SteveG

The new grille is an added option, the regular Catalina grille and I believe the Custom grille parts are still in there. -Steve

Exactly right and there's photos of the "Tin Indian" running with all four 8 lug wheels on it and others where there is only two. Note that new wheels have the correct front and rear hub details if the caps are left off. -Steve

Chuck, Unless done for a special effect, all the in-house decal artwork is designed to have a white underlayment where needed for use over dark colors. But for some unknown reason some recent production decal sheets came through missing sections of the white underlayment. To the best of my knowledge the decal sheets with those issues have been caught and we have corrected replacement decals available for those instances. It best to contact customer service with the details of which kit or kits you ran into this issue, and we'll send out a replacement assuming it's not a new issue. -Steve

Box art most likely will based on the original kit, release date currently planned for late '24 or early '25. -Steve

Correct on all, for the record at the time of development those are the Police version wheels FCA sent us the files for, and we had never asked for or got any other AWD components or drivetrain files. Since the wheels matched the Pursuit brochure they sent with the files, I assumed it was a running change, so I never asked for the other wheels. Just human error on both sides. -Steve

Are you asking about the Barris Super Van, we think we do although we haven't confirmed we have the clear parts. It shares a number of parts with the IMC TTT and LRW Dodge A100 kits. Don't know if we'll run it but it has come up for discussion recently. -Steve

Thanks Tim, that's a pretty good overview and explanation of the process. Right now, there a number of other factors that have temporarily slowed our development process and schedule including the CNY holiday, I hope to get things up to speed very soon. Everyone should note that Round 2 has an extensive kit archive, plus access to my personal vintage collection and regular resources that we go to when we need something. Declining the offer of a particular kit while generous does not reflect our interest in subject matter one way or the other. Getting new projects done is a very delicate balance between patience and determination. Right now, the key word is patience. If and when there is some solid news, I'm sure you'll see it here. -Steve

I think we have the '32 Five window Coupe tool, not sure what the story is on the Roadster. I need to research both of those further. Both are prime to be run again. The earlier Rivieras would be nice to do but I'm not sure I could make a compelling argument for either back dating the '65 or creating a new tool. -Steve

We've never run the 32 Ford Phaeton version, but RC/Ertl did a few times so it's on my to do list. Hopefully all the inserts are there for it. As for '32 Sedan from the double kit, we know what we're missing, and we have the original parts for cloning. I'm hoping for budget approval to move ahead. It's come up before but has been bumped for other hot projects. Fingers crossed .... -Steve

Yes, both the windshield and back glass are now pre-painted. Note the decals are just decals, not meant to be a political statement or endorsement by Round2 or its staff one way or another. I like to believe this is still a hobby that can bring people with very different interests and viewpoints together. However, I would assume if you're interested in building a Police Car replica model, you probably support the Police and are not offended by any graphics that might be displayed on a Police Car. -Steve

I did recently get a set of acceptable test shots and I even did a test build to confirm we have the Pro-Street version. However, it was still decided to move the tooling to another location. When and where, I don't have the answer yet, so consider its status as planned but on hold. I'm hoping it will still be a 2024 item, but the clock is ticking. -Steve

Correct, that texture detail was missed originally. Any future runs of the convertible kit will also include the revised trailer floor part. -Steve

MPC930 Blue Max Mustang F/C, MPC964 Ramchargers Challenger F/C, MPC993 Bantam Blast and MPC1001 Muldowney Mustang Car are some current kits that should have those Denman style front tires. -Steve

The Camper will not fit the '60 as the roof is too tall, the same Camper top was also in the AMT '69 Chevy Fleetside Pickup so it should fit any of the 67-72 C/K kits. It also fit my AMT 1978 Ford 4x4 pickup nicely. It may fit a number of other long beds if you add some strip stock to the lower edges to raise it a little. The '60 fender skirts are for the much larger rear wheel openings, so probably not a got fit for the '63. The '60 and '63 engines are from AMT's earliest engine design, the heads and intake are one piece. So, any intake swap will need matching heads too. The '63 Custom grille surround includes a protruding lower valance, I doubt it would be a good fit for the '60. If you notch the right inner fender apron a little, the '63 Supercharger set up should fit the '60 as it uses the same basic engine parts. The chrome open wheels in the '63 kit should look killer on the '60 with the wide whitewalls, especially with a lowered stance. The tires for both kits are the same, other than the pad print. Build tip: If you soak the tires in hot tap water for a few minutes to soften them up, they will slide easily over the wheel tabs. Put the '60 trailer behind the '63 F100 and add an early AMT Dragster or one the AMT A/FX Fords for a cool drag team. -Steve

The MPC997 '71 Dodge Demon kits are in regular distribution channels now and should be more widely available starting this week. It looks like Model Car Moutain and Auto Models LLC already got there first orders and sold out what the put out on Ebay over the weekend. Very few Wal-marts actually got any Demon kits as part of their 1st quarter program. -Steve

Correct, no radio parts. just the optional antenna. I had hinted that there were some parts copied from the '69 Coronet annual kit and the Police car parts are some of those. The red and clear beacon lenses were intentionally included with the convertible kit as a clue to the future version contents. Internal beacon lamp parts were added as an improvement from the original and the mounting bar is now plated. Assembled it's a very good match to a Federal Visibar. -Steve

Like the original box, there's also a 3/4 front view of the relatively stock Service truck on the features side panel. -Steve

Tim you are correct, the parts trees you noted above plus the tires are shared between both trucks, AMT1407 '60 Ford and AMT1412 '63 F-100. During my initial research while developing these kits in became clear that after the original AMT/SMP '60 F-100 kit was run, AMT reused whatever they could from the '60 to make the '61-'63 F-100 annuals and then the later modified reissue of the '63 F-100 with Camper. That's why the '60 kit was never run again. At that point it made perfect sense to develop them both together, saving time, money and it allowed us to actually have more total parts in each kit. Although each kit can be produced separately, it was decided to do the initial runs together, allowing some other new items to be run before the upcoming CNY Holiday break. -Steve

Actually, the '68 Coronet Hardtop does have a curved rear window and the kit matches that. -Steve

Yes, the reason that the '68 Convertible kit has the separate door cards and a back seat as that Hardtop kit will have the new Hardtop specific parts for both. -Steve

There may have been some CAD/CAM used, I doubt I'll ever know for sure. All Round 2 acquired was the tooling, none of the original design files, if there was any. I doubt anyone even thought to ask back then. They probably never dreamed that they would modifying or expanding the existing tooling so many years later. -Steve

My friend James who did the video, only got the opportunity to review the Warlock kit a few hours before hand. It was not planned, we just happen to be at the same social event earlier in the day, and I had my review sample with me which I lent to him as I was leaving. In hindsight I probably should have taken the time to fill him in better on all the extra parts that were leftover in the kit from the earlier versions. Regardless, I'm still glad he did it so the full contents could be seen. As for improving the vintage instruction sheets, I'm with you but it really comes down to time and manpower. Each member of creative team has about two weeks per kit to create all the digital flies for the print items, Box lid and tray, instruction sheets, decals sheet front and back and labels. On a vintage kit like the Warlock which we haven't run before, it's no easy task to scan all the original items in and turn them into something usable again to today's standards. It's very rare they get a mint perfect kit to start with and there's almost always some content that has changed. On top of that they have to build a test shot too. They don't get enough credit for how much work that goes into each new kit release. In a perfect world we would create a brand-new sheet for each kit, it's just not practical. I really wish we could. On an all-new kit like the new Dodge Charger kits, it took about a month to turn the 3D files into a new 2D drawn instruction sheet. On the old kits, there's no existing 3D files or 2D technical drawings to work from other than existing instruction sheets. Whatever they used for the original drawings is long gone. -Steve

I've tried a few times to get some of the small-scale kits reissued but either the tooling was missing, or they never made the approval list, still never say never. As for the ZZR Spy Rod I'm pretty sure that it was altered to make the Fire Bug Show Rod, I'd have to check with John G. on how much tooling remains for it if any. I'm certainly a fan of creating a '70 Duster version based on the modern '71 kit. I built my own almost 20 years ago back when I was doing some resin casting using one of my resin grille inserts and a set of The Last Detail decal sets. I have floated the idea several times already, I'm hoping it will make the project list sooner than later. -Steve

The Tonneau cover was retooled and restored back to the latest issue AMT1328, along with a new set of K-H wheels for those who want to build a '66 Sport Roadster. -Steve

The original kit had a one-piece plated grille and bumper assembly with molded in headlamps. The new kit has an un-plated grille, separate chrome bumper and clear headlights. Grille part should be painted argent and black except for the Sizzler which has body color surrounds. Also note the two-piece front bucket seats, the backs are on the tree next to the hood scoops. Chris was confused on what those parts were. -Steve