Why are there so many iconic cars that have never been kitted ?

[Deano]

I remember a Starsky & Hutch Torino. It was 1/25th scale and I think it was made by AMT or MPC. A Ranchero GT would have been a cooler choice, but the show was popular at the time.

Nope, never done in styrene. You must be of my generation; remembering things that didn't happen and not remembering the things that did.

[Greg Myers]

I was at Woodstock.

[SSNJim]

I was at Woodstock.

Which one are you in the picture?

[Rob Hall]

Which one are you in the picture?

Lol...there was a dvd that was released of a concert I went to in 2002, I remember studying the dvd box art and watching it closely trying to spot myself...crowd was too big.

[Art Anderson]

I remember a Starsky & Hutch Torino. It was 1/25th scale and I think it was made by AMT or MPC. A Ranchero GT would have been a cooler choice, but the show was popular at the time.

The only plastic kit of that era Torino was Johan's '72 Torino GT, which was a fast back. No kit of the body style even of the S & H car was ever done that I ever saw.

Art

[Rob Hall]

The only plastic kit of that era Torino was Johan's '72 Torino GT, which was a fast back. No kit of the body style even of the S & H car was ever done that I ever saw.

Art

Yeah, other than the MCW resin, the only '74-76 Torinos I've seen have been diecast in various scales from Corgi, ERTL, and Johnny Lightning.

[Luc Janssens]

I remember a Starsky & Hutch Torino. It was 1/25th scale and I think it was made by AMT or MPC. A Ranchero GT would have been a cooler choice, but the show was popular at the time.

You probably saw one of Everett Westphal, "what if" boxes...

http://www.bonediggers.com/2-2/boxman/ewgal.html

Edited July 9, 2014 by Luc Janssens

[Greg Myers]

Yes, I think those have fooled many a wisher.

[Bill J]

I always loved the Kookie car, to me it was the perfect street rod and had a unique look. I would jump all over a model of the car today. The car was built and owned by Norm Grabowski, an actor that had parts in movies and TV shows. Very likable guy. The Kookie car was "the ginchiest"!

As for the Cheetah, although a cool little car, it was a total failure at it's intended purpose as a road race car. If someone wants one there are resin alternatives available. I'd much rather see a kit of the Chaparral 2D or 2E again and a kit of the Cobra Daytona Coupe. They were both very successful cars and the couple of kits available were not that good, the Gunze-Sangyo Daytona Coupe was curbside and difficult to build. Mine came with broken white metal rear suspension parts, from the factory. The Chaparral kit was an IMC that was decent but fiddly and it was the winged 2E.

The real car used on Starsky and Hutch was a 6-cylinder car, the 1:1 street car was not very popular back in the day. There are resin bodies to build this car, I think they are still available.

What irks me is some of the kits that we have had produced. The Munstermobile, the Monkeemobile and many others. That tooling money could have been better spent on some of the other cool subjects that have never been close to kitted.

[johnbuzzed]

I vaguely remember seeing an ad for a JoHan 1969 Plymouth Fury kit in an old Auto World catalog way back in the day. Man, was I hot for that kit...

[Greg Myers]

a kit of the Chaparral 2D or 2E again and a kit of the Cobra Daytona Coupe.

Great idea. Maybe a company could do those along with say some Corvette Grandsports and maybe a new 289 Cobra kit. Kind of a sports car series?

Edited July 9, 2014 by Greg Myers

[Brett Barrow]

BTW, Fujimi recently re-popped the old Modeler's Chaparral 2D.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Brett Barrow

[Harry P.]

What irks me is some of the kits that we have had produced. The Munstermobile, the Monkeemobile and many others. That tooling money could have been better spent on some of the other cool subjects that have never been close to kitted.

The Munsters and the Monkees were '60s TV shows popular with kids. Kids in the '60s built models. That's why the Munster's Koach and the Monkeemobile were kitted. They were practically sure-fire sellers.

[Brett Barrow]

The Munsters cars are still good sellers. And the Monkeemobile didn't do too bad the last time it was reissued. I think they got their money's worth out of those.

[unclescott58]

I always loved the Kookie car, to me it was the perfect street rod and had a unique look. I would jump all over a model of the car today. The car was built and owned by Norm Grabowski, an actor that had parts in movies and TV shows. Very likable guy. The Kookie car was "the ginchiest"!

As for the Cheetah, although a cool little car, it was a total failure at it's intended purpose as a road race car. If someone wants one there are resin alternatives available. I'd much rather see a kit of the Chaparral 2D or 2E again and a kit of the Cobra Daytona Coupe. They were both very successful cars and the couple of kits available were not that good, the Gunze-Sangyo Daytona Coupe was curbside and difficult to build. Mine came with broken white metal rear suspension parts, from the factory. The Chaparral kit was an IMC that was decent but fiddly and it was the winged 2E.

The real car used on Starsky and Hutch was a 6-cylinder car, the 1:1 street car was not very popular back in the day. There are resin bodies to build this car, I think they are still available.

What irks me is some of the kits that we have had produced. The Munstermobile, the Monkeemobile and many others. That tooling money could have been better spent on some of the other cool subjects that have never been close to kitted.

Are you sure the real Starsky and Hutch car was a six? About that time in the mid-70's, I thought Ford quit offering sixs in Torinos for a couple of years. I may be wrong on that.

As far as the Munstermobile and Monkeemobile. There were a lot of us who liked those shows and the special cars that appeared on them. As a kid, I build both the Munstermobile (plus Grandpa's Dragster) and the Monkeemobile. I have a more recent Monkeemobile release I hope to get to some day. And from time to time, I still think about picking up another Munstermobile and Grandpa's Dragster. I'm glad they tooled all three.

The Kookie car, Cheetah, and the Chaparrals would all be nice. The Chaparrals remind me, I'd like to see some nice 1960's Ford GT40s. IMC did several, Chaparrals and GT40s. But, from what I've seen and heard, none were easy to build.

Scott

[Harry P.]

As far as the Munstermobile...

The Munster's Koach. Koach with a "K." Not Munstermobile.

[Rob Hall]

Are you sure the real Starsky and Hutch car was a six? About that time in the mid-70's, I thought Ford quit offering sixs in Torinos for a couple of years. I may be wrong on that.

Scott

I always assumed it was a 351...though a 460 was available some years in there on the 1:1. On Wikipedia is claimed the the '04 S&H movie used a 6 cyl Gran Torino...strange.

[Tom Geiger]

Art's comments are right on, he's very observant and personally witnessed the changes in the hobby on a professional level all through these decades.

Yes, today's kit market is a tiny fraction of the number of models sold in the heyday of the 1960s. There were few toy and recreation options available in those days. The growth in consumer goods has risen dramatically decade by decade. Note that if you own a house built prior to WWII, it's likely to have no closets in the bedrooms, then very small ones a decade or so later. Why? Because people didn't have a lot of clothes back then. So there was no need to store tons of outfits and shoes. As an adult male back then you were prosperous if you had your own pocket watch and fountain pen. These were expensive possessions that you valued and took care of, not the cheap throw away consumer junk of today.

Not only do kids have tons of possessions and play options today, but they don't have the spare time we had back then. Today's kids days and activities are structured. Everything from little leagues to martial arts, to music and dance classes. My kids are 30 and 26 and I remember chauffeuring them between activities, sometimes feeding them a sandwich in the car as dinner as we raced to the next activity.

So today's modelers are primarily adults and ironically, the very same folks who fueled the kit market back in the 1960s! Just growed up!

[johnbuzzed]

You're right, Tom. It's a changing world. Wait til our grandchildren see what their grandchildren are into- I'd love to be there for that! One thing hasn't changed- even as a kid, I never really was into the TV or far-out custom cars. I built two- the Mannix (Toronado) roadster and the T.H.E.Cat 'vette. None of the others appealed to me. Maybe if the Adam 12 Belvederes were available, or Squad 51...

[Eric Macleod]

I too am a end-of-boomer era modeler. Even as a kid I remember very few of my peers interested in models, cars or anything else. Only us "geeky" kids build model. This was cool for me because some of my friends knew I was into building and would give me their cast off kits they had received as gifts. Today, I find almost nobody interested in models except people with whom I interact on the forums. The thing I was most interested in as a kid and today is realism. Several models in the OP do not seem very viable as real cars (believe me, I have had the displeasure of riding in a T-bucket and my stock Model T is vastly superior...except for going fast in a strait line) so they held little interest for me. I have only purchased one drag racing model in my lifetime and have no interest in others. Maybe others feel the same? I would much rather spend money on a factory stock replica that I can then do with as I wish than any modified anything. Just my humble opinion.

Eric

[mnwildpunk]

The one that I dont understand is the high and mighty any mopar fan knows this car

[Greg Myers]

You want them to kit this ?

[Joe Handley]

Honestly, if somebody (listening Mobius?) Were to kit the basic car, then who ever wants one could build one

[Greg Myers]

Yeah, just think of all the other stuff you could make from one of these .

[Motor City]

The only plastic kit of that era Torino was Johan's '72 Torino GT, which was a fast back. No kit of the body style even of the S & H car was ever done that I ever saw.

Art

I must be hallucinating. Okay, but there was a Kojak 4-door Buick Century model, right? Looking at the box art of the S&H Torino, I've seen it before somewhere. I'll have to read that post. The '72 Torino was made in a pale blue promo, and, I think, butterscotch.