iamsuperdan Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Not sure if this has ever been discussed here, but a friend forwarded this link to me. And it made me chuckle.http://jalopnik.com/these-are-the-worst-selling-model-car-kits-of-all-time-1712668537 And I'm pretty sure I would gladly add at least half of these to my stash if available! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miatatom Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 The Newhart car isn't even close to the one in the opening of Newhart. It even says The Bob Newhart Show on the box. That was the title of the 70s series. He walks to work in that intro. Newhart is the 80s series with the brown Olds 4 dr sedan in the intro. I have no idea why they'd issue such an incorrect model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 You do realize those are all just made up, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Haigwood Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I can say positively I will never have any of those kits in my stash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I can say positively I will never have any of those kits in my stash Correct! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddyfink Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) This is pretty dumb Edited October 17, 2016 by Daddyfink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can-Con Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I'd love to have a kit of that Olds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 You do realize those are all just made up, right? I thought the Magnum PI Vanagon was an actual kit. And I have #1 and #2 on the list in my stash, just not the "Special Editions"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can-Con Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I thought the Magnum PI Vanagon was an actual kit. It is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 It is. Yeah, I Googled it after I said that! I thought Revell did do that for real, because I remember seeing the Ferrari and TC's chopper, just couldn't remember if I had actually seen the van. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CometMan Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 The Olds would be a welcome change from the usual Fords and Chevys. If Moebius was able to do rather well with their stock versions of early '50s Hudsons, why couldn't someone do the same with a mid-70s Olds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Ah, the interweb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I imagine the AMT Matilda Ford van didn't sell very well; the movie utterly tanked at the box office and was pulled from release. Probably AMT's worst marketing goof since The Hero? And they didn't even include a 1/25 scale boxing kangaroo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I would think the real 'least popular' kits would be those that sold the least... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 (edited) I imagine the AMT Matilda Ford van didn't sell very well; the movie utterly tanked at the box office and was pulled from release. Probably AMT's worst marketing goof since The Hero? And they didn't even include a 1/25 scale boxing kangaroo! I remember seeing this kit in the 1979 catalog, but have never seen one in person. Similarly, there was the 'New Monkees' '87 Mustang GT convertible (with '83 interior and engine) that Monogram put out...I think the TV show had already been cancelled when the kit came out. And how about the AMT 'Knight Rider 2000' custom thingy? That was a dud I bet... Edited October 18, 2016 by Rob Hall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 And how about the AMT 'Knight Rider 2000' custom thingy? That was a dud I bet... They sold at least one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBorg Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I'd love to get Tim Boyd's or Art Anderson's take. If I remember correctly one of AMT's poorest sellers was the Thomas Flyer. The poorest selling series more than likely was the Aurora Racing Scenes cars. Please note I said poorest selling and not poorest kits.....those were great kits with unfortunately high retail prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mini trucker Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I remember a time when that RoboCop Taurus was everywhere at rock bottom prices and still didn't sell. I cannot vouch for kit quality but the subject matter seemed to be universally unappealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lysleder Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I remember a time when that RoboCop Taurus was everywhere at rock bottom prices and still didn't sell. I cannot vouch for kit quality but the subject matter seemed to be universally unappealing. It might have built ok, but it didn't look too good due to the exaggerated and soft panel lines that AMT were into at the time. I had the kit, and got as far as assembling the engine before I threw it all away. It was that exciting. I had never seen an actual Taurus V6 before, and the kit one seemed to have some real wonky proportions (to my untrained European eyes. (The Taurus was not sold in Norway where I lived at the time)). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lysleder Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I remember from the late eighties an Italeri (also reboxed as Testors) Volvo 760 that seemed to sit on store shelves for forever and a half despite being competitively priced. Do you guys remember / share my opinion on that one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 It might have built ok, but it didn't look too good due to the exaggerated and soft panel lines that AMT were into at the time. I had the kit, and got as far as assembling the engine before I threw it all away. It was that exciting. I had never seen an actual Taurus V6 before, and the kit one seemed to have some real wonky proportions (to my untrained European eyes. (The Taurus was not sold in Norway where I lived at the time)).The big problem w/ the RoboCop Taurus (and the regular Taurus police car kit) is they were based on the Taurus SHO body and trim, and had the SHO Yamaha V6 rather than a regular Ford V6 the police packages used, so they were kind of phony police car kits... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I remember that Matilda van kit collecting dust for years in Los Angeles toy and discount stores. Kit swap-meet vendors couldn't give them away either. The REVELL John Travolta "Firebird Fever" also seemed to hang around on the shelves for years. Another sales flop around the same time - the ERTL 1/25 farm tractor kits. I remember a local toy store having stacks of those kits at deep discount. And I've been kicking myself for years that I didn't buy every one of them!I'd also like to see some of our insiders weigh in on the subject of sales flops. I recently read an old thread saying the new REVELL Midget Racers didn't sell as well as expected. I checked eBay, where I found quite a few Midgets for sale. Many were offered at reasonable prices, others at ridiculous prices from the usual "RARE COLLECTIBLE VINTAGE!!!" gonks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted October 18, 2016 Author Share Posted October 18, 2016 I remember from the late eighties an Italeri (also reboxed as Testors) Volvo 760 that seemed to sit on store shelves for forever and a half despite being competitively priced. Do you guys remember / share my opinion on that one? You mean this one? Picked this one up, factory sealed for under $10CDN. I love these quirky kits. so any of the kits in the link I originally posted would be fun to me. The Newhart Oldsmobile, the Alf Ferrari, I think they'd be hilarious. And as a VW nut and formaer van owner, I'm actively hunting for a Magnum PI VW T3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torinobradley Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Yeah, I Googled it after I said that! I thought Revell did do that for real, because I remember seeing the Ferrari and TC's chopper, just couldn't remember if I had actually seen the van. I actually have one of these van's in the collection... Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I've seen the fake Newhart Olds on the web before. I'd buy it if they released it. I like the looks of the '74 - '76 Olds 88, Buick LeSabre, and Pontiac Catalina two-door hardtops. I like them more now, than I'd did when they were new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.