Revell USS George Washington Submarine

It's not often that a plastic model makes the front page of the New York Times, but right there in the June 19, 1961, issue appeared a photo of Revell's USS George Washington nuclear-powered Polaris missile submarine.It accompanied an ominous story that quoted Adm. Hyman Rickover, father of the nuclear submarine, saying that a hobby company's model had given away classified information to the Soviet Union. "If I were a Russian," declared Rickover, "I would be most grateful to the United States for it generosity in supplying such information for $2.98."

The admiral did not name the company that had revealed the secrets - both Revell and Renwal had models of the missile sub in stores - but many in the news media simply assumed the guilty party was Revell, the nation's premier model kit manufacturer.

Revell's promotion department was delighted with the Times story, which meant free advertising. Revell President Lew Glaser held a press conference at his home, and dove into his backyard pool with one of the George Washington models to give the pres photographers an action shot.

Glaser explained that Revell had not received any secret information: All the research for the model came from science magazines and trade journals "available to anyone who wants to take the time and trouble to look them up." He also pointed out that the model's original 1959 issue incorrectly had only eight missile tubes, not the 16 of the actual sub.

Later, when the hubbub had subsided, Royle Glaser, Lew's wife and head of Revell's new products committee, pronounced the whole affair "the best piece of PR we ever had. We sold a jillion of the sub models because they were already in the stores."

Revell continued to feature the Polaris submarine as one of its signature models throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The George Washington was modified in 1961 to hold the correct complement of 16 missile tubes. The two forward tubes had hatches that slid open to launch tiny spring-propelled rockets. The right side of the hull snapped off to show a detailed (though somewhat conjectural) interior. The model was 18 inches long, which made it approximately 1/253 scale.