For the 30's era kits. Questions

[Art Anderson]

Wow. Never seen that Hispano Suiza before -- must be very valuable.

It's been reissued many times over the past 35 years or so.

Art

[sjordan2]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but Ideal Toy Corporation (who did make a FEW very well-done model car kits back in the very early 60's) produced a 1:10 scale plastic kit of the 1929 Duesenberg Model J Roadster (body by the Walter Murphy Company of Pasadena CA) that was owned by Duesenberg Inc's single best customer, George Whittel, of Lake Tahoe and Woodland CA (Whittel bought 5 Duesenbergs, from 1929-33). A very rare kit today, but also a very nice one.

Art

I built that Duesenberg many years ago, and boy, was it rough. 2-part plastic tires with molded-on hubcaps (I had to make tread out of putty), no chrome parts, no engine or particularly detailed mechanical depictions,very simplistic and toy-like,, and I think (I think) that it had metal rod axles. But it looked good when finished. Strange "motorizing" feature ("Cam-O-Matic Action"). I think it might have been reissued several years ago with chrome parts included.

Edited August 20, 2013 by sjordan2

[dimaxion]

I can clear up some items here . Pyro may have planned to do a 1/25 Scale Pierce Silver Arrow . AMT did announce it . No word past that point . The MPC Stutz Bearcat kit was made . To be followed up by the Mercer raceabout . The poor sales of the Stutz cancelled any plan for the Mercer . The Edsel Funny Car was in a bag . Not a Box . I bought one in the day from my LHS . One of the Decals was : "Driver Flo Boadit " . A repop of the Original Edsel promo Body (turned to a 3 in 1 Kit in '58) and a Generic Funny Car Chassis . The AMT "Beverly Hillbilly's" Olds kit was released instead of another announced Veteren Car kit . I don't remember what . Any help here ? Thanx ..

[Bob Ellis]

I bought the Edsel funny car new in, maybe 1967 or 1968. It was a box with end flaps, printed as though it was a model kit box in a brown paper bag, with part of the box poking up out of the bag.

It was a sort of a phantom kit. AutoWorld listed it as $2.00 in their catalog .So, I sent AutoWorld $2.00 for what I thought was a stock Edsel kit but they send me an Edsel funny car and a refund for 50 cents. Something happened to change their minds about a stock Edsel kit.

[Mark]

I can clear up some items here . Pyro may have planned to do a 1/25 Scale Pierce Silver Arrow . AMT did announce it . No word past that point . The MPC Stutz Bearcat kit was made . To be followed up by the Mercer raceabout . The poor sales of the Stutz cancelled any plan for the Mercer . The Edsel Funny Car was in a bag . Not a Box . I bought one in the day from my LHS . One of the Decals was : "Driver Flo Boadit " . A repop of the Original Edsel promo Body (turned to a 3 in 1 Kit in '58) and a Generic Funny Car Chassis . The AMT "Beverly Hillbilly's" Olds kit was released instead of another announced Veteren Car kit . I don't remember what . Any help here ? Thanx ..

MPC produced the Stutz Bearcat because it was featured in a short-lived TV show. The first issue box art includes still photographs from the TV show. I've never heard of MPC or anyone else doing a Mercer kit, except the large scale motorized ITC kit from the early Sixties.

AMT didn't release the Beverly Hillbillies truck originally, it was MPC. The reissue is branded AMT because RC2 was not using the MPC brand on its kits. Had Ertl reissued it when they were doing Buyer's Choice kits, they probably would have used original style box art with the MPC brand.

[Modelmartin]

I've never heard of MPC or anyone else doing a Mercer kit, except the large scale motorized ITC kit from the early Sixties.

\Aurora did one in 1/16 and Pyro did one in 1/32 as did Hudson's Old-Timers. Sadly, no 1/24-5 Mercers have been done!

[sjordan2]

\Aurora did one in 1/16 and Pyro did one in 1/32 as did Hudson's Old-Timers. Sadly, no 1/24-5 Mercers have been done!

I don't know if the ITC Mercer is related, but a 1/16 was issued in Entex and Fuman/Bandai packaging, perhaps other labels as well (check Harry P.'s excellent job). I believe the Aurora 1/16, like their Stutz, was a curbside with much less detail.

[dimaxion]

MPC produced the Stutz Bearcat because it was featured in a short-lived TV show. The first issue box art includes still photographs from the TV show. I've never heard of MPC or anyone else doing a Mercer kit, except the large scale motorized ITC kit from the early Sixties.

AMT didn't release the Beverly Hillbillies truck originally, it was MPC. The reissue is branded AMT because RC2 was not using the MPC brand on its kits. Had Ertl reissued it when they were doing Buyer's Choice kits, they probably would have used original style box art with the MPC brand.

It seems to me I did not get the Stutz right as an AMT kit , not a MPC kit . I had both the Original Release In the Connisuer Classics Series . In my Current collection , the Bearcat release . The later had Machine Guns (Vickers Water Cooled) and funky Running Board Lamps . IIRC the Connisuer had an older date on it than the Bearcat Version . Correct me if I am wrong . IIRC the "Cat from AMT" , Bud Anderson , made a Model Car periodical statement about the Mercer kit in 1/25 Scale . I don't have the magazine today . I may have this mixed up with "My mother the Car" .

[ToyLvr]

Here's the MPC "Bearcat" for those who have never seen it .

This is an original "survivor" from my personal collection. I built this as a kid nearly 40 years ago. Hard to believe that it had survived (mostly) intact all these years.

[89AKurt]

Digging up a vintage topic!  I searched to see if anyone built the Monogram: Bugatti 35B Grand Prix kit, and see the answer is no.  I just picked one up that came from an estate.  Also got a Monogram: 1934 Duesenburg SJ Weyman Torpedo Phaeton, Monogram: 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged, Lindberg: 1935 Auburn Speedster, and am now thinking of the 1941 Lincoln that I saw today.  Something different is good for variety.

[Richard Bartrop]

I built a Monogram Bugatti way back when, and as a kit, I'd say it's the nicest of the Monogram classic kits.   Now, it you're looking for an exact replica of a Type 35 Bugatti as it first came out of the factory, there are some issues.  The radiator is too wide, and the wheels aren't stock Type 35 wheels, but are later model Bugatti wheels.    In fact, the wheels and tires are closer to what you'd find on a Type 51, which was a twin cam version of the Type 35.    Apparently, the wheels were a common upgrade to Type 35s back when driving  them was more important than scoring points at Pebble Beach, and in that context, putting in a bigger radiator is probably a very sensible thing to do.   Basically what Monogram did was make a very accurate replica of a "day two" Bugatti Type 35, typical of what you might see in the '50s and '60s, rather than the 1920s.   If your goal is a 100% factory stock Type 35, you have some work ahead of you,  but on the other hand,  it's very close to a factory stock Type 51.  The biggest difference is the twin cam head,  but like most Bugatti engines, it's all rectangles, so building it from styrene stock should be relatively painless.  You could also just glue the hood shut, and nobody need be the wiser.

[stevez]

anyone got the ICM 36? Packard in 1/35th ?  Supposed to be joe stalin's mount.  Not sure about its accuracy based on a US made Packard of that vintage.  

[Justin Porter]

The ICM Packard is flat GORGEOUS. There's both the Stalin version and a regular road-going Packard Twelve version and despite being a little bit tricky with their multi-piece bodies they are full detail and evidence that ICM needs to keep upscaling their 1/35th scale kits to 1/24th.

[Mike999]

20 hours ago, Justin Porter said:

The ICM Packard is flat GORGEOUS. There's both the Stalin version and a regular road-going Packard Twelve version and despite being a little bit tricky with their multi-piece bodies they are full detail and evidence that ICM needs to keep upscaling their 1/35th scale kits to 1/24th.

I sure hope they upscale that Packard.  Having fooled with some 1/35 ICM kits like the Horch, their multi-piece chassis are "a little bit tricky" too.  Every half-shaft and mounting bracket on the frame seems to be a separate tiny part.  The whole kit is that way. For added fun, sometimes the tiny parts are photo-etched metal.  It will all go together, it just takes very slow and careful work. 

Sort of joking, but ICM has a case of "Heller-itis:"  they never use 1 part when they can use 5. 

Since the Zombie part of the thread asked about the 1/24 scale Heller Hispano-Suiza K6, it's a good example of that.  The fuel pump in those cars was not attached to the engine, it sat on the fender "apron." In the kit, it's a tiny separate part.  But back in the old days, Heller's instruction sheets had detailed multi-lingual parts lists.  So when you find yourself asking "What the heck is that thing?,"  at least you can find out by checking the parts list.

Like all Heller kits, the K6 has the interior panels molded in clear plastic with the windows. The limousine divider panel in that kit is nice, with storage cabinets and drawers.  The clear interior panel on the left side has a clock molded in;  the numbers and dials on the clock are actually readable. 

One thing I don't like about the K6 kit is its big plain disc wheels.  Swapping wire wheels on would give it a better, more "classic" look, IMO.  Since every K6 was custom-made (and only about 200 were built), some probably had wire wheels. And anyway, we live in Model World, where anything is possible.

 

[Junkman]

ICM announced more upscalings back at the 2015 Nürnberg Toy Fair, including some of their lorries.
Sadly nothing came of it, they opted to do the Ford T and its spinoffs instead.

[Mark]

On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2013 at 3:48 PM, dimaxion said:

It seems to me I did not get the Stutz right as an AMT kit , not a MPC kit . I had both the Original Release In the Connisuer Classics Series . In my Current collection , the Bearcat release . The later had Machine Guns (Vickers Water Cooled) and funky Running Board Lamps . IIRC the Connisuer had an older date on it than the Bearcat Version . Correct me if I am wrong . IIRC the "Cat from AMT" , Bud Anderson , made a Model Car periodical statement about the Mercer kit in 1/25 Scale . I don't have the magazine today . I may have this mixed up with "My mother the Car" .

The Bearcats TV show Stutz was the first issue, the Connoiseur Classics the second.  There was also a third issue, molded in red.  There are some kits out there with the Bearcats box art but no reference to the TV show.  The show was very short-lived, maybe six episodes.  It's on DVD, one guy brought it to a club meeting awhile back.

Budd Anderson left AMT in mid-1964, long before the My Mother The Car kit came out.  I don't remember him ever mentioning a Mercer kit either.  It is odd though, AMT being pretty much all cars in subject matter in the mid-Sixties, didn't do any Thirties classics other than the large-scale Cord.  That one probably laid an egg sales-wise, because AMT didn't follow it up with anything else.

[Junkman]

AMT did a load of Model Ts, Model As and for decades their Model Bs were the only game in town.
They also did '34 and '36 Fords and the '37 Chevies.

Edited August 30, 2018 by Junkman

[Junkman]

Has anyone mentioned the MPC '32 Chevy yet?

[Mark]

The Fords and Chevies aren't on the same level as a Duesenberg, Pierce-Arrow, Packard, or Rolls-Royce.  Two completely different groups of collectors/builders for the most part.

[Junkman]

Thread title says 30s era. It doesn't say anything about which class of car.

[bbowser]

I went on a quest a few years ago to add the 1/24-25 '30s era kits to the collection.  I really like the Monogram kits, decent parts count,  faithful lines.  The MPC kits are kind of fiddly but you can end up with a nice replica.  The AMT Model T's are also very nice, even tho their from the teens and '20s.  The Heller kits are a little quirky (read French) but offer cars that no one else does.  The Johan Gold Cup series are especially nice.  Here's a few I've built.

[sjordan2]

Outstanding work, bbowser

[Phirewriter]

Wow! Agreed, beautiful builds.

[89AKurt]

On August 28, 2018 at 11:21 AM, Richard Bartrop said:

I built a Monogram Bugatti way back when, and as a kit, I'd say it's the nicest of the Monogram classic kits.   Now, it you're looking for an exact replica of a Type 35 Bugatti as it first came out of the factory, there are some issues.  The radiator is too wide, and the wheels aren't stock Type 35 wheels, but are later model Bugatti wheels.    In fact, the wheels and tires are closer to what you'd find on a Type 51, which was a twin cam version of the Type 35.    Apparently, the wheels were a common upgrade to Type 35s back when driving  them was more important than scoring points at Pebble Beach, and in that context, putting in a bigger radiator is probably a very sensible thing to do.   Basically what Monogram did was make a very accurate replica of a "day two" Bugatti Type 35, typical of what you might see in the '50s and '60s, rather than the 1920s.   If your goal is a 100% factory stock Type 35, you have some work ahead of you,  but on the other hand,  it's very close to a factory stock Type 51.  The biggest difference is the twin cam head,  but like most Bugatti engines, it's all rectangles, so building it from styrene stock should be relatively painless.  You could also just glue the hood shut, and nobody need be the wiser.

But..... but the box says: "Certified as authentic by the Bugatti Owners Club Ltd. of England."  You one of those rivet counters I hear about?    That's awesome information, that would guarantee I never get it built.  Just making realistic engine-turned aluminum parts would be a death wish.  If I built it, looks good enough to do Box Stock, but I would strip the chrome off the wheels and paint Alclad aluminum.

[89AKurt]

On September 1, 2018 at 10:40 AM, bbowser said:

I went on a quest a few years ago to add the 1/24-25 '30s era kits to the collection. [...]

[...]

Thanks for posting pictures.  Awesome job on those!  I'm torn on selling, or keeping the Duesy that I acquired, now that I see one complete, may just keep it.  I got the Cord because I found a great book on the car Tom Mix got killed in, lots of studio photos for reference, and he filmed some in my area.