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AMT/ Round 2


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Has anyone noticed that some of the reissues of the AMT kits that the mold lines are pretty bad & it takes quit a bit of work on the body's to get them right plus some of the trim is not molded that well also and has to be reworked. So is it because they are being cast in China or the molds are in that bad a shape or the molds are just not up to par.

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I think they are pushing out product that the nostalgic amongst us will buy without regard to reworking tooling or adjusting the tooling. Tool slippage at the moulding facility? Just bad moulds? Who knows. I would not blame it entirely on it being made in China. We've seen very nice examples come from there.

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I have to agree with Gregg and Jonathan that being made in China has nothing to do with it. Some of the old tooling of certain kits and companies are very worn. I was looking at a gasser kit last night and the copyright was in 63 on the body. Older then me...

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Has anyone noticed that some of the reissues of the AMT kits that the mold lines are pretty bad & it takes quit a bit of work on the body's to get them right plus some of the trim is not molded that well also and has to be reworked. So is it because they are being cast in China or the molds are in that bad a shape or the molds are just not up to par.

You won't be as sharp, either, when you're as old as those molds. ^_^

Edited by Danno
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well, I figure the latest round of re-issues is probably going to be the worst [as mentioned due to old tooling] I have a few 'original' issue kits, and some 2nd and 3rd issue kits, and some of the 'newest' re-issue stuff. you can sort of see the 'decline' in the end product thru the re-issues. but hey, that's half the fun right? [no, not really, lol, not a huge fan of actual body work :) ]

Edited by tbill
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Another part of the equation is that certain kits have been reissued many time over the years, the recent 1936 Ford coupe is one that comes to mind. With every kit made the tool wears out just a little bit. The kit that most recently debunks my own theory is the 76 Dodge Dart, the body on my kit is full of flash. I think it's a combination of all the thoughts except for the made in China part that make up the answer.

I would still like to see some of the reissues that they have come out with even with the flash.

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Has anyone noticed that some of the reissues of the AMT kits that the mold lines are pretty bad & it takes quit a bit of work on the body's to get them right plus some of the trim is not molded that well also and has to be reworked. So is it because they are being cast in China or the molds are in that bad a shape or the molds are just not up to par.

I've mentioned it many times before on similar threads; there's *nothing* like an original issue, made when the tooling was fresh, and with good ol' USA styrene. Ever notice how the "new" plastic being used on these china reisues seems more "rubbery" than the original? I find it harder to work with. Of course, I also must admit that I like the nostalgia of the original box art, etc.

That's why I always try to trade for or buy originals when they are reasonable (and sometimes even at *unreasonable* prices). By the time you've spent hours-n-hours cleaning up the flash, "blobs", etc., on these new reissues, the price for a clean unbuilt original doesn't seem so bad after all.

Still, I guess we should be happy that some of this old tooling still exists, whatever its condition, and that the younger generation can get a shot at building these oldies....

Just my 2-cents worth.

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It boils down to Restore or Renew........

The recent 36 Ford had tons of restoration work done. I didn't find any flash that would be a surprise on a tool running for FIFTY years now!!!

If I have a choice of restored parts and tons of options or a little flash.....I'll take the resto parts and options any day.....I am a modeler.....flash is not going to stop me if I want the subject.

Pretty happy of late with all the kit companies.

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I am glad to see these kits coming back out even with the worn molds. In todays world you never know when the last time you might see them again.

That is EXACTLY what I said to a guy about 25 years ago; he was laughing at me for buying a bunch of Johan USA Oldies

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That is EXACTLY what I said to a guy about 25 years ago; he was laughing at me for buying a bunch of Johan USA Oldies

I would have bought them too...love the Johan kits even there snaps were good in my opinion...take all of them I can get. Sure they had flash but to me who cares when you consider the ones they made. :)

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The ting I don't like is the big blobs of plastic on the bottom of the bodies that has to be removed..Never saw that on newer issues Ex: 66 Nova..original issue no blobs. Latest issue two blobs at the rocker panel..I don't like that...

That's the "feed" area, where the plastic for the body is injected into the mold's body cavity, but cutting it off near flush with a razor saw isn't too hard when it's located on a nice, straight edge at the bottom of a rocker panel. I'd rather it be left for me to cut than cut or bent off via back and forth bending at the packaging stage.

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Still, I guess we should be happy that some of this old tooling still exists, whatever its condition, and that the younger generation can get a shot at building these oldies....

Yea, we need to stop and think about how amazing it is that this stuff still exists in serviceable condition. Back when these molds were created, the companies had no idea. An old kit in those days was one in it's second or third year. If they got three issues out of them, they did well. We can just thank our lucky stars that they over engineered the tools so well, that they still work 50 years later.

AND how amazing it is that those old tools, some unused for 30-50 years were allowed to exist in the warehouse, taking up space and producing no product. And they managed to do so through many changes of management, ownership and change to the companies themselves! This phenomena would not happen today, with assets bar coded, Lean practices and Sigma Six S in industry.

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That's the "feed" area, where the plastic for the body is injected into the mold's body cavity, but cutting it off near flush with a razor saw isn't too hard when it's located on a nice, straight edge at the bottom of a rocker panel. I'd rather it be left for me to cut than cut or bent off via back and forth bending at the packaging stage.

Casey...couldn't agree more....in a mass production environment. some of these tags will inevitably be trimmed a little too close. I'd much rather have control over it myself. Five seconds with a Razor Saw - the result - trimmed to my specs! TIM

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Casey...couldn't agree more....in a mass production environment. some of these tags will inevitably be trimmed a little too close. I'd much rather have control over it myself. Five seconds with a Razor Saw - the result - trimmed to my specs! TIM

Otherwise you get a jagged missing chunk out of the rocker that's a pain in the tail to repair! Yuk! :lol:

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Yea, we need to stop and think about how amazing it is that this stuff still exists in serviceable condition. Back when these molds were created, the companies had no idea. An old kit in those days was one in it's second or third year. If they got three issues out of them, they did well. We can just thank our lucky stars that they over engineered the tools so well, that they still work 50 years later.

AND how amazing it is that those old tools, some unused for 30-50 years were allowed to exist in the warehouse, taking up space and producing no product. And they managed to do so through many changes of management, ownership and change to the companies themselves! This phenomena would not happen today, with assets bar coded, Lean practices and Sigma Six S in industry.

Amen, Tom!

Better to have flashy than to not have at all. ^_^

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I am glad to see these kits coming back out even with the worn molds. In todays world you never know when the last time you might see them again.

I'm with you on this Carl. Many of these old kits were not perfect to start with so if we're having to do some clean up it seems a small price to pay for being able to actually build them again or for the first time. Round 2 should be congratulated for just pulling these old molds out. Hopefully the money they make from these less then perfect models will in the future provide them with the finances to create new molds.

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