Retro Plastic

 Today I have an item that was just sitting on a shelf, but is actually kind of interesting. I give to you, the 1956 Revell Continental Mark II! 

Notice I didn't say Lincoln Continental. At this point, it was not yet branded that way and "Continental" was the product line. The Continental was a massively expensive luxury car, marketed to the uber rich. It was hand built and it cost $10,000, which is about $110,000 adjusted for inflation. The problem is that there weren't that many uber rich people around, and they canned the line in 1957. The factories were converted to produce a sure winner...the Edsel.

Now, there is one caveat to my car...it's actually from 1995. Yep, it's a rerelease of the original 1956 kit. Still, it uses the exact same molds and box art so it's interesting. Let's take a look, shall we?

I built it like someone would have in 1956, including not painting most of it and only using brush paint for the engine and interior.

Note that there's no glass. Models in the 50s frequently didn't have clear plastic. This kit both did and didn't depending on what edition you got, apparently. Mine had it, but ancient molds being what they are, they didn't even get close to fitting.

Here is the engine. It's actually pretty detailed for the 1950s. 

Here is the box. I built mine over 20 years ago, so it's a miracle I even have the box. Still, it's in pretty rough shape. The art is nicer than the model, though.

The side panel...

Here is something interesting that I found still in the box, the original figures! They are both made from a front and back half glued together. The lady has a huge problem in that her halves are warped far too badly to fit together. Again, 1950s molds.

It's not a huge model, being only about seven inches long.

About the real car- the death of the Continental line didn't kill the car. Ford started the Lincoln line and all future Continentals were marketed under that line. 

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!