Art & Inspiration HOW MANY CAUGHT THE OLD CAR BUG FROM AMT?

I happened on to some old built AMT models at a yard sale the other day to add to my collection. As I was looking through them it got me to thinking what an impact that model hot rods and custom cars had on me from a very early age. From the time I was about 4 years old (1955) when my uncle showed me a 1/32 scale model of a 55 Buick he had built I was hooked. By the time 1958 rolled around and AMT came out with the 1/25 annual 3in1 kits and every penny I could get my hands on went for models, paint, glue and hot rod magazines. Not all of them were AMT, but for the most part that was my brand. Through the years I learned a lot about cars and their parts by building models. By the time I was in 8th grade I got my first car and instead of Testers paint and glue on my fingers it was grease and skinned knuckles.
I am almost 68 now and still enjoy playing with my old model cars along with my 1-1 projects. I don't see as well as I used to, my fingers don't work as good either but the urge is still there, just like it always was. When I get things caught up on my old cars and drivers or I am just to lazy to craw under a dash or tear a carb apart, the model bench is there waiting on me.
I know I am not the only one. Lets hear from other 60 or 70 year old kids
Here are a few pictures, some are my originals, some I have collected over the years.
As a wise man once said" I thought it would take a lot longer to get this dang old"

 

I still build them, when I find time, but I don't "play" with them at all. Just try to find a place to display them. I play with model trains and other toys that move and zip around.

 

My hands are an idiot, and Im more surprised i got into working on old cars after pretty consistantly trying to build models as a kid and being a consistant miserable failure. I might be proficient in playing with metal and guessing my way through body and paint and doing mechanical work, but its the same now as it was when i was a kid; when it comes to trying to neatly use glue and applying decals, i might as well be using my feet with my eyes closed

 

great collection, and lucky that you still have yours - as kid made a lot of them - but, we lived in Hawaii and had easy access to cherry bomb firecrackers - so one day lined them all up and blew them up - building models went hand in hand with reading car magazines and seeing older guys with Cool rides - my Sisters boyfriends put me to work helping them change motors, etc

 

It was great! It taught us to save our money to purchase one. It taught us the different makes, years and models of vehicles. It taught us to read assembly directions. We learned where specific parts went on a car and how to modify them. It taught us to paint and we learned patience waiting for glue and paint to dry. I had dozens of cars, wish I knew where they all went. Kids today don't know what they are missing. On second thought, they probably don't care.

 

Can't say they started me down the path, but they definitely contributed. I rarely have time to build these days, but I've been getting the urge again lately. Probably have 100 plus kits saved for retirement.

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Yep! ‘40 Ford 3 in 1 kits were the holy grail of models for me. I’m 73

 

I really enjoyed building the hot rods and customs. The t bucket with the chrome German helmet as the roof was one I remember. And how about those crazy monsters hanging out of the car while doing burnouts.

 

I started with MPC in the late 60s...eventually got quite a few AMT, Revell, and MPC kits. Still have several of them.

 

I started out with AMT and went to the ones that were more complicated to build and now back,just do not need to have all those chassis parts since I rarely look at the undersides now.

 

I had the "car crazy" gene at birth, and built my first AMT model in 1958 as an eight year old kid. From there, it went on almost non-stop, and I can't count how many I built over the years. I quickly realized AMT 1/25 was my preference, and like so many others, built versions of the kits to suit my tastes, but have many Franklin/Danbury cars - predominantly 50s and early 60s because I grew up with them.
I started to collect and restore old AMT kits about fifteen years ago, and now have a total collection of about two hundred or so, none are for sale. I have built replicas of most of my 1:1 cars, and have been lucky to win many shows with original and replica customs, dirt track stock cars, and replica-stock examples. I currently have about a dozen or so under construction besides working on a couple full size restorations.
The car model building hobby gave many young builders the interest, patience, imagination, and creativity to become successful in many life skills. Looking at my collection reminds me of all we should be grateful for, and I hope newcomers to the hobby will find it equally rewarding. I think most of you will agree with me on that.
So many cars, so little time .....

 

And you can't forget the Johan models....

 

This is me, age 10, already deep into model building......The little ones are the gateway drug leading to the addiction of the real ones....I'm 68 now and I still have all of the ones that I've built over the years and still occasionally build yet another one or two.

 

That's where I got my interest in customs. I'd slice and dice various models to build what I thought was a cool car at the time. Wish I'd kept doing it and kept some of those.

 

I started building models as a kid too. I'm still building collecting and playing with them. I even have a 1/24 slot car layout, and drag strip that I race with the grandkids. You can't build every race car or Hot Rod in 1/1 scale. So models help, I also like the old 3 in 1 AMT models the best. Ron....

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Johan was my favorite with their heavy MoPar line up also built AMT MPC and Monogram a lot. Still build a couple a year and have a bunch of NOS Johan models in the box around.


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I got the bug from my father at a very young age. He had me in the garage as soon as I could walk. Not exageragrating here. He supplemented that experience with buying me model car kits. Mostly AMT but Revell & Johaan were amongst them.

 

If you guys knew how many kits I have, you would all flip!!....
Yeah, it's an addiction!...
I'm a styrene junky....

 

My pappy always taught me "Never trust a man with clean finger nails" and "never trust a woman regardless" Them is awful clean nails mister

 

Sure did, 1959, then my Son caught it in 1981, we both still do builds some times!
I will ad non OT cars later.
KK

 

AMT didn’t start my problem, it just fueled my problem. I built a ton of model cars when I was in grade school, and junior high school

 

Yeah, my first was 1/32 scale Falcon Ranchero and then 1/25 AMT '56 Ford. Taught patience, perseverance, knowledge of car components, and how they went together, and a whole bunch of other good skills. One very important aspect is that they help me identify how I learned best. I prefer observing and pictures to reading instructions. Drove my wife nuts when I would assemble the IKEA furniture in our early years just by looking at the diagram! She'd start reading the instructions and I'd say "done!". "Were supposed to read the instructions" was her reply and I would ask if she wanted me to take it apart and start again.
I used to always ask my students how they preferred to learn and the majority of boys were like me, god help them! I believe females as a rule prefer to do th wright thing and read first then do second.
AMT,Monogram, Revell, MPC, Johan's, and Aurora. I have around 110 kits in my attic which I'll start when I'm retired which happened 1.5 years ago. LOL

 

The glue is what got me stuck on Customs!

 

Oh boy! You guys scratched an itch that I hadn’t thought of in years! AMT were my favorite, followed by Monogram, then Revel, lastly by Johan. I would save my allowance for two weeks, then pester my Mom to go to Kmart to get the next one. I finally got to the point where I could ride my bike to Drug Town in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to get my fix. At age 12, we moved to the country in Southwestern Illinois and was back to begging rides to Harter’s Hobby House in Belleville Illinois. Most magical place I had ever seen until I discovered the speed shop. See what you did??? Thanks guys! Time to teach my 9 year old son about models!


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I would say it contributed to the sickness. First model was a 58 Pontiac Bonneville

 

I haven't bought any in the last few years, but I have at least a hundred of them stashed away. 90 percent of them are 1/25, with a few 1/24 and a couple of 1/8 AMT's thrown in. Some I have had since the early seventies, I really wish I had the time to get them out and finish a few more. I have a little bit of everything, '40 Fords and Deuces, tri-five Chevys, JoHan '64 Dodges, a couple sprint cars, the Ol Calhoun Watson, but my favorites are my dirt Late Models. Mike, I have a '65 Chevelle Late Model, painted yellow, and numbered 55, with "Driver Darrel" on the doors, and "New Plymouth Coal Co." on the roof. I'll send you a pic of it the next time I have it out, and I also have a '57 Chevy Late Model, waiting to be painted the same way.

 

AMT, Monogram, Revell, they were like the gateway drug for automotive addiction...

 

My models didn’t make the move with my family while I was away in the military.
Pretty sure I wasn’t the only one.