Let’s see your oldest surviving builds

atomicholiday · December 10, 2023

I don’t think this has come up for a while. Sorry if I missed it. But I was thinking about my “roots” in model car building and what the oldest build I still have is.

What I’m looking for here is the OLDEST, UNRESTORED, untouched build you did that’s still intact. I’m sure these won’t be the prettiest things we’ve seen on the forum. And that’s a big part of their history and ours. I’m expecting to see glue bombs and orange peel galore. No shame in that!?

Let’s also hear a little of the history that you remember about the builds.

These aren’t the first cars I did, far from it. But everything prior to these didn’t survive my early teens. I’m starting off with two because I really don’t know which is older. Both would have been built around ‘86 give or take. (I started around ‘77)

This first one is the Monogram ‘85 corvette. I had seen a 1:1 in this color and for some reason at the time loved it. Now I can’t stand the color!?. Just a box stock build here.

I was really proud of this next one. The Monogram ‘69 Camaro. Still my all time favorite kit! This was built to replicate a friends car. It was the first time I tried any kind of kit-bashing/scratch building. The exhaust was made up of parts from other kits because I didn’t want side pipes. At that time, this build was a benchmark for me.

So there you go. A little history from the atomic holiday hobby room! Now let’s see some of yours!?

Dave Van · December 10, 2023

Not 100% sure this is the oldest.....but it is among the oldest I still have. It is a Wood's Bros #21 Mercury driven by David Pearson. It started life as a JoHan 1972 Gran Torino NASCAR kit. I reworked it into a 1973 Montego. I used a 73 Cougar grille, modified. Rear quarters were smoothed.

I built this about 1975 so long before resin bodies, aftermarket decals etc. The Purolator is dry transfer lettering. The other decals were from the MPC Wood's kit. I pulled the kit from storage and decided to leave it as is......It may look rough.....but she is 45+ years old!!!

Dave Darby · December 10, 2023

I'll join you. The bulk of some of my earliest models as a teen are just fragments now, but I still have a few that are intact.

I built this AMT 57 T-Bird from the Modern Classics release back around 1973 at age 12. It's painted with Testors Sapphire Blue Metalflake spray.

I followed that one up with this AMT 53 Ford F100 from the Street Rods series. I grafted the front frame clip and suspension from an AMT 50 Ford Convertible (probably from the Tournament of Thrills series - if young me knew what old me knows now!). Paint is Testors Candy Blue over Candy Grape. Grille is from the Sox & Martin prostock Duster (see above comment again, lol).

Here it is with the box art (on the box) truck I built for AMT/Ertl back in 1994, and Max's 53 we collaborated on a few years ago when he was 5.

This is my very first 1st place winner, my interpretation of a 76 Monza IMSA car (certainly they ran Corvette FI back then, right? Haha...) But I was 15 then, and it looked cool. Blackwashed valve covers and sewing thread plug wires a la Don Emmons. I still need to repaint the hood, along with the cowl induction scoop and number.

This last one, an MPC Streaker Vette was, alas, partially restored. I stripped the paint off the body in 1989, and it sat for 22 years until I restored the bodywork, and repainted it using the exact same Plastikote Green Metalflake as the original. All of the other paint is original from 1977. I resisted any urges to clearcoat or foil it. I was 16 when I built it, and the flares are made from blue plastic record album dividers that I dumpster dived from the corner drug store.

Thanks for the excuse to travel down Memory Lane! I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I did.

Edited December 11, 2023 by Dave Darby

Dave Darby · December 10, 2023

39 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

Not 100% sure this is the oldest.....but it is among the oldest I still have. It is a Wood's Bros #21 Mercury driven by David Pearson. It started life as a JoHan 1972 Gran Torino NASCAR kit. I reworked it into a 1973 Montego. I used a 73 Cougar grille, modified. Rear quarters were smoothed.

I built this about 1975 so long before resin bodies, aftermarket decals etc. The Purolator is dry transfer lettering. The other decals were from the MPC Wood's kit. I pulled the kit from storage and decided to leave it as is......It may look rough.....but she is 45+ years old!!!

What a cool time capsule. Don't even think about restoring it. It's gold just like it is. I love it!

atomicholiday · December 10, 2023

5 minutes ago, Dave Darby said:

What a cool time capsule. Don't even think about restoring it. It's gold just like it is. I love it!

What he said. @Dave Van- that thing is absolutely awesome as is. I really love the paint cracking. Looks like a barn find race car.?

Great looking old kits guys. This is exactly what I was after!

Supernurd · December 10, 2023

?

It looks like real bondo flaking and pealing off the David Pearson rear quarter panel!

Edited December 10, 2023 by Supernurd

Fat Brian · December 11, 2023

Not old in the grand scheme of things but old to me, I built this 60 Starliner from an original issue kit in the early 2000s so it's creeping up on 20 years old if not at it already. Complete with plug wires and carb linkages along with XS tuning wheels it was probably my best build until the last few years.

Bronzekeg · December 11, 2023

built in the early 80's.

Classicgas · December 11, 2023

3rd car built after getting back into the hobby. Circa late 92, early 93. Took first place adult in my first contest.

atomicholiday · December 11, 2023

7 hours ago, Bronzekeg said:

built in the early 80's.

I love how it's just a little beat up now. It actually adds to the effect, making it look like an old car that's ready for a re-fresh. Cool.

atomicholiday · December 11, 2023

You guys are posting some great stuff! Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I'm loving seeing and reading about all these old builds.?

Mothersworry · December 11, 2023

Replica of my Father's first car that I built fer him in 1978 when I wuz 19. AMT's '40 Ford Sedan pretty much outta the box.

bh1701 · December 12, 2023

This 63 Thunderbird is probably my oldest unrestored model. Built in 1963 when I was 11 years old. Tires are long gone, but this should be an easy one to restore when I get around to it.

As far as my oldest RESTORED kit, it's this 1960 Lincoln built back in 1960. About 25 years ago, this was the first model I disassembled, stripped the paint from, and rebuilt.

ea0863 · December 12, 2023

On 12/10/2023 at 9:15 AM, atomicholiday said:

I don’t think this has come up for a while. Sorry if I missed it. But I was thinking about my “roots” in model car building and what the oldest build I still have is.

What I’m looking for here is the OLDEST, UNRESTORED, untouched build you did that’s still intact. I’m sure these won’t be the prettiest things we’ve seen on the forum. And that’s a big part of their history and ours. I’m expecting to see glue bombs and orange peel galore. No shame in that!?

Let’s also hear a little of the history that you remember about the builds.

These aren’t the first cars I did, far from it. But everything prior to these didn’t survive my early teens. I’m starting off with two because I really don’t know which is older. Both would have been built around ‘86 give or take. (I started around ‘77)

This first one is the Monogram ‘85 corvette. I had seen a 1:1 in this color and for some reason at the time loved it. Now I can’t stand the color!?. Just a box stock build here.

I was really proud of this next one. The Monogram ‘69 Camaro. Still my all time favorite kit! This was built to replicate a friends car. It was the first time I tried any kind of kit-bashing/scratch building. The exhaust was made up of parts from other kits because I didn’t want side pipes. At that time, this build was a benchmark for me.

So there you go. A little history from the atomic holiday hobby room! Now let’s see some of yours!?

Two great builds! As for the color on the Corvette, I still have my issue of Road and Track with that very color - - - it was all the rage back then

ea0863 · December 12, 2023

On 12/10/2023 at 9:37 AM, Dave Van said:

Not 100% sure this is the oldest.....but it is among the oldest I still have. It is a Wood's Bros #21 Mercury driven by David Pearson. It started life as a JoHan 1972 Gran Torino NASCAR kit. I reworked it into a 1973 Montego. I used a 73 Cougar grille, modified. Rear quarters were smoothed.

I built this about 1975 so long before resin bodies, aftermarket decals etc. The Purolator is dry transfer lettering. The other decals were from the MPC Wood's kit. I pulled the kit from storage and decided to leave it as is......It may look rough.....but she is 45+ years old!!!

Dave, I am so glad you are keeping it as-is. There is just no replacement for such great patina!

atomicholiday · December 12, 2023

26 minutes ago, ea0863 said:

Two great builds! As for the color on the Corvette, I still have my issue of Road and Track with that very color - - - it was all the rage back then

That’s the one. At the time it really grabbed me.

atomicholiday · December 12, 2023

23 hours ago, Mothersworry said:

Replica of my Father's first car that I built fer him in 1978 when I wuz 19. AMT's '40 Ford Sedan pretty much outta the box.

It’s amazing that this build is that old. It still looks fresh!

Such a cool model.?

JJ Deuce · December 13, 2023

I started building when I was probably 6 or 7, but I didn't hold on to any of those early efforts. The oldest build I still have is this '72 Corvette I built around 1997 or so. It's a replica (sort of) of the first Corvette I ever rode in, that belonged to my uncle. The body and engine are from the AMT '70 Street Machine issue, and the chassis and interior are from the Revell '69 kit. His car was an automatic, but at the time, I couldn't find the correct TH400, so it has a white metal TH350 I believe I ordered from R&D Unique. I recently swapped the tires out and added the vanity plates he had on his car. This was the first time I used Alclad on bumpers, and it's held up pretty well. There's a few things I would do differently if I built it today, but it's a good memory.

vamach1 · December 13, 2023

I have several builds from the mid to late 1980s. Here are a few of them.

magicmustang · December 13, 2023

Revell Fiat Altered from the double kit in 1963. Had to replace the wheels a couple of times due to melting plastic from the tight tires. Used thick thread painted blue for the wiring.