Some of my "Unbuildables"

[spencer1984]

There are a few kits that regularly pop up on "Worst Model Ever" lists, due to age, poor design, or multiple remolds/modifications (and sometimes all three). I've had quite a few of these in my stash, and while some turned out better than others it's been fun to see how close I could get to a silk purse with these...

AMT '62 Corvette - nothing ahead of the front wheels looked right, from the tiny headlights to the too-tall front pan.

AMT '72 Nova SS - separate front fenders and badly bowed roof pillars meant that almost nothing looked straight out of the box.

MPC '69 Dodge Daytona - All the problems of their General Lee, plus an ill-fitting nose cone!

MPC '67 GTO - just, ugh.

 

[spencer1984]

Bonus Round! Is it easier to build a junker from a rough kit?

Eh, not really. All the effort going into banging it up means I also want to add more details, and end up making more work for myself.  Sometimes I do not make good decisions.

[smellyfatdude]

Looks like you beat every one of those kits in to submission. 

[Lunajammer]

I'd say you made silk purses out of sow's ears then, because they all look good. I rather like the primer Nova. Really captures the vibe of the era's back yard street machines.

Edited July 13, 2018 by Lunajammer

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, smellyfatdude said:

Looks like you beat every one of those kits in to submission. 

It sure does! Nicely done, and I've built a couple of those myself.

[Funkychiken]

They'd look good on me shelf!

[Oldcarfan27]

I think you've proven that even bad kits can look good, given the proper building technique. They just don't "fall" together looking good. 

Attention to detail is key

Great job!

Now try a 69 Firebird, 77 Camaro (AMT) and old Revell 67 beetle (no fair using the new one)

Honorable Mention goes to AMTs 59 (actually 60) Corvette. That one is so bad, you become a master builder if you can make that one look good!

[spencer1984]

Thanks guys!

19 minutes ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

Now try a 69 Firebird, 77 Camaro (AMT) and old Revell 67 beetle (no fair using the new one)

I think I have a '77 Camaro, I know I have one of the weird-bodied '70½ Z-28 kits.  I forgot about the Beetle, I had one years ago but parted it out.  Didn't know the Firebird was in that list, too.  Thanks for the suggestions!

22 minutes ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

Honorable Mention goes to AMTs 59 (actually 60) Corvette.

Was that the one that was released as the Riptide Corvette at one point? If so, I do have one of those done:

[Snake45]

24 minutes ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

Now try a 69 Firebird, 77 Camaro (AMT) and old Revell 67 beetle (no fair using the new one)

Honorable Mention goes to AMTs 59 (actually 60) Corvette. That one is so bad, you become a master builder if you can make that one look good!

I have the AMT '59/'60 Vette on the bench even as we speak. I think it's going to look MUCH better than the '62. In fact, I think it might even be better than the MPC '60. 

I did the '62 Vette, and it doesn't look bad except for those mini headlights. 

The MPC/AMT '67 GTO isn't "unbuildable," it just takes a lot of skill and work to get it straight and looking good. I did one that came out almost as nice as Spencer's. 

[Snake45]

2 minutes ago, spencer1984 said:

Didn't know the Firebird was in that list, too. 

The '69 Firebird isn't unbuildable, but it suffers from the same problem as the MPC '69 Camaro: It was only halfway updated from the '68, and is quite wrong. But there's one easy thing you can do to it that will make it look at least 50% better. When you want to build yours, drop me an email and I'll explain what needs to be done. 

[spencer1984]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

I did the '62 Vette, and it doesn't look bad except for those mini headlights. 

The lower front fascia struck me as too tall, too, but yeah - those tiny headlights are the real killer.

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

The '69 Firebird isn't unbuildable, but it suffers from the same problem as the MPC '69 Camaro: It was only halfway updated from the '68, and is quite wrong. But there's one easy thing you can do to it that will make it look at least 50% better. When you want to build yours, drop me an email and I'll explain what needs to be done. 

Will do! Since that post I've been checking prices on some of these kits, and I'll definitely have to give the '69 a shot.

[PARTSMARTY]

They look great-well done !!!

[Oldcarfan27]

16 hours ago, spencer1984 said:

I think I have a '77 Camaro, I know I have one of the weird-bodied '70½ Z-28 kits.

It's the headlight areas, they just don't look right at all! And the chassis and engine are worthless. I do think they modified the tool back to the 70 1/2 so I don't think we'll ever see the 77 again. And now that they have the new tool 70, the old one is probably dead now.

[bbowser]

Nicely done on all.  It takes more skill to make a less-than-stellar kit look good.

[Slotto]

All look My-T-Fine to me. Love the Vette and GTO.

[RAMBENNA]

nice job pulling those out , they look awesome

[spencer1984]

Thanks, guys!

On 7/14/2018 at 12:20 PM, Oldcarfan27 said:

It's the headlight areas, they just don't look right at all! And the chassis and engine are worthless.

I haven't checked it directly against the newer tool but that's what I've heard.  I'll be converting it to a non-RS front end, hopefully fixing the weird headlights in the process.

[Havamodeler]

Huh... I feel like my nova just sorta fell together without my issue when i did it. And i wasnt even fully setup in that house when i did it! Lol You sure made these kits look good tho