Immerse yourself in all aspects of muscle car model kits with this detailed volume by author Tim Boyd, a world-leading authority on the subject.
Boyd walks you through the entire era of muscle car model kits, covering the options, collectability, variety, availability, and value of these wonderful kits today. He also shows the differences between original kits, older reproduction kits, and new reproduction kits that many enthusiasts find at swap meets today.
In the 1960s, model kit building was a huge hobby. Kids built plastic kits of planes, tanks, race cars, spaceships, creatures from scary movies, you name it. Before baseball card collecting, Pokémon, and video games, model kit building was one of the most popular hobby activities. Car and airplane kits were the most popular, and among the car kits, muscle cars, as we know them today, were one of the most popular categories.
Many owners of real muscle cars today were not old enough to buy them when the cars were new, of course. Yet kids of the 1960s and 1970s worshiped these cars to an extent completely foreign to kids today. If you couldn’t afford or were too young to buy a muscle car back then, what could you do? For many, the next best thing was to buy, collect, and build muscle car kits from a variety of kit companies. Hundreds of different kits were made. Many of these kits have become collectible today, especially in original, unassembled form.
Although people still build kits today, there is a broad market for collectors of nostalgic model kits. People love the kits for the great box art, to rekindle fond memories of building them 40 years ago, or even as a companion to the full-scale cars they own today. If you are looking to build a collection of muscle car kits, interested in getting the kits of your favorite manufacturer or even just of the cars you have owned, this book will be a valuable resource in your model kit search.
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: In the Beginning: The Origins of the Model Car Kit Hobby
Chapter 2: The Four Waves of Model Car Kit Evolution and the Envy Factor
Chapter 3: Laying the Groundwork for Muscle Cars: The Pre–Supercar Era
Chapter 4: The Supercar Is Born, Part 1: Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick
Chapter 5: The Supercar Is Born, Part 2: Chevelle and El Camino
Chapter 6: Dearborn Responds: Ford and Mercury Performance Intermediates
Chapter 7: It’s All about the Packaging: Chrysler and AMC Supercar Intermediates
Chapter 8: The Pony Car Brigade, Part 1: Mustang and Camaro
Chapter 9: The Pony Car Brigade, Part 2: Everything Else
Chapter 10: Smaller in Stature, but . . . the Story of Junior Supercars
Chapter 11: Flash, Space, and Grace: The Family Supercar
Chapter 12: The Domestic Sports Car
Chapter 13: Today We Call Them Tuners
Chapter 14: The Model Car Kit Collector
Chapter 15: Afterword
Immerse yourself in all aspects of muscle car model kits with this detailed volume by author Tim Boyd, a world-leading authority on the subject.
Boyd walks you through the entire era of muscle car model kits, covering the options, collectability, variety, availability, and value of these wonderful kits today. He also shows the differences between original kits, older reproduction kits, and new reproduction kits that many enthusiasts find at swap meets today.
In the 1960s, model kit building was a huge hobby. Kids built plastic kits of planes, tanks, race cars, spaceships, creatures from scary movies, you name it. Before baseball card collecting, Pokémon, and video games, model kit building was one of the most popular hobby activities. Car and airplane kits were the most popular, and among the car kits, muscle cars, as we know them today, were one of the most popular categories.
Many owners of real muscle cars today were not old enough to buy them when the cars were new, of course. Yet kids of the 1960s and 1970s worshiped these cars to an extent completely foreign to kids today. If you couldn’t afford or were too young to buy a muscle car back then, what could you do? For many, the next best thing was to buy, collect, and build muscle car kits from a variety of kit companies. Hundreds of different kits were made. Many of these kits have become collectible today, especially in original, unassembled form.
Although people still build kits today, there is a broad market for collectors of nostalgic model kits. People love the kits for the great box art, to rekindle fond memories of building them 40 years ago, or even as a companion to the full-scale cars they own today. If you are looking to build a collection of muscle car kits, interested in getting the kits of your favorite manufacturer or even just of the cars you have owned, this book will be a valuable resource in your model kit search.
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: In the Beginning: The Origins of the Model Car Kit Hobby
Chapter 2: The Four Waves of Model Car Kit Evolution and the Envy Factor
Chapter 3: Laying the Groundwork for Muscle Cars: The Pre–Supercar Era
Chapter 4: The Supercar Is Born, Part 1: Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick
Chapter 5: The Supercar Is Born, Part 2: Chevelle and El Camino
Chapter 6: Dearborn Responds: Ford and Mercury Performance Intermediates
Chapter 7: It’s All about the Packaging: Chrysler and AMC Supercar Intermediates
Chapter 8: The Pony Car Brigade, Part 1: Mustang and Camaro
Chapter 9: The Pony Car Brigade, Part 2: Everything Else
Chapter 10: Smaller in Stature, but . . . the Story of Junior Supercars
Chapter 11: Flash, Space, and Grace: The Family Supercar
Chapter 12: The Domestic Sports Car
Chapter 13: Today We Call Them Tuners
Chapter 14: The Model Car Kit Collector
Chapter 15: Afterword