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Obscure Kits You Never Knew Were Made...Until Now


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On 12/23/2017 at 5:38 PM, Casey said:

I've seen the Brabham/Matra double kit from AMT, but never this one. I'm guessing both are repackaged kits. Heller perhaps?

 

It would be a good guess, because Heller has also reboxed AMT kits. This Heller Peterbilt 359 and trailer

HPIM2917.thumb.JPG.75197ff5ed85f894be0a2792572fef59.JPG

is actually this old AMT kit. 

s-l16003.jpg.92d95d03b1d266eebd75891742ddd8ee.jpg

Heller also offered the Peterbilt Holmes wrecker and the Kenworth K100 from the old 1/43rd scale AMT truck lineup. 

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13 hours ago, peteski said:

At a first glance I thought that the car was the AMC Matador from the '70s.

 

7 hours ago, disabled modeler said:

The car on the box reminds me of a Opel Manta...?  man I wish some company would start making kits of camper trailers or motorhomes.

I’m about 88% sure the car pulling that trailer is a 1973 Mazda RX2. The other 12% going to another year model...

I would surmise it’s representing the Bandai/Entex kit...the trailer box only has the trailer, so if you wanted to pull it with a 1/20 rotary...

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3 minutes ago, Erik Smith said:

 

I’m about 88% sure the car pulling that trailer is a 1973 Mazda RX2. The other 12% going to another year model...

I would surmise it’s representing the Bandai/Entex kit...the trailer box only has the trailer, so if you wanted to pull it with a 1/20 rotary...

I agree. It's a Mazda. But, what year? I'm not sure. 

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22 hours ago, highway said:

It would be a good guess, because Heller has also reboxed AMT kits. This Heller Peterbilt 359 and trailer

is actually this old AMT kit. 

Heller also offered the Peterbilt Holmes wrecker and the Kenworth K100 from the old 1/43rd scale AMT truck lineup. 

Wow, I never seen any of the 1:43 scale truck kits.  Funny that each version shows different part count on the box.

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I'm probably shooting myself in the foot with this one (now the prices will go up!),  and it's way more toy than kit, but...

5a447d1be34f2_bichibatbuick.jpg.2e41fbe7b48cdc3040f9898313c01f6e.jpg

OK, OK, quit laughing. This '57 Buick Roadmaster was made in Argentina by a company named Bichi (I said quit laughing!) and it came out in other versions:

5a447e01158bb_bichibuick.jpg.9160b8c462338fd19b20e4cef60c5586.jpg

including a Man from U.N.C.L.E. version. Thing is, it's a direct crib from the original promo, it's 1/25 scale, and... it's molded in styrene and straight as new. I'm sure a good builder could transform this into a master for a resin kit. I've seen one up close and believe me, it's doable - maybe kitbash it with a junk promo's wheels and chrome and a '58 Buick kit chassis and interior?

Thanks to Tom Piagari (Feretzrus) for giving me the heads-up on this one.

Edited by ChrisBcritter
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2 hours ago, peteski said:

Wow, I never seen any of the 1:43 scale truck kits.  Funny that each version shows different part count on the box.

The difference in parts count is at least, in part, to the tires in the kit. The original that I found on eBay when I was researching that the Heller was in fact the old AMT kit also had this pic in the listing. 

5a4496be2c50e_AMT1-43scalePeteandtrailer.jpg.b78e0624349f2d769ff2727ea5f876ea.jpg

The AMT, at least in this issue and the ones I remember from having nearly 30 years ago, had one piece vinyl tires just like their 1/25th and 1/32nd scale counterparts. The Heller version oddly has 2 piece plastic tires, but that does help explain at least some of the addition in the parts count. 

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1 hour ago, highway said:

The difference in parts count is at least, in part, to the tires in the kit. The original that I found on eBay when I was researching that the Heller was in fact the old AMT kit also had this pic in the listing. 

The AMT, at least in this issue and the ones I remember from having nearly 30 years ago, had one piece vinyl tires just like their 1/25th and 1/32nd scale counterparts. The Heller version oddly has 2 piece plastic tires, but that does help explain at least some of the addition in the parts count. 

Interesting - thanks!

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2 hours ago, Daddyfink said:

I have heard of these, but have never seen a real one in person

I saw Napoleon once at a KCI/Keller show, mint/boxed, but that was a long, long time ago.  The vendor might even have been the very-rare-kit dealer from Fullerton, John Green, but I'm just not sure.  Old age and all.

Here's some info from "Classic Plastic" by Rick Polizzi. Published in 1996, and his estimated values back then were: Hitler, boxed $140, built-up $65; Castro, boxed $70, built-up $35; Napoleon, boxed $85, built-up $35:

"These three political/military ne'er-do-wells were the only models ever released by a little-known company named Parks Plastics. The 1/10 scale series, which hit the shelves in 1965, was fairly detailed and had an unusual sense of humor about it. A common element in all three kits is a mysterious hand seen rising out of the ground - Hitler's gives a Nazi salute, while Napoleon's seems to be trying to drag him down into the murky unknown. A fourth kit of Caesar was to be added to the series, but the Roman Emperor got the thumbs down due to poor sales of the other three. These were re-released by a Mexican company and sold in the U.S. in the late 1980s."

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  • 1 month later...
21 minutes ago, Casey said:

Erik Smith, do you own this one?:

 

I do not. 

I’ve had a few of the 1/20 Bandai kits but have sold them. They are cool subject wise but look a little funky to my eye. Hardly ever see any built. I never had the Corona - it’s a fairy rare one. 

Saw the eBay listing...$75 for a partially assembled kit. 

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Several years ago I found a series of 1:32 scale vintage kits (of vintage automobiles) I never seen before.  They were made in France by a company called Europe Model Kits.  I have not yet built any of them but they look like nice kits of early vehicles. Here are few:

Europe-Panhard-1905-Tonneau-1-32-Model-C

 

eur32panhard1891-00_boxart_s.jpg

 

51d807e30c8d7e4f03531ea3b118611e.jpg

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21 minutes ago, Mike999 said:

Those Panhards are interesting.  Here's a link showing all 3 built up.  The page says "There are only this 3 kits in this series."  Looking around the net,  it seems they were also released by a company named Holland Model Kits.

http://members.ziggo.nl/dwijsman/Invoegen/europeinsert.htm

Thanks for the info. I guess I have the entire series then (I own all 3 kits). But I paid much less for them than 50 Euros.

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In the same antique-car vein (and nearly the same scale): this kit seems pretty obscure, even though it was only released in 2014.  The Mach-2 1/35 scale 1914 Renault "Taxi to the Marne."  Replica of the Paris taxis used to carry French soldiers to the battle front in WWI. 

Mach-2 is a French company, most famous for kitting obscure aircraft in 1/72 scale.  All their kits are limited-run plastic, and according to the internet, can be...challenging to build.  AFAIK, this was the first specific kit of the taxi.  Though for many years, military modelers have been converting Airfix and Pyro 1/32 scale Renault kits into the Marne Taxi.

Photo of a built kit from Scale Model News. And yes, the kit does include that mile-marker stone in the photo.

 

mar-taxi.JPG

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  • 1 month later...
3 hours ago, Casey said:

paragonfb.JPG.b414c5468e219f2c0928666d2771f41c.JPG

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How brittle is that old plastic by now? If you read the box, it looks like you're supposed to put a small rocket engine in it and light 'er up. If it even bumped anything, that sucker would shatter into oblivion. Cool subject matter though. 

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On 12/4/2017 at 10:17 PM, Daddyfink said:

Hey Pete, 

I always thought it was cool and pretty wacky! I have one, but, it is missing the motor and some other small parts. I might just build it as is for displaying it on my desk at work. 

The motor should be easy to come by, just take one from any of those countless Japanese motorized model kits. Nobody ever builds them that way anyways. 

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9 hours ago, Pete J. said:

Really!!!  "Actually races at supersonic* speed on safe CO2 cartridge"  How does it do that and did someone alert the medics! :lol:

*scale supersonic speed.  767.369/25 = 30.69 mph :D

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