August 2021 Round 2 Product Spotlight

[Fabrux]

How about a reissue of the '79 Bronco? And re-working the '79 truck into a proper F-150? A guy can dream....

[MrObsessive]

10 hours ago, Fabrux said:

How about a reissue of the '79 Bronco? And re-working the '79 truck into a proper F-150? A guy can dream....

That Bronco would be an EXCELLENT reissue! The tooling should still be there........it was last seen as a funny car set maybe 10 years ago by Model King.

[Fabrux]

And it's only been issued those two times. Getting ridiculous prices these days.

[stavanzer]

Plus one on the Bronco.

Either AMT or MPC. I'd like to see either. I think the AMT tool is better as the MPC kit is just flimsy somehow.

[the other Mike S.]

On 8/15/2021 at 9:39 PM, robo37 said:

Wow thats sad how many times you come out with the same kit and decals??? the dodge van been out ,not that long ago I remember having some of the 64 fords to,Why not come out with the 76 caprice again or the 78-80 monte carlo something we havent seen in a while instead of stuff that hasnt been out that long ago just an ideal??? How about retool the 71 road runner or 72 pontiac ventura,or super charger????

I agree with the ‘76 Caprice and the ’80 Monte Carlo.  We haven’t seen those in over a decade while the other stuff seems to be recycled every other year.  Another one I’d like to see again is the Squad Rod ‘79 Nova.  The newer Retro release came and went and now prices have gone through the roof for that version as well.  Also, I’d like them to offer a stock version with the stock wheels and tires like the original annual.  They can easily crib the stock wheels from the old ‘86 El Camino SS kit.  Or, if they wanted to tool up some new base model hubcaps for it, that would be great too.

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by the other Mike S.

[the other Mike S.]

On 8/15/2021 at 9:39 PM, robo37 said:

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by the other Mike S.

[the other Mike S.]

On 8/15/2021 at 9:39 PM, robo37 said:

 

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by the other Mike S.

[the other Mike S.]

On 8/15/2021 at 9:39 PM, robo37 said:

 

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by the other Mike S.

[the other Mike S.]

On 8/15/2021 at 9:39 PM, robo37 said:

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by the other Mike S.

[the other Mike S.]

On 8/15/2021 at 9:39 PM, robo37 said:

 

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by the other Mike S.

[the other Mike S.]

On 8/16/2021 at 12:44 PM, niteowl7710 said:

The "Bad Company" van was out 6, nearly 7 years ago, and the last full releases of the '64 Ford was in 1999.  There was a Model King boxing in 2007, but that's before Round2 was involved, so other than the 3 kit set they just released they've never made money from it.

Your requests aren't bad ones, but companies need to keep things on the shelves of Hobby Lobby and brick and mortar Hobby Shops, it doesn't matter how many of them are floating around on eBay or at shows, they're not making any money when those change hands for the (17th) time.  The Caprice seems due for a reissue, but it might have sold like a hot fart in church and doesn't justify it.  We (the public) only ever know what the kits are planned for about 4-6 months in advance, there's no telling what is planned for 2022 and beyond.

The Caprice selling like a hot fart in church?  No way, no how, in any shape of the word for that particular kit.  When the last Retro release came out, I made sure to buy two for the stash knowing they would sell out quickly and be very hard to find after that.  And, guess what?  I was 100% right.  All of the hobby shops around here quickly sold out during the initial release.  It’s due for another reissue IMO.

Also, what happened to the recent 1/16th scale ‘82 Firebird reissue?  It suddenly vanished from most vendor sites with ridiculous prices being asked on Ebay.  That one, I don’t get.  Did the tooling get accidentally destroyed after the latest reissue or something?  The 1/16th scale ‘79 Firebird Trans Am reissue is still easy to find at very reasonable prices.  

Edited September 19, 2021 by the other Mike S.

[MrObsessive]

Judging by what I see on the 'Bay and even for built-ups, I'd say that Caprice would definitely sell if it were reissued. A lot can be done with that kit, especially if the trailer is kitted along with it.

[1972coronet]

13 hours ago, the other Mike S. said:

[ I would like to see another release of the ] Squad Rod ‘79 Nova.  The newer Retro release came and went and now prices have gone through the roof for that version as well.  Also, I’d like them to offer a stock version with the stock wheels and wheels like the original ‘79 Nova annual.

That kit includes all of the stock --albeit , an  incorrect  Pontiac engine , an artifact of its Ventura origins -- parts , wheels and all . 

[Motor City]

1 hour ago, 1972coronet said:

That kit includes all of the stock --albeit , an  incorrect  Pontiac engine , an artifact of its Ventura origins -- parts , wheels and all . 

That's interesting since the Ventura wasn't stock, either, with the '74 GTO-type ram air hood and scoop.  I read that the '75 GTO was canceled at the last minute, but can't verify that.  A '73-'74 GTO/Ventura or Nova kit would be nice, too.  

[tim boyd]

1 hour ago, Motor City said:

That's interesting since the Ventura wasn't stock, either, with the '74 GTO-type ram air hood and scoop.  I read that the '75 GTO was canceled at the last minute, but can't verify that.  A '73-'74 GTO/Ventura or Nova kit would be nice, too.  

Jim is right. 

General consensus in the Pontiac enthusiast community was that a '75 GTO was planned, but was cancelled when the Buick 350 became the engine that would be used in the real car ....there were several photos of an early GM '75 GTO Design Property that showed up in the Pontiac rags (Hi-Performance Pontiac. Pontiac Enthusiast) showing the car before the T/A and '74GTO shaker hood induction was added to the property.  The MPC kit was a very accurate forecast of what the real car would have been (other than the horrible graphics treatment).

TIM  

[Motor City]

I bought the '75 Ventura kit at the Detroit Auto Show and was sorry since I found out it couldn't be built stock.  The graphics WERE horrible, and so was the rendition on the box with the fender skirts and other junk.

[Snake45]

On 9/19/2021 at 7:09 PM, tim boyd said:

Jim is right. 

General consensus in the Pontiac enthusiast community was that a '75 GTO was planned, but was cancelled when the Buick 350 became the engine that would be used in the real car ....there were several photos of an early GM '75 GTO Design Property that showed up in the Pontiac rags (Hi-Performance Pontiac. Pontiac Enthusiast) showing the car before the T/A and '74GTO shaker hood induction was added to the property.  The MPC kit was a very accurate forecast of what the real car would have been (other than the horrible graphics treatment).

TIM  

What a shame. A Ventura-based GTO with a Pontiac engine would have been a fresh breeze on the market in 1975. Maybe they were afraid of cutting into Trans Am sales, as the TA and the Corvette pretty much owned the hi-po market at that time, lame as they were. 

[stavanzer]

I still think a back date of the tooling to the Ventura, could squeeze out some significant sales. 

Tim mentioned this kit in an article in the Late 'Scale Auto Mag' about 74-75 Almost Muscle cars, as shown by tooling, decal, and box art illustrations that showed cars that made it to kit form, but never in real life. It was a great article.

I wish Tim could share it here!

[Rodent]

On 9/20/2021 at 7:19 PM, Snake45 said:

What a shame. A Ventura-based GTO with a Pontiac engine would have been a fresh breeze on the market in 1975.

You just described a 1974 GTO.

[tim boyd]

2 hours ago, alexis said:

I still think a back date of the tooling to the Ventura, could squeeze out some significant sales. 

Tim mentioned this kit in an article in the Late 'Scale Auto Mag' about 74-75 Almost Muscle cars, as shown by tooling, decal, and box art illustrations that showed cars that made it to kit form, but never in real life. It was a great article.

I wish Tim could share it here!

Thanks Alexis.   Interesting story about that article.  First tried to get it published in the 1/1 scale mags, particularly Hemmings Muscle Machines, but zero interest from them.  The Scale Auto article was the same one, slightly revised for the model car hobby.  

But I never heard much feedback at all on the article....so I really appreciate hearing your thoughts!   Best....TIM 

[stavanzer]

I Thought it was great. Too bad most of the kits you mentioned are "Un-obtainium" now.

I have only the Super Bird Nosed (MPC)Satellite? with the yellow car on the box top. The rest were far beyond my means. Seeing what is left of the Ventura in the Squad Rod Nova is what got my brain working on the idea that they might have been issued together, as sometimes MPC would "twin" the chassis, ect. of kits, just changing the bodies to get more mileage out of the tooling.

Anyway, Great Article as I said and a great kit of Both 1/1 and kit archaeology.

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, Rodent said:

You just described a 1974 GTO.

Yah, that's cool, but that was the tail end of that body's seven-year life cycle.  It's still basically a pimped-up '68 Nova. A '75 Ventura-based GTO would have been something new. 

[Rob Hall]

10 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Yah, that's cool, but that was the tail end of that body's seven-year life cycle.  It's still basically a pimped-up '68 Nova. A '75 Ventura-based GTO would have been something new. 

Superficially new..new squared off body and revised interior, but still basically the same car...the '75-79 X-body platform wasn't that different from the '68-74.  1975 wasn't a good time for performance cars, economy was the big marketing push then...

Edited September 22, 2021 by Rob Hall

[Rodent]

17 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

the '75-79 X-body platform wasn't that different from the '68-74.

The front suspension was quite a bit different, adapting what the Camaro had been using since 70 1/2 with the front mounted steering gear.

[Rob Hall]

4 minutes ago, Rodent said:

The front suspension was quite a bit different, adapting what the Camaro had been using since 70 1/2 with the front mounted steering gear.

Which isn't really a major difference, though..wheelbase stayed the same, similar engine options, etc.    Now the 1980 X-body was a big redesign--moving to FWD w/ a transverse engine, etc. 

Edited September 22, 2021 by Rob Hall