Upsides and downsides to Lindberg kits?

[dantewallace]

For the past 20+ years I have always been skeptical of the quality of lindberg kits and because of that have never bought or built one. They now have a few models that I am seriously thinking of purchasing but i do not want to end up being dissapointed upon opening the box. Can anyone give their opinions on their kits in terms of quality,detail?? Upsides,or downsides?

Thanks!!

[Draggon]

I think it depends upon the kit. I have the 32 Ford roadster pickup. Its pretty poor. I have the "1929 Tee" which I sorta like because of its vintage appeal. And I have this one. I picked it up on ebay, took it apart and freshened it up. Went back together without a hitch. One thing to beware of is that some of their older kits have plastic tires.

[Tom Geiger]

The same question applies to all the model companies. All of them have gone through different periods under different management with different mind sets. The detail quality and complexity of the kit changed with each changing of the guard. Some of the companies have even acquired tools from former companies so the work may not be the same you'd expect from them.

Some of the older Lindberg stuff was simple, toy like and poorly molded. Later date stuff like the '53 Fords were done in the modern era by more astute management so those are nice kits.

[scalenut]

it depends on the kit , some are great some not so great... there is a thread on here somewhere listing the good from the bad

[Chuck Most]

The same question applies to all the model companies. All of them have gone through different periods under different management with different mind sets. The detail quality and complexity of the kit changed with each changing of the guard. Some of the companies have even acquired tools from former companies so the work may not be the same you'd expect from them.

Some of the older Lindberg stuff was simple, toy like and poorly molded. Later date stuff like the '53 Fords were done in the modern era by more astute management so those are nice kits.

Perfectly stated.

[gtx6970]

Keep in mind some of them are just re-boxed kits from other manufacturers.

Little Red Wagon and the L700 tilt cab Dodge truck as an example , both are/were IMC kits

[Casey]

They now have a few models that I am seriously thinking of purchasing but i do not want to end up being dissapointed upon opening the box. Can anyone give their opinions on their kits in terms of quality,detail?? Upsides,or downsides?

If you can list the specific kit you're considering, we can give some more direct feedback. There may be reviews of the kit in the Kit Reviews sections, too.

[martinfan5]

The Charger police kits are decent kits, but for the most part, I believe they are reboxed Testors tooling, minus the tooling for the police equipment

[dantewallace]

If you can list the specific kit you're considering, we can give some more direct feedback. There may be reviews of the kit in the Kit Reviews sections, too.

This one here.....http://www.modelcars.com/lindberg-1971-ford-mustang.html

[Miatatom]

I've just started a Don Nicholson 1961 Chevrolet. The body is very nice with very small and fine panel lines that are easily removed. I haven't started assembly but I like what I see so far.

[Blown03SVT]

The newer tooling isn't bad. The 66 Chevelle, 61 Impala, 64 Dodge come to mind. Those ones are actually really nice

[jaymcminn]

This one here.....http://www.modelcars.com/lindberg-1971-ford-mustang.html

This is actually a rebox of an old Palmer Plastics mold- it's a fairly terrible kit, as were all of Palmer's 1/25 cars. If you compare the box top photo with an actual '71 Mustang, they don't really look that much alike- the model looks more like a '70 with a lackadaisical attempt at a '71 front end grafted on. I'd pass.

[Blown03SVT]

I think it depends upon the kit. I have the 32 Ford roadster pickup. Its pretty poor. I have the "1929 Tee" which I sorta like because of its vintage appeal. And I have this one. I picked it up on ebay, took it apart and freshened it up. Went back together without a hitch. One thing to beware of is that some of their older kits have plastic tires.

This is a cool like truck btw... I am assuming it is kit bashed and not OTB. That would be a neat little bugger to have.

[Casey]

This one here.....http://www.modelcars.com/lindberg-1971-ford-mustang.html

This is actually a rebox of an old Palmer Plastics mold- it's a fairly terrible kit, as were all of Palmer's 1/25 cars. If you compare the box top photo with an actual '71 Mustang, they don't really look that much alike- the model looks more like a '70 with a lackadaisical attempt at a '71 front end grafted on. I'd pass.

Agreed. Don't buy it. It's a horrible kit.

The MPC/AMT '71-'73 Mustang kits are much better, but still not up to modern/current kit standards.

[dantewallace]

This is actually a rebox of an old Palmer Plastics mold- it's a fairly terrible kit, as were all of Palmer's 1/25 cars. If you compare the box top photo with an actual '71 Mustang, they don't really look that much alike- the model looks more like a '70 with a lackadaisical attempt at a '71 front end grafted on. I'd pass.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Oh well,Thanks for the heads up,I appreciate that.

[Draggon]

Thx Eric. Since I'm not the original builder I'm not certain what was done to it, but to me it looks like its OTB. All that he changed was to put the spinner hubcaps on and lakes pipes that appear to be from AMT's 32 Ford coupe. There is no evidence of any surgery performed. All of the white is bare plastic.

[Guest G Holding]

Most lindberg kits are poor...vs what is currently being made. That said, they do have a few kool kits,to start with..the 34 PU and the 64 dodge 330, both will take a bit of work, but thats what makes it fun.

[Modelmartin]

They have tooling from everywhere! They acquired a lot of Pyro tooling which was pretty uneven even in the day. They were selling the old AMT 34 Ford pickup, IMC Little Red Wagon Dodge A100 pickup, It is a real potluck of kits!

[Deathgoblin]

Any of the Lindberg 1/20 scale kits are outstanding, if you can find them. I've had the S-10 and the Dodge Stealth, and they were both excellent. The 1953 Ford is nice and so is the 64 Dodge. I would avoid the Dodge Challenger, it's another Palmer kit, and it's terrible.

[Art Anderson]

This is a cool like truck btw... I am assuming it is kit bashed and not OTB. That would be a neat little bugger to have.

That is pretty much as Lindberg tooled and produced this kit back about 1961, with the exception of the hubcaps and lakes pipes.

Art

[Ace-Garageguy]

That is pretty much as Lindberg tooled and produced this kit back about 1961, with the exception of the hubcaps and lakes pipes.

Art

Yup, and frankly I was amazed that the thing comes chopped AND channeled, quite well, and offers the only styrene '32 closed truck cab I know of. The frame is simple and next to useless, the tires are hard-plastic, the engine is kind of a blob and the bed is very simple (though it can be the basis of a nice custom piece, cut down or modified). All that said, the CAB (correctly proportioned with a serious chop) and the fenders are a terriffic jumping-off point to scratchbash something really cool, and as the photo shows, even mildly modified it makes a neat little truck.

[blazefox]

The l700 was a good kit with a few problems but not many. Only thing I found wrong was engine was little simple and doors and mirors need a little tlc for proper fitment

[Rob Hall]

The '90s era tooling 1/25th scale Lindbergs are all pretty nice ('53 Ford, '61 Impala, '64 Dodge, '64 Plymouth, '66 Olds Cutlass, '66 Chevelle) though the Olds has some issues w/ interior depth. The '90s era 1/25th scale snap kits (Chrysler Atlantic, Sebring convertible, Dodge Caravan, Dodge Dakota) are nice also.

[dantewallace]

Thanks for all of the opinions and suggestions!!!