62rebel Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 i know i'm one of the many here who suffered through the "multi-lingual" and then "NO language" instruction sheet era, and wasn't aware of the treasure that disappeared from the instruction sheets when the makers could no longer call out specific names, especially BRAND names for those extra performance and custom parts in their kits.... i have a few early '60's sheets that clearly name these parts, recognition that some young builders might have caught from their older brothers or Dads... and then, slowly, those "names" vanished for the most part, except some high visibility stuff like the Weiand parts in AMT's Nova, Offenhauser heads in the '49 Merc, replaced with lots of generic representations that you need a Summit Catalog to identify.... i'd like to see these parts properly identified for the benefit of everyone in the hobby; those of us who faintly remember them, and those of us starting out with little info to guide them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I think the "names" don't show up anymore due to manufacturers licensing fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I can't address trade names, but I did like the era where they called out the names of the various parts. I learned all about cars that way when I was a kid. Back when I was maybe 12, there was a car in Model Car Science Magazine where the builder said he scratch built a master cylinder on a street rod. So I wanted to do that too. Only I had no idea what a master cylinder was. So I went to my Revell instruction sheets and learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR JAY Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I agree...my father spent his life repairing vehicles and his teachings, as well as the identification of parts on model car instruction sheets, made me the most technical savvy kid in the neighborhood. I myself went on to repair cars for 25 years before entering the Justice business. Now, as I build my stepson's first model with him, he is asking me what all the parts are called--whereas when I built at the same age, I was asking what they did and how they worked... ...try THAT with a zombie killing video game... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZombieHunter26 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I can't speak for brand names myself, as you know well that I NORMALLY don't build directly from the kits I buy (in fact, the last ten kits I've bought I bashed for parts and extra sprue plastic to make filler)- HOWEVER. I can attest to the times I've built a few with the intention of at least making them junkyard rustbuckets or burnt out wartime husks(and wanted them to look believable with the hood popped), and had the worst instructions ever. Lindberg is really bad about that. A few of their kits have me scratching my head when I look at the instructions... no numbered parts, no names, just "poorly drawn picture of part 'A' attaches to poorly drawn picture of part 'B', in a roundabout fashion, and this is kind of what it looks like when you've got it right." ....and don't get me started on missing parts... The good thing? I at least picked up a modicum of skill in parts identification from my old man... So I don't have to struggle TOO much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkypeanutbutter Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Kits with options that they don't even tell you where they go, like the Revell Z28 Camaro with stock parts. No mention of any options existing, how to paint them, or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I agree... the identification of parts on model car instruction sheets, made me the most technical savvy kid in the neighborhood... ...try THAT with a zombie killing video game... Yup. Building models as a kid most definitely gave me a leg up when I started working on real machines, first for fun and later on for a living. Having the parts named correctly on the instruction sheets and seeing how they fit together on a model and getting an idea of what they do (especially if you're interested enough in the real ones to read the real-thing mags too) is the basis of a pretty good introductory technical education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disabled modeler Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I agree... I learned a lot from the parts on instruction sheets about real cars too. Around the age of 14 I started working on real ones and learned more about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) I finally understood how a car's engine worked after building my first Visable V8 model. I remember asking my Dad how an automobile engine worked as kid. He was not expert mechanic by any means. But, he could fix most things that went wrong on our family vehicles. When I asked to explain how a cars' engine worked, he just said it was complicated. And the books I found in the school libraries didn't seem to tell it in a way that I could understand. I've always been more of a visual learner. Once I see something working I can generally grasp how it does what it's doing. I was surprised when I built my first Visable V8. My dad was wrong, four-stroke internal combustion engines are really not that complicated at all. The minor details are. But the general design and the way it works I found pretty straight forward. And that's just one of many things about cars I've learned from building models over the years. At the same time, I too like it when the instructions label what the part. I also learned a lot of from reading model instructions of other kits. Scott Edited March 18, 2015 by unclescott58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunajammer Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 As a kid I couldn't have cared less about the boring technicals. I was all about how they looked... Until the parts names went away. Talk about not appreciating what you have until they're gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby 427 1965 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I didn't grow up in the era of this... Unfortunately. The first time I built a kit that had the names of the parts I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and thought it was so good to be able to know what certain things were. They should really bring it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkypeanutbutter Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I hate the Revell "paint-number" system now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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