We have a cool thread called { Sunday models }. I think it's more for current builds. There's lots of great talent on there. So I hesitate to post pics of my old vintage, and very amateur kid built cars. I also like seeing those cool old vintage boxes, paint cans, and glue tubes. Remember those great old Auto World catalogs, and the neat old hobby stores too. So what ya got? Ron....
Remember the Zingers? Here's a few I build as a teen. I wasn't very good at following instructions. Lol Ron....
Keep them coming. I remember going to the Jack's Hobby Shop, and buying those 1/24 scale 3-in one kits for only a $1.49. Great Art, and so fun to build. I remember thinking. I can't wait until I can build a Hot Rod for real. Boy where has the time gone? Here's a { 58 Chevy survivor } that I built back then. Thanks Ron...
Ha ha, I love that 58, Ron. I'm in for this. A 3-in-1 kit for $1.49, now you're tell'n your age ! Sent from my SM-N910V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
These are some kits I got from a high school friend. It took 30+ years to get them. His dad built them 58-61 and then stored them. None are for sale, just posting for the enjoyment of others
I'll be back with some photos of mine, I was a big AMT fan. Did anyone ever answer the question I always had, WHY 1/25 and 1/24 scale? Monogram quality was third rate. Revell had nice detail, but wouldn't match AMT, so you couldn't kit bash the two brands. Bob
AMT started making dealer promo cars in the late 40's. I suspect the scale was a function of the drawings and models (scale models used by the automakers to set up the 1:1 tooling). They were also tweaked to fit into a common size box. Being AMT and Johan (and MPC later) had the contracts to make the promos they had the resources to get the scale and proportion better than Revell and Monogram. In 1962 Revell came out with a batch of the 1962 Mopars (they did not have the promo contract), and these kits are not as good as the corresponding Johan and AMT kits.
One of the oldest ones I built using an early AMT '32 Roadster kit, the rumble lid didn't open on them.
Danbury Racearena and the SNYRA stock car racing Saturday nights inspired this one and about a dozen copies of favorite cars. I'd take three wheels and drill out the centers then glue them to a stock wheel to get the look of the real cars, left front was always a stock one. Brush painted it has a authentic Danbury car look. Bob
Thanks {carmak } for sharing them. Could you take a few close up photos of your favorites for us. They're so COOL ! My uncle built some models, in that same time frame. He knew that I always liked them. He called me one day, and said they were in his attic . If I wanted them, just come and get'em. That was probably over 20 plus years ago. It was like Christmas! Here's a couple of them. They're all brush painted. And like you, I could never part with them. Ron...37 kid We posted at the same time. Lol those are very COOL Thanks Ron
In the winter of 1967 I got my drivers license and never finished my last model project now I have real cars that are unfinished. Bob
That size - approximately 1/24 - 1/25 scale - was created by Henry Ford and an attorney named Wes Gallogly, in 1945. Close friends, they were discussing ideas for promoting new car sales in anticipation of the demand after the war ended. Henry thought anxious car buyers would be happy knowing "there's a Ford in your future". With that, he and Gallogly created a Plexiglas crystal ball with an 8-inch chrome-plated aluminum 1946 Ford 4-door sedan inside. The model was crude, as the only real detail was on the sides, and the front and rear were largely ignored. The novelty of the model overtook the goal of the display, and soon the models were offered to dealers painted in the proposed 1946 Ford colors that were in effect in 1945. Thus, the AMT company was founded by Wes Gallogly. AMT originally stood for Aluminum Model Toys (although the aluminum part would be short-lived). These remained in production through 1948, when it was discovered colors could be more permanently incorporated in the new medium of thermal plastics. But GM and Chrysler were not caught sleeping. When Ford unveiled their new plastic "Ford Forty-Niner" in all the proper colors, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth, Desoto and Studebaker all upgraded their dealer's models to this new size, and in less than a year, this became the industry standard. Prior to the AMT 1946 Ford, promos typically appeared in sizes ranging from four inches to over a foot. When they all became a single universal size, a new collectible was created. By 1955, there were no less than four major producers including AMT, Jo-Han, Banthrico and Product Miniature, all owing to the 1/25-scale standard set by Gallogly's 1946 crystal ball car. In retrospect, AMT's motorized version of their Ford Forty-Niner was one of the most popular and innovative American toys ever produced. As to Monogram and Revell, they were always a day late and a dollar short, and never able to compete with the Big Four. Monogram's cars were always fat and stubby. They also couldn't be painted with quality materials without the molded color bleeding through. They continued to buck the 1/25 trend, and it showed in their lagging sales. Revell was always a "me, too" wannabe. Every decision they made to complete with The Big Four met with disaster. If it wasn't for boats, trains, airplanes, horses, ships, etc. they would never have survived enough to outlive the major Detroit players. As it turned out, Monogram disappeared without a blip in the early 2000s and Revell closed its doors forever on Friday, April 13, 2018.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Thank you so much for that detailed history lesson. I may buy a tube of glue and finish a few kits over the winter. Bob
Love those bodies in white, had a few myself. Finally stepped up and brush painted several, then learned the trick of heating the paint up by placing the bottle in hot water. Along came the spray bomb and, for the most part, they turned out pretty good. Don't find the time for it anymore, but I have some kits stashed just in case!
The 58 Ford was stripped of two or three paint jobs a few years ago, the 57 Ford was built to look like the one my uncle bought new, the 58 Edsel was given to me by my older cousin in the 60's. The 61 done was in my purple faze. The 60 Ford convert and 59 Buick convert were two of the few from back then that I didn't paint and left alone all these years. The Craftsman 60 Chevy Wagon I bought while on a family camping trip in 1965, couldn't wait to get home to shave the hood and spot primer it and paint the trim and add mags and a trailer hitch. The 59 Ford convert was a recent re-build from my original kit. The 60 Ford F-100 was a Christmas present when I was 9 in 1960. The gold pick-up is a model of my daily driver in the 70's. It had a SBC 350 /350 with a stock 392 rear gear that surprised a bunch of the muscle car guys around here. Just looking at my old models brings up great memories of growing up in the best of times. At 67 my wife says I haven't grown up yet and I wouldn't have it any other way
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