jo-han

[evilone]

I heard that they are coming back soon with all the older kits. Even the 66 hearse. Is this true?

[Harry P.]

Don't bet on it.

The stories about Johan "coming back" have been circulating for many years. So far all they are are stories...

[evilone]

so its propaganda basically all B.S.

[Harry P.]

Pretty much. Lots of talk, absolutely no action.

[evilone]

Pretty much. Lots of talk, absolutely no action.

dang ive seen alot of collectors dumping the johan caddies lately idk why though

ever since revell told that they were going to redo the rommals rod they have been on the bay bigtime

[Modellpularn]

I recently scored a '64 Petty Plymouth, still sealed for 16.47$ plus shipping, total 31.47. For me, that's almost a steal, if I don't get punished with customs fees....... That's about what we have to pay for a new kit at a hobby shop, or swap meet vendor. 35-40 bucks. Gasoline is about 6 bucks a gallon.... You guys don't know how good you have it, with these discount prices on models! Anyone up for some business? Buy models at discount and send me. How's that sound?

[evilone]

you mean they are lies all lies

oh god i hae nothing to live for anymore

im gonna stab myself with a spoon J/K LOL

that sucks i wanted to get another 66 hearse

well seems like im gonna have to deal with the resin ones on the bay for now

oh wait i think its rainning hundred dolla bills right now gotta go get me some LOL

[Modellpularn]

you mean they are lies all lies

oh god i hae nothing to live for anymore

im gonna stab myself with a spoon J/K LOL

that sucks i wanted to get another 66 hearse

well seems like im gonna have to deal with the resin ones on the bay for now

oh wait i think its rainning hundred dolla bills right now gotta go get me some LOL

Why resin? If you're lucky, you might score a kit. Why not look for a built junker, then dunk it in the brake fluid/alcohol tank, or oven cleaner, or CSC, or whatever you like. Then rebuild it.

[evilone]

Why resin? If you're lucky, you might score a kit. Why not look for a built junker, then dunk it in the brake fluid/alcohol tank, or oven cleaner, or CSC, or whatever you like. Then rebuild it.

seen one as a junker with in the first 15 mins it went up to $50 i said screw that

good news got one off of grimreaper for $70 and its perfect like he just opend the box did some work to it will post pics when im finished with the chevelle wagon

[RodBurNeR]

here and there Johan has brought stuff back though. stuff is still being sold at least, because i see Okey at shows and Star Models was selling some at shows. i guess the real deal is that Johan is putting a ??javelin?? out soon and will have a photo etch set. this is not a rumor.

has anyone bought a '55 pontiac? this is a johan made of plastic....one of the several still available from Johan.

http://images38.fotki.com/v1218/photos/5/5...100_7612-vi.jpg

[Aaronw]

you mean they are lies all lies

oh god i hae nothing to live for anymore

im gonna stab myself with a spoon J/K LOL

that sucks i wanted to get another 66 hearse

well seems like im gonna have to deal with the resin ones on the bay for now

oh wait i think its rainning hundred dolla bills right now gotta go get me some LOL

Not lies, just wishful thinking.

You never know, but at this point I'll believe it when I start seeing actual plastic. It was nice to have the Rambler wagon and Plymouth Fury back for a little while at least.

[RodneyBad]

Silly question probably but

since soo many molds were stolen or destroyed.

Couldn't they reverse engineer new ones?

I'm sure there are still Like new condition kits out there that could be borrowed to remake molds of?

I'd gladly Loan out what I had to get 2-3 back with an insurance policy to insure it came back.

I'm sure some details could be worked out.

How hard could it be?

and less $$ in the long run.

Just my 2cents

[evilone]

Silly question probably but

since soo many molds were stolen or destroyed.

Couldn't they reverse engineer new ones?

I'm sure there are still Like new condition kits out there that could be borrowed to remake molds of?

I'd gladly Loan out what I had to get 2-3 back with an insurance policy to insure it came back.

I'm sure some details could be worked out.

How hard could it be?

and less $$ in the long run.

Just my 2cents

like what casters do with one off builds right

that could work with all the tech advances they could get a kit and scan it into a computer then make a mold out of aluminum kinda like the CSC machineing they do for 1:1 car rims

[Harry P.]

Silly question probably but

since soo many molds were stolen or destroyed.

Couldn't they reverse engineer new ones?

I'm sure there are still Like new condition kits out there that could be borrowed to remake molds of?

I'd gladly Loan out what I had to get 2-3 back with an insurance policy to insure it came back.

I'm sure some details could be worked out.

How hard could it be?

and less $$ in the long run.

Just my 2cents

Yeah, that could be done. But then you'd have to make the steel dies (molds)...then you'd have to have the injection molding machines... then you'd have to have a building to work out of... and packaging... and shipping department... etc., etc. Probably 8-10 employees to start, at least, all getting paid a salary.

All that costs money!

And that's where the "rebirth" of Johan (at least in its current incarnation) just ain't gonna happen. The good intentions may be there in spades, but the money isn't! What's known as "Johan" today is basically one guy who somehow bought or acquired the rights to use the name "Johan" that sells whatever odds and ends he may still have on hand at swap meets and on his website. There is no real "production" of anything to speak of, and without the money to mount a full-fledged rebirth, there's just no way it can happen.

[FloridaBoy]

The absolute real injustice is that in Johan's "heyday", they were just not popular, and treated like a stepchild all during the sixties. We were so into customs and rods, and Johan was producing Desoto's, Oldsmobiles, Cadillac Hearses, pre-Mopar Dodges, and others, we just didn't latch on to them. But I did eventually buy a 60 Desoto in the eighties, and it was every bit as good as the AMT 3in1 kits in the sixties. By the time that we all started rodding and customizing just about everything, Johan had already bitten the dust. I should have bought the 55 Pontiac, 56 Olds, and others, but didn't spring until I purchased the Mickey Thompson Titanium Pinto, which at that time was the drop dead best funny car made then, killing anything that AMT, MPC, IMC, Lindberg, Aurora and Revell had out. Good plastic, great detail, great finished model, a real innovative model, then they hit the shelves with a Maverick and Comet with 429 Fords, which were out of this world, then Challengers and then they bailed.

I read that Okie Spaulding tried to resurrect Johan, but the totally ticked employees had made off with the dies or destroyed them, leaving scraps which Okie mortgaged his house for, and was left to reincarnate. Okie was a great builder from the midwest, and I wonder how this experienced affected him. I know if it were me, I would be totally jaded.

There is a more expensive way to resurrect Johan's line. That is reverse thinking. I know there are a significant amount of collectors out there, and I would venture a guess that in the US, there is at least one or more unbuilt car of everything Johan issued. Watching resin casters work, it is remotely possible to "borrow the kit" and make molds treating the kit as a master, then returning the kit to the original owner with a $$$$fee, then market it or make new toolings. But how do you get the word out, coordinate, and who could finance such a venture, and if so, could it make money, and what would a kit cost.

I have few regrets of the things in my life I did right and did wrong, because the past is past, and there is no one, not even God that can change the past. I do wish I knew then what I know now, and if we all did, Johan would be basking on easy street, don't you think? Right now, I am salivating at the Maverick Funny Car I built with the extended nose, extended front wheel well, honking 429, dark blue finish, and my wife inadvertently threw it in the trash.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

[lordairgtar]

Your right Harry, I know that they would have to redo any tooling just to be compatible with a modern mold machine like a Van Dorn or similar. I'll bet the old machinery they used (if we knew what manufacturer) doesn't exist. I know our company has an old mold machine that we keep together with spit and a prayer. Does any body know what brand mold machine Johan used? Was it similar to what AMT used in Troy? Since AMT (RC2, Round 2, Model King) re released a lot of real old tooling, it might be possible.

[Harry P.]

The way I see it it's very simple: If what's left of Johan was enough to make a rebirth financially and realistically feasible, it would have happened already!

The fact that it's been years since the "real" Johan went under, with no sign yet of it ever coming back, pretty much tells you what you need to know.

The only way that Johan could come back would be as a new, "from the ground up" company with new tooling and new kits. Again, that's an expensive proposition! With the car model hobby in general decline, the odds are very unlikely that a new model company producing new product would arise in the present business climate.

[old-hermit]

There is a more expensive way to resurrect Johan's line. That is reverse thinking. I know there are a significant amount of collectors out there, and I would venture a guess that in the US, there is at least one or more unbuilt car of everything Johan issued. Watching resin casters work, it is remotely possible to "borrow the kit" and make molds treating the kit as a master, then returning the kit to the original owner with a $$$$fee, then market it or make new toolings. But how do you get the word out, coordinate, and who could finance such a venture, and if so, could it make money, and what would a kit cost.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Do you seriously think a collector will part with a virgin kit knowing it might be damaged in the process ?

You would have to out right buy the kit if the collector would even part with it. Lots of luck on that.

.

[RodBurNeR]

Do you seriously think a collector will part with a virgin kit knowing it might be damaged in the process ?

You would have to out right buy the kit if the collector would even part with it. Lots of luck on that.

.

while this is pretty true, i thought you might like to know that is how Dave B. Model King got a lot of kits going by borrowing parts trees, whole kits or whatnot to get them complete and correct re-issues. he probably bought a lot of them too. i dont collect myself, but if anyone needed kits or parts to aid the restoring an old kit for re-release....i would do it and yes i have many vintage kits.

[jeffb]

a number of years ago, my partner in crime had a 70 johan amx that was still shrink wrapped. we decided to cast it. i had to break the seal, he just couldnt bring himself to do it. sad part is, what with the brittlr johan plastic, the body cracked in three places..but the molds were very nice, and they are being resurrected even now. check out missing link, hes doing it soon.

[SteveG]

Back when I was working pretty closely with Dave B. I asked him straight out if I he had ever thought of working a deal with Okey to help revive Johan. Apparently he did try to work out something regarding the Rambler kits when they first came out but the offer was shot down......"In flames" or at least thats the impresion I got from our conversation.

It's a real shame considering Dave's reputation for getting things done, especially when it comes to old tooling.

-Steve

[FloridaBoy]

I am willing to put my money where my mouth is. I am motivated by my sense of guilt from my youth for not giving Johan the creds it deserves. We are going into the model car contest season, and if I find one Johan kit of any type, I will buy it and work with Bluesman Mark or any others to get at least one real classic kit on the shelves under the johan name. After all didn't Galaxie do the same thing with the horrible Mongram Slingshot dragster, then along comes that beautiful 47 chevy.

Can a company make it for a while on one or two good kits?

If I can find one it will be sent to the person with no strings attached after the groundwork is laid.

I have done some resin casting and worked with an aftermarket caster to make one of my customs a body - a horrible sectioned 41 Plymouth, or at least to my taste. considering the integrity of Okie, and Mark, and all concerned, if I find a kit, I will take that chance with you guys. I will let you know. That is, if I can afford an old Johan kit, as I would betcha they are probably a little pricey.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

[SteveG]

I am willing to put my money where my mouth is. I am motivated by my sense of guilt from my youth for not giving Johan the creds it deserves. We are going into the model car contest season, and if I find one Johan kit of any type, I will buy it and work with Bluesman Mark or any others to get at least one real classic kit on the shelves under the johan name. After all didn't Galaxie do the same thing with the horrible Mongram Slingshot dragster, then along comes that beautiful 47 chevy.

Can a company make it for a while on one or two good kits?

If I can find one it will be sent to the person with no strings attached after the groundwork is laid.

I have done some resin casting and worked with an aftermarket caster to make one of my customs a body - a horrible sectioned 41 Plymouth, or at least to my taste. considering the integrity of Okie, and Mark, and all concerned, if I find a kit, I will take that chance with you guys. I will let you know. That is, if I can afford an old Johan kit, as I would betcha they are probably a little pricey.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

About the only thing you can do now to support the current Johan is to purchase something from Okey at one of the Toy Shows he attends or from one of his online Auctions. Currently he's only listing a couple of old stock decal sheets in his auctions.

His photo-etch sheets for the AMX and 55-56 Pontiac kits are pretty decent if you can get them. I reviewed the Pontiac sheet here but there didn't seem to be much interest considering only the one reply. Here's a link to the original post.

First look a the 55-56 Pontiac P-E set

Personally I would be very pleased to see Okey and Johan back in the big game and not a just a one man cottage industry as it stands today.

-Steve

[evilone]

heres an idea

talk to this dude and see if we can make resin molds of the kits

if yes then go on the bay(the ###### hole that it is) and buy 1 of every kit made

make a mold and cast a resin line up of all the johan kits avalible

im sure he wouldnt mind if we did a few for ourselves and then gave him the molds for him to profit off of

there is a way to bring johan back

[evilone]

nah tell him that we will hook him up with the masters

after we test them out for quality reasons only

i think it would be a cool idea but after all its my idea so of course i would think its cool