I had a few spare minutes in a mall the other day and popped into a hobby shop. I was stunned to see 1/25 plastic MPC models for around $50.00 each, so maybe a 3D printer would be good investment!
You guys should check out Round2 models, they are reproducing almost all those old kits we grew up with. the quality is cheap, and they are all manufactured in china now, but they are very true to the original kits, Round2 is also revising some of the flaws and adding things like real clear headlight lenses and better decal sheets and better tires. A lot of the kits are also being released with retro box art.
As for the 3D printed kits, you have to be very savy and careful what you buy, there are a lot of terribly done 3d prints with bad proportions and sags and warps, but some stuff is good
as for pricing of 3d printed bodys like you show, some can be very costly because they are printed on demand, and have low volume runs, so can cost up to 300 dollars for a body like the caprice you show above. the plastic is also very grainy and hard to work with and smooth out, also more brittle than a styrene kit.
As for prices of new model kits in hobby shops, canadian prices are 35 low end to 60 high end, best deal is hobby lobby in the USA if you get the 40% off sale, a kit can be as low as 15 USD to 25 USD, so still reasonable. Nope they dont cost 2.99 like they did in the 70's or even 9.99 like when i bought in the 90's.
As for new kits coming soon, i am very interested in the re-issue of a long awaited 1964 chevelle HT that has not been available since its promo debut in 1964!
also a company called Moebius models out of florida does some excellent kits, and is expected to release an all new line of 67-72 chevy pickups that should be the hottest model kits to come along in the last 30 years!
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Beaumontguru
MY BEAUMONT HAS 4 STUDDED TIRES AND 2 BLOCKHEATERS......AND LOTS OF OIL UNDERNEATH. The other one has a longer roof.
I think that it's still pretty early in the development of 3D printing as a hobby, but already there are some really cool things being created.
I've mused a little over the idea of trying it out myself, but so far it seems to be not so user-friendly and quite involved and time consuming to work on files to create something that's printable. At the moment I'd rather work with my hands than spend my hobby time staring at a computer screen, but as things evolve, who knows where it will go. I might try it at some point in time.
I suppose models are nice BUT what about actual car parts? My key fob is broken on my Corvette and being the first year fob and a convertible replacements don't exist, well there was one on ebay for $800 CDN. Anyhoo I was thinking 3D printing. What are thoughts on applications like this?
You guys should check out Round2 models, they are reproducing almost all those old kits we grew up with. ...
Do you have a link?
All I could find was a facebook group for a company by that name - it reads as though they are a hobby shop out of Indiana.
The Monogram (now Revell iirc) 1970 Trans Am kit is arguably the very best kit made for 1970-1973 Firebirds, and short of collecting dealer promos - the only other kits are older MPC (later AMT iirc) kits; Those unbuilt kits tend to exceed the cost of dealer promo kits.
I say all this because I have always wanted to make a dead ringer of my Firebird; I have a Monogram kit that I bought in the late 1990's which I never quite finished - the problem with the Monogram kit vs the MPC, is they were different scale, and the rear spoiler and flares were all molded onto the body, so removing them all then filling to make the body look like a base model was a major pita - I got the body about 98% there, but was worried about the modeling putty (akin to bondo) quite literally falling off. I also had extensively modified the Trans Am hood to look like a Formula hood, but that to was tough...
In the last decade or so, I have acquired a 1970 promo kit (brown), 1971 promo kit (brown), 1973 promo kit (red), and then a second 1970 promo kit (also brown) because it was damaged. If anyone doesn't know, MPC was commissioned by GM to make dealer promo kits of new cars; They could be had free, or for a small fee back in the day. MPC was also given license (because they did the work to tool up for the promo kits, to make and sell retail kits for the same cars. The promo kits were pre-assembled, and other than spinning wheels, they were static - with no decals, and a molded closed hood. The retail kits had an opening hood, engine details, and often customization options that the builder could choose from.
As far as MPC promo kits go, 1970-1976 promo kits were the Formula model, then in 1977 the promo model changed to the Trans Am.
Sorry, I got a little carried away; Anyway the idea of 3d printing parts is in my opinion, super cool. I had been chasing parts to the point that I was buying incomplete kits just to parts-bust, and put together a 1970 Formula like mine based in the AMT kit; I also bought a while ago some different wheels and period F70-14 tires to make it just that much better than the AMT kits ever were. At the end of the day, as pricey as 3d printing might be, it would probably be cheaper than all the parts buying and shipping to get something nearing completeness.
Edited: I get AMT & MPC mixed up all the time... did it again.
-- Edited by unruhjonny on Tuesday 12th of March 2024 09:39:59 AM
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1970 Formula 400 Carousel Red on black (std) interior "no drivetrain option" car (same base drivetrain as GTO) 1:411 1970 Firebird Formulas originally sold in Canada
if this Indiana based company is behind the re-released AMT kits (ect) then I have seen a LOT of their stuff; I love it!
Unfortunately it all hurt the value of the vintage kits I have sitting in boxes :(
EDIT:
Well look at this!
Quote: "The AMT brand was bought in 1978 by the Lesney company of UK, then by competitor Ertl in 1983, then by the Round 2 company in 2012." LINK
And this - quote: "Traditionally a Michigan company, since 2011 the "MPC" brand name has been part of Round 2 of South Bend, Indiana (which was also acquired by Japanese company Tomy for $ 640 million." LINK
No wonder I get AMT & MPC mixed up, the two companies are quite interlinked!
Quote: "As with other companies before it, most notably AMT and Jo-Han, MPC developed many of its kits from pre-existing promo toolings. Toteff remained on good terms with his former colleagues at AMT, and many of the first MPC products were distributed in AMT packaging.[5] For example, the 1967 MPC Plymouth Barracuda, originally made as a dealer promotional for Chrysler, was also marketed as a kit in an AMT box. Later, for 1968 and 1969 the newly designed second-iteration Barracuda reverted to an MPC box, with no apparent AMT connection."
Quote (edited):
"About 1970, General Mills bought MPC from Toteff, who stayed on as president.[8] ...
In 1985, MPC was purchased by The Ertl Company, which had also acquired AMT in 1981. Ertl, in turn, became part of RC2 Corporation in 1999, and was subsequently absorbed into TOMY International, Inc. From 2008, MPC products were re-issued under license from Japanese Tomy by Round 2 LLC, which ultimately acquired MPC's assets outright in 2011 (along with those of AMT and Ertl)."
So it went something like this:
AMT -> MPC -> AMT -> Ertle -> MPC & AMT (by Tomy & Round 2)
-- Edited by unruhjonny on Tuesday 12th of March 2024 09:48:26 AM
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1970 Formula 400 Carousel Red on black (std) interior "no drivetrain option" car (same base drivetrain as GTO) 1:411 1970 Firebird Formulas originally sold in Canada
Unfortunately it all hurt the value of the vintage kits I have sitting in boxes :(
dont worry Jonny, the vintage kits have way crisper mouldings and the plastic is better quality in most cases. Guys in the Know, would much rather have an original.. That being said, tires and decals take a beating with time, so the new kits are nice for those fresh decals and tires.
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Beaumontguru
MY BEAUMONT HAS 4 STUDDED TIRES AND 2 BLOCKHEATERS......AND LOTS OF OIL UNDERNEATH. The other one has a longer roof.
on that note;
I have a partial decal kit for my 1971 Firebird kit;
What's there is lifting and flaking - is there something I can spray on them to lay them back down, and at least preserve the appearance of them?
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1970 Formula 400 Carousel Red on black (std) interior "no drivetrain option" car (same base drivetrain as GTO) 1:411 1970 Firebird Formulas originally sold in Canada
Probably not much hope, but you could try some liquid decal film sprayed or carefully brushed on. Look up a company called Microscale Industries. Hobby shops like Sunward Hobbies online out of ontario carries it. also check out rayskits.com for decals, he has lots of cool stuff.
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Beaumontguru
MY BEAUMONT HAS 4 STUDDED TIRES AND 2 BLOCKHEATERS......AND LOTS OF OIL UNDERNEATH. The other one has a longer roof.
I'm printing stuff on a daily basis... car stuff, prototypes, stuff for film/TV as props or "break away" items..
the hardest part is the drawing of the item ( most of the time).. and scanning can be expensive.. but.. if you need it and it doesnt exist.
the chrome (silver) paint pens are fantastic;
I have this metal paint from decades bygone which was really good;
it was water based, dried smooth and flat, and when dried you could rub (polish) it to make it look better.
I used the silver paint pens on interior stuff - you would be hard pressed to notice the real chrome versus the paint pen.
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1970 Formula 400 Carousel Red on black (std) interior "no drivetrain option" car (same base drivetrain as GTO) 1:411 1970 Firebird Formulas originally sold in Canada
I would love it if someone scanned a 1969 427 emblem !
Here's a link to a company that 3D printed a Canadian Pontiac 427 emblem. I believe this was contracted by DavePL for his rare '69 427-390 hp 2+2 convertible. They are printed in aluminum and sell for a premium price of $245 USD each.https://hv3dworks.com/about-us/
1970 Formula 400 Carousel Red on black (std) interior "no drivetrain option" car (same base drivetrain as GTO) 1:411 1970 Firebird Formulas originally sold in Canada
