Those who love rebuild old model kits

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'd be a little leary about buying a kit that has had body work already done on it, & then had that work covered up with primer.

You never know what will be underneath.

 

Steve

Yup. Just like real cars, I've seen a whole lot of monkey bodgework buried under primer..."just needs paint". 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Yup. Just like real cars, I've seen a whole lot of monkey bodgework buried under primer..."just needs paint". 

If he's going to repair them before selling, I would greatly prefer seeing the bare body work.

Nix the primer.

I've seen this guys auctions & considered them, but quickly bailed after a little thought.

I just assumed that there was possibly an ulterior motive if he didn't want you to see the plastic.

 

Steve

[Mike999]

OK, thanks for the responses, everybody.  I almost bid on a 60 El Camino he had for sale. One of my favorite kits.  But the bidding got out of my comfort zone.  

I found a complete, uncut and painted one much cheaper. Proving 2 things from your responses: (1) keep waiting on eBay and eventually you'll find what you're looking for cheaper. And (2) like most of you, would rather "screw it up myself." 

[gtx6970]

Agreed,

a major portion of mine are never painted - unpainted bare plastic. , some are painted and stripped ( bought them that way )

I do have a few that are still in paint,,,,,and even most of them look to have been painted when they were new . And I've bought A LOT of builtups in the past 2 years and not one came from said seller . Outside of maybe 1 or 2, I have no worries about body and/or paint  issues on any of them.

So IMO if its already in primer chances are theres a reason . I screw up enough on my own ,,,I dont need any one elses help doing so.

 

Ps, to get this back on track, I for one would LOVE to see a board or even just a sub forum on this board on nothing but old screw bottom annuals ,,be them stock or customs from back in the day

Edited April 16, 2016 by gtx6970

[Jantrix]

I don't do glue bombs. I find in most cases they just have too much damage to be worthwhile. But I will rebuild a model that has been previously built if it's in good shape.

I did this one recently.

 

Edited April 16, 2016 by Jantrix

[StevenGuthmiller]

I don't do glue bombs. I find in most cases they just have too much damage to be worthwhile. But I will rebuild a model that has been previously built if it's in good shape.

I did this one recently.

 

I find myself buying fewer & fewer glue bombs & built ups myself as of late.

I've found I have a tendency to push those kits that need more work to the back burner & I've become concerned that I will never build them anyway.

So I figure if I spend a few extra bucks & get a good un-built kit, it is much more likely I'll build it, so therefore a better value.

I have 4 kits at the head of the roster right now, all basically pristine un-built kits, with probably that many more closely following.

Some of the built kits that I own have been languishing for several years & I really don't know when I'll get to them.

From now on, I'll likely focus on un-built when considering a purchase.

 

Steve

 

[Xingu]

I never even thought to rebuild a kit when I was younger. I wish I had kept all the old kits from my youth. Seems like I could have saved a lot of money. I remember buying new kits for $5.

[FordRodnKustom]

I'd be a little leary about buying a kit that has had body work already done on it, & then had that work covered up with primer.

You never know what will be underneath.

 

Steve

Agreed. That's why I look for original old build ups preferably unpainted so at least I have an idea of what I'm getting into. The biggest issue is usually skirt rash and I have spliced in new rear quarters before. I enjoy the challenge.

[Bob Ellis]

 A lot of rebuilds will be impossible or have poorer results with Modelhaus out of the mix. I used to hand make stuff in th 70s but they end reult not as good. I made a 60 imperial and 58 Fairlane rear bumpers So so resultss

[Bob Ellis]

Nice Falcon.  Great save.  I rebuilt a 65 Corvette awhile back.  The body wasn't in to bad of shape and not painted, but, the rest was real bad.  Here are some pics of some of the parts that needed work.

The glass needed a lot of work to get it lookin good.

This how she turned out.  I was able to save most of the original car and used wheels from the parts box along with the rear bumpers.

Rebuilding these kind of builds is a lot of fun and work to get them done.  I don't know of any site that is dedicated to rebuilds, but I sure would like to know if there are some.  Dan

Good thing ROund2 reissued th 63 Vette to provide me new chrome and glass parts

 A lot of rebuilds will be impossible or have poorer results with Modelhaus out of the mix. I used to hand make stuff in th 70s but they end reult not as good. I made a 60 imperial and 58 Fairlane rear bumpers So so resultss

[Bob Ellis]

nice job on that 65 Corvette

[StevenGuthmiller]

 A lot of rebuilds will be impossible or have poorer results with Modelhaus out of the mix.

Nothing is impossible.

Most of what Modelhaus makes are copies of original kit parts.

With a little time & effort, almost any part can be found on ebay.

I have bought parts from Modelhaus mostly out of convenience.

But for the most part, I would rather have original styrene parts.

So I just poke around ebay when I'm in need of something & I can usually find what I need within a few weeks or so.

As an example, I just picked up a '63 Bonneville rear bumper a couple of days ago after searching for a couple of weeks.

Next I'm looking for a set of stock wheel covers for a '65 Mercury.

No luck yet, but I'm very confident that they will show up eventually.

 

Steve

[keyser]

I love saving stuff, and have a lot of builders. I do, however, primer cars in batches, and nothing really needed much bodywork, if any, save for hole filling or mold line removal. So my pile of primered restorables/ersatz active projects is going to get dinked on value since I primed them? 

That seems goofy if it's evident the car is decent. Like leaving the bird dung on the barn find, as it enhances the value? 

It's not like a 1:1 that'll rust or be structurally unsound, and lousy bodywork easier to see in primer on a kit than a 1:1. Tire burns, putty shrink, etc. scream at you.

I should say I'm behind on some projects I primered. I found a few I primered together about '95 or so. Still waiting, with minty original or Chrome-tech chrome, polished original glass, and bagged. I'll stop bulk priming immediately so my estate can get best returns 

[59 Impala]

nice job on that 65 Corvette

Thanks Bob.  I enjoyed rebuilding it.  I have a lot of cars that I built back in the 60's that I'm rebuilding as time allows.    Dan

[Nova-ss]

I as well fined most of the parts I'm looking for on ebay.I'm always lookung in the world for parts.its shocking as to much pld models there is in people attics,shops,garages. thrift shops...I just people if they have any...but ebay is pretty healthy to,but you pay alot for them.yes sure wished there was a place for us old plastic nuts to talk and discuss, parts,better ways of tear down,reconditioning of parts and just a under glass for old plastic only.its a growing area...Its a blsst and so much fun and rewarding....to me......Chris

[SSNJim]

Here is one of the websites I know about that deals with Scale Model Restorations: http://inscale.proboards.com/ . It's not very active now, but there's lots of information and neat projects.

[StevenGuthmiller]

 It's not very active now

Boy, you can say that again!

Hasn't been a post since last year with the exception of a couple in the new members section.

But, I did book mark the site.

Maybe it just needs a few of us to get over there & get things "jump started".

 

Steve

[FordRodnKustom]

 A lot of rebuilds will be impossible or have poorer results with Modelhaus out of the mix. I used to hand make stuff in th 70s but they end reult not as good. I made a 60 imperial and 58 Fairlane rear bumpers So so resultss

Indeed their departure from the hobby will leave a void. Won't affect me too much as I mostly make mine into customs. The small trim parts and stock hub caps and such aren't that important to me so Don and Carol's well deserved retirement won't be a show stopper here.

A few I have staged in the "to do" area of the shop

[FordRodnKustom]

Boy, you can say that again!

Hasn't been a post since last year with the exception of a couple in the new members section.

But, I did book mark the site.

Maybe it just needs a few of us to get over there & get things "jump started".

 

Steve

Could be fun.

[Bob Ellis]

let's say it has simplified the process

Nice Falcon.  Great save.  I rebuilt a 65 Corvette awhile back.  The body wasn't in to bad of shape and not painted, but, the rest was real bad.  Here are some pics of some of the parts that needed work.

The glass needed a lot of work to get it lookin good.

This how she turned out.  I was able to save most of the original car and used wheels from the parts box along with the rear bumpers.

Rebuilding these kind of builds is a lot of fun and work to get them done.  I don't know of any site that is dedicated to rebuilds, but I sure would like to know if there are some.  Dan

Good thing ROund2 reissued th 63 Vette to provide me new chrome and glass parts

 A lot of rebuilds will be impossible or have poorer results with Modelhaus out of the mix. I used to hand make stuff in th 70s but they end reult not as good. I made a 60 imperial and 58 Fairlane rear bumpers So so resultss

[Bob Ellis]

 

Indeed their departure from the hobby will leave a void. Won't affect me too much as I mostly make mine into customs. The small trim parts and stock hub caps and such aren't that important to me so Don and Carol's well deserved retirement won't be a show stopper here.

A few I have staged in the "to do" area of the shop

IN the '70s , I did as you say work with what I had. custom or soe modification. I had a 58 Ford an 60 Imperial without back bumpers in 1974. I made the bumpers.

[dshue76]

I enjoy rebuilding kits that I have built. After a while of looking at them on the shelf I start getting ideas of what I would do differently. If it's a subject that I really like and the kit is easy to find I usually just get a new kit and do it the new way, but if it's a really hard to find or expensive kit and/or not really a subject that is one that I love then I will take it down off the shelf and start tearing into it. 

I also have builds from my younger days that don't have any paint on the body. I never glue interior tubs to chassis plates or bodies to chassis plates or engine/tranny to chassis and if the windows stay in place without glue then I never used to glue them either. So most times it doesn't take much work to prep the body for paint. Right now I'm working on an AMT 66 Fairlane 427. I was able to remove all chrome trim with success. Then while looking for the missing tail light bezels I came across a new chrome sprue for the kit. I used to buy every version of this body style, fairlanes, galaxies, comets etc. Now I just have to dig in the spares boxes to see if I can come up with a side window.

This sat in bare plastic for 20 years or more.