# 1964 Revell John Lennon



## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

I just finished this original Revell John Lennon.... he turned out pretty cool... the likeness isn't the best, but I think he does look like John. Really fun kit to build. I'm now working on George and I'll have all four original kits. Did someone say this hobby can be an obsession??!! - Denis


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Very Cool :thumbsup:
Excellent job and Great color choice!
Actually the likeness isn't all tht bad
...as for this Hobby being an Obsession....
Don't know where you read that ?
Denis


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

mcdougall said:


> Very Cool :thumbsup:
> Excellent job and Great color choice!
> Actually the likeness isn't all tht bad
> ...as for this Hobby being an Obsession....
> ...


Thanks, McDee!!! I knew I'd heard that somewhere!!!:tongue: - Denis


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## OKCmike (Aug 22, 2010)

Very nice paint up man, crisp & clean, looks sharp!


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

That's great!


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## BadRonald (Jun 2, 2000)

Nice job! I always wondered why they had John playing an acoustic.I wish they had him playing the Rick! I loved these kits as a kid and I hope that they get re-released someday.


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

Didn't Lennon have darker colored hair? The kit also looks like Wil Wheaton.

The clothes are painted very realistically.


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

I really like the style this is painted in. It reminds me of an old magazine ad.


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

BadRonald said:


> Nice job! I always wondered why they had John playing an acoustic.I wish they had him playing the Rick! I loved these kits as a kid and I hope that they get re-released someday.


Thanks, for all the kind comments!! They are appreciated.

It would have been very cool if they'd had Lennon playing his Rickenbacker. When searching for reference photos for '63 and '64 there were lots of images with him and this acoustic/electric. I agree though the Rickenbacker would have been great!

- Denis


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## flyingfrets (Oct 19, 2001)

dklange said:


> It would have been very cool if they'd had Lennon playing his Rickenbacker.


Scratchbuild one. I used to build guitar models about that scale out of little scraps and odds & ends from other projects.

Not difficult at all. Find a decent "head on" shot of the Rick and resize it to the appropriate scale. Trace it onto a small piece of sheet styrene and you're more than 1/2 way there!

Looks great BTW!!!


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## bizzarobrian (Oct 4, 2009)

BadRonald said:


> Nice job! I always wondered why they had John playing an acoustic.I wish they had him playing the Rick! I loved these kits as a kid and I hope that they get re-released someday.


My guess is they may have had to get a separate licensing from Rickenbacker to use their guitars.They all originally used Rickenbackers.


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## bizzarobrian (Oct 4, 2009)

I have both John & George on their way in the mail.Can hardly wait.I want to modify their guitars to look like their original Rickenbackers.


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## bizzarobrian (Oct 4, 2009)

dklange said:


> I just finished this original Revell John Lennon.... he turned out pretty cool... the likeness isn't the best, but I think he does look like John. Really fun kit to build. I'm now working on George and I'll have all four original kits. Did someone say this hobby can be an obsession??!! - Denis


Excellent Bro!!


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Great job Denis. And over the years I've come to like Lennon more than McCartney. It appears Denis's think alike! I'd like to get a set of these being a huge Beatles fan but when I look they go for big bucks on eBay which makes sense. Did you pick these up recently or have them stashed away from long ago?

Bob K.


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

rkoenn said:


> Great job Denis. And over the years I've come to like Lennon more than McCartney. It appears Denis's think alike! I'd like to get a set of these being a huge Beatles fan but when I look they go for big bucks on eBay which makes sense. Did you pick these up recently or have them stashed away from long ago?
> 
> Bob K.


Having grown up in the sixties I've been a Beatle fan most of my life... I didn't know these existed until a little over a year ago.... I found Paul on eBay and was hooked!! I now have all four originals and have really enjoyed working on them. I don't like the lighting on these shots of John... he really looks better than the photos... oh well! 

George actually played a Gretsch Country Gentleman in the early days.

- Denis


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

Nice job Denis on the John Lennon kit...looks very good!
I like how well you painted the guitar...the frets must have been fun to do!:freak:

MMM


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I think I started with Sgt. Peppers and MMT around Xmas of 10th grade. That completely turned me into a Beatles nut. Then I bought the beginning and intermediate years to catch up right after that. Back then an album was a major purchase when doing it from lawn mowing or grocery bagging pay. I bought Abbey Road upon release and it is still my favorite album of all time. I also remember going to the theater the summer of 1970 I believe to see Let It Be which I still think is a great movie showing them in the studio although they were getting on each other's nerves at that time and were about to break up. The rooftop concert is great and I believe there are resin kits of them on the rooftop I might be interested in some day. My wife and I have gone to some Classic Albums Live Beatles concerts down here in Florida and they really do recreate the music like the albums. Anyway, I am going to keep my eye out for these on eBay although I think they will likely be out of a comfortable price for me. I saw someone selling a broken up partial set a couple of weeks ago that still commanded a high selling price.

Bob K.


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## Captain Han Solo (Apr 5, 2002)

EXCELLENT JOB!!VERY WELL DONE SIR.

Lennon played an acoustic Gibson J- 160 E on many, many Beatles Recordings..so it's an acurrate Model..And Lennon's Hair was Lighter, so good job on that as well.:thumbsup:

Yes, the Guitar that they have with the George is supposed to be a Gretsch Country Gentleman.


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## Captain Han Solo (Apr 5, 2002)

bizzarobrian said:


> My guess is they may have had to get a separate licensing from Rickenbacker to use their guitars.They all originally used Rickenbackers.


 
.....Only John originally used a Rickenbacker Guitar, a 1958 natural/Blonde Rickenbacker 325.(Lennon later painted it, or rather had it painted Black).

Harrison was given a Rickenbacker twelve string(360-12) By John Hall in late 1964 during the rehearsals for the Ed Sullivan show.

Paul was offered his 4001 Rick bass in 64, but declined,only to accept it later in 1965.


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

rkoenn said:


> I think I started with Sgt. Peppers and MMT around Xmas of 10th grade. That completely turned me into a Beatles nut. Then I bought the beginning and intermediate years to catch up right after that. Back then an album was a major purchase when doing it from lawn mowing or grocery bagging pay. I bought Abbey Road upon release and it is still my favorite album of all time. I also remember going to the theater the summer of 1970 I believe to see Let It Be which I still think is a great movie showing them in the studio although they were getting on each other's nerves at that time and were about to break up. The rooftop concert is great and I believe there are resin kits of them on the rooftop I might be interested in some day. My wife and I have gone to some Classic Albums Live Beatles concerts down here in Florida and they really do recreate the music like the albums. Anyway, I am going to keep my eye out for these on eBay although I think they will likely be out of a comfortable price for me. I saw someone selling a broken up partial set a couple of weeks ago that still commanded a high selling price.
> 
> Bob K.


My first was the Penny Lane "45" and then the "Yesterday and Today" LP, probably in 1965 or '66. Great music!! I just bought the "White" album on CD... was never my favorite but it has lots of good songs on it. Abbey Road is certainly one of their best!! My wife bought me a Beatles book and I found a photo from a TV rehearsal from 1963 with these guitars and the dark gray suits... I've used it for reference for all four of the kits. Those resin kits sound pretty cool also... do you know who produces them?

Thanks, again, guys for the good comments... they are very encouraging!!

- Denis


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## spideydroogy (Oct 15, 2010)

Very nicely done! I love the Beatles. Here is a website that has paper models of guitars http://www.paperguitar.com/downloads/paper-model/guitars.html free to download. They have models of the Gretsch, Rickenbacker and Hofner bass guitar. They would have to be scaled down to work with the Beatles models. I've built a couple of these and they are very challenging.


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

As a fan of the Beatles and your work, I salute this latest effort. Very well done--as usual. While I second much that has been said about Abbey Road and MMT and obviously recognize the brilliance of Sgt Pepper, my favorites are Beatles for Sale, Revolver, and Rubber Soul. I'm also a huge fan of Lennon's solo work, even the radical and offbeat Sometime in New York City has a prominent place on my ipod. I just tune out Yoko.


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## wolfman66 (Feb 18, 2006)

Denis sweet job done on the Lennon kit and man wish had them myself.But looking forward to seeing ya get done with the rest of them.:thumbsup:


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

I think Postumos Productions makes resin guitars. Many famous ones to choose from. Didn't Paul play an Ampeg bass?


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Here are some Posthumous Productions Beatles kits from around 2005. I found these pics on the web and remember seeing them available around the same time either in AFM, Modeler's Resource, or Kitbuilders magazine. I tried finding the ad last night but didn't have any luck but did see a brief new products notice about the set of early Beatles kits. If they put them back into production I'd like to pick up a set of the early and late Beatles from them. They are definitely a good looking set.





































Bob K.


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## Captain Han Solo (Apr 5, 2002)

btbrush said:


> I think Postumos Productions makes resin guitars. Many famous ones to choose from. Didn't Paul play an Ampeg bass?


 
???????????

Paul played/plays a Hofner 500/1 Bass.:thumbsup:


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

Thanks for the really nice comments guys!! 

Thanks, Bob for the info and images of the Posthumous Productions Beatles kits, they look pretty cool. I wonder if they'll be at Wonderfest? I'd really like to do a set of the guys from the January '69 "Rooftop" concert.

- Denis


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Well Posthumous Productions per se is not really in business anymore unfortunately. I believe that someone involved with them still does nameplates and replacement heads for monster models. They can be reached at Posthumous Productions, PO Box 59, Flanders, NJ 07836. If the guy operating it still had the molds and was willing to pour a set I'd certainly be interested, at least at a somewhat reasonable price. I may have an email for him as well. Here is a picture of their display at Chiller 2006 and you can see some more Beatles figures including a classic Sgt. Peppers with a real character rather than the comic character.










Bob K.


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## Roy Kirchoff (Jan 1, 1970)

Solid work. Well done!

~RK~


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

Considering it's a Revell kit,it looks pretty much like john Lennon with your excellent paint job.Hard to do better with what you have in the first place.Although someone might criticize the hair color,it brings something special to this kit.The face is more noticable this way.:thumbsup:


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## bizzarobrian (Oct 4, 2009)

mcdougall said:


> Very Cool :thumbsup:
> Excellent job and Great color choice!
> Actually the likeness isn't all that bad
> ...as for this Hobby being an Obsession....
> ...


I don`t have a problem with that Lennon sculpt.I admit it`s not spot on but it`s still very much like him.Sometimes when the celeb ok`s a sculpt they demand the likeness not to be perfect.Schwartneggar is a classic example.I know some people have worked as sculptors for different action figure companies & they claim that he makes it clear that he doesn`t approve spot on sculpts.He wants a genetic Arnold.The Aurora figure kits are not spot on either but I still love them & enjoy building them.I loved the Bonanza kits Revell did.I thought they looked great.


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## corlando52 (Sep 1, 2004)

*Guitars*

Actually, John used the Rick 325 short scale, and George used a Gretsch Country Gentleman, then Tennesean, the difference being in the double cutaway and single cutaway, respectively. Then George used his 12 String Rick, which was actually given to him by Rickenbacher, and was the 2nd one every made. He used that a while, during the Hard Day's Night period and while touring. John liked to use his Gibson 160J Acoustic guitar during that period, and you can see him using it in the opening of Help!. It had a unique sound when plugged in, and you can hear it feeding back and during the opening riff of I Feel Fine.
Of course, Paul played a Hofner bass during all of this.
Later on, John and George would play Gibson SGs, Fenders, Gibson Les Pauls...whatever they could get their hands on. For the later touring dates, they would use their Epiphone Casinos, and John stripped his down to the wood and used it for their last "rooftop concert" playing lead on Get Back.

Chris (the Beatles guy)


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

Speaking of the devil.There is a resin copy of one of the Revell Beatles on E-Bay for $25.00 I believe.


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