Anybody recognise these old resin bodies?

[Simon]

Hi folks, I recently picked up a couple of resin car bodies from a Facebook group. I'm told they date back to the 1990s, but I really have no more information than that. I have never built a resin kit before, other than a truck chassis extension. These bodies look pretty indistinct and challenging to finish. They include a weird flat metal base plate, and the Caddy includes simple wheels and a front bumper.

I have two questions: 1) do you think these are worth even attempting as builds? and 2) what would be the best styrene donor kits to make them? I'm told that they are a '49 Dodge wagon and a '39 Cadillac sedan: could the Italeri '33 Cadillac kit make a good donor for the '39?

 

 

[Rob Hall]

I wonder if those are TKM resin kits...IIRC, TKM used those weird chassis...

[dimaxion]

Yes , these are TKM resins . Slush cast and considered crude by today's standards . I have a WIP and 3 Built Tom did Cast as kits . Quite allot of work , acceptable results . I would like to find a few more ..

    The  Italeri '33 Caddy would be a poor choice for this . Stick with the shelf curbside . The Metal plate Chassis will support the mass of the casting . A Wire Wheeled all plastic underneath .. not so much .  By 1039 , Caddy had shunned Wire Wheels . Thanx .. 

[my66s55]

Absolutely correct on the 33 frame being totally unacceptable. In 1934, G.M went to independent front suspension. This style carried through into the early 50's. The 1948 Chevrolet and 1950 Olds kits have this style. As far as the frame, it goes from two straight rails to forming to the shape of the body. The frame would look like this LaSalle frame, only a different size.

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2017 by my66s55

[Simon]

Great information, thanks gents. I'm beginning to think that I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this pair! Or at least, bitten off a chunk which takes much more chewing than the other pies.

Doug, thanks for taking the trouble to post the chassis drawing. I don't have either of those kits in my stash, and now I think about it, if I did I'd probably prefer to build them up box-stock rather than invest the parts in my questionable resin Cadillac.

The 1948 Chevrolet and 1950 Olds kits have this style.

[dimaxion]

I'll posrt the rest if anyone wants to see them .. Thanx .. 

[RomanII]

Yes, John, please post more pics.  TKM Models are unique and an acquired taste for sure.  But they are still interesting to see.  Thanks.

[unclescott58]

Friends and I have joked in the past that TKM stood for "Totally Krap Models." One of our former regular members of the MCCM, would bring in a TKM 80's Lincoln Town Car to remind others how bad TKM models were. His Lincoln was more of a plain brick of resin, than a true representation of the brick like Town Car. It was bad. And I believe to this day, it is still unbuilt.

Despite that. I'd love to see more photos of TKM models built. It would be interesting to see if others like John above, can make a halfway decent model from them?

Scott

 

Edited August 18, 2017 by unclescott58

[Mike999]

What a blast from the past!  I have a few TKM corpses...er, bodies/kits lying around.  Watch out for those chassis plates, with special bonus feature: tetanus!

Off and on for several years, I've been working on the TKM '41 Packard Clipper. Want to build it as a WWII military staff car, as used by Eisenhower, MacArthur and others. That eliminates the hassle of chroming that massive grille, since staff cars were painted solid Olive Drab, including all the chrome.  So far I've cleaned up the body and ground off the rear fender skirts, since very few staff cars kept those.  Discovered that the chassis from a Moebius '53 Hudson is practically a drop-fit, as far as wheelbase.  The big holdup is figuring out how to do a semi-accurate interior.  Maybe it will end up as burnt-out staff car...

[unclescott58]

One cool thing about TKM was the subjects they offered. Like the Packard Clipper mentioned by Mike above. It's a shame their kits were so poorly done. There were several cars they offered I would have been interested in building.

I'm afraid that TKM was to resin, what Palmer was to styrene. Maybe worst? At least Palmer car kits had seperate chrome parts. From what I've seen, TKM just molded everything in as one big lump. Heck, Palmers even had interiors. Which is more than I can say for the TKMs I've seen.

Scott

 

Edited August 18, 2017 by unclescott58

[gbt216]

I've almost forgotten the TKM lump that's been deep in the bowels of my stash for almost 30 years.....I think it's supposed to be a '58 Mercury Park Lane Phaeton....

[Mike999]

Some TKM kits did have interiors, mostly the convertibles.  One of their best kits, keeping in mind we're talking about TKM, is the '41 Cadillac convertible.  IIRC, it even got a pretty good review in The Other Model Car Magazine, many years ago.  I think their 61 Corvair van and 48 DeSoto wagon had interior parts too.

I happened to have pix of the TKM '48 Cadillac 4-door on this PC. The roof slant is not camera distortion, or your eyes playing tricks - the driver's side of the roof is considerably higher than the passenger side.  That should make for an interesting job of filling and sanding:

 

[Draggon]

As lousy as TKM bodies are, I wouldn't be able to make a master to look anything close to the real thing, or even like his. 

[unclescott58]

Who was behind TKM? Who originally created these models? How many different cars or trucks were offered? When, and how long were these kits produced? Has anybody ever purchased a second one, after receiving their first?

The '48 Caddy above looks terrible. And like any disaster. One can't help it. You have to stop and take a look. So I hope people keep posting more. As bad as they are. They are an important part of modeling history.

Edited August 19, 2017 by unclescott58

[dimaxion]

The '57 Dodge is a replica of my 1:1 I bought in 1966 . It is the first TKM Resin I bought . Sans Interior .. The Imperial is the second .. Sans Interior . The Caddy Seville does have the Interior . I have a Mark VIII Continental WIP .. With Guts , it is a later kit . I have both the '55 & '56 Packard Caribbeans . The Ragtop '55 has guts , not so the '56 Vinyl Topped HT . 

    Thomas K Mills was an early Resin Caster . Every one is Slush casted . The Vacum formed Glass was another kit performance in the later days of his products . Although these are thought crude  by today's standards . Superb in the day with NO other choices . I appreciate these in my collection . Yes , some heave body work is required .. Any one have the Mark VI Bussleback they would part with ?? I would consider a trade on the Packards ..   Thanx ..