Kaiser Frazer Owners Club Forum
General Category => Willys Forum => Topic started by: Gordie on December 13, 2019, 02:51:33 PM
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Does anyone know of one of these models for sale?
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Gordie, Is this a Model Vehicle or Original Vehicle ?
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Sorry, I thought I described it as a promotional model made by Bird Co.
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I found a seller with the grill, bumpers, axles and wheels. Now I need either a 1953 or '54 body. They are harder to find than most of the various Kaiser models.
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Would a resin body work for you? Page Resin (Pedro Escanio) on Facebook makes one; basically a transkit based on the promo body.
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Thanks, his kits look nice and I have inquired about the availability of the Aero kit.
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There was an original Bird Aero promotional model on eBay today and it was the first one I have seen for sale for about ten years. I swallowed hard and paid the high price and am now waiting to see if it is a 1953 or'54 model. The only difference would be in the tail lights and headlight rims. The pictures were not clear enough to tell but according to the promotional model books they did make both years and Miller made a resin version. I recently found one of those Miller models and am waiting anxiously to see what the differences will be.
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There was an original Bird Aero promotional model on eBay today and it was the first one I have seen for sale for about ten years. I swallowed hard and paid the high price and am now waiting to see if it is a 1953 or"54 model. The only difference would be in the tail lights and headlight rims. The pictures were not clear enough to tell but according to the promotional model books they did make both years and Miller made a resin version. I recently found one of those Miller models and am waiting anxiously to see what the differences will be.
Do keep us posted, both on if you hear back from the guy making kits, and on your new find. I ran across a fairly plain '52/'53 resin kit on ebay several years ago which required axles & wheels to be bought from another model parts house. It was a bit flimsy but I was glad to fine an Aero model of any sort.
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Here's a copy of the ordering information on the Bird model sent out to dealers in 1952 and/or 1953
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That is a very interesting advertisement and the feature of the electric head lights did not appear on the real models so that they must have been proposed features. I don't know how many were made but they are certainly hard to find today. It is interesting also that they were bragging about not having plastic windows or a base plate as though that was some kind of an advantage. pictures of the models show no center bar in the windshield either so they must be somewhat flimsy and that may the reason for their scarcity. The Lincoln Line Henry J of 1951 offered a simulated motor sound noise maker but it was so poorly designed that it you backed the car up it would break off the part that makes noise and I have only seen one that survived with the noisemaker intact. I am looking forward to receiving my Aero and I will report on how it compares to the Henry J promotional models. Thanks Jack, for the very interesting flyer.
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Well, the Aero arrived and like most promotional models that have seen a lot of use it was somewhat scratched and dull. A little polishing compound and about fifteen minutes time has it gleaming like new and it's light green color has a hint of darker discoloration on parts of the lower part of model. It does indeed have a base plate and a noisemaker that was a piece of thin steel riveted to the base plate that had broken off but it was supposed to rub against a gear attached to the middle of the rear axle. It has rubber tires with a center metal ring that gives the appearance of full wheel covers instead of the smaller hub caps on the Henry J models. the body is attached by three small screw like nails and so the body is not really removable like the Henry J's are. Also the grill and bumpers are made of purple plastic instead of metal in the Henry J's. They were painted silver and the paint was almost all worn off so a new coat of chrome paint made them look like new again. The headlights are painted with a faded white color and the tail lights left in the color of the plastic body. I was lucky to have no cracks or warping on the fragile plastic body and after being cleaned up it looks very presentable and the long search of trying to find one in any condition is over and i am very pleased with it. It is a '54 with no division bars in the rear windows and it does seem to have brows over the headlights and those seem to be the only differences in the 1953-54 models.
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Like a lot of the early 1950's promotional scale models not made out of rubber, the plastic does funky things overtime. You will get blotches as the plastic ages and stars breaking down chemically. The bodies warp (like on my 1951 HJ and 1959 Rambler station wagon) and can start to crack ad the shell warps and the weaker points (and we are talking minute amounts of plastic in one part of the mold vs. other parts). I also one one Pontiac was white when I got it and now is yellowing the way newspaper stock yellows over time.
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Two pics of a 1953 promo, one showing the "noisemaker."
A tan 1953 promo with special lettering on the side commemorating a Willys-Overland luncheon.
A 1954 promo that I own, sorry about the picture quality.
Notice that all are 2-door sedans, the 1953 with a 3-piece rear window, the 1954 with 1-piece.
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Hmm. I wonder if the headlights on the first promo are made of glow-in-the-dark plastic? That would explain the "working headlights" from the ad.
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I recently found one of the Miller Memorabilia resin replicas of the Bird Aero and it has the split rear window of the 1953 models. I will be looking for one of the Bird Aeros with the three piece back window. That will be a tough one to find. "The fun is in the search!"
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Hmm. I wonder if the headlights on the first promo are made of glow-in-the-dark plastic? That would explain the "working headlights" from the ad.
The paint on the headlights looks like faded white and not a special plastic.
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I never heard back from the guy that was making all of the resin bodies so I assumed that he did not have any of the Willys models left but this week on eBay there was a resin body with grill and bumpers in separate parts for $80.00. I was the only bidder so am awaiting its arrival. I could tell by the details that it was made from a Bird body so that body and the Bird wheels, axles, bumpers and grill that I found earlier may let me turn it into a respectable looking Bird look-a-like. The only thing that I am missing is the base plate and that is flat tin so I may try to make one although I am not very handy with tin snips. I hope that it turns out as well as the nice photos that Rick sent us. The model with the sticker on the side from a Willys Corp. luncheon would be a great find.
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I bought a resin model off ebay several years ago (now packed away) very similar if not identical to this one, except the bumpers were chromed. Wheels, tires & axles had to be sourced from an online model car parts supplier & the bottom "plate" needed drilled for the axles. It wasn't a particularly well fitted model but I was glad to find it. I've seen a couple sources over the years, don't know if the molds are changing owners or if there's more than one set. http://www.resinrealm.net/Star/STAR%20Models/52_Coupe.html
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That is nice with separate hood, a full interior with a base plate and it looks like it must have been made from a Willys Aero kit but I don't remember one ever being made but I'll bet there was. That would be far nicer completed than the promotional models which are pretty spartan. Is there a master list of all of the car model kits that were ever made? There are at least four variations of the Henry J. The website that you provided for Steve Kohler illustrates over 200 car models that he has made. I emailed him to see if the Willys and a 1953 Kaiser models are available. Thanks for the good tip!
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Here's another site with some parts and a listing for a Kaiser as well as Aero. Not the easiest site to find stuff but LOTS of it. http://www.rocketfin.com/resin_product.cfm?id=3500
http://www.rocketfin.com/resin_product.cfm?id=3514
http://www.rocketfin.com/resin_search_results.cfm
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I got the Willlys Aero that you illustrated. He emailed me back right away and said that he had one left so I grabbed it. It should look nice all put together with an interior and base plate with floor. The second reference also has a huge inventory and a master list of all known cars and who made the models of them. A very handy list to have available. There is kind of slim pickings regarding Willys Aero models but now we have the two years of Bird promotional models, the Miller Memorabilia Aero coupe and now this one. In the smaller 1:43 scale there is the Brooklin Aero and the new 1955 Aero Eagles that just came out. Most are available on ebay.
aero Eagles that just came out. Most are available o eBay
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The '53 Willys Aero body came in the mail today and it was obviously made from a Bird body but is just a little smaller. I believe that the Bird Promotional models are 1: 24th scale and both of the new bodies seem to be 1:25 scale so my plan of using the running gear from a Bird model won't look right as the chassis parts are a little too large. The body is so smooth and nice in white that I am going to not paint it and leave it as is. This kit was from Steve Swain in Townsend TN @ $80.00 plus postage. He responded to my email immediately and sent the model within days.
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The Star model came in yesterdays mail and in comparing it to the Steve Swain model there are several differences. First the Swain model is a body only. The Star model is much thicker, more detailed and would be a nice model to build as it has a full interior with steering wheel and dash. The bottom is well detailed but you need to secure wheels and axles. I do not know why they made the hood separate as there is no motor but perhaps the builder thought that you might want to hot rod it with the motor of your choice. It is 1 :25th scale and sold as a 1952 Willys coupe and it has the proper windshield center divider. If you want one contact stevekohler@coc.net $53.00 plus postage.