Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

New From Round2/AMT 2020


stavanzer

Recommended Posts

20 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

Is there any word when this is due out? What do you guys think it will be priced at? This will most likely be my next project if it's to be released soon.......

Retail is $47.95, no date as of yet, but usually stuff with finished box art is in the 90 days away realm from when it's finalized.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

Is there any word when this is due out? What do you guys think it will be priced at? This will most likely be my next project if it's to be released soon.......

I still have the original one I built years ago. I used the optional Ansen style wheels on it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/21/2020 at 2:13 PM, unclescott58 said:

A while back, there was talk of Round 2 reissuing AMT's Volkswagen Rabbit kit. Has anybody heard anything more on this? 

Apparently this is actually a modified reissue of the Esci 1:24 kit. hpiguy recently posted a preview build up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Fabrux said:

Apparently this is actually a modified reissue of the Esci 1:24 kit. hpiguy recently posted a preview build up.

So much for avoiding obfuscation. ?

 

Edited by Casey
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Casey said:

So much for avoiding obfuscation.

Definitely not the iteration that I was expecting . The old AMT Rabbit tooling must be trashed or had been scrapped long ago . 

This version looks quite nice , actually . It has many fine points (clear tail lamp lenses ; separate wipers ; nice door panel interior ) .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not really all that happy to see that Round 2 is reissuing the the Esci Rabbit, rather than the old AMT version. The Esci Rabbit can not be built as any Rabbit ever offered here in the United States. It builds into a fine European spec Golf. But not as a US spec Rabbit. And Round 2 throwing in a set of US spec bumpers and Rabbit decals, does not make it into a "true" Rabbit still. The Esci kit represents a Golf GTI with round headlamps. We did not get a GTI version of the Golf/Rabbit until 1982 or '83. And by then the Rabbits built for this market had square headlamps. 

The old AMT kit also represented a round headlamp version of a Rabbit. Which was correct for early US spec Rabbits. But, the AMT kit did not represent their kit as a GTI version of the Rabbit. 

This has me leaning towards buying a Revell Golf GTI instead. It's at least closer to the Mk I Golf/Rabbits GTIs we actually got in this country. I'm sad that Round 2 was unable to reissue the original AMT kit. I don't need my Rabbit to be a GTI version. Don't get me wrong. I liked the Rabbit GTI. But, I liked the Rabbits with round headlamps better than square ones. But, if I'm forced to take a kit that can only be built as a GTI, I'll take one with correct square headlamps instead. So it looks like I'll be buying the Revell kit instead. 

Another point against the AMT/Esci "Rabbit". Where are the side marker lights that US spec Rabbits were required to have in this country? This kit does not represent a true Volkswagen Rabbit. Again, it's a fine European spec Golf. But it is not a Rabbit. 

Edited by unclescott58
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of the ESCI tooling went to Italeri after Ertl sold it off and ESCI went under 30+ years ago.  Italeri has been (and will be) reissuing a bunch of that old ESCI tooling over the past 18 months.  Considering the fact that Italeri ran off two trucks and two trailers for AMT earlier, I suspect this is a continuation of that "tool sharing" agreement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've built 2 of the AMT Rabbits and have 2 more in my stash. 

As much as I love that kit, it does have it's "difficultys".

The engine bay is a nightmare to assemble. No pins and holes to anything else to positively position the underhood sheetmetal or placing the engine in the chassis. 

The Scirocco kit has the same underhood parts so anyone who's built that will know what I mean.

But, the old AMT kit does represent a round headlight car with fuel injection so that would make it a what?? 1978?  The kit is very close to the 1/1 I had except for the number of doors. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bosch injection 77 1600 78 1500. 
75-76 had carb. Euro built cars diesel only and cabrio thru about 80 for sedans 90’s for Cabrio

late scirocco 79-81 bumpers would be nice. Series 2 Scirocco as well. Same pan beneath both. Corrado reissue would be great too

Edited by keyser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, niteowl7710 said:

All of the ESCI tooling went to Italeri after Ertl sold it off and ESCI went under 30+ years ago.  Italeri has been (and will be) reissuing a bunch of that old ESCI tooling over the past 18 months.  Considering the fact that Italeri ran off two trucks and two trailers for AMT earlier, I suspect this is a continuation of that "tool sharing" agreement.

In doing some research into what happened tot he ESCI tooling that ERTL owned at one time we found that the ESCI tooling was most likely sold to Italeri  a good while before ERTL was sold/leased to R2.  (this was during the time AMT was doing private issue kits)

We found that ESCI Porsche 935 kit was run in the USA for the first release, then a few years later another run was made. The second run was done in the USA but late in the run the kit showed up with stickers on it saying 'Made in Italy' and inside the box the entire kit was in a single bag with a sticker also stating 'Made in Italy' while the box and decals were USA and packaged here.  So ERTL must not have seen much value in the tooling....which is to bad as I wished they'd kept the Escorts and some of the exotics. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

In doing some research into what happened tot he ESCI tooling that ERTL owned at one time we found that the ESCI tooling was most likely sold to Italeri  a good while before ERTL was sold/leased to R2.  (this was during the time AMT was doing private issue kits)

 

ERTL released 4 ESCI tools under the AMT brand in 1988--Porsche 928, Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari 250 SWB, and Ferrari 512BB.   There were ESCI/ERTL branded kits a few years before that, I believe. (I don't recall ever seeing ESCI/ERTL branded kits in the US—early 80s, maybe?)

Kind of odd for an ESCI VW Golf to reappear like this, would have thought they would have reissued the AMT tool Rabbit...

 

Edited by Rob Hall
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Porsche 935 kit sold under the AMT brand had a mixed past.  Tooled by Nitto, then owned by Aoshima and then to ESCI. When ERTL got the tooling they made some changes to the tool to eliminate the electric motor mounts and switches that were on the chassis bottom. I have yet to buy the Italeri version but I bet it is the same as it was under AMT.

Boxes.....I also have a yellow box w/o paint and glue.

 

AMTP9351.jpg

AMTP9352.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

ERTL released 4 ESCI tools under the AMT brand in 1988--Porsche 928, Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari 250 SWB, and Ferrari 512BB.   There were ESCI/ERTL branded kits a few years before that, I believe. (I don't recall ever seeing ESCI/ERTL branded kits in the US—early 80s, maybe?)

Kind of odd for an ESCI VW Golf to reappear like this, would have thought they would have reissued the AMT tool Rabbit...

 

As far as I've ever seen (with the usual caveats about not seeing everything) the only kits branded ESCI/Ertl were during a brief period in the early 80s sold in Europe. The ESCI kits sold here were all labeled just as AMT only with those 4 you mentioned being all released at the same time in similar sized "long" boxes and box art styles.

If you dig deep enough in the box art vaults you can find co-brandrd Revell/ESCI, and Gunyze Sanyo/ESCI boxing of almost all of their kits and Humbrol/ESCI boxings of a few.

258988-12135-63-pristine.jpg.7a7d2b0794f9308fc594b65f4845760a.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Dave Van said:

The Porsche 935 kit sold under the AMT brand had a mixed past.  Tooled by Nitto, then owned by Aoshima and then to ESCI. When ERTL got the tooling they made some changes to the tool to eliminate the electric motor mounts and switches that were on the chassis bottom. I have yet to buy the Italeri version but I bet it is the same as it was under AMT.

Boxes.....I also have a yellow box w/o paint and glue.

There was a weird Italian connection beyond the sale of ESCI from Ertl and it's dissolution into Italeri because by the time those boxings of the 935 came about ESCI as a name was gone and we got Italeri's (arguably awful) Jaguar XJ220 & Lamborghini Diablo (x2) at the same time  But there was one 3 pack boxing of "Super Cars" that was the Jag, the Diablo & the ESCI Countach - the other being the Jag/Diablo and Viper GTS.

Edited by niteowl7710
Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I'm not up on the nuances of Volkswagen's Rabbit , and therefore cannot attest to authenticity of the ESCI kit , I can say that it looks like a nice kit , esp. the separate wipers , etc. 

I had the AMT iteration of the Rabbit back in the early 80's . I got it at J C Penny's for 50 cents ( ! ) when they were blowing them out . I remember it was easy to assemble (at least in the hands of a 12 year old whose skills were mediocre) , otherwise I'd have burned it ( not kidding ) . 

I wonder what happened to the AMT tooling ? It's certainly markedly-different from the ESCI kit .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/1/2020 at 11:10 AM, Zoom Zoom said:

Revell took their excellent GTI and made a US-spec Rabbit. Great kit but didn’t sell well and they ended up blown out at Ollie’s. Beats the old 1/25 AMT Rabbit by a mile as well as the Esci kit. 
 

2v2Hsk825xvKa6.jpg

It was not a good seller? Try to pick one up now. It's impossible to find one at a reasonable price. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...