Did Anybody Ever Build The Orange Crate? Well, At Least Once....

[Bill J]

I built the Orange Crate and the Roth Outlaw and Mysterion, all when I was a teenager and had no worries in the world, lots of free time and bought one kit at a time. I think it helps to stay focused. Nowadays, there are way to many irons in the fire, too many other things to get accomplished by a deadline and so on. I doubt I could keep interested in an Orange Crate very long.

The old Revell kits were a challenge but all that I tried were buildable, just more work that the majority of the kits during that time. Heck, an AMT kit from say 64 could be built in hours. Waiting for paint to dry was the only setback. One piece chassis, a few piece interior and you had a model on the shelf. Revell helped us evolve with the detailed kits. Then again, maybe it was where we all began stashing loads of kits and never getting to them....

[Richard Bartrop]

And for the kit bashers, Revell kits were a great source of nice parts.

 

I'm okay with a kit taking a while.  The way I see it, what I'm really buying modeling time.  Something with lots of parts gives me more modeling time.   With kits costing what they do, the last thing I want is something that goes together in 5 minutes.

[Casey]

Let's not forget the '80s version, with updated monochromatic paint scheme, louvered(!) full disc wheel covers, and new rectangular headlights and matching hood side panel blisters. I suspect this is why the entire hood piece had to be re-tooled:

 

Also available with two other Revell "street rods" in a 3-car combo kit:

 

[2002p51]

Same story here. I didn't have the skills to build this when I was 14 so I took another shot at it about 13 years ago. This was the version with the resin hood.

Click this link to see the photos:  Orange Crate built in 2006

 

[W Humble]

I still have mine from first issue, but eventually had to glue doors shut... so many tiny parts, and now I'm so old that they're even harder to fit!  Decided just last week to re-build it as a basic channeled sedan, use chrome 'fiddly' frame and Olds/B&M for some other build.  Agree on Revell Roth cars; have Beatnik Bandit, some of same problems.  The '56 F100 kit; worked so hard on it in '63, but doors never fit cab, cab never fit frame, hood never fit fenders --hey, wait a minute; that's authentic FoMoCo; F's hood/fender gaps are almost impossible on 1:1 trucks too, with stock hinges!  Well, with Revell: they were trying to go beyond promo type bodies, I suppose. Revell did promos for Chrysler in '62; see two of my 'restorations' in the "Gallery.'

Anybody remember building Hawk, Pyro, some old Aurora kits?  Hubley?  What else?

My NOS unfinished Aurora Avanti is nice but tricky -- and of course I had to put a BBS 396 in it.  Seriously, I saw a '65 big-block Lark run B/FS in '65; guy brought it from Canada and claimed it was factory proto, NHRA strip bought the act -- but he snapped a rear axle launching against a new BBC Corvette and almost took out the Xmas tree at Redding drags.