1958 Edsel, AMT Pre-decorated

[peekay]

For those of you who don't know these kits, they came with ALL parts prepainted, ready to assemble. The grille recesses were blackened, the scripts finely tampo printed and the chassis detailed with overspray etc. The paint, while certainly not perfect, was probably better than the average hobbyist would achieve.

All chrome trim was done in silver, which was the first thing I sorted - with BMF, of course. I also added wiring and minor paint details under the hood, Modelhaus tyres, an antenna and new number plates but that's it.

They weren't on the market long and I haven't seen any others up close but I was amazed at the bang for buck this one offered. You have to wonder wether they were profitable or not.

The only thing I didn't like about the kit was the windows with their very visible attachment points and distortion. And of course a couple of E400 decals would have been nice.

 

 

Hosted on Fotki

 

Hosted on Fotki

 

Hosted on Fotki

 

Hosted on Fotki

Edited August 9, 2017 by peekay

[High octane]

That Edsel looks really nice as I'm working on one of AMT's Pro Shop pre-decorated kits right now. It's the '65 GTO and the engine color is way off. I have it soaking in 91% alcohol right now.

[Pete L.]

Really nice, lots of underhood detail ! Looks like a fun build...I'd like to give one a try soon.

Edited September 26, 2013 by Pete L.

[drodg]

Beautiful

[Yahshu]

Nice, for some reason I've always liked these cars.

[PappyD340]

A real beauty Peter!!

[slusher]

Looks great Peter. l have several proshop kits for fun builds..

[realgone58]

These were pretty cool. I imagine they were not profitable, that's why they didn't stick around long. I have the '57 Chrysler pre-paint kit built. I bought that one because the actually sprayed it in a very rare optional '57 Chrysler color. I had one of the Edsels and built it, but have traded it off some time ago with hopes to replace it with the Danbury '58 Edsel Bermuda wagon.

[Chris White]

great work Peter

[khier]

What I personally hate about painted kits is that they do not receive any treatment before they are painted, no primer/filler to correct surface irregularity, improper elimination of mould separation lines, and, of course, silver trim. It is amazing how they paint the trim, but silver paint remains silver paint nomatter how perfect it is applied. The rest of parts can be lived with. Frankly I do not know to which category of builders these kits were directed directed. They can be quickly build into average models with little effort, but the body work is very difficult to improve beyond BMF.

Each built Edsel presented here makes me review the colour charts and wonder, if I am ever going to start my six car Edsel fleet, which color combination I should choose. There were 15 colors available for the Ranger and Pacer combined in 52 two-tone color combinations and three tri-color combinations. Add to this the two-tone schemes could be done in three ways, we get 156 possibility to paint your model in two-tone scheme, besides the original 15 and 3 tri-tone.

No dealer could have those 52 promo model to show the colors. They did not have computers to configure Edsels online, Corsairs and Citations had an even more extensive color chart. How did Edsel buyers choose the colors of their cars at those times???? Compare this to today's choices: 1 silver, 3 shades of gray, 2 shades of black, white, red, and probably one choice of a blue shade. I wish I was born 60 years earlier.

[peekay]

Thanks everybody.

What I personally hate about painted kits is that they do not receive any treatment before they are painted.....

Yes, that was the main problem with this kit but the imperfections are less visible because it's black. There was roughness around the window frames but this could be sanded smooth and covered with foil.

[bbowser]

Very nice upgrades, great model.

[DR Dubois]

I have the 57 Chrysler as well. Lots of parts and details but the exterior finish really did suck. Cool item for a weekend build though.

That Edsel looks pretty slick!

[peekay]

I have the 57 Chrysler as well. Lots of parts and details but the exterior finish really did suck. Cool item for a weekend build though.

I had the Chrysler too (the green one) and gave it away because I didn't like the finish. The Edsel's paint was quite a bit better. But here too you have mold seams and the like that you can't fix. But like you say, it was a quick, fun build and doesn't look out of place in the vitrine.

[Danno]

[realgone58]

The finish on my Chrysler is not really too horrible. It's not up to our painting standards, but it is acceptable.

[unclescott58]

I loved AMT's pre-decorated kits a lot. I purchase and built several of them. I liked them all. Wish they would have done more of them.

Scott

[Dominik]

Very nice - like it!

[robertw]

They were a great way to relax after a serious or really stressful build and with only a little effort you could produce a nice shelf model. They're also handy if you're in a position where you can't paint but still want to build. I've built a few of them but in most cases stripped at least the body and repainted. Still have others in the stash for those times when I'm in a slump.

As Walid mentioned one criticism is that they made no effort to clean off mold lines or flash before they were painted and with some kits that can be a real down side. I've also seen some where the paint job was not well done. I believe the purpose of these kits was to encourage younger modellers into the hobby that wanted quicker gratification. I believe at one time AMT even did some that were pre-built for you, sort of a super promo model.

[Lovefordgalaxie]

Very nice.

Built the same kit, and did almost the same improvements. Instead of Modelhaus tires I used Revell whitewalls.

I like my model. It's not perfect, because of the mold lines and some dirt in the paint, but it was fun to build, and for sure I would like to build more of them. I wouldn't mind building a little fleet of pre-decorated Fords, so I guess I would be one of the builders "targeted" by this kind of kit.