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I have a strange problem with a type of model, and I need to hear what's going on, especially for you Ebay warriors who search for old kits. Some time ago, I acquired 3 old Revell snap kits in 1/32nd. I was going to add details and nice paint to make a few additions to my Pioneer chassis stable (some long time ago, I got a bargain on 10 bare chassis, and I have been doing great things with them ever since), and since they are easily adjustable for wheelbase, it has gone well.

Now to my problem. These kits are old, and the box art is yellowed with age. I have found that these kits (2 early T-Birds and a '56 Corvette), while seemingly fine, don't fit together. The unchromed parts seem to have shrunk until the chrome parts no longer fit properly into the body shell. The molding is sloppy, as you would expect from a toy-like model meant for kids who have no idea what the car is supposed to look like, but this is really profound. You expect Lindberg, Palmer, and other junky stuff to be wildly out of scale, badly fitted, etc, but this is bad enough to require cutting the snaptabs off to get an attachment at all.

Obviously, I can overcome this, but if age shrinks plastic models, I need to know that for a fact. Thanks.

Nobody knows anything about this?

First of all, a fair number of things shrink with age (ahem) except ear hair. THAT will result in looking like ALF, if not attended to. :doh:

When I worked part time at a hobby store in the 80's, some older Athearn and Atlas boxcar kits did shrink. Too many years exposed to temp changes in the bad part of the old storeroom.

And brittle. I watched the store owner take an old Pennsy caboose out of the box and snap edges off it with his fingers.

On those kits you mention? Who knows what caused it. But I can say I have seen it happen with other plastics.

Well, that explains a lot. The inconsistency of it is what baffled me. I have some ancient "Highway Pioneers" models that are like new, and these, by Revell, a model maker I would trust more than most, are really distinctly not right.

I wonder if those old Athearn kits I have stashed are no good? That's going to take some digging to investigate.

Thanks for the info.

Plastic is a petroleu. Based product. Let the oil evap over time, and it gets brittle and shrinks.ever see old clocks anf radios from the 50,s left in a closet? They loose shape to a point they look melted.