Jump to content

Building rare or vintage kits


DBoger

Recommended Posts

Can I ask what mfr makes that orange paint?

 

It is a rattle can purchased at Wal-Mart, Target or similar stores.

 

It's Krylon Fusion #2337 Pumpkin(Safety) Orange.

 

I shot it over a flat gray primer. The kit parts are molded in orange but after sanding the mold release lines one must paint the parts to cover the sanding damage. I assembled the launch stand and then shot it with the gray primer making sure that I didn't get too thick of a coat on each application of the primer but yet sufficient to get down inside the "H" beam groves. A real pain. Then I following that same thin-application/multiple times format to get thorough coverage with the orange.

 

I use that orange on a great many of my "space" or "sci fi" models. I like the intensity of the color.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Building vintage kits? Wow, that is a tough one. No, not really. To me building a vintage kit is a bit like drinking a vintage wine. I still build them because is takes me back to my youth. I don't really care that much about the value to a collector! Heck, I always say I am a builder, not a collector. Frankly, I get no more pleasure out of looking at an old kit than I do out of looking an a old bottle of wine. You have to crack them both open to truly enjoy them the way their creators intended you to. Frankly a $100 for a rare kit really isn't that much for the hours of pleasure I would get out of the build. The one concession I make is that when I am done, I flatten out the box and staple it to the wall of my garage/model room. I preserve that part of it, also for my pleasure. Let the museums and collectors preserve history. That is what make them happy. I wish to consume them. That is why I bought them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

- Ever since I built my first model at the age of 5, I've been hooked and have never stopped. I've been buying and building thru the years, even thru college and 24 years of marriage. I have always considered myself a "builder", knowing that every model I buy I have a plan for. Many of them I have numerous paint schemes I want to build them in and eventually bought a second, third and fourth of. Unfortunately, my buying-to-building ratio is terrible and I can't ignore that by most respects, I am more a "collector" now, than a builder. My vast collection has numerous "collectibles" in it, but I can't think of one of those collectibles that I would hesitate for a minute to build, simply because its a "collectible." I agree with Donnie's take that, I too believe all models were meant to be built. The question I am struggling with is which ones in my stash do I sell to someone else to build? You all know the old quandary.........the mathematical probability of finishing the 8000 plus in my stash before I die. Who knows, maybe during our next model building party, I'll just have each attendee reach up and grab something off of the shelf to build. Model on, Brothers of the Sprue.

 

I am also one who buys a model to build. I have actually built a couple of vintage kits. Everything you said is much like my philosophy about modeling; I just don't have the massive stash you have. :smiley20:

 

I'd love to join a model building party like that! Let us know how it goes!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sometimes I'm tempted to do a number on an old Aurora P-6E in 1/48 scale that dates back to 1956 or so. (The late Bob Davies did a fantastic job on an Aurora 1/48" P-26A Peashooter). I'm currently working on a 1/32" scale model of a P-6E and I sometimes wonder which is worse?!!!!!

 

 

Mark Fiedler (aAzZ09)

 

IPMS #14333

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a number of in-progress rare/vintage kits that were started back when they were commonplace and have now passed into the rarified atmosphere of kits that should not be built. The passage of 40-50 years seems to do that to the early kits. The dilemma is whether to open them back up and finish them or let them age some more and then sell them to anyone who wants to pick them up and hold or build them themselves.

 

What is a partially built kit from the '50s and '60s worth (generally, not specifically) if they are still in the original boxes?

 

Examples:

Revell Consolidated B-24J Liberator "Buffalo Bill"--box scale

Revell Lockheed American Airlines Electra--box scale

Doyusha Lamborghini Countach LP500S--1/12 scale

Entex Boeing Japan Air Lines 747-100--1/100 scale

 

 

Ed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In many cases, eBay and their search engine of completed auctions is your friend. I see many vintage boxes being auctioned when I browse for models. Since collecting does not interest me, I do not follow to see if they sell or what they sell for. A lot of the Aurora prehistoric scenes models, the vast majority are glue bombs with gobs of paint, go for a lot of money, especially if the box is intact. Reissues also hurt the collectors market. When the model is reissued in some form, modelers who just want to re-acquire an old kit they built as a kid, they go for the cheaper reissue leaving the vintage glue bomb to be fought over by just the collectors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am also one who buys a model to build. I have actually built a couple of vintage kits. Everything you said is much like my philosophy about modeling; I just don't have the massive stash

 

Duke, you do have as many kits as most of us, yours are simply built. I dont know of anybody else with as many models (not just kits) as you have.

 

You are doing what we should all be doing... building & enjoying the hobby

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I rather enjoy building old kits; some of these were made back in my early days and still hold a fondness about them. I have a few that I will not build, like the Hasagawa 1/72 scale Thurnderbirds from F-84 to T38 set. In general if I find an old kit on ebay , LHS or show that I like I’ll haggle. It’s nice to just build a kit without the extra PE expense and hours spent to make it into a museum piece. Kind of like the old days… building to relax and enjoy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...