Brent,
LOL,LOL, I got that 20 Mule team Borax kit, about 1952 as a gift. Never painted the Mules...but sure played with the wagons alot. Was 10yrs old in 52.
About the oldest unbuilt kit I still have....is the one I was going to give You... any other's, I have already stole parts from. LOL.
Thanks for the accolades....Adapt, diversify and conquer...with alot of patience.
Take Care!
Frank
I have two LaBelle HOn3 passenger car kits. One is a D&RG Combine (HOn3-21) and the other is a Denver & Ft. Worth Coach (HOn3-20).
I suspect these are circa 1970~1975, but may be a little older. Clues are the MSRP at $12.75; the fact that Labelle was in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin; and that they are stamped as follows:
Chester Holley
Model Railroad Specialist
3812-20 S. Himes Ave
Tampa, Fla. 33011
Since there is a Zip Code they are, what?, post-1963?
Would be neat if someone could use that info and "narrow it down" a little better for the date
I was actually checking on what trucks I have for these earlier today.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
My first HO kits (1958) were an Athearn C&NW heavy duty flat and a Santa Fe caboose. They had rubber springs in the trucks (instead of coiled steel).
My oldest unbuilt kits are a bunch of Ulrich kits. Some have zinc-rot. But some don't. They're just a waitin'. They likely go back to the '50's.
Ed
After seeing all of the amazing vehicles Frank has been creating, got me to thinking about how long it actually took me in my 58 years, to get around to building some of the kits I have recieved or purchased.
I have two unbuilt kits on the shelf, one is the mule team from the Borax soap company, it still has my Grandpa's name and address on it along with a postage stamp that is of small denomination. The second is the Revell charter fishing boat, both from the very early sixties.
The first kit that I can remember building was a little yellow hot rod with flames on the side called Sad Sack. Did any of you fellow geezers have that one?
So how old is your oldest unbuilt kit? It doesn't have to be railroad related. Many of us got our feet wet building car and plane kits in our youth and as Frank has demonstrated he is not just into trains and RR related kits, though many of us now are.
Also what was your first MRR related kit? I think mine was some auto's for the layout that Dad let me take a crack at. I was very young. The glue blobs probably ended up larger than the wheels. I am at the extreme other end of the patience scale in these later years.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."