‘63 Rambler Classic

[Hot Rod Dunham]

One of my favorite things to do is build cars & trucks that were used in my favorite TV show of all time, Justified. And one of those cars is a ‘63 Rambler, of which no kit exists. My question is this; is there a kit that resembles this car that I could use to make reasonable facsimile of? I’ve looked some but this is new territory to me. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

A '63 Rambler Classic was available as a 1/25 scale promo, though I do not know if it was ever sold as a kit.

Good luck finding one for reasonable money.

EDIT: Auction prices start as low as $10, go as high as several hundred.

A word of caution: some appear to have been molded of "acetate" and are badly warped by now, but others may have been molded of ABS or "Cycolac" (an ABS tradename), and seem to be warp-free.

Edited December 1, 2024 by Ace-Garageguy

[Tom99]

The 1963 Classic 4 door, and Station Wagon, were promos only, no kits produced. The American  2 door, and American convertible, were promos and kits. All are JoHan.

 

Edited December 1, 2024 by Tom99

[Mark]

'63 was the final year for acetate promos at Jo-Han.  They were late to switch (AMT and SMP did so during the 1961 promo run).  There are two types of acetate promos: those that are warped, and those that haven't warped yet (a number getting smaller with each passing day).

Acetate doesn't just warp; it shrinks too.  And it shrinks inconsistently.  Don't waste time trying to "un-warp" one.  

Jo-Han again made Rambler Classic four-door sedan and wagon promos for '64.  Best bet would be to locate a damaged '64 promo, and either accept the slight styling differences or convert it to '63 spec.  The bumpers on the '63 promos are styrene, and could be adapted to the '64 body.  I have seen the '64 sedan body in resin, but it was poor quality.

[ChrisBcritter]

The late master modeler Tom Piagari had this same project in the pipeline - converting a '64 back to a '63 by making molds of the '63 trim off of a promo, stretching and shaping the molds to straighten out the warp and casting copies of the trim.