model kits..WHERE ARE THEY NOW

Some AMT examples...

 

That '75 Auto World catalog brings back memories! First time I looked at one I thought I had died and gone to model car heaven.

 

I began modeling in '59 - an AMT '59 Ford ragtop - couldn't wait to paint it - built it in an hour - decals and all!
Through the models I learned about cars at an early age - I built 3 of the visible V-8's - Hell I even got 1 to run!!
Back in the sixties AMT models were the best - Revell, Lindberg and Monogram weren't close!
Who would be at the candy store every week checking to see if the new Car Model magazine came out? Had to see what Smitty & Dave were building this month!
Am I the only one who followed Dave's plans and built a "Bob-Tailed Cat"? (This was a '60 Valiant with the back cut off just past the rear wheels, power by a Hemi!)
Tried building a battleship once but couldn't get into it - it was cars all the way!
Destroyed most of my early creations, I stopped building them, but never stopped buying them. I have models stashed all over the house and garage!

 

There were no big box stores - you had to get to the Hobby Shop and see if the new car models came in - or you could
get ANYTHING you wanted from Auto World. You could even preorder the falls new models and they would ship them
right to you!
I can't tell you as a kid how many nights I fell asleep reading a catalog like this!

 

AMT came out with The Authentic Model Turnpike in '62. It used 1/25th scale models instead of the little HO racers. Back then the frame on the models would screw mount to posts on the bodies. Because of this you could interchange any models body you wanted to the race car chassis.
These racers had a carriage that protruded out of the track and the model had a swing arm that would snap on. You actually had to steer your car through the corners or crossovers or you would spin out.
If the car spun out you would have to maneuver it forward and reverse to get it going again.
This was hands down over the HO stuff, but was much harder to operate and cost 4-5 times as much and never caught on. You occasionally see the sets on E-bay selling for $4/5 hundred.







You can see the swing arm hanging from the model. The carriage below it was under the track always keeping the car on the track.

 

Man that's wild!

 

I still have all of mine! I built two over christmas break- a '49 merc and the Stone, Woods, & Cook Willys. Too cold to work on the '40! My parents haven't had a chance to do anything with mine yet.

 

I have bid on a bunch of those kits in the pictures on Ebay and LOST..........I have a few that I have replaced from my childhood, which is good...

 

A single-shot .22 rifle, firecrackers, and gasoline were used at various times to destroy most all the models I had as a teenager.

I bought a bunch of models about 25 years ago and built maybe two of those. I've also bought a few others over the years that remain unbuilt. All are 1/24 or 1/25 scale

Just counted - there are 41 unbuilt kits, including three semis and one FED.

 

Wrong ones...but still cool. The two I am talking about are 1/8th's. They were called Evil Iron and Dragon Fire. One was reaper based, the other was dragon based...

 

aaaaaah.auto world, is there any place remotely like that now.( wishful thinkin i guess). what was the guys name that used to run/own that place..........................hmmmmmmmm rats.oh yeah oscar some thing? any help.

 

Kovoloski or something???

 

I get a lot of great kits from Model Car Roundup online. Lots of inexpensive re-issue kits of some of my childhood favorites

 

Not to change the subject, but did any of ya'll use to go to Woolworths or whatever and find the already opened models , waited until nobody was looking and steal like the slicks or the mags out of them. I use to do that occasionally when I was a pre-pubescent.I'm not proud of it.
But the bonus is it brings on these guilt ridden dreams every now and then. They always start with me staring at a wall of models like use to be in the stores. I get to see all the old boxes, and a few that are fantasy.Then I start opening boxes , just seeing whats inside! These are very detailed dreams.
If I could have made enough money mowing yards back then , I wouldn't have done what I did. Dammit I had a habit! I won't apologize.
I remember distinctly getting the soft rubber tires (turnpike cruiser) out of a AMT 58 Impala kit, leaving the next unsuspecting kid scrambling thru his parts box at home for some tires if he bought it!
There were still models from the earliest sixties still on the shelf in my little town. I got as many as I could get. Started buying when they were a 1.49 and stopped when they got about 2.25. Now I pay a lot more on E-bay and what not.

 

Oscar Kowalski

 

Saving mine for when I retire...or break a leg and can't work on a 1:1 scale car.

 

HOLY KRAP!!! I just went back and saw some of the other posts. AUTO WORLD!!! They were in Scranton and, get this...I ALMOST BOUGHT IT!!! NO SHIT!!!
I used to go to the guy at his big location on Keyser Ave in a warehouse. He then closed the place and set up shop in a smaller storefront in the south part of Scranton, and he lived in a 2-story apartment up top. I went to his place, but a lot of the older stuff was gone, as he was trying to concentrate on R/C stuff and pre-built diecast "collectibles". I asked about the older stuff he used to have, he said he stored it away and was still going through stuff, didn't have time to after relocating, blah blah. So anyway, he died soon afterwards, and my wife and I saw the place listed in a realty paper. So, since we were looking around for a house anyway, we went to go check it out. The basement behind the storefront was CHOCK FULL of old models, hundreds of 'em, especially Jo-Hans, since they weren't very big sellers in the 60s and 70s (or so he told me). The place was actually a disgusting dump as he left it, and I told the realtor that I was not interested because it was in such bad shape, but I gave her my contact info to pass along to the future owner, in case he wanted help "cleaning out all that junk". Never heard anything, of course.

 

By the way, if anyone's interested, I run the "carmodelers" e-mail list on yahoogroups. Sign up, it's a pretty good, active group.

 

Oscar Koveleski - drove in the original Can-Am series.

 

Secret Black Widow Shots... HAMBER Award?? check out this post ! I would like to see more real cars built from model kits......this one really is authentic

 

delco special wind up toy I had to pay 60. dusty but in good shape. click pic to see

 

man this is a great collection thanks for sharing

 

Thank god my mom never threw anything away. I finally retrieved all my childhood toys from my folks house about the time I was 40 years old. All my models and custom parts are now safely tucked away in my basement. I am doing the same for my two boys, who hopefully will be getting them out of there old room within the next 10-15 years, or by the time they are 40. Many went by the wayside of fire crackers and glue fires, but 80 percent survived. Only the real crappy kits ever got blown up. I need to get them out and look at them again as they do bring back great memories.

 

Here are some I've amassed....Zingers, Deals Wheels etc. I really dig the box art.

 

Hey, Joe! Is that your garage or a memorabilia room. Either way let's see some more pictures!

 

I guess you would call it the memorabilia room or basement. I didn't want to hijack this thread so I put some more pictures in one of the older collecting threads....

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=198526&page=17

 

i know this should be on the slot car thread but..auto world had the little H.O. scale track cleaner called ...oscar. i guess its a good thing they are not in buss. now cause i would go crazy/broke buying stuff. dang i miss my youth.