Berkeley Models, Inc. was an American company that manufactured model-airplane kits that pioneered such firsts as the nation's first gas model plane kit, and which became one of the industry's leading companies.Founded in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, and later based in West Hempstead, New York, it lasted from 1933 to 1962. Its founder, Bill Effinger, was elected to the Academy of Model Aeronautics Hall of Fame in 1986.