Resealed Kits

[DRIPTROIT 71]

This has probably been covered before, but is there a way to identify if a vintage kit has been resealed. I mostly only build semi trucks, so my question is sort of specific to the Early semi truck and trailer kits released in or around the 70s. I have picked up some “sealed” kits over the past couple of years and the plastic on some of them seemed a lot thicker than I remember it being back in the day. If my memory is correct those old kits had very thin cellophane on them. The seam on the suspect kits seemed especially thick. One particular suspect kit was an Ertl Great Dane flat bed trailer. I went ahead and opened it and some of the inside parts had been re-bagged I usually buy with the intent to build, so it is usually irrelevant, but I sometimes leave a vintage kit sealed just in case I never get around to building it. I would hate to pass one on in either a sale or trade that had been resealed or even worse, not be complete. I thought that maybe some you expert collectors knew how to spot a reseal job.

 Thanks,

Brian

[Casey]

One thing to look for is a small hole which is melted into the shrink wrap while the shrink wrap is applied. The melted hole apparently prevents a vacuum from forming and allows the shrink wrap to fully seat. Most re-wrapped kirs will not have this feature. I have seen the hole on both Monogram (always on the bottom of the box) and MPC kits (on the top, as seen on this Bronco):

 

Reputable re-sellers, such as Model Empire, will of course label the kit as having been re-wrapped, but I rarely see that elsewhere.

Edited February 19, 2021 by Casey

[DRIPTROIT 71]

6 minutes ago, Casey said:

One thing to look for is a small hole which is melted into the shrink wrap while the shrink wrap is applied. The melted hole apparently prevents a vacuum from forming and allows the shrink wrap to fully seat. Most re-wrapped kirs will not have this feature. I have seen the hole on both Monogram (always on the bottom of the box) and MPC kits (on the top, as seen on this Bronco):

 

Reputable re-sellers, such as Model Empire, will of course label the kit as having been re-wrapped, but I rarely see that elsewhere.

Thanks Casey! I didn’t start building models until about 78 or 79. I remember those holes on car kits then, but I couldn’t remember if they were on the old semi kits or if earlier kits had them. Those holes were always my starting point for tearing the plastic off of a new kit. I have an old Matlack Mack that I am suspect of. I will check for that.

[wrenchr]

Another thing I've noticed on original sealed kits is the wrap is more brittle, will be yellowed and I'm aware that a lot of these things are based on how the kit was stored but IMO the wrap will closely match the box's condition.  

[TarheelRick]

I may be mistaken, but I believe some of the older wrap would over the years continue to shrink just a bit causing the box to become misshapen.  Of course I also remember when AMT/SMP simply had a small piece of tape over each end of the box, or in '61/62 they wrapped the box cover around the box top 1/4 inch to seal the box closed.

[Mark]

The wrap shrinking (or not) over the years will depend on storage conditions.  More consistent temperature, humidity, etc. would let it stay pretty much the same, where an attic or garage where things change would cause the wrap to shrink and shrink again over time.  I have some kits that still look new, but they have been kept in closets as opposed to attics or basements over the years.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Thanks for all of the information guys!! Casey, I checked the Mack kit and it does have the hole in the plastic. Jason, it does look slightly yellowed compared to the reissue. My main concern with this kit was that it seemed a bit lighter than the reissue. After finding that my flatbed had been resealed, I pictured opening the Mack to find somebody’s leftovers. I think now that it might be legit. I bought it before the reissue was released, and now that the reissue is out, I wanted to leave it sealed, but be somewhat confident that it hadn’t been resealed with part of the kit removed.

 Thanks again guys!

 Brian 

[wrenchr]

2 hours ago, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

Thanks for all of the information guys!! Casey, I checked the Mack kit and it does have the hole in the plastic. Jason, it does look slightly yellowed compared to the reissue. My main concern with this kit was that it seemed a bit lighter than the reissue. After finding that my flatbed had been resealed, I pictured opening the Mack to find somebody’s leftovers. I think now that it might be legit. I bought it before the reissue was released, and now that the reissue is out, I wanted to leave it sealed, but be somewhat confident that it hadn’t been resealed with part of the kit removed.

 Thanks again guys!

 Brian 

In my experience when the wrap yellows it becomes brittle as well. It will sound like a plastic shopping bag if there is any slack in the fit to the box. 

[slusher]

I bought a kit that was rewraped and the wrap is like what’s in the photo albums that the picture sticks down and the clear sheet covers. Mike was covered with the photo album clear sheeting and parts was missing..

[Pete J.]

Frankly, only "collectors" care about shrink wrapping. I am not a collector and as such am always suspicious of "Factory wrapped" kit.  If someone is advertising it then I see only two reasons.  1) They expect a premium for the kit or 2) they are hiding something and hope you never open the kit.  Otherwise I personally stay away from them.  The best way to tell if you are getting what you are paying for is if the seller opens the kit and shows the content in photos.  This may be painting sellers with too broad of a brush, but I have been burned too many times.  I am sure that most sellers are honest, but unless I have dealt with them before or know them personally, I am cautious. 

Edited February 20, 2021 by Pete J.

[Oldcarfan27]

In my experience, original shrink wrap is wrapped over the top around the end caps and connected at the bottom, with the sides heatsealed together and shrunk. They should not have a thick mylar film that is wrapped like a present - I have seen them this way, passed-off as unopened.   No way!!!

The exception is middle 60's, as I once had a Monogram kit that WAS unopened and had a thin plastic wrap that was heat-pressed closed like a present, but did not use any adhesive, tape or glue to attach it. The heat stuck the film to itself, not to the box.

Also, an original, never opened, never exposed box will have zero wear anywhere underneath the unbroken film. If there is box wear under a sealed kit - WATCH OUT!

[Mark]

Different manufacturers did things differently.  Monogram (maybe Aurora too?) did wraps that were folded and glued together, not really shrink wrap.  AMT, Revell, and Jo-Han did do shrink wrap, and each brought it in at different times.  MPC kits were wrapped from day one, though I have heard that some early kits were not wrapped.  It might depend on the box...often the boxes that are made of cardboard with printed paper applied to it weren't wrapped while printed cardboard boxes were.

Unless the kit in question is from unopened stock, it should have a store price tag on it in most cases.  Having that should be more convincing evidence that the wrap is original...I've never heard of anyone faking up a department store price tag.

I have a number of sealed kits, but don't go out of my way looking for them.  It's been a while since I bought one.  The ones I have, I picked up cheaply enough that nobody would go to the trouble for the amount involved.  And/or, they do have price tags that would indicate they were simply bought and set aside.

Edited February 20, 2021 by Mark
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[larry ray]

I bought one from hobby lobby. It was a Christmas present to me 2 months latter when I opened it the price sticker was  on the in side of the shrink wrap. awheel and tire put together. no decal sheet. At that time 100 miles back to  store so I left it alone.

[Cowpunk]

Look for wear along the 8 corners of the box top.

[HomerS]

I bought two kits from Freetime Hobbies a couple years ago and the seals had been broken on one of them  (internal bags opened too).  I reached out and got an e-mail it was the last one they had and I could return it so I would pay for the return shipping for them selling an open kit at full price.  That was my first and last order from them!

I returned a broken POPS protector case to Hobby Lobby as one couldn't tell the lid was damaged until the shrink wrap was removed.  A couple weeks later I stopped in and they put it as-is back on the shelf (at regular price).

[DRIPTROIT 71]

I don’t pay collector prices either, but sometimes I pick up a sealed kit. Let’s face it, most of us have a lot of kits that we will never build whether we consider ourselves a collector or not. If the kit is old and sealed, I wait until I am going to use it to open it. I have picked up two resealed kits, both were trailers, one at a great price and one at a decent price. The Mack that I was in question about does have a price sticker, but it is a generic one. It looks pretty authentic, but since it is noticeably lighter than most truck kits, I was a bit skeptical. After listening to you guys I am more confident now. I buy to build, but would never pass up on an old sealed kit at a great price. I didn’t pay much more for the Mack than the reissue, and I purchased it was before the reissue was released.

 Thanks for all of the information!

[Pete J.]

Just one other comment about sealed kits.  I have very few of them in my collection.  I am very impatient and can't wait to get home and see what is in side so POOF! no shrink wrap.  The few that I have that are still in shrinkwrap are there because I bought multiples and only needed to open one.  If it is a show, I will ask the vendor if I can open it, with the proviso that if I open it and it is intact I will pay the asking price.  I have only been turned down a couple of times and then I refuse to buy anything from that vendor suspecting that they had something to hide. 

 

[Mark]

If I were selling a sealed kit at a show, and if someone wanted to check it, they could buy it first and then open it on the spot.  If the kit inside is what it is supposed to be, then they own it.  Sellers can't guarantee a sealed forty or fifty year old kit in regards to tire burns on parts, scuffed plating, or defects in any of the parts themselves.  That's why the seller could reasonably expect the cash to change hands first in these cases.

[bill_rules]

20 hours ago, larry ray said:

I bought one from hobby lobby. It was a Christmas present to me 2 months latter when I opened it the price sticker was  on the in side of the shrink wrap. awheel and tire put together. no decal sheet. At that time 100 miles back to  store so I left it alone.

I've had the same thing happen at a Hobby Lobby here, the kit was missing tires and the chrome tree when I opened it.

 

[64Comet404]

20 hours ago, larry ray said:

I bought one from hobby lobby. It was a Christmas present to me 2 months latter when I opened it the price sticker was  on the in side of the shrink wrap. awheel and tire put together. no decal sheet. At that time 100 miles back to  store so I left it alone.

When I was younger, there was a distributor who was a bit more...liberal, shall we say, on what constituted damage to a returned kit. They would place a bilingual sticker on the sides of the box, re-shrink the product, and send it back out to the shops. You would open up boxes and find everything from assembled engines right up to fully assembled and painted glue bombs. I always opened these kits before I left the mall.