Dr Seuss Model Kits

In 1959, Revell, a California-based manufacturer specialising in plastic scale models, introduced the Dr Seuss Zoo – a unique series of model kits inspired by the whimsical creations of children’s author and cartoonist Theodor “Ted” Geisel, better known as Dr Seuss.

The original lineup featured three fantastical creatures: Gowdy the Dowdy Grackle, a cheerful quadruped with a bird’s head adorned by umbrella-shaped protuberances; Tingo the Noodle-Topped Stroodle, an exuberant, circus-like beast with a giraffe-length neck; and the melancholy Norval the Bashful Blinket.

A year later, in 1960, the collection expanded to include three additional kits: Grickily the Gractus, Busby the Tasselated Afghan Spaniel Yak, and Roscoe the Many-Footed Lion.

Each model came with an assortment of colourful plastic parts that were fully interchangeable, inviting children to mix and match components to invent their own Dr Seuss-inspired creatures.

Crafted from slightly pliable polyethylene, these parts fit snugly together and could be repeatedly rearranged without losing their hold.

Designed as snap-together kits, they required no glue, making assembly simple and accessible.

Revell’s marketing slogan captured this playful versatility: “You can put us together in millions of wacky ways!”—with the company’s publicity department boasting some 14 million possible combinations.

Building on this success, Revell launched a second series known as the Dr Seuss Beginners Hobby Kits.

The inaugural kit featured the iconic Cat in the Hat, and advertisements promised, “Even a six-year-old can easily cement together the 25 big, colourful styrene pieces and create a whimsical figure almost a foot tall.”

In 1960, further Beginner’s Kits followed, including The Birthday Bird – which cleverly doubled as a cake decoration – and Horton the Elephant, complete with a nest, egg, and a tiny baby flying elephant.

The Cat in the Hat kit was reissued with added figures of Thing 1 and Thing 2, while a Grinch figure was designed but never produced.

Ted Geisel himself took an active role in overseeing both lines, collaborating closely with two sculptors over several months to capture the irreverent spirit and distinctive charm that define his books.

Thanks to Geisel’s hands-on involvement and dedication to quality, the Revell model kits of 1959 and 1960 stand as some of the finest and most faithful three-dimensional interpretations of Dr Seuss’s imaginative world.