Luc Janssens

Just saw that my local hobby shop has it in stock as of today, but odd that the sticker price is about 5 euro (about the same in Mickey Mouse money) higher than the new vette kit. Licensing?!

I kinda hope the Kats at Round2 look into the possibility to scan the original kit and work the numbers to release it as a 1/25th scale kit.

Bought it yesterday and tried it on a Monogram truck grille. Doesn't look to shaby, think the key is, to apply it in layers waiting a day or so in between. Or what's your experience or secret Erik?

My suggestion. A modified clone of the '71 - '77 Dodge tradesman van, this time curbside as only the oil pan is visible, but more detail on the chassis suspension and dress-up parts. To start off, I have two versions in mind: Custom Van, full interior with separate rear and side "cargo" doors with and without glass, and optional parts like skirts/spoilers, porthole options, side-exhausts, wheels, and rear-covered spare tire. Then there's the matter of artwork, options galore LOL Dirt-bike service Van, full-service interior with separate rear and side "cargo" doors,with and without glass, optional parts like 4x4 set up, metal-on ramp, rear-mounted ladder, roof mounted spotlights front and rear, roof rack with accessories ( Jerry cans, tarp, wheels/tires) and maybe include a dirtbike. Decals; Kats dirtbike team! Dunno yet, if the van should be as a shorty or similar to the Mpc anual also depends on more possible future (window) variants like an Ambulance, and or national park 4x4 touring bus

watch HPI guy while typing. a recipe for disaster, well double post

Dunno about the yes or no curbside (see link below*), James. Also IIRC the tooling still exists, the only thing that needs cloning is the clear shot. * I know that it's not a scientific poll and sales figures only tell the true story, but maybe more people chip in, sharing their preferences and ideas, giving a broader view on the matter. I myself do prefer engines, as it's the beating heart of the automobile/truck/big rig.....only a van IMHO could do without, due to difficulty having a separate hood and just a small opening to show very title engine, so the tooling dollars spent there, are better spent at dress-up items. But again that's just my preference. Cheers

The name Roger Sills comes to mind, but after American Satco vanished so did he it seems.

Yeah...I know...just my wacky brain ? 'Bout the automotive kits, well always liked the Daytona, but have two of the Ertl era already. One of those will be the Dee Dee Mcall car to compliment Hunter's Monaco whenever I get to it.

Could be and if yes, they probably will be molded in clear, cuz Heller always has been a bit different than mainstream

Tim, If you happen to have a spare Polar Lights Coronet, would it be possible to check if the grille from this kit will fit the PL kit? If so it would be a nice upgrade. Thanks in advance! Cheers

Hmm... Is the car under the tarp in the intro a teaser? If so Im thinking a Pontiac from the Collonade generation.

Yep... It's good to see they're still going at it because Heller looked dormant for a while.

Thanks for the tip, gonna see if they have it here too.

Tim, I'm a bit gunshy about detailing that grille too, due to what you mentioned, and I'm wondering if oil paint could work, first apply to the whole grille, let dry, and then go gently over the grille with a cloth or a flat pencil erazor cut to size. Just thinking oud loud. Cheers

Great to see that both grille are included in the kit. Thanks for the photo-review Tim! Cheers

https://www.modellversium.de/kit/artikel.php?id=14137 Photo courtesy of Jens Lohse.

In that respect you're absolutely right, the question then is; would it or is it a deal breaker? I guess the proof is in eating the pudding and you will be first-line in getting the data. BTW just checked the stash, and both the Revell '69 Camaro H/T and the Amt/Ertl '67 Mustang F/B have molded-in wipers and door handles, which to me personally are not so much a deal breaker. than the missing of grille detail on the Monogram '59 Cadillac bumper grille part, which is not on par with the rest of what is a truly nice kit.

Oops

It seems to work for Round2, all the scanned parts were designed to eject out off the tooling, thus easier to rework than start from scratch. Anyway, I would love to sit down with Steve Goldman at his desk at Round2, discuss and share ideas on what all is possible with showing examples. Maybe someday!

An old friend, one of the original Kats once said the following to me; "the human mind is like a parachute- it really only works when it's open" I try to follow his motto, and dispense ideas, possibilities....

They are two different boxings, one for the European market, the other for the North American, albeit having decals for Japan and Down under.

Cloning is new tooling, for instance, or argument's sake, one takes the original annual kits of the Jo-Han '69 and '70 Plymouth GTX/Roadrunner. Now you can copy and improve both kits and create tooling where both or more versions can be ejected from. IMHO it doesn't stop there, cuz one doesn't need to clone all the parts that came in these original kits, just look what Ertl did the old-fashioned way back in the '90s, combining two sets of tooling from two different kits to re-create the '70 Dodge Coronet. Now one can mix and match parts from other kits, clone and adapt, or design all new to incorporate in all-new tooling. It's like kit bashing but in the design phase. Comments welcome.

Even when winning the lottery, I do wish to stay in business and not crash and burn after a few great kits, which everyone had to have, but in the end, only a few hundred ended up buying So my hat off to everyone in the business trying to keep the momentum going.... Cheers

Cool! you get license plates for Australia and Japan too!

Incredible isn't it, that in a decade or so, we went from; Oh no, the tooling is lost or can't be run! To just clone a mint kit! If the ROI is there, the sky is the limit! ?