2022 Round2 Releases

[Hondamatic]

8 hours ago, tim boyd said:

And as the basis of a slightly more involved kitbash also using parts from Revell's '32 Ford kit series....(and yes, obviously, looks like I need to have a wax-cleaning session with a toothpick and polishing cloth on those cutlines and moldings)....TB 

An eyebrow brush makes quick work of that wax residue 

[pack rat]

8 hours ago, GMP440 said:

 

  Is the 32 Ford Phantom Vicky kit the big annnouncement  Round 2 was going to make?

 

Definitely not.

[tim boyd]

3 hours ago, pack rat said:

Definitely not.

What Mike said....TB 

[tim boyd]

11 hours ago, Raoul Ross said:

Finally some modern tires! What engine is that?

P.S. The site is really slow!

The engine is a 1996-98 Ford SVT Cobra 4.6L DOHC V8 if I am recalling correctly.  I do not recall where the wheels came from, but they were not from the AMT-Ertl kit.  TB 

[tim boyd]

8 hours ago, Plowboy said:

This is the coolest model I've seen built with the Phantom Vickie. It's from the talented hands of Rockin Rodney Rat.

It even looks cool with the top on.

I agree....Rodney's version looks super-cool...but then again, doesn't pretty much all his stuff meet that criteria?   Thx for posting, I hadn't seen this one previously...TB   

[tim boyd]

3 hours ago, Hondamatic said:

An eyebrow brush makes quick work of that wax residue 

Those eyebrow brushes would have to be pretty stiff to remove my wax residue.  Still, would be a big time saver if it works.  Let's see, my wife is in her office right now...maybe a stealth visit to her makeup stand????  TB 

[Mr. Metallic]

13 hours ago, Stef said:

Another PhotoChop™, this one more drastic. Would probably need an all-new re-contoured roof to accommodate both lengthening and a gentler arc. Wheelbase lengthened and body stretched behind the doors a few inches. Thoughts?

 

When this kit was new Replicas and Miniatures of MD offered an improved top. Maybe he'll bring it back?

[Luc Janssens]

12 hours ago, pack rat said:

Definitely not.

Maybe it's a Nascar kit, to compete with Salvino's........like the old mpc '71 Roadrunner or '74 Charger?

[Hondamatic]

9 hours ago, tim boyd said:

Those eyebrow brushes would have to be pretty stiff to remove my wax residue.  Still, would be a big time saver if it works.  Let's see, my wife is in her office right now...maybe a stealth visit to her makeup stand????  TB 

You better clean the brush well or there will be a whole new meaning to "waxing her eyebrows"

The angled side of the brush is quite stiff. You can brush with the bristle grain (or whatever its called) first, and if the wax is too stubborn, go against it. I've never used the other side of the brush but maybe it'll be handy in wood graining or something 

[niteowl7710]

10 minutes ago, Luc Janssens said:

Maybe it's a Nascar kit, to compete with Salvino's........like the old mpc '71 Roadrunner or '74 Charger?

I can't see it being the Roadrunner, that would be in DIRECT competition with the '71/'72 kit that SJR will have released before Thanksgiving.  Plus SJR already has a '71-76 Charger on the market in quantities well in excess of 30k pieces over the total run, anyone who wants one has one.

[Stef]

9 hours ago, Mr. Metallic said:

When this kit was new Replicas and Miniatures of MD offered an improved top. Maybe he'll bring it back?

That does look more graceful, @Mr. Metallic; I've got a sudden urge to get both the kit, and that top, now.

[Luc Janssens]

9 hours ago, niteowl7710 said:

I can't see it being the Roadrunner, that would be in DIRECT competition with the '71/'72 kit that SJR will have released before Thanksgiving.  Plus SJR already has a '71-76 Charger on the market in quantities well in excess of 30k pieces over the total run, anyone who wants one has one.

Sometimes it's just about brand recognition.

[niteowl7710]

3 hours ago, Luc Janssens said:

Sometimes it's just about brand recognition.

Yeah I suppose, except I don't think anyone recognizes MPC and thinks - Oh BOY now THERE'S quality!! Especially these days, but even back when everyone were operating separately they were 3rd banana (maybe 4th) to Revell, AMT, and Monogram. If they had some strong brand recognition I doubt Ertl would have immediately buried the brand and switched all their kits to an AMT label. There were a lot of current annual kits and a few newer regular kits (like the '69 Olds twins) that magicly became AMT after the merger. The MPC name has only recently arisen with Round2 Retro Deluxing everything in sight, but the brand white-washing that took place in 1989 is eerily similar to what Round2 has done stripping out the 1990s era Lindberg kits and make them insta-AMT kits.

[Robberbaron]

36 minutes ago, niteowl7710 said:

Yeah I suppose, except I don't think anyone recognizes MPC and thinks - Oh BOY now THERE'S quality!! Especially these days, but even back when everyone were operating separately they were 3rd banana (maybe 4th) to Revell, AMT, and Monogram. If they had some strong brand recognition I doubt Ertl would have immediately buried the brand and switched all their kits to an AMT label. There were a lot of current annual kits and a few newer regular kits (like the '69 Olds twins) that magicly became AMT after the merger. The MPC name has only recently arisen with Round2 Retro Deluxing everything in sight, but the brand white-washing that took place in 1989 is eerily similar to what Round2 has done stripping out the 1990s era Lindberg kits and make them insta-AMT kits.

The weird thing to me is that Round 2 continues to release certain MPC-tooled kits as AMT, even now.

Can't understand the rhyme or reasoning to when they decide to tag them one way or the other.

But no great loss regarding the Lindberg brand, IMHO.

[Luc Janssens]

1 hour ago, niteowl7710 said:

Yeah I suppose, except I don't think anyone recognizes MPC and thinks - Oh BOY now THERE'S quality!! Especially these days, but even back when everyone were operating separately they were 3rd banana (maybe 4th) to Revell, AMT, and Monogram. If they had some strong brand recognition I doubt Ertl would have immediately buried the brand and switched all their kits to an AMT label. There were a lot of current annual kits and a few newer regular kits (like the '69 Olds twins) that magicly became AMT after the merger. The MPC name has only recently arisen with Round2 Retro Deluxing everything in sight, but the brand white-washing that took place in 1989 is eerily similar to what Round2 has done stripping out the 1990s era Lindberg kits and make them insta-AMT kits.

When Revell released their brand new '68 Chevelle kit, Round-2 Rereleased their '69, the moment the news leaked about Revell tooling up a brand new '71 Mustang, Round-2 saw fit backdating their '73.  They thrive on nostalgia.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by Luc Janssens

[niteowl7710]

31 minutes ago, Luc Janssens said:

When Revell released their brand new '68 Chevelle kit, Round-2 Rereleased their '69, the moment the news leaked about Revell tooling up a brand new '71 Mustang, Round-2 saw fit backdating their '73.  They thrive on nostalgia.

 

 

I agree with you, but in both cases Round2 beat the "competing" kits to market - by months for the Revell '69, and by years in the case of the new Mustang.  Nostalgia and cashing in on being "first" to market.  Both examples of the NASCAR kits however are only plucking on nostalgia heart strings since they'd be woefully behind the Chargers and considering the "mystery kit" still hasn't been shown, months behind the SJR Roadrunner.  Plus SJR holds the licensing rights for Petty Enterprises and Bobby Allison so the major players for both of those kits are spoken for, and kits of their cars are already on the shelves.  The only appeal I could see would be pushing those kits out to HobbyLobby as SJR doesn't deal with them, they'd be the only choice there.  But jeebus that's scarily reminiscent of how hard Revell (and AMT in particular) leaned on Wal*Mart and what a disaster for the hobby that was in the short term.

Edited August 30, 2022 by niteowl7710

[Luc Janssens]

1 hour ago, niteowl7710 said:

I agree with you, but in both cases Round2 beat the "competing" kits to market - by months for the Revell '69, and by years in the case of the new Mustang.  Nostalgia and cashing in on being "first" to market.  Both examples of the NASCAR kits however are only plucking on nostalgia heart strings since they'd be woefully behind the Chargers and considering the "mystery kit" still hasn't been shown, months behind the SJR Roadrunner.  Plus SJR holds the licensing rights for Petty Enterprises and Bobby Allison so the major players for both of those kits are spoken for, and kits of their cars are already on the shelves.  The only appeal I could see would be pushing those kits out to HobbyLobby as SJR doesn't deal with them, they'd be the only choice there.  But jeebus that's scarily reminiscent of how hard Revell (and AMT in particular) leaned on Wal*Mart and what a disaster for the hobby that was in the short term.

Maybe the profile of the big market consumer matches their business case for the most part, cuz I don't see anyone here buying their Yenko Camaro, yet there is a market for that kit.

Anyway....I'm happy that they're finally are doing the '68 Coronet, let us hope that the numbers are so that it further encourages them investing in the enthusiast side of the "nostalgia" market, but in the meantime until something really shifts I'm fairly certain that they will continue to play both sides of the market and everything in-between.

Edited August 30, 2022 by Luc Janssens

[pack rat]

4 hours ago, Luc Janssens said:

the moment the news leaked about Revell tooling up a brand new '71 Mustang, Round-2 saw fit backdating their '73.  They thrive on nostalgia.

 

 

Backdating the '73 Mustang was in the works long before the news broke on the Revell '71 

[Luc Janssens]

19 hours ago, niteowl7710 said:

I agree with you, but in both cases Round2 beat the "competing" kits to market - by months for the Revell '69, and by years in the case of the new Mustang.  Nostalgia and cashing in on being "first" to market.  Both examples of the NASCAR kits however are only plucking on nostalgia heart strings since they'd be woefully behind the Chargers and considering the "mystery kit" still hasn't been shown, months behind the SJR Roadrunner.  Plus SJR holds the licensing rights for Petty Enterprises and Bobby Allison so the major players for both of those kits are spoken for, and kits of their cars are already on the shelves.  The only appeal I could see would be pushing those kits out to HobbyLobby as SJR doesn't deal with them, they'd be the only choice there.  But jeebus that's scarily reminiscent of how hard Revell (and AMT in particular) leaned on Wal*Mart and what a disaster for the hobby that was in the short term.

James, Forgot to add this in my prior post, but which form of business, generates the most impulse buys?

BTW is the SJR a well known brand name outside the group of people of which many frequent this and other fora? 

Just wondering

 

Cheers

[GMP440]

4 hours ago, Luc Janssens said:

James, Forgot to add this in my prior post, but which form of business, generates the most impulse buys?

BTW is the SJR a well known brand name outside the group of people of which many frequent this and other fora? 

Just wondering

 

Cheers

Absolutely.  Within a couple years SJR has been the forefront in the release of vintage Nascar subjects.  Now, they are well known.

They are picking up from where Revell and MPC left off years ago.  Manufacturing of these kits are here in the U.S.  The kits are priced ok.  They are very in tune as to what subjects nascar builders want to see.  They are doing well.

[Luc Janssens]

57 minutes ago, GMP440 said:

Absolutely.  Within a couple years SJR has been the forefront in the release of vintage Nascar subjects.  Now, they are well known.

They are picking up from where Revell and MPC left off years ago.  Manufacturing of these kits are here in the U.S.  The kits are priced ok.  They are very in tune as to what subjects nascar builders want to see.  They are doing well.

But who buys and builds these kits, weekend modelers, die hard modelers, mix of both? 

Just wondering.

Thanks

 

[Justin Porter]

4 minutes ago, Luc Janssens said:

But who buys and builds these kits, weekend modelers, die hard modelers, mix of both? 

Just wondering.

Thanks

 

I have a fair mix of casual and serious builders who buy Salvinos kits primarily due to the NASCAR connection. It helps in particular that aside from big names like the Hendricks drivers for the current generation car and the Darrel Waltrip, Richard Petty, and Bobby Allison vintage cars they also released a run of Tim Richmond cars. Since my shop is located in Ohio and not far from the short tracks where Tim first made a name for himself in supermodifieds, there's a big contingent of Tim Richmond fans who just want one of his cars. 

[niteowl7710]

On 8/31/2022 at 5:37 AM, Luc Janssens said:

James, Forgot to add this in my prior post, but which form of business, generates the most impulse buys?

BTW is the SJR a well known brand name outside the group of people of which many frequent this and other fora? 

Just wondering

 

Cheers

The one thing SJR has done with the current "Next Gen" kits is direct support from NASCAR. Over the course of this year it has led to those Camaros being carried on the official NASCAR site, the FANATICS online store, and they're being sold at the track on the NASCAR, Hendricks, & Petty/GMS Haulers. They might not wind up on the Trackhouse Hauler because of the low production number on those two kits. The majority of those kits are being sold to people don't regularly build models of any genre and given SJR is up to around 60 model kits right now opens the possibilities for people to go "backwards" into the Historical kits they've already produced. No matter how mass market Round2 is to the average hobbyist they're never going to get some dubious old reissues being sold at the track on the official NASCAR trailers.

They're also very close to be able to announce the next licensing deal in regards to the expansion of the Next Gen kits to another manufacturer. If they can get the third car maker on board they're talking about making something in the range of 40-50 kits next year alone on very short runs (since the differences would be in the boxes and decals) of the new cars, plus the 10-12 Historical kits. The Roadrunner is the first of 6 new tool (7 if you count the Modified mentioned elsewhere - although Wes is paying the freight on that) classic car projects coming in 2023-2024.

[Justin Porter]

1 hour ago, niteowl7710 said:

The one thing SJR has done with the current "Next Gen" kits is direct support from NASCAR. Over the course of this year it has led to those Camaros being carried on the official NASCAR site, the FANATICS online store, and they're being sold at the track on the NASCAR, Hendricks, & Petty/GMS Haulers. They might not wind up on the Trackhouse Hauler because of the low production number on those two kits. The majority of those kits are being sold to people don't regularly build models of any genre and given SJR is up to around 60 model kits right now opens the possibilities for people to go "backwards" into the Historical kits they've already produced. No matter how mass market Round2 is to the average hobbyist they're never going to get some dubious old reissues being sold at the track on the official NASCAR trailers.

They're also very close to be able to announce the next licensing deal in regards to the expansion of the Next Gen kits to another manufacturer. If they can get the third car maker on board they're talking about making something in the range of 40-50 kits next year alone on very short runs (since the differences would be in the boxes and decals) of the new cars, plus the 10-12 Historical kits. The Roadrunner is the first of 6 new tool (7 if you count the Modified mentioned elsewhere - although Wes is paying the freight on that) classic car projects coming in 2023-2024.

Wait wait wait. So you're saying a domestic kit company is capitalizing on the value of its licensing to create new sales opportunities that are getting their products into the hands of new customers? Surely you jest!

[stavanzer]

1 hour ago, Justin Porter said:

Wait wait wait. So you're saying a domestic kit company is capitalizing on the value of its licensing to create new sales opportunities that are getting their products into the hands of new customers? Surely you jest!

And Don't Call Me, Shirley!!

(Ba-Dum-Bump)

😁