Chrysler, Plymouth, and Dodge models and promotions

Pete Hagenbuch's model reviews

These are highly detailed reviews with excellent, clear photos of the models. They generally include comparisons between model makers.

Promos

John M. Dean wrote:

The word "promo" gets used loosely. In strictest terms it mean a toy car available only at the dealer. In almost every year that there was a promo made there was also a 'toy' made to sell in hobby shops and toy stores. The usually had a different base and almost always contained a friction motor. Sometimes the promo--which almost never had a friction motor--is called a coaster. In addition to these versions of the car there was usually an annual kit for sale too. I'm not sure there was an annual kit of the 60 Valiant.

One of the first plastic promos ever was a 49 Plymouth. It was made by Aluminum Model Toys which just used the initials AMT after aluminum was no longer the chief material. The 49 Plymouth has a pressed metal grill with no detail that only reminds a person of a real grill. In 1950 the grill was very accurate.

Revell made the whole Chrysler Corp line except the DeSoto in 61. The boxes had a lot of Chrysler Corp graphics and were authorized by Chrysler. I don't know of them being available through dealers. They were for sale in hobby shops. These are very rare but not too valuable.

Read about Valiant models and promos at valiant.org

Mike Sealey wrote:

It was interesting that AMT had the Valiant promo contract to begin with, as Chrysler usually used Jo-Han for its promos in the early '60s. AMT did, however, do Imperial promos as well as Valiants, at least until '67.

AMT did Barracuda promos and kits from 1964-66, after which MPC got the Barracuda promo contract. MPC and Jo-Han appear to have done E-body Barracudas at the same time, but that was years later. It was actually not unusual for one promo manufacturer to make promos or kits that were then sold under another manufacturer's name. I'm told the AMT 1965 Coronets were actually done by MPC but sold under the AMT name. This theory is in my opinion supported by the chassis of the MPC 1968 Charger, which appears identical to that of the AMT 1965 Coronet; it also kinda makes sense as MPC was doing '65 Dodge C-body promos, their Monaco and Custom 880 convertible also being MPC's first 1/25 kits. There were even years where all three major manufacturers (AMT, Jo-Han, & MPC) were doing one MoPar or another at the same time...

AMT's Barracuda kits differ from their '63-'65 Signet kits in that the Barracudas were 3-in-1 kits (custom & racing alternate versions) while the Valiants were part of AMT's "Craftsman Series", which were snap-together models buildable out of the box as stock only. The "Craftsman Series" also had no engine, unlike the 3-in-1 kits, but a skilled modeler could use a Barracuda chassis and cut the Valiant hood open to create a Valiant with an engine.

Building your own models (Sandy Colter)

Most paint has too strong of a thinner in it and attacks the plastic. I used to use a plasticote scratch filling primer. This stuff was the ONLY thing that did not destroy the plastic. Once the body is primed you can use regular sray can paint over it. Be very careful as if you build up the top coat too heavily it will eat through the primer with bad results.

I use spay cans and have done so for many years. A better approach for a newbie is to buy a small air brush and spray the paint from a spay can into the airbrush jar. This way you can adjust the pressure and put the the paint on lightly. I have a friend who builds contest winning stuff, he uses lacquer over plastic with no primer. His paint is second to none!

Test out the paint on some scrap plastic from the kit you are working on. Some plastic is more sensitive to paint than others. Monogram metallic is the worst by far! Metallic blue 70 GTX, met. red 70 T/A Challenger, met blue 69 Super Bee, etc.White plastic that is milky and soft is the best (older mpc). The more brittle the plastic the worse the paint will react to it. Clear is the most sensitive to paint ( you usually don't paint clear) and the most brittle. Try some paint on clear to see what happens.

I have a huge collection of model kits but no time, someday I hope to get back at it. Until then I buy kits still and fill the urge to build with diecast!