Atlantis Models: Model Kits From Vintage Tooling

What Atlantis Models makes

Atlantis Models calls itself an American manufacturer of plastic model kits, "proudly made and packaged in the USA." Its website says many of its kits use "original vintage tooling" associated with older model companies, and it names Revell, Monogram, Aurora and Renwal. Tooling means the steel molds that shape the plastic parts.

The site sells car, airplane, ship, military vehicle, figure, space and sci-fi, engine, STEM and snap kits, plus decals, display cases, tools and supplies.

On Amazon US, our data holds 41 live Atlantis listings:

• Car kits: 18, from 1/16 funny cars to 1/32 Route 32 cars
• Aircraft kits: 14, including two engine kits and a missile
• Ship kits: 7, including the USS Ticonderoga CV-14 aircraft carrier at 1/500
• Military: 1, an M4 Sherman at 1/48
• Others: a 1/8 glow-in-the-dark figure kit

Atlantis models with vintage tooling: what that means for you

Old molds make old-style kits. That's the appeal. You get subjects that newer kit makers don't touch: Tom Daniel show rods, 1950s experimental jets, a missile with three figures.

It also means you should read each listing closely. Our data can't tell you how detailed each kit is, because most Atlantis listings don't state a piece count or skill level. Check the parts photos.

Atlantis car kits

The car kits are the most detailed part of the Atlantis data, and they fall into four groups.

Drag cars and funny cars

Seven Atlantis car kits carry a drag-racing tag in our data.

• Green Elephant Chevy Vega Funny Car, 1/16
• Funny Car Mickey Thompson Marines, 1/16
• 1957 Tom McEwen's Chevy Funneaker, 1/24
• Tom McEwen Rear Engine Dragster, 1/24
• Don "The Snake" Prudhomme's AA Fuel Dragster, 1/24
• Swamp Rat XXX Dragster, 1/25, ages 14+
• Keelers Kustom's Studebaker Funny Car, 1/25

The two 1/16 funny cars are the biggest cars in the Atlantis grid. A 1/16 car is half again as long as the same car at 1/24, since 24 divided by 16 is 1.5. Long dragsters at 1/24 also take real shelf length, because the real cars were long.

One more Prudhomme kit sits with the cars: the Pepsi Challenger Trans Am at 1/24. Its listing gives only the name and the scale in our data, so check the box photos for what comes in it.

Show rods and customs

Show rods are custom cars built for display, often wild. Atlantis lists two Tom Daniel show rods at 1/24, the Sidewinder Custom Show Rod and the Pie Wagon Show Rod, plus the Ed Roth Drag Nut at 1/25 and a Keelers Custom Competition T Roadster Pickup at 1/25.

These are fun subjects with a lot of chrome and character. They also need paint and glue, per the listings that state it.

Route 32: 1/32 classics

Three Atlantis car kits carry the Route 32 name, all at 1/32: a 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS, a 1971 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and a 1956 Buick Century Custom. The Firebird lists 46 pieces, skill level 2 and a 6 in finished length.

At 1/32 these are smaller than the 1/24 and 1/25 cars most builders shelve. A 1/32 car is about 78% the length of the same car at 1/25. They're a good fit for a short shelf or a first glue kit.

Classic full-size cars

The 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham is 1/25, 47 pieces, about 8 in finished, decals included. The 1955 Chevy XPARTS is 1/25, ages 14+, also about 8 in.

Atlantis aircraft kits

The aircraft kits are where the odd scales live. Here's a sample from the grid:

• Northrop F-89D Scorpion, 1/77
• Lockheed F-94C Starfire Interceptor with Swivel Stand, 1/56
• Convair B-58 Hustler, 1/91
• Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune Operation Deep Freeze, 1/104
• B-29 Superfortress, 1/120
• Boeing 2707 Supersonic Transport (SST), 1/400
• AH-56A Cheyenne, 1/72, ages 14+

And at 1/48, the scale most aircraft builders know: the Curtiss Jenny JN-4, the Saab J-35 Draken, the Convair XFY-1 Pogo and the Fokker DR.1 Death Angel, which states paint and glue required and decals included.

If your shelf is built around 1/72 or 1/48, mixed scales stand out. A 1/77 jet next to 1/72 jets looks like a younger brother. That's fine on its own shelf or a desk, less fine in a matched row.

Clear parts and stands

Most of these aircraft have a clear canopy over the cockpit, and clear parts need different handling from the rest of the kit. Tamiya's guide lists a separate multipurpose cement for clear and plated parts. Use a clear-part glue like that, apply very little, and fit the canopy after the paint is dry. Mask it before you spray the airframe.

The F-94C Starfire title includes a swivel stand, which is the one Atlantis listing in the grid that says how the model is meant to sit. The Talos missile comes with three figures, per its title, so it's a small scene in one box. The rest of the aircraft titles don't mention stands, so plan a base or a spot where the landing gear won't get knocked.

Engine and missile kits

Two Atlantis aircraft listings are engines, not airplanes: the Allison Model 501-D13 Prop-Jet Aircraft Engine at 1/10 and the Wright Cyclone Radial Aircraft Engine C9HE at 1/12. A third is the Bendix Talos Missile with Three Figures at 1/40.

Lucho read the engine listings twice. "A radial engine at 1/12 is a cutaway diagram you get to glue together. At the shop we just get the diagram." He asked which cylinder goes on first. The manual will say.

Atlantis ship kits

The ship kits are a mix of warships and one working boat:

• USS Ticonderoga CV-14 Aircraft Carrier, 1/500
• USS Pittsburgh CA-72 Heavy Cruiser
• USS Wisconsin BB-64 Battleship, listed as 16"
• Bismarck German Battleship, listed as 16 Inch
• USS Destry, 1:320, ages 14+
• USS Bainbridge Guided Missile Frigate, 1/600
• Skipjack Oyster Boat Carrie Price, 1/60

Two battleships are listed by length, 16 in, instead of by scale. That's the box telling you the shelf space directly. I find that refreshing.

The Skipjack oyster boat is the only working boat in the Atlantis grid. Everything else floats for a navy.

The odd ones in the grid

One Atlantis listing doesn't fit the car, plane, ship or tank groups. The Phantom of The Opera Glow in The Dark kit is a 1/8 figure kit, filed under figures in our data.

How to pick within Atlantis

Start with what you want to look at, then check two things on the listing.

1. Scale: for cars, 1/24 and 1/25 match most shelves. 1/32 is smaller, 1/16 much bigger. For aircraft, only the 1/48 and 1/72 kits match common collections.
2. Parts photo: Atlantis listings rarely state piece counts. The runner photo tells you how busy the build is.

For a first Atlantis kit, a Route 32 car is a sensible start: 1/32, a stated skill level 2 on the Firebird, and a short, clear parts list. For a builder who already has a few kits done, a 1/24 dragster or show rod is a good next step. The 1/16 funny cars and the big bombers are longer projects with more shelf to plan.

Ages are listed on only four Atlantis kits in our data, and all four say 14+. Treat 14+ as the floor where it's listed. Where it isn't, look at the parts photo and the size of the smallest parts before you hand the box to a younger builder.

Test fit before you glue

With any kit, and especially one from older molds, dry-fit the parts before the cement comes out. Hold the two halves together and look for gaps. Sand the edges where they don't meet. Then glue.

Tamiya's guide lists putty for filling holes between parts and fixing dents, followed by sanding. A small tube of putty and a sanding stick will handle most seams. Fill thin, sand smooth, and repeat if the line still shows. Two thin passes look better than one thick one.

It's slower than gluing straight from the bag. It's also the difference between a seam you see from across the room and one you have to look for.

Give odd scales their own shelf

Atlantis's mixed scales are easiest to enjoy when you stop trying to match them. A 1/91 bomber, a 1/77 jet and a 1/56 interceptor won't line up with a 1/72 collection. Put them together on one shelf as a group of Cold War designs and the scale question goes away. The shelf becomes a subject, not a size chart.

The 16-inch battleships work the same way. They're listed by length, so you know the space before you open the box. Measure the shelf, compare it to 16 in, and leave an inch at each end for your fingers.

What you need besides the kit

Ten Atlantis listings say paint and glue are required and not included. Assume the same for the rest unless the title says snap. Tamiya's modeling guide lists the basic toolkit: side cutters, a hobby knife, files and sanding sponges, plastic cement, primer and paint. For older molds, add a sanding stick for seams and a little patience for parts that need a test fit.

Eight Atlantis listings say decals are included. Decals are the printed markings you slide onto the finished paint.

Safety at the bench

Work with good ventilation and follow the paint or cement maker's label for masks and gloves. The U.S. EPA lists hobby products and paints among indoor sources of solvent fumes. Cut away from your body on a cutting mat, and keep blades away from kids.

Who should skip Atlantis for now

If you want a kit with the piece count, skill level and age stated on every listing, Atlantis's listings mostly won't give you that. If your collection is strictly 1/72 or 1/48 aircraft, only a handful of Atlantis kits will match it. And if your first kit has to go together without glue, look at snap kits from another maker first.

Related makers

Atlantis names Revell and Monogram among the companies whose vintage tooling it uses. For current kits under those names, see Revell and Monogram. For more American cars at 1/25, see AMT.

Read the scale twice. On these boxes, it's rarely a round number.