JoHan models

[Ron Warner]

Returning to the model car world after a long time out, who has the JoHan car kit molds? Does AMT or whoever owns AMT? I'd love to see some of those kits come back out, especially the hearses and the funny cars.

[Snake45]

Run a search here for JoHan and you will find several long threads discussing this very topic. Happy hunting. 

[Khils]

6 minutes ago, Ron Warner said:

.......who has the JoHan car kit molds?

Million dollar question!!       

[Monty]

As has been mentioned, there are several threads about this which will give you most of the info you're seeking.  

Long story short, the company's gone and won't be resurrected. You might be shocked at what some complete kits go for on ebay.  

[cobraman]

Funny, when I was young and those kits were new, the subject matter of most did not interest me but now , I wish I had some. ?

[Rodent]

56 minutes ago, cobraman said:

Funny, when I was young and those kits were new, the subject matter of most did not interest me but now , I wish I had some. ?

Same here. I had a couple of the 68 Plymouth police cars, a 71 Javelin, the drag Comet, a Superbird, and a 69 Roadrunner. I think that was it. The Ramblers and the whale Chryslers just didn't interest me much at the time.

[wrenchr]

Been adding to my Johan kits as I come across them. Some on ebay for decent deals but those are far and few between now. I remember being able to buy them when I was  kid. My Dad bought me the 60 Desoto adventurer. Finally found that one at a swap for $50.00 a few years ago. I will be building that very soon. No mods just the way it comes. Well I will use some AMT parts pack tires. My Dad paid $5.00 for the one when I was a kid.      

[Mike999]

58 minutes ago, wrenchr said:

Been adding to my Johan kits as I come across them. Some on ebay for decent deals but those are far and few between now. I remember being able to buy them when I was  kid. My Dad bought me the 60 Desoto adventurer. Finally found that one at a swap for $50.00 a few years ago. I will be building that very soon. No mods just the way it comes. Well I will use some AMT parts pack tires. My Dad paid $5.00 for the one when I was a kid.      

Back in the 1980's, I was in the big Kit Kraft hobby shop, in Los Angeles.  (Or Studio City, to be picky.)  An employee told me the JoHan '60 De Soto was one of their biggest sellers.  Even people who didn't usually buy model cars bought that kit, maybe just to display the box in their rec room.  That was back when the JoHan "USA Oldies" were available in almost every hobby shop, priced cheaper than other kits.

As I remember, they started disappearing from the hobby shops around 1988.  About that time, I saw a guy at the Pomona Swap Meet selling USA Oldies for some outrageous price, like $20-$30. I thought, "He's crazy.  Those JoHan kits are still easy to find."  I sure was wrong about that... 

[Casey]

23 hours ago, Ron Warner said:

Returning to the model car world after a long time out, who has the JoHan car kit molds? Does AMT or whoever owns AMT? I'd love to see some of those kits come back out, especially the hearses and the funny cars.

Welcome back to the hobby, Ron.

The easiest, most efficient way to way to search this forum is detailed here:

 

Using the search term "JoHan molds" will return multiple hits, such as this:

 

[Straightliner59]

16 hours ago, Monty said:

You might be shocked at what some complete kits go for on ebay. 

Only the first couple of times! ?

[Ron Warner]

Thank you everyone

[Rabblewitz]

I sold a couple Johan kits that I had little interest in on ebay some 10 years ago, and was surprised what I got for them.  Of course, they were a bargain, based on what they go for now.  ?

[Deathgoblin]

I've managed to luck into a few.  Picked up a Chrysler Turbine, 31 Cadillac Town Car, S/C Rambler and a 1962 Chrysler 300 convertible.  The only one that needs real TLC is the Caddy.