Revell announces new line of snap kits

[Ron Hamilton]

Kudos to Revell for making this move. While the concept and subject matter does not appeal to me, there is a place for them amoung us "serious" modelers. Can you say "slump buster"? The concept looks to be similar to the original pre-painted Polar Lights' '65 Coronets and '64 GTO's, only using contemporary cars in their line which are already tooled-up. In the right color with a decent finish, I may be in for a couple myself.

[1972coronet]

Yes ! "Slump-Buster" is another great way to look at these kits ! That's another great point .

[Dave]

I think it's a great idea that Revell is trying. I'm curious to see what the prices will be though. I've often seen kids looking at kits in the LHS only to be turned away by mom or dad once you start adding up the prices, kit, glue, maybe bottle of paint. Hopefully there will be a few different colors for each kit too. Two kids, two colors, etc...

[Austin T]

I think it's a great idea that Revell is trying. I'm curious to see what the prices will be though. I've often seen kids looking at kits in the LHS only to be turned away by mom or dad once you start adding up the prices, kit, glue, maybe bottle of paint. Hopefully there will be a few different colors for each kit too. Two kids, two colors, etc...

Working in a hobby shop I can tell you firsthand that most parents put the kit back on the shelf when told they need paint glue and other supplies. They don't really want to spend more than the 20 bucks for the kit.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Austin T

[Scuderia]

Yeah I can see price being an issue for sure, but I might check em out and see what's cookin

[Chuck Most]

AMT/Round2 (or 'DoAllSer' as the insiders call it) have already done the Camaro ZL1, not sure why Revell would do that also. Now the '14 Z-28 would be interesting to see...

DoAllSer is the Chinese molding company Round2 contracts to mold their kits- nobody refers to Round 2 as DoAllSer... They're two completely different companies.

[Rob Hall]

DoAllSer is the Chinese molding company Round2 contracts to mold their kits- nobody refers to Round 2 as DoAllSer... They're two completely different companies.

I know, I know.. I mentioned that because a certain 'insider' was throwing that name around once in a thread like we were all supposed to know it..(it's just trivia that really means nothing)

Edited February 18, 2014 by Rob Hall

[Chuck Most]

I know, I know.. I mentioned that because a certain 'insider' was throwing that name around once in a thread like we were all supposed to know it..(it's just trivia that really means nothing)

I got that... just putting it out there more for the benefit of guys like that than you.

[Rob Hall]

Oh, I think I'll come out and say what Brett so diplomatically tried to get across....

The average American car modeler is a whiney cheapskate!

Yes, that's just the way it is..whiners gonna whine, haters gonna hate. I don't understand why the hobby is a magnet for cheapskates..I don't see that in other pastimes/interests I'm involved in.

[Chuck Most]

Yes, that's just the way it is..whiners gonna whine, haters gonna hate. I don't understand why the hobby is a magnet for cheapskates..I don't see that in other pastimes/interests I'm involved in.

I've wondered that exact same thing myself- or the guy will splurge in one area or another to offset a 'pricey' kit. (IE- the modeler will buy top-notch, brand name paint and never spend more than ten bucks on a kit, no matter how nice it is, or vice versa). I see it this way... Which is cheaper.... building a model the way you want it, or building the 1:1 the way you want it? Looking at it from that perspective (as I do) I'd say car modeling is a pretty cheap hobby. I'm just hoping what James says holds true- that these will have better chassis detail than the AMT Showroom Replicas series. If the '10 Mustang Convertible snap kit is any indication, I'd say there's nothing to fear in that regard.

Funny how people who complain about these choices are also the first to jump up on the Tamiya (or whatever Japanese company) band wagon over what are essentially expensive curb sides (with exceptions of course) and sing to high heaven their praises.

Thank you! I'm just sick of hearing of the supposed superiority of Tamiya models in general... on average, they're no better or worse than any of the other Japanese kit manufacturers (in fact I'd say I generally favor Fujimi kits over Tamiya kits as far as Japanese kits go, though Aoshima is giving them all a run for their money these days), nor are they much better or worse than anything produced by any other kit manufacturer from any other country. Unless you're talking Ferraris- Tamiya has great Ferrari kits down to a science. Tamiya has quite a few shining stars... and their share of stinkers, same as everybody else. Sure, they get the body and interior details right most of the time, but you're paying for that with simplification elsewhere in most places. Weird how companies like Revell get bashed for simplified subassemblies, but when Tamiya does it, nobody bats an eyelash...

[martinfan5]

Well, my guess is that is because Tamiya kits generally pass the "sit on the shelf and look like the 1:1 vehicles they are supposed to represent" test with flying colors, and with Revell kits, that's very much a hit-and-miss proposition these days. I know I would have no problem with simplified subassemblies in Revell kits if it meant them getting the bodies right on a more consistent basis.

Let me add to this , one other thing is that people expect that , or they know that is how a good portion of kits from the Japanese companys are going to be.

Edited February 18, 2014 by martinfan5

[Chuck Most]

Well, my guess is that is because Tamiya kits generally pass the "sit on the shelf and look like the 1:1 vehicles they are supposed to represent" test with flying colors, and with Revell kits, that's very much a hit-and-miss proposition these days. I know I would have no problem with simplified subassemblies in Revell kits if it meant them getting the bodies right on a more consistent basis.

True enough- Revell doesn't have much trouble with late model vehicles, but their '50's - '70's kits can be a bit iffy. (Of course I'm talking about recently tooled kits of subjects of that vintage, not actual Revell tooling from that time.) I'd still be willing to bet that if Tamiya were to produce a kit of the current Mustang, it would not be as good as the existing Revell kit, even though the Tamiya fanboys would never allow anyone to hold that opinion. Tamiya doesn't do early "domestic" subjects, so there's really no way to tell if, for example, a '70 Barracuda or '69 Nova done by Tamiya would be any better than the Revell versions. All I know is that traditionally speaking Tamiya's kits of North American subjects have always been compromised, but you're right about them looking like the real deal on the shelf. I'd have to agree 100% with your way of thinking regarding simplification vs. overall accuracy. A great engine and chassis don't really mean much when there is either one big flaw or a series of little ones with regards to the appearance of the body, but I can live with a curbside kit that looks the part if that's the only choice I've got.

[Brett Barrow]

I know, I know.. I mentioned that because a certain 'insider' was throwing that name around once in a thread like we were all supposed to know it..(it's just trivia that really means nothing)

I refer to the "showroom replicas" line of unassembled promos as DoAllSer because the promo contract was done directly with them while AMT was still in limbo during the RC2-Round2 transition. DoAllSer is one of several (5?) factories that are used to produce Round2's lines of products.

[blubaja]

Tamiya recognized long ago that North American subjects weren't its strong suit, which, I am guessing, is why it has done so few of them and hasn't done any in, what, 15 years, at least?

Tamiyas Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee were amazing kits. Very well detailed. Their 90s Mustangs were great also. I wish they still did more US subjects. But when Revell tried to make the Impreza, the rear c pillar was way fubar. So yes, I would choose a foreign company over Revell any day because I don't have to worry about the body looking all wonky.

[blubaja]

Working in a hobby shop I can tell you firsthand that most parents put the kit back on the shelf when told they need paint glue and other supplies. They don't really want to spend more than the 20 bucks for the kit.

And it sucks, they'll drop $60 on a stupid video game. This hobby just isn't going to work with this new generation.

[Chuck Most]

Could be- I remember their Mustang Cobra R not being much to crow about compared to the Revel-o-gram (or even AMT/Ertl) kits of the same subject, and costing about twice as much. 'Then again, that last issue might have been what really killed their efforts with the North American subject matter... but that's a whole 'nother ballgame.

[niteowl7710]

Tamiya's kits of "American" cars (with the exception of the Mustang) weren't North American model vehicles either, they were the Euro Spec export versions, which is why they tended to be trimmed "incorrectly".

[Greg Myers]

Tamiya recognized long ago that North American subjects weren't its strong suit, which, I am guessing, is why it has done so few of them and hasn't done any in, what, 15 years, at least?

Not questioning your comment, but I find it interesting that the Japanese love our "Rock and Roll / Hot Rod " culture. I.E. The Mooneyes company and many others.

[Greg Myers]

Working in a hobby shop I can tell you firsthand that most parents put the kit back on the shelf when told they need paint glue and other supplies. They don't really want to spend more than the 20 bucks for the kit.

and that is where the "prepainted" kits come in.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Oh, that Tamiya Mustang was terrible, a truly mutant exercise of proportional tease gone wrong. It may have had other crucial elements of Tamiya appeal in the material quality of the kit, but the Cobra R in particular had a mashed greenhouse with way too much tumblehome, and the front end of both kits looked as if it were a different scale than the rear. The Monogram SN95 had its own issues but it was tons better, and AMT had everybody beat on that one for overall proportions, even if the tire profiles were way too high. It would take nearly 20 years before we saw another Mustang kit as botched as Tamiya's.

But what Tamiya has always delivered irrespective of proportion issues is a palpable sense of quality and presentation when you crack the lid, and this is why that company has its loyalists. They still have an edge in tooling refinement and content arrangement, to this day over just about any other manufacturer in the world. You have to go into the military field to find the closer competitors; they just don't seem to be there in automotive.

And what Tamiya taketh away under hood, they almost certainly giveth right back in engineering and parts fit. There was a time I had to scramble a car for a photo shoot. The Tamiya kit which concentrated its 135 parts in interior detail rather than an engine just pulled right together in 3 days, as compared to a balky contemporary Revell kit with 90 parts including an engine. The difference in engineering and the advantages that engineering held were stark.

Fujimi's heart is in 1/20 F1 right now, and perhaps that's why their 1/24 kits are so hit-and-miss. We went from solid MX-5s and Porsche Caymans into brilliant 250 GTOs and world-leading R35 GT-Rs only to wind up with that truly hideous Pantera kit a few short years later. Haven't been very keen on their revival of interior tubs for so many of their kits, and their McLaren F1 road car would have been so much more - if it were made by Aoshima.

Japan's true up-and-comer, Aoshima, with kits of ever-escalating quality and great social media leverage to boot. Theirs are the proper GT86/BR-Z models, and their Lamborghini series has been on an upward pull since the Countach. Their McLaren F1 GTR looks to take their game out a whole new door, and one hopes they don't backslide from the new paradigm they've established.

Maybe the current market is different, but even accounting for the distinction between Revell's newly-announced glue series and the snappers, there's a definite whiff of "been there" - remember the pre-decorated Stock Cars and the '63 Impala from around 2000? Those were also simplified glue-together intermediates to both pre-decorated snap kits and molded-in-white full-detail kits.

But who knows, maybe they'll hit the sweet spot with further-simplified snappers and subject matter this time.

[Casey]

Maybe the current market is different, but even accounting for the distinction between Revell's newly-announced glue series and the snappers, there's a definite whiff of "been there" - remember the pre-decorated Stock Cars and the '63 Impala from around 2000? Those were also simplified glue-together intermediates to both pre-decorated snap kits and molded-in-white full-detail kits.

Maybe the fact that these new kits are subjects which Revell doesn't (won't) offer in their "regular" SnapTite or glue kit lineup (like they did with the '63 Imp, PT Cruiser, New Beetle, etc.) will help, too.

IIRC Revell currently offers the original Monogram 1/32 scale '69 Camaro, '70 Mustang, etc. SnapTite kits on blister packs, and they have a sub-twenty piece parts count, so it'll be interesting to see how those do or don't factor into the new tiered approach.

[johnbuzzed]

OK, so Revell is trying something old and something new. We'll see how this plays out. But be honest- how many of you haven't built any kind of snap kit just to do something different? You know, just to get something built and on the shelves. Sometimes, building each model to be better than the previous model gets to be tedious. Not every model must be contest-worthy. Or, if you're so inclined, I've seen more than a few snap-kits turned into nice (and successful) curbside/slammer contest entries.

[Greg Myers]

OK, so Revell is trying something old and something new. We'll see how this plays out. But be honest- how many of you haven't built any kind of snap kit just to do something different? You know, just to get something built and on the shelves. Sometimes, building each model to be better than the previous model gets to be tedious. Not every model must be contest-worthy. Or, if you're so inclined, I've seen more than a few snap-kits turned into nice (and successful) curbside/slammer contest entries.

Not me. But, I have, However built a bunch of "prepainted" kits.and "prepainted diecast" talk about a "slumpbuster"

I have purchased a few "snaps" jut for parts. The Revell '34 Coupe comes to mind.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Greg Myers

[Chuck Kourouklis]

OK, so Revell is trying something old and something new. We'll see how this plays out. But be honest- how many of you haven't built any kind of snap kit just to do something different? You know, just to get something built and on the shelves. Sometimes, building each model to be better than the previous model gets to be tedious. Not every model must be contest-worthy. Or, if you're so inclined, I've seen more than a few snap-kits turned into nice (and successful) curbside/slammer contest entries.

What, are you kiddin'? I do snappers ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I slap 'em together with a promise-to-self I'll eventually pull them back out 'n finish 'em proper. But you betcha I get a kick out of a well-done snapper, and frankly it's kinda dumb for anyone to feel shame over such a thing.

[Tom Geiger]

Not me. But, I have, However built a bunch of "prepainted" kits.and "prepainted diecast" talk about a "slumpbuster"

I have purchased a few "snaps" jut for parts. The Revell '34 Coupe comes to mind.

And what's wrong with snappers? Here's two of mine, the top on being that '34 Ford kit box in Greg's post I've quoted. They were both fun builds that weren't done to earn trophies, just some fun and relaxing time at the bench. And both look good on my shelf.

I'll take any subject that we don't have a full detail kit of in promo, snapper or diecast form. At least it's something we can work with in our favorite scale...