Carmak

I started this topic and my goal was just to talk about the improved chassis detail over previous Craftsman clone kits. Didn't know how soon the 65 Barracuda would be publicly shown in detail.

Happy to see the Funny Hugger II Canaro back. Really hope it has cool decals.

Here are some pics on the Walmart Exclusive MPC Sundowner 84 GMC.

The Walmart box art also shows tires with dual stripe red/white line tires.

I just saw this pic posted on Facebook. It's a fresh pallet of Round2 models at Walmart. Notice some of the unique box art on some of the kits. It reminds me a bit of the old checkerboard box art AMT kits from a couple decades ago.

This is the "Commando" 273.

I was watching some of the HPIguy build and the body looks like it has the V Commando emblems on the front fender. Probably not correct for the slant 6 but perfect for how many of us are going to complete our builds.

In the grand scheme we are lucky the Hasegawa tooling survived.

The 1:24/1:25 scale slot car bug hit Japan hard in the mid-60's. I suspect the subtleties of what was and was not an appropriate American stock car was not important at that time in Japan. Tamiya also got into the promo copy bodies for slot cars.

This is how all of the Hasegawa 65/66 kits started life - slot cars. The only two worth getting are the 66 Cadillac and the 66 Bonneville as they are the only game in town so to speak. The bodies are not perfect coppies but they are close and look "right". There is a great opportunity for a resin caster or 3D printer to make correct interiors and chassis for these two.

Wow! 80's Monogram style suspension! No axles thru the engine. Exceed my expectations for a Craftsman kit!

The Mack B61 is going to be the first readily available early 50’s (1953) era commercial truck kit. It really opens up possibilities we don't currently have. My first thought is Mack combined with an AMT Haul Away car carrier trailer. It will allow any combination or loads as a Mack would look right pulling a load of Fords, GM’s, Mopars or AMC’s I will buy a few just for this.

Bob, Watch the Round2 post. You can clearly see separate exhaust, a rear axle piece and a representation of lower front suspension. I would SPECULATE the chassis plate may support the axles and that the suspension pieces simply cover the axles. Won't know for sure till we see some pics of the kits

Today I watched the Round2 November release video (Chad) for the 1960 Chevy Nomad Wagon and 1965 Barracuda Craftsman Plus Kits and noticed some interesting features when the bottoms of the boxes were shown: * Separate simplified suspension components * Separate exhaust pieces This is a real improvement for the Craftsman Plus line. Well done Round2!

Some of the Renwall molds were more true to the Exner designs than others. I am lucky to have four Revival kits (all built, three with boxes). The Packard in particular is very "clunky" compared to the Exner design. On the other hand, I think the Mercer came out pretty good.