Vintage 1:32nd Revell/AMT 56 Buick

[#1 model citizen]

12 hours ago, Dave Darby said:

Multi piece body? Not a problem. This is the Revell 60 (Really a 59) kit. One of the perks of the multi piece body is the pioneering use of the platform style interior. Much better than the one piece AMT/ SMP kit with its tub style interior. And no visible seams.

 

 

You must not have tackled these 1:32 kits! Interior side panels are suppose to be attached to the exterior sides 1st, add front fenders/Eng compartment, dash, rear seat & trunk then attach to the floor pan. (The attaching pins are molded to the interior panels.) Throw on the roof at some point, too. If the dash, rear seat and chassis weren't intrical to the build of the body, then painting /detailing wouldn't be as nearly impossible it is. Or maybe its just me!?!? 

[Dave Darby]

11 hours ago, #1 model citizen said:

You must not have tackled these 1:32 kits! Interior side panels are suppose to be attached to the exterior sides 1st, add front fenders/Eng compartment, dash, rear seat & trunk then attach to the floor pan. (The attaching pins are molded to the interior panels.) Throw on the roof at some point, too. If the dash, rear seat and chassis weren't intrical to the build of the body, then painting /detailing wouldn't be as nearly impossible it is. Or maybe its just me!?!? 

Those 1/32 scale kits go together just like the Corvette in the photos. I don't think it is necessary to attach the interior panels to the body sides that early, unless I was just tacking them in as an assembly aid. I would deviate from the instructions and assemble and prep the body, then paint and attach the rest of the components.

 

[Richard Bartrop]

For the aircraft crowd there are limited run injection moulded kitsmade from fairly simple moulds that aren't intended to last a long time.   Maybe a similar approach with multi piece bodies that don't need moulds with movable parts might be a way to go with automotive subjects that might be hard to justify for more conventional injection moulded kits.

[#1 model citizen]

On 1/23/2018 at 9:14 AM, Dave Darby said:

Those 1/32 scale kits go together just like the Corvette in the photos. I don't think it is necessary to attach the interior panels to the body sides that early, unless I was just tacking them in as an assembly aid. I would deviate from the instructions and assemble and prep the body, then paint and attach the rest of the components.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your response, Dave. Your "Vette turned out nice. I have decided that this is route to try. These 1:32 don't assemble quite the same, but  its worth the try. I have been contemplating trying to assemble the body w/o the interior pieces for a while now. I need to stop the procrastination and start the gluein' ! 

[blunc]

that was going to my plan, just re-engineer the kit a bit so I can paint and detail it the way I want to.

I just have to screw up my gumption and make some front and rear glass for them.

[#1 model citizen]

5 hours ago, blunc said:

that was going to my plan, just re-engineer the kit a bit so I can paint and detail it the way I want to.

I just have to screw up my gumption and make some front and rear glass for them.

This thread has inspired me to pull out 1 of my Chryslers last night started gluing the body. Had to cut the locating pin off 1 of the pieces for better alignment, glued them and had to let them dry over night. Will glue another piece on tonight. I will have the 2 sides attached to the trunk & maybe I can get the cowl/firewall installed too...  I have also been working on a 1:32 Lindberg multi piece '49 Ford. It has no separate interior walls. The interior detail is lightly scribed on the inside of the body panels. 

[blunc]

I can't bring myself to do the '49 Ford, the proportions and shape of the front of the car don't look right to me. Same for the Pyro/Lindberg '52 Chevy's

[#1 model citizen]

9 hours ago, blunc said:

I can't bring myself to do the '49 Ford, the proportions and shape of the front of the car don't look right to me. Same for the Pyro/Lindberg '52 Chevy's

I started the Ford as the '49-'50 Fords are 1 of my GF's favorites. (I think she bought the kit) I thought it would be a quick build.  It does look a little strange to me, too. I wished I'd started 1 of AMT's kits rather than spend time on the Lindberg. The body did glue together easier than the Chrysler has so far. I have the Pyro Chevy kits. I haven't really studied them, but I would really like to have a built station wagon sitting on my shelf. That won't happen for quite awhile. I've got to finish the Chryslers and a Revell '59 Chevy before I leave the 1:32 quagmire for awhile. (I have a 1:32 '56 Buick I'd like to restore, too!) Lots of 1:25 projects calling me.  

[Mike999]

7 hours ago, #1 model citizen said:

I have the Pyro Chevy kits. I haven't really studied them, but I would really like to have a built station wagon sitting on my shelf.

The PYRO '52 Chevy wagon has a problem - it's a 2-door, and Chevy didn't make a 2-door wagon in 1952. Only 4-doors.  You can always say it was a custom build for a resort, hotel, ski lodge etc.  That has happened.  Somebody built at least one 1958 Imperial as a 2-door wagon:

 

[ChrisBcritter]

Yes, despite the box art, the body is much closer to a Sedan Delivery in shape - and even then you'd have to shorten the doors to match that. Might make a good ambulance conversion?

[Casey]

[ChrisBcritter]

 How did you get this photo? Is it something Atlantis turned up?

[Casey]

13 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

 How did you get this photo? Is it something Atlantis turned up?

Yes, they posted it on their facebook page.

Don Sikora can add more info if he wishes. ?

[Tom Geiger]

Here’s what the Buick looks like assembled. I once bought a tray full of 1/32 built ups at a show for $20. I didn’t even realize the Buick was scarce until later.

 

[Tom Geiger]

On 12/29/2017 at 10:40 PM, Eric Macleod said:

 As Pyro has taught us better a bad kit than no kit at all. 

Pyro has been misunderstood in history. Bill Lester was one of the pioneers of injection molding. His main business was the development and manufacture of equipment. Pyro was just a side business and is better known for their toys than model car kits. 

The multi piece bodies were because of the limitations of the craft in those days. The tooling has to be shallow before things like ejectors and slides were developed and refined.

The Pyro facility was in Union, New Jersey. There is a Home Depot on the site today.

[ChrisBcritter]

According to Atlantis, "We have the body mold."  

[Brian Albano]

 

              Very interested in the '56 Buick !!  I have the exact same car in my garage, same color and all ! ( It was a popular color combination back then. I have 2 page spread from a Life Magazine  ad with that same car that I display at car shows. When i was a kid I built many AMT & Revell models. I had no idea this one existed until recently. It's gotten me back into the model building thing. I just bought a Revell T-Bird to match the OTHER car in my garage !  Anyone know where I can find the Revell '56 buick for sail !.............Thanks................Brian  

     

[Motor City]

I have the AMT 1/25th 4-door hardtop Roadmaster promo without an interior.  Modelhaus made replacement portholes for it.  These Revell kits had pretty good detail for their time.

[unclescott58]

Another kit I hope that Atlantis does. I love that Atlantis keeps pulling out and reissuing these old Revell and Monogram kits that I've wanted for years. Kits, that for a variety of reasons I could not get when they first came out. I'm wondering if they still have the tooling for the '56 Mercury, or a stock variation of the '56 Chrysler? The last time the Chrysler was reissued in Revell/Monogram's SSP program, it came out as a custom version only. I suspect tooling was modified sometime in the late-50's, early-60's, to make it not practical to reissue in a stock variation. 

As far as the multi pieces bodies go, I've never really had a problem with them. In this series of kits, I've built the '56 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible, the '56 Ford Sunliner convertible, and '56 Continental Mark II. In the larger 1/25 scale kits I've built the '59 Ford Skyliner retractable. With a little time and patience I've had little to no problem with these kits. I've also found the same with the Pyro/Life Like/Lindberg '49 Ford and '52 Chevy fastback coupe. The trick I use, is that I use the chassis and tape as a base for the builds. I build up and square up bodies from that foundation. I've had pretty good luck with that. Tamiya masking tape is my best friend when it comes to building kits. Not just for the initial taping of the lower body panels to my chassis/foundation, but securing the upper body panels to the lower ones too. I've gotten fine results, with no major problems. 

[Bob Ellis]

On 12/29/2017 at 8:18 PM, Snake45 said:

Very interesting! I'd think that it would be much easier to tool up bodies in this multipiece way than to do it with big molds with sliding inserts for one-piece bodies. If someone would issue 1/24-1/25 cars that had never been kitted before, done this way, would you buy them? I sure would. Been building model airplanes for more than 50 years and multipiece assembly doesn't bother me in the least but I'm wondering what everyone else thinks about the idea. 

I can't say tooling is easier but multi-piece bodies can yield more accurate bodies as one piece bodies have angles letting the body release from the tool

[ChrisBcritter]

It all comes down to quality of engineering, doesn't it? Revell's '55-56 cars were intricate and pretty good representations of the real cars - if you could get everything lined up during body assembly. The Chrysler has issues with the fit of the roof and worse issues with the hood - if you line it up at the cowl, it's crooked in front. I'll get the thing tamed eventually. The later multi-piece Revell kits seemed to go together better - especially the '59 Skyliner and Vette.

Edited September 5, 2020 by ChrisBcritter

[Casey]

Recently completed eBay listing for the 1/32 Revell/AMT 1/32 '56 Chrysler New Yorker: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Revell-AMT-56-Chrysler-New-Yorker-Deluxe-1-32-Vintage-Model-/284166909161?nma=true&si=yzuKnimeATEx%2FZXWtarHjQVcT44%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

[Dave Darby]

On 9/5/2020 at 4:38 AM, ChrisBcritter said:

It all comes down to quality of engineering, doesn't it? Revell's '55-56 cars were intricate and pretty good representations of the real cars - if you could get everything lined up during body assembly. The Chrysler has issues with the fit of the roof and worse issues with the hood - if you line it up at the cowl, it's crooked in front. I'll get the thing tamed eventually. The later multi-piece Revell kits seemed to go together better - especially the '59 Skyliner and Vette.

Is it possible yours has some warpage? I had a built one some years ago, and it was bang on straight, as I recall. I might have some pics of it. I'll do some digging.

[bisc63]

I'd build that Buick in a heartbeat if they just scaled up the tooling to 1/25. I wouldn't be deterred by a multi-piece body if I dig the subject. I even like that the Buick is a 4-door hardtop, an under-appreciated genre. This is one I didn't know even existed; thanks for posting!

[Mark]

Revell did a decent job on those multiple piece bodies, both 1/32 and 1/25 scale.  It's interesting that, in the mid-Seventies, they dusted several of the 1/25 scale kits (Ranchero, Skyliner, Corvette, Porsche, and Austin-Healey) off for reissue while leaving the '62 Mopars in the tool crib...