Keil Kraft, a brief history

This is a short overview of the former Keil Kraft Works model company which made mostly balsa kits but did do some plastic scale models as well. It includes rare movie footage taken in what I think was the mid 1960s. Wearing ties around industrial machinery....what could go wrong? .🤔

[Drummer]

Hello Max. I played in a band with a guitarist who's Dad designed a lot of the Keil Kraft aircraft kits, apparently the boss was fond of test flying the latest designs, unfortunately his flying skills were somewhat lacking and he'd crash them! Undoing hours of hard work. I've lived ln Essex my whole life, the old A127 was a dangerous single lane A road, which had terrible accident rate. As you said, the 50s were a different time, if you made it out the factory in one piece, you still had to face the drive home.

[paulbervid]

That all he says yet he has film and pictures of the whole operation. Well done Max.

[trainsontuesday]

Built a few of those when I was a kid in England, early 1960's. Fantastic film of the factory. The health and safety matches what I was exposed to in my early working life, we thought nothing of it.

[philf]

The KK kits started me off building in the 1950's . The Spitfire, my first kit, Cost 3 shillings and 9 d or 3s9d . Thats about 18 p in modern money not taking inflation into account . Great times using one of dads old razors to cut our parts and peeling balsa cement off your fingers . Still building . Thanks for the memories

[lancerevell]

The tour video is great! A wonderful look back at old school production, before OSHA and bean-counters took over business.

[ewmhop]

WELL DONE VIDEO SIR, NOW PLEASE GET SOME REST.AS A KID IN THE 50S. I FOUND OUT THAT BALSA PLANES AND FIREWORKS DON'T MIX. BOY DO I MISS THOSE DAYS.GOD BLESS YOU AND ALL GLUE TROOPERS EVERYWHERE.

[doverivermedia]

Very interesting and insightful 👍. Thanks for sharing this. I built Keil Kraft kits as a boy. Playboy & Gypsy planes, and a Curlew boat. I remember eventually sending the Curlew to a watery grave by attaching a firework rocket to it's deck with my dad. Happy days 😅. 🇬🇧

[MajesticDemonLord]

Just a note - most of their 'kits' can be purchased, new from 'The Vintage Model Company' - on their website, the prefix 'kk' denotes a Keil Kraft model.

So, if you want to relive your boyhood, or share your childhood with your kids (or Grandkids...) then you can do so - they aren't too expensive either.

[decam]

Sod Mark Felton Productions. Where the hell did you find THAT footage!

Seriously?

IMHO one of the finest company vids you have produced.
Totally blown away by that.

Actually built a Keil Kraft styrene kit. They did a model of an Edinburgh Corporation Tram. Built one for my father who drove busses for the Corporation. He had it on a shelf for years.
Great memories.
Thank you, Max.

[peterthomson]

Imagine my total surprise when I visited a model shop for the first time in years when I saw Keil Kraft kits on sale, including the Senator, which was the first model I ever made back in the early 70's.
These kits are now being produced again by Ripmax, and sold under the Keil Kraft name. The big change from the 60's is the parts are now laser cut, having been lovingly captured into a modern CAD system.
I am going to build a Senator again some time soon - thanks for posting this unique video!

[abbush]

All I can say what a wonderful program .

[AndrewJarvis-hncc]

How we take things for granted! I built dozens of KK models as a youngster. Never, ever, was a part missing or faulty - all thanks to those loyal, hard-working .old-fashioned looking staff whom we never saw-till just now! Fascinating.

[tomsenior]

I loved making these Balsa flying Aircraft. It took months of intricate work, and only a few seconds of "Flight" before all was lost. Good old English Engineering. It makes one proud to be British. All that Balsa Cement and "Dope"... Lots and Lots of Dope. I thought The WWI Fighter Aircraft were the best in the range. Cheers Max, I had forgotten about Keil Kraft (Probably all that Dope).

[hikokibert]

I bought a Nomad glider kit at an antique shop. Its box art had almost faded away. I was delighted to see the bright red sheets of the same kit being packed in the factory tour. Maybe mine was one of them.
I made a couple of the steam engine kits and a bus. A bit of carving of the plastic was required to get a good fit. The parts were solid but the result was good.

[adecarnally]

Thanks for that tremendous blast from the past Max!
I too built as a kid (when I could save up enough! ) most of the smaller Keil Kraft range of flying models. After progressing through to larger models as later income allowed, I eventually became a professional model model maker off the back of my hobby model making, a career lasting 25 years. Today I have my own joinery business, using the skills acquired as a model maker. I still make and fly model aircraft. Modelling has been good to me!

[tommyanderson-filmmaker]

Thanks Max, love these historical stories you do. I hope you are feeling better.

[melanierhianna]

My Dad had a really bad accident on the A127. He survived but his memory has been poor ever since due to head injuries.

[jeromeovigne]

I remember the Keilkraft plastic truck kits ; they were available in the UK even in the early nineties.. 1/72nd scale; that was a brilliant idea..

[sugarhillsrr]

Great video of the factory operations Max. The amazing thing to me is how well all of the employees are dressed, all of the women are prim and proper and the men are all wearing a white shirt and tie. Unlike any thing you might see today

[ianpattison]

It’s a brand that was so familiar to me when I was young in the 60s even my village shop in Cambridgeshire stocked them alongside Matchbox vehicles, don’t remember the polystyrene kits though. I can’t remember ever attempting one but my brother certainly did as he was the real balsa flying fan. Thanks for the happy memories Max of innocent times.