Mark

The plastic axles came in in the early Seventies. I thought all of the SC/Rambler kits had them until a couple of years ago. The earliest ones had wire axles. The USA Oldies series came in around 1974; I believe all of those had plastic from day one.

Vinyl radiator hoses, no trim on the rocker panels (some of the drag cars had the trim, others didn't), no license plates (front bumper in the original has the entire plate area incorrectly smoothed over), no hood hinges, wire axles instead of plastic rods, and one-piece hollow Goodyear tires and slicks instead of the solid fronts and two-piece slicks with Goodyear on one side and Firestone on the other. The original Sox & Martin Superbird had wire axles and the hollow tires/slicks also.

Deals are where you find them. I've picked up one or two of the original 1971 issue Shahan AMX kits for pretty close to what the reissues were selling for at the time. Trivial for the most part, but there are a number of differences between the original and the reissue...

It's a miracle: the only ones that are incomplete are the ones that "haven't been checked"...

Someone else posted pics of parts from the same kit not long ago. It's an Aurora kit, the Fireball Pontiac. Lame imitation of an AMT customizing kit, multiple piece body, awful proportions. Never reissued, and justifiably so....

Still have the Custom Fleetside my older brother bought for me when they first came out, also have a few other early ones (and a couple of original Johnny Lightning cars). None are in "collector" condition though, all are in "thoroughly enjoyed" condition...

I took several to NNL East, sold only one as I recall ('71 Maverick "funny car only" annual). I've got enough parts to make one, so the mint one wasn't going to get built. I too am glad that I bought what I did when I did, including a carton of "pro street" S/C Ramblers in the early days of being online. I sold three of them out of the carton, which paid for the ones I kept. Whenever I find them, parts for anything Jo-Han go into the stash...

Nope, this series started in '72 or '73. The Chevy kits didn't yet exist. Monogram got the '36 grille more correct than AMT's. Theirs tucks under a bit at the bottom while AMT's doesn't. Monogram's alternate cabriolet body style was more correct than AMT's roadster version (roadster doors aren't the same length as a 3W coupe; cabriolet doors are much closer if not the same length). The '34 coupe kit in this series initially included the cabriolet parts. Later the cabriolet was released as a separate kit (different color, in its own box); the coupe kit then had the cabriolet parts removed and was reissued in a slightly smaller box. All of these were molded in multiple colors (body matched the box illustration, chassis parts were black, some kits had a third color for interior parts or the Woody body). Like the old Auto World catalogs used to say, "you don't have to paint it if you don't feel like"...

The mail/Internet places typically ask more than what they fetch at shows. I can see someone asking (not necessarily getting) $300 for any of a variety of Jo-Han annual kits, but they'd better be in no-excuses mint condition. But even the tail-end SeVille items like the S/C Rambler are starting to climb the price ladder. I think people are starting to realize that they won't be available again...

The ones around here had the Duplicolor "Perfect Match" sprays not long ago. I don't think they make the smaller cans anymore; these are 8 ounce cans, midway between the old 5 ounce cans and the larger 11 ounce sprays. The thing that bugs me is they usually wipe out the color information, but that might be part of the deal by which they get them. When the cans were themselves printed instead of having labels, I've seen them with the Duplicolor brand name obliterated. I've got a few like that. Check the automotive section too; they often have 3M wet/dry sandpaper. This is 3M, made in USA or Canada, not the no-name Chinesium stuff that falls apart when you dip it in water.

When shrinkwrap or bagged parts came into use differs by manufacturer. AMT started shrinkwrap with the '67 annual kits, and bagging unplated parts started with the '69 annuals. In both cases, Trophy Series kits were phased in; when a kit got new box art it also got the shrinkwrap or bagged parts. Plated parts were bagged also, starting in the mid-Seventies. MPC kits were shrinkwrapped from day one. I'm not positive about bagged parts, but they were definitely bagged with the '69 annual kits. '68 and even '67 annuals may also have bagged parts, I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure Jo-Han started shrinkwrapping with the '67 annuals. Their kits never had the unplated parts bagged until the SeVille era in the early Nineties. This also includes the Jo-Han kits sold by AMT in AMT packaging. These were apparently manufactured at the Jo-Han facility and packed with AMT boxes, decals, and instruction sheets. Revell was all over the place. Some of their Parts Packs were at first shrinkwrapped to a piece of cardstock, but were soon changed to cardstock packaging with a cellophane window so you could still see the parts. I recently sold a Revell '62 Dodge kit (non-Metalflake first issue) that was shrinkwrapped. But their other kits had the heavier thickness boxes without shrinkwrap until about '67 or '68.

Checked the nearest store earlier today...another load of pre-Round 2 Lindberg kits, and two Revell kits (pre-finished Challenger and Mustang). Yawn...

Those 1/32 scale kits never included any clear parts. Nor did the 1/25 scale '57 Ford Ranch Wagon that Revell made back then.

Based on the several partial kits I have bought over the years, that seems to have been what most model builders were thinking back in the day.

I'm glad I bought mine years ago, when you could pick them up and look at them. (I haven't got a '69 Coronet convertible promo, though I do have a hardtop promo.) I wouldn't buy a promo without looking at it first...too much doctored-up stuff out there (undisclosed repairs, replacement parts, scuffs covered with Future, and so on).

No, and I can't say I've seen any kind of "run" on them locally. Last week I bought the new-issue Thunderbolt kit for $13 (didn't have one with the small hubcaps; this issue has two sets of tires and four sets of wheels). At an IPMS show last month, I picked up three NASCAR kits for a buck apiece. Two were sealed. One was a notchback Monte Carlo SS (needed the body to replace a damaged one in another kit), another was a Cartoon Network car (I'll buy those for cheap if I don't already have them), and the third is an early Eighties "brick" Thunderbird (I was looking for one; for a buck I'll grab it). When Hobby Lobby was blowing out the '57 Ford gasser wagons, I did snag one of those as I did want another one. I don't "need" any more Bronco or '76 Torino kits, and other than the '69 Boss 302, can't think of any upcoming stuff that I'll want.

The MPC (last boxed as AMT) Woody/roadster pickup kit would probably be the best one. The Flintstone body is based on the AMT '28 sedan (which was created and manufactured by MPC). MPC replaced the sedan body with the Woody and roadster pickup because they did not want to reissue the kit in the same version as AMT had sold earlier. The fender unit has not been changed very much. An original MPC sedan body still fits the fenders. The AMT/Ertl issue of this kit should not be too tough to find. The fender unit in these kits do have the frame molded as a unit with the fenders. Second choice would be the AMT '29 roadster. The sedan body should fit these fenders but the rear part of the floor (between the fenders) will probably need to be reworked. This kit has the fender unit and frame molded as separate parts. The Revell pickup unit will need even more work, as it has support pieces for the pickup bed molded as part of the unit. It also has truck running board detail. The AMT/Ertl Woody/roadster pickup kit still has passenger car running board detail (rubber mat on top side of board) which was never changed from the MPC '28 sedan kit.

The doors on these were never separate from the body. The box for the original (1969 issue) delivery reads: "one-piece body with opening hood, and optional opening doors and rear door". I had an original issue sedan (1970) back in the day, and have another unbuilt one now. Doors and trunk lid are molded in place as they always have been, instructions tell how to get opening doors during body assembly. Trimming open the molded-in doors doesn't give you any door jamb or inner trunk lid detail though. The hinges are sloppy in these kits just like the '55-'57 kits. First thing you do is toss the kit hinges and replace them. Better hinges can be fabbed from wire or even paperclips.

The doors on these were never molded as separate parts, they were always attached to the body. The bodies were paper-thin in the panel line areas, so trimming the panels open wasn't tough. Getting the slop out of the hinges is another matter, though...

The square headlamp bezels were an option for '64. A few '64 Avantis were built with the round trim pieces.

Avantis were never built in Canada, nor were GT Hawks or trucks. When Studebaker ended production in South Bend, the Avanti, GT Hawk, and all trucks were dropped from the line.

The round headlamp bezels are Studebaker truck units, installed at a different angle from when they were used on trucks. Most Loewy Associates sketches and mockups for the Avanti used quad headlamps, but Studebaker had a bunch of those truck pieces left over so that's what got used...

That Ford/Merc perimeter frame goes back to '65, so the '65 Galaxie chassis could be a good starting point. Steerable front wheels, separate rear axle and suspension (though the exhaust detail is molded as part of the chassis.

The kit was first issued in 1965. Auto World carried every current AMT kit back then, and the Avanti first appeared in the 1965-1/2 catalog. The Avanti was never an annual kit, it was a Trophy Series kit. As for the year of the car represented by the kit, it is most accurate as a '63. It has the long/narrow battery which was changed during '63 to a more conventional one. The square headlamp bezels were an option for '64, not all '64 cars had them. No '64 Avantis had the long/narrow battery so, to make a correct '64, some rework will be needed.

Don't forget the snow tires...