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1962 Dodge Dart 440 Hardtop Jo Han C-4162 "USA Oldies" series


Junkman

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I also have this kit along with several others from the USA Oldies series that were released around 1980. Johan was nearing the end of the line by that time, it is plausible that they simply slapped together enough "close enough" parts to release these kits, whereas the original 1962 release may have had the correct dash.

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it is plausible that they simply slapped together enough "close enough" parts to release these kits, whereas the original 1962 release may have had the correct dash.

Or, the correct dash insert for the mold could not be found, and whoever assembled the inserts went with the closest insert they had-- the '63 Polara insert. It would take a trained, experienced eye to pick out the correct dashboard insert if it had been separated from the rest of the kit's inserts, and it seems like most of those employees were no longer there by the time the USA Oldies series was produced.

Another thing which seems to be common in the most recent JO-HAN kits is the non-homogenous tint of the transparent red tail light pieces. I'm not exactly sure how JO-HAN employees (presumably) tinted the clear plastic red, but I have a few parts tail light lens pieces from JO-HAN Maverick and AMX kits which look like the above tail light lenses.

I like to see body shells like this in their as-molded state with the flash still present, as it gives you a little insight into how the sections come together to mold the body shell.

Edited by Casey
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I also have this kit along with several others from the USA Oldies series that were released around 1980. Johan was nearing the end of the line by that time, it is plausible that they simply slapped together enough "close enough" parts to release these kits, whereas the original 1962 release may have had the correct dash.

Several other 1980s & 1990s issued Johan kits had similar issues.  The Javelin AMX "Pro Stock" had a '72 rear bumper/taillight assembly, I believe, yet the rear of the body was for the 73/74 design taillight panel, so the '72 taillights ended up "floating" in the opening.

They also ended up sticking the front seats from the '68 Cadillac in the '64 Caddy kits (or was it the other way around?  Been awhile since I looked at those, either way, the front seat had a VERY different upholstery pattern compared to the rear seat molded into the tub.)

Or, the correct dash insert for the mold could not be found, and whoever assembled the inserts went with the closest insert they had-- the '63 Polara insert. It would take a trained, experienced eye to pick out the correct dashboard insert if it had been separated from the rest of the kit's inserts, and it seems like most of those employees were no longer there by the time the USA Oldies series was produced.

Another thing which seems to be common in the most recent JO-HAN kits is the non-homogenous tint of the transparent red tail light pieces. I'm not exactly sure how JO-HAN employees (presumably) tinted the clear plastic red, but I have a few parts tail light lens pieces from JO-HAN Maverick and AMX kits which look like the above tail light lenses.

Not sure if Johan always did it this way, but by the 1980s/90s, at least some of the Johan kits had taillights that were molded in normal clear plastic, then coated with clear red.  I found this out after I installed the taillights in a body, and THEN decided to clear coat the body with Testors Gloss Coat.  (gimme a break - I was a kid!)  The Testors dissolved the red coating and it bled out into the clear coat in the area surrounding the taillights.

Think this might have been on the Comet Pro Stock kit?  Once it happened, it made sense why the red taillights in so many of my Johan kits looked funky: it all depended on how evenly/thickly the red overcoating was applied.  In a lot of my Johan kits, the taillights seem to have almost an orange tinge, I think it's just that the red coating was applied too thinly.

Chirstian, thanks for posting the contents of this '62 Dodge.  I bought a pretty good assortment of Johan kits when I was a kid, but never got around to getting the 62 Dodges/Plymouths, or the '63 Plymouth.  By the time I decided that I did want them, they were unavailable like all the others...

Edited by Robberbaron
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Also note that this kit has the convertible interior bucket instead of the correct hardtop interior. You can tell by the dog legs on the rear door panels.

Correct that it's a convertible interior, however, Johan may never have made a correct hardtop interior.  It was pretty common back in the 1960s to design one interior tub with the doglegs, and use it for both the convertible and hardtop kits and promos.

In addition to many other Johan kits, a lot of the vintage AMT kits also used this method, such as the '64 Impala.

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To deepen the red tint on JoHan taillights, I've found a red Sharpie does a great job--fast, cheap, looks good. What's not to like?

Model Master Acryl Clear Red is now my favorite go-to paint for red lenses, replacing my former favorite, their Stop Light Red, which is actually more of a metallic/metalflake red compared to the Clear Red Acryl.

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Good commentary Casey. You took the words out of my mouth.

Anybody ever get the tail lights to fit the '69 Rambler Scrambler? I couldn't and if I ever did, they would be incorrect.

Typical AMT, MPC and Johan to have a one interior tub fits all; convertible tub used for hardtops as well. Saves money and back then the picky builders didn't exist. The only exception I can think of is the 1961 Impala 4dr had a unique interior tub. But it was not available in a kit.

Johan Promos (1964+ it seems) had bench seats but the kits had buckets. I'm not too crazy about the Caddy buckets in the 1964 and 1968 Oldies kits. The Plymouths were the same when they were new promos/kits.

But we can't cry too much. USA Oldies kits, as flawed as they are, are a great starting point for a model project.

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When the USA Oldies kits came out, Dennis Doty was quick to point out some of the 'errors" in interiors in his published works.   While not mentioned in this thread, the engines in these kits were for the most part pretty primitive as well.  

At the time, Dennis was close to Joe Haenle  and well aware of some of the challenges he faced in running his company.  At the same time, we as modelers in the mid 1970's were overjoyed to get a chance to buy these models of some long-favored automotive subjects and be able to build them once again.  Because back then, there was almost no way to acquire old, out of production kits, unless you were lucky enough to live in a metro area with enlightened merchants like Models Hobby in Ferndale, and two other store that Dennis and Chuck Helppie showed me - one on East Eight Mile Road in Detroit, the other in Wyandotte. Mail order of old kits was not yet to arrive, and 'toy fairs" at the time were just getting started, and tended to focus on 1/43rd and toys, rather than 1/25th scale kits.

In short, the JoHan kits were timely, incredibly well received by adult modelers, and while subject to some "errors" as noted in this and other threads (which resulted from an effort to get these kits back into production, with a minimum of fresh investment and additional time to market), were a real boon to the adult modeling hobby when introduced in the mid 1970's/     

TIM 

 .  

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I miss JoHan's U.S.A. Oldies seiries. The kits may not have been the greatest. But, I loved the subjects. And look at the great art work on box above. It sure makes a '62 Dart more appealing than it really was in model form or real life (IMO). I want one. 

I agree with you Scott. The only reason I bought that kit back then was because the '62 Dart 440 was the first car I remember my grandparents owning, back when my feet didn't go past the edge of the seat. It was triple beige, kinda looked like a space ship inside. It's a multiple way tie between that car and many other Chrysler products from that era for being the weirdest looking car I've ever seen, but given a chance to buy any of them in kit form, I'd buy every one of them!!

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When the USA Oldies kits came out, Dennis Doty was quick to point out some of the 'errors" in interiors in his published works.   While not mentioned in this thread, the engines in these kits were for the most part pretty primitive as well.  

At the time, Dennis was close to Joe Haenle  and well aware of some of the challenges he faced in running his company.  At the same time, we as modelers in the mid 1970's were overjoyed to get a chance to buy these models of some long-favored automotive subjects and be able to build them once again.  Because back then, there was almost no way to acquire old, out of production kits, unless you were lucky enough to live in a metro area with enlightened merchants like Models Hobby in Ferndale, and two other store that Dennis and Chuck Helppie showed me - one on East Eight Mile Road in Detroit, the other in Wyandotte. Mail order of old kits was not yet to arrive, and 'toy fairs" at the time were just getting started, and tended to focus on 1/43rd and toys, rather than 1/25th scale kits.

In short, the JoHan kits were timely, incredibly well received by adult modelers, and while subject to some "errors" as noted in this and other threads (which resulted from an effort to get these kits back into production, with a minimum of fresh investment and additional time to market), were a real boon to the adult modeling hobby when introduced in the mid 1970's/     

TIM 

 .  

Sounds like we are from the same time and place Tim! I remember the Eight Mile Rd. shop, but not the name. Nor do I remember the name of the place in Wyandotte, I don't get downriver too often. But Models Hobby at 9&Woodward was a great place, I still see the guy who rented the back part of the shop from the for stamps&coins in later years. I could tell you a story he told me about how that shop went down, it's rather ugly. Last time I was down that way the old railroad crossing shaped sign they used was still there and was lettered up for the religious book shop that took over for them!! Also, Tiny Tim's a few miles farther North on Woodward was great too, as was Squadron Shop on Gratiot in Mt.Clemens. Sorry to bore you guys with my little trip down memory lane!

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Sounds like we are from the same time and place Tim! I remember the Eight Mile Rd. shop, but not the name. Nor do I remember the name of the place in Wyandotte, I don't get downriver too often. But Models Hobby at 9&Woodward was a great place, I still see the guy who rented the back part of the shop from the for stamps&coins in later years. I could tell you a story he told me about how that shop went down, it's rather ugly. Last time I was down that way the old railroad crossing shaped sign they used was still there and was lettered up for the religious book shop that took over for them!! Also, Tiny Tim's a few miles farther North on Woodward was great too, as was Squadron Shop on Gratiot in Mt.Clemens. Sorry to bore you guys with my little trip down memory lane!

Who says we're bored? I may not know the area or the stores your talking about. But, I still find it interesting.

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Thanks Scott! After all isn't that why most of pay serious money for old model kits that were usually pretty crude, then come on here to tell everyone, is to take us back to a time when the only things we had to concern ourselves with was: finish your school work, eat your dinner, and don't go with strangers?!

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CometMan, I too absolutely love hearing all about the hobby shop days. I appreciate you sharing this with us. Way cool stuff. Also, love hearing about Johan too. The more the merrier. Thank you.       Jeff 

Thanks Jeff! I guess I'm still really luck in that while most of those shops I mentioned have been gone for 25-30 years, I still have 4 traditional hobby shops within a 10 mile radius of me, I can hit all of them in a few hours on a day off if I choose, and 3 of them have been there for 40+ years! BTW I see if you reply you will get an upgrade on your status!!

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Only the annual kits came with the correct piece.  The original tooling was likely recut to create the '63 piece.  The '64 used an entirely different interior, so the '63 tooling was set aside and then dusted off later for the USA Oldies kits.

The entire series was cobbed together from whatever could be found, product choices dictated more by what was more complete (or less incomplete depending on your view) versus what might sell better.  The '64 Cadillacs used the '63 chassis (annuals had poseable steering) and the front seats don't match the originals.  The promotional model front bumper/grille was used also (annual had separate clear headlamp lenses).  The Marlin's interior has a different upholstery pattern from the annual (interior tooling was used in later kits so that was changed after the annual kit was run).  That kit too lacks the separate clear headlight lenses.  The '70 4-4-2 is essentially a '72 with '70 hood and bumpers.

The X-EL reissue promo models have differences too.  Some of the X-EL reissues were described as having no interiors "as originally produced".  The truth is closer to "has no interior because the interior was altered for use in something else, and no longer fits the body, that is if it even exists".  The '59 Rambler wagon falls into this category.  The reissue '58 Cadillac has a '63 interior. 

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To deepen the red tint on JoHan taillights, I've found a red Sharpie does a great job--fast, cheap, looks good. What's not to like?

Model Master Acryl Clear Red is now my favorite go-to paint for red lenses, replacing my former favorite, their Stop Light Red, which is actually more of a metallic/metalflake red compared to the Clear Red Acryl.

I never liked or used Stoplight red for that very reason. One of my favorites (besides the oh so easy and quick red Sharpie is Testors 1104 (1204 Spray) Dark Red (often I spray paint into a cap to brush on for detailing.). Perfect translucency for one coat, and looks JUST like a red lens. BTW, I miss the Johan stuff too.

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