Justin Porter

More progress on my 250GT California. A bunch of AK Xtreme Metal paints went onto the wheels (Chrome) and the exhausts (Dark Aluminum and Stainless Steel) and the tires were painted with AK Real Color Rubber Black. I mocked up the chassis and body again with the back of the interior and I am super pleased with the way this is starting to come together.

That's really fantastic! I'll be excited to see how the eight-lugs look in this update.

I don't know if it will be blue or purple or white or what have you. You may see a Coke themed release or box art similar to the original annual kit as opposed to the street machine release. I will repeat what I stated in the opening post. "I tracked down two REPRESENTATIVE examples of the classic box art for these kits. I don't know whether or not the reissues will have this box art or similar."

Round 2 has apparently decided that what the world needs now is more malaise era reissues. To that end, according to Stevens International we can expect MPC #1003 1979 Chevy Nova and MPC #1004 1973 Mercury Cougar "The Cat" Street Machine as reissues for 2024. I tracked down two REPRESENTATIVE examples of the classic box art for these kits. I don't know whether or not the reissues will have this box art or similar.

Glad to welcome another Ohioan to the board. From Lorain, myself.

A small but fun update. I have got the front suspension together and have mocked up the California with the Jack Modeling 3D printed wire wheels and Dunlop tires. What an improvement over the kit stock parts!

I can at least tell you that the majority of the Accurate Miniatures aircraft tooling is with Academy who has kept several of the AM aircraft kits like the TBF Avenger and B-25 Mitchell in regular production.

I really am super happy the 500 is back. It's such a happy little kit and packs a good amount of detail into not a lot of styrene.

Right now, we have nothing but speculation for what the new Jo-Han intends to do. You feel that 3D resin would be too high a customer price point for reasonably detailed kits of niche subjects. I disagree because clearly the market exists otherwise we would not see the explosion of 3D printed resin kits ranging generally from $50 to $100. Iceman, for instance, is currently rolling out a Jeep Cherokee to an eager audience. Kits of this nature suit the more esoteric builders who seek them out. An perfect case study in niche market pricing is the MSRP on the Salvinos/WMMC tie-up that produced their excellent Tour-type modified kits. These are fantastic kits that have been strong sellers thanks to their detail and their commitment to serving a group of builders - specifically short track race car builders - that have been effectively ignored by the plastic kit manufacturers ever since the last time Revell took their World of Outlaws winged sprint car off the market. The last new pavement specific kit in that genre? The 1980's tooled Revell ASA Camaros and Thunderbirds! However, the trade-off for builders has been that the modifieds carry $40+ price tags, putting them more in line with premium race car kits like those from manufacturers like NuNu or Belkits than your classic department store shelf fodder. You keep coming back to "cloning" as if all that any builder wants is a chance to build Jo-han's PATHETIC old AMC kits again. As if the modern auto builder wants seats that are molded into the interior bucket, scale three inch holes in the side of the engine block, zero core support detail, chrome headlights, mile thick one-piece glass, molded in exhaust with solid tips, molded in license plates that announce the car's year of manufacture, and on down the list. Yes, Round 2 is currently - in most cases - eliminating these kit design travesties to the best of their ability but they exist in droves in Jo-han's tooling. Jo-han - for reasons that continue to escape me to this very day - apparently was a byword for quality in the 1960's. If they are to be a byword for quality in 2024, they cannot expect to do so with the obsolete wreckage of the past. I say if this new Jo-han is starting from scratch, then let's REALLY start from scratch and 3D printed resin is the fastest, least risky method to do so compared to tooling for styrene production.

If I were to have a realistic hope, it would be that this "new" Johan would simply concentrate on new-design 3D resin kits of subjects that would be known to be in classic Johan's wheelhouse. If we look at Javelins or Comets or Toronados along the lines of the Iceman Vector W8 or the USCP Citroen SM, granted with corresponding price tags, that would be a good way to bring the Johan name into the 21st century rather than attempting to be another Round 2.

It's really fun to see just how much this Monogram classic can be improved.

Just received two sets from Jason. One for my California and one ear-marked for my Fujimi 250GTO build. They 100% live up to expectations. Positively gorgeous wheels and tires.

That's really such a great result. The finished model almost hides the sheer amount of work it took to get here from there.

This is one of the biggest reasons I can't imagine the '58 Plymouth honestly getting retooled. It sells incredibly well as-is to casual builders who just want to build "Christine" and wouldn't be aware of the kit's many flaws. I can genuinely say from behind the counter that it's a routine purchase in my shop for first-time modelers because of the movie tie in as opposed to any desire to build an accurate 1950's Chrysler product.

The biggest issue I have with selling the Atlantis kits in my shop - frankly - is the box art. The reissued Tom Daniels kits (Groovy Grader, Troublemaker, Unreal Roller) have done just fine because they're instantly recognizable as their Monogram origins regardless of color scheme. The Mooneyes dragster and the Fiat have proven slower sellers and I think that's because they're a bit further divorced from their Revell origins. The "totally not Miss Deal" reissue of the Miss Deal Studebaker has done better, but it will remain to be seen how some of the parts pack street rods will do. The anomalies are the Jungle Jim Camaro funny car - which I'm sure has sold well on the strength of subject matter despite the egregiously underwhelming kit inside - and the '57 Chevy which seems to sell well simply because it's a relatively inexpensive '57 Chevy kit.

Definitely enjoying seeing this and watching to get ideas for my own 250GTO build.

They ought to move pretty swiftly from most local shops. We just got in our supply this past week at my shop and already their page on my shop's site has had big traffic numbers.

Very much so. Because of my own interest in slot car racing, I specifically wanted to build the Auto World #54 more even than Denny and Bruce's high wing championship cars. And the progress has continued.

I imagine the '71 Hemi Charger will sell a TON better without the very 1999 custom wheels and the weirdly sagging rear end on the box art model.

I'm actually quite pleased with what I'm seeing. This looks like it ought to make a LOT of Chrysler muscle modelers happy. There seem to be a fair number of changes that are being made with an eye towards buildability and accuracy and that's always good in my book.

Great build of a truly fun Tamiya kit.

I had to place my Italeri 250GT California project on hold while waiting on some parts, so in the mean time I picked up another long term project to work on bringing it to its completion. This is the Accurate Miniatures 1/24 McLaren M8B Can-Am racer, specifically in the livery of Oscar Koveleski and Tony Adamowicz from 1971. It's an infamous kit, beautifully detailed but tricky to assemble. My plan is to build it as a finished chassis with the bodywork on stands next to the chassis to show off everything inside.

That's definitely my plan. I had seen another builder use the wire wheels by Fujimi from the 365GTB/4 Daytona kit and was considering that or may end up using 3D printed wires.

Thank you so much! I've placed a call and hopefully I hear back. It would be fantastic to get to add the interior set to this build.

That actually gives me a lot of optimism to hear. I did find someone selling the seats on Shapeways but that doesn't solve the dash or the door cards. I know that RMCoM is notoriously "old school" so how would you recommend contacting them?