Is there a quick guide to ID New/Old/Re-boxed kits?

The best source I know of is Scalemates. I doubt it has every single kit made, but the ones it does have it includes the kits history.

www.scalemates.com/products

I was going to list Scalemates as well.

It is an ongoing project, for sure,,,,,,but, if you go there and find your specific kit, there is a timeline for each kit farther down on its page.

the other way it is useful is to just find out if anyone makes a 1/? kit of the Douglas F-??. as you type Douglas and then the F-xx part, you get autofills to prod you along. This works for any aircraft, tank, car, ship, etc,,,,,,,,as long as you know the real items manufacturer or the class of your ship, etc.

Rex

I figured that there had to be something out there.  Thanks guys!

I've picked up a couple old Airfix kits unknowingly they were older kits due to flash and ill-fitting parts. Ah well, next time I will refer to the site next time.

Age & experience help. Being an avid modeler for 45 of my 50 years on Earth and having used the internet with modeling building since 1995-96, I've noticed trends when new models vs. "new" models (i.e. reboxes/reissues) arrive.

First of all, Google/Bing/Yahoon/Your search engine of choice is your friend. It amazes me that the same person who will drive out of their way to save 5¢ on a gallon of gas (what's that, like a buck on a full tank?) won't do a little online homework before spending $30-50 on a plastic model kit.

One of the things I noticed in my online modeling years is that internet buzz often precedes true new models. Fellow modelers have already received test shots, website moderators have already received review samples and information packets to hype up the new kit. Reboxes/reissues just pop up on the shelf or online retailers' website without much fanfare unless it was a highly sought after hard-to-find kit.

Someone has already bought the "new" old kit and ranted about it at one of the various modeling forums.

One of the various review sites has already received the kit, posted a review with photos and declared it the old XYZ kit. It's fairly easy to recognize if you know that they had that subject kit previously in their line.

Ask at one of the modeling sites. "Hey, I see XYZ has a new M1000 listed, what's it like?" Someone will probably know that XYZ has often released old ABC kits before and ABC once had a poor M1000. Somebody who works at a hobby shop or visited a hobby shop that allows customers to look inside the box has probably already seen and recognized the old kit.

Check the manufacturer's website. When Revell started reissuing the old Renwal kits, they advertised it knowing they were aiming for the nostalgia market. Old dudes like me that built these kits in the 1960s wanting to relive their childhood without buying vintage kits at collector's prices. Round Two has taken to showing the original manufacturer's logo so you know what you're getting.

hahaha, Rob, careful with the O word. I am 57, going to have 50 years building models in Feb,,,,,,,you aren't that far behind some of us.

Just curious, not to hijack the thread, but are you one of the people like me, that didn't take a "break" in your model building?

Rex

Yes, I was referring to myself and modelers like me when I use the term "old dudes". No, I did not take a break from modeling. I built models while playing football and wrestling in high school, wrestling and ROTC/National Guard in college. I built while at Armor Officer Basic at Knox in 1987. Built while I was stationed in Germany. Besides stopping for deployments, I even created a travel model box for my kits while traveling for the Army in the 1990s. A small tackle box from Walmart and a 1/72 scale tank kit and some basic tools, normally the pre-boxed sets by Testors that included a small knife, some paint and glue.

Cool, same here, I built right on through my Marine years, then later on, I built while in college and after the homework was done. I even built models while we were racin' and wreckin' the stock cars.

The reason I ask, is that people that leave and come back must face a bit of a culture shock when they return,,,,,,,unlike the people that watched things evolve as it happened.

Imagine the  "resin what?" that must happen to guys that used to build a lot and then went away for a couple of decades, when they return and find out that now there are 1/72 resin pilots with multiple parts to choose from and then assemble. (and that is one of the easy examples)

okay, thanks for the side trip,,,,,

Rex

I discovered resin by way of Verlinden products when stationed in Germany 1987-90. It was everywhere and as a young second lieutenant, I had a lot of disposable income. PE came a little later when I returned stateside.

I also learned my lesson with AEF Designs resin products. I ordered from Germany because of advertisements in the old Military Modeler magazine. It was probably some of the poorest resin I'd ever run across. Because of that, I started trying to make my own resin parts. Many lieutenants at work wanted a model of their tank. The old Esci Abrams kits were basically all that was available, but not enough M1A1s, some were straight M1s. So I decided to cast the Esci M1A1 specific parts to convert the non-A1s. Probably some of my first kit bashes.