larrygre

The German modelling press has leaked the list, guys...here ya go. 1/24 #05795 Mini Collection Set (reissues Original 998cc Mini Cooper and 2003-vintage Mini Cooper, paints and cement) #07064 Mini Cooper Rallye Monte Carlo 1964 (modified reissue) #07065 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback (reissue, ex-Monogram) #07066 Lamborghini Diablo (reissue, ex-Monogram) #07067 1953 Corvette Roadster (reissue, ex-Monogram) #07070 Trabant 601 Universal (modified reissue, station wagon type variant) #07071 VW Golf 1 Cabrio (NEW TOOL) #07072 VW Golf 1 GTi (NEW TOOL) #07073 Ferrari “La Ferrari” (NEW TOOL) #07423 Iveco Stralis (reissue, ex-Italeri) 1/25 #07068 2005 Chevy Impala Police Car (reissue, ex-Revell SnapTite) #07069 Corvette C5-R “Compuware” (reissue, ex-Revell USA) 1/16 #07455 Peterbilt 359 reissue, ex-Monogram) Thats all she wrote, folks. Personally, I'm looking forward to the 1st generation Golf kits, and an affordable kit of the LaFerrari.

That one stared life with now-defunct Nitto Kagaku. Kit has a faux engine insert with incorrect intake runners. ESCI bought the molds for Nitto's 1/24 kits when Nitto went belly up, and when ERTL bought ESCI, some of the ex-Nitto kits found their way into AMT boxes.. Not a bad kit, but typical mid-70s Japanese production. Fujimi's is much better.

I had both the 1971-issue Rescue Van and the "New for 73" Surf Van back when - and still have the bodies. Neither of them had an opening hood. I was disappointed in that, and cut both hoods out to hinge so that at least the front of the engine could be seen. IIRC, none of the AMT Chevy Vans had an opening hood. The FORD vans had - and still have ("Phantom" (ex-Vantom) an opening hood. If Round2 DOES indeed bring back the multi-panel body and stock parts, it will be serious kudos due them.

That ALMOST happened. It was to be Accurate Miniatures' third car kit. Unfirtunately, licensing costs and low funds put the kibosh on that one. Ahh, what MIGHT have been!

Tim, good to see you here again. Happy New Year to you and yours. See my response to Gerry re: having Ed Sexton put a bug in Volker's ear re the Lusso. Wanna lend a hand in that? The Lusso (and a BMW 2002tii) are ideal subjects for RoG, in this writer's not-so-humble opinion!

My best friend in this world, the late John Slivoski, once said to me in conversation "its not about the little plastic cars. Its about the friendships we make along the way BECAUSE of the little plastic cars." We model car guys are a diverse bunch. We may not agree on politics, religion, food, drink, you name it, but model cars are the great equalizer for us - on that, we find common ground. Let's not fight here. There's room for opinions. And when the facts contradict, there's nothing more honorable than taking responsibility for the mistake. That's one way we STAY friends. Matija, please don't be silent. Everyone's voice is valuable.

Ed Sexton: if you're reading this (and hopefully you are), pass this along to RoG. Put a bug in Volker's ear, so to speak. We need a Lusso.

You're very welcome. As is very well known about me, I do indeed love "kitology." The ESCI-Ertl SWB was so bad when first released that Ertl took the kit off the market and retooled the body. It was better, but still bad. The shape was actually closer to the rare Scaglietti-bodied Corvette than to a Ferrari 250GT SWB. Little known fact: the machinations and flawed processes that produced this kit was a key factor in Ertl's decision to liquidate ESCI as an entity, transfer the molds to Dyersville, and reduce ESCI to nothing more than a brand used on kits molded in the USA (later Mexico.) And I am with you on any Ferrari kit on the market. Hopefully the rest of the Italeri Ferraris will reappear, either in Italeri box or as Revell of Germany. I know I waxed poetic before on the Lusso...now, wouldn't it be nice to have an injection molded 166 or 212 Barchetta too? A 250 TdF? a tunnelback 1964 250GTO? A 330LMB as Bill G. suggested? Oh yeah!

I certainly hope so. The SWB was a fine kit, and it would be great to have it back. The same goes for the 275GTB/4 twins, which IMO were among the best of Italeri's car kits. Again, it depends on whether or not Revell Germany and Italeri can come to a mutually acceptable deal on the price for bagged shots. Italeri may be asking too much, in Revell's eyes. On the other hand, Ferrari licensing may be part of the stumbling block here, as RoG would have to pay the royalties, and those on top of Italeri's price for the run may just not be cost-effective for them. The kit you linked to is indeed the ex-Protar 250GTO. Not a bad kit, and Italeri's wasn't a bad kit either. I have now heard two different stories on the new announced RoG GTO: one was that its a new state-of-the-art tool, the other is that RoG is buying bagged shots of ITALERI's (not Protar's) GTO. Then again, they could be buying bagged shots from Fujimi or Gunze for that matter! Now *I* am skeptical too. And if being a reissue is indeed the case, I apologize for, as we say here in the USA, "jumping the gun." In any event, we are graced with a 250 GTO, probably the most famous of all of Ferrari's legendary Gran Turismo coupes. Perhaps one day, as I have been wishing for nearly 30 or so years, we might live long enough to see one of our esteemed model companies grace us with a proper 1/24 scale 250GT Berlinetta Lusso??????? I sure hope so!

"Their old kit"? They never had their own kit, unless you refer to the old and best forgotten ex-Aurora caricature. The kit issued by RoG two years or so ago was only a rebox of the old Protar tool now owned by Italeri. When someone who is in the know tells me "new tool", I tend to believe him. If I am misinformed I will publicly apologize. Fair enough? As for the SWB, the reason why you never saw the kit is because RoG and Italeri could not come to terms on a price for the run. When such things happen, you don't always get the benefit of a press release or some kind of public statement. The reason I know is, I ASKED. Then again, its my job to. Ask my boss.

Just announced from RoG, and its official...not reboxed Fujimi, Italeri, Protar, or Gunze Sangyo. The kit is ALL NEW TOOLING. July 2013 release. Woo-hoo!

It is not a styrene conversion of the diecast nor is it based on the 58-59 kits of years past. This is indeed an all-new tooling.

This is a former ESCI kit. If the body has all the aero mods, it would take a great deal of work to bring this back to a stock/street car. Of course, you could do it up as a "tuner". ESCI's car kits weren't bad, but they were very soft on detail, IIRC.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the US-boxed Revell Germany kits -the Ferrari 599GTO and the 1960s Mini Cooper. It will be interesting to compare that Mini kit with the 1980s-vintage Tamiya kit, which after all these years is still pretty darn good. And the Boot Hill Express is nice ot have back, especially for those who missed it in any one of its reissues over the years. I just wish they COULD reissue the old Uncertain T kit from 1967, though it is common knowledge that the molds no longer exist. If they could clone the Tijuana Taxi, they could clone the Uncertain T!

Looks like a perfect candidate for the new Alclad candy colors!