$0.49 ? What happened to these ? Where's the dragster ?

[KingSix]

Stick around! We also like to whine about the Aussie dollar being on par with ours! We liked it much better when it was 50 cents US!

It's not boring at all, it's nostalgic. I remember when I could fill the tank of my '69 Roadrunner, get a pack of smokes ( quit now ) and a soda and still have change back from a $20 ..I also remember being able to buy a kit at K-mart for less than $2 , Monogram Thom Daniels kits ..

[Chuck Most]

Seriously get over this "living in the 50s/60s/70s... It's 2013... The 21st century... Time to stop whining about how cheap things were. Get over it. It's NEVER going to be 0.49c for a plastic kit anymore. What's the point of recycling the same old story? Seriously it's mind-numbing boring.

Well... you could have just done something really crazy and NOT clicked on the thread, like I do whenever I see another "This guy wants a ridiculous price for a kit on eBay" thread. Might save you a little boredom if you just stop reading threads about subjects you aren't interested in.

[Greg Myers]

The 49er Dragster was part of an earlier (1962 or so) series of kits that sold for 49¢. The Willys, Fiat, and '34 Ford were included in a later 75¢ series.

Other cars in the 49er series were a '59 or '60 Corvette, MGA sports car, Bugeye Sprite, Ford T pickup rod (almost like a mini-Black Widow), and a channeled Deuce hot rod (shown in the photo at the start of the thread), all in 1/32nd scale, I think.

Also included in the 49ers series were three "box-scale" airplanes, an F-101 Voodoo, Curtiss P-40N Warhawk, and Russian TU-16 "Badger" bomber.

Rarest kits in the series were three sets of airplanes taken from Monogram's impressive 1/240 Air Power display set, including a set of five Century series fighters (F-100, 101, 102, 104 & 105) on a flight stand, a set of three bombers (B-58, B-57, B-66) on a flight stand, and the "Mid-Air Refueling" set on a flight stand featuring a KC-135 Stratotanker and a B-47 Stratojet.

By 1965, when the 32nd scale Willys, Fiat, '34 Ford drag cars first appeared, offered for sale at 75¢, the kits in the 49ers series, were increased in price to 50¢ and the 1/240th airplane sets were dropped from the catalog. Two other 75¢ 1/32 cars were introduced at that time, a Ferrari GP car, and a Lotus GP car.

This info comes from the small catalog leaflets Monogram included in all their kits.

thanks for fillin' in the missing info Love to see that Air Power kit on the shelves again.

Edited October 20, 2013 by Greg Myers

[Greg Myers]

Edited October 20, 2013 by Greg Myers

[Greg Myers]

There were also some missiles

reissued a few times.

Edited October 20, 2013 by Greg Myers

[Greg Myers]

Seriously get over this "living in the 50s/60s/70s... It's 2013... The 21st century... Time to stop whining about how cheap things were. Get over it. It's NEVER going to be 0.49c for a plastic kit anymore. What's the point of recycling the same old story? Seriously it's mind-numbing boring.

So what's YOUR take on these kits CJ ? The cheep, by any standard, " Forty Niners".

Wasn't much to ;em was there ?

Edited October 20, 2013 by Greg Myers

[Greg Myers]

I had this one because it was my second for real 1:1 car in college.

Had to get the Sprite too just to get the right wheels.

Edited October 20, 2013 by Greg Myers

[John Goschke]

Thanks for posting those boxes, Greg! I've always thought that Corvette looked like a miniature of the 1/25 SMP (AMT) kit, down to the tiny headlights and other inaccuracies.

OT, but here's the Air Power set I built about 1977. Sold on eBay a few years ago with the original box and booklet. This piece was one of the coolest things Monogram ever produced! Never been reissued.

[Tom Geiger]

It's not boring at all, it's nostalgic. I remember when I could fill the tank of my '69 Roadrunner, get a pack of smokes ( quit now ) and a soda and still have change back from a $20 ..I also remember being able to buy a kit at K-mart for less than $2 , Monogram Thom Daniels kits ..

Yea! Summer of 1976. My 2 buddies and I would go cruising. We'd each chip in a dollar for gas, get 6 gallons and cruise all night on it. Didn't matter who drove, my '66 Valiant, my friends '70 Maverick or '66 Mustang. All six cylinder cars, that still didn't get anywhere near the gas mileage of current cars.

We'd get quarts of Miller and Bud for 65 cents and we'd drive around, each with one on our lap. Try that today!

[Greg Myers]

Great build John thanks for sharing your wonderful build. Looks like museum quality from here. Wonder whats holding them from a reissue? I know I'm in for one.

[High octane]

Back when kits when kits were $5, it cost me $10 to fill up my tank. Now I pay about $50 to fill up my Caravan, so if kits are around $25, they're the same cost to me. LOL

I wish I could fill up my tank for only $50 but I have a 34 gallon tank.

[scummy]

Seriously get over this "living in the 50s/60s/70s... It's 2013... The 21st century... Time to stop whining about how cheap things were. Get over it. It's NEVER going to be 0.49c for a plastic kit anymore. What's the point of recycling the same old story? Seriously it's mind-numbing boring.

G,day , i'd like to say that not all australians have this type of thoughts and if you find it boring go and sit in the corner , oh and wheres the over priced mad max kits you were getting for people on the australian forum ????

[Casey]

G,day , i'd like to say that not all australians have this type of thoughts

We understand those comments were the exception rather than the rule, and were not representative of any country as a whole.

Now back to models...

[Joe Handley]

I wish I could fill up my tank for only $50 but I have a 34 gallon tank.

I keep thinking back to the old F/S Chevy Vans my folks had when I was growing up, the second one had a 33 gallon tank in it and Mom would only put $20 in it as a time because of how much it cost to fill at less than a $1.00 a gallon. I can't imagine having to fill that when prices were close to $4.50 for regular back in the summer of '08 here in Chicaco, the 20.5 gallon tank in my Jeep was bad enough!

[Randytheroadrunner]

I remember when the AMT annuals were .49 cents. H.L. Greens used to have half off sales at the end of the year, and I would leave with 2 shopping carts full of kits.

[slusher]

Yea! Summer of 1976. My 2 buddies and I would go cruising. We'd each chip in a dollar for gas, get 6 gallons and cruise all night on it. Didn't matter who drove, my '66 Valiant, my friends '70 Maverick or '66 Mustang. All six cylinder cars, that still didn't get anywhere near the gas mileage of current cars.

We'd get quarts of Miller and Bud for 65 cents and we'd drive around, each with one on our lap. Try that today!

Tom or someone tell me if l remember right, in 1976 l was 11 and gas l think in chicago where l lived was 55 or 70 cents a gallon. Cigarettes was 55 cents a pack and model kits was 2.50 cents. l can never remember how much glue and testor spray paint was. l had to walk to the candy stor for cigarettes for my mom and dad.

[John Goschke]

I remember when the AMT annuals were .49 cents. H.L. Greens used to have half off sales at the end of the year, and I would leave with 2 shopping carts full of kits.

Retail price on AMT annual kits, when they first came out in 1958, was $1.39. Stayed there through 1960 except for the '60 T-bird, Corvette, and Buick which had engines, and were priced at $1.49. The pickup trucks were more expensive I think, perhaps $1.98 or $2.00. Starting in '61 most annuals had engines and were priced at $1.49. Compact without engines were $1.39. Styline and later "Advanced Customizing" kits were $2.00. When Johan annuals came out for the first time 1959 they were priced at $1.49. In general those prices held till sometime in the mid-late '60s when they started to rise.

No annual kit was ever offered at a retail price of $.49. Even at half price they wouldn't have been 49 cents (or, as you say, .49 cents, which is actually less than half a penny!), unless some store was offering a serious close-out sale!

[Greg Myers]

Retail price on AMT annual kits, when they first came out in 1958, was $1.39. Stayed there through 1960 except for the '60 T-bird, Corvette, and Buick which had engines, and were priced at $1.49. The pickup trucks were more expensive I think, perhaps $1.98 or $2.00. Starting in '61 most annuals had engines and were priced at $1.49. Compact without engines were $1.39. Styline and later "Advanced Customizing" kits were $2.00. When Johan annuals came out for the first time 1959 they were priced at $1.49. In general those prices held till sometime in the mid-late '60s when they started to rise.

No annual kit was ever offered at a retail price of $.49. Even at half price they wouldn't have been 49 cents (or, as you say, .49 cents, which is actually less than half a penny!), unless some store was offering a serious close-out sale!

Who would have thunk this wood turn in2 a math class ?

[Greg Myers]

Oooop, wrong picture

[doctor phillips]

Purdy dang funny, Greg. The second picture is MUCH better!! People didn't look like that in my math class.... (if they did... I wouldn't have hated it so much!)

[John Goschke]

Heck, I just want one of those magical selective nostalgia time machines so I can go back and get a half dozen '61 Ford pickup kits, a half dozen '61 Buick hardtop kits, and a dozen '61 Dodge and Plymouth kits for "point-forty-nine cents" each!

[Randytheroadrunner]

Retail price on AMT annual kits, when they first came out in 1958, was $1.39. Stayed there through 1960 except for the '60 T-bird, Corvette, and Buick which had engines, and were priced at $1.49. The pickup trucks were more expensive I think, perhaps $1.98 or $2.00. Starting in '61 most annuals had engines and were priced at $1.49. Compact without engines were $1.39. Styline and later "Advanced Customizing" kits were $2.00. When Johan annuals came out for the first time 1959 they were priced at $1.49. In general those prices held till sometime in the mid-late '60s when they started to rise.

No annual kit was ever offered at a retail price of $.49. Even at half price they wouldn't have been 49 cents (or, as you say, .49 cents, which is actually less than half a penny!), unless some store was offering a serious close-out sale!

Sorry, I had a senior moment. It was $1.49.

[checkmate]

So is driving on the wrong side of the road..... ;-)

I don't know Mike driving on the wrong side of the road might get your heart racing a bit mate, depending on how busy the road is.

As Scummy mentioned please don't judge all Aussie modelllers by the comments of one bitter individual, thankfully his other comment was removed. I love the history of the hobby and where it evolved from it's a pity things aren't as cheap and as simply as they were all those years ago. If things were that cheap still it might make it a bit cheaper and easier to collect old van kits.

Edited October 22, 2013 by checkmate

[ToyLvr]

I don't know Mike driving on the wrong side of the road might get your heart racing a bit mate, depending on how busy the road is.

As Scummy mentioned please don't judge all Aussie modelllers by the comments of one bitter individual, thankfully his other comment was removed. I love the history of the hobby and where it evolved from it's a pity things aren't as cheap and as simply as they were all those years ago. If things were that cheap still it might make it a bit cheaper and easier to collect old van kits.

Rob:

I've driven on the wrong side a few times, but not in a country where it's considered the norm. ;-)

No offense taken at our Aussie friends (although CJ1971 might have taken offense at my weak attempt at humor).

I think we'd all be so much happier if the price of kits was more reasonable as in the old days. However, I think the divorce rate amongst married Modelers would increase exponentially. :-0

[Tom Geiger]

I've driven on the wrong side a few times, but not in a country where it's considered the norm. ;-)

want to get totally confused? Go to the US Virgin Islands. In St Thomas they drive US spec left hand drive cars on the left side of the road! It took a bit to get used to, and you couldn't daydream when driving since your instinct was to go back to the right side of the road. Below is the Jeep I rented on their "correct" side of the road.

Edited October 22, 2013 by Tom Geiger