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Hot Rod Model Kit History........Revell in 1954, and Monogram in 1959


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Posted (edited)

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I believe that the 1/32 Revell (Highway Pioneers) kit was probably the first plastic kit made of a Hot Rod.....crude by later standards but quite cute in its own right.

The Monogram was a later (1959) kit and although still a multi-piece body, was much better proportioned and more accurate in detail.

I built both of these models around 1970 and they're both very simple with very little added detail (I did change the Monogram's grill insert from the "uncomfortible" heavy vertical bars to a fine plumbing mesh and I used smaller front tires) but I did fill the multi-piece body seams and paint both kits with my first airbrush...a Binks Wren intended mostly for artwork.

Like all my models, I've always used display cases to keep dust off them and they've stayed fairly pristine for the last 44 years, or so.

I'm really happy to still have these models... both as a history of the development of model Kits , and a history of my own model building.

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Edited by traditional
Posted

Sharp looking little cars ! They both looking pretty good but you're right , the Sport Coupe has a more accurate body .

Thanks for sharing with us .

Posted

great piece of nostalgia. thanks for posting these.

Keeping them in display cases, have you had any issues with the tire metling syndrome (TMS)?

I've tried to keep mine in the individual clear cases as well, but wondered if locking in the fumes from the vinyl tires might contribute to TMS, so I try to remember to open the cases around once a month to air them out.

Wish I built at that level 44 years ago. Back then I was painting bodies with a brush and glueing parts without scraping off the chrome :o

Posted

great piece of nostalgia. thanks for posting these.

Keeping them in display cases, have you had any issues with the tire metling syndrome (TMS)?

I've tried to keep mine in the individual clear cases as well, but wondered if locking in the fumes from the vinyl tires might contribute to TMS, so I try to remember to open the cases around once a month to air them out.

Wish I built at that level 44 years ago. Back then I was painting bodies with a brush and glueing parts without scraping off the chrome :o

Alyn, I learned very early on to throw away the tires in the early Revell kits. The only other tires that I had any plastic-melt issues with were a couple of '70s era Japanese kits. Paint curing fumes never seemed to have any effect on models over time, although I have a few from 10 years ago, done in basecoat/clearcoat that still give off a solvent smell whenever the display case is opened. Perhaps the display cases are not only keeping my models dust free, but also protecting me from the possible bad health effects of the solvents........another good reason to always use them for finished models.

  • 3 years later...

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