I came across a couple of models I built years ago as well as the only surviving Corgi truck I had as a child in an old suitcase.
I built the GSX back in 1989 as soon as it came out. I thought I had built the Superbird around the same time however when I was cleaning it the interior shell came out and I found this reminder I wrote to my future self:
I have no idea why I also wrote my name backwards! On the other side it says "09/19" so I assume I was working on this model Sept 19, 1983. The GSX is missing the side mirrors
Luckily the matching numbers 455 Stage is present!
As for the Superbird everything seems to be there and needs to be reassembled however the decals have yellowed as has the clearcoat.
Should I just clean them up or strip them and redo them?
The CORGI is a gift set I bought with the money I got for my 12th birthday. The rear dollies are missing. I may have to find replacements on eBay
1) Preserve them as relics of your younger days? Then clean them up, reassemble detached parts and put them on your shelf.
2) Rebuild them to your skill level today? You can strip the paint and rebuild, but decals would have to be obtained.
IMHO... the Buick looks like it was built well and would probably clean up and be a great shelf model as is. They have been out of production for a few years but still aren't that hard to find if you want to do a fresh build (example: https://www.spotlighthobbies.com/mo19bugsx.html).
Johan models have been out of business for a few decades now, and those Superbirds are a lot harder to find, and more expensive when you do find one. It's the best kit to build a NASCAR replica from, as it doesn't have the vinyl top like the old Monogram 1:24 version does, plus it has some reasonable (for a shelf model) racing parts in the kit. Yours looks like a good candidate for a rebuild, if you want to go that way.
If you do decide to rebuild, you would have to decide how you want to do it, though, as out of the box it's not entirely accurate as a race car, but it would look good on the shelf built that way if you don't want to be a stickler for details. This is probably the way I'd go, as you can drive yourself crazy trying to make it accurate (not to mention that the cars changed from race to race, plus there were different versions of the car for different tracks). I would make sure I painted it the proper Petty Blue colour, and you can purchase decals for it online, for example: https://www.mikesdecals.com/4340-stp-richard-petty-1970-road-runnersuperbird-powerslide-091-p-120.html
Like most hobbies, it's all in what you want to do and how deep (crazy) you want to get into it...
I think for now I'm going to clean them up. As for the Superbird I'm just going to reassemble what fell off. I did clean up the mating surfaces and painted the handle of the pistol grip brown lol. I'm missing a hub for the front wheel so I may have to try to fabricate something. Years ago I had boxes of spares but it seems they all disappeared. Unfortunately my home wasn't "smoke free" when I was a kid and there was a lot of nicotine on these models!
I think for now I'm going to clean them up. As for the Superbird I'm just going to reassemble what fell off. I did clean up the mating surfaces and painted the handle of the pistol grip brown lol. I'm missing a hub for the front wheel so I may have to try to fabricate something. Years ago I had boxes of spares but it seems they all disappeared. Unfortunately my home wasn't "smoke free" when I was a kid and there was a lot of nicotine on these models!
Good call. Clean them and restore them a bit.
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
BTW, I have done the same with a bunch of old model cars I built as a kid, in the 1970s. Brought them out a number of years back to photo them, then put them back in the box, as relics of my childhood. I have the Petty Superbird and '64 Plymouth somewhere in storage too. Both of them were molded in Petty Blue (and I recall the boxes were labeled as such).
An interesting side story about Johan models is that they were a small company that got some promo contracts from the car companies in the sixties and seventies. They did stuff for Chrysler, GM, Ford, and AMC, different models than the ones that the larger companies like MPC and AMT got contracts for. Like the other companies, Johan made kits from their promo work - typically separate molds with opening hoods, engines, etc. Johan's body proportions and engraving were typically much better than any other company, but their chassis details were less accurate - which meant they look fantastic on the shelf, but if you wanted better chassis detail you would want to swap in a chassis from another company's kit.
They continued to produce models for several years, and I found as years went on they didn't introduce any new subject matter, so their business was in decline somewhat. As time went on, Johan kits started appearing in many different colour plastics, some not so attractive, and the word that I heard was that they were buying cheap leftover plastics (polystyrene) from wherever they could get it. I've seen Superbirds in that robin's egg blue, I've seen them in dark brown, etc.
Eventually the story goes that the Detroit neighbuorhood out of which they operated started to decline, and they had some questionable people working for them who would smuggle out the mould inserts and sell them for scrap, as apparently that high quality steel brought a good price. A sad end to a company that made some pretty cool models over the years.
I watched that a few months ago. I had a bunch of Johan kits back around the same time I built the Superbird. I did well selling them on eBay. Should have kept them! I had the Cuda Pro Stocker, Olds Toronado, AMC Marlin, 62 Fury, and Studebaker Lark. I do still have the 60 Fury Police Wagon (my favorite), 60 Desoto Adventurer and 64 Dodge Pro Stocker.
