Fascinations doesn't produce the models your dad used to buy you. In fact, you should do yourself a favor and forget everything you thought you knew about building models.
Struggling to separate your fingers from the wing of the plane you have unwittingly become a part of… running out of glue because you forgot to put the cap back on and the tube became attached to the table… discovering you glued the main mast in the aft mast spot… all of the million and one issues you had growing up are suddenly out the window. Just one look at these metal model kits from Fascinations will have you considering taking up the hobby as an adult!
Many of us loved building models as children. Many more enjoyed looking in fascination at the models others managed to build. At the same time, ours sat in battered boxes under the bed, gathering dust bunnies.
While we were sitting around wishing someone would figure out an easier way to build a cool model ship, someone was doing just that. Who is this masked hero?
About Fascinations
His name is William Hones, and he is the founder and current owner of Fascinations. It's easy to picture William rolling out of bed one morning, after struggling all night with a model ship, looking down at his glue-encrusted hands and saying to himself, "There needs to be a better way. I'll name it Fascinations!" We aren't saying that's how it happened, but he definitely had a great eureka moment!
Fascinations is headquartered on America's west coast, in Seattle Washington. Although the company may have started out based on a seemingly small idea, it has ballooned from there, and Fascinations Inc. now distribute their insanely neat 3d metal models world-wide.
So, why the name Fascinations? According to Mr. William Hones himself, he named his company on his desire to fascinate the human mind. Mission accomplished! Have you seen their jellyfish lamps?!
A "Fascinating" History
Fascinations Inc. was founded in 1985 with a goal of creating products to captivate the imagination of young and old alike and inspire wonder in all who viewed the finished models. The company works with engineers, scientists, and even magicians to create their unique models. Anyone who looks over their offering would have an easy time believing that—they look magical!
In 1994, Fascinations upended a 100+-year-old physics theorem and created the device my older brother would go to insist I do my science project on—the Levitron® Anti-Gravity Top. Of course, my brother just wanted me to do my project on anti-gravity so he could play with it afterward. My mother refused to buy it for us because she didn't believe it would work.
I did not win the science fair with my sugar crystal experiment—I got a C—but Fascinations Levitron® was the subject of several papers published in prestigious academic journals, so it turns out William Hones won the science fair anyway. Let that be a lesson to parents everywhere—a Levitron® Anti-Gravity Top is a great way to ensure your child makes a better grade at the science fair.
Not one to rest on their laurels, in 2004, Fascinations brought a NASA Space Shuttle experiment down to Earth. AntWorks® is a unique habitat for ants that was originally intended to study ant life in space. Instead of the old dirt-filled ant farm kids from the '80s had to settle for, modern kids can now have an ant farm filled with see-through gel.
Fascination Products
If you're anything like the rest of us, one look at the unique toys offered from Fascinations had you asking yourself, "where is a Fascinations near me?" Well, look no further, because Maziply is your home-town Fascinations store!
Metal Earth® models are Fascinations' most magical creations yet. These wonderful 3D metal model kits allow you to transform flat steel sheets into amazingly intricate collectibles. They have so many different types of models to choose from; you can find something to create no matter what your interest.
Would you like to join the fight to save the universe? Whether you prefer the light side or the dark side, Fascinations has some killer Star Wars® models, just for you!
Are you more into Star Trek®? The starship models in this line would make Gene Roddenberry proud. Keep in mind, however, that they tend to be higher up on the difficulty scale!
Dr. Who®? Game of Thrones? Marvel, Gundam, Batman, Harry Potty, Flintstones, and Transformers? Yeah, Fascinations carries all those brands. If you enjoy watching the movies, you'll really enjoy building the little models.
Maybe you like other branded products? Perhaps you drive a Freightliner or Western Star, and you want to create a model of your truck with your child? Maybe you've worked in a Boeing or a Ford factory?
Then again, maybe you don't really care about branded products at all, and you just want to build models based on type instead.
Fascinations Metal Earth includes aviation, ships, and architectural models. There is a whole series of suits of armor, called the Armor Series. Maybe you're more interested in building arthropods or dinosaur metal models? Still, have you covered there!
Fascinations have so many different metal model kits; it can be hard to wrap your head around all the choices. Construction equipment, musical instruments, tanks, vehicles—the wild west! And what if none of those options sounds like it has something you would fall in love with? In that case, have a look through their miscellaneous section where you'll find a merry-go-round, a penny farthing, a Ferris wheel, and even book sculptures.
Promises Kept
Fascinations was founded on the idea that science was already fascinating, but we all needed more science-based toys to bring out the little scientist in all of us. With Metal Earth Models, they deliver on their promise to keep our minds engaged and full of the wonder only a Fascinations toy can provide.