Let’s see your oldest surviving builds

[dave branson]

Here are 3 models from showcase. First is an AMT 1963 Nova custom and the AMT 1962 Corvair that was built by my father in 1963. He is the one that got me involved in this great hobby, he passed away 15 years ago in 2008 and was still building at that time. The other is  AMT 1965 Buick Riviera that is the second model I ever built by myself

[Phildaupho]

This is a very interesting thread and got me thinking of all my starts and stops in the hobby. The only thing I have remaining from my first era of model car building in the early 1960's is a grainy Brownie camera black and white photo of a '62 Thunderbird AMT Styline custom. My oldest surviving model car is this 1/12 Tamiya Wolf F-1 built after attending the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix and wanted to learn about the construction of the current F-1 cars. I eventually got back into the hobby on an ongoing basis around 1994 and have most of the models I have built since then.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Phildaupho

[iamsuperdan]

Not many of the kits I built as a youth survived. 

And man, I had some kits I wish I had kept. Tamiya Volvo BTCC both sedan and wagon, Tamiya DTM Alfas, ESCI Ford Transit - the red version. A ton of trucks, couple of the AMT 454SS kits. All tossed in the bin.

 

Anyway, some of what I do have left.

 

Italeri Mercedes. It's all there, and is going to get rebuilt one day.

 

Italeri F40. Started in, have never finished it. But I want to.

 

 

Two old Monogram Superbirds. Both still complete. I've started rebuilding and restoring one of them, and it's turning out great.

 

[TransAmMike]

A I recall this was the first model car I ever built sooooo long ago I'm guessing 50-plus years ago.  Of course, all the chrome trim is brush painted. Funny, I have a re-issue of this kit in my stash.

[XYHARRY]

This Tamiya 1:12 Ducati 900 NCR racer is  my earliest survivor built in the late 80s and has survived many moves and dusty display shelves. I started modelling in the early 80s but sadly have no surviving builds before this one.

Cheers,

David. ??

[Tommy124]

AMG Mercedes-Benz DTM C-Class, Tamiya kit, built in 1995. I built lots of other stuff by that time, but this is the only kit I deemed good to enough to keep during my 20-year hiatus from modelling. Painted with Tamiya acrylics, so not the UV-resistant clearcoat you can get these days. And this was sitting on the window sill in the sunlight for quite some time before I boxed it, so no surprise the decals look the way they do.

[Slotto]

I built both of these back in the late 80s or early 90s.

33 Ford with a Chevrolet SMB

I have never added the radiator hoses or exhaust. There was barely enough room for the motor. Maybe I'll add them this winter.

29 Ford Pickup

 

[Hard_2_Handle_454]

Not sure which came first.  Both are from the 2003-2005 time frame.

 

1 (110) by Eric Lucas, on Flickr

 

1 (112) by Eric Lucas, on Flickr

[Tom Geiger]

My oldest survivor dates back to 1970 or so when I was 12 or 13. It’s a 1/25 scale diecast that I pulled apart and did my own thing with. I deleted the grille and painted the hood with Testors Lumpy Black brush paint.

I did the carpet with orange felt fabric!

This was my first model when I got back to the hobby 35 years ago. 

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

On 12/14/2023 at 10:56 AM, Koellefornia Kid said:

Here‘s a build from my early days, the mid 90‘s: A chopped amt ‘49 Mercury which really needs a makeover...

 

Yeah, that's worth a makeover, nice chop... -RRR

[slownlow]

Here’s a gathering of my old models. Not as old as many here as I took time out for about 40 years. 
I’ll trill try to post them in the order they were built.. 

Edited December 17, 2023 by slownlow

[Russell C]

2 hours ago, slownlow said:

Here’s a gathering of my old models.  ...

The rod carrying the Ark of the Covenant plunder -- clever idea!

[Spottedlaurel]

On 12/14/2023 at 5:53 PM, Phildaupho said:

This is a very interesting thread and got me thinking of all my starts and stops in the hobby. The only thing I have remaining from my first era of model car building in the early 1960's is a grainy Brownie camera black and white photo of a '62 Thunderbird AMT Styline custom. My oldest surviving model car is this 1/12 Tamiya Wolf F-1 built after attending the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix and wanted to learn about the construction of the current F-1 cars. I eventually got back into the hobby on an ongoing basis around 1994 and have most of the models I have built since then.

Nice coincidence on the Wolf, Tamiya's 1:20 version is one of my oldest, unrestored survivors:

For some reason I brush-painted it with yellow Humbrol enamel, which looks slightly better than it sounds.

I think this one is from a year or two before the Wolf:

Didn't paint the bodywork back then, but looks like I had the patience to apply the decals.

Anything else from my teenage years in the '80s has either been restored/rebuilt, or is stashed away awaiting future TLC.

[Rattlecan Dan]

Don't remember when I built it. But I remember I rubbed out the paint job with toothpaste. and made the fog lights out of cocktail stirs.

[mvadrag]

These two survive from high school, I graduated in 1974.

First is my version of a MPC Bruce Larson USA-1 Vega pro stock.  Paint is yellowed Testors white enamel out of the can.  Updated with some bare metal foil in the 80's.

Next up is AMT's Old Pro 1972 Nova.  Updated with a tall resin cowl induction hood about ten years ago when I scored five cowl induction hoods for $10 at a model show.

[Street Rod]

My only surviving build from about 1990. Just like I got it back. The Revell Chevy Street pickup with hand painted strobe stripes as was popular back then, built for a friend who still had it, I have to get back with him and look for the tailgate then I’ll clean it up and repair the broken wheel.

 

[atomicholiday]

11 minutes ago, Street Rod said:

My only surviving build from about 1990. Just like I got it back. The Revell Chevy Street pickup with hand painted strobe stripes as was popular back then, built for a friend who still had it, I have to get back with him and look for the tailgate then I’ll clean it up and repair the broken wheel.

 

Very cool.   Looks like another barn find in this state.   I'm digging it. 

You guys are all posting some really great stuff.  Love it! 

[ismaelg]

Hello,

  I've been building scale models since I was 8 years old, back in 1978.  I still have junkers and parts from some of those early builds, but this is my oldest surviving model:
Famous 3n1 kit.  I built this in 1984-85 or so. I clearly remember going to the hardware store next door and getting a can of black hi heat engine enamel. For some weird reason I was thinking it could protect it or something. Go figure.  I also remember taping the wheels and the air filters to a cardboard and spraying them gold, at the back corner of my house, outside of course. The red interior, I think was painted with mom's floral paint.
I also clearly remember putting an additional chrome timing cover in the firewall as a decoration. Hey! I was 14!
Ohh the memories......












Thanks,
Ismael

[milo1303s]

2 hours ago, Street Rod said:

My only surviving build from about 1990. Just like I got it back. The Revell Chevy Street pickup with hand painted strobe stripes as was popular back then, built for a friend who still had it, I have to get back with him and look for the tailgate then I’ll clean it up and repair the broken wheel.

 

Square body chevy the Heart Beat of America !!!

[bogger44]

What a great thread, very cool seeing and reading about everyone's early builds.  I'm pretty sure this is my oldest one still intact, a Monogram GT.350H Mustang.  Best guess is I built it when I was around 12ish years old which would put the year about circa 1990.  Probably was my best build up to that time, most certainly the most detailed.  Love the battery ground cable ran all the way to the opposite side of the engine LOL.

[mchook]

Great thread! Here's a couple from the eighties. Pretty rough but I'll still keep um just because.

[Westrods]

The AMT 1/43 ‘69 Mustang is my oldest surviving model that I built in the mid to late 1970s, the Monogram Green Hornet is the only surviving model in my collection built by my dad in the 1960s. 

[atomicholiday]

On 12/28/2023 at 9:18 PM, bogger44 said:

What a great thread, very cool seeing and reading about everyone's early builds.  I'm pretty sure this is my oldest one still intact, a Monogram GT.350H Mustang.  Best guess is I built it when I was around 12ish years old which would put the year about circa 1990.  Probably was my best build up to that time, most certainly the most detailed.  Love the battery ground cable ran all the way to the opposite side of the engine LOL.

I love the look of this one.  Very aggressive!   This would be a cool one to build a second version of with your current skills.

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

Here's my oldest survivor from 40 years ago. I heavily chopped the MPC 'Switchers' 1932 sedan delivery. I filled in all of the body lines and indentations except the rear door (I had no idea what I was doing). It had a wing on the top originally. The exhaust from the Jawbreaker (American Graffiti dragster) is long gone. Add about 1000 coats of hardware store black and viola!!! LOL!!! -RRR

[Bobchayer]

Here are my oldest survivors from 1953. Gowland and Gowland started manufacturing plastic models in 1/32 scale. I jumped right on these as I had been attempting to build the wood Hudson Miniatures. I stopped building them in 1954 when the prices went up to $1.25 per model which was the 1915 Ford Center Door - the last photo. At that time I was working after high school for $0.75 per hour. I packed them in a box that moved with members of my family until 1978 when they returned to me. In 2003 I started building models again and have a complete set of G&G vehicles.