Many of today’s car enthusiasts and collectors got their start building model cars from AMT and Monogram. I know as a 10 year old I was captivated by these kits and every penny I could earn, find or be given as a gift went for a new kit or paint to build it. I was always tearing built kits apart to customize them repeatedly. Unfortunately, I could never afford the Big-T kit from Monogram. Only the 24th and 25th scale cars were in my price range.
At the 2021 Muscle Car And Corvette Nationals (MCACN) I was suddenly a kid again. As my wife and I walked into the lobby on our way to begin prepping our car for the show was a full size Big-T! It was marvelous and intriguing. We needed to move fast to get to our car, so there was no time to spend looking at it. However, later in the day I could return and there it was with a display I absolutely loved. It was a mixture of oversized paint jars just like I used by the dozens, plus the built model that was exactly like the full-size car on display.
Look to the lower left of the above photo and you will see the original model car kit. On the stand to the right is the car and miniature display that is exactly like the full size display!
Note that the Testor’s paint cap is marked 15 cents. I remember how difficult it was for me to fork over that much for a bottle of paint. At the time, that was huge money for a 10 year old.
