IMC/ Union model co. - good or worth just for nostalgic value?

[eran_k]

i have an opportunity to buy 2 IMC/Union kits:

Lola T-70

VW beetle 2 in 1

the asking  price is ~70$ per kit.

are these actually good kits in todays standards?  - i'm a builder not a collector.

[iBorg]

They're both good kits for their era. The T-70 is the best kit of a T-70 that I know of in 1/25 although Tamiya in their big car series has a hardtop that is far superior. The Beetle is an interesting kit but Tamiya and others have a better Bug in 1/25 or 1/24 scale. The Bug always looked large to me as it its 1/24 or 1/23 scale. Both are fiddly. Unless the T-70 is drop dead mint and you really want one, I'd pass on it. The Bug's value is in nostalgia and not building an accurate VW. 

[Matt Bacon]

You can see what building the T70 is like here:

If you want a 1/24 T70, it’s the only game in town…

best,

M.
 

[Exotics_Builder]

1 hour ago, Matt Bacon said:

You can see what building the T70 is like here:

If you want a 1/24 T70, it’s the only game in town…

best,

M.
 

For plastic, yes.  If you can still find one, there is this resin multimedia kit, but a Mark II/III and over twice the $70 price

[martsky]

I built this blue one from the IMC box several years ago. The engine in the IMC kit included the worst Weber cars I have ever seen modelled So I substituted the Jag 220 V6 with transaxle and suspension. I don't recall having any difficulty with body panel fitment.

The box contains a complete, unbuilt white plastic T70. I probably will never get around to building it since last year I finished two Tamiya T70 slot car bodies; both with full chassis details.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

They are both 'challenging' kits, and benefit enormously from upgrades as partially addressed above.

IMC kits in general are not easy to get really nice results from, being complex and 'fiddly', but in the hands of a skilled and patient builder, they can produce outstanding models.

Edited October 23 by Ace-Garageguy
punctiliousness

[stitchdup]

On 10/20/2025 at 7:07 PM, eran_k said:

i have an opportunity to buy 2 IMC/Union kits:

Lola T-70

VW beetle 2 in 1

the asking  price is ~70$ per kit.

are these actually good kits in todays standards?  - i'm a builder not a collector.

unless you want to build the drag version, i'd look for the tamiya or new revell 1/24 beetle kits. they are much nicer kits

[stavanzer]

The IMC Bug has been a grail of mine for years.

Hard to find in any condition.

[Bugatti Fan]

Did IMC make a 1940's Ford Convertible?  I seem to remember it was a standard classic road car.

[stitchdup]

18 minutes ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Did IMC make a 1940's Ford Convertible?  I seem to remember it was a standard classic road car.

that might have been itc Noel

[Earl Marischal]

46 minutes ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Did IMC make a 1940's Ford Convertible?  I seem to remember it was a standard classic road car.

They did a 1948 Convertible. I bought one in 1970s but sold it on unbuilt.

steve

[Chris V]

5 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Did IMC make a 1940's Ford Convertible?  I seem to remember it was a standard classic road car.

IMC made a 1948 Ford Convertible and Coupé based on the same tooling.

 

The Convertible was reissued by Union, and later both were reissued by Testors (Caution: Some of the Testors Coupes were molded in a rather soft plastic).

They're quite fiddly kits with multi-piece bodies and mainly good for nostalgic value, as Revell's line of 1946-48 Fords is far superior in every sense.    

[Ace-Garageguy]

The IMC/Union/Testors '48 Fords are definitely challenging "fiddly" kits because of the "multi-part" bodies and opening doors.

They can look very good built, but do have a glaring error where the coupe roofline goes too high towards the rear, and a whole lot of boltheads on the frame rails that just aren't on the real car.

BUT...I like the kit, especially as a basis for a custom. I bought 2 gloobombs in a box for $5 at the ACME show to do full customs on, and I bought them primarily because the overall proportions are quite good...except for the aforementioned roofline.

There's also a resin panel-truck conversion body floating around that looks very good.

This thread shows what you can do if you put some effort into the things, and what you get if you don't try very hard.

 

[Bugatti Fan]

Many thanks for the feedback guys. I had a feeling that they did that one classic, but was unaware that they did a couple version. Nice box art for both kits. Interesting that Union/Testors reissue them.

Did Monogram also do a 48 Ford but from their own tooling ?

I can sort of remember building one of the IMC Ford GT 40 kits from way back when current.

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Did Monogram also do a 48 Ford but from their own tooling ?

Revellogram has offered several '48 Ford kits, including these.

      

  

Edited Thursday at 08:15 PM by Ace-Garageguy

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Bugatti Fan said:

I can sort of remember building one of the IMC Ford GT 40 kits from way back when current.

Yup, IMC did 3 GT-40s and a Ford J-car too.

        

 

 

Edited Thursday at 08:22 PM by Ace-Garageguy

[Bugatti Fan]

Thanks for putting the GT 40 box art pictures up Ace. .  A good memory jogger for me.

It was the kit from the top left hand box top shown that was the one I built.

I quite liked the IMC box art with the subject shown against that creamy coloured background.