Those who love rebuild old model kits

[Nova-ss]

Question..is there a site dedicated to rebuilding models that need being rebuilt.I personally love building them..its so fun to me.there is a different skill set in getting them apart,saving as much as you can.fixing all the trouble areas. getting them apart is a struggle..but still fun..finding the parts needed to complete it.desiding what to do with it...like make factory build..meaning no upgrades to the kit.or upgrade with better parts from other..newet kits.how many builders out there participate in this craziness. .I call fun.I still love building a virgin kit.but there is so much fun in rebuilding kits whether there old or newer kits just needing a fresh look.how many of you out there enjoy this kind of building? and is there sites dedicated to this kind of building?...thank you all for commenting and looking....Chris 

[pharoah]

A lot of guys on here do it. I'm waiting on an AMT 65 Corvette that's going to be rebuilt.

[Scott Colmer]

Hi Chris,

I am with you on saving glue bombs. It's a cheap way to get a rare car. I've purchased a few junkyard lots that had hidden gems. I also like the struggle of trying to save parts, locating parts, and recreating parts. It's can fun saving someone else's custom creation too. It's like doing a scale restoration.

I think the worst glue bomb I have trued to save is an Ivo Streamliner. Some parts were fused together. They had to be cut free. The trick was determining which part was going to win if one had to go. 

Scott

[W-409]

I like restoring old Glue Bombs as well and actually I have lots of them in progress/waiting for rebuilding currently. It's true that taking them apart is not easy sometimes and finding missing parts might be a problem and yes, they require more work than when starting with a new kit... But it's rewarding when it's done.

Plus that it's the only way to get my hands on some of those rare kits and it's not that big deal if I screw up.

[MrObsessive]

Y'know in all the years that I've been building models, that's something I have yet to do. And believe me, I have a whole BUNCH of built-ups (some real rare ones) that are just waiting to be restored. Maybe that's a project for me for late next year-----just close my eyes, and reach in the box and grab something. It'll certainly be a challenge in itself to get them apart.

Particularly those kits that have the glass runners and they've got a whole tube of glue used to attach them to the roof!

 

[disabled modeler]

I have a huge batch that I need to restore...needed parts are always a issue...Modelhaus just does not make them all.  Id rather use old parts but they are very hard to find and sometimes afford.  I like bringing them back to life and saving them...just those old parts need to be found to do so and it can be a very rough time trying to find them or someone that is willing to part with them.  Yeah I have had some that must have had 3 tubes of glue used on them before too actually had to cut the glass out of a few before.

[Scott Colmer]

I went back and found a pic of my junkyard To-Dos. Some of these are gone now. It was fun to look at them again.

 

Hosted on Fotki

[angelo7]

How can you guys take them apart after they are glued??  This is one of my favorites restores from Dave (towman1271).

[Foxer]

I've found I like using glue bombs for some projects that get into. I just finished a Ferrari 250 GTO for the Cannonball build that just finished. I had a GTO glue bomb that came with a bunch of Porsche's used on another project. I always loved the '60s Valiants and got a glue bomb for cheap cause I couldn't find a Kit.

Glue bomb are especially nice for builds that don't require everything to be restored perfectly, like customs.

 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

I really enjoy rebuilding trash into something nicer...none of these are finished yet, but they're getting there.

Even this one was built from something somebody had started trying to chop, and gave up when they found all the pillars would need serious rework.

 

[FordRodnKustom]

Rebuilding vintage built ups is a big part of the enjoyment of this hobby for me yet I don't know if there is a site dedicated to this or not. I'd like to find if there was. Good idea for sure.

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I really have no love for restoring kits just for the sake of doing it.

I restore them exclusively because I'm interested in the subject matter old annual kits provide & restoring an old built kit is much more economical than shelling out the $200.00-$300.00 that some pristine kits demand.

I will say that it is satisfying to see what can be done with a kit that an 8 year old built 50 years ago.

 

Steve

 

[gtx6970]

If theres  a site dedicated to restoring old kits, I dont know abut it .

I started  getting interested in old annuals a year or so ago . Prior to that it was drag cars and Mopar factory stock builds .

It lite a fire in me when Steve ( posted above ) restored a 58 Sunliner kit last year. That one got me thinking I wanted some of the old kits. Unfortunately its snowballed just a wee bit .. Started off looking for the 1959 annauls ( year I was born ) Then I bumped it to annauls from 1958 thru 1961 , And now even thats bumped slighty to the 1963s . All of them are convertibles ( I like open cars )

 

I started with a built but unpainted 1958 Bonneville convertible kit. It felt  pretty cool  working with plastic that was older than I am . And I am extremely happy with the finished product. And when I took it to a local car show this past summer to show a friend of mine who is into Pontiacs,,,,,,. I turned down some pretty serious cash for it .

 

 

[High octane]

I've gotta give you guys a lot of credit for restoring "glue bombs" as I have enough trouble just working with "virgin plastic."

[Nova-ss]

WOW..stupid me thought I was the only one with Mark be the exception. I just love it restoring them.I have most buildups in little white boxes to keep them safe.I'm working on a few as well.I used to think it was nuts to rebuild any model!!..but I took a Cummins diesel engine apart cause I needed it..and fell in love with rebuilding them.found ways of getting them apart with care using razor saw,knife,the freezer and Tamya liquid glue..the green lid bottle..works good with a little pressure.I sure wished someone woukd start a website or a section here fir us who do love it.I do safe plastic parts.and yes rebuild annuals and making mods like no metal front axle..getting rid of the hole in the engine block and saving the block is fun.removing exhaust pipes and muffs is a few of mods I personally make.putting tops on rearends and transmissions and many other component's I do.cut the rear axles and springs from the chassis plates I just enjoy.it would be great to hear how you all solved problems you all run into in rebuilding gluebombs.we all have our little secerts in get it done.there is some amazing rebuilds you have showed.love seeing your builds.yes Gerry you should get a few out.I have saved cars that normally I wouldn't have even touch a few years ago.one of my problems is to remember to take pictures before..gluebombs look bad and I'm old and don't remember. .but getting better at remembering. ..thank you all for looking and comments. ..Chris 

[Carmak]

I started building models in the late 70's. I was into Late 50's and 60's full size cars and they were hard to find on the store shelves. I was a serious yard sale/flea market junkie as a pre-teen looking for any cool subject matter. I would re-build what ever I could find that was old. By the early 80's (early teens) I learned of a couple swap meets but with my limited budget builders were all I did.

I can't hardly think of building a mint unbuilt pre 1970 vintage kit. I always restore a builder.

[Fabrux]

Restoring old glue bombs is the order of the day if you're after a one-year-only release of something. Sometimes they can be a pain to get apart and need some fixing but there's just something about the smell of old Testor's glue pried apart... 

[ChrisBcritter]

That's about all I do anymore. I guess I like the challenge of salvaging an old heap - just like I wanted to restore real cars when I was a kid. I don't leave them stock, necessarily - my '61 Bonneville, '62 Impala and all six Continentals are going to be stock, but my '64 Chevelle, '65 Dodge Monaco and '61 Falcon will be street machines, '60 Chrysler Windsor a mild custom, '61 Comet and '60 Falcon Bellflower-style lowriders, and that '58 Ford hardtop will be a street freak (!) once I settle on a BBF engine and find a good straight front axle setup (anyone parting a Little Red Wagon?). None of these are likely to be produced again, so it's fun to do something creative with a rare kit without messing up a mint one.

[StevenGuthmiller]

It lite a fire in me when Steve ( posted above ) restored a 58 Sunliner kit last year. That one got me thinking I wanted some of the old kits. Unfortunately its snowballed just a wee bit .. Started off looking for the 1959 annauls ( year I was born ) Then I bumped it to annauls from 1958 thru 1961

 

 

 

I did get a pretty good starting point for not a large investment on that Ford.

I know what you mean Bill.

I started out the same way.

Telling myself I would be happy with a few unusual kits from about '58 to '61.

Now I've moved on to the late '60s as well.

It can become an addiction very quickly!

 

Steve

 

[FordRodnKustom]

Looks like there would be a "market" for such a site, forum or FB page.

[louie]

Rebuilding vintage built ups is a big part of the enjoyment of this hobby for me yet I don't know if there is a site dedicated to this or not. I'd like to find if there was. Good idea for sure.

 

wow, I can't believe that this is the same model. What a great job at bringing this one back. I have yet to restore any thing , but someday when my skills are a little, actually a lot better maybe I will. I do have a few older built-ups that do need some attention. Hmmm?  Thanks for sharing everyone.      Jeff 

[FordRodnKustom]

 

It can become an addiction very quickly!

 

Steve

 

 

Thanks Louie.

 

Addiction indeed Steve. I have it bad. That '58 Ford is absolutely stunning!

Here's my attempt at a '58 rescue.

 

 

Edited December 17, 2015 by FordRodnKustom

[59 Impala]

I've built a few glue bombs and love doing this.  I like to save old kits as well.  Here are before and after pics of a 61 Bonneville convertible that I traded an unbuilt car for.

I've rebuilt some of the ones that I built as a kid as well.  This is a lot of fun to try and get everything apart without breaking anything, saving all that you can and then rebuilding and saving it from the land fill.  Dan

[Deathgoblin]

I've got a few gluebombs in my stash.  It really is the way to get a rarer kit cheap.  My first was actually the first kit I got when I went back to cars, an Aston Martin DB4.  It was too far gone, but other attempts have gone much better.  You develop the skills to disassemble, rebuild and repair as you go.  So far, I've salvaged a Lamborghini Countach and a 1949 Ford Coupe among others. 

[disabled modeler]

I went back and found a pic of my junkyard To-Dos. Some of these are gone now. It was fun to look at them again.

 

Hosted on Fotki

Scott....  I cant believe you have a Mean Maverick funny car.......been after that one for over 20 years....just awesome!  I never minded having to go with an old builder...I look at it as a challenge to bring them back to life...if for nothing else to save some model /promo history.