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Round2 -- AMT & MPC Kits for 2021


Casey

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1 hour ago, Casey said:

AMT 1066 -- 1/25 1964 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 Hardtop

AMT 1260 -- 1/25 1965 Pontiac Bonneville

Polar Lights 988 -- 1/25 1969 Dodge Charger Funny Car - Hot Wheels

Polar Lights 989 -- 1/25 1969 Dodge Charger Funny Car - Mr. Norm

 

Yay, the '64 Cutlass Hardtop! 

Looks like they restored the Bonneville from the backbirth 2+2.

I'm in need of a couple Polar Light FC chassis, so this is good! 

Happy Happy Joy Joy! :D

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3 hours ago, iBorg said:

So we're going to get a fantasy Charger funny car? What not the Color Me Gone or the Grand Spaulding Dodge, both of which MPC kitted?

Grand Spaulding Dodge is Mr. Norm.

Mr. Norm Krause passed away on Feb. 27. 2021

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32 minutes ago, Luc Janssens said:

Any news on this one, it being a craftsman plus kit.

Not sure if Round2 is improving things like they did with the only existing Craftsman Plus Series kit (AMT '63 Chevy Nova II Wagon) or not. Perhaps Steve G or Mike W can share more info if and when possible.

Here's the original for a placeholder in the meantime:

AMT64GalaxieCraftsman.jpg.e443f733e525ced5ce0f63f6263e4f56.jpg

Edited by Casey
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The '64 Galaxie is one they haven't done the Retro Deluxe packaging, etc for isn't it?  They've done the '60,'61,'63,'65, and '66 in the Retro style over the last decade...

Looks like the last issue was the Model King one from 2007...found this.

 

Edited by Rob Hall
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25 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

The '64 Galaxie is one they haven't done the Retro Deluxe packaging, etc for isn't it?  They've done the '60,'61,'63,'65, and '66 in the Retro style over the last decade...

Correct, it hasn't been reissued by Round2 yet, so maybe their plan is to upgrade all if the existing Craftsman style kits. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

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1 hour ago, ChrisBcritter said:

^^^ Maybe this time they'll fix the driver's side window opening. (And maybe I'll get a pony for Christmas.:lol:)

Yeah. I've gotta fix that window on a '65 Impala. And yes, Hasegawa copied the incorrect shape on their version, too. :angry:

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The design of the tool would make changing that side window opening pretty tough, if not impossible.  I know, you shouldn't have to do it, but it really isn't tough to fix.  No material needs to be added to the roof other than some strip styrene (.020" square IIRC) after filing off the original drip rail and fixing the opening based on a template of the other side.  I did two of them a while back, one custom Bonneville and one corrected (shortened) 2+2.  Still need to get to the stock Bonneville.

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Mark,

How do you go about fixing the roof on the Bonneville?  If you open up the side window area properly, you would add material on top along the new window edge?  How do you also add a new driprail?  

I was going to get a Bonneville convertible promo since the hardtop was never correct when it was first issued.  The Wildcat and Dynamic 88 were done properly, and most of the Impala SS's were correct, but some Impalas are also messed up on the driver's half of the body.

Thanks!

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28 minutes ago, Motor City said:

Mark,

How do you go about fixing the roof on the Bonneville?  If you open up the side window area properly, you would add material on top along the new window edge?  How do you also add a new driprail?  

I was going to get a Bonneville convertible promo since the hardtop was never correct when it was first issued.  The Wildcat and Dynamic 88 were done properly, and most of the Impala SS's were correct, but some Impalas are also messed up on the driver's half of the body.

Thanks!

I've never seen the 88, or the '65 Wildcat, but the '66 Wildcat is better than the '65 Impala. I have several '65 Impala bodies and they're all messed up in that window. So was the Modelhaus resin body. So is the Hasegawa ripoff of it. I have a couple '65 Bonnevilles including a promo and they're all messed up, too. 

Interestingly, the roof was much improved on the AMT '66 Impala. In fact it's better than the later Revellogram '65-'66 Impalas. 

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What I did first was to remove the existing drip rail on the driver's side.  I took off only the horizontal part from the top of the vent window all the way back to the quarter panel.  I left the vertical section at the front of the vent window.  Sand the area smooth afterwards.

I then made a template of the passenger side window opening, and transferred it to the other side.  The driver's side opening is then opened up to match the other side (as I recall, a small amount of material is removed, rough location of the work is just above the door seam).  You could replace the drip rail and then rework that area).  In fact, I may have done the second one that way.

For the drip rail, start with a full piece of strip styrene (or a partial piece that is longer than needed).  I started attaching it at the rear and worked forward, using CA glue and only attaching where necessary.  I bent the strip as I went, if I didn't like what I saw I would undo the previous step and do it over.  After the strip is in place, and you like the way it sits, you can then attach it fully.  I trimmed off the overhang at the front after everything was in place.  If I remember, I'll post a picture of one of them later today.

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I've never seen anyone correct the asymmetrical drivers side window opening on one of these '65 Pontiacs.  Very impressive and the replacement styrene strip looks like it would be easier to foil than the original trim molded into the model. 

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6 hours ago, Mark said:

What I did first was to remove the existing drip rail on the driver's side.  I took off only the horizontal part from the top of the vent window all the way back to the quarter panel.  I left the vertical section at the front of the vent window.  Sand the area smooth afterwards.

I then made a template of the passenger side window opening, and transferred it to the other side.  The driver's side opening is then opened up to match the other side (as I recall, a small amount of material is removed, rough location of the work is just above the door seam).  You could replace the drip rail and then rework that area).  In fact, I may have done the second one that way.

For the drip rail, start with a full piece of strip styrene (or a partial piece that is longer than needed).  I started attaching it at the rear and worked forward, using CA glue and only attaching where necessary.  I bent the strip as I went, if I didn't like what I saw I would undo the previous step and do it over.  After the strip is in place, and you like the way it sits, you can then attach it fully.  I trimmed off the overhang at the front after everything was in place.  If I remember, I'll post a picture of one of them later today.

Mark,

Thanks for the detailed information and photo.  As I recall, the Bonneville had a 124" wheelbase, and the GP/Catalina had a 121" wheelbase, and the conversion to a 2+2 kit didn't correct for that.  You did a great job on the window area.  It looks like you removed the quarter panel to shorten it.  Did you also shorten the area between the trunk and rear window?  I think the 2+2 kit had fender skirts, but that wasn't a standard feature on that car.  I wonder if the interior pattern was changed from the Bonneville.  

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The 2+2 conversion/correction involves shortening the body through the quarter panels.  The vertical cut is made at the high point of the arc at the top of the quarter panel, on my car you can see where the primer is dabbed over the bodywork done at the join.  The tulip panel (between the base of the rear window and the top of the trunk opening) is not shortened.  The difference in length at the back is all in the trunk lid; the Bonneville and Catalina have different trunk lids.  

I cut the trunk lid area out of the Bonneville "2+2" and substituted the trunk lid area from a Grand Prix body.  The GP kit body is very minutely wider than the Bonneville body (1:1 should be the same width).   The GP taillight panel is taller than the Bonneville's (again, shouldn't be) so the GP trunk lid doesn't wrap down at the rear as much as it should.  That all has to be fixed, but I figured that was easier than trying to shorten the Bonneville deck lid and recut the panel lines.  

Step one was to lay out the cuts.  The cut across the body (between the rear window opening and deck lid line) was made as close to the latter as possible.  The deck lid area was not cut out first, the quarter panels were cut loose and shortened first.  Care must be taken to keep the body side creases straight, you don't want the quarter panels drooping or rising up towards the back.  As you can see, the rear wheel openings are dealt with later.

Once the quarters are shortened, lined up, and reattached, the GP deck lid is trimmed and fitted.  You do need to use the Bonneville rear bumper to help line things up.  I used a junk one so as not to have to handle the good one and mess up the plating.

Once everything is squared up and reattached, you will be left with a gap between the trunk lid and the top of the Bonneville taillight panel.  I added pieces in to fill the gap.  The 2+2 emblem on the deck lid was lost in the process.  Unfortunately MCG never offered a photoetch set for the 2+2.

If you do the measurements and cuts correctly, the GP chassis will fit and is correct for the wheelbase and length of the 2+2.  I'm still hashing over what to do to the 2+2 kit's taillight panel.  The kit piece is just the Bonneville unit minus the lettering.  The taillights should be shorter, and Pontiac lettering added.  A MCG photoetch set for a GTO or Firebird can probably supply the lettering.  As for wheels, the 2+2 will likely get the set of dog dish caps that I bought from Fireball with the idea of using them for a GTO.  This thing is finally taking shape, it has been in the planning ever since the 2+2 kit was released.

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Mark,

Thanks for the great explanation.  That will be really nice when you finish it.  My brother bought the Bonneville kit, and I bought the Dynamic 88 kit, in '65.  It was the first "adult" kit I bought as a kid after a Pyro '37 Chevy coupe started me off in this hobby.  I wondered even then why the window area was messed up on the Bonneville, and would have preferred a 2+2 model instead.  GM's '65-'66 "B" bodies are my favorites, and I have all of them except for the '65 Bonneville.    

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Mark, thanks for showing how you did the body corrections for a 2+2!  I've had a similar idea in mind..........I was going to someday swap roofs between the two (kinda like I did with my '59 Chevy Impala WIP), and rework the rear/front ends as needed.

AMT REALLY missed the mark when they tried their hand at a 2+2 Catalina............so bad was the job they did that an article was penned by someone at SAE pointing out how TERRIBLE this kit was.

I also happen to have the Prestige kit of the '65 Bonneville I got years ago and I did the same thing you did as soon as I saw the misshapen drivers side DLO. Reshaped the whole thing and put the body back in the box. Hopefully, it'll get a full build treatment someday, but I'd rather restore the MPC '66 I have which is not often seen these days.

58 minutes ago, Motor City said:

 I wondered even then why the window area was messed up on the Bonneville, and would have preferred a 2+2 model instead.  GM's '65-'66 "B" bodies are my favorites, and I have all of them except for the '65 Bonneville.    

Ever since that kit debuted as an annual, that side window area was wonky. Someone had to have seen it years ago in the planning stages, but they decided to leave it as is for whatever reason.

AMT's botched 2+2 Catalina attempt might have been more palatable if they fixed that but nope..........they decided to make a wonky kit that much more WONKIER.

And yes, out of all of GM's '60's designs.........those 1965-'66 B Body two door hardtops are one of my favorites too. Used to see them all the time as a kid but of course, they've long disappeared off the roads.

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