Thoughts on Promo Kit Restoration

[doorsovdoon]

What's everyone's thoughts on restoring old promo kits? I see them pop up from time to time in the UK but they're usually badly warped and missing parts. I've always wanted to do a kit restoration but not sure if I can handle a glue bomb! I was thinking maybe an old promo kit that screws together where parts from a newer release can be used. 

[SfanGoch]

Personally, I wouldn't waste money on pre-1962 promos. They are made from cellulose acetate, which will continue to warp and shrink as the resins used to manufacture this plastic evaporate. Cellulose acetate cannot be bonded or properly repaired using solvents. Even if you use epoxies, there still remains the persistent problem of shrinkage and warping over time.

[doorsovdoon]

Yeah, the plastics from back then are beyond hope. I'm not an originality freak so I'd be willing to replace the entire body if need be. Some promos had cool details on the underside like working torsion bars, friction drive, and text on the exhaust and suspension parts.

[THarrison351]

10 hours ago, doorsovdoon said:

What's everyone's thoughts on restoring old promo kits? I see them pop up from time to time in the UK but they're usually badly warped and missing parts. I've always wanted to do a kit restoration but not sure if I can handle a glue bomb! I was thinking maybe an old promo kit that screws together where parts from a newer release can be used. 

Me, I look at it this way. It's mine, I paid for it, someone gave it to me, or I inherited it. This means I can do anything I want with it or leave it alone. Like the others said, the cars made out of acetate are only for collectors and not worth the time or money of restoring them. Now the promos, Craftsman or frictions, made of styrene are excellent candidates for restoration. I have a few originals, plus some new ones. I've only replaced some missing chrome and did some minor polishing. One still has bent "A" pillars and the rest of the intact chrome on all of them is thin, but I'm not going to do anything else as of now.

[Plowboy]

I've done a few of them. Never back to original. Like Tim said, it's mine and I'll do what I want with it. Usually, the '61 and newer promos are OK. If they haven't warped by now, they're not going to. I just recently did a '59 Edsel that was straight as an arrow. Sometimes I do a simple disassemble and repaint with modern wheels. Sometimes, I cut them apart and rebuild them using a donor kit. I'd rather mess with an old promo than a new kit any day. 

[doorsovdoon]

Yep, my thoughts too. I was thinking of promos because of their low parts count, no glue and they just seem to have a certain charm about them.

[Tom99]

Here is a 1956 Ford Promo that I restored. I could not get all the warp out.

To me, it was worth the effort to bring the old Ford back from the dead.

 

 

[Tom Geiger]

I never had a desire for promos. As said, they’re pretty much for collectors and I’m a builder by nature. If I had valuable promos, it would be killing me not to “improve” them with detailing that would destroy their collector value.

Per warping, yes that’s a major problem should you want to base a model project from an old promo! See the extensive warping on the 59 Chevies from my collection. I didn’t specifically buy these, but acquired them as part of a collection.

I do find that a lot of the subjects are already available as later better kits such as the 2 door hardtop.  Others have been cast in resin from a fairly clean unwarped original promo body.  People have said the warping continues, but I believe the warping was from the gas out period of the plastic and should be stable now.  The above photo was taken in 2001, I can probably pull these cars out of storage to see how the last 19 years have treated them.

I have bought a bunch of promos from the later styrene period.  I prefer to find damaged ones I feel justified in redoing to my requirements. I have a bunch of 1960s Ramblers, especially the sedans and wagons to build into projects one day.

I also have a few perfect Ramblers that I admire for their condition and survival. Those I wouldn’t modify, and will pass on to a collector someday.  

[Ramfins59]

I have no problem, or issues with redoing or restoring old promos, as I am a builder not a collector.  As a fan of 1950's cars I've been pretty lucky over the years in acquiring good, unwarped promos for most years of cars.  Obviously straight, unwarped cars from the earlier '50's are harder to find, but I've been pretty lucky so far in searching through EBAY listings and various vendor offerings at model shows (when there were shows to go to).

The biggest "problems I've had with some promos is finding either glass or interiors, but so far I've been able to cobble together glass using leftover pieces from kits, or using clear acetate cut to shape.  I was able to acquire just about everything available from Modelhaus for 1950's cars that I needed before they shut down.  I was able to get all the kits, conversion pieces, replacement parts and accessories that I needed, and have it all "stockpiled" by year for the '50's cars that I have yet to work on.

I usually add windshield wipers, inside & outside mirrors, antenna's and license plates to the cars to improve the looks and "realism" of them.  I also like to add whitewall tires.

The biggest problem I have run into is trying to get rid of the infamous, dreaded, Johan "smile".  That is a battle that I hope to win some day...... way down the road.

   

[StevenGuthmiller]

3 hours ago, doorsovdoon said:

Yep, my thoughts too. I was thinking of promos because of their low parts count, no glue and they just seem to have a certain charm about them.

It doesn't have to be a promo.

The older kits prior to about 1960 or '61 were basically exact copies of the promos, but they had the added bonus of being made from styrene plastic.

 

I've restored quite a few of these simple "screw chassis" kits, and they can be quite fun to tinker with.

 

As an example, this 1958 Ford convertible "kit" is no different from the promo in the aspect of the parts count and manner of assembly.

It basically started as a 24 part kit.

The break down is, a body, front bumper, rear bumper, a set of head light lenses, tail lights, a hood ornament, glass, a top boot, interior tub, dash, steering wheel, chassis plate, a set of wheels and a set of tires.

That's it.

Very typical of these early kits/promos.

They can be a lot of fun, but remember that these early "annual" kits can be quite hard to find and very expensive.

 

This one had a few extra parts added, most notably a Modelhaus convertible up top and continental kit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

[doorsovdoon]

Yeah, a good condition promo would be hard for me to avoid improving because I like detailing. Part of the charm of promos is most times the interior isn't even painted. I see the '64 Impala quite often, usually convertible and with broken windscreen frame, and I know the interior tub of the 1989 AMT release of that car has the promo tub unchanged, I think the whole kit is a light mod from the promo cos you can see the casting marks and where they changed parts of the chassis for the mainstream release.

[doorsovdoon]

4 hours ago, Tom99 said:

Here is a 1956 Ford Promo that I restored. I could not get all the warp out.

To me, it was worth the effort to bring the old Ford back from the dead.

 

 

 

 

 

Good job! I'm not skilled enough to repair a warped casting. Something like that I would have changed the body using the AMT Ford Victoria, or at least most of a newer casting. Some will say it's not the same car then, I get that, but is much better than something that looks like it's been in the oven for an hour.

[ChrisBcritter]

So hard to deal with the early promos, although some manage to shrink fairly evenly without too much twisting. Case in point: this '58 Chevy Nomad wagon. It was a bank promo and the coin box pressed against the roof, which kept it pretty straight. I compensated for the shrinkage by narrowing the rear bumper, moving the rear wheels forward, and adding material to the front fenders to fill in where they'd pulled away from the front bumper. Separating the windshield from the rest of the glass and a lot of filing inside the cowl and A-pillars got it to fit much better. Some paint touchups, repairs and a ton of BMF finished it - although someday I'll get the bumpers rechromed.

Before:

After:

 

  

[ChrisBcritter]

Then there was this '66 Fairlane GT promo which I took back to original. Before...

...and after:

Tough part was getting that black paint off and its stains out, eventually got it with Testors ELO stripper and a lot of elbow grease. Got the bumpers redone by GT Kustom Krome (after dislodging the front one which was held on with half a bottle of Elmers Glue), touched up the taillight bezels and wheelcovers with Molotow, gave it a final polish, and done. Couldn't do much with the stripes (nobody I know of repros them, and neither the original kit nor the new version have them).

 

Edited August 9, 2020 by ChrisBcritter

[Snake45]

3 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

Then there was this '66 Fairlane GT promo which I took back to original.

Tough part was getting that black paint off and its stains out, eventually got it with Testors ELO stripper and a lot of elbow grease. Got the bumpers redone by GT Kustom Krome (after dislodging the front one which was held on with half a bottle of Elmers Glue), touched up the taillight bezels and wheelcovers with Molotow, gave it a final polish, and done. Couldn't do much with the stripes (nobody I know of repros them, and neither the original kit nor the new version have them).

Now THAT is a TRUE restoration, a term that's almost always misused around here. VERY well done, my friend! 

[doorsovdoon]

Fantastic work! I have experience in casting resins, so if I have a good part to mould, missing parts aren't an issue. With modern tech these days a lot of stuff that wasn't possible ten years ago can now be done in your own living room.