Today, cast aluminum metal airliner models produced by master model makers back in the 1950s and 1960s, are highly valuable collectibles. Such models now command premium prices from travel agent display model collectors the world over.

Before fiberglass and plastic became widely available in the 1960s, travel agent display models sand cast by hand on a one-by-one basis. Highly skilled model makers in Germany, Holland and Britain trained in the art of Sand casting Aircraft Models and foundry in the years following World War II. Metal aircraft model makers like Peter Nelson of the UK, Raise Up, Matthys Verkuyl of Holland, and Schaarschmidt of Berlin masters of their trade; a trade which is now almost extinct having been replaced by modern technology.