amt 1202 1/25 AMT 1963 Chevy II Nova Station Wagon - Craftsman Plus

[Casey]

[Spruslayer]

Round 2

Edited October 1, 2020 by Spruslayer

[Mr mopar]

Wow Curb side kit ,no thx ! was hoping for the inline six guess not .

[SfanGoch]

 

3 minutes ago, Spruslayer said:

https://tenor.com/view/payday-throwing-money-away-gif-10898556

Fixed.

 

2 minutes ago, Mr mopar said:

Wow Curb side kit ,no thx ! was hoping for the inline six guess not .

Yawn.......welcome to the world of lowered expectations. This is what's pathetic about this particular segment of the model building hobby. We're supposed to get giddy about the rerelease of a toy-like, minimum parts count, 57 year old kit.

[gui_tarzan]

I disagree, as long as it's not a $30 kit. It seems to be a good one for unskilled builders and people who just don't want to spends hours detailing the engine bay but want a nice looking shelf model. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Personally, I would be more likely to buy this kit rather than installment 35 of another Mustang, Camaro or 20s/30s Ford kit.

At least it's something different.

 

A good modeler will have this thing looking like a show winner in no time.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited October 1, 2020 by StevenGuthmiller

[SfanGoch]

6 minutes ago, gui_tarzan said:

I disagree, as long as it's not a $30 kit.

That's exactly what it is:

1963 Chevy II Nova Station Wagon "Craftsman Plus Series" (Model Kit)

[Spruslayer]

For me its about subject matter,if its a curbside ill be ok with that ?

[Rob Hall]

I already have a builtup annual w/ the engine, but may get this...could be interesting w/ a change of wheels and tires.

[StevenGuthmiller]

16 minutes ago, Spruslayer said:

For me its about subject matter,if its a curbside ill be ok with that ?

I've got a whole display case full of curbside models from Johan and AMT from the late 50s and early 60s.

Won a few trophies with some of them as well.

 

A nicely done model is more than just a parts count.

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

[Snake45]

I'm in. I can think of at least a couple interesting things to do with it. 

And I've already got the 6-cyl early Nova slot filled...am currently rebuilding a glue bomb original '62 hardtop. 

[Justin Porter]

I have nothing especially against curbside kits. Quite frankly, some of the nicest kits I've built are curbsides like Aoshima's MGB or Hasegawa's Miura. I don't even think that $30.95 (Round 2's MSRP) is a bad price point for a nice curbside. 

I don't think this will be a nice curbside. I think the body proportions will be good but the headlights will be chromed, the door handles will be molded in place, the windshield wipers will be molded in place, the glass will be three scale miles thick, the interior will be an unrealistically shallow tub with barely any side panel detail, there will be no inner pillar or headliner detail, and there will be large exposed EPM's in difficult to fill locations. 

I understand entirely that the market Round 2 aims at doesn't often cross-shop Hasegawa or the like, but when Round 2 keeps pushing their MSRP into that realm, it's important to keep in mind that for all the "They fixed the Boss Nova body!" goodness, they're still not matching the quality of offering of their competitors. 

[Bucky]

1 hour ago, Spruslayer said:

For me its about subject matter,if its a curbside ill be ok with that ?

Curbsides can be good for a change of pace. I've had several of the '64 Comet kits through the years. I don't mind that the '59 Buick is a curbside. I'm currently building the Boss Nova kit, and will probably look at this curbside to display along side it.

 

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

14 minutes ago, Justin Porter said:

I don't think this will be a nice curbside. I think the body proportions will be good but the headlights will be chromed, the door handles will be molded in place, the windshield wipers will be molded in place, the glass will be three scale miles thick, the interior will be an unrealistically shallow tub with barely any side panel detail, there will be no inner pillar or headliner detail, and there will be large exposed EPM's in difficult to fill locations.

You just described every American "annual" ever produced.

This one is no different.

 

As long as you know that going in, it's up to you to decide if it's worth the price to you.

For someone who really wants to build a '63 Nova wagon, it's a blank canvas.

It will be up to the modeler to address those issues if they see fit.

 

This is merely another re-issue of an old tooling.

It costs Round 2 very little in comparison to re-pop these old kits, so why not?

If they don't sell, they're not out a train car full of money.

 

Better to have them offered than not.

 

 

 

Steve

[Misha]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

A good modeler will have this thing looking like a show winner in no time.

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

A nicely done model is more than just a parts count.

 

I’m quite pleased to see the reissue and I agree with Steve’s comments. While price is also dependant upon desire, I wouldn’t balk at paying the “normal” price for this kit especially when other long OOP kits are priced in the stratosphere.

Cheers Misha

[Luc Janssens]

13 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

You just described every American "annual" ever produced.

This one is no different.

 

As long as you know that going in, it's up to you to decide if it's worth the price to you.

For someone who really wants to build a '63 Nova wagon, it's a blank canvas.

It will be up to the modeler to address those issues if they see fit.

 

This is merely another re-issue of an old tooling.

It costs Round 2 very little in comparison to re-pop these old kits, so why not?

If they don't sell, they're not out a train car full of money.

 

Better to have them offered than not.

 

 

 

Steve

Isn't it reversed engineered?

[Dave Van]

I'll take EVERY Craftsman kit they can find and rerun.......I enjoy them.....

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 minute ago, Luc Janssens said:

Isn't it reversed engineered?

No.

It's a copy of the original promo issued in 1963.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

I'll take EVERY Craftsman kit they can find and rerun.......I enjoy them.....

Agreed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Spruslayer]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I've got a whole display case full of curbside models from Johan and AMT from the late 50s and early 60s.

Won a few trophies with some of them as well.

 

A nicely done model is more than just a parts count.

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

I dont have the skills to make a show winner but i allready have about three versions dancing around in my head ? ?

Edited October 1, 2020 by Spruslayer

[Exotics_Builder]

Don't have the old Craftsman but do have this one unbulit

 

[1972coronet]

The prospect of a curbside being priced in the same realm as a 'full detail' ( a relative term , esp. when it comes to c.1960's AMT promo-come-kit offerings ) is a bit of a turn-off . However , when one considers that this subject is truly obscure , and is highly sought after , that ~ $30 MSRP isn't comparatively bad (versus some annual that's a built-up , and looks like it sat at the bottom of a fish tank since 1965 , whose seller is asking $100 + ) .

I just hope that the "Un-Bossing" of the Boss Nova is cleanly executed (e.g. , not rife with sink marques nor radical "core-shift") . 

[Justin Porter]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

You just described every American "annual" ever produced.

This one is no different.

 

As long as you know that going in, it's up to you to decide if it's worth the price to you.

For someone who really wants to build a '63 Nova wagon, it's a blank canvas.

It will be up to the modeler to address those issues if they see fit.

 

This is merely another re-issue of an old tooling.

It costs Round 2 very little in comparison to re-pop these old kits, so why not?

If they don't sell, they're not out a train car full of money.

 

Better to have them offered than not.

 

 

 

Steve

Yes. Yes I did. The annuals were a byproduct of an unusual time when certain "model" companies could pad their bottom line by offering unassembled examples of dealership advertising giveaways. AMT, MPC, and Johan were being hired to produce these marketing trinkets and then could add a nice profit cherry on top by tossing decals and instructions in a box with the unassembled leftovers. They had their place during a very brief window in the history of the hobby, and they vanished in the same breath as the competitiveness of the domestic auto industry. 

I understand their place in the grand scheme of things. I don't regard them with the fondness that many do. I feel their legacy is more of a hindrance than a help to domestic model kit manufacturers who still struggle with the very concept of "A detailed miniature of a physical object". 

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Justin Porter said:

The annuals were a byproduct of an unusual time when certain "model" companies could pad their bottom line by offering unassembled examples of dealership advertising giveaways.

I don't believe that you can characterize the companies that produced annual model kits as "padding the bottom line".

This era brought about the birth of the model car kit.

It's the essence of what a model car kit was.

There were no highly detailed model cars at the time.

Everything that came after owes it's existence to these simple kits.

 

Likewise, the annual kit phenomenon lasted until, at a very minimum, the early 70s.

There were improvements in detail along the way, but they were still just variants of promotional models and were hardly a flash in the pan when there's no question that the vast majority, and broadest range of subject matter of the kits produced in the US were produced throughout the 60s and 70s.

I understand that some may regard these kits as relics that have outlived their usefulness, but to a large portion of hobbyists, these kits are a very welcome addition to what many of us feel has become a quite stagnant field of alternatives in terms of the variety of scale automotive subjects in recent years.

Of course there are companies such as Tamiya that produce consistently good kits, but if you have no interest in the subject matter that they produce, it becomes a moot point.

 

I look at it from the perspective that more is always better than less, and as we are apparently "modelers" and not just "assemblers" these simple kits give many of us the opportunity to build cars that Tamiya, or any other manufacturer for that matter, will never produce in 1,000 years.

They may require more work than a modern kit, but tell me which kit maker today has any plans at all to produce a 1963 Nova station wagon in the future.

It's not going to happen.

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited October 1, 2020 by StevenGuthmiller

[thatz4u]

25 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I don't believe that you can characterize the companies that produced annual model kits as "padding the bottom line".

This era brought about the birth of the model car kit.

It's the essence of what a model car kit was.

There were no highly detailed model cars at the time.

Everything that came after owes it's existence to these simple kits.

 

Likewise, the annual kit phenomenon lasted until, at a very minimum, the early 70s.

There were improvements in detail along the way, but they were still just variants of promotional models and were hardly a flash in the pan when there's no question that the vast majority, and broadest range of subject matter of the kits produced in the US were produced throughout the 60s and 70s.

I understand that some may regard these kits as relics that have outlived their usefulness, but to a large portion of hobbyists, these kits are a very welcome addition to what many of us feel has become a quite stagnant field of alternatives in terms of the variety of scale automotive subjects in recent years.

Of course there are companies such as Tamiya that produce consistently good kits, but if you have no interest in the subject matter that they produce, it becomes a moot point.

 

I look at it from the perspective that more is always better than less, and as we are apparently "modelers" and not just "assemblers" these simple kits give many of us the opportunity to build cars that Tamiya, or any other manufacturer for that matter, will never produce in 1,000 years.

They may require more work than a modern kit, but tell me which kit maker today has any plans at all to produce a 1963 Nova station wagon in the future.

It's not going to happen.

 

 

 

 

Steve

Amen ...Steve