Mattel Vacu-forming machine value?

Anyone have any idea what a Mattel Vacu-forming machine is worth? It came with about 100 packages of the plastic sheets. Picked it up for $10.00. Steve

Reply to
Steve Jahn
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Reply to
Steve Collins

I sold one with most of the original packaging for $60 a few years ago. Hard telling what they'd go for now. There's hobbyist machines available with larger beds which is what I'm going for next. Do a search on ebay; if none are there it might be a good time to sell. Cheers,

The Keeper (of too much crap!)

Reply to
Keeper

I bought mine 20 years ago and it was in the original package with all paint, plastic and accessories. Mind you I never have needed any of those accessories for my usage. I paid 40.00 for it twenty years ago. I have seen units at model shows in various degrees of working condition and they always seem to fall within the 35.00 to 60.00 dollar range.

Cheers, Max Bryant

Reply to
M Bryant

in article snipped-for-privacy@cox.net, Steve Collins at snipped-for-privacy@cox.net wrote on 11/6/04 1:28 AM:

Can't say for sure but I paid $20 for a basic machine with a missing part?the perforated "bed" that holds the master. I replaced it with a piece of perf-board from Radio Shack and it works great. I saw one "collector" who had one in the original box with all the doo-dads (that modeler's don't need) and he was asking $100 for it. That was probably ten years ago.

MB

Reply to
Milton Bell

Check out eBay, they always seem to appear there, as do the plastic sheets. Try searching under vacform or vacuform.

HTH

Chris

Reply to
Chris Hughes

Ha- I beat you all! I paid $1.00 for mine at a flea market 32 years ago. The pump went out about two years ago, so I pulled the pump, set it up about 4" on a plywood box, and used some PVC pipe to run it off the shop-vac. Kim M

Reply to
Royabulgaf

Hey Kim,

32 years ago it was just a dumb castoff toy that Mattel made. Modeler's were just beginning to find out how good they were. Little Johnny Jerkoffs mom just saw another toy cluttering the closet so out it went!

Did I tell ya the story bout the 67 Vette I bought from some old lady who's son was killed in Vietnam? Yeah was in a barn up on blocks and I paid 500.00 for it!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess we are both lucky bastages my friend! Cheers, Max

Reply to
M Bryant

A warning about those larger bed machines. I made one and was a bit disappointed. I assumed I could make larger scale bodies and stuff. While I could form a much larger sheet, from a sheet area standpoint, the depth of draw does not go up correspondingly. They are fine for doing a lot of small parts all at once, but you cannot use big masters that require a lot of draw or depth. In order to do those, you need to use thicker materials and that takes more vacuum than most of these cheaper machines can give (as well as very good temp control).

Reply to
Don Stauffer in Minneapolis

Well, that DOES sound like a better deal than the vac-form. Kim M

Reply to
Royabulgaf

GO on eBay and watch few of the auctions for several weeks. That will give you a good idea about value (at least on ebay).

There are usually about half a dozen of the available there at any given time. I bought 3 of them there for various prices (none over 50 US dollars).

But I've seen some in mint condition with original boxes sell for much more.

Just search for "mattel vac u form" (without the quotes).

Peteski

Reply to
Peter W.

FWIW 100 packages of the little perforated plastic sheets might be worth more than the actual machine. There is a company advertising in the latest Fine Scale Modeller offering new packages of the perforated sheet plastic and they ain't cheap.

Bill Shuey

Reply to
William H. Shuey

I remember talking to you; your's only had the 327 in it. The one I found has the H-po 427 and I only paid $450.00 for it.

8^)

The Keeper (of too much crap!)

Reply to
Keeper

Point taken! I know people with industrial size machines for a large body. I was looking for a bed about twice the size of the Mattel item. Half the time I want something done or offer to do one for an acquaintance the bed is a silly millimeter short! Modeling by Murphy's law,

The Keeper (of too much crap!)

Reply to
Keeper

Eh...lemme tell you about the 911 Turbo I got for $50 from the hot divorcee who's soon to be ex told her to get what she could and they'd split it...

Reply to
Eyeball2002308

I guess you don't want to hear about the '54 Ford four door sedan with the continental kit. Cost me about $75.00. :-)

Rick

Reply to
OXMORON1

Ohh-ohh!! True Story Time. Back in 1976, when I was still the instrument-man on the survey team, my boss was looking for an old Mercedes. He (We) found one south of Buffalo in a barn in the town of Collins. A 1952 Mercedes 300SL four-door cabriolet. In addition to the car, was a second one ~in boxes~ and complete. The farmer wanted $16,000 for everything, as is. Now that was a year's wages back then and my boss was going nuts trying to figure out how to convince his wife to let him get a second mortgage to by this car. Finally he just asked her if she'd go along with it and she said yes. Unfortunately about a month had passed by this time and when he called the farmer to tell him that the car was sold guess what he found out? The farmer's wife had split with her boyfriend and the car (including the parts car), which had been registered in ~her~ name. So my boss didn't get his car. Fast forward to about 1990. A buddy of mine at work, and my own sometimes instrument-man (my boss had retired by this point) was leafing through a Hemmings catalog and we saw "the Mercedes" for sale. Turns out that there were only 52 examples imported into the United States that year. The cost? A mere $250,000.00. Available in Florida from the former Mrs. farmer. And NO parts car either! (maybe the boyfriend had that one). On my children, that's a true tale.

-- John The history of things that didn't happen has never been written. . - - - Henry Kissinger

Reply to
The Old Timer

300SLs were only available as two-door coupes or roadsters. I think it must have actually been a 300 'Adenauer-Mercedes'.
Reply to
Al Superczynski

It was listed in Hemming's as a 300SL. Farmer Twitchwell was selling it as a

300SL. It was a four-door ragtop. That is the sum total of my knowledge about it (never even heard of an "Adenauer-Mercedes"). The closest I ever came to it was when I drove a Volkswagen "Thing" (also a German four-door convertable).

You ~are~ correct, however. A couple of side trips to Yahoo with the name "Adenauer-Mercedes" got a few hits as a Merecdes 300 Adenauer. Seems to be asking about $125,000 now. I wonder if Mrs. T ever got close to her asking price?

I am familiar with the 300 SL gullwing. My uncle had one (bought directly from the factory in 1957) and loved it to death. Until he brought it home and discovered that once he parked in his one-car attached (and surrounded by house) garage, he couldn't get ~out~ of the damn thing! But that's Uncle C.J.

-- John The history of things that didn't happen has never been written. . - - - Henry Kissinger

Reply to
The Old Timer

Didn't he know how to roll the window down? ;-p

Reply to
Al Superczynski

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