First Jo-Han kit - 1976 Eldorado

[Harry Joy]

1976 Cadillac Eldorado.

I've really been enjoying looking at pics of the classic 70s Jo-Han kits, so when I saw this one relatively cheap, I had to pick it up.

It was an interesting build. This kit did not have the parts breakdown I've come to expect from kits of the era. However, the plastic was VERY brittle, leading to all sorts of issues. I finally decided it was at an acceptable point, and I'm leaving it there. The kit tires were unusable, and were replaced with AMTs.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Harry Joy

[GMCMAN52]

You can't go wrong with a big caddy.....looking good to me

[charlie8575]

Nice job on this.

Charlie Larkin

[ChrisR]

Looks very nice!

[Harry Joy]

Thanks guys.

Edited because I posted one picture twice, instead of inserting the third pic.

[peekay]

Very nice! 

[RAMBENNA]

love the Johan Caddys and yours is awesome . nice work

[CometMan]

Nicely done Harry!

[om617]

Very nice Cadillac,adding some detail/foil to these really makes an huge diffrence on appearance.

[slusher]

Sharp Cadillac Harry. What made it brittle, the way it was stored?

[NYNS Franky]

Amazing!  Love those style of Eldo's, great color combo.

[hedotwo]

Great build and I like the color too.

[disabled modeler]

Nice Caddy...!   I am a fan of the Johan Cadillac kits.

Carl sometimes older kits become brittle with age...older usually the more brittle but have seen some that were just like the day they were made.

[Harry Joy]

Sharp Cadillac Harry. What made it brittle, the way it was stored?

Thanks everyone.

I couldn't tell you how it was stored. I bought it online barely a month before I started building.

As usual with my models, my wife picked the colors. This one was painted with Tamiya.

[Snake45]

Nice Caddy...!   I am a fan of the Johan Cadillac kits.

Carl sometimes older kits become brittle with age...older usually the more brittle but have seen some that were just like the day they were made.

Now that it's been mentioned, I believe a couple of my '80s-reissue JoHans have bodies that are a bit more brittle than usual. Not quite as bad as plain clear styrene, but clearly moving in that direction.

[crazyjim]

Very nice.

[John Teresi]

Harry.......great job......my Dad had a car like this.....nice!!!!!!!

[GTJUNIOR]

Nice work. 

[Helix]

Nice work Harry!

[Harry Joy]

Thanks everyone.

The brittle plastic was a pain, but NOT a showstopper. A few body parts cracked during the build, some fine parts didn't come off the trees intact, when sanding some parts it was like sanding butter, and all in all I was terrified of dropping it while I was building - BUT, I enjoyed the build very much and hope to find some more of these gems . At an affordable price!

The most brittle kit I ever attempted was an ESCI Skyraider, that started coming apart in flakes as I handled it. Sort of like an antique 78 record that's sat in water a few years. Of course, this kit wasn't like that. There is going to be a dedicated car show in Memphis in a couple of months, and I'll be looking for some decently priced Jo-Han kits. Their 70s catalog seems to hit all the right notes for me. They did the land-yachts others wouldn't touch.

[martinfan5]

NICE