of modeling.
Back then you could find them in supermarkets in the toys section, alongside the glue and paints.
Thanks for this video. Brought back memories.
Hello! ❤ I belong to the Lodela family. Thank you so much for this video, it’s fantastic! Thank you for remembering those who built something of the Lodela brand
My pleasure and thanks to your family for bringing the hobby to so many people.
cuentanos una historia de tu famila y el negocio
I remember those LODELA COX models back in the 70s..There was a Hobbie store called "LA BARRENA" ( spin fall ) in Monterrey México, they used to sell balsa wood models, lodela plastic models, monokote, ambroid paper and resin, you bring me back memories from México in the 70s.
By the way Max. Thank you for bringing me some really fond memories. I built most of the catalog of Revell Lodela. Well except the airliners. Never like that. Greetings from Mexico City. 😜👍🏻
Everytime I see the Revell Stuka my childhood comes washing back over me. That kit is very iconic to me. It was one of my first model planes I ever built with a little help from my late Father. I've never seen this Mexican brand of kits. Thanks for your video! And the fond memories of when it was dangerous to be a kid! I say that with much sarcasm. Toys were better, and models were a plethora.. lol.
Now I want an Orange Crush...and more Pedro Infante!
Glad I live in California, both are readily available.
I never built a Lodela kit, but in the early 90s a few were available in some grocery stores around here.
me too
Well, here in Mexico there were several companies in 60's and 70's that injected plastic models, including AMT, Lodela being the largest one. In the 80's a company named "Negociadora de Comercio Internacional" , NECOMISA for short, which has one of the biggest hobby stores in Mexico City, agreed with Monogram to inject their molds in here. When Revell and Monogram merged, Lodela who has the agreement with Revell, took the business out from NECOMISA, and sell both brands until they ceased the relationships with Revell. Until mid of 2000's Lodela had a strong selling force and you can find kits in self service stores, drug stores, hardware stores, neighborhood stores and they were also were used as promotional items; on occasion, you can pull a 1/72 model out from a chocolate powder can. I get Me-109s and 262s, Brewster Buffaloes, Spitfires from there.
Pegaso brand was property of NECOMISA. And yes, Titan was a mexican soft drink brand, elaborated by the same company that made Orange Crush here in Mexico.
Edit: BTW, NECOMISA also injected Lindberg models in here.
I still have a couple of Lodela's and NECOMISA's models in the shelve
@@albertosandoval7493 Congrats! I have a few more waiting to build them, but I'm redoing some that requiere heavy maintenance. Regards.
Necomisa was anothern mexican plastic model company, they used to sell Monogram models. In the late 80's I saw Lodela models listed in the Squadron catalog as Revell Mexico so I think a few Lodela boxes crossed the border.
Thanks for this video, it certainly brought warm memories, as a kid I spent a significant part of my allowances on Lodela products and I still have a bunch of boxes in the stash. Quality was good enough for kids and advanced modelers also, in those days my favorite subject was the US Navy and Lodela delivered: the Fletcher destroyer, the Saratoga aircraft carrier, the Arizona battleship.
MAX , THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR STORY, I RALLY ENJOY IT.
Max, thank you.
I was born and raised in Mexico City. The first kit that I ever assembled was the SS Nautilius from Revell Lodela, it was a promo, you had to get several empty packages from chocolate from Nestle and for $6.00 MX (at that time something around $0.50 US), this was in the fall of 1963.
I built several kits from Revell Lodela, most of them 1/25 cars, they were exactly the same as their American counterparts.
Sept. 13, 2022---Thanks for the memories & history lesson. Started building kits in '74 and somewhere in my unbuilt stash, think I've got 2 of the 1/32 Lodela kits.....P-47 and Mosquito. As you might tell, I don't build a lot of models and now I'm into 1/35 zombie/apocalypse dioramas.
gracias!!! thanks for the video, it was very common (until 90´s) to get lodela models everywhere in México, even in the supermarket
I always thought Lodela was just a licensed Mexican company, that distributed Revell, Airfix,Aurora etc, products. Never figured, they actually had an injection plant based in Mexico. One 'strange' thing about this wonderful hobby in Mexico...
from a million people; only one or two people know or care about building plastic models!
I've never understood that..!
Your presentations are very informative and I really like them!
Thanks for sharing them!
They had a pretty big facility from what I am told.
@@maxsmodels Thanks for the reply!
This lack of info in these areas might very well be part of what I was saying about this hobby in Mexico. Either it's too expensive to practice or the is the simple fact that " because these things are too fragile and break very easy; nobody pays attention to them.." I still wonder why is this way?
Thanks again and Salud..!!
My first model was a Mitsubishi Zero, from Lodela, that my dad bought me a few years ago...1980!!! I did built a 1/32 Stuka, in Afrika Corps scheme. I also had a DeHavilland Vampire, with the FAM (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana) Sheme. The plastic quality was similar to the styrene used un USA. I also had a lot of painting bottles, and the liquid cement was very good. Thank you very much for this video!!!
Another informative video!
Gravity isn't just a good idea... it's the LAW...
Built a Lodela PBM Mariner from the old Revell molds... was exactly how I recall making the original... plastic was fine.
As a mexican guy, thanks for this!
my pleasure
I lived in Mexico in 1964-65, and I bought Lodela kits, as they were just Mexican versions of the 1/72 scale kits of the World War Two fighters that I was interested in, then. As far as I could tell, they were identical to the U.S. versions, except the instructions were in Spanish.
And in those years, the price of the 1/72 scale fighters like the Spitfire, Me-109, Fw-190, A6M5 Zero, P-47, P-51, Polikarpov and similarly "fat" Brewster Buffalo, and many others, was only 6.95 mexican pesos, printed on the box, at that time it was like 55 US cents, but most stores sold them for 6.25 about 50 US cents. Truly affordable and helpful price for almost anybody. That helped a whole generation of children and youngsters to become modelers. Comparing those prices to present day kit prices, results in an ugly exercise! With the current exchange rate of more than 25 pesos for dollar today, and getting worse, and the prices for good quality kits, the difference is outrageous, and will kill the hobby for a large fraction of people. Too sad. I guess the hobby will never return to its golden era, regardless of the quality and perfection of todays kits, it is becoming a hobby for wealthy adults only. I guess it is costly to produce smaller runs of kits, and that the cost of creating new molds is high, but then it will result in a "Spiral Dive" for the business: higher prices resulting in lower sales, resulting in less people buying and becoming modelers, and less modelers meaning less business.
From a modeller south of Rio Grande, you brought so many memories from my childhood. All the models I *attempted* to build when I was a kid were Lodela-Revell. And I had the paint kit too!
Get back to it.
Thanks for this! Brought me, very very nice memories
Thanks max. For talking about a company.I've never heard of .you narrator is is interesting.about company I've never heard of.you do a good job.& video about them.thanks again from Ohio.
thx
I still have a unopened box, stashed away, and of course, I'm planning to build it some time soon. My lovely Lodela, the best school to learn how to build and fix plastic models.
I only ever saw one Lodela kit in a hobby shop in Canada, and I bought it. It is a 1/32 scale Mosquito bomber. The box art indicates it is the 50th Anniversary for the Mosquito aircraft first flight in 1940, so that makes the kit a 1990 production date. I think it contains decals for the aircraft "City of Edmonton". I can not comment on the kit as it is still shrink wrapped.
I built that one looong time ago!!
Thanks for the good memories!!
Yes I remember this kit. The only problems with it was 418 RCAF City of Edmonton Squadron did not use the Mosquito Mk IV, they used the Mk VI. If you can get the conversion kit, you have a nice model kit.
@@mafmaf6417 Thanks for the information. Something I never knew. The kit is still shrink wrapped in the stash.
Lodela kits could be found in some SoCal hobby shops, mostly their Latin American liveried airliners.
I think I'm remembering this correctly, but Revell used to offer decal sheets for many airlines that they didnt box (late 60s-early 70s). You could write to them, get a mimeographed sheet and order them at 25 cents each. I didnt build airliners but one of the other local boys did. He painted his liners by brush, slathering on Testors silver, then after a few days, polish it up with an old t-shirt. Pretty cool to a 12 year old!
Wow! I've never seen this company! Thanks for your great work! Keep 'em coming!
My first scale models were LODELA and I was a regular customer at their store, I still have several LODELA models and I always look for more on the market
I had a Monogram/Lodela 1/48 P-47 in FAM markings back in the mid 80's that I bought in Tijuana, Mex. Still have the Revell Stuka, Thunderbolt, Spitfire and Typhoon in 1/32 and the BRE 240Z Race Car 1/25. It was pretty wild finding Brand New "Vintage" kits on the shelves down there!
Max: Good video. Interesting to see the twists and turns in the model business. Thanks for putting this together. Can’t resist the opportunity; May the fourth be with you!
Fascinating. Love the Harvard (T6 Texan) in Royal Dutch Airforce colours.
Please keep the bloopers at the end - that was hilarious 👌
Watch the one on LS and Halcyon I just posted.
Nice Video Max!
Interesting local decals for various aircraft.
Wow! A name from the past! I remember building some Ed Roth monster kits many years ago. I bought them from someone in Texas, not sure if they were Lodela, but were made in Mexico. They were Revell molds in plastic bags. Great blooper reel!
This one slipped under my radar thanks for the info thumbs up stay awesome and have a great day.
Very nice memories came to me with my father building Lodela kits.
Still have some boxes in stash.
Lodela boxed the Revell 32 scale Beaufighter with extra photoetched and vacuformed parts to model the Mk X version.
I built a Lodela Kit when I was a kid, I had de Mexicana DC10 and in my opinion it was a great model to have. Unfortunately I lost it when I moved to another house
Visiting relatives in mexico we went to a shopping mall .. as a kid I remember seeing stacks of these kits . The dc10 mexicana was one I bought ....oh what memories!
That kit will be seen soon in a video of Celebrating aviation with Mike Machat.
If my memory serves me right, Revell had a series of mold leasing agreements in which local companies injected plastic in Revell molds and boxed the models with locally made decals and instructions. Lodela was the Mexican partner, but they also had Kikoler in Brazil, Ceji in France and probably others as well. I don' t remember seeing their kits too often down in Central American stores, rather the US versions. They must have had some marketing agreements in place.
Great info. Never heard of Lodela. Thanks for sharing
Lodela's repop of the airliners have always interested me. Such nice liveries ☺️
All through the 1970's i searched for the Revell Swissair Convair 990 Coronado to no avail. Finally found the Lodela version ( Famisio Jet Commercial) through a firm called RFV hobby imports in 1981. My personal Holy Grail. No issues with the kit or decals; it went together like any other Revell kit of the day.
Scott Spilis I remember R.V.F. Hobby Imports! I remember sending a self addressed stamped envelope to them in 1982 for their list. The ad for it was in an issue of Scale Modeler.
I had a Lodela repop of the Revell Bomarc missile. What I remember about it was the massive amount of mold release on the parts. Tat kit really needed to be washed before assembly!
I purchased a Lodela/Revell 1/72 Mexican Air Force P-47D back about 1977 through someone in Texas who'd import these kits. I seem to recall his first name was Ron. Anyway, the model came without the clear cockpit canopy which was never replaced and consequently I never built it.
It was the out takes that finally won me over.
I am in the process of building the 1/32nd scale Hawker Typhoon 1B (car door) and I have both Revell USA and Lodela/ Revell Mexico Both are excellent quality and the fit for Lodela is spot on. Some where in the big stash I know there are a few more Lodela kits.
The several commenters stating that LODELA's quality was very similar to Revell's, contradict one opinion that their plastic was of lower quality. Perhaps a few times that could happen, but overall, it was good. Years after I had built many of their kits, I found during a visit to a plastics factory in my school days studying Chemical Engineering, that the Polystyrene resin, the plastic bought by LODELA was indeed top quality polymer fabricated in Mexico by Industrias Resistol, with European specifications. As always, sometimes things happen, and LODELA could have used other suppliers material, but most time it was perfectly good.
I like the two first models you showed
How cool is this! Thanks again.
I remember Lodela kits rather well. I ran into them when I was stationed at Ft Bliss in Texas, and crossed the border into Juarez. I still have some of the kits, in particular, the T-6 Texan and Alpha Jet (Heller molds). I did get a hold a Mexican Air Force B-25J kit, and F-5E which were Airfix kits. I liked the kits because of their Latin American air forces markings. When I returned to visit the in-laws I noticed that the Lodela boxed kits were disappearing, and that they were importing the cheap Italeri-knock off Lee kits (they were in Lee boxes, but had Lodela stickers on the box). I purchased the Mirage 2000 kit, and was very disappointed about how bad the kit was....and there weren't any Lodela decals, just the cheap Lee decals in the kit.
interesting, never heard of LEE until I did this project
The Frito bandito song, Now stuck in my head
I built several Lodela kits.. I always thought they were just Revell of Mexico.. decent kits really.
Max, I enjoy all of your videos, and indeed I enjoyed this one. This Lodela Company was the main option to start with modeling back in the day in Mexico, as they not only re-package but also did some on the injection work, and also developed local versions for the Latinamerican airlines livery and the Mexican Airforce roundels, and regarding your selection for the song, really nice! Congratulations Max!
I have the Lodela/Heller Mistral kit, the quality of the kit is quite good.
Wow, flashback time. Family had a part-share in a cabin in Ruidoso, NM. The stores thre carried the Pinctures brand paints (and Revell tube glue)
My favorites were the airliner kits in Mexican liveries.
This is a company I never heard of.
Great choice of music!
Cool video, I'm not familiar with the company but this would have definitely interested my Dad. He was big Pedro Infante fan too. Good stuff.👍
Max: Pedro Infante, the famous actor and singer, was also a pilot, and he died in the crash of an old Consolidated B24 Bomber that was sold and converted to a Cargo plane. Curiously, LODELA produced a good model from Revell of the famous B24 that got lost on the desert afyer returning from the Ploesty raid in WW-II.
Max, your music choice's always amaze me. You must spend as much time looking for appropriate music as you do researching the model companies.
Fascinating as ever, a new one on me, I'd be very surprised if any Lodela kits reached the UK ! They do seem to have missed a trick by not doing a few Carrera Panamericana car kits tho....
Well to put it blunty. Im Mexican, and I love War birds because of Lodela. Its very sad to not see them anymore in the supermarket shelves. I actually bought many models right from many Wal Marts indeed.
Me too brother
I've only seen some of these kits on eBay.
The 1/72 B-25 shown was the same snap together kit that most of us have built under the regular monogram boxing ☺.
This video should have been released on Cinco de Mayo 😛
The main reason for Lodela to manufacture Revell's kits in Mexico rather than import them was that in those days (60's and 70's) Mexico was under a general official economic policy to avoid imports to promote local industrialization. So, imported model kits paid very high taxes (the goverment regarded them as toys) and they were very expensive. Lodela targeted a wider national market, focusing on low budget kits that sold for half a dollar (in those days the exchange rate was $12.50 pesos per US Dollar and Lodela popular 1/72 line of WWI and WWII plane kits sold for about $6 pesos each) Lodela kits were sold on drugstores, supermarkets, hardware stores, paper good, stationery shops and toy stores and that made them very popular among kids and adoults. In those days, Lodela had only two national competitors on the Mexican model kits market: AMT (that sold expensive car and sci-fi kits) and NECOMISA (another national company that sold mostly Monogram recasts at a lower price, but also with a plastic of lower quality than Lodela.) But in the 1990's Mexico opted for an open market policy, so imported model kits were available at lower prices than before. Lodela could not compete with this new supply of models and soon its products began disappearing from the shelves of supermarkets and drugstores. The company began to have deep debts and all kind of problems. That was the beginning of the end for Plásticos Lodela.
I figured tariffs played a role.
I had a few of the Lodela kits from time to time, and they were mostly repackaged Revell or Airfix kits. I'd say the quality of the molding was usually a little less than the standard Revell and Airfix stuff, and the decals not so good, either but I still had fun building them in any case.
This is awesome. I built the 1/32 model kit of the stuka.
It was the revell.
Yes I have it was Revell's box scale X-15!
When I was a kid I often visit Lodela’s department X for spare parts and decals. I n fact my first model kit was the Lodela’s version of the Skycrane in 1/72.
Berlín 34, Del Carmen, Coyoacán, 04100 Ciudad de México, CDMX
goo.gl/maps/re6b1RczWjSwtq4p8
Thank you Max! Very interesting manufacturer I've never heard of.
I collected some material for you on the history of YT/Krugozor 1960's kits. I've sent you a message by the FB messanger but probably did something wrong.
Keep you videos coming!
nothing, try sending a friend request
@@maxsmodels I hope this time I did it right
6:07 The one I built - I was like 13 years old - was the Boeing SST. Two models in one box. I thought they were real!
I've seen Monogram kits such as the 1/48 OS2U Kingfisher with Mexican decals and Spanish writing on the box but I honestly can't remember at the moment if they were Lodela reboxings or not.
*Edit* A quick perusal of eBay shows two of the Mexican Monogram Kingfishers. Apparently Monogram had an agreement with someone else south of the border.
I didn't remember the brand but I had built a few of their models.
Beautiful!
I have the Lodela-Revell 1/32 Spitfire kit. I once saw a Lodela-Revell kit of the arctic Neptune-on-skis, but passed on it :-(
I built the Neptune on skis, and the Orion too. Both looked great placed side by side... your comment made me go back in time probably 56 Years, and remember that both models were bought by adding the money allowances of a good friend and mine, so we built them together and we agreed that both models were kept by one of us for a week, and by the other the following week!
“.....I am the Frito Bandito”.....sorry...couldn’t resist.
Boo. 😆😆😉
My wife is from Venezuela, when I did that the first time she laughed till she cried....then she smacked me (just kidding)....she just smacked me.
i was just gonna post this. the Frito Bandito lives forever!
I love Fritos corn chips, i do,
i love Fritos corn chips, I'll take them from you.
Never heard of this company...interesting subject
sure did.... in Mexico ( tijuana) you walk in to the big supermarkers... they had lots & lots of models , that is gone now :( every time i went to the market i got one.. they were very well made. and very low price, in the 90s i remeber they were always on sale like 3 for the price of 2..... i regret not collecting them.
@7:15 LOL " Holy Crap! This house sounds like the cockpit of a 747 with 3 engines on fire " Yup reminds me of the injection moulding plant I used to work at after a long lunch break.
:)
In the late 70's Orange Blossom Hobbies in Miami, Florida had some Revell/Lodela kits available. I had bought the 1/72 P-47 kit primarily because it came with decals for the Mexican air Force. I was surprised to find that even though the finish was natural metal, the kit was molded in black plastic! and not exactly attached to the sprues...
I used to order from them and Pan Am hobbies. I miss them.
Mi cielito lindo/my Beautiful Rainbow sky ! Is about as best as I can translate it because, Cielito means gorgeous Sky ! The gentleman who sang it was Mexican but this song was also sung by Desi Arnaz a.k.a. the Cuban Ricky Ricardo married to Lucille Ball McGillicuddy ! 🌊🐺
Oh trust me, my wife is from Venezuela, I hear plenty of Pedro Infante and Carlos Gardel etc.
maxsmodels I was born in Havana Cuba, I was taught Cuban-salsa ! But since I’ve been in the states and I discovered rock ‘n’ roll !!! If it isn’t rock ‘n’ roll, then it ain’t s*** ! So says the Beatles and Pink Floyd !
🌊🐺
My first kit was a Lodela B-52
There is another Mexican plastic kit company called "Pegaso" who used to inject some old Lindberg kits. Interesting to find out more of this company
I have one of their kits, the Navion
Pegaso/Necomisa (I think they were the same company) reboxed old Lindberg and Hawk molds for the Mexican market. They even had the box bottoms you could cut out to make a cardboard diorama, just like the early Lindbergs. Plastic quality was OK and the decals were usually very good. They were also pretty cheap, at least in Mexico City.
I think they were the ones who made the Mexican Monogram repops, at least I can recall the old box scale Lockheed Constellation in one of their boxes, with the same decals (TWA and MATS) that came in the US boxing but with instructions in Spanish.
Interesting, I never heard the microwave at all or that company before.
Another good vid and no, I think I can one hundred percent say that that line of models never made it north into Canada, that is for sure.
Finally some good music.
:)
Thanks for the no P.C. tail fin here.
History is history.
I have the Revell Lodela DC-8, purchased second hand in Canada. Haven't built it yet. The vertical stabilizer on one fuselage half is seriously warped but should straighten out in hot water. Was planning to build it in Air Canada livery but the Viasa scheme is so colourful and unusual that I may just end up going with that.
One commenter above said they never made it to Canada. I knew that couldn't be right.
I’ve seen the odd one here and there at swap meets, but by and large I don’t think they were brought up here in quantity.
Only built a couple back in the '80's while I was stationed at Camp Pendleton. I had a girlfriend down past TJ and was always going down there on long weekends! Found them while shopping with her. One was a De Havilland Vampire and the other was a helo, though I don't remember what kind now - and I don't think it was a U.S. built bird. Both were 1/72 and had FAM markings.
Very nice.
I'm Mexican and all the models I had as a kid where lodela, it was sand years later to return to the hobby and find out there where out of production, now all the models have to be imported and sandly it is pretty expensive
Sorry to hear that. It is a great hobby but has gotten very expensive.
I feel surprised to find a video about Lodela here, since my general impression is that modelers north of the Rio Grande are not at all interested in what happens in the modeling world south of the border. In any case, I am happy for the video, which has indisputable nostalgic tones for me, since I grew up and lived many years in Mexico City, and it was there that my love for model building developed, so I am very familiar with the Lodela kits, of which I built several dozens during my childhood and adolescence, and also some as an adult.
In case someone is interested, I will mention some points about Lodela and modeling in Mexico. As it is said in the video, Lodela is a contraction of the surname of its founder, López de Lara. Lodela was one of the two largest Mexican companies of plastic kits; the other big Mexican company was Necomisa, which is also a contraction of Negociadora de Comercio Internacional, S.A. Both companies specialized in producing licensed plastic kits in Mexico, usually using the molds of major foreign companies, beginning in the 1950s, and they had a long life of almost sixty years. Lodela produced Revell, Heller, Airfix and AMT kits in Mexico, while Necomisa produced Monogram and Lindberg kits. Both companies produced some original kits, and also toys, but their specialty were plastic kits made under license from other companies. In general, the same “box art” from the originals was used, but sometimes new box designs were also made, with original art made in Mexico, some of it of very high quality. In addition, frecuently the original kits were adapted to represent Mexican versions for the local market, so then new decals, instructions and box art were made. For example, with the original molds from Revell, Heller and Monogram, Mexican versions were made in all the important scales of the P-47 D Thunderbolt, the B-25 Mitchell, PT 17 Stearman, AT-6 Texan, T-33 Shooting Star, F-5 Freedom Fighter, DeHavilland Vampire, and Douglas DC-3, all in service with the FAM, or Mexican Air Force, with excellent quality decals. Also, Mexican versions of many airliners were made, with the insignia and colors of the main Mexican airlines, Aeroméxico and Mexicana.
As far as I can judge, the quality of the Lodela and Necomisa kits was equivalent to that of the originals by Revell, Monogram or Lindberg. The same molds were used, of course, and the plastic was similar. I don't know if this applies to all the kits produced by these companies, throughout their sixty years of existence, but from my own experience, having assembled dozens of Lodela and Necomisa kits, as well as dozens of other original Revell, Monogram or Heller kits, I don't see any quality difference between them.
In Mexico there has always been a strong community of enthusiastic modelers, and a keen fondness for model collecting. Since I was a child in Mexico City, in the 70s, there were several model shops where you could buy all the main American, European and Japanese brands. I grew up assembling models from Tamiya, Italeri, Hasegawa, Airfix, Matchbox and Aurora, in addition to the brands already mentioned. But, the big difference between foreign and Mexican brands was this: if you wanted to buy an airplane from Monogram or Revell in its original version, or a tank from Tamiya or Italeri, or a monster or spaceship from Aurora, one necessarily had to look for it at a hobby shop, of which there would be little more than a dozen in Mexico City in those years; but, instead, there were literally hundreds of places where any child could find Lodela or Necomisa kits, as these were sold in all supermarkets, department stores, toy stores, craft stores, and even drugstores. The mentality of the time was to see them as simple toys, and therefore they were everywhere, even in the most modest stores, and they were extremely cheap. Instead, Tamiya or Hasegawa or Italeri were never cheap, and were only available at specialty hobby shops.
On the comment about the He-111 tail insignia, uncensored and PC free, well, in Mexico there is no law prohibiting showing swastikas, and therefore, there was never any reason for Mexican model companies, like Lodela, Necomisa, Pegaso, etc., to omit them from the box art or the decal sheet. But, if they used the original box art fron Heller or Revell, and this was censored, they didn’t have any reason to restore the swastikas either.
And as for Pedro Infante, one of the most popular singer-actors in Mexico in the 40s and 50s, as an anecdotal detail it can be mentioned that he was the inspiration for the popular idol singer Ernesto de la Cruz in Coco. Only, the real Pedro Infante was a pretty nice man, while Disney made him a villain.
Finally, in case someone is curious to see Mexican airplane models, I include here the following link, where you can see some modelers from Mexico City discussing the details of a collection of airplane models, many of them from the Mexican Air Force (not necessarily Lodela, but several brands, including some scratchbuilt as well). ruclips.net/video/gQCr_FaEJH8/видео.html
I have a Pegaso Navion. The Lodela kits made some penetration in the southwestern USA, Texas, California etc. My wife is from Venezuela which is why I am so well acquainted with Pedro Infante plus I always loved that song. Thanks for the comment. Max
Yo soy la nieta de Apolo y mi padre, estuvo en la fábrica al lado de él trabajando
Tu familia hizo una gran alegría para muchos niños a quienes les encantaba construir modelos. 😊
I am no language expert, but I grew up in Southern California : Mexico is pronounced MAY-hee-ko in the Espanol.....[pronounced ay-span-yol].
Probably not something ya need to know every day, but in California there are a LOT of places with Spanish names due to the Mission System established in..........olden times.
Rule of thumb, J is always the H sound.....the X can be a Z or an H.
And that's all I know.
Lol, have an Orange Crush, I could chug one now.👍✌️
Povrecito Pedro Enfante; pero l'espirito vivo para siempre!
si
LOL, "this house sounds like a 747 cockpit with 3 engines on fire"
It gets that way around here sometimes.