A kit? I've never seen before ....

[Dale Gribble]

Saw this on eBay tonight ..... Got all excited for a cool old wrecked car kit that I had never seen before ..... Until I saw the trans am in the box , and actually read the text on the box itself  ...... Is this a joke , or did this really come out ?? 

https://www.ebay.com/i/332732273183 

 

[Can-Con]

It was a promotion for the movie. 

Don't know how many were made but it's pretty rare.

[mike 51]

I'm  sure it was just a joke....read what it says on the box.

Edited August 2, 2018 by mike 51

[MrObsessive]

That "gag"of a kit has been around for years. I'm going to say since the early '00's. Pretty sure no such kit exists otherwise it would be among the priciest ever out there.

Also the link isn't working.......taken down already??

[Dave Van]

It's a Monogram 1980ish Camaro kit inside. Can'r say how many they made but a good friend of mine has one. It was a promo item for the 'Used Cars' movie......basically a custom box top. 

[MrObsessive]

Aaahh! That’s what that is! I knew an actual kit didn’t exist, but didn’t know there was a Camaro inside! ??

Learn something new every day! 

[Little Timmy]

If it "IS" real .... I want  TEN !!!

[ChrisBcritter]

1 hour ago, Dave Van said:

It's a Monogram 1980ish Camaro kit inside. Can'r say how many they made but a good friend of mine has one. It was a promo item for the 'Used Cars' movie......basically a custom box top. 

And a very funny instruction sheet. Really wish someone would scan it for Drastic Plastic's Fotki page. Scrounged from the net:

Edited August 2, 2018 by ChrisBcritter

[ChrisBcritter]

1 hour ago, MrObsessive said:

That "gag"of a kit has been around for years. I'm going to say since the early '00's. Pretty sure no such kit exists otherwise it would be among the priciest ever out there.

Also the link isn't working.......taken down already??

Here's one with lots of photos:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Used-Cars-Movie-Promo-Model-Kit-Columbia-Pictures-RARE/202363273511?hash=item2f1dca8127%3Ag%3Aln4AAOSwstNauC3x&_sop=10&_sacat=1188&_nkw=used+cars+movie&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313.TR2.TRC0.A0.H0.Xused+cars+movie.TRS0.TSS0&LH_TitleDesc=0|0

And one more:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-Cars-Movie-Promo-model-car-1-25-probably-the-2nd-RAREST-model/163137479347?hash=item25fbc062b3%3Ag%3Apu4AAOSwI99alxrn&_sop=10&_sacat=1188&_nkw=used+cars+movie&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313.TR2.TRC0.A0.H0.Xused+cars+movie.TRS0.TSS0&LH_TitleDesc=0|0

[Dale Gribble]

1 hour ago, ChrisBcritter said:

And a very funny instruction sheet. Really wish someone would scan it for Drastic Plastic's Fotki page. Scrounged from the net:

Oh man ! Instructions on how to get your friend to slip a kit down his pants !! I wanna area scan of the entire sheet too! I'm glad I posted this .... 

[stavanzer]

Kit is the MPC '73-76 Camaro. Look at that chrome tree. Dean Milano showed this kit in S.A.E. many, many years ago. It was a full page article. Be great if somebody could find it and scan it here.

[Dale Gribble]

 This one definitely has a Trans Am in the box .... 

[Mark]

The box has a 1980 copyright date on it.  A number of these have popped up on eBay over the years; some had Trans-Am Firebirds in the box, others Z-28 Camaros, and I saw one with a Dodge Warlock pickup. 

[Mike999]

Definitely from 1980, since it was a tie-in to the movie "Used Cars."  The kit tie-in sure didn't help sell movie tickets. "Used Cars" bombed at the box office, despite being executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. And written by a couple of guys who would go on to many bigger things, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. 

Wiki guesses one reason it bombed was the black humor. Which is probably why I have a copy and still watch it every now and then.  Since this was the "Malaise Era" for cars, here in 2018 it's pretty funny when Kurt Russell & Co. hack into Jimmy Carter's presidential address and run a commercial for their used-car lot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Used_Cars

[Mark]

7 minutes ago, Mike999 said:

Definitely from 1980, since it was a tie-in to the movie "Used Cars."  The kit tie-in sure didn't help sell movie tickets. "Used Cars" bombed at the box office, despite being executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. And written by a couple of guys who would go on to many bigger things, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. 

Wiki guesses one reason it bombed was the black humor. Which is probably why I have a copy and still watch it every now and then.  Since this was the "Malaise Era" for cars, here in 2018 it's pretty funny when Kurt Russell & Co. hack into Jimmy Carter's presidential address and run a commercial for their used-car lot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Used_Cars

There was also a pilot episode for a TV show.  None of the bigger stars from the movie were in that, though it did have several of the minor players.  The pilot pretty much summarized the movie and had many of the best moments of the movie in it.  I seem to remember reading somewhere (old MCCA Journal?) that AMT had a deal lined up to issue three or four car kits with a "Used Cars" tie-in.  I'll have to dig through those to see if I can find that... 

['70 Grande]

It was my understanding that these "kits" were handed out to movie reviewers at a invitation-only pre-release showing of the movie in Los Angeles in early-1980. AMT was contracted to supply the model parts to be packaged in those custom printed kit boxes. AMT simply checked their kit inventory at the time and pulled unboxed kits out of inventory and shipped them to California for packing into the custom printed boxes. That's why there's a variety of different models inside these movie-release boxes. There were other movie-promotional items passed out at this invitation-only event. Speculation is there were 100 to 200 of these movie promo "kits" produced, but it's hard to say if those numbers are accurate. 

[espo]

Not very familiar with this kit, but notice that on the face of the box it says "1 of 5" so that may explain everyone finding different kits inside their boxes. I guess I'm one of the few that enjoyed the movie. The movie was a comedy and not something done for an Academy Award. The movie was crude, rude, and socially unacceptable in it's content, but that is what made it funny at the time.  

[Mark]

1 hour ago, '70 Grande said:

It was my understanding that these "kits" were handed out to movie reviewers at a invitation-only pre-release showing of the movie in Los Angeles in early-1980. AMT was contracted to supply the model parts to be packaged in those custom printed kit boxes. AMT simply checked their kit inventory at the time and pulled unboxed kits out of inventory and shipped them to California for packing into the custom printed boxes. That's why there's a variety of different models inside these movie-release boxes. There were other movie-promotional items passed out at this invitation-only event. Speculation is there were 100 to 200 of these movie promo "kits" produced, but it's hard to say if those numbers are accurate. 

Except that MPC (then a competitor) supplied the kits.  I've never seen one of these with anything but an MPC kit in the box.

['70 Grande]

Yep; MPC it was... and a brain-lapse on my part!

[ChrisBcritter]

Same guys also made I Wanna Hold Your Hand a year earlier - not as crude but still great screwball slapstick comedy. I've done the NJ license plates for that movie's '64 Caddy Fleetwood 75 limo if anyone wants to tackle some serious kitbashing: