How to Smartly Aquire Vintage Kits?

[Falcon Ranchero]

Got curious again about the vintage kits of my interest for sale, so I just thought why not check ebay for the heck of it; not intending to buy, just to gauge prices. Searched up my favourite vintage kit, (the JoHan 1960 Plymouth hardtop) you know, just to see if there's any selling. I see an original issue in a mint box, all complete, parts still on the tree and everything. I see the price: $785 holy smokes it's not missing a decimal point anywhere.

 Question, I know some of you have vintage kits, I'd like to know how did you get them? Kept them from a long time ago? Managed to find a great deal? Or did you end up spending a bus load on one? There must be some smart way to get into vintage kits. I know I only ever purchased two, an original issue near mint MPC '70 Bonneville sports hauler ($40), and a pretty mint 1966 issue of the Monogram '58 T-bird ($50). But there were other cool kits at the same place that were entering the price range of that Plymouth I just mentioned.   

So I guess if you have any knowledge on how to go about buying vintage kits, that would be cool

[thatz4u]

 I see the price: $785 holy smokes it's not missing a decimal point anywhere.......IMHO wishful thinking on sellers part.....Stupid money on buyers part (IF it sells) & you can't fix that...

[stitchdup]

I was lucky enough to find a place that had a load of johan kits for current kit prices. The johan kits weren't really my thing so i traded them with another member for mongram kits. if you search with spelling mistakes you can often find items missed by others on ebay. also often model cars will be in the 1/1 auto section of other websites. i find modle can bring up a lot of options

[peter31a]

I don’t remember the last time I purchased anything on eBay. Their shipping policy usually means Canadians get hosed on shipping. Since you are close to the border, you could get a U.S. postal box and that might help. I bought a 59 TBird (my birth year) about 5 or 6 years ago and swore I would never do it again. (O.K. I guess I do remember the last time….)

[Fat Brian]

I periodically search for the things I'm after. I want to actually build it so no need to pay complete collector price for it. I try to find partial kits since I'm probably going to replace the detail bits with more modern stuff. My dad's first car was a 68 LTD and to build it I need parts from the one issue only 68 Galaxie. Over the years I've accumulated enough parts for the build by buying partial kits and a damaged promo, along with a 65 Galaxie that will donte its chassis to the cause.

[Falcon Ranchero]

That's good advice; I have another question, what would be like the max price to spend on a vintage kit? Even just over $100 seems like too much.

[Falcon Ranchero]

1 minute ago, Fat Brian said:

I want to actually build it so no need to pay complete collector price for it.

Same here; that's what gets me every time I run into a vintage kit that costs way too much

[Fat Brian]

I'm in my 40s so I don't have any nostalgia attachment to older kits, I'm looking towards 3d printing to fill most of the voids in the model car market. 

4 minutes ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Same here; that's what gets me every time I run into a vintage kit that costs way too much

 

[Falcon Ranchero]

1 minute ago, Fat Brian said:

I'm in my 40s so I don't have any nostalgia attachment to older kits, I'm looking towards 3d printing to fill most of the voids in the model car market. 

 

I'm in my late 10s so nostalgia is also non-existant for me; my main interest is to just build cars that I find cool. The 3D printing stuff is totally a good cause because like you said it will help make certain kits more available than they have been. 

[espo]

2 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

That's good advice; I have another question, what would be like the max price to spend on a vintage kit? Even just over $100 seems like too much.

Before I spent a $100.00 on anything, let alone a picture of an old model kit, I would want to touch it, feel it, even smell it. Just too many horror stories of the kit not being what was presented in the picture online. 

[Don Sikora II]

I think you just have to keep your eyes open and take advantage when a good deal comes along. if you're looking for one kit in particular, that's going to be more difficult to find than looking for vintage kits in general. Sometimes it helps to look in related areas, but one where not many people will want old car kits. For example, at a model train show. You never know what you will find! But often you will find nothing, and have to accept that.

Deals do come along on eBay, but patience is definitely a virtue when shopping there. And in my experience, you are much more lucky to find a kit on Ebay at a good, or at least fair, price if it;s listed in an auction rather than as a buy it now. 

[stitchdup]

if you do find old kits, but they aren't something that interests you, you can always use them for trading. i wouldn't rule out built ups either as we have the ability to strip most paints and often its a much cheaper way of getting what you like. its a little more effort needed but if it saves a hundred bucks it could be worth it. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Unfortunately for anybody who’s looking to branch out into vintage kits, your just a little too late.

I bought most of the rare vintage kits that I have back in the 2000’s-2010’s, almost all of them on aBay.

You could still find good deals back then, but the prices have gone completely crazy since.

Most of the kits that I have in my collection were acquired for somewhere in the neighborhood of $50.00 to $120.00, some more, some less.

That said, being a builder and not a collector, my kits were bought to be built, so a good number of them were built rebuilders, incomplete or junk yard finds.

Just as an example, my last project, (my ‘64 Bonneville project) was bought in bits and pieces from 3 different models, and combined to create one model.  
A broken hardtop with missing parts for the bumpers and hubcaps, a customized convertible for the hood and interior. And a pristine convertible body.

Pretty sure I didn’t pay more than $25.00 to $30.00 for each one, and what I didn’t use was traded off.

But sadly, even that’s becoming more difficult to do as even vintage parts are becoming more difficult to find, as well as much more expensive.

The market is what it is, and at the moment, pristine unbuilt kits are going for a premium, so if you want to find stuff cheap, you’re either going to have to get lucky, or find what might appear to be basket cases and restore them.

You might have seen the lot of 17 vintage kits that I was trying to help move for someone a couple of weeks ago.

In that circumstance, the seller was asking a price for the entire lot that I felt was fair, or at a minimum, close to fair, considering some of the subject matter.

I had possibly a dozen inquiries, but no takers.

I don’t know what the reason for that is, but I suspect that it has to do with the huge chasm regarding value that seems to exist between someone who is a collector and willing to pay top dollar, and the builder or flipper that hopes to get everything for almost nothing.

There no longer seems to be much of a middle.

 

 

 

Steve

Edited January 3 by StevenGuthmiller

[RSchnell]

I've gotten lucky at 1:1 car show swap meets. In fact I just passed on a bunch of 50's acetate promos last month cheap because I didn't want to deal with the shrinkage issue. Should've at least gotten a few pics but I'd been walking all day and was ready to retreat to the heated seats of my car. I bought a mint '60 Galaxie convertible built up for $5 at a vintage tractor show a few years back.

"Antique malls" and I use that term loosely as there's usually very little antiques and more chalk paint furniture and live laugh love signs. I've found several kits at these at good prices, but not all followed me home. I left the Jo-Han Mopar stuff behind as I'm not a Mopar guy. 

General swap meets are another good source. I tend to go to the swaps catering more towards antiques as I collect Ford Memorabilia also. I've seen vintage built-ups for as little as $5 but then again I don't buy everything I see. 

Stating the obvious, I've gotten some great deals on vintage built ups at model swaps/shows. Thankfully not everyone is into the same thing so you can score big if you're timing is right. One man gathers what another man spills.

To quote the Grateful Dead "You just gotta poke around"

[peteski]

Just because some eBay seller lists a kit for $700+ that doesn't mean someone will buy it.  If you start watching that listing you will likely see it just sitting there un-purchased for months or even years.  You can thank the current eBay fee structure for this.  They don't charge for how long the item stays active.  But the greedy sellers work that system, hoping that some sucker comes along and buys it for their outrageous price. eBay of today is nothing like the eBay I joined (and used) 25 years ago. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

I've found great deals, even fairly recently, buying gloobombs or builtups...and very rarely, a decent old kit comes up on feePay that's too good a deal to pass up.

I've scored a few vintage kits, cheap, very recently at junk shops, "antique malls", etc., but a lot of sellers do online research now for pricing and then ask top dollar for mutilated trash too, so you need to beware, be informed.

For the most part though, Steve Guthmiller is spot on.

Some years back, prices on vintage plastic were much more reasonable, but like with everything else, lotsa prices are just stoopid now, with sellers apparently thinking they're going to retire on one sale because it's "old" or "rare" or "vintage" or "hard to find".

If you have the skills and patience to restore gloobombs, or if you're wanting to build a heavily modified custom and can do the research to figure out what's the minimum you'll need far as completeness and condition go, you can still get in the game. 

But it's harder every day.

EDIT: Don't rule out old kits getting repopped either. A lot of stuff many of us thought we'd never see again and maybe paid too much for has been re-released fairly recently.

EDIT 2: Speaking of buying junk, you might be surprised what can be turned into a nice model.

 

 

Edited January 4 by Ace-Garageguy

[Bills72sj]

I'm with Steve, I got the bulk of my stash from 2001 to 2005 when ebay (and shipping) were reasonable. Model shows are the best for running across what you may be looking for but then you are in a room full of people looking for the same thing and knowing what they are worth. The needle in a hay stack is finding a garage sale of a deceased model collector being run by one of their children looking for fast cash.

[stitchdup]

do you have any local selling groups for general clothes and household stuff? i've got some sucess on those with want ads. one of my items offered was a 1/12 airfix bentley for £25 and a really very fine diecast ford tractor in 1/16 thats just too nice for the purpose i got it for. another sourcecould be ask your friends parents, they might remember someone that used to build which could lead to kits

[bobss396]

I have some vintage kits I've picked up in recent years at decent prices.

I got a small box 1957 T-Bird, a 1949 Merc at shows for $50 each. 100% complete.

Locally I got a pair of 1962 Ford Galaxie ragtops for $110. One was missing the top, found it on eBay. The boxes are in good shape.

I have a few OG issues 1932 Ford AMT kits, one ran me $25.

It boils down to being in the right place at the right time. I always check garage sales, antique stores, thrift stores.

[JollySipper]

I looked for this kit for ten years or so....... Patience paid off, as when I did find one (and had the money for it at the same time....) I ran across one that was complete and unstarted, with decals and instructions. I paid about what a modern large scale kit would run.

It's a 1/16 scale Carrera 6 from Imai...... I'm gonna build it up something like this.....

You just have to keep a look out!

[stitchdup]

4 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

I looked for this kit for ten years or so....... Patience paid off, as when I did find one (and had the money for it at the same time....) I ran across one that was complete and unstarted, with decals and instructions. I paid about what a modern large scale kit would run.

It's a 1/16 scale Carrera 6 from Imai...... I'm gonna build it up something like this.....

You just have to keep a look out!

i have a 1/24 version of that car from heller. 32 parts and 24 of them are the wheels, lol

[Falcon Ranchero]

I have been trying to go to our local vintage junk shop as I haven’t been there in a year so they may have some new old kits there. Funny thing about that, before last year there was never any kits whatsoever and then one day a huge assortment just showed up so some collector must’ve dumped his kits there all at once. The other thing though, the store is really picky about what comes in, so there are no gluebombs or incomplete kits, and they know rarity equals big bucks so certain kits, like one JoHan they have there is $300, but as earlier stated the two I bought were the same price as modern kits, however those two have been reissued recently over the years, so age may not have been the driving price factor, rather maybe it was recent availability. The harder it is to find, means the higher the price will be.

I think the store was taking into consideration the fact that some of the vintage kits that came in are still available today as modern reissues and priced them maybe just a little more expensive than the modern kits, but of course the unattainable JoHans and certain AMTs there are priced as collectibles.

This could be where the thrift store comes in. Our local Value Village has yielded two kits, though from the late 90s, for under $10. And mind you they were started, not mint, but all it takes is for some dude who is totally unaware of the value of certain kits to bring in a JoHan kit, possibly started, but complete, and have it sit on a shelf for $8, so I’ll keep lookin there just in case the less than probable happens.

[RSchnell]

Just remember there are outliers. I've spent a good portion of my life hunting down rare & NOS parts for 1:1 stuff and the same rule applies to that as the vintage kits. You just never know where you'll find something! As an example:

Pair of NOS 1932 Ford rear fenders for $100 at a steam engine show swap meet, Rough but complete down to the spare tire '61 Ford Starliner that was an original 390/401HP 4 spd car bought for what was scrap price at the time $250(1998). This only came about because the guy who owned the car saw my '62 Galaxie Convert sitting in front of the local breakfast joint where I dined often. Also bought a '54 Hudson Jet from him for $100.

My Dad bought a '41 Lincoln Continental for $75 out of a garage in Georgia back in the early 80's, but that's another story LOL

[Ace-Garageguy]

As wisely stated above, a lot of it comes down to being in the right place at the right time, and having the cash to make a deal on the spot.

I can't count the number of times I've gone back later to snag something, just to find it gone.

The last time was a virgin MPC Astro-Vette, at the ACME show here in late October, for a fair bit under what they can be had for online in rough condition.

    Someday, I'll learn.

[StevenGuthmiller]

A lot of people are suggesting to check out antique stores, model shows, etc, and yes they are certainly worth checking out.

That said, what I've found in recent years is that in the circumstance of antique stores or flea markets and that sort of thing, is in general, those people are not idiots.

They are accustomed to finding and knowing the value of things, and if anything, I often find antique store prices greatly inflated, or at least no better than what you'll find anywhere else.

Not only that, but there is enough of a market out there for vintage kits, and enough people looking for them, that if anything does turn up on a antique store's shelves, it's not there long.

I have had some very good luck 20 to 30 years ago or more, with finding truly rare models in antique establishments for actually bargain basement prices.

Got an AMT 1958 Pontiac Bonneville convertible and a 1960 Lincoln Continental convertible for $8.50 each one time.

Found a complete, AMT, in the box, 1962 Chevy Apache pickup for $25.00 at another place, and a derelict AMT 1964 Pontiac Lemans convertible at another for less than $20.00, but that's about the extent of my luck over the years.

It's not like that anymore, unless you just get lucky enough to stumble upon someone who just really has no clue.

Today, about the only thing I see in these types of places are either stuff that I suppose you could technically call vintage, but that you can still order from Model Roundup, The occasional 1964 Ford promo for $200.00, or things that I have no interest in and am loath to spend $50.00 on.

Last time I visited the several large antique stores that we visit on a trip every year, the only thing I found was a couple of older kits of subjects that are either still currently available, or fairly recently out of production with a strong likelihood that they will return.

That, and a Revell kit of a sand worm from the movie Dune.

Now what the hell would I do with that?!

 

 

 

Steve