Renwal Armor

Just as interesting - the 8 in Howitzer for $69. Revell is reissuing the old Renwal kit for significantly less. What your paying for here is an old box and old decals. Given $69 for the Howitzer, and most of these are smaller except for the Atomic Cannon, $750 seems a bit exttreme.

Also interesting one Hobby shop won't ship the 8 inch Howitzeer overseas. ITAR hits the hobby shops.

Val Kraut

The Howitzer is going for under $25. One box image I saw had part of the Renwal art on it.

Craig

The Howitzer is going for under $25. One box image I saw had part of the Renwal art on it.

Craig

This was one of my favorites from the Renwal Blueprint Line. I just ordered

2 from Great Models. The Parts were a bit thick and the crew had some sink holes - like in the chests - but it built up into a nice model, The other problem was painting a white interior over the dark OD plastic without an airbrush. Builtup in camo like the Revell ad and some filing and filling it should be a fairly good model when finished.

But eBay is the interesting thing here. Some years ago I bought two Panzertragenwagens mail order for less than $30 each, the same week somebody paid over $300 for one. One of the Hobby shops was offering the Tamiya 1/350 Enterprize for well under $100 as a Christmas come-on. Someone paid close to $500 for one that had been started.

The Renwal Ontos has some major problems like multiple segment barrels that look lilke bamboo after assembly - and there is a new Academy kit is on the market.

The Atomic Cannon was a great build - but articles on the net on how to make it accurate indicate a major rework, and the ADAMS release seemed overal better.

Val Kraut

Weren't the Adams kits a smaller scale, namely 1:40 to Renwal's 1:32?

Weren't the Adams kits a smaller scale, namely 1:40 to Renwal's 1:32?

Yes, ADAMS was 1/40th like most of the Recell armor at the time. Recent posts have the Revell Sherman as way off scale - but the other kits ins the series as 1/40th. When you opened the kits ADAMS looked just like a Revell kits - and from what I've read were actually by the same mold makers.

At the time - Revell Armor 1/40th, Monogram something like 1/32 and Renwal obviously 1/32 or larger. I'm working on a Renwal Hawk missile set and sepemding on what part of the missile you measure goes from 1/28th to 1/32.

Val Kraut

Ah, yes, Atomic Annie. I had the priviledge (actually it was punishment) of repainting an atomic cannon in 1975 for installation on top of a hill overlooking Fort Riley KS just off I-70. It took six of us two weeks, a lot of dope thinner (to remove the cosmoline) and some rather high times (we were inside a sealed tent) before it was ready for deployment and installation.

Shortly afterwards I went to the legendary Papenfus Hardware outside of Kansas City (MO) and found a Renwal kit for $7.50. Bought and figured I could doll it up to match based on photos of the original I shot during restoration. One look at the kit and I built it to give to one of my friend's seven-year-old kids. He liked the "Big Gun with Trucks and Army Men" and that was about all it was worth.

Would love to have the smaller but better Adams gun but not for more than $350 a shot.

Cookie Sewell

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I built the Renwal Atomic Cannon before the ADAMS one appeared on the market. Rather a coarse model with things like work platforms that deployed but with out of scale hinges etc. Didn't want or couldn't afford two in my collection - so never had any experience with the ADAMS one.

The ADAMS stuff never seems to reappear. The military and rocket kits were well done and marketed under several names before disappearing. While some of the Renwal kits seemed thick or coarse, the ADAMS kits really looked scale. It's almost like Revell re-pops some of the less popular or higher priced kits that may have had less wear on the molds - but some of the most interesting like the M4 and 155 Long Tom , Greyhound Armored Car, ADAM Honest John and Hawk missile kits never reappear. Anyone know the status of these molds.

Val Kraut

The closest I came to the Adams Hawk Missiles was when I found a "Missile Carrier" tractor a bunch of years ago. It was a delightful build, but not one I could use with my Renwal set unless I wanted a forced perspective. Actually the Renwal (I think reboxed as "Life- Like") was rather toylike as well.

Actually the Renwal (I think reboxed as "Life- Like") was rather toylike as well.

Toy like is a good description. As I remember the wheels were designed to turn, turrets turned, guns elevated, they had individual springs for the suspension, the hatches and doors all opened on crude hinges, and they were sturdy enough the play with. Revell never really sacrificed detail for such features. Now the high bid on eBay seems all the more outrages.

Val Kraut

Yeah, I'd still like to find one a lot cheaper to build, used to have one my dad made, took up almost an entire shelf. I remember the Skysweeper, always thought that never could have really been in the inventory, dad made a model of that one also.

Doing some reading, seems SAC guys spent a lot of time in the alert shack making models. Some got quite good at it.

The comments are true -- some of the better ones went to Life-Like who then ran the molds into the ground. They chewed up the LVT-4A, M4 and

155mm kits, M40 SP 155mm, 120mm AA gun, and the Hawk sets less the Adams/SNAP M41 helicopter kit. Revell still has its molds someplace but no clue where the Atomic Cannon went -- anyone ever see a Life- Like reboxing?

Cookie Sewell

Never heard of Life-Like. Any info? I'm thinking Revell may do a history maker or other rerun. They did do an atomic cannon a few years before I got back into modeling, say mid 90s? early 90s?? I'd like to see Regulus and some of the rockets that supposedly were lousy sellers...

" Never heard of Life-Like. Any info? I'm thinking Revell may do a history maker or other rerun.

After ADAMS did the 1/40 army kits many were re released under different brand names - but with the exact same sprues. Life like was one and if I remember there was another UPC. I don't remember them doing anything but re-pops. If you showed an expereinced modeler a set of sprues back in those days - they would instantly have an opinion as to company - Revell, Monogram, Lindberg, Hawk etc. Each had it's own characteristic thinkness, fineness of detail etc. The ADAMS sprues looked exactly like Revell and were in the same scale. Supposedly they were made by the same Revell team.

Some of the ADAMS goes for big bucks on eBay - like the Honest John with launch truck. Yet no re-pop and the 1/35th folks don't seem interested in that era. There's a few others like the Revell XSL moon rocket and space station that it appears are lost forever.

Val Kraut

I've a feeling Pyro became Life-Like or vice-versa?

Regards,

Moramarth

Currently Life-Like belongs to the Walthers company out of Milwaukee WI. They switched to making HO trains and accessories which is how they fell to Walthers empire. Used to be they had production factories in China (Hong Kong?) but the headquarters was in the metro Baltimore MD area.

Cookie Sewell

and many life like molds became lindberg. my fave is still the gladiator. i think some ww1 ac molds also migrated to lindberg. nice to see your nym again.

see above cookie. they're not all at walthers..... check out lindbergs website, too.

Val Kraut wrote: : : launch truck. Yet no re-pop and the 1/35th folks don't seem interested in : that era. There's a few others like the Revell XSL moon rocket and space : station that it appears are lost forever. : It isn't that people aren't interested, it is that you can't put a swastika on it...

Bruce

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote: : : Currently Life-Like belongs to the Walthers company out of Milwaukee : That would be "Death-like", unless you are talking about their Proto 2000 products, which actually are "Life-like".

Bruce