Out Of Production Resin & Aftermarket Products

[jas1957]

I don't have pictures but Mike's Miniature Motors 1911 Chevy & '50 Studebaker Convertable. After many years of looking I found the Studebaker at Toledo last year.

[dimaxion]

I am slightly underwhelmmed here . I've tried to post this same information , twice . mike's Miniture Motors kits re as follows . The Studebaker Convertable is a '52 MY . This was the Indy 500 Pace Car that May . The 1911 Chevrolet is a WIP at Missing Link . Thanx ..

[jas1957]

Well I'm not getting into a pissing match but my Mike's Studebaker is a bullet nose '50, R&R made a a '52 convertable. Distinctly different front sheet metal. I have been hearing about the Missing Link Chevy for a couple years, I'll believe it when I see it. But I will be very happy when it arrives.

[krassandbernie]

I haven't read through every single post; but this is a prime example why we should all support the aftermarket companies (when we can afford to do so); because this stuff is way more limited in production than any styrene kit.........that so many scramble out to the store (or on-line) to snatch up right away. I've seen it happen way too often to count at the model shows where someone will show interest in some aftermarket product (typically a resin kit or body); and put off buying it because they think it will always be available......or they can order it down the road......or they need to see how much money they have left after filling up their bags with readily available kits. Nine times out of ten they never place an order; and then call (or e-mail) you 3-4 years later asking if it's still available. The guys in the cottage industry bust their butts to bring hand crafted product to the customer (where they can see it in person before buying; and don't have to pay for shipping........or wait for it to be made).......so I can see why it's disheartening when this scenario takes place........having gone through it too. It is also partly why some companies do not last too long or fade away........aside from getting burned out or suffering from health issues. Just my two cents here.

[kevin]

What he said!

[kitbash1]

I could sure use a few of these NASCAR parts for my Torino builds. To bad this company is long gone.

[82coupe]

I was able to find a 79-82 mustang coupe about 4 years ago here in michigan at a show. Never seen one again and don't know who made it. Wish I could find more. Any here know if its still made and by who? Thanks

[Casey]

I was able to find a 79-82 mustang coupe about 4 years ago here in michigan at a show. Never seen one again and don't know who made it. Wish I could find more. Any here know if its still made and by who? Thanks

You were pretty close to the source, and assuming it's the same one you saw/purchased, it's still available from Morgan Automotive Detail (M.A.D.): http://www.madmodeling.com/store/ccp0-prodshow/79muscoupe.html

[82coupe]

Thank you sir^^^^ that's it.

[Chuck Most]

I don't have pictures but Mike's Miniature Motors 1911 Chevy & '50 Studebaker Convertable. After many years of looking I found the Studebaker at Toledo last year.

Yep, Kevin Lutz of Missing Link is working on the 1911 Chevy. I'm a Ford guy and that's a kit I guarantee I'll be getting once it's available again.

[1959scudetto]

A simple, but nice old resin kit I have in my stash is the Ferrari 246 SP from 1962 (Targa Florio winner) from TEAPOT GRAPHICS

from the early '90s.

Full curbside kit with markings for Nürburgring and Targa Florio with Herb Deeks wire wheels.

Unfortunately no pics at hand.

Here is another rarity (I will put this on ebay Germany tonight or tomorrow):

Mini Exotics Ferrari 250 SWB Breadvan (Transkit for Testors/Italeri 250 GTO).

Another old resin transkit; UMi modellwerke Ferrari 330 LMB/250 GTO transkit for any Ferrari 250 GTO

(will also go to ebay as I have 2 of them)

[1959scudetto]

And the last one for today: UMi modellwerke full curbside resin kit from 1992:

Porsche 908/2 LH (3rd place in Le Mans 1970)

(also a candidate for sale on ebay) - requires very much work to get it right !

[ed427vette]

Hello Men,

This is my first post but I've been around for a long time. Some of you will know me.

The question has come up about "where the molds are". I am not a caster but I have had many models cast for me by some of the better casters out there. The molds go bad just sitting on the shelf after a year or 2. At least that is what I haveseen with the molds I have. I have had the casters I use send me the molds on occassion. They tend to get hard and that makes it impossible to pull a body from them. They should stay very pliable. So as for molds, that really is not the important piece. Those can be remade and the ammortized cost is small when selling the parts that come from it. The original patterns/masters are whats important. Those can take years to produce and can not be easily replaced if damaged other than sub masters or in some cases just direct copies which leads to the next subject.

I also saw a post about people copying or repopping kits. Most casters all do that to some degree. It should be frowned upon but most people/customers/buyers do not even know. Also, many people just don't care. Some casters make a slight change and feel its there original design. It is what it is. Besides most conversions are based on plastic kits so to some degree its a copy of a plastic kit. Most casters, pattern makers etc have enough respect for one another not to do to each other it but in some cases its intentional. I see it all the time especially on the international level. Some guys just go after each other, its crazy and counter productive.

Also, Helmut, the Umi Ferrari 330LMB is actually a 250LMB and is only correct for the #26 car that Piper ran which was a 250GTO converted to look like a 330LMB. The 330LMB had a 2500mm wheelbase and the 250LMB used a 2400mm GTO chassis. Scale Kraft made a correct wheelbase 330LMB and the MFH did one with an engine in 24th. The Umi kit is a copy of the Joker kit and then was also copied by RnD unique.

This is a great thread, love the old resin.

Also, I would have been posting many years sooner but for some reason my old computer would NOT allow me to sign up here!! I am glad this PC is cooperating.

Ed Cervo

[falcon wagon]

Here is a rare one,I can't even pin point who made it. This is George Barris's Kopper Kart,looks like the casting was made sometime in the 80's.

This was done by Ed Fluck sr

[Eshaver]

Ed had some unique items . I miss talking to him, he certainly had talent ..............

[Terry Jessee]

Here's a couple more--Etzel's 1928 Stutz Blackhawk and Scalekraft's 1929 Irving-Napier Special ("the Golden Arrow").

There are TONS of others. A lot of the resin casters have gone out of business for the reasons stated. When I was doing "Light Commercial" and "Resin Kits & Parts" for SAE, I said repeatedly, "Buy it now if you want it."

Even some of the casters I reviewed for Model Cars as late as four years ago are gone now. And not only them--people who did photoetch, decals, even reboxed import kits.

So--buy it now if you want it. Don't wait.

Terry

[250 Testa Rossa]

ScaleKraft did some awesome stuff back then. Too bad Guido isn't around anymore. His castings were really good

[Chuck Most]

Here are some old Accu-Pro pieces I stumbled across a few days back- they've already been earmarked for future projects-

[Modelmartin]

I haven't read through every single post; but this is a prime example why we should all support the aftermarket companies (when we can afford to do so); because this stuff is way more limited in production than any styrene kit.........that so many scramble out to the store (or on-line) to snatch up right away. I've seen it happen way too often to count at the model shows where someone will show interest in some aftermarket product (typically a resin kit or body); and put off buying it because they think it will always be available......or they can order it down the road......or they need to see how much money they have left after filling up their bags with readily available kits. Nine times out of ten they never place an order; and then call (or e-mail) you 3-4 years later asking if it's still available. The guys in the cottage industry bust their butts to bring hand crafted product to the customer (where they can see it in person before buying; and don't have to pay for shipping........or wait for it to be made).......so I can see why it's disheartening when this scenario takes place........having gone through it too. It is also partly why some companies do not last too long or fade away........aside from getting burned out or suffering from health issues. Just my two cents here.

You nailed it, Ed! That is just the way things are. The world does not owe us anything but it would be nice if a few more people who said they have been wanting a ________ whatever would actually buy it and not complain about the price. I was charging $119.95 for the Firebird III complete kit which came with photo-etch, decals, vac-form bubbles and a 4 page instruction sheet and, most importantly it was buildable! Some people squealed like stuck pigs when they were told the price. Of course, many customers were very appreciative.

I basically quit leaving price sheets out at Swap meet tables because no one ever ordered from them. I NEVER got an order from one of those sheets!

MY greatest disappointments was with people who enquired about casting services. At one point I had 6 people who wanted kits or bodies cast in quantity for them to sell. NONE followed through. Second most disappointing was pattern makers. They rarely came through and usually were not up to snuff. I learned to only rely on myself.

I will still dribble out a few pieces here and there and may put more effort into Aardvark if I ever retire ( which would be minimum 10 years away). I enjoy the process of pattern making and producing kits and it is a great thrill to see them actually getting built! Speaking of that I simply have to build that Willys Pick-up I bought from Ed at NNL east. My local club challenge this year is resin kits and Milwaukee NNL theme is "Keep on Truckin'!" . I think I will put that 4-cam Indy Ford engine in it. That would probably put in C or D Gas class.

[1959scudetto]

Well, here is my Teapot Graphics/John F. Johnson's Ferrari SP 196/248 with markings for 1962 Targa _Florio and Nürburgring.

Kit is simple, but proportions look mostly correct, has some white metal parts, vacformed glass and Herb Deeks etched wire wheels.

I have this in my stash since March 1993.

This is going to be built some day as the Targa Florio winner from 1962.

[Casey]

 

[landman]

2 hours ago, Casey said:

 

Oooooh! this is nice!

[Art Anderson]

On 3/5/2013 at 1:04 PM, kalbert said:

What happens to the molds and masters when these companies go away? Are they held captive in a box in the caster's basement covered in dust? Or are the molds worn out and the masters lost/broken, and that's maybe a contributing factor to their demise?

RTV rubber molds die very quickly, whether in use, or just sitting on a shelf.  Mastering is a completely different animal!  I still own about 90% of my All American Models, but sold off nearly all of my Pre-WW-II subject mastering to RnD Unique in late 2000--and those have vanished into the ethersphere now.

Art

[Anglia105E]

This is an aspect of scale model car building that interests me greatly, and I can see that many other model builders have the same interest.

Having done a lot of research into the 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud kits as produced by Minicraft, Revell, Academy, Masterkit, Entex and other companies, I do wonder where the molds and tools end up. We all know this was a very basic kit with something like 26 parts only but the body shell casting was actually very accurate. The Minicraft website showed the kit as no longer produced, then it appeared again as though it was back in production. There are no Rolls-Royce kits available in Europe now so only a few available in United States, which have a reasonable price but the shipping is too expensive for me in England.

Because this model car is out of production as far as I am aware, I have produced a two-part mould and cast two Rolls-Royce body shells in resin for my own use. I do not intend to sell any cast items and I do not intend to produce a complete kit, so these resin items are purely for my own diorama display. Not sure where I stand legally when it comes to reproducing a body shell from an out of production kit, particularly by Minicraft and Revell. The rights and ownership still belong to Minicraft I believe.

Any thoughts and comments on this issue would be much appreciated, thanks.

David

[Casey]

4 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

Any thoughts and comments on this issue would be much appreciated, thanks.

I don't think this topic is discussing the same thing you are, as this topic is for aftermarket companies, not major manufacturers like Mincraft, etc. This topic was intended to show aftermarket products which are no longer available, mostly for reference purposes, but also as a snippet of aftermarket history, too. Many talented people have offered some unique products which others may not even be aware existed, so this topic was created to help show those defunct product and mention the companies which made them.