Motor City

What's funny is the original 1966 AMT kit indicates it's a GS version of the Riviera, but it's not. A similar situation is the MPC 1972 Impala kit. The box indicates it has the 454 engine, but it's only the 400!

that looks FANTASTIC!

It took me 10 years of going to the show in Toledo (Maumee, actually) to finally find an '82 kit so I can replicate my '87. This was before Ebay. I suggest finding a scratched up promo if anyone wants the stock front end for an '82-'87 El Camino if the kit is still difficult to find.

let's be perfectly CLEAR, here!

This '72 Eldo convertible that my brother saw in a junkyard recently would have been a cooler choice.

I'd like to see a '67 Mercury S-55 or Marquis. The '68 and '69 Mercurys would be nice, too.

Speaking as someone who started buying and building models in 1965, I think I see how Round 2 is operating. Like me, many serious collectors don't want multiple versions of the same car. They want one of a particular model that can be built and look professional parked alongside other kits and promotional models that he or she happens to have. For example, when I was younger, I drove a '68 Buick Wildcat. Would I like to see a model of one? Of course, but it's not likely to happen. Instead, I have the '64, '65, '66, '69 and '70 Wildcats. Round 2 thinks it can attract enough buyers who want to replace a model they messed up when they were younger, or build Dad's, Grandpa's, or (fill in the blank)'s favorite car. Then there are what I consider to be hard core modelers, many of whom participate on this forum. These are people who want to buy multiple copies of the same kit to build different customized versions, try different color schemes, or just like the variation in box art from the different releases over the years. I know some guys who collect promos in every color combination offered of a particular car. I am not being critical of any of this. Possibly the principals of Round 2 reads this forum and foam at the mouth when reading comments such as, "if they come out with the such-and-such, I'll buy a whole case!". How many people would really buy a whole case to build all of them? Probably no one, but if adding pad-printed tires, additional decals, or different wheels gets repeat buyers for something re-issued several years ago that they had already purchased, then Round 2 wins and so does the consumer. If we get lucky, maybe they will do well enough to come out with some entirely new kits.

thanks for posting the article, Casey; it was very interesting!

thanks, Casey; looking forward to it!

I'm not thrilled with most of the tooling Round2 has resurrected. But a lot of people on this forum love a lot of these obscure kits. If that helps bring in some revenue, hopefully they will then be able to fix some of the regular kit tooling that was butchered ('64 Cutlass, '65 Dynamic 88, '66 GS, '65 Fairlane, '65 Bonneville, '65 Falcon, etc.). Then, hopefully, different versions of the repaired tooling can be tooled ('66 88, '65 and '66 Starfire, '65 442, '67 GS, '65 Catalina 2+2, etc.). I don't get my hopes up, so I continue to buy old kits and promos since I don't expect much any more. The model companies have gotten carried away with the endless Camaros, '70 Chevelles, and Impalas of the same year by different companies. It's time for a fresh start with muscle cars of the '70s and '80s that were never done, as well as newer cars (ATS , CTS and ELR coupes, Jaguar convertible). Sadly, there aren't many interesting new cars on the road today .

I wonder if the tooling still exists for the '60 Imperial? It probably would have been issued by now if it did.

a great loss for sure; I hope his family has found some comfort as time has passed

That's the same color interior my parents' first new car had. It was a '57 Bel Air 2-door hardtop, black with a white top. I really loved that car! Thanks for posting the video, Bill!

I believe 1956 was the last year all AMT models (Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Lincoln, Dodge, Studebaker, Thunderbird) used metal bumpers.

It was actually located in Troy, Michigan with a mailing address of Birmingham since Troy apparently didn't have a post office then. The building looks very non-descript today, and last time I went by it, was used by Stanley Door Systems.

The original '66 Riviera promo and kit were not GS models. The newer promo and kit are GS models.

The '66 Fairlane also was available with a 427, but not many were made (50 or so). I believe all were white with a black interior. I read this in an article in Hemmings Muscle Machines or Muscle Car Review of a guy who owns 2 1966 427 Fairlanes within the last year..

This IS one of the best threads I've seen. I for one am tired of the same old new models (Revell and AMT versions of the same car, too-numerous-to-count Camaros, etc.). Some of the cars shown are quite creative, even though I wouldn't want to own any of them.

Geez ... I thought this was going to be a topic on the latest iteration of a Chevelle or Camaro model kit (Yenko, COPO, etc.). Some of these customs must have been the inspiration for the Aztek, Rendevous, Prius, Element, Juke and other beauties of the past few decades!

I never saw a '41 Stude coupe pickup like that! Their Coupe Express from 1937-1939 had an integrated box. Chevy made one like this '41 from 1936 to 1942 where the box also bolted in where the trunk lid normally goes. I have a diecast '37 Stude Coupe Express in 1/18 scale. It's a beautiful model. Besides some of these classic trucks, some Rancheros are still needed.

thanks, Casey; I guess some Nascar die-cast were re-issued, but I was more interested in the 1/25 regular cars; I was hoping someone would start coming out with new product

Does anyone know what happened to the tooling? They made some really nice vehicles in the 1990s.

I forgot to mention that Palmer (yes, THAT Palmer) made a '70 XL GT kit with a multi-piece body.

The XL GT was also an option in 1970. The 7 Litre (428) was available in 1966 and 1967. The 427 was optional from 1963-1967 on the big Ford. I saw a rusted out '67 7 Litre in Dearborn once, but have never seen a '67 big Ford 427. I saw an article on a '67 Galaxie 427 with factory 4-speed, and it was mentioned that at least one LTD that year had the same engine and trans.

Landau roofs became an option starting in 1973. The '70, '71 and '72 all had grilles distinct from one another. In addition, the '71 had a hood ornament.