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

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Can-Con said:

Well, no, you can't really compare a Tamiya Porsche to an AMT Nova wagon.

 

BUT, you could compare a Tamiya '94 Mustang GT to an AMT '94 Mustang GT ,, or a Revell/Monogram '94 Mustang GT.

But no one really wants to do that, now do they? ?

That's not my point.

I'm talking about subject matter, not quality.

I don't even consider Tamiya model kits because they produce nothing of interest to me.

That's what I meant when I compared a Porsche to a '63 Chevy.

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited October 2, 2020 by StevenGuthmiller

[Luc Janssens]

3 hours ago, SteveG said:

This is a re-tooled copy of the original Craftsman kit with some modest improvements. Round 2 is calling it Craftsman Plus. Updates include clear headlamps and clear red tail lamp lens that have been added along with a side view mirror.  Kit style wheel covers, wheel backs and tires instead of the original promo style pieces.  Glass is now two separate front and rear pieces.  The front metal axle is replaced by pins.  There's also a couple of optional interior accessories included and all new decal sheet with some "fun" commercial graphics and along with the instrument face and body scripts for those who prefer them over paint or foil.   The box is a tribute to the original packaging.  The rest will be identical to the original Craftsman kit. 

There will be another version Nova Wagon kit that will include an engine and other items like the original 3n1 release that's about a year out.   I do not have the full details of that version yet but it's being based on the original release.  Both of these are are being packaged as nostalgic items, not modern tooling. 

Round 2 is considering more of these recreations of other long lost classic kits,  all depending on how well this and another similar item coming out does sales wise.   Personally I can't wait to get my hand on one,  my very first model was an AMT Craftsman kit.  I hope they bring back more... 

-Steve

 

 

   

Good to hear Steve, crossing my fingers, I've been waiting impatiently for them to do just that, 2020 just got a silver lining

 

[ChrisBcritter]

Oh, am I stoked to read this - even though I FINALLY managed to make a good set of red and clear tail/backup lights just yesterday . Wonder if the new ones will have those little reflectors in the middle? I just hope they'll do justice to the original trim and emblems.

Interesting to see they want to do an engined version as well; not a giant leap since both original versions have a full engine compartment and separate hood (unlike the '64 Ford or '66 Skylark). Wonder if it will get a 6/Powerglide or just borrow a V8 from an existing tool? Pretty sure a surfboard rack will be involved, at least!

[doorsovdoon]

Hope to see this in the UK sometime soon, I love the simple promo style kits! There's just something satisfying about picking out the basic detail and making it look like a high parts count build. I love them.

[Mark]

3 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

Wonder if it will get a 6/Powerglide or just borrow a V8 from an existing tool? Pretty sure a surfboard rack will be involved, at least!

'62/'63 were not available with a V8 engine (though you could walk over to the parts counter and get everything needed to bolt one in).  The '63 hardtop and convertible annual kits were incorrect in that the stock versions had 327 engines, but that was probably done on purpose to get more sales on those.  As I remember, the engine blocks in those kits looked a lot like the '57 Chevy block.

[ChrisBcritter]

Yes, I built up an NOS '63 Nova kit 327 for my '65 Nova - it was molded with a manual, but I swapped in a Powerglide to match the automatic setup in the interior:

[Snake45]

8 hours ago, SfanGoch said:

That's stating the obvious. Why would you buy anything that doesn't interest you?

I don't know either, but people keep telling me I "should" or "need to" buy and build Tamiya kits, just because they're Tamiya. I ain't having it! 

[Justin Porter]

14 hours 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

Firstly, I don't begrudge them to the builders that enjoy them nor do I disagree that they represent the broadest range of kitted domestic subjects. I don't even necessarily dislike that Round 2 has taken the time to resurrect this or similar kits for those who want them. 

I will, however, contest the idea - and contest stridently - that it was the combination of AMT, MPC, and Johan who pioneered the detailed automotive model kit in plastic. Factually, it was Gowland & Gowland and their acetate Highway Pioneer kits in 1/32nd scale, marketed under their new REVELL brand name that first brought detailed scale miniature kits of cars to the public. In ostensibly 1/24th scale, you would point to Monogram and their Midget Racer as one of if not the earliest detailed model car kits. The SMP kits wouldn't debut until 1958, EIGHT YEARS after Revell's Highway Pioneers and TWO YEARS after Monogram's Midget.

To offer up the idea that the idea of the detailed model car kit comes out of the Annuals, or that it would not have come to pass without the Annuals, ignores the far greater historical contribution to the hobby of modeling that Revell and Monogram have made domestically than AMT, MPC, and the like. 

Yes, there is the "subject matter" statement to make. This is subject matter that interests many domestic builders. No doubt about that. But that doesn't make it good and that doesn't make it good for the industry at large. 

[Mike999]

11 hours ago, moparfarmer said:

Many say this is a simple kit and yes it probably is..Remember a 59 Imperial a few years back..Try and find one now..They were simple and many built them to fantastic builds..Some very good builders on this site did some real nice ones.(Steven's Yellow one comes to mind)  The wagon will be a big hit.

Round 2 re-issued the '59 Imperial not so long ago.  They're available at Hobby Lobby for $29.99.  If you want one, you can order it directly from the Hobby Lobby website.  Here's a link:

https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Model-Kits/Cars-Trucks-Motorcycles/1959-Chrysler-Imperial-Model-Kit/p/80793355

Edited October 2, 2020 by Mike999
goof

[Casey]

12 hours ago, SteveG said:

This is a re-tooled copy of the original Craftsman kit with some modest improvements.    

Thank you for the information, Steve. ?

[SfanGoch]

1 hour ago, Justin Porter said:

To offer up the idea that the idea of the detailed model car kit comes out of the Annuals, or that it would not have come to pass without the Annuals, ignores the far greater historical contribution to the hobby of modeling that Revell and Monogram have made domestically than AMT, MPC, and the like. 

It's a frame of mind not dissimilar to that possessed by food snobs and other cliquish pseudo-elitists who think they are the last word on any subject. It's the "I listened to that band before they became cool" attitude, the more arcane their alleged knowledge, the more important it must be.

[Snake45]

13 hours ago, Carmak said:

How about this for an apples to apples comparison:

Within the last year Hasegawa released a series of full size American car curbside kits (66 Bonneville, 66 Cadillac, 66 Buick, 65 Impala and others) with virtually zero interior and chassis detail (the dash is just a flat place to put a decal). The list price is far above the $30 Nova wagon and they are already sold out at many (all?) retailers.

To quote The Goddess Shania: "That don't impress me much." 

If you were buying for a hobby distributor or even a LHS, how many of these Has kits would you stock versus your normal order for a new AMT/MPC/Moebius/Revell kit (or even a good reissue)? Not NEARLY as many, I'll bet. No surprise that they're sold out. 

As I see it, there should be zero market for the Buick, the T-Bird, and the Impala, as these are all still readily available at common prices from Round 2 or Revell (or at least common in the used market), and they're much better kits, too. I can't speak to the sales potential of the Caddy; I don't want or need one but I believe there's a certain market for that one. The Bonneville is a special case: Nothing else like it is available at an affordable price. It's decidedly inferior to the MPC original, but unless you want to lay out big bucks, it's the only game in town for this subject. 

I remember when these kits were out in the '80s. There were still three or four local hobby shops and all carried them, in ones and two. I never saw the Impala (then incorrectly marked as a '66) and to this day have never seen an original boxing of it (remember, this was long before the Revell '65 Impala was introduced). It took me a LONG time to find and buy a Bonneville (which is how I know it's inferior to the original MPC). The Caddies and Buicks and T-Bird kits sat on the shop shelves for years. 

Notice that Hasegawa had to pimp these kits out (pun intended) with attractive female figures to give them some appeal this time around. 

Me, I recently bought the Impala at a reasonable price (not much more than a typical Revell/Round 2 kit) for two reasons: the figure, and I wanted to compare the body to the AMT original and the Revell. (Spoiler alert: None of the three is perfect, but the bodies of all three are "close enough" to accurate to be considered buildable.) 

I imagine the Bonneville is selling well in its current issue. The rest, I doubt they're setting any sales records. 

 

[Classicgas]

The only accurate thing about those Hasegawa kits are the bodies. Interiors are far from it and chassis's are a joke.

[SfanGoch]

Remember that when R2 reissues more HT kits with convertible interiors.

[Snake45]

37 minutes ago, Classicgas said:

The only accurate thing about those Hasegawa kits are the bodies. Interiors are far from it and chassis's are a joke.

True and that includes the wheels/tires. The back end sheetmetal of the Bonneville isn't quite right, and the roofs of both the Impala and Bonneville aren't 100% right either. 

[Chuck Kourouklis]

The Impala body is so close to the AMT original that it apparently shares the asymmetric drip molding arcs between driver and passenger side.

Still think it might edge out the Revell/Monogram body, and I'm wondering about mixing the Revell dirty bits with it.

[Can-Con]

15 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

That's not my point.

I'm talking about subject matter, not quality.

I don't even consider Tamiya model kits because they produce nothing of interest to me.

That's what I meant when I compared a Porsche to a '63 Chevy.

 

 

 

 

Steve

Please don't misunderstand Steve. I agree whole heartedly with you on this.

What I'm trying to say is sometimes , contrary to what some may think, sometimes the domestic product is superior to the import. The Mustang kits being a case in point as it's the only one I know of that was produced by the players involved. 

And, yes, of cores subject matter is everything.  There's really not to much Tamiya has at any price point that I'd rather have over the Nova.

[Tom Geiger]

Me thinks our train has derailed 

[Classicgas]

4 hours ago, SfanGoch said:

Remember that when R2 reissues more HT kits with convertible interiors.

But they are still more accurate than the Hasegawa kits.

[StevenGuthmiller]

8 hours ago, Justin Porter said:

Firstly, I don't begrudge them to the builders that enjoy them nor do I disagree that they represent the broadest range of kitted domestic subjects. I don't even necessarily dislike that Round 2 has taken the time to resurrect this or similar kits for those who want them. 

I will, however, contest the idea - and contest stridently - that it was the combination of AMT, MPC, and Johan who pioneered the detailed automotive model kit in plastic. Factually, it was Gowland & Gowland and their acetate Highway Pioneer kits in 1/32nd scale, marketed under their new REVELL brand name that first brought detailed scale miniature kits of cars to the public. In ostensibly 1/24th scale, you would point to Monogram and their Midget Racer as one of if not the earliest detailed model car kits. The SMP kits wouldn't debut until 1958, EIGHT YEARS after Revell's Highway Pioneers and TWO YEARS after Monogram's Midget.

To offer up the idea that the idea of the detailed model car kit comes out of the Annuals, or that it would not have come to pass without the Annuals, ignores the far greater historical contribution to the hobby of modeling that Revell and Monogram have made domestically than AMT, MPC, and the like. 

Yes, there is the "subject matter" statement to make. This is subject matter that interests many domestic builders. No doubt about that. But that doesn't make it good and that doesn't make it good for the industry at large. 

Maybe "pioneered" is the wrong term, but AMT, SMP and Johan brought model car kits to the masses.

The kits that you mention may have come before, but I still believe that it was the above mentioned producers that really brought about the model car kit craze which accelerated exponentially during the 60s.

 

 

 

Steve

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

7 hours ago, SfanGoch said:

It's a frame of mind not dissimilar to that possessed by food snobs and other cliquish pseudo-elitists who think they are the last word on any subject. It's the "I listened to that band before they became cool" attitude, the more arcane their alleged knowledge, the more important it must be.

No Joe, it's actually just my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[SfanGoch]

I wasn't referring to you, Steve.

[StevenGuthmiller]

5 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

I wasn't referring to you, Steve.

Sorry Joe.

I believe that I may have misread your post.

My bad.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

I think that it might be time for me to exit from this discussion and focus more of my attention on the burden of adding more modern elements to a poorly detailed MPC 1968 Dodge Coronet kit.

I believe it's referred to as "modeling".

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Can-Con said:

Please don't misunderstand Steve. I agree whole heartedly with you on this.

What I'm trying to say is sometimes , contrary to what some may think, sometimes the domestic product is superior to the import. The Mustang kits being a case in point as it's the only one I know of that was produced by the players involved. 

And, yes, of cores subject matter is everything.  There's really not to much Tamiya has at any price point that I'd rather have over the Nova.

I think I understand your point now Steve.

I have no knowledge of the Mustang kits that you mentioned.

I've never owned any of them, so am not aware of how they stack up against one and other.

 

 

 

 

Steve