gwolf Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) I know a lot of us really dig the old box art on our model kits, but is there any one model kit box art that really takes you back to being a young modeler? Maybe even an era of model kit box art? Just post some model kit box art that you still dig after all these years and tell us why... I'll start: This was my first model car kit back in the late 70's, a Monogram 1/32 '55 Chevy. My grandmother took me to the 5 & 10 to get it. Yes, the 5 & 10, lol. I put it together on her kitchen table while the adults talked.That's why that box art takes me back. I look at the box art for the Jo-Han USA Oldies sets and immediately think about the summer after 8th grade, 1987, when I stayed with my other grandparents in rural Ohio. Again, there was a 5 and 10 in their town and they carried the whole USA Oldies line, and they were cheap, like between $4 and $6. I had most of them after that summer. I look at the box art for those kits and think about summer heat, the munincipal swimming pool, vegetable gardens and my grandparents. Good times. I was never a huge fan of Monogram kits because I didn't really like 1:24 scale. My father purchased this one for me one night at a toy store called Juvenile Toy Sales in Annandale, Virginia around 1987 or 88. I was 14 I think. It ended up that the kit was so good that it didn't matter that it was 1:24. Everything fit perfect and even the sea foam green color the body was molded in was so nice, paint wouldn't do it justice. The box art just evokes the memory of good times during that fall. Actually, looking at them now, I think the Monogram box art from this time period is my favorite of all. The design was modern (for the time), progressive and kind of classy. It would fit in perfectly next to a Patrick Nagel painting. These kits were also my first foray into the French language: MODELE REDUIT Edited July 17, 2013 by gwolf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) These are some I've acquired fairly recently that either I had as a kid, or wanted BADLY and couldn't seem to get up the money to get my little hands on. The AMT Ala Kart and Willys double-kits I had back then, and the Aurora '34 Ford was one of the ones that got away. I found them both unopened...they didn't stay that way for long...and yes, they really took me back. The D-Jag and the '31 Ford sedan delivery were others I had during my questionably-spent youth. I think my all-time favorite vintage box art has to be the AMT '36 and '40 Fords. Edited July 17, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwolf Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 That's great, Bill! See that's what I'm talking about! So can you tell me about the AMT '40 and '32 boxes? Were those two kits in one box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 So can you tell me about the AMT '40 and '32 boxes? Were those two kits in one box? Yup. If I remember right, that was the first release of the AMT '40 Willys, and it came in a double-kit boxed with the ONLY release of that particular '32 Ford Tudor sedan. The Willys had an Olds V8 with a hydro gearbox and was competition to Revell's more-difficult-to-build, all-opening-panels StoneWoodsCook Willys (the Willys did NOT have the pickup-body option that later single-kit releases had). The '32 sedan body was only offered in this kit, as far as I know (though I THINK the MPC sedan delivery is based on it), and had many unique-to-this-kit-parts too. There was a weird set of rear fenders tapered down to odd running boards in front, a special nose that took an Edsel grille insert, a slightly rear-zeed frame, a nailhead Buick engine with 3X2bbl carbs, huge chrome side pipes, and a spacey bucket seat interior. The kit also had one of the better sets of late '40s-'50s ribbed dirt-track front tires that showed up on a lot of early dry-lakes cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby 427 1965 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 A lot more modern than you guys, but this takes me back because it was the first kit I ever finished, which was a big achievement since I used to be quite a quitter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Doan Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 One that does it for me is the original Meyers Manx kit that came with the cutout drive-in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) l remember these countdown series box art when l was around 12 always got my attention. This at the time was my favorite kit and boxart... Edited October 2, 2013 by slusher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 For me it's the AMT Craftsman Series packaging, since I built so many of them: Also the 1/32 scale AMT All Stars and IMC Grand National Champion kits, because I see them so rarely that my memories of them are very old memories indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clovis Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 There are several kits that take me way back. One kit is the Revell 1/32 Corsair with the box art from the mid-1980's. It is often listed on ebay, and when I see that plane, I immediately think of those days and that build. One of my favorite builds of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwolf Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 l remember these countdown series box art when l was around 12 always got my attention. This at the time was my favorite kit and boxart... Nice, Carl! I've never seen that box art before, but I see why it struck a chord. It's interesting that Ford is not mentioned on the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwolf Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 For me it's the AMT Craftsman Series packaging, since I built so many of them: P1090838.JPG Also the 1/32 scale AMT All Stars and IMC Grand National Champion kits, because I see them so rarely that my memories of them are very old memories indeed! Great box art, Chris. I too built a lot of kits from the same series of box art and they take me back every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwolf Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 A lot more modern than you guys, but this takes me back because it was the first kit I ever finished, which was a big achievement since I used to be quite a quitter. That's very cool, Toma. Those Tamiya kits have great box art, and they're illustrations to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrknowetall Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Almost any of the sixties and early seventies AMT box art does it for me! The box art represented a perfect world imagining of what the kit would look like when built, although we all know that was rarely the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrknowetall Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 MPC did some good box art too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george 53 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 The ORIGINAL AMT Ala-Kart kit. that and the AMT 28 Ford. That was my Holy Grail. now i have 3 of them. I LOVE this hobby!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwolf Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 MPC did some good box art too! Don, I love MPC box art, especially the early through mid 1980's stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I guess any A M T box art from 1960 to 1968. 1968 was A M T's " Zenith " . Those fabulous water color prints have never ever been duplicated by anyone on anything ever . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrknowetall Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Don, I love MPC box art, especially the early through mid 1980's stuff. You'll like these! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwolf Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 I like these ones, too! MPC may not have had the best kits out there, but their artwork was gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Hold your breath long enough . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAGNUM4342 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 For me it's just about anything from the seventies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwolf Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 Getting back to which model kit box art takes you back, I forgot this one... This box art represents a time when I was old enough for the "big boy" kits: the Revell Hot Rod series Custom '57 Chevy Nomad. I got it for Christmas and I'm sure my father picked it out. The hood opens, the rear tailgate and window opens, the doors open, the engine parts tree had a crankshaft on it. I will never forget the tires that came with that kit, either: a very supple rubber, the best tires of any kit I ever opened. We had a blizzard that year where I lived and school was closed for a good part of January. I spent most of that time building models, including this one. That box makes me think of running outside in the snow to rattle can the body, sitting in my room building for so long my father wondered if I was huffing the glue. And you got an awesome HOT ROD magazine sticker and an order form for the magazine; very adult stuff. I look at that box and can see that time period. I'm not going to elaborate and get all mushy, but you know what I mean. I found this same box/kit on eBay a while back and plan on putting it together this summer. Apologies to MCM Forum member Travis321: I stole your image of this box. I could not find one anywhere on the net above 300 pixels wide. Let's go bug him and see if he got his '57 Nomad kit done! http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29208#entry283714 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrknowetall Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I'm waiting for this one, but not holding my breath... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwolf Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 Oh man, is that the display for it? That's a neat looking little T... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrknowetall Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 It's the store display. Someone posted this picture on another forum, so I can't take credit for it or any of the other images in this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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