chris coller Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 ANYTHING BY AMT. Man the have the worst fit issues I have ever seen. Believe it or not I have some issues on a few Tamiya kits as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Winter Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 ANYTHING BY AMT. Man the have the worst fit issues I have ever seen. Believe it or not I have some issues on a few Tamiya kits as well Chris I wouldn't say anything, AMT has put out a bunch of very well detailed kits that go togther very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatRedmond Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Huh?? AMT? I'm confused. ANYTHING BY AMT. Man the have the worst fit issues I have ever seen. Believe it or not I have some issues on a few Tamiya kits as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris coller Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 It is great to build a glorified promo. Isn't that what most have them have turned into? It is bad when you you mount the chassis to the body and it pushes your interior over the door lines. Am I the only one that has happened to from an AMT kit. Have any of you built an AMT Nascar from the 90's. Great example of how things just don't work and fit well to complete a nice model...........atleast right out of the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatRedmond Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 The older kits are, very simply, old technology. They were 'good enough' for the era, but you cannot expect those older tools to be updated with better fitting technology. AMT came a LONG way in the late 90's in The Mueller Era with the 60 Starliner, 70 1/2 Camaro, 58 Edsel, etc. GREAT kits that fit well. Comparing the old and new kits is not fair. It is great to build a glorified promo. Isn't that what most have them have turned into? It is bad when you you mount the chassis to the body and it pushes your interior over the door lines. Am I the only one that has happened to from an AMT kit. Have any of you built an AMT Nascar from the 90's. Great example of how things just don't work and fit well to complete a nice model...........atleast right out of the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Winter Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 The older kits are, very simply, old technology. They were 'good enough' for the era, but you cannot expect those older tools to be updated with better fitting technology. AMT came a LONG way in the late 90's in The Mueller Era with the 60 Starliner, 70 1/2 Camaro, 58 Edsel, etc. GREAT kits that fit well. Comparing the old and new kits is not fair. Pat you forgot the Amt '57 300C and '58 Belvedere, there great kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatRedmond Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 True. Those are in that group. All good/great AMT kits. Pat you forgot the Amt '57 300C and '58 Belvedere, there great kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 AMT '69 Dodge Daytona, hands down. There are what, 42 pieces in the entire kit? Not a good sign when the box art model's wheels aren't even included in the kit. Yep, still mad about that one. I had a ton of trouble with the Revell Ed Roth Mysterion kit, too. Very thin parts, 75% of which are chromed, and a very compact model with lots of detail. Getting everything to align and stay glued together after scraping the chrome from the joints was mission impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Winter Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 True. Those are in that group. All good/great AMT kits. I must be geeting old or something I forgot most of AMT's pickup kits of the '90's aswell as the Suv's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatRedmond Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I understand that one. It's old technology. It's been a long time for that kit and the basics have been used through a few different kits since it debuted as a retooled NASCAR. You want a better kit? Buy the Revell Daytona. Also, the Revell Mysterion goes back to the late 60's/early 70's technology. Not calling YOU out or anything, but guys building back in those days had LESS sophisticated tools/glues/etc. to build with, yet they managed. AMT '69 Dodge Daytona, hands down. There are what, 42 pieces in the entire kit? Not a good sign when the box art model's wheels aren't even included in the kit. Yep, still mad about that one. I had a ton of trouble with the Revell Ed Roth Mysterion kit, too. Very thin parts, 75% of which are chromed, and a very compact model with lots of detail. Getting everything to align and stay glued together after scraping the chrome from the joints was mission impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Sport Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 (edited) Lee Ferrari F50 Barchetta. I saw on a website that it was a copy of the Revell kit. Edited January 23, 2010 by RS Sport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas SCR Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 the AMT 1965 Corvair. That thing is just junk all around. Revell 1934 Fords all of them because of the top is a two part section and add in the 35,36 Ford kits also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAL Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 ANYTHING BY AMT. Man the have the worst fit issues I have ever seen. Believe it or not I have some issues on a few Tamiya kits as well I would almost have to agree with that. You can get spoiled rotten on Tamiya kits, it is rare to have problems with a Tamiya kit. I have always had some fit and finish issues with AMT kits for one reason or another. Their Nova is pretty bad, but even the newer releases which are otherwise fantastic kits like the Starliner does have some fit and finish issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lownslow Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 this, i spent 2 hours cleaning it up to make it presentable, i dont even want it anymore im giving away to a friend so he can see if he can get into models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelmartin Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 fit and finish issues. This isn't to pick on you CAL, it's just to make a general point using your words because they were handy. ALL models have fit and finish issues! That is why they are model kits. We have to paint them, assemble them, detail them, etc. I actually LIKE getting a bad kit and making a great model out of it. It makes me feel all manly and brave to tame a Heller kit. If we want it all to be so easy we should just buy diecasts!!! This thread has had a few interesting posts but most of it is kind of silly. Many have no clue of this hobby's history and are comparing apples and oranges. I suspect some of the complaints are based on that person's mishaps. Some of the kits that are complained about here I have found to be fine kits or at least not too bad! As Tim Boyd has mentioned before - we are in the midst of the REAL golden age of model building NOW. There is so much available in plastic and other media. You can get very high quality modern and vintage kits. Some are not so high in quality or engineering. There has never been so much available at this time as any other point in this hobby's history. Just my couple of centimes here -in honor of my friends at Heller! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Anyone remember the old Skip's Fiesta release of the Revell 1959 Ford with the retractable hard top? The multi piece body was a royal pain to get right and the roof never did fit or retract properly. -Scott H. This is a kit that w/ some patience, can build up quite nicely..I've built 2, and got the top working well. I'll never forget when I got my first one in '88, opened the box, thought they had not included the body at first..never had built a multi-piece body like that before... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAL Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 This isn't to pick on you CAL, it's just to make a general point using your words because they were handy. ALL models have fit and finish issues! That is why they are model kits. We have to paint them, assemble them, detail them, etc. I actually LIKE getting a bad kit and making a great model out of it. It makes me feel all manly and brave to tame a Heller kit. If we want it all to be so easy we should just buy diecasts!!! This thread has had a few interesting posts but most of it is kind of silly. Many have no clue of this hobby's history and are comparing apples and oranges. I suspect some of the complaints are based on that person's mishaps. Some of the kits that are complained about here I have found to be fine kits or at least not too bad! As Tim Boyd has mentioned before - we are in the midst of the REAL golden age of model building NOW. There is so much available in plastic and other media. You can get very high quality modern and vintage kits. Some are not so high in quality or engineering. There has never been so much available at this time as any other point in this hobby's history. Just my couple of centimes here -in honor of my friends at Heller! I know what you are getting at and I agree with that. Just seems like AMT has more than their fair share of problems and the seem to be a bit worse than any other kit that you can still get readily. I am also always up for a challenge I have taken on ROG's 250 GTO head on, I like some Heller kits but ATM kits are just annoying sometimes. I spent a long time sand fitting sanding adjusting and I still could never get the rear Starliner bumper to fit right. There was something else on that kit that nearly drove me to drinking but can't remember now. It basically all comes down to engineering. The Italeri 911 Turbo, good fit and finish, clean and crisp, not so well engineered in some areas, and completely missing the headlight buckets. I am sure some would toss the old Revell 356 speedster in the mix but I love that little kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAL Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 This is a kit that w/ some patience, can build up quite nicely..I've built 2, and got the top working well. I'll never forget when I got my first one in '88, opened the box, thought they had not included the body at first..never had built a multi-piece body like that before... That is the Revell 356 Speedster is. a flat mulit part body. It's fine. That goofy GT 6+ is like that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
59 Impala Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 (edited) The MPC (AMT now) flip nose 53 Ford truck and flip nose 57 Chevy. They have the exact same frame and engine under them. Which means one of them has the wrong wheel base, or, maybe both of them are wrong. Dan Edited January 23, 2010 by 59 Chevy Impala Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I understand that one. It's old technology. It's been a long time for that kit and the basics have been used through a few different kits since it debuted as a retooled NASCAR. You want a better kit? Buy the Revell Daytona. Also, the Revell Mysterion goes back to the late 60's/early 70's technology. Not calling YOU out or anything, but guys building back in those days had LESS sophisticated tools/glues/etc. to build with, yet they managed. I know I have it good. I grew up building Monogram kits, and while the detail was s bit lacking, the fit and finish was good enough to never make me lose interest...and I still build them today. I guess I'm a Monogram loyalist. I understand comparing the MPC DOH '69 Charger to Revell's '69 R/T is an apples to oranges deal, but that doesn't mean the '69 Charger in any of it's various guises still isn't a lousy kit. When I see kits like the Mysterion and Lil Coffin at swap meets, nine times out of ten they're in the cheap seats, which is to say in boxes underneath the tables, tied up in plastic bags with "$3" written on them with a black Sharpie marker. You had to use a ton of glue to hold them together, 'cuz there sure wasn't enough surface area to form a permanent bond between two pieces. I agree on the Golden Age comment 100%, and it's been that way for at least a decade IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPflug Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 The "glorified promos" are reissues of kits pretty much as the were released 30-40 years ago and most have a tough time thinking of them as new products AMT did come up with some great detailed kits, look at what they were releasing at the end of the 90s The blanket criticism is like basing an opinion on the new detailed Revell kits on reissues of 70s Monogram products Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spkgibson Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 How can we for get the MPC/AMT/MODELKING LA DART,The body in that kit is just awfull,the front end is way to long and the grill is horrible,to make a factory stock version 70 you pretty much have to rework the entire front of the car,and the rest of the body for that matter,looking at the box art,and whats inside is very disappointing,another overpriced peice of junk..............Steve Ketterer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spkgibson Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Oh and we can't forget the 70's and early 80's mpc nascar kits,2 peice chassis?and the same engine block,with just different heads for the Dodge,Chevy and Ford engines?thats just plain silly,Now if they would have made them the way Monogram made them when they first came out in the early 80's,there would have been some real winners,and in my oppinion,they should have made the factory stock versions of the 73-75 Laguna S3,that kit would have sold like crazy....I'm not to much of a Chevy person,But i've always liked those cars............Steve Ketterer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Sauber Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 I can tell you that trying to build up a Pyro kit is a daunting task....I managed to squeeze out a decent looking finished product with this '48 Lincoln, but I wouldn't really recommend these kits to anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chillyb1 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I've only ever thrown one kit away in my modeling life. When I was building as a young lad in the late 1970s I preferred Monogram and Revell kits and my friends and I claimed that MPC stood for Massive Piece of C r a p. While the multipiece bodies from Revell (the Austin-Healey 100-Six comes to mind) have left a permanent psychological scar, I still built every model I bought. When I got back into the hobby as an adult I learned about the wide variety of kit quality through the trial and error of acquiring kits. Some presented just too much of a challenge for my tastes: I, as a modeler, don't want to re-engineer kits. Particular stand outs in this category are the Revell Jaguar XKE and the AMT Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Still, I built them anyway. But the one that I finally decided was one straw too many for this camel's back was Heller's Citroen 2CV. After going to all the trouble to give it a two-tone paint job, Alclading all the chrome, and otherwise readying the kit for assembly, I just couldn't past its overall crappiness. Getting Tamiya's 2CV probably helped push me over the edge because it is perfection in a box by any comparison. Heller kits can be built into beautiful models and I think these came out looking pretty good, even though they were laborious in extremis: It makes me feel all manly and brave to tame a Heller kit. Just my couple of centimes here -in honor of my friends at Heller! And for some of those French subjects, Heller's the only game in town. But that stupid 2CV deserved the trash-can treatment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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