Glimpse history through old images of Skegness in Lincolnshire, England.
Butlins Models 1966
In 1966, a newsreel was made about the fibre glass animals made for the vintage car ride track at the Skegness Butlins camp.
Artists work on sketches in their design studio, before sheets of melted and shredded glass, known as fibre glass, are stuck onto moulds and coated with polyester resin. This sets the material into a very hard and strong surface.
Then begins the spray painting, followed by the final paint touches to complete the model.
According to the narrator, fibre glass started off as a gimmick in the 1890s, to make evening gowns that you could not sit down in! By 1966, glass fibre was used to make boats, cars and planes.
And it was clearly creating a lot of employment. The Skegness factory in this film seems to have about ten men working on the models.
Fibre Glass Menagerie (1966) – British Pathé (YouTube)
