Building old kits is... (fill in the blank)

[vwdave92]

I just finished three straight Tamiya kits. Aston Martin DBS, Ferrari Enzo and the brand new Toyota 86. Brilliant kits - everyone of them. Modern technology at it's best.

So then I grab the 1/20 Testors / Fujimi Lamborghini Miura from the mid 80s? Truth is I have no idea how old it is. I've had a lust for this kit for years. Bought it at a swap meet probably 4 years ago for the same price at the above mentioned Tamiya kits. (first part of vintage kits - not cheeper). Took it out of the box. (second part of vintage kits - someone likes you less for opening the shrink wrap). Flash everywhere, sink holes, injector pin marks, poor fit, converted from motorized... back in the box.

I've finally gotten up the nerve and skill (I hope) to build this thing. Primed the body tonight and started the process of de-flashing and refitting every single part tonight.

So I ask... do you build vintage kits? Why? Is it fun? Or some kind of torture with the blind hope of finally getting a car on the shelf that hasn't been molded in decades?

I'm enjoying the challenge but it is almost a different kind of build than the my recent kits.

What are your thoughts?

Dave

[W-Machine]

Building old kits is...sometimes frustrating, but once I get past the warts that a vintage kit might have, it is usually rewarding.

[cobraman]

With so many older kits being re-released I guess you could yes, I build vintage kits. Does that count ? So nice to have some of these old kits back again. Just bought 2 today.

[Austin T]

Building old kits is...Interesting to see what was high tech back then,it's also a throwback to another era.

[Greg Myers]

Building old kits is sometimes the only game in town. Certainly nostalgic, Ahhh, the good old days.

[Lunajammer]

I'm not a gear head so I don't enjoy getting lost in the mechanical details that newer kits provide with such clarity and numbers. I love the old kits because less is more. I feel there's more room to be creative without running into fit issues with multiple sub assemblies down the line. Sure the old kits are grubby but that's no big deal and the subject matter is great.

[2000-cvpi]

For me, it's the challenge of making the best finished model I can with what the kit has to offer. I like the history of the model car hobby and the older kits just have something to them that draws me to an older kit. It doesn't matter to me if it is a pain to assemble I still like figuring out how to put the pieces together.

[Chuck Most]

I build vintage kits because that's what they were designed for! A few years back I bought a mint AMT '69 Lincoln Continental and immediately tore into it. The poor thing had waited 40 years to be built, and I wasn't going to let it stew in that box for another four decades. Plus, I could take advantage of all sorts of products (like Bare Metal foil) and building techniques that weren't even thought of when the kit was new, meaning that it could be built to look better than the majority of them built when new would have looked.

Edited August 28, 2012 by Michigan Madman

[Tom Setzer]

Building Old Model Kits ls fun using modern techniques and resources, even though they can be a real challenge to get cleaned up!

[Ramfins59]

For a lot of us "older guys" the "joy" of building an old model kit is the nostalgia aspect... We remember building it in our "younger years" and don't really mind that the "technology" of the kit is outdated, etc... etc... It brings us back to earlier times in our lives, but, we use our updated skills and tools and modeling supplies to build the kit better than we ever could have "way back when"...

[CorvairJim]

I simply can't afford the prices most "New-In-The-Box" vintage kits demand nowadays, but I really enjoy rebuilding old built-ups and glue bombs. Sometimes I really enjoy the challenge of fixing some misguided kid's mistakes from 40-50 years ago. Like Chuck commented above, it's possible to build an old model today to a level not imagined back when the things were originally made. I have about a dozen rebuilt/restored models on my shelves, and at least 2 DOZEN Corvair annual models of various years already disassembled and stripped, patiently waiting their turn to be restored. Since I can get rebuiildable annuals on eBay/Craigslist or at model swap meets sometimes for less than the price of a new modern kit, I'm set!

[Junkman]

The subject matter dictates the age of the kit in most cases. If I want to build a - say - '64 Cadillac, there is simply no alternative to the ancient Jo-Han rubbish.

[gtx6970]

My primary interest is in building old kits( late 60-s to mid 70's kits)

My primary interests are in the same years and modern kits don't exist of the subject matter

once a couple projects get finished up.

I have a Johan 1962 and 1963 Dodges and a 1962 Plymouth to do.

Edited August 28, 2012 by gtx6970

[disabled modeler]

Id build an old kit any day....Johans included...love them even though they require a bit more work to clean up and test fit at times. I loved the older kits as a kid because of what they were of....late 60s Pontiac,Chrysler,Chevy,AMC,Cadillac,Dodge,etc. I could not care less if they are curbside or not its the car/truck it represents that means something to me....the body style and memories of building when I was young and fit simpler times.

Chrstian...Ill take all the Johan stuff I can get...LOL...

[slusher]

Old kits take more work but make nice models when finished. ahhh the memories...

Edited August 28, 2012 by slusher

[iBorg]

What I find more enjoyable is to find an old built up and try to rescue it. It has its own uniwque challenges but not the sticker shock.....in most cases.

[Guest]

I'll take a vintage kit over a stack of new ones anyday! The new kits may be better engineered,but they just don't have the look and feel of the old kits. For me,it's primarily the nostalgia of it. When you grab that old kit that you built back in the day (or even if you didn't build it back then) it takes you right back to those days of your ill spent youth. Only this time, it won't end up parked over a stack of firecrackers or used for target practice with your father's .22 rifle!

[Deathgoblin]

I've only got one really old kit, the 63 Chrysler Turbine. But it's the only way I'd ever get a copy of this kit. No one's re-popping the full detail one now, and the curbside isn't what I wanted.

[62rebel]

i love full detail kits and i applaud those among us who can devote the effort to make them stand out... but, i'm conflicted when i realize that 90% of the detail so carefully crafted, will simply disappear under a body once it's on the shelf.... so; i do what i can to make the exterior look as authentic as possible, and what can be seen through the windows. the rest is just for me; my own gratification so i can do as much or as little as i please. some kits were only released in archaic once-motorized versions, or once-removed from promo kits, or just plain awful kits that were all we could get and we got used to them. doesn't mean i won't buy one IF i get the urge to build it. definitely doesn't mean i'm going to complain all over again about how awful so-and-so's kits were, when they've been out of business for nearly forty years....

it's amazing what modern materials (BMF, buffable metallics, detailed PE and resin parts) can do to make up for the implied deficiencies in older tools. there's a Hubley Ford Station Wagon in Under Glass that looks brand spanking new... and Hubley wasn't known for detailed kits.

[jaymcminn]

Building old kits is... a great way to expand your horizons as a modeler. If a builder limits himself to the stuff that's come out over the last decade or so, he's cutting himself off from a lot of great modeling. The Fujimi Enthusiast kits were all tooled around 25 years ago now and are absolutely fascinating (as well as frustrating) to build. The Monogram and Italeri/Heller classics, Italeri Ferrari 250/275 kits, Aurora/Monogram Aston DB4 and Maserati 3500, and most of the great Tamiya F1 kits are all vintage models that build into great replicas, with varying degrees of massaging. I remember building that 1/20 Lambo kit in Jota form when I was a kid, and thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I painted mine in Testors clear blue over silver base with gold rocker panels. Build it up, do your best with it, and enjoy that you don't have to worry about putting as much time in on it as that Tamiya Enzo!

[John Goschke]

For me it's a combination of the subject matter: if you want a model of a '58 Ford Fairlane 500, or any number of now-obscure vehicles, you better be prepared to build an old kit. Also the challenge of taking a simple kit, making it a bit more accurate, and adding a little more detail to enhance the original kit. There is virtue in simplicity. While I buy most of the new full-detail kits, almost everything I've got in the queue to be finished is an old kit from the late '50s or early '60s. Give me four screws, two wire axles, and reasonably accurate body and I'm happy!

In some cases the new "full detail" kits have been very disappointing, most notably AMT's horrible '58 Plymouth. What I wouldn't give for a straight repro in styrene from Johan's long lost molds of that same car! Then there's the Trumpeter Falcon and '60 Pontiac; two convincing arguments for seeking out a clean, rebuildable AMT kit of the same cars.

[sjordan2]

I build mostly large-scale 1/16 and 1/12 vintage kits of vintage cars, which allow my fat fingers to deal with detail better, and provide subjects that either don't exist or aren't well done in smaller scales. As for the Aurora/Monogram Maserati 3500 GTi that jaymcminn mentioned, that's really an argument against vintage kits; so many things are off with that kit - flash, sink marks, incorrect body and engine parts - it would take a far better builder than I am to make it look right.

[1272148]

I love buying vintage kits, however I must say that it all depends on the kit that you are buying, if you are buying as vintake Japanise kit with tons of small parts. than you are more likely to encounter problems, people buy vintage kits because the are eather not available throught the manufacturer or because they are more desirable, however the problems vintage kits are I still find myself going back to vintage kits even when the kit has been reissued

[Junkman]

Chrstian...Ill take all the Johan stuff I can get...LOL...

Same here, since we can wait until doomsday to get newly tooled kits of similar subjects.

[Jordan White]

The only reason that I build old kits is if they have a subject that is not found in the plethora of recently released kits (for example, I'm currently building a vintage Monogram GMC Jimmy.)