Robberbaron

Assuming you're talking about the '64 "Resto Mod"? In the pics of the built-up and the box art mock up, the only new parts I see are the cowl hood and the rally wheels. I confirmed that the stock '64 hardtop already has the mesh air cleaner and the slapper traction bars. It also has a whole 2nd custom exhaust system and a couple sets of aftermarket valve covers. So I suspect all that stuff will carry over into the Resto Mod.

I second all of the above. That linked example is a Silverado Sport with aftermarket 350 SS decals. LOL at "Not a clone" statement: I guess it can't be a clone, since a factory 350 SS never existed. From what I recall seeing driving around back in the day, I think the Sport package was only available in black, white, or red.

In what form? Resin? 3D printed? Given the history of this Okey version of "Johan", I find it very hard to believe that it will be an injection molded plastic kit. Regardless, there are dozens and dozens of different "real" Jo-Han vintage kits and promos that people drop hundreds of dollars on and thousands more covet. Yet we are to believe that THIS would be a better business decision than recreating something like the Pro Stock Maverick, '69 Roadrunner, etc.? Think it has anything to do with not needing to pay royalties? ?

I reluctantly agree. I admit that my knee-jerk reaction to stuff like this is " why are they bothering to recreate THAT!". Yet, many of the responses in this thread confirm that this is welcome news by a lot of people. So I try to look at it exactly as Lee stated. Frankly I'm happy to see Round 2 investing so much in automotive subjects, and if stuff like this helps to fund more subjects like the Nova wagon and the recently announced GTO's, it all works out in my book.

Agreed, that's what makes it so tragic that the original stock '65 got butchered. In addition to the side window shape, most people aren't real keen on the bumper guards on the Revell '65, or the fact that it can only be built as a low production Z16. I would much prefer a small-block powered "standard" SS with more color choices, etc.

I have no doubt that the potential to reissue the Chevelle Drag Team played a factor in this decision, similar to the Nova. Only question is WHEN they reissue the Indy Drag Combo. (My suspicion is that it will be announced within the next year.) I'm no expert on the AMT AWB kits, but I seem to recall people "in the know" saying that the Chevelle and Streaker Olds shared a chassis (probably also drivetrain?), so that would be a key part in the puzzle to bring back the AWB Olds. Maybe another factor in the "plus" column to bring the Chevelle back? Think someone said that the Edsel "Funny Car" also used that chassis...

Sure didn't expect that. No doubt many people will be happy to see that one return. Now, allow me to be "that guy" and say I'd much prefer the stock Craftsman '65 hardtop. Since they're recreating all of this, including the glass and front/rear chrome, I'm crossing my fingers for a follow-up stock-bodied '65 which could use the same parts.

After seeing the decals on the "Stunt Van", all I can think of is Milhouse's Halloween costume:

I'll back up everything Scott is saying regarding Round 2 replacement parts: picture of the receipt, picture of the bar code, and part number/description of the item(s) you need. I recently made replacement part requests for 2 separate AMT kits. Got an email response within a day. Got one replacement part in less than a week, the other about 3-4 days after that. Same experience several years ago when I was missing one front bumperette for the '70 Baldwin Motion Camaro. (As an aside, I've also had similar experiences dealing with both Revell Germany and Moebius.)

One silver lining is that this kit is now molded in white, so just sand or scrape the paint off the lettering after spraying the tires black. Couldn't do that on the original issue, which was molded in black.

That would be commendable if the backup lamps were integral within the taillight lenses, but they're separate lenses on either side of the license plate: So not smart, just cutting corners.

Really glad to see you do the stock taillights, but I can understand your reluctance. Looks like it was a bear to get them right. Impressive work as usual. Have you decided whether to leave the hood scoop or convert it to flat?

All I can say is read these review threads before purchasing. Tried warning everyone in January. I still find it really odd that they're not describing this as a snap kit on the box. I suspect there will be many more people feeling they got a "bait and switch" with this one. For what it is, it was a nice, above-average snap kit when it was released in the early '80s for kids. Marketing it forty years later to adults that are used to full detail kits is a questionable move. Exhibit A is the plastic tires you mentioned. (One silver lining of this tooling being out of use for forty years: Revell-Monogram never wiped the Goodyear branding off of them like they did for all of their vinyl tires. Since these are molded in white, it will be fairly easy to sand/scrape the black paint off to get the white-letter effect.) Exhibit B is the top half of the "engine" which snaps onto the chassis. As you can see in Zack's picture above, it resembles a Buick Nailhead more than an SBC. I will admit the decals look outstanding, which may be the saving grace for this release. Will be interesting to see the first build of this using those decals. Something tells me a lot of these decals will end up getting used with the upcoming MPC '81 Camaro reissue.

Thinking the '65 Bonneville will be another Round 2 release that HL never bothers carrying. Luckily, I also have an excellent LHS where I already got one, but most people aren't so lucky nowadays. There's always been certain Round 2 releases that didn't get carried by HL (MPC Squad Rod Nova and Pony Express Pinto wagon come to mind), but years ago I'd say they carried about 80% of the new releases. For my local store, I'd say the current ratio is less than 50%. Also interesting to note that all of the "future inventory" tags that I listed above will be Revell kits, except one (MPC Supra).

Nothing to snag - those are all empty spaces that are labeled for pending new arrivals. And the Olds will be a '71, not a '70.

Stopped in my local HL on Friday, new additions were the AMT (ex-Lindberg) '66 Chevelle and the Wild Hoss Bronco, $35.99 & $32.99 respectively, as noted above. Also had the Sunoco '34 Ford truck (didn't note the price, I got plenty of them cheap when they were still Lindberg). Noticed that the AMT (again, ex-Lindberg) '61 Impala is now $29.99. (Was previously either $24.99 or $26.99) Most of the remaining empty spaces are now tagged for upcoming new arrivals. Here's what I saw at mine: '71 Olds 442 W-30 Porsche 911 Carrera '70 Plymouth Roadrunner '67 Corvette Stingray (color: blue, so this must be Revell, not MPC) '37 Ford Pickup with Surfboard (woo-hoo!) '70 Buick GSX 2 in 1 '56 Ford Thunderbird 1983 Toyota Celica Supra '66 Malibu SS 2 in 1 '81 Camaro Z-28 '85 Camaro Z-28 Notably absent (IMHO): no Revell '30 Ford coupe or '32 Roadster.

I agree - very well done, and beliveable as a possible 1:1 prototype.

I'm wondering if Revell is still doing relatively small runs on a lot of these kits, similar to the last years of Hobbico? Several of the recent Revell releases have come and gone from my LHS quite quickly, including the '30 Model A coupe, the '37 Ford pickup, and the '56 Del Ray.

I did mention it back in July when I first saw it, but it kind of got lost in the recent clearance hysteria. First kit I saw stickered at $37.99 was the Revell Mustang 5.0 LX drag kit. A couple weeks later the Revell Bronco also appeared at that price. I don't think I've seen any others yet, which is kind of surprising since it's been over three months. However, the shelves at my local store were over half empty this week, so they are definitely preparing for a reset. I'm expecting the $37.99 to be the new "typical" kit price for most of the Revell and Round 2 offerings that were previously $29.99. I'm sure the prices on some of the snappers and "budget" kits like the 1966 Nova Pro Street and 1967 GTO will also go up, yet remain a bit less than $37.99.

I think the fact that they still have the '69 GTO body fully intact almost guarantees that at some point it will get combined with this new chassis and a retooled interior.

Fully agreed! Drag Lites & Drag Stars (or name your equivalent from another manufacturer) have been popular ever since the mid-80s, at least. In my opinion, they look good on almost anything. As Roger said, I dont believe the Drag Lites have ever been offered in anything except some of the Monogram Pro Stock kits. Drag Star type wheels are currently available in the Revell "chop top" Mustang 5.0 notchback drag kit, and were also in the nineties-tooled AMT '57 Corvette Street Machine. Aside from that, I think the only others were in some of the Pro Stock kits. Really kind of amazing for two wheel styles that have been installed on hundreds of magazine feature cars over the course of the last 35 years. Yet, we got Centerline type wheels up to our ears in different kits over the years.

Looks like these are manufactured by another company and rebranded as AMT: https://actionfarmtoys.com/products/439bc-1-20-dodge-ram-3500-mega-cab-dually-pickup Search 1/20 toy horses and you will understand the reason for the scale selection by the actual manufacturer. Guessing Round 2 saw an opportunity and paired up with the manufacturer to put together the showbiz licensing for this.

Worst part of the MPC is the poorly proportioned chrome headlights, and we all know the worst part of the Revell notchback is the roof. Mashing the two into an LX fastback should eliminate the worst of each. Haven't gotten the two together to see if they would actually play nice with each other, though.

Thanks for posting the pictures, Jim. There's the third body variation and the cowl hood that I recall seeing in the "leaked" photos. Aside from the hood and the rally wheels, I wonder what the other differences/additions are? I can't recall if the stock '64 included that mesh air cleaner (I know it had several sets of valve covers). Regarding the '65 SS hardtop, I believe this will be the first time that Moebius has kitted a subject that was released previously by a different manufacturer, although I believe the stock '65 AMT was only a Craftsman kit (curbside). And, of course, it got butchered into the altered wheelbase "Rat Packer" long ago.