chunkypeanutbutter Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Me? I open my kits right away. Usually it's in the car or the store parking lot, even just to see the decal sheet or any obvious flaws. Then, when I get home, all the bags get opened and everything gets checked over. Ideas are written down, reference material is found, then the notes and parts go back into the box until I start it. So when do you open your kits?
Bill Eh? Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) It depends. Some I open right away, but I usually leave the inner bags intact. The only time I tear everything open is when I start a kit. But then I have many that have been opened, started, but are not finished yet ... some more than ten to fifteen years ago. Edited February 13, 2015 by Bill Eh?
1930fordpickup Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Another old but good topic. You should open right after you get them. The reason I have just opened a few kits I have had for years here . Not sure the place of purchase. Bodies, contents and box do not match. oops Live and learn.
Jon Haigwood Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 When I was a wee lad I would open them in the back seat on the way home. That probably accounted for all the lost metal axles. Now I open them at my first opportunity after I get them home (still may be missing some metal axles)
jbwelda Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 whenever I feel like opening them. I have other priorities a lot of the time besides looking at virgin plastic jb
Lucas van H Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 In the parking lot of the store. I'm just like a little kid, and I want to see what I got right away
highway Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Unless it is one that I have multiples of, as soon as I get home! I don't care even if it is an old kit still sealed I pick up at a show or off ebay, the shirk wrap dies as soon as I have it home. The only few sealed kits that I have are multiples, and that is my little way of telling myself that I bought that kit JUST to build the way it is supposed to be, so keep my grubby paws off the parts!! The only time I look through kits before getting them home is if they are open already at a show or the couple of shops in my area that sell parts of collections and/or estates. Once doing that, I even taught the one shop to start looking through kits, I found an old Monogram Lamborghini Countach I wanted and found this when I opened the box: I showed it to the shop manager, and thought he was going to faint or throw up! He looked at me and said "Just take it and I guess I need to start going through the boxes before I put them on the shelf!" At least I got an ugly free paperweight!
martinfan5 Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 I "inspect" every kit I get for the most part to make sure everything is good before putting it up in my PWH at home
High octane Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 The "thrill' of opening a newly released kit is nothing like it was back in the early 60's for me. These days I only open 'bout 30% of the kits I buy. With "sealed" kits it's a lot easier for me to sell them If I wish, or to donate them to a model event, etc.
Tom Geiger Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 I only open a kit if I don't have one and haven't seen the contents in person. If I buy multiples of a kit, there's no reason to open them, and as said before it will make it easier to sell them someday, not that I ever have sold anything! And I only open them once home with them, because I usually cut the edges of the shrink wrap aligned with the bottom of the box edges. That leaves the box top still shrink wrapped to save shelf wear. I've been doing that for 25 years once a friend showed me how he did that!
cobraman Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 After I get home. If I buy a Cobra I don't have ( usually on ebay ) I don't open it.
sjordan2 Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Immediately on receipt at home. Most of my kits are older and I get them on eBay. If a listing says "sealed," most of those have been resealed; I ask the seller to open the kit and vouch for the integrity of what's inside. I've been about 50% successful with getting cooperation.
Eshaver Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 The few kits I buy now , I'll pull the wrap, look to see if I have a whole kit , close the box , put it in storage and think for six months as to how to build it if then .................
Greg Myers Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) Reminds me of a fond memory. probably around 1958-59 I was about 11 or 12 got an Airfix (in the bag) Messerschmidt Me-110 kit. Had it opened and built on the rear package shelf of Dad's car (1954 Ford) before we got home. Edited February 13, 2015 by Greg Myers
Greg Myers Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Open 'em up. A recent purchase of the Monogram Blue Bandito didn't have any rear tires. I did get them replaced.
Greg Myers Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Worst case scenario : Opening up an old kit and finding the tires melted to several major parts.
Ramfins59 Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Yeah, if it's a new kit I'll open it when I get home and look through the instruction sheet to get an idea of what parts are in the kit. If I see something "special" I'll open the bags to see the actual parts, and to check out the chrome trees and decal sheet.
1972coronet Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Worst case scenario : Opening up an old kit and finding the tires melted to several major parts. 70's AMT kits are notorious . I bought two factory-sealled Matador annuals (1975 and 1976) in 2004 , and each one had tyres burns on the windshield(s) and backlite(s) ! Those irritating two-piece tyres !! 80's MPC kits are bad , too . I bought a factory-sealled 1984 Corvette (the more-common gold version) and the (annoyingly-incorrect) BFG's chemically-fused them-selves with the hatch 'glass' (deep-inpression , too !) and the windshield (to a lesser extent) . I open kits upon receiving them ( mail order ) or when I get home (LHS purchase) . Since kits are packaged a lot nicer these days (i.e. , dissimilar materials are separated / bagged separately , and decals have a "wax-type" paper buffer on the printed-side) , I only look for what's not there (e.g. , missing parts , incomplete moulding , etc.) and damage .
Fat Brian Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I usually open them in the parking lot just to make sure nothing is missing before I leave the store. I used to open the bags of the regular plastic parts too but I've stopped doing that to help the resale value if it ever comes to that.
Fabrux Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I usually open them once I get home. On those occasions when I buy kits at club meetings, I end up opening them there so my buddies can look at the kit too.
iangilly Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Depends, old vintage kits sometimes don't get open because of value. Most get open, but not the bags until I start or I might lose some pieces.
Petetrucker07 Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) For me, if it's a kit I've had before or I have multiples of, I leave it alone till I'm ready to build it. I have a case of the reissued Ca Hauler Pete and a case of Italeri 378s. Why open every one of them. If it's a kit that's new to me, I open it right away. Just to check it out, look over the chrome, give the instructions a quick gander, look it over for the mods I have in mind, and how am I gonna go about doing the mods. Edited February 14, 2015 by Petetrucker07
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