i have been wondering why there are so few 4 door classic car kits

[michelle]

i can count on one hand all the 60's/70's sedan car model kits all but one are amt/mpc kits 
amt 70 Galaxie cop car/ taxi 
amt 67 impala  from supernatual 
mpc 78 monoco cop car/ joker goon car
and johan fury cop car 

and that is why i ask why is there not that many kits of sedans made i would think they would sell pretty good 

i am asking cause of the limited options it makes making aussie cars harder and more limited to just the 2 door hardtops over the more common sedans 


 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Johan did a lot of 4 door kits and promos back in the late 50s and early 60s.

As a matter of fact, all of their Oldsmobile models between 1957 and 1962, (with the exception of the ‘60 coupe) were all 4 doors.

Similarly for Johan Cadillacs from 1958-1962.

There were also a number of Johan 4 door Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler and Desoto promos from the late 50s

Likewise, Hubley did a number of Ford wagons and 4 door sedans from 1960 to ‘62.

They’re out there, but of course they’re getting tougher to find and more expensive.

(Johan 1959 Olds 98 “Sport Sedan”)

 

(Johan/X-EL 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood)

 

 

Steve

Edited September 16, 2024 by StevenGuthmiller

[rattle can man]

because two doors are "sporty, lighter, more performance oriented,  more beautiful" etc. The same reason auctions for 1:1 cars favor 2 doors. personally, I like station wagons. And just a note on the'78 Monaco: It started life as a two door kit. The four door kit came a few years later as the Force 440 police car, and then evolved into Roscoe's police car and the Goon Car.  The two door has not been seen since roughly 1978 if I recall correctly

[michelle]

26 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Johan did a lot of 4 door kits and promos back in the late 50s and early 60s.

As a matter of fact, all of their Oldsmobile models between 1957 and 1962, (with the exception of the ‘60 coupe) were all 4 doors.

Similarly for Johan Cadillacs from 1958-1962.

There were also a number of Johan 4 door Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler and Desoto promos from the late 50s

Likewise, Hubley did a number of Ford wagons and 4 door sedans from 1960 to ‘62.

They’re out there, but of course they’re getting tougher to find and more expensive.

(Johan 1959 Olds 98 “Sport Sedan”)

 

(Johan/X-EL 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood)

 

 

Steve

those are older cars then then what i was talking about i mean muscle car era 64-74 of cars 

[michelle]

26 minutes ago, rattle can man said:

because two doors are "sporty, lighter, more performance oriented,  more beautiful" etc. The same reason auctions for 1:1 cars favor 2 doors. personally, I like station wagons. And just a note on the'78 Monaco: It started life as a two door kit. The four door kit came a few years later as the Force 440 police car, and then evolved into Roscoe's police car and the Goon Car.  The two door has not been seen since roughly 1978 if I recall correctly

they did kits  of non existent real cars  also like the pontiac bonneville el camino style truck
and station wagons some of them 4 door like the 63 chevy ll and the 65 continental and the 66 chevelle  
but no chevelle or nova sedans or coronet sedan or mavrick sedan or parklane sedan or falcon sedans
you would think sedans would have done well during the dealership promo era as they would have two a 2 door and 4 doors options for certain cars 
 

[Richard Bartrop]

Basically two doors are cooler than four.

If you're talking about AACA approved "Classic" classics, the kit situation it different, and four door model kits are about as common as the two door versions.

[1972coronet]

I can only speak from the perspective of a U.S. citizen of 54 years : 

4 door models and - to a lesser degree - wagons (excepting the '64-'65 Chevelle 2 door wagon, and their predecessor Nomad [et alia] , and the coveted Falcon 2 door wagon) are seen as pedestrian, family cars. It's been that way for positively decades ; recently, that's changed . 

Fleet-type cars are another exception (taxi and / or police models) , e.g. the Johan '68 Fury I Pursuit , and the MPC '77/'78 Monaco Pursuit - the latter of which was derived from the aforementioned '75-'78 Plymouth B-body Fury & Dodge Monaco 2 door hardtops. The first 4 door sedan release was the Roscoe's iteration (exhibited in 2 door hardtop version on the original's box art nonetheless !) , followed by the T.J. Hooker (c.1983) , and eventually , the Joker Goon Squad / Monaco Pursuit version from c.1989 ; the revised release is in CHP livery.

Basically, the Oz cars were typically de facto dual purpose : family sedan with hot engine combos.

[Brian Austin]

There always has been push/pull between modelers wanting sedans for light commercial and municipal cars and kit manufacturers tending to lean toward the flashier hardtops coupes and convertibles.

Relatedly, many US export models were only available as four-door sedans (or four-door hardtops) so replicating these in scale can be a challenge converting a two-door hardtop or coupe.

Unless there was some kind of tie-in to NASCAR or drag racing or a TV show license, I don't see many newly tooled four door sedan kits in the future.  TWO-door sedans, maybe.

[89AKurt]

I've been wondering why there are *not* so many REAL 2 door coupes available, Honda dropped their Coupe, Subaru hasn't done a coupe since the legendary rally car, so don't expect anyone to do it.  I had a '57 Chevy 4 door wagon, happened to get a rough resin body, so someday......

[Tom99]

A four door 67 Cutlass was needed..

 

[Daddyfink]

Didn't AMT make a 4 door Corvair? I swear I have a body in my stash somewhere. 

[Rob Hall]

6 minutes ago, Daddyfink said:

Didn't AMT make a 4 door Corvair? I swear I have a body in my stash somewhere. 

I think the '60 Corvair promo was a 4dr...don't know if it was available as a kit.

[Mark]

The '60 Corvair kit was a four-door because that's the only body style that was available when the kit was released.  The '61 promo was also a four-door, but the kit was altered to an incorrect convertible with a separate glue-on hardtop roof which was also incorrect.

The annual kits were usually the same body style as that year's promotional model.  The manufacturers seldom asked for four-door cars, and the kit manufacturers quickly learned that the four-door didn't sell in kit form.  SMP did a '61 Impala four-door hardtop promo but didn’t bother to offer it as a kit.  Jo-Han did some four-door kits in the early Sixties but gradually stopped offering them as kits.  

Bottom line: kids didn't want models of four-door cars, so the kit manufacturers soon learned that and avoided issuing any.  Unless it's a police car, or a well-known movie or TV car, don't count on ever seeing it as a kit from a mainstream company.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Revell also did a few early '60s 4 doors.

The '62 Plymouth and '62 Chrysler Imperial come to mind.

 

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

In the end, it all comes down to popularity and salability.

It makes sense that there were so many 4 door kits and promos available in the late 50s and early 60s at the dawn of the model car, and then gradually went away in favor of 2 door models.

Apparently they likely didn't sell all that well in comparison to 2 door hard tops and convertibles.

If they were truly competitive, they would probably still be producing more of them.

In short, nobody really wants them.

 

 

 

Steve

[Force]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

In the end, it all comes down to popularity and salability.

It makes sense that there were so many 4 door kits and promos available in the late 50s and early 60s at the dawn of the model car, and then gradually went away in favor of 2 door models.

Apparently they likely didn't sell all that well in comparison to 2 door hard tops and convertibles.

If they were truly competitive, they would probably still be producing more of them.

In short, nobody really wants them.

 

 

 

Steve

Nobody is a bit harsh statement, but the demand is too low for the model companies to develop and tool up a 4-door kit as it's very expensive

[Mark]

2 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Revell also did a few early '60s 4 doors.

The '62 Plymouth and '62 Chrysler Imperial come to mind.

 

 

 

Steve

The Revell '62 Dodge was a four-door.  Their Plymouth was a two-door; in fact, that was the only one of the Revell Mopars that duplicated one also offered by Jo-Han.  All the others differed from Jo-Han or AMT offerings in either body style or trim level.

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Force said:

Nobody is a bit harsh statement, but the demand is too low for the model companies to develop and tool up a 4-door kit as it's very expensive

That’s what I was getting at.

There’s not enough interest to justify the investment.

 

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Mark said:

The Revell '62 Dodge was a four-door.  Their Plymouth was a two-door; in fact, that was the only one of the Revell Mopars that duplicated one also offered by Jo-Han.  All the others differed from Jo-Han or AMT offerings in either body style or trim level.

Correct.

I was mistaken.

 

 

 

Steve

[rattle can man]

As for the real world, cars are disappearing because of the demand for SUVs and trucks.  It is all about profit. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

6 hours ago, rattle can man said:

As for the real world, cars are disappearing because of the demand for SUVs and trucks.  It is all about profit. 

It’s always been all about profit.

Nothing is different except for people’s tastes and expectations.

 

 

Steve

[Mark]

The packaging of utility vehicles versus sedans makes the utility an easy choice for most people.  Most of us need the bigger cargo space every so often.  You buy a TV set or a lawnmower now, hardly anyone delivers those things.  You need enough space to carry something that big, a sedan trunk or rear seat ain't gonna cut it.

Edited September 17, 2024 by Mark
Spelling

[Brian Austin]

Banthrico's near-1:25 scale diecast banks offered some four-door sedans, but mostly '40s-'50s models.

[Daddyfink]

And if you really must, there is always  this beauty.....

 

[Tom99]

I have 30 four door 1/25 models in my collection.