Luc Janssens

Maybe a Belgian (me) should run the model kit division, and don't worry I will continue the co-operation with round-2 as it's part of the merger One major change that will be in effect right after the contract is signed, every kit will come in a chocolate box, and the instructions will be printed on a coaster.

I think that waffle is as Belgian as your English muffin' is English. Just saying are waffles are square too, the only one that isn't, is a Liege sugar waffle, yummy but calories, man!

Thank you Darin!

But, but...guys, they're owned by Belgians, I should know, I am one

Just guessing, maybe Round-2 has a blanked license, which covers both the die-cast and model kit products. Too bad Revell and some other manufacturers don't engrave tire size and performance code in their tire tooling, to have some degree of realism in the sidewall, without having to pay fees.

IIRC this was the first prototype of the then new Riv (shown in '67 I think) but after the "open air review" at the GM Tech center in Warren MI, GM execs ordered everyone in design, to be tested for illegal substances. (Later on they learned, the ventilation in the building was tampered with.) The '71 Riviera we all know, is a seriously toned down version, from that drug inflicted initial design. Anyone into design should read the book: What were they smoking? (subtitle: Weird Detroit designs) By R. BION ISBN-13: 978-0446378918

I have two of the originals, with Goodyear® tires, so.... Still too bad they at the time, did the headlamps in such an odd way. Luc

Maybe he bought and paid for the entire run, dunno just guessing.

Just transplant a 6cyl in the engine bay and you have late 60s grocery getter/econobox. Or paint it blue and put some dents in it...

Seems the idea sounded only great in my head! Oh well.....back to the modeling bench...and thanks all for your input. Best Regards Luc

Go "here" and it all makes sense.

Maybe Gregg Hutchings and Larry Greenberg are the people to talk to, about the following, but I'm also wondering what you guys think, of the idea to have available, as pay per PDF download a kit car/truck review in A4 format. One could print and then store in a binder so whenever you wish to build kit X, Y, Z you can find easily. Wouldn't it generate some extra income for MCM too? Good or bad idea?

Good move!

Just a general question about the painting process on 1st gen Mustangs. I vaguely remember some sort of video clip by The Supremes" where they were singing in a Ford Mustang plant, while painted fenders went by, hanging on a overhead conveyor, now my question: Were some hang-on / bolt-on parts painted separate from the body, or were these items painted separately for in-plant repair? Thanks! Luc

Joe, you're mistaken, the 74 Monaco is a full size (A-body IIRC) car, while the kits you mention are mid size (B-body), tho in your defense the Monaco nameplate went B body in '77 or '78, and the A-body went Gran.... Best regards Luc

The cost picture gets different when you're a company like Mattel, they can spread the scan cost through their product range. Cuz the same data can be used to create tooling models for 1/50, 1/43, 1/32, 1/25, 1/24, 1/20, 1/18, 1/12, 1/8....... Maybe in time an entrepreneur will offer the model and toy companies, a portfolio of CAD data of all things automotive....certainly an interesting venture, if the serviced can be offered at a price lower, then when they have to do it in house...... Luc

Interesting.

The following subject would be nice. 1969 Dodge Polara CHP Cruiser by Tom Sheehy & Luc Janssens 1) Select the type of customer you wish to reach: The enthusiast modeler, As with big rig builders, police car modelers are rarely blessed with new subjects, and the few released were either simplified designs and retools or marketed towards youth, sometimes including questionable and costly extras. Only one kit sticks out and then it's an old tool whose current existential status is unknown, namely the old Jo-Han Plymouth Fury, which was on the market for decades. I firmly believe that police car modelers will lay the green on the counter for a detailed cruiser because they almost always had to rely on aftermarket companies to make a convincing model. 2) Choice of subject matter: The 1969 Dodge Polara is widely known as one of the all-time favorite cruisers amongst officers who were active during the 60s-70s. It is also listed as the fastest cruiser of the time, even surpassing the 94-96 Caprice LT1s. The 1969 Polara equipped with a 440 4bbl was officially clocked at 147mph in tests. It was basically a 4 door muscle car, which sat on top of the food chain eating GTOs, Chargers, Challengers, 'Cudas, Chevelles, Camaros and Mustangs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just the kit we need for keeping the tablecloths of America's contest tables free from tire burns! In fact, anyone who collects and/or builds muscle car kits must have at least one, just to keep his collection intact. 3) Design of the kit & tool: Finding a pristine example will not be a problem in this case, because Hemmings "Muscle Car Machines" Magazine recently did a restoration feature on one. Likewise for someone to measure and photograph it, because it's in Tom Montgomery's (Former Amt/Ertl kit designer) back yard! Body: Four-door body of course with fine and sharp engraving (Don't you love the window surrounds on a late 60s Jo-Han annual?) and without heavy molded-in features. For example, a dome light which can lead to a sink mark in the roof, which the modeler has to fill and sand. Small ridges and holes where to drill in the roof for roof mounted emergency lights will do. Because this car has seen service in many agencies, it would be handy to either offer the side moldings as separate metal transfer pieces (like Galaxie LTD's 1948 Chevrolets). This may not be feasible and could be a possible giveback when running into budget issues, but since it's a thin molding to begin with, it probably can be sanded off with relative ease when molded-in. The body closings will only consist of the hood dressed up with a separate lip* and hinges, in case the builder wants to show off the engine. The following items round up the body assembly: firewall, inner fenders (as with Amt '68 RR), radiator brace, side mirror(s)*, door handles*, front bumper* with separate grille* (to ease the detail painting) with clear headlamp lenses, rear bumper*, tail lamp-surrounds* with a perimeter flange to reinforce them and provide a gluing surface to mount them into the body and provide a stop for the rear bumper, and clear tail lamp-lenses of course (* indicates chrome part). Interior: The plain-Jane base level trim all around interior, would be a sort of snap-fit platform style, minimizing the risk of getting glue in unwanted places. Consisting of a floorboard with a two piece dash, steering wheel and column with molded-in selectors, separate pedals, two piece bench seat, separate rear seat with package tray (flashed over holes for mounting the two CHP flashers), separate door panels to allow for easy detailing. Police radio set-up for the transmission hump. It can be similar to the Jo-Han Plymouth set up, as that was very accurate. However, having separate pieces for the radio, siren control and switches would be great so that different set-ups can be configured by the builder. Two detailed microphones are needed; there was only one in the Jo-Han kit which was incorrect for the set-up. Chassis and drivetrain: Breakdown similar to AMT’s 1957 Chrysler 300 or their 1960 Galaxie kit, 440 4bbl (what else!) with Torqueflite 727 Auto Trans. This police engine was rated at 375 HP. Kit should include two air cleaners, one stock and one low restriction. The low restriction is the police unit, and is similar in design to the one in the Lindberg 1964 Dodge 330 kit. It's actually referred to in the Dodge literature as an "unsilenced" air cleaner. Separate chassis, heavy duty rear end, dual exhaust, and front and rear sway bars round out the chassis. Wheels: two sets...one needs to be correct steel wheels with dog dish hub caps of correct vintage. I'd include a base series full hubcap as an option for those doing a standard sedan. Tires need to be a beefy vintage blackwall, Goodyear Polyglas or similar. The ones AMT has been using for years are actually pretty good. Accessories: Here's where it gets tricky. The Jo-Han Plymouth was actually a great kit for the roof lights alone. They were extremely accurate and looked the part. This kit should be done with that in mind, optional roof light set-up* for multiple agencies. Spotlights* for both sides are a must. Two styles of beacon lights, one like the Jo-Han, which is a Federal model 176H and one a flat top 4 beam (Federal 184, Dietz 211 or similar). The roof bar with twin beacons would be nice too. That's a Federal model 11, with optional chromed siren speaker in the center. I'd use the rounded speaker (like the speaker on the Adam-12 car) instead of the flat wide style in the Jo-Han kit. Since electronic sirens were just becoming popular, it would still need an old mechanical siren for under the hood as another option. To round it out, about six flashers of different sizes, 2 small, 2 medium, 2 larger, all single faced. These could be used for rear deck flashers, front grille flashers, optional light bar flashers, etc. Now the most important necessity for all of these lights: MOLD ALL OF THEM IN CLEAR PLASTIC. Not red, not blue, not a mix... CLEAR. This allows the builder to tint them accordingly to the agency that's being represented. The push bar would be a preformed pre-painted metal assembly, to keep it in scale and robust Agency decals: I'm sure licensing and permissions are in order here. But it shouldn't be too bad, considering Hawk/Lindberg is issuing about 6 different state agencies in their reissue of the 1996 Crown Victoria. A CHP version is a must, this would negate the need for roof lights, too, as they ran most of these with no roof lights and dual spotlights, the driver's side being red. The CHP would also have two flashers, one red and one amber, on the back package shelf, both on the left side, facing rear. However, the 1969 Polaras were used all over the country, and offering different versions or including different agencies in the one kit (like the Jo-Han Plymouth) would be great. The tooling could be used for modified reissues of any C-body MoPar from 1969-77 as the chassis were virtually unchanged except for the yearly addition of annual emissions upgrades (or downgrades, if you will). The ultimate choice would be the 74 Monaco for its wide use in movies (Blues Brothers) and its very wide use in police and taxi work. 4) Packaging and support Box - Artwork: I really like the way Sean Svendsen handled the Model King box designs of the ’70 Wildcat and Camaro Funny Cars. He really knows how to present a built model, so I would put him in charge of that (hopefully his fees are reasonable). for the box top however, I also like the art work of Jairus Watson and know he would do a good job of a CHP unit burning sideways (showing off the "Wolfs Head" graphics on the door) through a corner on Mulholland drive, in hot pursuit of some bad boys. The size of the box would be like the "Accurate Miniatures" Corvette kits, to show off the artwork and the neatly displayed contents when removing the box top. - Packaging of the parts: chrome, clear parts, tires, packed separately in poly bags, same for the white plastic parts, decals by Cartograph covered with a protective paper and bagged too. - Instruction sheet: I like the approach AMT/ERTL took in the mid 1990s, which was very detailed and every part was clearly identified. - Consumer support: On our company website I would post a whole range of photos taken when the engineers of product development were measuring up the cruiser, together with anecdotes, facts and fiction of the subject and the agency it served with. Also a photo composing as per instruction sheet sequence would be available on line together with tips on how to build a perfect model. 5) Budgetary constraints I would lose the metal transfers, and engrave the side molding into the cavity of the body sides, is a too simple solution for the cash problem, therefore I would get in touch with a die cast manufacturer (like Highway 61) to see if the project is of interest to them too, because the majority of model car collectors are not modelers, if they're interested the R&D costs would drop considerably, and could start a long term partnership 6) Post a photo of the subject Above picture courtesy of Hemmings Muscle Machines, for more photo's and the original article of the restoration of this unique vehicle click on the following link. Hemmings Muscle Machines Note: The book "Dodge, Plymouth & Chrysler POLICE CARS, 1956-1978" by Edwin Sanow and John Bellah, Motorbooks International was used for reference. The 250 000 dollar / 250K question ©. Format created by: Luc Janssens,

The yellow version is stake-bed only, with some leftover parts from the tractor version like the 5th wheel. The white version is more like a 2'n 1 kit, yet it's not mentioned anywhere on the box or instruction sheet.

These decals are "only" in the last edition. I wish round-2 would sell some of it's decals via their site or so, cuz love their artwork!

If you wish to build the tractor version I recommend buying the RC-2 release (see photo below) from a couple years ago, cuz it includes all the parts. And...you can use the spare stake bed to make a trailer, pulled by the new round-2 release you show here, now wouldn't that be a great modeling project?

Hope you guys realize it's in scale 1/24.

http://www.lastpost.be/

IMHO it's nuts to release it, after-all the new model is here....