As I rediscover the scale model hobby, my memory takes me back to my childhood in the early 'seventies. Back then, the neighborhood drug store maintained a decent inventory of plastic kits. Many of them sold for well under a dollar, which meant that a kid with a pocketful of change could afford them. What stands out most in my memory are those 1/32 scale models of 1930's and 1940's cars by Palmer Plastics.

Like AMT and MPC, Palmer offered a series of "annual" kits, featuring cars from the current model year. These were the "bad" kits to be avoided. Palmer's outdated molding process meant multi-piece bodies with shallow interiors. The individual parts were poorly-engineered with terrible fit and often with inaccurate shapes. Again, these were "junk" models, only of interest to nostalgic collectors.

Not all offered by Palmer was "junk," though. Through a mold-sharing program with Pyro, Palmer offered a budget version of Pyro's "Table Top" series. These were a selection of 1930's through 1950's cars in approximately 1/32 scale. Price was kept at 29 to 60 cents through the omission of clear or chrome parts.

Although these "Budget Pyros" were basic by today's standards, they were fairly accurate in their overall shape and detail. Engineering was fair-to-good with decent fit, in spite of multi-part bodies. The primary weakness of these kits was aging molds leading to excessive flash.

I built about a half-dozen of these Palmer cars in the early 'seventies, and really enjoyed them. Most were later reissued by Life-Like and Lindberg, and remain available. An experienced model builder can make these basic kits look rather nice.