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Topic starter
01/09/2020 2:28 am
(PICS) '59 Oldsmobile 98 4-door Hardtop
photo no longer available
I built this Olds flat-top kit back in the late '70s from one of Johan's regular annual 1959 3-in-one plastic kits. In 1976 or so, I had travelled to Palo Alto, California on business and in my spare time , searched out the local hobby shops. As luck would have it, San Antonio Hobbies (a well stocked and large shop back then) had a plethora of old stock 1/25 scale kits from the late '50s and early '60s and I bought a whole bunch of them. This was before the craze for old kits caused inflated prices and my only concern was how to get them on to the home flight in a few days. Anyhow, within a year I had built this Olds kit and fortunately, like all my models, kept it in a dust free display case for the last almost 45 years.
I find it particularly interesting because it's remained a vehicle not done as a 1/24 diecast, and it was the less popular (at the time) 4-door hardtop.
Now-a-days, I usually use automotive basecoat/clearcoat, but back in the '70s/'80s, I typically mixed Testors (from the small jars), thinned with unleaded gasoline (Yeah, really) and sprayed using a Binks airbrush. Most of the trim was masked and airbrushed using the much better Pactra chrome silver.
photo no longer available
photo no longer available
01/09/2020 2:32 am
Ooooooooooooo! Awesome!
01/09/2020 3:10 am
Clifford, great pictures and story. Reminds me of my younger days when I used to travel around the country on business. I would do the exact same thing and search out the local hobby stores. Back then it would be arrive in the town, check in and then search the yellow pages for hobby stores and then have some fun. But at that time I was searching for HO trains and supplies along with model kits. Now it is so much harder to find any hobby stores. Near me the only place to look at kits and some cheap diecasts would be Hobby Lobby, Michael's and some diecast at Walmart. My best friend and I would take road trips to just go to the big hobby shows that would come to the big arena's with vendors from all over the country to see what we could find. Those were the days. Long past now and with Covid, doubt we will ever see that again. But at least I have plenty of diecast and model kits as well as my HO trains to keep me busy when I finally do retire.
01/09/2020 3:30 am
Excellent work. That's a beautiful model..
John Merritt
South Lyon, Michigan - USA
01/09/2020 3:31 am
Beautiful model wish I had the talent to build like that. Something that I have always wondered.
Why are the build kits that were manufactured in the late 1950's and early 1960's seem stable, while the promotional models always wrap? Were they not made from the some molds?
The other question is even though the plastic chrome plated bumpers seem to be common on both kits they never wrap, at least what I have noticed, why?
Mark
01/09/2020 3:53 am
Gr8t looking car! Very good work! Sadly hobby shops are no more.
01/09/2020 4:10 am
Extraordinary!
John Bono
North Jersey
01/09/2020 4:24 am
And, outstanding.
01/09/2020 5:10 am
You did a great job!
01/09/2020 6:16 am
Great work.
01/09/2020 6:23 am
Beautiful job....
.... I built a lot of JoHan models over the decades and they had some interesting kits like that one. Alas, I sold off my huge, 40 year collection when I retired and downsized. I've still got photos of some of them on my model car site http://www.shamblesmodels.com
Topic starter
01/09/2020 6:31 am
The early promos were made of Acetate plastic while........
The kits were made of polystyrene. The styrene plastics at the time would 'craze' from the lacquers that the promos required for two tones, etc.
Acetate plastics were far less stable over time and would continue to 'outgas' and slowly warp. If you sniff an old promo, you can still sense the strong acetate smell. However, the more paint that was used on an early acetate promo, it would sometimes seal it from some of the outgassing and sometimes limit the warping.
Later on the model companies would use stronger blends of styrene that could handle the lacquers, etc. and those promos will maintain their shape.
01/09/2020 7:05 am
Incredible! Clifford, I envy your talent. I'd love this car on my shelf.
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota
01/09/2020 11:41 am
Thank you Clifford. So consequently the bumpers were made out of the more durable polystyrene.
Mark
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