Ontos models are almost as difficult to find as a real Ontos. Renwal made an Ontos model many years ago, but they went out of production in the early '70's (or sooner). In the early '70's, I bought two Renwal "Blueprint" version Ontos kits. Way back when, I started putting one together, but stopped at a point to paint it before I went any further. I never got back to it. 30 years later, the plastic is getting rather brittle, so I will have to be very careful. There have been a handful of these Renwal Ontos kits sold on EBay. Most are extremely way overpriced when the bidding ends. I was astounded to see that in one EBay auction, the bidding was pretty fast and furious, and the winning bidder paid $400.00 for a Renwal "Blueprint" version of the Ontos. This is exactly the same model as the other "Yellow" box version, other than it has some extra paper documentation included. (And I have two of these "Blueprint" versions; but they sure aren't worth $400 each, unless someone with a lot of money wants to buy them for that price!). I have bid up into the $35 range, but when it goes over that, I drop out. Even $35 is too much for this particular kit. They usually go for $60 on up. I refuse to pay that. I did just recently luck out on EBay, and got one for a total of $30.50 that included $4.00 for shipping. I consider that high for this model, but I wanted this one as it was in the "Yellow" box. Most of the people bidding on these Renwal models are collectors. They value the boxes almost as much as the model itself. And if the model is still factory sealed, they keep it that way, never opening it, let alone assembling the model. I guess it's like being a gun collector, and collecting firearms that have never been fired, with the intent of never loading or firing it, just keeping it in new, unfired condition. It's so critical that these collectors will never turn the cylinder on a revolver as they don't want even the slightest mark on the outside of the cylinder. Me, I can't afford to have two of every gun I own; one as an unfired collector, and the other as a shooter. All mine are "shooters." Many years ago, I saw a pair of WW II commemorative Colt .45 autos. They were beautifully engraved. One was the Pacific Campaign and the other was the European Campaign, (I think I got that right). They came in different wood cases, with the Pacific Campaign with bamboo trim around the edges of the box. They were specially numbered and came with documentation. The first time I saw them in a local gun store, they were new and unfired. They wanted $500 apiece for these guns. (I said this was a LONG time ago, probably in the late '70's). About a year later, I saw them for sale in another gun store for the same price. I inspected them again. I found carbon evidence that showed they had been fired quite a few times. I brought that to the attention of the gun store owner. He told me that carbon was from when they were "test fired at the factory." HAH! Yeah, right! Unfortunately, these guns were now just fancy shooters, and they lost much of their value as collector's items. I got a little of the subject. I am going to send you some photos of the Renwal Ontos model boxes, and one by Revell, as Revell picked up the Ontos model for a couple of years after Renwal discontinued it. The current Ontos models that are available, but hard to get, are made by Hobby Fan and Nimix. I have been told my serious modelers that are familiar with the Renwal, Hobby Fan, and Nimix Ontos kits, that the Renwal Ontos model is "off scale" (not 1/35, closer to 1/32 scale), and pretty crude compared to the modern Hobby Fan Ontos model kit. I have been advised to stay away from the Nimix Ontos model kit, that it is "overscale" and very difficult to assemble. The Hobby Fan Ontos model kit is highly rated, rather hard to get, and about $100. These modelers tell me that the current kits are "resin" kits, not like the old plastic models that I put together as a youngster. Apparently these serious new generation model kits are very detailed. I am searching for a source for the Hobby Fan kit, and have a few feelers out there. I have been in contact with Rick Bennett, who gave me information on the Hobby Fan Ontos model. He assembled one. He took photos of it, and gave me permission to put the photos on our web site. I had told him about our group of Ontos crewmen and our web site. I will send you the photos of the boxes of the early Ontos kits and of Rick Bennett's Hobby Fan Ontos model. These modelers are very careful on details of the displays of their models. In the photo of his model is a chicken. It is actually an accurate model of a Vietnamese chicken. The settings they put their models in is called a "diorama" I believe. |
ONTOS MODEL COLLECTING By R. Scott Berry |
THE PHOTOGRAPHS BELOW ARE OF RICK BENNETT'S HOBBY FAN ONTOS MODEL KIT |
MIKE JOHNSTON'S JEEP/RR MODEL OF AND M-38 WITH A MOUNTED 106mm RECOILLESS RIFLE. THIS WAS A PREDECESSOR OT THE ONTOS. |
MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO FIND AN ONTOS MODEL The Ontos models are usually available on EBAY auctions site They say they are rare and normally sell for $30.00 - $75.00 range. Just go to EBAY and sign up (takes a couple of minutes) and then fill in the search box with the word ONTOS it'll show you what's for sale that day. Try not to bid against each other to keep the price down. There will be more next week. Semper Fi, Bruce Beebe 68-69 TO SEE PICTURES OF BRUCE'S ONTOS MODEL CLICK THE MODEL BOX. |
CLICK FOR BABY HUEY'S SAD MODEL STORY |
