Lousy kit

[Ace-Garageguy]

46 minutes ago, Chuck Kourouklis said:

No prob, Jim.

Much thanks from me too. I've been "needing" some '57 Chebbys to fill a gaping hole in my collection. I have several of the first-release AMT and Revell kits, which I like immensely for what they are, but now I know which more modern kits to go after,

[ranma]

The only one real issue with this kit that bugs me is the Chrome suspension part's front and rear.

[TransAmMike]

6 hours ago, Snake45 said:

For a sedan, the Revell, no question. 

For a hardtop, probably the all-new/revised AMT, but if a curbside will suit you, the Revell Snapper might meet your needs. Both are better than the original AMT and way better than either the Revell or Monogram. 

So "Snake", what kit are you referring to when you say the all-new revised.  The Pro Shop one?

[Snake45]

7 minutes ago, TransAmMike said:

So "Snake", what kit are you referring to when you say the all-new revised.  The Pro Shop one?

Any of the ones in Chucks's post. 

[Bills72sj]

I have the 1985 and 1998 versions Revell 57. The HOT ROD three Chevy Classics and the one with the pale pink 1:1 box art.

Every time I open the box and see all those opening doors, it scares me and the lid goes back on.

[Deuces ll]

I think AMT did a Coke version of this kit.... It's in yellow on the box art... I have that kit also.....

Edited May 8, 2021 by Deuces ll

[Force]

10 hours ago, ranma said:

The only one real issue with this kit that bugs me is the Chrome suspension part's front and rear.

It's easier to remove the chrome plating than to have to send the parts away to have vacuum chrome plating done and it comes in the box with no extra charge.
So I prefer plated parts even if it's wrong because I have the freedom of choice depending on what I'm going to build, I mean if you build a custom car or maybe a lowrider you might want to have these parts plated and if you are building a factory stock just soak the parts for a while in some bleach or Super Clean to remove the plating and undercoat...easy as pie and really not much extra work.

Edited May 8, 2021 by Force

[Can-Con]

13 hours ago, Force said:

It's easier to remove the chrome plating than to have to send the parts away to have vacuum chrome plating done and it comes in the box with no extra charge.
So I prefer plated parts even if it's wrong because I have the freedom of choice depending on what I'm going to build, I mean if you build a custom car or maybe a lowrider you might want to have these parts plated and if you are building a factory stock just soak the parts for a while in some bleach or Super Clean to remove the plating and undercoat...easy as pie and really not much extra work.

Cool to have when the kit was first issued back in the early '60s.

Edited May 8, 2021 by Can-Con

[Ace-Garageguy]

36 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

Cool to have when the kit was first issued back in the early '60s.

Yup. And the "S.C.o.T." blower was the only one available at the time (even though it's not great).

The included side-draft carb setup for the blown engine was decent too.

The 409 engine wasn't too bad either. I'm still using those engines occasionally.

[alan barton]

Chuck, I really want to thank you for those beautiful photos of your two magnificent models.  The level of detail plus your outstanding photography really has one wondering if they are scale or full-size!  Beautiful work.

As my second kit ever as a primary school student was an AMT 57, I have had a life long love for the kit and saw no need to look further.  I have two built, a red hardtop and a white convertible after a bit of surgery, plus a Nomad conversion coming along.  Your two examples here show me that I might just have to check the Revell snapper and the AMT Pro Shop next time I come across them.  Thank you kindly for the enlightenment!

Cheers

Alan

[BlackSheep214]

So... I take it there is no proof of a Tamiya 1957 Chevy kit. The OP has yet posted a pic of it.

[peteski]

8 minutes ago, BlackSheep214 said:

So... I take it there is no proof of a Tamiya 1957 Chevy kit. The OP has yet posted a pic of it.

I believe that the post you are referring to stated "if Tamiya made a '57 Chevy . . .". Seems that you took it way too seriously.

[BlackSheep214]

4 minutes ago, peteski said:

I believe that the post you are referring to stated "if Tamiya made a '57 Chevy . . .". Seems that you took it way too seriously.

Taking it too seriously? Far from it. Besides, I noticed every single post from the OP has been removed. He did say he had a Tamiya 1957 Chevy kit for $40 - not a "what if" kit. Oh well... 

[peteski]

10 minutes ago, BlackSheep214 said:

Taking it too seriously? Far from it. Besides, I noticed every single post from the OP has been removed. He did say he had a Tamiya 1957 Chevy kit for $40 - not a "what if" kit. Oh well... 

Looks like I missed that post.  Sorry!  Who was the person stating that there was a Tamiya '57 Chevy? I was referring to the post below. It stated that there is no Tamiya '57 Chevy.

On 5/6/2021 at 7:40 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

If Tamiya made a ‘57 Chevy it might be a valid argument to consider it as an alternative. But since they don’t, (or any other classic American car for that matter) it’s pretty much a moot point.

I'm also getting more and more amused with how this thread took on a life of its own, without and additional input from the member who made the "lousy kit" statemenr. So funny!

[StevenGuthmiller]

43 minutes ago, peteski said:

Looks like I missed that post.  Sorry!  Who was the person stating that there was a Tamiya '57 Chevy? I was referring to the post below. It stated that there is no Tamiya '57 Chevy.

I'm also getting more and more amused with how this thread took on a life of its own, without and additional input from the member who made the "lousy kit" statemenr. So funny!

Let's put this to rest.

There is no Tamiya '57 Chevy, never has been, and very likely never will be.

 

I always find it a little amusing that there are those who's first instinct when these "bad kit" discussions come up, is to prompt us to buy Tamiya kits.

Well, that's just fine if you want to build foreign or exotic cars.

Otherwise, it's just pointless logic.

If you feel that you "have" to buy a particular brand of kit, regardless of whether or not they produce the subject matter that you're interested in, because the other guy's stuff is "too hard", you're probably not much of a builder in the first place.

 

 

 

Steve

[Snake45]

On 5/6/2021 at 6:08 PM, johnfin said:

Yea, you guys are right, great $12 kit. Gotta love these fenders. Spend $40 and get a tamiya, worth every penny.

 

He didn't actually say there was a Tamilya '57 Chevy. The above is what he said. 

[Snake45]

17 hours ago, alan barton said:

Chuck, I really want to thank you for those beautiful photos of your two magnificent models. ...Your two examples here show me that I might just have to check the Revell snapper and the AMT Pro Shop next time I come across them.  Thank you kindly for the enlightenment!

Cheers

Alan

Alan, just to clarify, I believe the two cars in Chuck's pictures are the AMT second issue (one issue of which was the Pro Shop) and the Revell 2D sedan, not the Revell snapper hardtop., which is a completely different kit. 

I happen to think the Revell snapper is a nice kit, but Chuck's opinion of it doesn't seem to be quite as high as mine, if I read his comments correctly. 

[Can-Con]

Not to get too far off subject, but, Tamiya DID make a '95-ish Mustang GT and Cobra R kit.

Both curbsides and typical Tamiya detail. 

Both the AMT and Revell kits blew them out of the water with their excellent versions of the car. ,, But, I understand the Cobra R has beautiful wheels.

It's been my experience that if you want a domestic car, buy a domestic kit ,, foreign car,, foreign kit.

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by Can-Con

[BlackSheep214]

4 hours ago, Can-Con said:

Not to get too far off subject, but, Tamiya DID make a '95-ish Mustang GT and Cobra R kit.

Both curbsides and typical Tamiya detail. 

Both the AMT and Revell kits blew them out of the water with their excellent versions of the car. ,, But, I understand the Cobra R has beautiful wheels.

It's been my experience that if you want a domestic car, buy a domestic kit ,, foreign car,, foreign kit.

 

I gotta admit... those are cool Mustang kits - especially the Cobra R. I wouldn’t mind getting that one.

[SSNJim]

Tamiya also did a full detail Jeep Cherokee kit about the same time or a bit before. Very nice kit. I think they did a Wrangler also - I can't think of any other American cars done by Tamiya.

[Brian Austin]

(Tamiya also did a Dodge Charger slot car in the '60s)

[Brian Austin]

I think the old opening-door Revell kits are fine for kitbashing, but the two-piece tires weren't the greatest. I recently got the Revell snap '57 Chevy, solely for the nice custom "kidney bean" wheels.  The tires aren't too bad as they are, but for a particular project I wish they were a little taller (no fault of the kit).  

 

The old AMT kit is fine for what it is, a reissue of an old kit with neat custom parts.  I think people are expecting every kit sold today to be produced to a modern standard, and when they don't meet these builders' expectations they have to run to the message boards to complain.  The older kits give you an opportunity to practice your building skills.  These aren't puzzles.  :-)

[espo]

On 5/8/2021 at 3:20 AM, Deuces ll said:

I think AMT did a Coke version of this kit.... It's in yellow on the box art... I have that kit also.....

I bought one of these when first released based on the box art. When I opened it I found the same old hardtop body inside. Not all bad, but I wanted the post sedan as in the box art. 

[niteowl7710]

12 hours ago, Brian Austin said:

The old AMT kit is fine for what it is, a reissue of an old kit with neat custom parts.  I think people are expecting every kit sold today to be produced to a modern standard, and when they don't meet these builders' expectations they have to run to the message boards to complain.  The older kits give you an opportunity to practice your building skills.  These aren't puzzles.  🙂

Be herein lies the problem of the Automotive part of the hobby.  We never seem to ever put old kits "to bed" as it were.  Both Revell & Round2 are guilty of having both the original & modern versions of their '57 Bel Airs on sale at the SAME time.  Actually I think there was a point where you could have found all four of them at Hobby Lobby at the same time, and if not there, then my LHS has all four on their shelves still.  Gotta keep in mind even for those people here who don't eat, sleep, and breathe the industry people using forums, FB, etc for information still only represent the top 10-15% of the most engaged hobbyists out there.  It's easy (to me at least) to see how you can easily grab the "wrong" Bel Air kit and wind up with a box of 1960s rather than the "new" kit you were expecting.  It's not like anyone puts - this represents original 1960s tooling, for advanced modelers - on their boxes to advise people of what their getting.  Round2 is putting EVERYTHING in vintage boxes regardless as to whether the tooling is from 1962, 1997, or 2021.

[Mattilacken]

Good input on those ´57 chevy kits that are out there, and i will defenitly keep it in mind when i want to get a `57 since they are good looking cars.

I can agree with all of you that any pice of plastic can be made into a great looking build if you got the skills and have the patience to work out the problems, I am not saying that the AMT kit mentioned have those, but some kits really need work and skill to make them look decent, and look good, even more so. I can get the autors point, if one is used to modern kits, its hard to work with an old kit that have been released in several versions over the last 60 years with al the problems the molds gets over time. Never the less how some people express them self might leave some things to ask for. 

Speaking for my self, I am not in the same level as many of you on this site, even though i grew up building AMT and Revell kits, I did not build any other kits for many years due to my interest in Americana and availibility on kits here. But i still have a really hard time picking up the old kits and making anything out of them, and so far i have not found a MPC kit that i want to work on. I remember when i bought my first Tamiya kit how I enjoyed how they built and how good the fit and finished product always came out. Never the less if you want a certain car to build there is usaly not that many options in make of the kit exept for the realy classic cars of course. This is just my two cents and I feel a little baad for the guy starting the topic since it feels like some people here really jumped on him even though the topic is what it is and it was started in the way it was.

I know this forum for being an open and friendly community and hope it to continue in that way 😃