District II Model Aircraft Industry History
Consolidated Models, Inc. (CMI) was founded in 1939 by Arthur Hasselbach, Sr. CMI’s operations were first
located in the Bronx, New York, offering customers and distributors prefabricated model airplane kits made entirely of balsa wood. Arthur’s idea to produce these model airplane kits began during his employment with United Aircraft, working in research and development for the US Military. In 1960, Consolidated Models moved to Cranbury, NJ from its original New York City location. The factory was expanded to accommodate new business and now, had a central location between New York City and Philadelphia.
Hasselbach was a model enthusiast, and wanted to make models based on the work he was doing for United Aircraft. Hasselbach started his hobby shop in the basement of his father-in-law’s print shop in the Bronx.
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