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

Just a little bit of advice if you have old unopened AMT/MPC/JoHan, Monogram or Revell car kits from the 1980's or earlier sitting gathering dust and think you are sitting on a goldmine.........be aware of the dreaded TYRE BURN........which is when the vinyl tyres react with the plastic they are sitting against and MELT the plastic to the extent that it "burns" thru the plastic part ruining it then if its sitting on the decals..........it melts them............it will not melt the instructions normally or the cardboard box but the vinyl tyre eats plastic..........if you don't want to open your pristine kit and think I'm being alarmist if you have any old built models sitting on the shelf..........check the area where the tyres touch any plastic body part or the plastic wheels.....that melted area is what I'm talking about......lol.........and the problem is that not every tyre may do it...........regards, andyd

 

Yep! I've seen it happen....

 

Yes it was the AMT trophy series that started it all. The fords. 32 36 40 etc. built them all Had the real cars too because of the models I built in the late 1950s. What fun times it was. And my garage still reflects it to this day

 

AMT was located @ 1225 E. Maple, Troy, MI
Made model car kits there from 1959 - 1978

This link shows the heyday of AMT

https://public.fotki.com/DWDarby/model_cars/amt_corporation/

 

Denny
like you I started as a kid with all those kits,still have them displayed here
as hands got a bit wonky I moved to diecast and have around $60,000 worth of them
Acme and GMP etc
Noel

 

Seems kinda weird Revell ended up doing the model of "Big John's" Willys gasser.....

 

Man I loved the kits when I was a kid. Just the smell of the contents brings back lots of memories. Sad these days that so few places sell them, none of the big box stores at least where I live. They have become very expensive as well. Started building highly details 1/43 scale cast metal and resin models and really enjoyed them. My hands and eyes just won't cooperate any more.

Great thread.

 

If you have a Hobby Lobby go there excellent selection of models and download their 40% coupon and they aren’t that bad. Build a few a year and usually buy there.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Sadly no Hobby Lobby stores in Canada. Still a few really good "old time" hobby stores however, just a big drive for me to get there.

 

AS a kid there was a model factory near us that had a junk pile in the back. Any GREAT for us . We made all kinds of "custom" models with the bad parts. It was a lot of fun salvaging parts off the pile. Sad day when they closed the plant down. But life goes on.

 

Lost a sentence there. Any parts that were not perfect went on the pile. Great for us as kids without money.

 

My son John started with customizing plastic kits in the early '80s at high school age. He has worked all his life restoring and customizing cars in shops. He's been through several shops and is now working at Saltworks of Sarasota, a high quality custom shop. I am glad that the original plastic kits has led him to be able to make a good living at what he loves.

 

I knew a gal once that would make a chassis out of scrap sprue trees and put a t body on it, engine and tires... And made it look good... Think her name was Terrisa....(sp)

 

AMT did a double kit in 1963/64 that had a 40 Willys Coupe and channelled 32 Ford Tudor......the Willys was marketed as "The Stripper" and has a blown Olds and a chromed rendition of the pictured mesh grille that the Mazmanian Willys has..........and has been reissued by AMT numerous times as a stand alone 40 Willys kit tho' nearly always it includes the 40 Willys Pickup body shell and pickup but rarely mentions these parts on the box....the AMT 32 Ford Tudor parts hasn't been seen in over 40 yrs tho'...............The Revell kit came out maybe 20yrs ago and has been reissued a couple of times with different decals sets........its a neat kit......andyd

 

Yep! Revell did a beautiful job with the '41 Willys kits... I have a few of those.....

 

A gentleman from the Model Cars Magazine site did a beautiful job on this AMT '67 Ford... It almost looks real....

 

Yea not AMT but cool old ad

 

The model manufacturers used to advertise in the big car mags. Rod & Custom used to have half the magazine for models. Street Rodder used to have a model car column. It was very popular with readers, but did not generate ad revenue, so adios.

 

I built the bottom left T

 

I enjoyed chopping up car kits an doing what I thought was dreamy things to them in the early 50s,started building full size chopped up cars in late 50s. For fun here is some kits stuff;https://www.titleproloans.com/all-about-model-cars/

 

My older cousin was my hero . He always had nice cars, always two door hard tops, always black, all sported lakes pipes , Appleton spots , and always nosed and decked, and always chevys ‼️ He would pick me up and go cruising . It was 1960 and I was 12 years old . I drooled over HOT ROD MAGAZINE and this one in particular. This one hooked me on models, how I wanted one ! Christmas 1960 and my hero gave me this model . Many more followed and I like most graduated into the real thing. But how I remember this model and those wonderful times ‼️

 

The very first model kit my parents bought for me was because I had broken my wrist falling of a bike riding double with a buddy. Ever try chopping a 32 5 window with a fine blade coping saw ONE HANDED LOL. Results were less than good

 

I'd forgotten about IMC, they came out with some beautiful kits, the Jim Clark Lotus Ford Indy Car, Ford GT40 Mk1, the Mk IV, J Car, 48 Ford Coupe , VW Gasser, Mustang Show car, Ford Cougar Show Car with a wonderful metallic burgundy polished body........the LRW Dodge was also available as the Touch Tone Terror with phone repairman ladder and a camper option and variations as the L700 Dodge Truck & Trailers...........IMC did some neat kits.....some have been reissued by Testors in the 1990's also by Lindberg and Union, .......andyd

 

I built my first one in 1963, and still have most of them.Yeah and I love the testors glue too!

 

MPC for me... '71 Grand Prix annual was my first kit.

Second was the '72 Impala... Recently purchased a decent builder of the same, (destroyed the original with fireworks years ago).... You think real car parts are expensive?

 

Yep - started at age 6 with the Meyers Manx dune buggy, and still have every one I ever built. Here is my most recent, an AMT '55 Chevy Bel Air converted to a 4-door six-cylinder (with the engine from the '60 Custom Fleetside) and an overdrive transmission, to replicate a friend's car.