A Blast From the X-EL Past

[StevenGuthmiller]

It's probably been a few years since anyone has seen one of these.

I have no idea why I kept it this long, but I thought some of you might be interested to see what X-EL was offering back in August of 1989.

 

Steve

 

 

[Luc Janssens]

Remember filling in that order form and sending it in....then a month or two later (surface mail) receiving the kits.

[disabled modeler]

Thanks for the memories Steve.....now were talking..!   I love this kind of stuff...!...shame they had to give up.  I have an old Auto World catalog look through it once in awhile.

[ChrisBcritter]

Let's see: got the '56 Plymouth, Olds, and DeSoto, '58 Olds, two '59 DeSotos and a '61 Dodge. Sure wish I'd grabbed a '57 Olds and the '58-'59 Cadillacs.

[disabled modeler]

Let's see: got the '56 Plymouth, Olds, and DeSoto, '58 Olds, two '59 DeSotos and a '61 Dodge. Sure wish I'd grabbed a '57 Olds and the '58-'59 Cadillacs.

Chris.... I have an old Johan 59 Cadillac 4 door model rebuilder that is decent...needs a few parts though.

Edited December 18, 2016 by disabled modeler

[MrObsessive]

Let's see what I got here on that list............

1958 Oldsmobile
1957 Oldsmobile (In pieces)
1959 Dodge (kit form)
1963 Turbine Car (albeit built in kit form)
1969 AMX
1958 Cadillac
1959 Plymouth (two of those)
1959 Cadillac (busted up built up )

One that's not on that list but was in the mid '80's which I have is the '68 Chrysler 300 convertible, and a 1966 Rambler station wagon.

That list takes me down memory lane! Long before I was into computers and the internet-------ordered what was on the list, and patiently waited.

[disabled modeler]

Let's see what I got here on that list............

1958 Oldsmobile
1957 Oldsmobile (In pieces)
1959 Dodge (kit form)
1963 Turbine Car (albeit built in kit form)
1969 AMX
1958 Cadillac
1959 Plymouth (two of those)
1959 Cadillac (busted up built up )

One that's not on that list but was in the mid '80's which I have is the '68 Chrysler 300 convertible, and a 1966 Rambler station wagon.

That list takes me down memory lane! Long before I was into computers and the internet-------ordered what was on the list, and patiently waited.

68 Chrysler and 66 Rambler wagon....COOL..!...those would be nice.

[MrObsessive]

Yeah Mark, the Rambler wagon I have unfortunately has a broken front bumper. It was one of the things I meant to include in the last order I made with The Modelhaus but forgot.

Now unless someone, someday takes over what they had I'll have to either live with it, or remake that corner where it's damaged on my own.

[Erik Smith]

Ahhh...pre-interweb world. I remember looking and drooling over the Hobby Heaven mailings. Shipping rates seem pretty reasonable back then. 

[Chuck Most]

The irony is that now these repops command more money than the original JoHan promos because these tend not to warp themselves inside out.

[MrObsessive]

The irony is that now these repops command more money than the original JoHan promos because these tend not to warp themselves inside out.

They can be hard to get at reasonable prices too! That's when/if they show up on eBay which isn't as often as it used to be. Deals can be had though if one is patient and keeps looking.

[Chuck Most]

They can be hard to get at reasonable prices too! That's when/if they show up on eBay which isn't as often as it used to be. Deals can be had though if one is patient and keeps looking.

I did manage to snag a '56 Desoto promo for ten bucks last summer. It's an original JoHan, and sometime in the past someone made up an elaborate chassis plate and brass "roll cage" thingamabob to straighten the body back out. I'm planning to use it as filler in a junkyard scene, so I can live with what warpage is still there. 

[gtx6970]

I've got a few of them . But Sure would like to have a few more . I would love to have a few 57 thru 59 cars

 

Big question is,,,,where did the tooling of these go ?

 

[unclescott58]

Fun to see. I too bought several from X-El in the day. If I would have had more money, I would have purchased more.

One order, I ordered their '59 Chrysler, '59 DeSoto, '59 Dodge, and '59 Plymouth promos. I requested that all four be sent in the same color combination, Light Blue with the Metalic Blue roof. Instead I only got the Chrysler in that color combination. The DeSoto came in White with a Dark Ruby colored roof. The Dodge, White with the Yellow. And Plymouth, White with an Aqua colored roof. Several years ago a friend and I were talking. He had the Chrysler, DeSoto, and Dodge in the Light Blue/Dark Blue combo I liked. But, wanted more of a mix with the colors with his. So we ended up swapping even up our DeSotos and Dodges. Since then I've been keeping my eye out for a '59 Plymouth to match the others. So far with no luck.

So I'm wondering if there is anybody out there who may have the two-tone Blue Plymouth I'm looking for? And maybe interested in swapping even up for the one I have? The Plymouth I have is in perfect condition. Still in the original promo style box X-El shipped it in. I would expect the same, if the person willing to trade their Plymouth for mine. The box is not a big deal. But, the condition of the model is.

By the way, when Model King brought the old AMT '59 Imperial kit a few years back, I bought and built one. Naturally I painted it Light Blue. Since I built it as convertible, to match the others, I painted the interior and boot cover Dark Blue.

Beyond the '59 Chryslers, I bought other X-El promos. Though again, with funds being the way they were back then, not as many as I would have liked to. It's a shame those promos are no longer easily attainable at reasonable prices. I'd love to add more to my collection.

R. Scott Aho

 

Edited December 18, 2016 by unclescott58

[StevenGuthmiller]

If I had the "disposable" income back then that I do now, I would have all of them.

As it sits, I only wound up with 8.

The '58 Caddy, '59 Dodge, '59 Plymouth, '59 Desoto, '58 Olds, '57 Olds, '61 Dodge & the '68 Chrysler 300 convertible.

Somewhere along the line, the '58 Olds went AWOL.

But I did manage to "build" a few of them, which was my intention when I bought them.

 

 

I also built the '61 Dodge & the '58 Caddy, but those are both slated for re-builds.

 

One that's not on that list but was in the mid '80's which I have is the '68 Chrysler 300 convertible

It's there Bill, just no photograph.

It's listed on the second page right below the '56 Plymouth Taxi.

 

Steve

[disabled modeler]

Yeah Mark, the Rambler wagon I have unfortunately has a broken front bumper. It was one of the things I meant to include in the last order I made with The Modelhaus but forgot.

Now unless someone, someday takes over what they had I'll have to either live with it, or remake that corner where it's damaged on my own.

Cool stuff Bill... I am a 60s/60s wagon nut of sorts.  Shame about the bumper....wish I could have ordered everything I need before they went out but the funds were never there to.  Me I find myself wondering if I like promos and promo like stuff better than kits at times...???   I wish mine were just as simple as needing to make a corner on a bumper if I could.  Between a tornado and then a breakin here once the ones I do have need a lot of parts and work.

[MrObsessive]

It's there Bill, just no photograph.

It's listed on the second page right below the '56 Plymouth Taxi.

Ahhh Ok! That's one that never seems to show up on the 'Bay. If it does, get out your wallet which might be screaming!

EDIT: I want to say ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL '59's Steve!!

Edited December 18, 2016 by MrObsessive

[Greg Myers]

Prices seem high for the time

[StevenGuthmiller]

Prices seem high for the time

They were, but I'd have a field day if you could find them for those prices today!

You have to remember, these were a "niche" in the kit market back then.

They could charge those kind of prices, & I'll bet that they did quite well.

If you notice the kit prices on the right side of the second page, they were appropriate for the time, $7.60.

 

Steve

Edited December 18, 2016 by StevenGuthmiller

[ChrisBcritter]

Oh yeah - forgot the '66 Rambler wagon - got one in black and gold.

Bill, can you use a Marlin front bumper to replace the broken one? They get parted out on eBay now and then.

[Lunajammer]

... I thought some of you might be interested to see what X-EL was offering back in August of 1989.

 

Steve

 

 

I know it says '89, but I got my catalog around '73, '74 and looked very much the same. Even at that time, half the listings were unavailable.

Edited December 19, 2016 by Lunajammer

[Robberbaron]

Wow, this brings back memories!  My older brother got these X-EL price lists.  I remember looking over it and wishing I had the funds for pretty much all of them.  Alas, being in junior high, all my lawn-mowing earnings were already stretched thin purchasing regular off-the-shelf kits.

My brother did end up getting  several of the ones on this list, including the black/red '58 Olds, the burgundy '57 Olds, and the pink '58 Caddy.

Also interesting to seeing which Johan kits were still available at this time.  I'm thinking the Rebel Machine and Pro Stock Maverick must have been discontinued shortly after this.  I clearly remember having both of those on my "future buy" list around this time, but they disappeared from the LHS shelves before I could get them.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I know it says '89, but I got my catalog around '73, '74 and looked very much the same. Even at that time, half the listings were unavailable.

I don't think X-EL was in existence in '73 & '74.

Johan was still making models at that time, hence the '73-'79 Oldsmobiles & Cadillacs.

As far as I know, X-EL didn't come into the picture until the '80s.

I can't remember ever having any trouble getting what I ordered.

 

Steve

[Lunajammer]

A little web surfing seems to confirm that. I'll have to check my old files to see if that had once been a Johan catalog. What's confusing me is I was pretty much out of modeling from the early-mid 70s when I was really into Johan products and about '89 when I was getting re-introduced to mainstream modeling and X-El was barely on my radar and I didn't really understand what the company was.

Edited December 19, 2016 by Lunajammer

[StevenGuthmiller]

A little web surfing seems to confirm that. I'll have to check my old files to see if that had once been a Johan catalog. What's confusing me is I was pretty much out of modeling from the early-mid 70s when I was really into Johan products and about '89 when I was getting re-introduced to mainstream modeling and X-El was barely on my radar and I didn't really understand what the company was.

As I understand it, X-EL was just an off shoot of Johan itself.

Back in the mid 80s when, Johan started going down the tubes, X-EL was created to sell some of the old Johan promotional models while Johan tried to focus on saving the company.

Just a way for Johan to try to make a few extra bucks.

It wasn't until '91 that Seville took over those old Johan molds, & we all know where it went from there.

 

Steve