1/43 kit sources and manufacturers

[jacko]

Hello everyone! I am a ship modeler who would like to get started in 1/43 cars. Most interested in 50's-70's. Where should I start looking for kits?

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

Are you looking for American cars from the 50s to the 70s? The 1/43 scale is probably the most popular in Europe, but unfortunately in America it is not. So offerings are very limited when compared to 1/24 and 1/25.
AMT did a series of 1/43 models in the 70's that included many cool subjects: Corvettes, Chevelles, Camaros, Mustang, etc. Those are long out of production but if you do a search on ebay for AMT 1/43 you can get the idea of what was available. I wouldn't say "crude" but those kits were fairly basic compared to other 1/43 offerings, but are a good starting point.
In the late 80's or early 90's Monogram released 2 excellent kits in 1/43 but it seems they did not sell well, so no others were made. They were a 1967 Corvette convertible and the Shelby Cobra. Those kits are very nice.
If you search on ebay for 1/43 you will find many small manufacturers offering from resin to white metal kits, mostly out of Europe.

Thanks,
Ismael

[cat barf]

Here's a link to the best one stop source of 1/43 kits and aftermarket:

www.grandprixmodels.com/

Ebay is also has a large selection of 1/43 stuff

[jacko]

Thank you. I actually have the AMT Corvette and Cobra. I was interested even back then.

[Chris K. Hale]

Here is the Monogram 1/43 Corvette convert. It has wonderful double etched Photo Etch parts. The engine is very nice and details up nicely. A Well overlooked kit that could have sparked a whole line of Monogram 1/43 kits. Now you can pick them up on Ebay for $15. or at Swap meets for $5. The Cobra kit is awesome ( not shown yet) I picked up an AMT 69 Mustang Fastback in 1/43 and have been playing with converting it using the Cobra as a base. Here are the Corvette pics. Check out the Photo etch tree in the second pic. Chris

[vintagerpm]

Other 1/43 scale retailers are:

MA Scale Models
Indy Car Models
Spot Model
Upscale Hobbies
RCS Motorsport Models
Automodelli Studio

And of course, there is always eBay.

Mike