Remember when AMT Model Car Kit was $1.50

I must be real old! I remember being pissed off when the AMT kits went up to $1.19! But then gas was $.24 9/10!

 

I was at Micheal's the other day looking for the new Revell '68 Hemi Dart kit... They were out of those.. Anyway, the top of the line 2n' 1 kits are going for 24.95 each.... Man, that makes me sick!

 

Guys- Today I'm lookin for a 1950 Ford 2 Dr Sedan "MODEL KIT" to build !

(I want to display it next to my 50)

Does any company make them? I've seen 49 Fords

 

was in hobby lobby yesterday looking at models..........$24.99 and no kool ones, mostly late model muscle cars

 

My first car model was the AMT Junior Trophy '59 Edsel which retailed for a dollar. I got mine at the local Kress in 1967 when I was 5 and it was probably .79 cents since "dime stores" (or "five and dimes") usually discounted prices down below retail. I found this one on eBay about ten years ago and added it to my collection. If you look closely you can see the kit number, 04-029-100 with the 100 meaning one dollar suggested retail price. You can see that the Aurora Fokker retailed for a dollar as well (c1965) and the lousy Premier '56 Thunderbird retailed for 89 cents c1956.

 

I've got a '59 Impala AMT Craftsman model that was only about half what the thread title suggests -- only 77-cents!

 

Yep, back when a kid could scratch up four quarters for mowing the lawn. Finish by noon and then off to the dime store for a model car.

 

btt

 

I have Monogram's version of this one..

 

bump ^

 

I remember $1.50.....AMT were the best !!!!!!!

 

That is nice!!

 

Thanks! I mixed the aqua paint myself!

 

Nice job!!

 

Great thread, lots of memories. I remember getting madels at Kmart in the 60s for $1.14 then they went up to $1.44. Outrageous. I still have a lot of mine from the day, they're stored away. Good times back then.

 

I think Kmart was S.S. Kresgie's back in them dayz... That's where I bought my first batch of kits... And then there was Federal's Dept. Store and a couple of others..

 

I've bought kits on clearance from "Toys R Us" for about 7 bucks a couple of years ago... That be a place to look for some....

 

I still buying models and I'm 56. Building Walts Puffer Fiat at the moment. I tried to get my stepsons involved and they enjoyed it for a couple years. Both 28 & 32 grown up now but not into models.
I don't think kids today have the ability to sit and work on a model for 2-4 hrs at a time.
Soon I'll be out in the garage working on the Cat (69 Cougar). Getting it ready to sell. Only drove it 100 miles last year..Just don't have time. Now if it was a '32 Ford Coupe or roadster I might have driven it more.

 

Me 2. 56 and still have the model bug..and hot rods. I agree. Kids are too used to being entertained today.

 

Now a days to build a model is 50 bucks after paint and supplies ,They ruined it for the next generation coming up ,I dont remember 1.50 ,I remember 3.99 and 4.99 and up to 7.99 ..........I only build a few models a year ,To expensive ,I just put the money into my project cars instead .......

 

Still a great pass time for the winter blues....

 

If you really want to know what that $1.50 back then is worth compared to today's value , go to the following website , put in your figures and dates and be amazed ! Go to - http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=650&year1=1976&year2=2011

 

I think my first kit was like a 40 ford or something, but I painted it every color of paint I had... all at once. I remember going up into the attic years later and it was still tacky and soft. That paint never dried!! haha! I called it my easter egg car!

I still build models, Im 36. I enter them every year to the Portland Roadster Show. They have their own model contest. Cool thing is, if you enter a kit, you get a free pass. So my dad, brother and I enter kits early on Thursday night and then walk the whole show as cars are rolling into the hall and setting up. Then we come back on Sunday, use our free pass, go to the model awards, and then check out the show again.

Two show days for free, just for submitting a kit. Id say that justifies $20 for a kit.

 

You are going to have to get the 49 Ford and then find a 50 convertible kit to use the 1950 specific parts on the 49 body. Or you can just order 1950 grille and the rest from www.modelhaus.com

 

Sounds like a good deal!!

 

Currently building the Heller Alpine A210 kit. This was released in the 60s by AMT as a double kit along with a Renault Gordini Rally racer. This old Heller tool is quite fiddly to assemble in the suspension area. It was and still is a very complex kit. If care is taken, it builds well. You even have to wind your own coil springs to make the shocks. If anyone wants to tackle this kit, I would suggest some modifications to the body. The lower part of the front grille opening is molded as part of the floor pan, so when you assemble it, there is an unsightly seem that runs through the headlight and grille opening. I cut this part off of the floor pan and glue to the body as a separate part, then putty the seam and smooth it out to ready for primer and paint.

 

I've got a bunch of kits I started on.. A '68 El Camino, '61 Impala SS 409, '66 Olds W-30 442, '62 Belair 409, '66 L-79 Nova SS and a '69 Nova SS 396... I just don't know which one to finish first..

 

$1.47 target discount ( at newly opened store 1964?) to printed on box price
I REMEMBER THE PRICE CUZ I HAD 4 BUCKS AND WANTED 3 KITS AND HAD TO BEG SOME CHANGE FROM MOM .... GOSH IT WAS HARD TO GET THAT EXTRA 50 CENTS


i have over 100 built and unbuilt still buying any i find built/unbuilt at garage sales chrome promo 60 olds.. I have every possible 32 ford made ..
.recently bought a freezerbag full of loose parts it had two 32 grills half dozen piecrust slicks and asst engines $.25
i was extremly happy

 

Yeah, things are more expensive now, but I have always looked at it as an investment of enjoyment over time. You might spend $25 for the kit, $6 for a can of paint and another $10 for assorted needs/goodies. If I divide that total by the number of hours I invest in each piece (80-100 hours is conservative estimate), it's a fairly low figure. I can't afford to build 1:1 .............yet. But in the meantime I can do this, and it keeps me off the streets. And as hobbies go, it's still fairly low buck.