My father was Vice-President and Chief Engineer at Jo-Han Models, working there from 1947-1973. Along with Bill Stevens who ran the Manufacturing Department and Leo C. who ran the Tooling Department, these three individuals were integral to the day-to-day success of the company, though you will never hear their names mentioned. After my father left, almost all original design and engineering work stopped, with the Tooling Department responsible for some of the mid-70 models (including the last original design; the 1979 Cadillac), though most were just re-packaged older kits. I don't have any knowledge of Jo-Han after 1973. By the way, the neighborhood was not "Lil Beirut" but a diverse multi-racial community with a large population of Polish immigrants during the time my father worked there. These hard-working immigrants made up the company's workforce. I have great memories of the time my father worked there (I also worked there in 1971) along with many "original release" production cars and model kits that I inherited after he passed away. Here is to all the people who made Jo-Han Models a great success.

I have 2 Rambler SC/Hurst models as Jo-Han was the only place I could find them. I built one and the other is for the next time I purchase an actual 1969 SC/Rambler Hurst factory race car. Through my 50 or so years I have owned 5 of these and though they made a scarce 1512, they can still be found. If you want to drive 'a drug' this is it. Imagine a 454 Nova only quicker. 1 of these 'beasts' had 456 gear ratio so I could take off in 4th gear. This invariably would make the car next to me think I was racing because it was like driving a tractor only way faster. It was an 1/8 miler. If it was raining, and you punched it, you would do a 360. I could never get enough tread under it to hook up from a stop so I always did rolling start races. Those who raced me know about this car and many thought I built it myself. It was the power to weight ratio that was the magic, cheap thin Rambler body and big block horsepower out of the AMC (Buick/Rover style) V8 small block. With the 'toilet seat' looking hood scoop and functional ram air, posi-trac, short throw Hurst linkage, cast iron Super T-10 and no frills except the red, white and blue stripped headrests (date of manufacture inside) my 1st one was $900. I worked at a race car used car lot as the lot kid. I washed 45 cars in 4 hours. I drove the cars to the repair technician 5 miles away so was able to determine the performance of every factory race cars from 454 Corvettes, 66 Chargers, 69 Camaros, Boss Mustangs, 69 Chargers and everything in between. Nothing did what this car did. I came back after my boss forced me to drive it and had to act like I was not interested in it. I still remember the noise and the ease at the handling 8-1 steering, power disc brakes to stop on a quarter and leave 24 cents change. A super Car. What a Century.

In the 1970s my parents shipped me off the Laguna Beach to spend the summer with my grandparents. My grandfather had worked at Buick all his life and had several promotional car models. I really liked his displays so he took me to a local hobby shop to buy a model of my own to build. I chose the Jo-Han Mercedes Benz SSK kit. I built it during that summer and played with it like a toy (I was somewhere round 10-12 years old then). Somewhere along the way the model disappeared but I never forget that summer and that Jo-Han model. I built several since (Including the Turbine Car) and a few years ago found the same MB SSk kit on EBay so i bought it and built it. It has won several awards in model shows and is in my display case now. It still remind me of that summer and my grandfather. Thanks for doing Jo-Han.

My Dad was the tool room foreman for several years at Jo-Han models. Late 50's to early 60's. I still have a bunch of the model kits stored away. The plant was near 6 Mile and Conant in Detroit. There was also a second molding plant on Casmere Street off Mound road. That building is still standing today, the main building on Moran is long gone.I was dumb enough to follow dad in the tool and die trade and am still in the biz after 50 years. With Dad Being in the model car business, I also got to get into the inner workings of AMT and MPC. Everyone knew each other back then. Great video. Brought back a lot of memories.

I still have my 1964 Rambler Classic 770 station wagon. Two tone paint job. The salesman in the Rambler dealership gave it to me when I was 14 years old. Thats 50 years ago. Its got the little "motor" on the front wheels too. Now I appreciate it even more. "Plimley Motors" in Victoria BC Canada Thanks for the great video.

I'm a long-time Jo-Han fan and used to do customizing articles for Scale Auto Mag featuring Jo-Han kits on occasion. I remember calling Okey and arranging a meeting at a restaurant in Ohio when he was trying to get his company off the ground. The Rambler wagon kit was just out. My wife and I sat with him and talked until about 1:00 AM or so. We had a great time. We talked about production problems and what it was like to have product made in Taiwan. Something my wife was familiar with. His preference was to have everything made in the U.S. but I think he was weighing his re-tooling options at the time because of the missing inserts. He was heartbroken over the loss of these precious pieces. So many kits couldn't be issued because of the loss. He also mentioned that he had the original steel "plugs" or sculptures of the old promo bodies that could be used to cut new molds if he could find a cheap enough source. That would have been fabulous! Later, he asked me to do the box art for his re-issue kits and I gladly accepted. Unfortunately that never materialized. I felt worse for Okey than myself! But I was definitely in his corner cheering him on! Brad

Many years ago, more than I care to count, I was introduced tio model bulding by one of my cousins who was about 5 years older and infinitely wiser than I. H had a "secret" source from which all of the treasures in plastic flowed. It was Auto World in Scranton PA. They carried a lot of kits, usually the newest model tear cars and Jo-Han were showcased in his collection, the crown jewel being the Chrysler Turbine car! I HAD to have one! I plunked down my life savings and was rewarded 3 weeks later with a package containing the holy grail of kits! I still have the car in my collection to this day, one of my most prized possessions!

I loved building model cars when I was in my teens in the mid-seventies. My shelves were filled with them, mostly muscle cars. Most hobby shops and big stores only carried AMT, MPC, Revell, and Monogram, so I had never even heard of Jo-Han, until a friend told me about a drugstore that carried models of some really unusual cars. When I saw those Jo-Han kits of obscure cars from the 1950's and 1960s I nearly flipped! And with the retro styling of the boxes, it was as if I had discovered King Tuts tomb.

Loved the Jo-Han line. Being from Detroit I must have built a half dozen Detroit police cars. One sat on my neighbor's desk. He was a 6th precinct detective.

Well, my first model was a Jo-Han 63 Plymouth kit my late sister bought me for my birthday, back in 1963. She took me to the hobby shop, and I originally wanted to get the 61 Plymouth, as that was the car my Dad had. But they were out of stock, so I chose the 63. I can still remember where I saw it on the shelf, and the part of the store it was in.. I was only 7, so she helped me build it and we painted it Pactra royal blue with a brush. I don't recall what happened to the car, as I kept pretty well all the kits I built, but 22 years later, I bought a 63 max wedge Fury, restored it fully, and tried to reproduce it as closely as I could remember, the model car she bought for me. I eventually did, and now, I can drive the real replica of my first model. Thanks, sis!!.

I've never owned or built anything from Jo-Han for whatever reason. However, after watching your video I went searching and found the Chrysler Turbine Car kit. I should have it soon. It looks like it'll be a good kit to build.

I built the 1960 DeSoto Adventurer kit when I was 14('75). Still cherish what's left of it. Would buy a re-issue(hint, hint !)

Excellent! Great job Max! BTW, I had the honor and pleasure of being a paramedic for Suburban Ambulance Service in the 1980's and 1990's. The logo's and details in Jo-Han's Cadillac McCoy-Miller Meteor Ambulance were spot on.

back in the mid 60's I was involved in slot car racing. and before vacu-form bodies were readily available. one of the local tracks started a racing series for NASCAR stock cars. I admired Paul Goldsmith as a driver and at the time he was driving a 64 Plymouth in the races. Jo-Han was the only company making a model in 1/25 scale so I bought the model and used the body and a portion of the interior for my race car. I did well with the car in the series. the best part was that it was almost indistructable a great thing to be in that type of racing.

In my younger days a Jo-Han model was special. The details were outstanding. I bought (mom bought) mostly the drag cars from Auto World. I got lots of AMT, Revell, Lindberg ect that I enjoyed but a Jo-Han had weight and the kits fit so well I hardly had to do any fitting. Loved them.

My mom worked there in the 60’s...use to bring home kits for me. Matter of fact there is a photo of workers and she looks like one.

I just love the breadth of personalities that have started companies or otherwise contributed to the creativity and craft that is the model kit industry. Each story is an interesting view into human nature and it's effect on business.

Max, thanks so much for putting this together! Don’t apologize! Jo-Han history is far from common knowledge and any JoFan worth his salt should appreciate your efforts! I don’t believe there were any of the 1980s OLDIES USA models that I didn’t own and build back then. As finished models, the plastic seemed thicker than most of the contemporary models of the day, and they were tougher (as a kid, that was important to me because the cars could be played with and not just displayed ... especially since most were supplied with thick metal axles so the cars would roll). For models, they could take alot of abuse! I don’t recall many quality issues with the older kits they reissues, but one flaw that comes to mind was in that the ‘68-9 Fury police car that had an oil pan with no holes proved to run the front axles through. I can remember my father drilling a hole in the completed engine on his drill press, doing his best not to break it. What their kits often lacked in undercarriage detail, they made up for it in strength! I always assumed that X-EL was (at least) the in-house mail order end of the business. As of 1983-86 ... Man! Were they slow! It was common for my kit orders to take a month or two for delivery and promos 2-4 months. Granted, these were the old days of “allow 4-6 weeks for delivery” but it was slow for even those days! With promos, I don’t believe they always had finished cars, or even the unassembled parts “warehoused” I really think they just let orders sit until they made a run of the car you ordered, so if your order arrived in May and your car and color was not on hand, you wouldn’t get your order shipped until the planned production run scheduled for, say, the second week in July, was completed. When I ordered my ‘59 Plymouth Sport Fury in May of 1984, I didn’t receive it until late September. That was the slowest one I ever experienced. I recall receiving a postcard from them around early August stating that local heat and humidity at the factory prevented them from painting, thus my order would be delayed. I still have the Fury but unfortunately not the postcard. I always question that reason. I believe they were either experiencing staff issues or maybe even limiting production and running on a skeleton crew by that time (part time people working part time hours). Previous to this order, I had ordered promos of a ‘56 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door and a ‘58 Oldsmobile. Each took about 2 months to receive. Sad to learn that the tooling has deteriorated and gone missing. I still hold out hope that some of them will get reissued again someday!

I recall as a kid in the 70s building some of these kits. Specifically I recall the Caddy ambulance and the Pro-stock Maverick. I remember the detail was impressive and the parts, although not many fit very well. They built solid nicely detailed kits that are very expensive today. They were tough models when built as well. As a 12 year old I didn't treat my models with the kind of care I would today so I was repairing them often. The Jo-Han kits survived better than many. Ironically the Maverick kit left an impression on me that later in my 20s led me to purchase a '70 Maverick street car that was set up much like the model that appears in this video. I got to live out the experience I dreamed up at 12.

I was a Draftsman for AMT in the 60's so I was a Jo-Han bad guy. But I did buy some of their kits when I was younger.

I loved Jo Han kits, they had the best line of late fifties, early sixties, Chrysler,dodge,Plymouth and Desoto. If you like those cars and wanted to build a model of one,you bought a Jo Han kit. Thanks very much for this trip down memory lane.

I had the Chrysler Turbine Car model kit and it was amazing, so much much more detail than any of the Revell/AMT models.......even the front bucket seats folded forward and the seat backs had a vac-plated insert to mirror the chrome interior details like the real car.......those were the days...........so glad that as a kid, I was able to to enjoy the entire model kit experience.....

dang you said quick look and said you barely have info but you release a 20 minute masterpiece good work mister Max!

I built mostly AMT model cars in the early years, of course, but had my first experience with a Jo Han Kit when my mother bought my younger brother a '61 Plymouth model car kit for Christmas. I built it for my brother and didn't even paint it except for the insert strip on the rear fender panel which I painted black. I still have that model even though my brother later moved out and didn't take his models with him. Then one day after about 25 years, he decided that he wanted them back. After all that time, I thought they were mine and that's when the fun began.Another time, I found several Jo Han model car kits on sale in a small town with the number 75 stenciled on each box top. They were 75 cents each and I bought a couple at least and still have them. Those kits always sell for a good price today if you want to sell them.

WhenI was 8 to 12 years old nothing was better than to go into a hobby shop and see the word Jo-Han on the boxes. It meant cars that were a bit different. This was the late seventies. The Heavenly Hearse, The Eldorado Rancharo, USA oldies.

As a kid I built a few Jo-han car kits. Recently, I built the 1969 AMC AMX, and the 1/72 Bf-109F/G kit showed in your video. The car kits aren't as well engineered as AMT kits, especially the wheels and axles. They use simple plastic axles rather than the better steel wire axles. I just ordered Jo-han's 1957 Chrysler 300 kit. They had subjects that other companies just didn't offer.

Jo-Han cars are classics! ( Literally ) Thank you for the work, Max, in bringing this History back into the light.

Thanks for doing all this research Max. You did a great job telling the Jo Han story.

Wow. This brings back a LOT of memories. I have the 62 Chrysler 300 kit, the DeSoto, Lark, and that 77/78 Caddy CeVille. My fav is my Chrysler Turbine Car kit that I've had for years, still un-built. A friend of mine used to do promo car reviews for a magazine and always used to comment about cars from Jo-Han with the steering wheels in the middle of a turn!

My Dad was architect involved in the 1964 NY World's Fair. He got to drive the Chrysler Turbine car on many occasions. As a result, I built many of Jo-Han version of these and still have new-in-the-box kits that will remain so.

Absolutely spot-on as usual, hardly a dry eye in the house at the end........

Jo Han race kits are the big ticket items as they have a wider appeal, and they are some of the most accurately molded kits ever made!

Great video and research, thank you. I enjoyed Jo-Han models as a kid. I've got a couple in my stash waiting to be built.

Tim McCoy here wife's account. I had built the 1/72 scale aircraft kits. They were really good. Details were quite accurate. Fit was above average. Loved Johnny Cash Gloria's pop worked for GM For fourty years. It was true.

Thanks max I still have some jo-han models.some were never built.just like my Chrysler turbine model.was never built.some of my kits are.in see through storage boxes.thanks again max.glad your coming along.

I built several, but the kits were hard to find in my world. But I was so impressed by their quality that I bought all I could find, even those of bland and boring cars, with the idea that I would enjoy them later. Now, at age 72, they are still sitting in my basement with Renwal Blueprint kits. They'll probably never see glue in my lifetime.

In my youth I may have heard to Jo-Han Models, seems vaguely familiar for some reason. Thank you very much for a great video.

I love Jo-Han models because it DIDN'T produce the (too) many ridiculous fantasy and cartoon cars that Round 2 is now doing. Thanks for a very interesting video history.

I love Jo-Han kits. I have many of them in my collection & I buy them any time I can find them at a fairly decent price, which isn't often. I remember one of the very first kits I built as a boy was the Chrysler Turbine car. It was extremely well detailed with opening doors, hood & trunk, folding front seats & steerable wheels. Quite an advanced kit for a 9 year old to build! Thank you for the trip down memory lane Max.

I can remember growing up as a kid in the 1970s in our small Michigan town are rexall drug store sold Jo-han and Lindbergh models in the toy aisle. I can remember when they are five to six dollars a kit back then and each week doing some yard work for my neighbors ensured that I could buy a kit or two each week and I did my first kit the superbird and the Sox and Martin barracuda after that. 67 fury police car and I remember getting a promotional model by Jo-han 63 Studebaker Lark in dark green I got at a yard sale for $2.00 . My interest in the Lindbergh models was great too old Packard's and Mercedes from the 1930s as well as model airplanes and ships but whenever I am asked what my favorite model company it is Jo-han and Lindbergh are the first two on my list AMT revell MPC in that order. I literally had more models than I can count over the years . Although there was one particular model that I do want to get again and that's the tarantula drag car I always loved that bright green and chrome finish it is a wonderful display model. The model cars are all gone now and now I collect Hot Wheels and matchbox another 164 scale diecast cars I have over 6,600 of them now.

I'm definitely a Jo-fan. I remember fondly, two iconic family cars from my childhood, my grandad's 68 Plymouth Fury and my mom's 75 Olds Cutlass. Long since gone (the Plymouth’s engine blown and the Olds totaled by a drunk driver) I wanted to build a tribute to them. I found a Jo-Han promo of the Olds on Ebay for a reasonable price and painted it up and added some Olds rally wheels from another kit to replicate my mom's car. I used the Plymouth Police car kit minus the police accessories to replicate my granddad's Fury. They both came out great and that is my Jo-Han experience! Love your channel and keep up the great work Max!

Jo Han's Chrysler Turbine was the most outstanding model of an actual car I have seen. As a kid, I lived to build model cars. The packaging of the Turbine car is unique to the best of my knowledge.

I remember building the 1/72 scale plane kits. The kits gave you options. The zero kit included parts to make a float plane. How cool was that !!

I remember the JoHan kits. The Chassis and details were usually second rate to me as a kid. So I'd build the other brands. NOW I wish I had some of them. I do have a 79 Cadillac promo that I want to to dismantle and repaint like a real one my dad had. Blasphemy? Maybe, but the memory of my dad is more important than the JoHan part. Great video.

Growing up in the 50's and 60's, I built tons of these models. A small hardware store sold them. And my Dad being a Dodge salesperson, helped too. I still have many unbuilts of their offerings. I do miss them. They had a character all their own, and I think in some ways were better than the competition's. I digress. Thanks for a great story. Like many things of my and many other's youth, another icon gone away. Thanks for the memory.

June 28, 2020---Never was into cars, but in '74 started building model airplanes before leaving Panama. Got stationed at Sunnyvale AFS, then re-enlisted in the Air Force, being stationed at March AFB where I really started getting into building them. I was buying/building all 3 aircraft scales, with a side trip to 1/35th scale armor from time to time. But I still have (unbuilt) all of Jo-Han's 1/72nd scale aircraft.

Welcome back! Glad too see you are healthy again, you were missed for that short interlude. Keep up the good work.

I was an absolute model freak in the 1960s....I honestly can tell you I've never seen or heard of Jo-Han. Thanks for the video. Wish I had seen these kits. I would've bought any Ford vehicle they made We had a '58 Mercury when I was a kid when we went to the drive-in movies my parents would put in the bed...it hooked onto the bench front seat and covered the floor of the back seat making a bed out of the back seat for my brother and I to sleep. NOW THAT I remember!

Thank you for the Jo-Han history lesson. I always liked their kits because of the attention to detail. Nobody today makes things like molded in crank shafts , valve trains etc. on an engine that your going to assemble and hide everything. Thank you Ma.

Good video, my first toy show I got the heavenly hearse for 10 bucks, still have and love it!

Man, a blast from the past. I was a kid. We would ride our bikes to the plant on 6 mile near Conant, east Detroit, the same one feature in this. We would climb in the dumpster in the rear, and get defective kits. Some, the body was slightly warped, so we would get the kit and as much parts as you could get. Some good times.

I'm 63 years old and I still build and collect many different scale models from several model companies. My collection of pre-built and self-built car and truck models has become so large, that it fills a room 12' x 20'. Yes, I am very proud to say that I still play with cars. I have been building model cars since I was 4 years old in 1965.

I vividly remember the Jo-Han 1/72nd scale fighters in '73! I thought the concept of getting two options in one box was radical at the time for my young brain. I got the Bf-109 kit and loved it. (I bought one to put in the stash for nostalgia's sake not long ago.) I never did get to acquire, nor did I see any of the others. Glad to know the history of the company.

Thanks so much for putting this great story together on Jo-Han models. I built a lot of these back in the day and liked them for their realism but also because the hobby shop I went to kind of seemed to play them down a little so they were stuck in the corner or top shelf and they were cheaper too. I think next to AMT they were my favorite kits for cars. Anyhow, thanks again for the trip down memory lane. Take care and be well.

The realism of the Eldorado @ 10:30 is amazing!

The Jo-Han turbine car I built twice. Once, as a kid in the 60's, and again as an adult in the late 70's. Always loved the kit, but was not a fan of the "burnt gold/ copper" color. Mine was a sea green/ blue, similar to my 67 Mercury Cyclone. As a kid, we also found the basic shells to be great for slot cars. We built/ bought a number of brass "pan frames," and assembled a car purchasing all the components separately. We spent bicycle money building some of those cars. The basic shell was not your flexible "Lancer" bodies, which survived off track excursions, but had more details. A hot pin in the right location for the hole, and a kinked pin to secure to body in the waiting brass tube. I thought Jo-Han also built a line of classic cars? A 1932 Cadillac V-16? Working doors, golf club compartment, rumble seat, and lots of small chromed parts. Anyway, if you know who actually marketed these models (It has been over fifty years, the mind sometimes remembers incorrectly), that would be great. Another very informational and interesting posting.

I can remember in the mid eighties when nobody wanted these kits, and I went to a local hobby shop and bought several for $4.00 each. Should have bought them all!

I must have built the yellow ‘72 Torino at least 4 times and ‘76 Eldorado about that many as well. Can confirm the last real new car was the ‘78/‘79 Cadillac. Absolutely loved Jo-Han kits. I thought the wheels and grills were very detailed, and being from Detroit, didn’t mind that the police car and Ambulance were labeled City of Detroit.

I loved Jo-Han models. The only company to make Plymouth models. My first one was a 1964 Fury hardtop. I was seven years old. It cost $1.49 and my dad built it. Later, in the early '80s, I was a fan of the USA Oldies series. I also had quite a few X-EL re-issues. I learned alot about real cars by building models. A good company like Jo-Han would include the parts names on the instruction sheets as well as a story about the car. I miss Jo-Han

Back in the day, my favorite all-time car kit was the Jo-Han Chrysler Turbine Car. I remember my version was already molded in the iconic "Turbine Bronze" color. It built up very nicely and had very decent detail.

They had good market penetration and distribution here in the UK. Every model shop would have them in quantity. Always loved the unusual subjects, especially the hearse variants, the funny cars from the coolest era, '68-'72, and of course those ugly/beautiful '62 Dodge/Plymouths. I've still got a couple of unbuilt Jo-Hans - a Dragon Lady AMX and a Sox & Martin Cuda, and wish I had more. Great video - like to see one on the growth of the resin and photo-etched metal parts industries.

Great show Max. Thanks for sharing

I started my model building on Jo Han USA oldies. I was drawn to them because they were like the original promo cars. I was heartbroken when, retuning home for Thanksgiving break from my first year of college, my mother had sold all my model kits at a yard sale.

I have been building for over 40 years and still enjoy it. I always liked Jo Han kits, they had arguably the most consistently correct proportions and details of any of the US car kit manufacturers. I have several of their kits in my stash, a Maverick is next on the bench.

The only producer of 1965 Rambler Marlins!

My very first 1/25th scale model car was a pink and white Jo-Han 1959 Rambler wagon promo that my grandfather got for me when he bought his new 1959 Rambler American. My wagon was pink and white, and I had it for a number of years until it just disappeared. Considering I was only 4 years old when I got it, it stayed in remarkable condition those years I had it. I have since replaced it with a Seville built up.

Just found Dean’s model stop. They have Jo Han kits listed. I’ll see what I can find I sure hope we can have Toy fairs again

In the late 70:s when I was 12-13 my interest in plastic model kits was changed from mainly WWII aircraft to American cars. Jo-Han kits were found in a couple of toy/hobby stores in my home town of Turku, Finland. The pricing was higher than on the Monogram kits in department stores and the variety was limited. In early 1981 I went together with a couple of friends on a trip to the Hot Rod Show in Stockholm, Sweden. I was already a Mopar fan and just 6 months away from buying my first car, a 1965 Dodge Dart. I was thrilled to find the 1960 DeSoto Adventurer and the 1964 Petty Belvedere at the show. I was always concerned about not making them justice so they are still unbuilt almost 40 years later. The SC/Rambler and the Turbine Car have joined them in the later years. I do need to pick up a 68 Fury police car (have a 68 Fury I Nebraska State Police 2d sedan myself) and a few other Jo-Han models as well...

Thank you wonderful series on model kit manufacturers. As a native Detroiter, I was surprised to learn that many model kit manufacturers were started in the Metro Detroit.

Great video! Really pleased to have you back at it! Well done, keep 'em coming!

Hi Max, I've been following your videos for a while, they are great, congrats! I had no idea that Jo-Han Models' core business was model cars. I built the P-47 D. The kit was released in 1973 according Scalemates, and it is pretty good. The panel lines are recessed, which was not common back then. I built the razorback version. One thing drew my attention: the instruction sheet reads and I quote "This kit features JO-HAN's exclusive stacked FRAME PACK method of packaging" i.e. the same kind of sprues that model makers use these days. The decals were in good condition and I had no problems with them. Thanks for posting. Alex

Jo-Han kits were the best! Their quality was exceptional and attention to detail unsurpassed. I built several of the Turbine car kits over the years just because they were so much fun to build, and I remember building an Olds Cutlass 442, a couple of Superbirds, and a Roadrunner as well. I remember thinking, when picking out a model, my favorite brands, in order, were Jo-Han, IMC and MPC. Favorite IMC kits were the Cougar II and Mustang II, Ford GT, Little Red Wagon, and Dodge Cab Over tractor. MPC favorites were the 56/57 Corvette, Stingray, Charger III, and Deora. That said, I usually ended up with an AMT kit because they were cheaper and I liked the options of 3 in 1, although the "customized' and "stylized" parts lacked the detail of the stock version of the car, probably because they were not taken from existing cars. AMT kits were good, but didn't have the detail and number of parts that the others did. A Jo-Han kit in summer vacation filled my attention span for at least 3 days!

out of the 5 model car companies, i rate jo-han as the best

I remember building the Plymouth Fury (1966?) Police Car in the late 70's, since I was born in Dearborn, MI in 66'.

Fascinating video Max. It's a shame that Jo-han were so rare in the UK. I only ever had one but after building that I wanted more. It was what we would call nowadays "Tamiya Quality"...

Good job Max, there is much misinformation surrounding Jo-Han and to the best of my knowledge you've done a great job of sorting fact from fiction. Pity Okey didn't want to contribute, he's a fairly private individual and not an especially big fan of using computers from what experience I've had. It's not clear exactly what moulds he retains but if it hasn't been seen in the past 25 years it's probably gone for good. Moebius attempted to reissue the 1959 Rambler and '59 Dodge kits but copyright issues meant it never happened. They supposedly wanted $10,000 just to arrange a meeting to discuss it. Jo-Han always had highly accurate bodies but the until the mid 1960s the interiors were generally too shallow thanks to the generic chassis. The Turbine Car was an incredibly detailed model and one of the best engineered model kits ever issued. If the Heavenly Hearse seems in poor taste I'd imagine the Haulin' Hearse 4x4 dragster version would be considered even worse, they did a drag Ambulance too. Both are now rare. A friend who ran a model shop in the UK was always desperate to get Jo-Han kits into stock. They were briefly reissued in the late 1980s but it became sporadic as the company wound down. He finally arranged via letters and phonecalls to visit the factory and collect a box of kits. At a prearranged time someone met him outside, took his cash and told him to wait by another door at the back of the factory. He then had a case of new kits thrust into his arms and the door slammed shut... One day 3D printing might see some reissues of Jo-Han kits. We can hope.

I remember trying to customize a JoHan Plymouth Fury into a "Car 54 Where Are You?" police car, but it didn't work out. In retrospect, I think I used AMT Lacquer paint for the body and enamel paint for the white top. I worked in a hobby shop while in high school ('67-'68) and remember the Ambulance and Hearse being good, steady sellers. I do remember a couple of stories, though. I remember a 12 year-old kit buying the Hearse and coming back about 2 hours later to return it after being read the riot act by his mother. "You have brought a thing of death into our house!" There was a teen in our town who was badly hurt in an automobile accident and found building cars kits to be good therapy. So members of his family would come in to buy car kits for him. One day, an older woman came and picked a kit off the shelf without looking too closely at it. She brought it up to me and started talking bout how her injured relative loved working on car kits. She started to pay, and I said "Uh, it's an ambulance." "Oh, dear!", she said put the kit back on the shelf and picked up a different one. "Uh, it's a hearse.", I said. I then went to the shelf with her and helped her select a more appropriate kit.

I have lots of johan kits in my collection unbuilt very neat kits. Great review.😊

JO-HAN will always be my favorite!

I have Always loved Jo Han Models

In 1960 I was 6 years old and I received a Jo-Han promo car as a gift on my birthday. It was a light green 1960 Oldsmobile. It had a broken wheel. I hand wrote a letter to Jo-Han and asked how to buy a new wheel. They sent me a wheel free of charge. I was so happy. During the 1960s I built a lot of 1/25th scale models. The most detailed was a Chrysler Turbine car from the first run. I always thought Jo-Han kits were the highest quality models. AMT and MPC dominated my collection because they were in stock at the local hobby shop. Few Jo-Han kits were in the hobby shop where I lived.

I thuroughly enjoyed your video. The ONLY point I disagree with you on is the point about the Chrysler Turbine car. It wasn't a failier on Chrysler's part, it was shot down by the Federal Government. The original agreement included the destruction of ALL the Turbine cars at the end of a year of testing and development. Commercially, it was a huge success. I remember seeing one twice in Burlington, Vermont, driven by the president of Chittenden Trust Bank. What a THRILL it was to hear that "jet" engine passing by. And the design was so contemporary it could sell today. So, blame Washington, D. C. for the demise of that wonderful, futuristic car. And, THANK YOU for the wonderful story about Jo-Han. I loved their models as a kid.

I had heard that John also did work for Rubbermaid, making molds for them and other work. Have you heard this? A friend toured Jo-Han back in the late 70s and John told him that the 2tone promos were the work of John himself, that he sprayed every 2tone promo. I was told that the employees sold some of the metal dies for scrap metal in order to get paid as the company did not have any money for payroll. in this lean years.

Thank you for the video. I built many car models back in the day. And while Jo-Han models were fairly crude and basic construction wise, they did have great detail, and offered cars that others didn't. Having model cars of my dad's old 1964 Dodge and 1962 Plymouth was priceless as a kid. Thank you for the memories and fun.

Many years ago, i attended the John Carlisle toy show in Toledo, OH. We heard a rumor that many of the Jo-Han molds were scrapped. So sad.

I would love that 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner model kit ! I remember my father had it and I tore it up when I was about 4 years old in 1974. He kicked my butt all over the house like there was no tomorrow over that kit. and he never let me forget about it !

Imagine my surprise when I opened this video and one of the first things I see is a pic I took 11 years ago of a stack of models I had just bought at a local flea market. I was certainly not expecting that. LOL Anyway, thanks for posting the videos. More people have probably seen my pic now then the 11 years it's been in my Fotki account. LOL

In the early 90's Big lots got a huge amount of Jo-Han model cars. They had numerous copies of the rare 1962 Olds F-85 Cutlass. I bought two and wish I had bought every model they had.

My neighbor has a huge collection of the promo models that he has been collecting since childhood. One of the best collections I've ever seen.

I built some Jo-Han kits as a kid, the Ambulance, Turbine Car, a few Drag Racers and some of their aircraft kits...including one of the "Battle Damaged" versions. At one point I had a Jo-Han P{romo of the Turbine Car, don't recall what happened to it. I always liked Jo-Han models.

As a former Studebaker Lark owner, I used to be on the lookout for Lark toys and kits and, besides Jo-Han, I don't think anyone else made a Studebaker Lark model, besides a 1/32 Hawk kit that was given away by General Mills as a cereal box top premium. (I'll be happy to be proven wrong.) I have three of their '62 Larks - two kit convertibles and a promo hardtop, plus a '61 promo hardtop.

I am not sure I ever built a Jo-Han kit but I remember them on shelves for sure! Your history videos are wonderful and very-well researched. They bring back memories of a hobby I still pursue today... in more ways than one! Keep up the great work and thanks!!!!

Back in the latter 1980s, I produced the water transfer decals for the Jo-Han model kit product line. Would sure love to print for those kits again.

I used to represent Okey in the early 2000's and sold his Johan models to hobby stores around my manufacturer's rep territory in the midwest. Unfortunately after retiring and slowing down my own kit building I've lost touch with Okey over the years. Still have some of his unbuilt kits and many that I've built.

As a youngster in the 60's, JoHan Mopars were the best. I still have about 25 unbuilt kits in the stash, My favorites being the furys!

Great historical video documentary. Never seen or built a Jo-Han model but the photos look amazing.

I loved the Jo-Han models I got in the 50's and built Jo-Han kit (among others) through the mid-60's. I now have a sizable promo/friction collection across model companies. But I was able to order the several re-issues from Jo-Han before a 1991 vacation trip through the mid-west. I picked them up at the factory building you showed. I am so glad I got to visit the factory before it was too late and I still have those particular models with which I was very pleased. Thanks so much for this history video!!

The 1968 Plymouth Fury I police car kit, derived from the Fury III hardtop kit was the first accurate 1/25 scale police car kit. AMT followed up with the 1970 Ford Custom 500 police car a couple of years later based on the 70 LTD 4-door hardtop.

The Chrysler Turbine was not a "commercial failure" as you state. It was never offered for sale, they were test vehicles given to the public for a short time to test the waters for the feasibility of selling turbine powered vehicles to the general public. The results were favorable from the public however, the high cost of the heat resistant metals used in the engine made offering to the public cost-prohibitive.

I remember buying Jo-Han kits in the late 80’s. I was one of those kids who preferred station wagons and ambulances to the usual Chevelles and Mustangs. I think it was Hobby Heaven that had them. I don’t know if they were old stock or some of the last kits they were making at the time. I just remember the boxes looking like something from a different era, now I know why. 😂