With all the new tjet copies coming out these days I was wondering it anyone has any tips for telling them apart. With so many sellers on ebay trying to pass new bodies as Tjets it would be helpful if the experienced members could point out diffennces for the inexperienced.

Bob, a real tjet isn't painted. It is molded in its color. The paint was only for the stripes and trim. Then there was chrome. You know what that is and it was melted on so to speak. In other words, if the inside isn't the same as the outside it's a remake. Make them prove it before letting go of good pocket change.

I've been collecting slots for some 20 years now. I still get fooled from time to time, until I get a closer look. Just be careful, look for that plastic color. Also, perfect chrome can be a good give away. A 30 or 40 year old car is going to show chrome wear unless it's mint in box.

What about glass? Was org. T-Jet glass glued or melted in?

usually glue..and gobs of it on fridays at 5 o-clock. :)

Thanks Guys some good tips. I remember reading a while back that the bumpers on newer cars were clued in and not melted in like Jtets, is this still true ?

Pick up a copy of Bob Beer's book for reference. It's the bible for Aurora Tjet and AFX cars you can't live without. :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr

I picked Bob's book at one of his shows years ago, but I moved from a house to an apartment. Sorry to say most of my slot car stuff is packed away in the very back of a large storage trailer and I can't get to it without removing a lot of boxes. I am somewhat of a packrat so I have a lot of differnt collectables ( collectables to me maybe just junk or stuff to others ) I am going to make the effort to get my slots out of there this summer. I have hundreds in there and I do miss messing with them.

Aurora did paint some of the black cars.
If the car is in person, I was told this trick a long time ago, Hold the car about 3" from the table and drop it, if it makes a ""tink/tink ""sound its probably original, as resin copies, no matter how good, will make a ""thunk/thunk"" sound.

Aurora did paint some of the black cars.
If the car is in person, I was told this trick a long time ago, Hold the car about 3" from the table and drop it, if it makes a ""tink/tink ""sound its probably original, as resin copies, no matter how good, will make a ""thunk/thunk"" sound.

Yup, and if ya hear "tink/tink" and it was a tan car, sweep the pieces into your palm, hold it up and ask how much.
Tan Aurora cars are unsafe at any height because the 40 year old plastic has gassed out and become brittle. BEWARE! They will explode in shipping, in your hand, sitting on a shelf and certainly if dropped.

Yup, and if ya hear "tink/tink" and it was a tan car, sweep the pieces into your palm, hold it up and ask how much.
Tan Aurora cars are unsafe at any height because the 40 year old plastic has gassed out and become brittle. BEWARE! They will explode in shipping, in your hand, sitting on a shelf and certainly if dropped.

Even if you you look at them funny!! :tongue: POW!!!! :lol:

Too funny....lemmee see if I got this straight...

If I drop it from the stratosphere and it goes "tink" before it vaporizes then I'm good to go....but if it goes "tunk" and stays together it's bad cuz it's a resin copy.

Try using a small implement of sorts, say like the handle of the same screw driver you use for chassis removal. Ya dont have to wind up on it like Hank Aaron either...check your swing and use.... yeah you guessed it... the most important tool... your ear.

I check where the ejector pins hit the underside of the body when the body is popped from the mold. The print should be well defined and have a fairly crisp edge.

Smooth glue on early roofs. Bubbly glue or "club soda" is indicative of a testors tube re-deaux.

Are the index buttons for the roof and bumper neatly smelted or photon torpedoed with crispy cajun edges no doubt from a direct hit by a klingon bird of prey?

Check the striping. Most all stripes will avoid problem areas like trunk and hood seams...unless absolutely unavoidable....the factory was pretty cagey. Under Magnification the original work will have a soft almost fuzzy edge. Look for tape edges and sprays that are too perfect. Most originals have imperfections where the masks fold or wrap around edges. Chargers and Camaros are good examples to learn on. Look low on the body...Check it out!

Plating that looks too good ....generally is ...

Thankfully the original stuff was quite good as to the actual shape and finish of the base part but the plating sucked. Most all repops are kinda gnarbly and weird under the plating and it shows when properly lighted and viewed at the correct angle. Replated old stock is fairly obvious because it looks too good to be true and in all but rare cases the index buttons are trimmed or short from removal.

Re-buffs have an eery shine that never was original. In all but the rarest of cases they can be spotted by looking closely at originally molded edges that should be crisp. They will appear smoothed, blunted, or rolled from the buffing process. Magnification will often find compound remnents if they didnt scrub the body thoroughly.

There's more of course, but this is my quick list that will cover most contingencies from original to resto'ed to hacked.

Good luck! :thumbsup: