When Jo Han was a competetor - 62 Rambler Classic

[Eshaver]

Yes, there WAS a time when Jo-han was a competitor in the plastic kit market . It's no secret Jo Ham haneeil was truly a master craftsman as the molds started as 1-10th wood carvings . Then too, there was a time when opening a Jo_Han annual kit was every bit as good as one from SMP , Aurora , or AMT . . Jo-Han had the Imperials , De Soto's , Studebaker's and of course Nash Rambler's the bigger kit manufactures didn't .

People have told me they don't remember this kit . While this is an original, Seville , the molding operation who took over JoHan in the 1990's re issued the Rambler as a Taxi Promo I needed some "Off beat " cars to pose with a Victorian Home diorama I'm doing for a 2018 invitational miniatures show . This Rambler will "Grace " a scale West Franklin Street near the Virginia Commonwealth university campus and show off a 1968 Richmond Virginia

[Mercuryman54]

Back in the 1960's Jo-Han was in my opinion 2nd only to AMT. They were my choices for kits back in the day. 

[High octane]

Back in the 1960's Jo-Han was in my opinion 2nd only to AMT. They were my choices for kits back in the day. 

I have to agree with you Dennis, however JoHan made Mopar kits and I just love dem Mopars! There are a few AMT kits from back-in-the-day that I would really like to have, however I have enough to build in my lifetime without chasin' down more kits.

[Arjay 396]

however JoHan made Mopar kits and I just love dem Mopars!

+1

I remember their '69 Roadrunner kit as being a pretty nice model.  Decades ago I built one and painted it in MM1 Turbine Bronze Poly to replicate the 1:1 Plymouth my brother-in-law owned.  I should build another one......

 

[iBorg]

Johan did some things right and some things so-so. I always felt their chassis was toy like but that was through the eyes of someone not in their intended market. The engines and bodies were exceptional. Their interiors were really hit or miss.

Until Revell did their funny car series, the Challenger and Mustang/Pinto were the high water marks of funny cars. 

Their Pro Stock kits I think surpassed MPC's. Of course the only decent pro stock from AMT was a repackaging of the Johan Maverick.

 

[High octane]

+1

I remember their '69 Roadrunner kit as being a pretty nice model.  Decades ago I built one and painted it in MM1 Turbine Bronze Poly to replicate the 1:1 Plymouth my brother-in-law owned.  I should build another one......

 

Yes I too should build a JoHan '69 Road Runner kit soon, and I'm currently working on the Revell '70 Road Runner.

[espo]

I remember building several of the Jo Han kits when I was younger. They had very well proportioned bodies and the chassis while very basic was the norm for AMT also at that time. I built their Road Runner kit that came out around   '69. At that time their bodies were superior to anything even AMT offered. The only down side that I remembered was that their interiors sometimes seamed a little shallow. I would like to see your build up on this project.  

[towtruck]

I'm old enough to remember when JoHan was a player & in a lot of ways the were second to no one.

[ChrisBcritter]

I built one of those Ramblers from an original kit in the late '70s; shortly thereafter Jo-Han (or what was left of it) reissued the darn thing (or what was left of it). It was one of my nicer builds at the time. (I think, like their Studebaker Lark and Rambler American, the scale was closer to 1/24?)

Ellen, do you have plans for the custom parts?

[Mark]

Johan did some things right and some things so-so. I always felt their chassis was toy like but that was through the eyes of someone not in their intended market. The engines and bodies were exceptional. Their interiors were really hit or miss.

Until Revell did their funny car series, the Challenger and Mustang/Pinto were the high water marks of funny cars. 

Their Pro Stock kits I think surpassed MPC's. Of course the only decent pro stock from AMT was a repackaging of the Johan Maverick.

 

I still think Jo-Han's early Logghe chassis is the best one of that style.  The Revell Hawaiian has a decent one, but I think it's a later/narrower version.  The Jo-Han ones are still great because all of them share a lot of parts (axles, radius rods, roll cage).  There are several sets of chassis side rails (AMX, Javelin/Hornet, Rebel, Olds 442, Mopar, Maverick/Comet) with different lengths, and engine mounting setups for AMC, Olds, late Hemi, and Boss 429.  Parts from one can be used to replace missing parts any of the others.

MPC was limited with their Pro Stock kits by being tied to stock bodies.  They couldn't get too crazy with cleaning them up (getting rid of windshield wipers, etc) because they'd have to issue a promo model and stock kit the following year.  AMT was even more limited because their drag versions were usually part of an annual kit that had a bone stock version also.  The only full-on Pro Stock kit they did was a '75 Nova, which nobody ran in 1:1.

[Tom99]

It is an unusual kit. I got a built one in a collection I acquired many years ago.

[PARTSMARTY]

Johan had some of the coolest sujects and as High Octane said-cool mopars.MOPARS RULE

PARTS MARTY

AKA-MOPAR MARTY

[unclescott58]

Back in the 1960's Jo-Han was in my opinion 2nd only to AMT. They were my choices for kits back in the day. 

I'll second the above opinion. I loved those old Jo-Han kits.

As far as detail goes, Jo-Han could vary quite a bit. True, that most of their annual kits lacked detail chassis. Reissued kits, including their '69 Road Runner kit, could not always be relied upon to have the correct interior in them. Yet Jo-Han's Gold Cup kits were some of nicest kits ever designed. Their Chrysler Turbine Car, classic Mercedes and Cadillacs are tough to beat for nice detail.

Presently I'm working on Jo-Han's '69 SC/Rambler kit. Not a bad kit. The detail features are better than what I normally expect from a Jo-Han kit. The chassis has much more detailed than most Jo-Han kits. It has separate exhaust pipes, gas tank, etc. The chassis looks good. The interior also looks nice. But, it is not what came in the real '69 SC/Rambler. For earlier Rambler Americans the interior is correct. But not the '69 SC/Rambler. I assume they figured that most people, mainly kids buying models at the time, would not know or care that the interior in incorrect for a '69. 

Jo-Han's U.S.A. Oldies kits reissued in the 70's could not always be relied on for having the correct interiors. I remember the '62 Dodge and Plymouth kits sharing the same dashboard. Which is not correct on the real cars. And what was wrong with Jo-Han's '69 Road Runner interior? The later reissues came with 1970 hi-back bucket seats. Despite these mistakes, I'd love to own any of these kits today. The lack the chassis detail does not bother me. I love model cars that look right. Mainly in body, grille, taillights, etc. And for the most part, Jo-Han models had that right look to me when they were finished. 

I keep hoping someone still has the dies for Jo-Hans old kits. And someday we can see them become available again.

[ChrisBcritter]

Or if the dies don't turn up, hopefully some of the more popular/scarce kits can be scanned and reverse-engineered back to life. The Maverick would be a good candidate...

[RomanII]

I hope you can share pics of the 2018 invitational miniatures show once it has occurred.  Giving context to our toys really makes them enjoyable.  And best of luck if the invitational is a competition.

[unclescott58]

I hope you can share pics of the 2018 invitational miniatures show once it has occurred.  Giving context to our toys really makes them enjoyable.  And best of luck if the invitational is a competition.

??? What is the above about? How does it fit in with the discussion in this thread? Am I missing something here?

Edited September 10, 2017 by unclescott58

[bamadon]

??? What is the above about? How does it fit in with the discussion in this thread? Am I missing something here?

Scott, take a look at the first post.

[MrObsessive]

Just to show you how crazy prices can get for those OOP old Johans, take a look at this recently ended auction!

[Mark]

Just to show you how crazy prices can get for those OOP old Johans, take a look at this recently ended auction!

That auction price probably isn't out of line with what some mail-order sellers and show vendors would ask for a '61 Plymouth kit.  I can't remember what I paid for my unbuilt one, but at the time it might have been high (though nowhere near that high).  I think it's starting to sink in with most folks that Jo-Han isn't going to be staging any great comeback.  I sold a couple of "extra" Jo-Han items at NNL East...probably the last Jo-Han stuff I'll let go of.  I'm not in any sort of "acquisition mode", but if something turns up at the right price I'll jump on it, whether to keep or resell...

[MrObsessive]

Yeah Mark, of all the old kits I have, the Johan ones are probably the last I'll let go. They're getting harder to find (especially untouched ones) with each passing year, and the prices reflect that. Interesting that '61 Plymouth went for the price it did! Of all the strange cars ever put out by Detroit, that car has to among one of the weirdest!

Maybe that's why folks love 'em so much!

[tim boyd]

I still think Jo-Han's early Logghe chassis is the best one of that style. 

I completely share Mark's view on this....back in the day, JoHan's first gen Logghe chassis was the best on the market.  MPC's second gen Logghe chassis (such as the 1970 Cyclone "Cyclops" kit was the first MPC funny car chassis that was really competitive with JoHan's, primarily because the MPC tool replicated a much more up to date Logghe chassis design.  

IMHO, JoHan then re-established their funny car chassis "leadership" with their 1972 Mustang/Pinto funny car kits, as duly noted by Mike elsewhere above in this thread  .....TIM

Edited September 11, 2017 by tim boyd