Round2 Retro Box Art. Yes or No?

[bobthehobbyguy]

I like the retro box art think its a great selling point.

As to what's in the box there is plenty of info on sites as to what's in the box. No excuse to not know what's in a kit before you buy.

[Luc Janssens]

Round2 or any other model kit company for that matter, is in business to make money selling dreams, the more appealing the wrapper the higher the sales, if these kits are built or not by the end user is of lesser importance, yet it's nice to get feedback from those who do and enjoyed the ride, but let face it most of them end up un- or half-built in a land fill.

Just putting things in a different perspective.

 

 

 

Cheers

Luc

 

[Curt]

2 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

I like the retro box art think its a great selling point.

As to what's in the box there is plenty of info on sites as to what's in the box. No excuse to not know what's in a kit before you buy.

What Bob said...

[64Comet404]

22 hours ago, unclescott58 said:

Okay, below are photos of box art variations for the same Revell kit. You tell me which one would get you to buy? I know which one got me to part with my money back in the day. And despite what you think, it was not the first one. I would love to have that kit in that first box. Which is how it was release it’s first outing. But, by the time I was ready to buy, the second variation as on the shelves. I still want the one in the first box. I keep hoping Atlantis will someday fulfill that dream.

 

I agree about the first two boxings being the kits which inspired me to build the '57 Nomad. The Hot Rod and Skip's Fiesta boxings were uninspiring for me, both in artwork and in the kit contents.

As for the Round2 Retro boxes, I like the idea of differentiating between new reissues and ones which came before. Most of the newer releases come with some mold clean-up, as well as better decals, tires, and chrome finish than their older reissues. 

[Tabbysdaddy]

22 hours ago, unclescott58 said:

Okay, below are photos of box art variations for the same Revell kit. You tell me which one would get you to buy? I know which one got me to part with my money back in the day. And despite what you think, it was not the first one. I would love to have that kit in that first box. Which is how it was release it’s first outing. But, by the time I was ready to buy, the second variation as on the shelves. I still want the one in the first box. I keep hoping Atlantis will someday fulfill that dream.

 

I like the Hot Rod boxings.

[unclescott58]

1 hour ago, 64Comet404 said:

I agree about the first two boxings being the kits which inspired me to build the '57 Nomad. The Hot Rod and Skip's Fiesta boxings were uninspiring for me, both in artwork and in the kit contents.

As for the Round2 Retro boxes, I like the idea of differentiating between new reissues and ones which came before. Most of the newer releases come with some mold clean-up, as well as better decals, tires, and chrome finish than their older reissues. 

The first two ‘57 Nomad boxes have the same content as later two. So if you were uninspired by what you found in the Hot Rod and Skip’s Fiesta versions, you’ll be uninspired by what you find in the other two too. 

Edited July 30, 2022 by unclescott58

[Stef]

On 7/29/2022 at 2:59 PM, unclescott58 said:

The old Pyro Lincoln with a little work…. Okay a lot of work can actually look pretty good in the end. I still have not finished mine. But, below is a photo of someone else’s build I found online to keep me inspired. Someday, I’ll have to get around and finish mine. 

 

That's a nice buildup, @unclescott58, thanks.

My skill is good enough these days that I can build just about anything, though as a graphic designer, box art can still be a big influence.

For me, the early 80s MPC kit boxes were the best. I love clean box art with bold, bright colours and graphics/logos, no backgrounds, and comprehensive views of what the kit really looks like. As a kid, when I could not afford to buy, I'd stare at the box to be able to visualize it in my head, which made me want it even more.

I love big pictures, lots of them, and the box art should be able to sell the kit inside.

Looking forward to Round 2's Sod Buster reissue. I love nostalgia.

Also very much enjoyed building their recent-ish Mountain Goat, Bad Company, HighJacker, and 78 Pacer, which all featured near-perfect reproductions of classic box art.

Awhile back, I started a thread here encouraging Round 2 to reissue older kits with that early 80s MPC aesthetic. New box art, new Harry Bradley-esque decal designs, new colour schemes, with cool new names, and new logos to boot, all done with that early 80s MPC pastiche, but all molded in white this time, and included with pad-printed tires, coloured/tinted glass options, enhanced decals, etc.

I'd be happy to play Art Director on such a project.

[Motor City]

one of the few kit boxes I saved from MPC ... I also like the Trans Am Blackbird ('77 & '78) and Trans Am 10th Anniversary (pictures stolen off of the internet)

Edited July 30, 2022 by Motor City

[stavanzer]

1 hour ago, Stef said:

 

For me, the early 80s MPC kit boxes were the best. I love clean box art with bold, bright colours and graphics/logos, no backgrounds, and comprehensive views of what the kit really looks like. As a kid, when I could not afford to buy, I'd stare at the box to be able to visualize it in my head, which made me want it even more.

Awhile back, I started a thread here encouraging Round 2 to reissue older kits with that early 80s MPC aesthetic. New box art, new Harry Bradley-esque decal designs, new colour schemes, with cool new names, and new logos to boot, all done with that early 80s MPC pastiche, but all molded in white this time, and included with pad-printed tires, coloured/tinted glass options, enhanced decals, etc.

I'd be happy to play Art Director on such a project.

I well remember both Stef's thread, and his comments about the Box Art. The examples shown will get ME to open my wallet almost every time. Maybe Round2 should try mining this vein of 1980's Nostalgia. For Many Modelers, this box art and these kits were the ones we started with. While Retro '60's leaves me cold, there might be a sizable market for Retro 80's Box Art

[64Comet404]

3 hours ago, unclescott58 said:

The first two ‘57 Nomad boxes have the same content as later two. So if you were uninspired by what you found in the Hot Rod and Skip’s Fiesta versions, you’ll be uninspired by what you find in the other two too. 

I have had all four versions over the years, and the first two didn't include the multiple short shots and windows which fell through the openings. As fiddly as the original versions were to build, the QC issues of later versions were much worse.

[martinfan5]

For me, "retro" box art really doesnt keep my boat a floating if you will, not that there are hasnt been any that I like, sure there has been.

[Bills72sj]

Subject matter is EVERYTHING. Flashy, not necessarily Retro, box art is good to catch my eye but is not a factor on purchase. Price/value used to be a major factor, but as my disposible income has climbed, it no longer is. If I want it, I get it. Whether the contents are spot on accurate has never weighed in if I want a particular kit. Learning of the inaccuracies from the web helps me decide if I want to fix the flaws or not depending on my mood or skillset at the time. Extra wheels, tires and are a nice bonus but I have boxes and boxes of them from judicious eBay purchases in the early 2000's. Regarding decals, Keith Marks or my own printer covers pretty much any gaps the kit may have. Overall. I am simply ecstatic that kits ARE available for purchase. Just imagine if Round 2 never picked up the ball and all the tooling was scrapped years ago. We would all be outbidding each other to obtain a diminishing supply. The new exciting factor for our hobby is 3D printing. 10 years from now we should be able to download a file of nearly any subject and print it on our own printer. All it takes is one person passionate enough put forth the effort to create the file. Hints of this trend can be seen in the mid 70's to 80's cars that are starting to appear.

[Force]

For me the retro box art is a nice thing and compared to the totally boring not much telling boxes from the Racing Champions/RC2 era for AMT/ERTL it's a wast improvement and tells a lot more than the boxes did back then.
The box art if it was an artwork, pictures of the kits or picures of the real thing was the main thing that made me decide wich kit to buy back when I started this hobby around 50 years ago, and a model kit with the coolest boxart was the kit that followed me home.
Nowadays it's not that important for me and not a decider on what to buy as I allready know what the kit is anyway if it's an older kit, but it doesn't hurt if the boxart is nice and if it will catch someones interest in the stores...maybe even a new builder...it's a bonus and if it help Round 2 selling kits, why not.
It's more important to me that the box somehow shows the options and features on the sides or on the bottom and nowadays we have internet and lots of sites that tells us what's in the box with kit reviews and such so it's not that much of a surprice as it sometimes was back in the day when you didn't have a clue what was in the box, 
And for Round 2 the majority of the kits they do are reissues of older kits as they haven't done many new ones, likewise for Revell, they have done more new tooling kits than Round 2 the last 15 years but most of the kits are reissues.

Edited July 31, 2022 by Force

[Mopar maniac 74]

I build my kits and am all for box a art reissues but if they are a lie let me know 

Examples 76 duster that was a dart

69 roadrunner with 68 chrome tree in box

70 valiant scamp short track car was a dart

I am sure there are more examples out there.

[stavanzer]

You have a good point, Jeffery.

I will give Round2 Credit for making it very clear what kit is in the box, and not making those kinds of ID mistakes.