Chuck Most Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Sorry since these have been posted so many times, but I build Palmer kits. If you build more than one it's clearly because you get some perverse enjoyment out of it. Mark- I was HOPING you'd post those, because I get some perverse enjoyment out of seeing them. Especially that Chevette(?). Uh, Pinto... uh... whateveritis... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gibbons Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Monogram's ill-proportioned 1/24 scale '69 Camaros are the stuff of legends, but I still love them: I'll second that. I built it in the late '70s when I had a 1:1 '69, as it was the only game in town. The same person who tooled this must have done the '56 Chevy, too, and yet I've built a number of them. Mark's Palmers have to win the prize, though; I remember building a 1/32 '49 Ford from them in the early '70s, and when it was finished, vowed never again to spend my hard earned allowance and job money on a Palmer kit. Saturday Night Live of the era should have had a Dan Ackroyd sketch as Leonard Pinth Carnell doing "Bad Models!" :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philo426 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 The Henry J rocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Handley Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I'll second that. I built it in the late '70s when I had a 1:1 '69, as it was the only game in town. The same person who tooled this must have done the '56 Chevy, too, and yet I've built a number of them. Mark's Palmers have to win the prize, though; I remember building a 1/32 '49 Ford from them in the early '70s, and when it was finished, vowed never again to spend my hard earned allowance and job money on a Palmer kit. Saturday Night Live of the era should have had a Dan Ackroyd sketch as Leonard Pinth Carnell doing "Bad Models!" :) Is that the one Lindberg now sells? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gibbons Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Is that the one Lindberg now sells? That I don't know. Pyro also had one, so it is likely the Pyro mold from Lindberg. I really doubt Lindberg would have attempted to reissue a '49 as bad as the Palmer kit. I have a couple of old Pyro kits of '52 Chevies; one is the fastback, the other, a wagon. Despite having no chrome, and poorly shaped (injection molded on the parts tree) tires, they are magnificent compared to that Palmer '49 Ford. However, for all I know, Palmer might have contracted to have Pyro mold a bunch of the '49s for them, too. If I recall, Palmer was in Brooklyn at the time, and Pyro across the Hudson in NJ. Maybe some of the forum members here might know more about that. Either way, if you get a Lindberg '49, be sure to get it very cheaply, and evaluate it that way. Here's a pic I Googled; the one I had did not have chrome parts, or an open grille. The grille supplied was the flat piece in the middle of the photo sitting at an angle. Mine was also molded in a revolting shade of greenish brown; years later, I saw the same shade while changing diapers. I guess Palmer bought their plastic pellets at the cheapest price they could find them at, regardless of the color. I wouldn't expect the Lindberg/Pyro to be significantly better, if it is indeed a different kit, and is also a multi-piece body. In retrospect, they were sort of designed to also be used as slot car bodies, so I can't be too hard on them. Still, a simply awful kit! Edited April 21, 2011 by Jim Gibbons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunajammer Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (Palmer) will NEVER be confused with a serious or accurate model. They're SO bad that I wonder if it really is just shoddy proportioning. On some of them, do you think it's possible they were circumventing licensing issues by altering the look of the car by the legal percentage enough to claim it's not intended to be a replica of a real vehicle? I mean, Mark, look at that Ford Chevette, or Chevy Pinto or whatever the blazes that is. My first model car as a tyke was a 1/32 Palmer Mustang convertible. OUCH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Weren't the current Lindberg 1:20 Vega and Gremlin kits Palmers, too? I want to get the Vega to build one for my mom (her first car was a Vega... and she kept buying GM vehicles for nearly 30 years after that regardless... ), but just a quick glance at the box art cover girl sends me reeling. The Challenger wasn't too bad. (Note that I said 'wasn't too bad' not 'pretty great' )I sometimes have a hard time with the fact it was a Palmer kit at one point. The Palmer 'Big Drag' Challenger, on the other hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Weren't the current Lindberg 1:20 Vega and Gremlin kits Palmers, too? I want to get the Vega to build one for my mom (her first car was a Vega... and she kept buying GM vehicles for nearly 30 years after that regardless... ), but just a quick glance at the box art cover girl sends me reeling. The Challenger wasn't too bad. (Note that I said 'wasn't too bad' not 'pretty great' )I sometimes have a hard time with the fact it was a Palmer kit at one point. The Palmer 'Big Drag' Challenger, on the other hand... I just saw the Gremlin kit at Hobbytown USA yesterday, and the box photo was enough to make me retch. Looked like a cheap wind-up toy. My own personal love/hate is the Pyro/Lindberg Auburn Boattail Speedster, which has some inaccurate detail and poor parts fit (just try to get the hood to sit properly), but can be wrestled into a nice-looking model. And it's the only game in town for that car. BTW, has anyone mentioned the Trumpeter '64 Falcon? Edited April 21, 2011 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gibbons Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I just saw the Gremlin kit at Hobbytown USA yesterday, and the box photo was enough to make me retch. Looked like a cheap wind-up toy. My own personal love/hate is the Pyro/Lindberg Auburn Boattail Speedster, which has some inaccurate detail and poor parts fit (just try to get the hood to sit properly), but can be wrestled into a nice-looking model. And it's the only game in town for that car. BTW, has anyone mentioned the Trumpeter '64 Falcon? It's too bad Monogram didn't have the Auburn in their classic series. It would have made a nice Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan White Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Don't know if they're exactly terrible, but they are inaccurate. The Italeri American Superliner and US Reefer trailer. Truck has too wide of a cab, wrong frame, wrong suspension, wrong steering, and a few other things. Trailer is wrong height, no fuel tank, too large hubs, wrong location of leveling legs. However, they are otherwise great kits in that they have great detail and build up nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Don't know if they're exactly terrible, but they are inaccurate. The Italeri American Superliner and US Reefer trailer. Truck has too wide of a cab, wrong frame, wrong suspension, wrong steering, and a few other things. Trailer is wrong height, no fuel tank, too large hubs, wrong location of leveling legs. However, they are otherwise great kits in that they have great detail and build up nice. I forgot all about those Jordan! Italeri for some reason has the "one frame fits all" theory for their American trucks except for the Peterbilt kits. The Ford I've been working on, the Mack you mentioned, and about four or five other Italeri US truck kits I have all have that same common frame. As for the trailer, yeah it and the American Cargo version of it (just with no reefer) is about a scale foot too short, and the landing gear are too far back on the trailer, and the hubs are from the tractor drive wheels in their tractor kits. They may say American trailers on them, but they are more built to European specs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoSpud Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I may win this contest with mine! I loved this kit when I was kid. Heck,I didn't know a thing about body proportions or even what it was supposed to look like. Many many years later,I got it in a trade thanks to Ernie and just had to have it again. I did what I could with the body,but I didn't have enough left to tackle the grille and hood. I 've thought about seeing if the grille and hood from the five window would work on it. Not many kits were so bad that they were never issued again! Lol if i can b perfectly honest, I've orederred this kit just for the rear wheels and tyres :S I need them to build the original Bumblebee Camaro from Transformers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilone Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Well i dont have any specific kits except the show rods. You know the red barron, beatnik bandet,rommels rod, stuff like that. i hate them simply because the lack of obviouse items such as a alternator or gas tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoSpud Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Well i dont have any specific kits except the show rods. You know the red barron, beatnik bandet,rommels rod, stuff like that. i hate them simply because the lack of obviouse items such as a alternator or gas tank. I wouldn't say the Beatnik Bandit is a bad kit at all, i love it! I'v completed paint and decal work (pain in the arse) but it appears to be a simple kit and I will buy it again. Perhaps this is the terrible kit I love the most? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Is that the one Lindberg now sells? I believe it is, along with the '52 Chevy fastback, '32 Chevy pickup, '49 Ford Tudor, etc., as I've seen them all packaged as Lindberg kits at Tuesday Morning for $4.99 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RancheroSteve Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I wouldn't say the Beatnik Bandit is a bad kit at all, i love it! I'v completed paint and decal work (pain in the arse) but it appears to be a simple kit and I will buy it again. Perhaps this is the terrible kit I love the most? There's nothing terrible about the Beatnik Bandit kit, if you ask me. Like most of the Revell kits of that era, it has a lot of tiny parts and can be tough to put together (near impossible for kids). The detail and realism are impressive even by today's standards and they build up real nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philo426 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I agree! The toughest part of the beatnik Bandit is the decals!I had to dunk the body in the water to float the large rear decal in place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Norton Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 ....boy, there is many that come to mind, but one of the worst ever, and i always seem to buy, are MPC twister vegas and MPC pro stock vegas like USA 1 and American spirit. they are terrible by the standards of today, however built clean and crisp, they do look great in any display. I will buy at least 2 of the USA 1 once released by Round2 . there...I said it... i'm guilty of liking them...lol....the ace... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 MPC '69 Camaro. Wretched backbirth of a kit but I can't say no. Have built four of them over the years and have a fifth (and hopefully the last) on the bench as we speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledsel Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Lindbergh 48 Lincoln, so bad, but I have quite a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I'm with Snake on the MPC Camaro SS kit. I like it better than the other '69 Camaro model kits out there. Another kit in this vein, is Revell's '59 Ford retractable. Tough kit to get right. And I hate that the top of the dash is molded in with cowl. But I love '59 Fords. Another kit I also like with Revell's old multi-piece body problems, is the Futura showcar. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Stock Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 For me it has to be several of the old AMT repops, such as the 65 GTO, 67 GTO, 70 & 72 Chevelles and the like, they are really long in the tooth, most of the time have innacurate chassis and engine bay detail. But I just love building those old kits .....so much fun ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) Edited July 1, 2015 by Greg Myers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Most lindburg kits are poor details... But great building blocks as you have shown, great build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Lindberg Trail Blazer. A bit light on detail and poor molding but a pretty cool kit. When I first got it I thought Lindberg just made it up, but I soon found that there actually was a vehicle built around 1961. It had a Corvair engine and transaxle up front! And it's pretty much 1/25 sorta scale. The one shown above is is sitting on a Hogans Jeep chassis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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