Scary Models.

[mr moto]

Sounds like we share a lot of common fears! I too have a Johan turbine car and a Mickey Thompson Challenger on the shelf staring back at me. The IMC/Testors GT40 Mark II has always been on my wish list but I don't even have the nerve to buy one!

[Modelmartin]

There is another facet of " Models That Scare You". Conceptual. Forgetting for a minute complexity and quality issues. I am aghast at things that have appeared over the years like "Travolta Fever Firebird" "Jolly Rodger", anything Donk or Dub, "Peanut I -Quarter Mile Smile" There is plenty out there that will bring up someone's lunch!

[CAL]

There is another facet of " Models That Scare You". Conceptual. Forgetting for a minute complexity and quality issues. I am aghast at things that have appeared over the years like "Travolta Fever Firebird" "Jolly Rodger", anything Donk or Dub, "Peanut I -Quarter Mile Smile" There is plenty out there that will bring up someone's lunch!

Good point, I didn't even think of that one.

[Enzoenvy1]

A kit that intimidated me when I opened it was the Tamiya Enzo. I need to tackle it one of these days. But I've always been intimidated by decals. After more than 30 years in the hobby, it was not until recently that I started to face them.

LOL, I have only built one of these, but I have 8 on the shelf waiting for a specific project for each one! Well ten if you count FXX's,lol. I have to trump the Tamiya Enzo by adding the SMS Full Detail Kit with every other option out there added to it. Wait, how about my Tamiya SLR with a complete Crazy Modeller set, and the SMS CF Body set?! That is deemed harder by some. No No No, how bout my Desmo that has a complete set with a PE chain to build?! Maybe it will be the Gunze 250 GTO I am afraid of? This is a beast of a kit. Oh, I remember, it is basically every model I have. I cannot under any circumstance build an OOB. My builds range from "Ah not that ###### model again", to "I think it is about time to sell everything on EBay and take up puzzle building". I really wish I was a child again. I had no money to build anything other than a model in a box. Maybe that is what I need to get back too?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!

[62rebel]

the IMC/TESTORS 48 ford tops the list; i've tried to build at least three different ones so far. revell's model A kits for the front suspension and hinged doors. revell's 55,56, and 57 kits from the old days.... with all the opening doors and trunks. NOTHING ever fit as it should have. AMT's Silhouette and trailer... good for parts only IMHO. i built a Johan turbine car; it was work to do it well. i don't build a lot of foreign kits, so i won't pass judgement on the limited tamiya or heller stuff i've tried. the main thing about it is it being relaxing; if it turns into real work, it goes back in the box. hence the huge stack of halfbuilt kits in my closet.

[Modelmartin]

AMT's Silhouette and trailer... good for parts only IMHO.

That is like waving a red flag at a bull! I will be starting mine soon then!

[Joe Handley]

I'd love to get another Turbine car, I screwed the one I had up so bad many years ago and would love to get another one!

Now for my "boogie-kit"..............I bought the last re-issue of the AMT '64 Riv and with in the week, I'd cut my self badly working on it, destroyed the spoked wheels trying to get them off the tree, and got into a nasty arguement with a co-worker I've always gotten along with! I finally got spooked enough that I threw the kit out on the day teh garbage company came to pick up garbage at work. I hope the kit got destroyed before anything else happened to somebody!

[CAL]

I'd love to get another Turbine car, I screwed the one I had up so bad many years ago and would love to get another one!

Now for my "boogie-kit"..............I bought the last re-issue of the AMT '64 Riv and with in the week, I'd cut my self badly working on it, destroyed the spoked wheels trying to get them off the tree, and got into a nasty arguement with a co-worker I've always gotten along with! I finally got spooked enough that I threw the kit out on the day teh garbage company came to pick up garbage at work. I hope the kit got destroyed before anything else happened to somebody!

That almost sounds like a scary movie plot.

[mr moto]

The Revell Parts Pack Experimental Turbine Engine.

Bob Paeth had a few of these some time ago. I bought one to put in a '64 Dodge drag car. Thought it would be like a What-If factory experimental car.

Well I took it home and started putting it together. Put a brass screen in the housing end. But the illustration on the package was a little... ambiguous.

Next time I saw Bob I asked him for some insight. He just laughed, thought it funny I had tried to build it.

Seems with the popularity of turbines in the mid 60's they wanted to have something to sell the kiddys. The thing started as a starter motor for some large scall engine, add a few odd shapes and call them things like "fuel control cap","relief valve" and you have a unique kit. No one bothered to engineer the thing.

Emphasis on Experimental.

I know it's a little off topic, but this kit really is impossible to build. I get a good laugh out of it now too.

Wow! I had forgotten about that one! I tried to build one when I was a kid. That was cruel and unusual punishment. I had never run across a kit that just didn't make sense!

[Joe Handley]

That almost sounds like a scary movie plot.

And that's why I trash canned it, it was begining to feel that way too!

[FordRodnKustom]

No fear here. If I want the subject bad enough for my collection I'll do what it takes. Hmmmm. That IMC Chaparral 2E on the shelf looks challenging!!

[jbwelda]

that IMC GT40 really isnt that challenging, im serious.

it was one of the first models i built when i resumed model building in the early 90s. it was an IMC too, that i had just got at an auto swap meet here for 10 bucks or so.

heres some photos of it. i do admit it had its moments including the fiddly suspension and the nest of snakes exhaust system, and i was pretty proud of the job i did. i pulled it off the shelf a couple years ago and tidied it up a bit, took apart the rear deck and made it hinge properly, put the pipes together better, added some detailing and cleaned it up, but i was pretty impressed with how well it actually seemed to fit together despite me being kind of shy of the parts count. but my example anyway had nice thin chrome and not all that much flash. that said, in posing it for these pics, i notice i left some flash on one of the intake scoops, gotta clean that up. its build total box stock other than a bit of detailing wire that you can hardly see, and painted with hardware store gloss white, and decals were still usable and near perfect.

heres the giant hand monster showing just how well the panel lines can fit if i messed with it a bit more:

no hand monster and the panel line widens a bit, but 10 minutes would probably fix that.:

the motor looks nice and the underhood area as well:

heres a look at the back where you can see everything more or less lines up as it should. note the tilt front end will fit better as well with some fiddling:

i didnt do any heroics here, it was maybe my 5th or so fairly serious build since i began again essentially after a layoff of 30 years. i do remember some clearance problems and some fit issues that had to be dealt with but my skills were not what they are now and they arent all that even now.

anyway the point is, this kit isnt all that scary even if it seems so.

oh #1: the doors do open and as you can see fit pretty well. i forgot to open one for the camera.

oh #2: also built the chaparrel with similar results, though i didnt paint that one, just polished the white body. again i dont recall any real show-stoppers there.

Edited November 26, 2007 by jbwelda

[CAL]

that IMC GT40 really isnt that challenging, im serious.

it was one of the first models i built when i resumed model building in the early 90s. it was an IMC too, that i had just got at an auto swap meet here for 10 bucks or so.

heres some photos of it. i do admit it had its moments including the fiddly suspension and the nest of snakes exhaust system, and i was pretty proud of the job i did. i pulled it off the shelf a couple years ago and tidied it up a bit, took apart the rear deck and made it hinge properly, put the pipes together better, added some detailing and cleaned it up, but i was pretty impressed with how well it actually seemed to fit together despite me being kind of shy of the parts count. but my example anyway had nice thin chrome and not all that much flash. that said, in posing it for these pics, i notice i left some flash on one of the intake scoops, gotta clean that up. its build total box stock other than a bit of detailing wire that you can hardly see, and painted with hardware store gloss white, and decals were still usable and near perfect.

heres the giant hand monster showing just how well the panel lines can fit if i messed with it a bit more:

no hand monster and the panel line widens a bit, but 10 minutes would probably fix that.:

the motor looks nice and the underhood area as well:

heres a look at the back where you can see everything more or less lines up as it should. note the tilt front end will fit better as well with some fiddling:

i didnt do any heroics here, it was maybe my 5th or so fairly serious build since i began again essentially after a layoff of 30 years. i do remember some clearance problems and some fit issues that had to be dealt with but my skills were not what they are now and they arent all that even now.

anyway the point is, this kit isnt all that scary even if it seems so.

oh #1: the doors do open and as you can see fit pretty well. i forgot to open one for the camera.

oh #2: also built the chaparrel with similar results, though i didnt paint that one, just polished the white body. again i dont recall any real show-stoppers there.

That's encouraging! Looks like you did a nice job on it.

[62rebel]

very nice build of a popular subject. i've done a couple of similar cars with "bundle of snakes" exhausts, and while they look intimidating they go together well. even the old MPC mkVII kit went together fairly well, IIRC. somebody remarked about the Silhouette; i suppose if i were more into show cars i'd have tried harder, but the first one i tried was a gift, and the second and third were bought only for the EXCELLENT wire spoke wheels. besides; to build it correctly as an early version requires swapping out the 427 ford for a Buick engine.

and the re-released "current topical theme" kits such as the travolta firebird, the sweathogs dream car, and the fonzie car et al....shame on the maunfacturers for not being honest about what they're packaging. sure, many of us recall the current GMC 4x4 as the old "Fall Guy" truck, but no mention of the kit's history is made on the box or in the instructions.

[Robert81]

I wonder why nobody has mention the old annuals from the 50's, 60's and early 70's? The fit issues on those make me . I know I'm young and spoiled with all the great kits around these days but come on.

In the early 90's I bought an AMT 69 Mustang, the chassis fit was so poor that there was 1/2 an inch gap between it and the body. The chassis in itself looks nothing like a 1:1 69 Mustang. The AMT 67 gto is something else, the kit needs surgery to get the wheels to center in the openings. I could go on but you get the picture.

Edited November 26, 2007 by Robert81

[Harry P.]

Here's a model that scares me...

[62rebel]

regarding AMT's annual kits and their simplified construction: many of us started off on these as youngsters and still liked to actually PLAY with them when they were finished; something those metal axles and platform chassis made pretty easy. they were, for the most part, unassembled promos anyway, and the best promos had THICK axles and heavy body shells. those headlights and grilles molded together didn't fall out like glued in clear plastic pieces when handled, and if you think about it, since these old standbys kept kids interested in models long enough to move on to more complex Revell or newer AMT kits, then they served every bit of their purpose. sure, these molds have long since seen better days; every one of them could stand being recut to improve moldings, but that's not likely to happen. that rotten MPC 69 mustang has caused more recent newcomers to the hobby to cry and moan about AMT than any other kit they've made, and sure, it should be pulled off the market but we don't make those decisions. shallow interior buckets were done to allow the use of friction drive chassis for "toy" cars, and simply never got changed. i recall slot car builders prizing promo and coaster shells because they were thick and tough and could handle being wrecked in racing, unlike acetate shells which shattered.

[James W]

Here's a model that scares me...

Have you tried the paper bag trick?

[Phil Patterson]

As far as I am concerned, one of the best things about the new Revell '55 hardtop is that it pretty much eliminates the chance of the old kit ever seeing the light of day again. Maybe now that tooling can be taken out and buried in an unmarked grave, as it has long needed to be!

The thing is, I'd love to see Revell take that old tooling and make "mod stockers" out of them, similar to what AMT did to the 65 Olds, 66 Skylark, etc etc, except a group of Tri-5 Chevys would be a lot more legitimate. Even better with the separate doors and things, you could hang them crooked, dented or whatever , just like an actual local hero stock car!

Open up the wheel wells, throw some big tires and you're good to go, leave whatever parts as leftovers and IIRC, there was some good accessories parts in those old kits.

I figure it's a better use of those kits then letting them collect dust, though it may be awhile before someone would want to invest the money into modifying that tooling.

Edited November 27, 2007 by Phil Patterson

[Robert81]

I'm sorry if I offended anyone. At that time, I was just getting in to the hobby, solo. Before that kit I had built monogram's 78 Camaro, 70 'Cuda, 66 Chevelle street machine, AMT's 57 Bel Air, and Revell's 70 Mustang just before the AMT/MPC 69 Mustang. It was a HUGE disappointment. It was my first experience with a poor kit and it still scares me to think of that kit.

There are many great kits from that era and earlier. I love the old 3'n'1 kits, the AMT 57 bel air is by far my favorite kit, starting out. I still have a few in the "stash". I wish all kits had options, so the builder could make it there own. As we speak, I'm working on an AMT 72 Chevelle, based on an old annual, it is not a great kit but with a little work it could be.

By the way does any body remember the old Stone, Woods, and Cookies Willy? I loved that one, but it was so hard to build, even with my dads help it was a nightmare. It was reissued in the late 80's in the "Street Demons" series.

Edited November 27, 2007 by Robert81