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

[SfanGoch]

That's about as likely to happen as me winning Mega-Millions and Powerball in the same week.

[Bucky]

4 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

That's about as likely to happen as me winning Mega-Millions and Powerball in the same week.

Yer most likely right about that! LoL

[Oldcarfan27]

12 hours ago, Jon Cole said:

"Coco-Cola" version.

Never had that flavor. 

Wassat, chocolate soda? ?

[GMP440]

On 10/4/2020 at 8:35 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

Thanks Tim.

I have no reason to disbelieve what you're saying, it just seems a little weird to me that they would go to the extent of creating a completely new mold for a '63 Nova wagon body, and a promo style one at that.

My guess is that there are dozens of kits that they have in their possession that would be much more attractive to their constituents to do this with.

I can think of a lot of AMT and MPC kits that have had the bodies destroyed to make different versions of the kit, so I'm not sure why they would start with this one.

 

But I digress.

If this is the case that they have taken it upon themselves to resurrect some of these long lost kits by creating new stock bodies for them, all that I can say is "hooray"!

We should be able to expect some very cool old stuff from them in the coming years.

 

Where's my '66 Buick Grand Sport?!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Steve 

 In reference to the last paragraph;  this is apparently the direction Round 2 is going in order to get those oldies out again.  I take my hat to them for retooling and recreating subjects we haven't seen in over 50 years.  To all the naysayers that stated over the years  that model kit companies were not going to invest money to re do tooling of 50 year old kits;  I guess they were wrong.  I say to Round 2;  please keep them coming.  You can count on our support.

[GMP440]

2 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I agree, I have no problem at all with Round 2 resurrecting this kit.

I'm not one of the naysayers that think that it's a waste of time and resources.

I just am doing my best to understand why, if a considerable amount of work was involved to bring this kit back, and completely new tooling was necessary, why they would go with a kit that is quite likely to not sell all that well, and a curbside kit to boot.

I might very well be wrong, but I don't really see a lot of outcry for more wagon kits, and absolutely not for more promo style kits.

Yes there is a segment of the hobby that wants more wagons and 4 doors, but I don't think that necessarily translates into an all around successful kit.

 

You could say that I'm all for it, but I'm just curious as to why they are thinking that this one is going to be a winner.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve 

  Here's an interesting angle on this.  Round 2 sees now that their target market are the older builders.  What have the older builders been requesting?   A lot want to see those subjects that were released back in the day again.  Just a guess;  I think Round 2 is trying to do one final run of everything.   Kits now are coming out faster than they used to 10 or 15 years ago.  Just a hunch.

[Dave Darby]

On 10/1/2020 at 2:11 PM, 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

Agreed. And the MSRP appears to be a bit lower than claimed above. It's actually MSRP: $26.99. Previously, ebay or swap meets were the only game in town if you have to have a 63 Nova wagon. Now you have an additional choice you didn't have before. A minty fresh one for 27 bucks, or agin, you can go on ebay and spend considerably more for one plus shipping. I have no complaints

[Justin Porter]

1 hour ago, Dave Darby said:

Agreed. And the MSRP appears to be a bit lower than claimed above. It's actually MSRP: $26.99. Previously, ebay or swap meets were the only game in town if you have to have a 63 Nova wagon. Now you have an additional choice you didn't have before. A minty fresh one for 27 bucks, or agin, you can go on ebay and spend considerably more for one plus shipping. I have no complaints

I'll fully concede on the revisions being made to the body as being worthwhile. I'll dispute on MSRP, though. Currently Stevens International is showing $30.95 as MSRP while Hobbytyme has not given a set list price. Those are my two primary wholesale accounts. 

Which wholesale distributor is listing $26.99 because I'd LOVE to be able to purchase and stock Round 2 product at that number instead of my going rate against $30.95 and up on Round 2 auto kits. 

[Motor City]

When you consider how few recent domestic cars are available as a coupe or convertible, how many of us want a kit of a new 4-door sedan?  They're pretty boring for the most part.  It makes sense to repair old tooling for those who crave nostalgia, and will hopefully draw younger buyers into buying something that was long gone by the time they were born.  

[Dave Darby]

3 hours ago, Justin Porter said:

I'll fully concede on the revisions being made to the body as being worthwhile. I'll dispute on MSRP, though. Currently Stevens International is showing $30.95 as MSRP while Hobbytyme has not given a set list price. Those are my two primary wholesale accounts. 

Which wholesale distributor is listing $26.99 because I'd LOVE to be able to purchase and stock Round 2 product at that number instead of my going rate against $30.95 and up on Round 2 auto kits. 

The one somebody posted a little earlier in the thread. Actually looks like it went down. We'll have to see where the price sits when it's released.

https://www.diecastdirect.com/product/17851/Pre-Orders

Edited October 6, 2020 by Dave Darby

[RichCostello]

8 hours ago, Justin Porter said:

I'll fully concede on the revisions being made to the body as being worthwhile. I'll dispute on MSRP, though. Currently Stevens International is showing $30.95 as MSRP while Hobbytyme has not given a set list price. Those are my two primary wholesale accounts. 

Which wholesale distributor is listing $26.99 because I'd LOVE to be able to purchase and stock Round 2 product at that number instead of my going rate against $30.95 and up on Round 2 auto kits. 

Tower Hobbies has it listed for pre-order @ $24.99.

[Justin Porter]

24 minutes ago, RichCostello said:

Tower Hobbies has it listed for pre-order @ $24.99.

Neat. Those would be online sellers selling at below the distributor MSRP and cutting the throats of brick and mortar hobby shops like my own. 

I guarantee you that as a hobby shop I cannot purchase Craftsman Chevy II's for my inventory at 40 points off of $24.99. 

[Spruslayer]

On 10/6/2020 at 6:07 PM, Justin Porter said:

Neat. Those would be online sellers selling at below the distributor MSRP and cutting the throats of brick and mortar hobby shops like my own. 

I guarantee you that as a hobby shop I cannot purchase Craftsman Chevy II's for my inventory at 40 points off of $24.99. 

I completely get that, used to work for a mom and pop music store, same scenario.

To me the blame falls on the Revells and R2's out there

The playing field should be equal for every one instead of letting the internet sharks kill the hometown guys.

Same can be said about who gets the new release first,seams to be..............................the internet stores.

 

[Luc Janssens]

1 hour ago, Spruslayer said:

I completely get that, used to work for a mom and pop music store, same scenario.

To me the blame falls on the Revells and R2's out there

The playing field should be equal for every one instead of letting the internet sharks kill the hometown guys.

Same can be said about who gets the new release first,seams to be..............................the internet stores.

 

Nothing in life is fair, in this case it's buying power which cuts the middle man, read distributor...big box stores order from the manufacturer and take care of the distribution themselves, and.... they can even do it cheaper, if they would do the boxing under their own brand name, something that is common good with many other consumer products.

[Tom Geiger]

It’s volume and the direct purchase. I once was at Dave Burket / Model King’s house when he got a shipment of something like 50 cases of a new release, direct from the manufacturer. No doubt commanding a good volume discount.

Small shops buy from distributors, so there’s that extra markup plus shipping costs. Also they order broken cases.. a few copies each of each kit.  That’s the difference. Labor etc costs money to provide that service.

That’s the way it goes. My grandfather saw that even in the 1950s. He and his brothers ran the family legacy jewelry store and when Two Guys Department Store opened up they were selling Timex watches cheaper than his wholesale.  So their strategy changed, focusing on high end jewelry and repairs. And as time marched on, even Two Guys failed against later competition. 

Edited October 10, 2020 by Tom Geiger

[Mark]

Two Guys (originally Two Guys from Harrison) didn't go out of business...they just stopped operating department stores.  They are still in business, as a property management company.

[GMP440]

2 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

It’s volume and the direct purchase. I once was at Dave Burket / Model King’s house when he got a shipment of something like 50 cases of a new release, direct from the manufacturer. No doubt commanding a good volume discount.

Small shops buy from distributors, so there’s that extra markup plus shipping costs. Also they order broken cases.. a few copies each of each kit.  That’s the difference. Labor etc costs money to provide that service.

That’s the way it goes. My grandfather saw that even in the 1950s. He and his brothers ran the family legacy jewelry store and when Two Guys Department Store opened up they were selling Timex watches cheaper than his wholesale.  So their strategy changed, focusing on high end jewelry and repairs. And as time marched on, even Two Guys failed against later competition. 

I beleive you hit the nail in the head.   In short, you have to adapt to the changing market conditions.

[Mike999]

On 10/4/2020 at 9:46 PM, Muncie said:

The original 1963 Nova Station Wagon Customizing kit contained a lot of parts along with a stock engine that wasn't in the Craftsman series, There is so much in the customizing kit that it only takes about 20% of what's in the box to build the Craftsman series station wagon. The rest is other fun stuff that may still exist in Round 2's tooling library.  Maybe that's future reissue material?. 

The extra parts included a utility (U-Haul) trailer, an extra drag engine to put in the trailer, customizing parts and a few accessories. https://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/mkiba-build-under-c/amt-instructions/automotive-cars--pi/chevrolet/1961-1970/amt-63-chevy-ii-sta/?view=roll#1.  The body was modified extensively for the Boss Nova - removing trim, filling door gaps, a hole in the roof for the mid-engine air intake... Rivets around the windows were added to the window insert.  https://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/mkiba-build-under-c/amt-instructions/straightline-competition/amt-boss-nova-model/?view=roll#1  The drag engine also showed up in the Boss Nova.  New tooling  for the body is probably the only reasonable way to produce new kits.  I'm surprised they did it, but I'm looking forward to any 1963 Nova wagon that Round 2 gives us.  

All those fun "extra parts" originated in the AMT 1961 and '62 Buick Special station wagon kits:  the Chrysler V8 with 3 intake options, utility trailer, fuel/oil cans, engine hoist, tool box and other neat accessories.  They were all carried right over to the '63 Nova wagon 3-in-1 kit.

Some of those cool accessories also made it into the Boss Nova:  the fuel/oil cans, tool box, big fire extinguisher, chrome torque wrench, a driver's helmet with separate face mask and probably a couple more parts I've forgotten.   

[Casey]

On 10/4/2020 at 8:46 PM, Muncie said:

The original 1963 Nova Station Wagon Customizing kit contained a lot of parts along with a stock engine that wasn't in the Craftsman series, *snip* The rest is other fun stuff that may still exist in Round 2's tooling library.

The trailer load (as opposed to be optional to install in the car itself) Hemi engine was put to use when the Boss Nova version was created, and many of the geegaws included with the AMT '63 Chevy II Nova 400 Wagon 3 in 1 Customizing Kit are still found in the Boss Nova kit, too. Note the helmet, face mask, oil and gas cans, and tool box in both:

 

On 10/1/2020 at 10:52 PM, chepp said:

Couldn't they have included the trailer from the T308 Crew Wagon issue?

I'm not sure if it's ever been determined what became of the trailer.

[tim boyd]

Years ago I remember checking this out, and my really vague recollection is that there were just a couple of the hot rod Hemi engine accessory parts that failed to make the transition to the Boss Nova kit.  i vaguely recall one of them being an intake manifold for one of the  induction options.  Can anyone verify this?  TIM

[Jack L]

33 minutes ago, tim boyd said:

Years ago I remember checking this out, and my really vague recollection is that there were just a couple of the hot rod Hemi engine accessory parts that failed to make the transition to the Boss Nova kit.  i vaguely recall one of them being an intake manifold for one of the  induction options.  Can anyone verify this?  TIM

front mounted blower set-up

[Mark]

2X, it was the Potvin style crank driven blower setup.  No way would it fit the Boss Nova, with the driver just in front of the engine.

The Nova wagon does use the trailer and Chrysler engine from the Buick Special wagon.  Budd Anderson said so in his monthly column back then.  The Nova version of the Chrysler engine has more plated parts; the Buick version didn't have a plated block or cylinder heads.  

[tim boyd]

1 hour ago, Mark said:

2X, it was the Potvin style crank driven blower setup.  No way would it fit the Boss Nova, with the driver just in front of the engine.

The Nova wagon does use the trailer and Chrysler engine from the Buick Special wagon.  Budd Anderson said so in his monthly column back then.  The Nova version of the Chrysler engine has more plated parts; the Buick version didn't have a plated block or cylinder heads.  

Thanks Mark and Jack....TIM

[keyser]

If the trailer comes, there were 2 different fenders on that trailer between the Buick wagon and the Nova, or a change between years of Buick wagons, I've got the trailers but never had any kit but the Nova Craftsman. One set looked similar to 53 Chevy  pickup, other set looked like traditional trailer fenders. 

Hopefully Mark will know. 

[Mark]

I'm pretty certain the fender change was made after the '61 Buick wagon; the '62 and the Nova have the Chevy pickup style fenders if I remember right.

[Casey]

4 hours ago, keyser said:

One set looked similar to 53 Chevy  pickup, other set looked like traditional trailer fenders. 

 

4 hours ago, Mark said:

I'm pretty certain the fender change was made after the '61 Buick wagon; the '62 and the Nova have the Chevy pickup style fenders if I remember right.

AMT '61 Buick Special Wagon trailer:

 

AMT 1962 Buick Special Wagon trailer: