The (ridiculous?) cost of nostalgia

FastEddieB

FastEddieB

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Fast Eddie B
When I was a kid I built dozens and dozens of model kits of all kinds. “The Visible Man” was likely my first in the “Visible” series, which later included “The Visible V8” and “The Visible Airplane Engine”. Both were cool, in that their valves opened and closed, and the “spark plugs” fired at the appropriate times. I learned a lot about human anatomy and engines by building those kits.

Yesterday I got in a discussion of radial aircraft engines and thought back to my model. In doing a Google Image Search I stumbled upon this:

51130012338_8d87532d40_z.jpg


YIKES! I can’t imagine those kits were more than about $30 or so at the time - the late 1950’s or early 1960’s - and I was usually buying them with paper route money if they weren't gifts. Color me shocked at the prices people are asking for them now!
 
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FastEddieB said:
When I was a kid I built dozens and dozens of model kits of all kind. “The Visible Man” was likely my first in the “Visible” series, which later included “The Visible V8” and “The Visible Airplane Engine”. Both were cool, in that their valves opened and closed, and the “spark plugs” fired at the appropriate times. I learned a lot about human anatomy and engines by building those kits.

Yesterday I got in a discussion of radial aircraft engines and thought back to my model. In doing a Google Image Search I stumbled upon this:

51130012338_8d87532d40_z.jpg


YIKES! I can’t imagine those kits were more than about $30 or so at the time - the late 1950’s or early 1960’s - and I was usually buying them with paper route money if they weren't gifts. Color me shocked at the prices people are asking for them now!
Click to expand...


Hmm, $30 in the 1960's would be about $1,200 now, so, that sounds about right.
 
I built both the visible V8 and the visible wankel. Fun stuff. Neither one of them moved very freely though.
 
A number of years back, I happened upon a "Children's Home Lead Casting" kit in an antique store. Box was like that of the Erector Set. Dating back from the '50s or earlier. Had a small kiln and sets of molds. Pretty amazing, considering today's emasculated toys. I still kick myself for not buying it...was only $100.

[Edit: Found it]
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/rapco-cast-rite-home-foundry-lead-1820635146


Ron Wanttaja
 
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