40 replies to this topic

[Erik Smith]

It says in the item description: Used. If it was original cellophane, would he still have say "used" due to age alone? I don't know, I'm curious myself. Can you advertise a kit that old as NIB if it's never been opened? I would if I could?I

This really depends on the seller. I have seen kits obviously open and worn listed as "New, never used", and while technically correct, it's not brand new. I think it is more honest to list an old item as "used" simply due to the fact it is not like it was 40+ years ago when you could pick it up off the shelf.

Enough with the baseless speculation. Somebody pony up the cash and let us open it to see if it's real.

[Bartster]

That would be nice, Erik! If I were to complete replicas of all my 1:1s, I would need a '68(Malibu Concours)!! As it stands, I'm still on #1 with about 30 or so to go.

[Darin Bastedo]

Here's my take on it; If you plan to buy it and never build it, it doesn't matter if it's the original shrink wrap. some guy will find that out after he buys it at your estate sale, and that is only if he doesn't keep it sealed until he shuffles off his mortal coil. If your plan is to build it, go far a cheaper un-sealed kit so you know what you are getting. Better yet go for an even cheaper incomplete kit. You get it for pennies on the dollar, and just about anything that could be missing is either in the readily available AMT '69 Chevelle kit or through the Modelhaus. When I buy these old kits I almost always replace the bumpers and grill with Modelhaus parts anyway, because they are already cleaned up and the chrome is usually smoother.

[peekay]

I would be wondering why the word "sealed" is in inverted commas. This COULD mean subliminaly "not really sealed" or "resealed".

But that's just me - paranoid, suspicious......

[TooOld]

All things considered , I say it is legit . I have an original MPC '71 Cyclone Spoiler that I bought in 1972 and the shrink wrap looks similar to that Chevelle , except it has shrank a bit and collapsed the top and one side if the box . A kit is only worth what some one is willing to pay , and obviously that Chevelle is considered collectable .

[Mark]

Looks legit to me...I've got several sealed AMT kits from that era, the wrap on each of them looks similar to that one. I've had a couple of them since the early Seventies, and a couple others bought from a reliable collector/seller (bought two of the same kit, both wrapped; opened one and it was "right"). Others were found for less than the price of a (then) current production kit, so I'm pretty sure nobody would go to any great length to do anything to those.
One or two of mine are split along the seam on one side of the box, but they were that way prior to my getting them. AMT started shrinkwrapping their kits in late '66 with the 1967 annuals. Trophy Series kits were "phased in"; they generally stayed with the little pieces of tape on each side of the box, and were changed to shrinkwrap next time the kit was issued with different box art.
Yellowing, excessive shrinking that pulls the top of the box into a "concave" shape, and drying/splitting of shrinkwrap are caused by storage conditions. If the box was sitting in an attic or other place with temp/humidity extremes, it would develop any or all of these conditions. The Chevelle kit was probably stored under optimal conditions over the years.
That said, I've never spent that much on a kit, and if I were to do so, I'd have to see it "in person" beforehand. I've seen too many shrinkwrapped kits with stickers, writing, paint spots, and other issues under the shrinkwrap, as well as shrinkwrapped pre-'67 AMT kits, to trust anything but a hands-on inspection. A period store price tag would be a plus, though sometimes you don't want to see that on the top face of the box lid.

[deja-view]

I have bought a lot of old/collectible/vintage kits over the years, and I have seen a number of sellers offering kits in their "original" shrinkwrap....from long before shrinkwrap was even available. This one looks like wrap that is more current, and from all the ones I've seen with real shrinkwrap the boxes tend to collapse after time because the wrap continues to shrink a bit over time (plus those old boxes were very thin). I'd say it was suspect, but I don't see where he even says it's actually a kit issued in 1968 or near it....just that it's a 1968 Chevelle.

Sealed means sealed most of the time. I don't know what "sealed" means. I would pass for 2 reasons: first, the price; second, you have no idea what those parts are like. I have been highly disappointed to find a couple of my favorite AMT kits from the early 1970's with ruined glass because a piece of rubber hose or a tire sat against it. Like they say "buyer beware".

[Art Anderson]

I spent most of the years 1963-73 employed in a very large hobby shop, and there is one glaring thing that sticks out about this 1968 Corvette kit: AMT Corporation didn't shrink wrap their kits in 1968--not until at least 1969-70. In addition, the wrapping used at the time by most other companies didn't have that heat melted "seam" around the box either. Those companies that were clear wrapping plastic model kits were still using mechanical wrapping and sealing processes.

A sure fire way to tell if a model kit has been "re-shrink-wrapped" from the heat-melted seam era: Look closely at the shrink-wrap itself--there should be a hole in it somewhere on the top of the box--AMT used a common soldering pencil, on an arm that came down, the soldering pencil melted a hole in the wrapper simultaneously with the heat shrink operation--this kept the wrap from trapping air underneath.

Art

[deja-view]

Bingo! Thanks, Art. I always knew there was a visual difference, but didn't really think about the technical process. Heck, almost all the "sealed" models I saw on store shelves from the mid-1950's until was invited by Uncle Sam to play were simply taped at the bottom sides with a couple of pieces of thin clear tape or Scotch tape. I can't remember ever seeing a plastic wrapped box on a store shelf before the end of the 1960's or into the 1970's, and since the ones I have encountered were in the process of "crushing" I always removed the plastic immediately.

[sjordan2]

I would think that in a high number of cases, original shrink wrapping might have a price sticker on it, or show evidence that one had been there. Whether the wrapping is old or new, I have usually asked the seller to remove it to verify that the contents are complete and in good condition - especially important since I generally buy vintage large scale kits where the boxes don't provide a lot of protection (like the 1/12 Ferrari I got that had broken A pillars). Over half of the sellers I contacted cooperated.

As for the parentheses on "sealed," I wouldn't read anything special into that - he also put parentheses on "hard to find," so I'm guessing he just doesn't know how to use parentheses.

Edited by sjordan2, 26 March 2012 - 06:05 AM.

[bigblock4-speed]

I am new to this board, and i can tell you for a fact, that is a original sealed kit.
The cello on re-seals would not be placed on the sides of the box (as in the 2nd picture on the auction)

I can show you my original 68 sealed kits and they are of the same nature, some a little rougher than others if exposed to heat and or handled 150 times..

Randy, may the highest bidder win - Aj

[sjordan2]

As to new vs. used, I have often bought 1:1 vintage auto parts that are listed as "NOS" - New Old Stock. Of course, model kits are often sold as "MIB," Mint In Box, which generally tells me the seller has checked out the contents.

[polandmob]

just look at the left side of the box its a rewrap

[Darren B]

Yeah just my opinion it looks re-wrapped to me because of the big bunch of plastic in the middle photo at the lower left hand side of box, and I thought the cellophane back then was much thicker too, kinda why when i used to buy on ebay that i would prefer a seller to have an opened box, even if to collect for the shelf, just to make sure it was complete and no damage to the kit, because even as a collector you want the item to grew in value over 20 years and if parts are missing or its partially built it will not bring good money, but then again like someone has said here before he has 100% feed back in 852 auctions should be legit, its hard to keep good feedback on ebay i tried, you can't please everyone and if you are trying to pass used not as good kits off as mint then you would think that he would not have excellent feedback.

Should be a great kit then, if you win enjoy and let us know how it comes out.

Edited by Darren B, 26 March 2012 - 10:33 AM.

[sjordan2]

Original shrink wrap or not, let's see how the kit looks when it's received. That's the acid test.

[s10chevypu]

I beleave the wrap on that kit was rewraped, original wrap over 24 years would have compressed the box. I have a original red baron kit from monogram dated 1968 still wraped but the box is crushed, same thing on a johan 69 amx drag- on-lady no date on box wrap is torn at the corner and box is crushed so I would say the wrap on that kit is bogus.

[XJ6]

I have sold a great deal of model kits to my LHS.....and he has told me stories of how people would sell him kits....bring back kits for a refund..just to unseal the kits..and to find all kinds of sorts....I have heard some amazing stories on what he has found in the boxes...

So the rule of thumb is.."Always know what you are buying...and if not sure then ask the buyer to show "ALL you are buying..

Good Luck....

[prostockmania]

AJ, you can have it, I have 2 built 68 chevelle's I have taken apart,stripped one, and the other was put together not painted. All i need to do is have the bumpers rechromed as they are dulled from age. I bought this instead

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1439.l2649

Still has original price sticker and all on it, could not pass it up for 129.00.

here are the Chevelles I got for about 60 each and a vintage mpc 70 trans am I bought 2 weeks ago on ebay for 24.00

Edited by prostockmania, 26 March 2012 - 01:52 PM.

[Mark]

I've got two AMT '67 annual kits (Barracuda and Mustang), and three '68 kits (Riviera, Torino fastback, and Galaxie), that are still shrinkwrapped. Two of the '68 kits have period store price tags. I've had the Barracuda since 1973, and I know where it has been since 1967. Neither of the people who had it before me would have had the capability to wrap it.
I bought two of the Mustangs from a trustworthy collector/seller (now deceased) in the mid-Eighties. He knew where they were since 1972 (info is lightly penciled in on the box bottom; corner of shrinkwrap was cut and pulled away in that area). Opened the other Mustang upon receiving it, it's exactly what it's supposed to be. Same goes for a '67 Galaxie hardtop kit that I bought from the same guy, that I cracked open and built in the late Eighties.
Two of the '68 kits were purchased at Toledo about twenty years ago, for (at the time) little more than what vendors were asking for current kits. I can't see the doll vendor who sold them to me going to the trouble of wrapping those. A couple of these do exhibit minor pulling-in of the box lids, but I've got a few others from the 1969 period that do not have any issues. That has more to do with storage conditions than anything else.
Looking at several other AMT '67 annual kits (and one empty box) that are unsealed, not a single one of them has the tape marks or residue on the side panels and box bottom that the pre-'67 boxes will always have. Bagging of the unplated parts inside the box started later ('69 or '70) but I'll stick to my earlier statement: shrinkwrapping boxes at AMT started with the '67 annuals. That said, I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a shrinkwrapped kit, especially in an online auction...I'd have to see it.

[Lunajammer]

Why would original shrink wrap even be a big deal? All it does is create doubt. Wouldn't the model sell better and be worth more when collectors and buyers can verify the original contents?

I know of at least one case where many owners of a box honestly vowed to the authenticity of an original kit until someone finally cracked the vintage plastic only to find heartache because somebody, many years earlier did a switch-eroo.

Shed the plastic, show the guts and cash in with confidence.