Justin Porter

Good picture of someone's box stock build. You can see the four-link w/Panhard bar, the mini-tubs, and the 454 big block and modern automatic transmission combination in the box were quite good too. Just about everything underneath the body was separate tooling from the factory stock kit. Even the mostly stock interior still necessitated different side panels because of the unique floorpan with the tubs. The trunk contained a very nice "off the shelf at Summit" style fuel cell too.

The gorgeous modern Art Morrison style frame, mini-tubs, and detailed four link w/Panhard bar that all add up to make that kit a landmark among modern hot rod kits are the whole reason it's desirable. Backdating it would totally defeat the purpose. I'll thoroughly grant it could stand a change of wheel and tire package to something aside from those parts bin leftover C4 Corvette wheels, but if they're going that far then the wheel and tire package should be something appropriately modern along the same lines as the Revell "California Wheels" series instead.

All these posts about whether or not Round 2's going to run the old Styline parts along with the old-tool '57 and I'm just over here upset that they STILL haven't brought back the new-tool Street Machine kit.

They do seem to be plastic and I plan on sanding the seam smooth then painting them with AK Interactive Rubber Black like I do on armor and aircraft builds.

Well, the AMT kit that I was most looking forward to personally arrived at the shop and I have one set aside for myself. All opened up it's no awful surprises and should be a fairly quick build. The highlight is easily that the wheels are both prototypical and well molded. The low light is the "refer to box art" cop out in the instructions for decal placement. All in all, though, I'm not unhappy and glad they did take the time to throw Indy fans a bone.

While the Tamiya Mini is a fine kit, and the Fujimi is reasonably available, I have no doubt having the Hasegawa on hand will be fantastic. They've been on an absolute tear for quality kits lately with really great subject choice.

I'm not at all opposed to vintage kits getting reissued for the folks who want them but I think Airfix has the right idea. This kit, for instance, was originally tooled in 1965. Airfix recognizes that as a scale miniature it's obsolete product that would get positively savaged in popular opinion which only sours the discourse and alienates potential customers about brand new (and excellent) kits like their 1/48th Supermarine Walrus. Helpfully, they specifically cite ALL of their old tooling kits with the "Vintage Classics" logo and their website sequesters the "Vintage Classics" all into their own section for purchase.

These boxes and agreed, wasn't a particular fan of them myself either. Hasegawa generally is pretty good with their boxart though either with nice straightforward images of the subject or historical photographs of the subject in competition.

Truthfully, I'm with Alan here. For years, the biggest modeling company of them all - Tamiya - has had box art that could rarely be called inspired. Look at the Tamiya MkIV Supra, for instance. Three quarter view of the subject without a single embellishment. But it doesn't NEED flashy box art to sell because what's in the box - an accurate and easy to build full detail kit of a MkIV Toyota Supra Turbo - is desirable on its own merits. I freely admit I positively adore some of the classic Revell box art like the "Miss Deal" Studebaker or the Competition Porsche 356 for its energy and creativity but if the KIT is good, then it sells itself.

I do agree with you that it's a really impressive looking piece so far. Genuinely curious as to what would hold the current lead spot in your estimation? If I were to guess at the three front runners at least to my mind they would probably be the current Tamiya GT4, the AMT/Ertl '67 GT, and the Revell '99 Cobra with possibly the Monogram '64-'65 kit as an outlier.

Really an attention grabbing build!

Hadn't realized this F12 kit was that detailed! Yours looks great and now I'm going to need one for the shelf.

Here's a rundown from behind the counter with the hard numbers. Generally for local hobby shops our purchase rate is in the neighborhood of 40% off of MSRP. Using the upcoming Phantom Vickie as an example, my cost on that kit is $24.67 before shipping through Stevens International. My other primary wholesale account on Round 2 is through Hobbytyme. Currently they're not listing a wholesale price on the Phantom Vickie. However, a brief scroll through the in-stock kits at Hobbytyme brings me to the '71 Mustang Mach 1 (kit #1262) with an MSRP of $40.95. Now, my rate at Hobbytyme is a bit better than at Stevens so my price before shipping is $22.94 on that kit. Finally, I have Heartland Hobby Wholesale which I primarily use for railroad items but also carries a selection of domestic and imported kits. They also don't have the Phantom Vickie listed yet (one of the advantages of Stevens being that they often get product first) but do have that same Mach 1 Mustang #1262. They list the Mustang's MSRP as $36.99 but their rate - again, not their focus - on AMT isn't quite what Stevens or Hobbytyme offer so my cost before shipping on that same Mach 1 from HHW is $26.26.

That's been an across the board price hike for Round 2. An excellent "case in point" would be the Ford LN8000 race hauler. The last time I had stocked that kit I had it priced at $36 on my shelf. The upcoming reissue of that very same kit is suggesting a retail of $64.95. To be fair, it's not ONLY Round 2 that's done this. The latest run of the Revell '56 Del Ray kit jumped from $27.95 to $32.95. Eduard aircraft also saw a bit of a jump with 1/48th scale Weekend Edition kits starting to crowd closer to $30 on average where they were previously averaging around $25.

Not a rumor, just a delayed reissue. According to Stevens International the kit's (AMT #1313) arrival is still TBA with an MSRP of $41.95. Announced around the same time as the Dan Gurney Indy Lotus which I am honestly still eagerly awaiting for my own personal building.

I seem to recall one of the biggest issues with the Revell C5 Corvettes being that from the '99 Hardtop kit onward they had a manual transmission console and pedal arrangement but they kept the incorrect automatic transmission from the initial coupe and convertible kits. This is a particularly glaring issue on the Z06's since those were manual only cars.

Got this kit in at the shop and it's a serious gem. The cast alloy wheels are beautifully depicted, the fine detailing on the chassis (especially with small parts like the watts link) is lovely, and the added little touches like the full decal set for all of the patterned upholstery really elevate it. I do wish I had a Monogram RX-7 on hand and a pair of dial calipers, too, because at least to my eye the Hasegawa kit appears a bit smaller physically than the Monogram as I remember it in the past.

Oh I'm fully aware this kit isn't what I personally want. What I personally want is an Austin Healey 3000 MkIII tooled by Tamiya, Ebbro, or Aoshima. That's pretty much diametrically opposed to an AMT kit of a customized Imperial from an old TV show.

Exactly how many versions of the tooling is Ebbro going to get out of their Tyrrell 003? Or NuNu out of their BMW M8 GTE? Or ICM out of their Benz Patent Motorwagen? Or Tamiya out of their Mclaren Senna? Don't settle for an excuse that other companies have proven to be entirely false.

I have always laughed at the "you need multiple variations" myth because all you need to debunk it is the existence of best selling race car kits. For instance, take one look at Tamiya's long-serving Toyota TS020 GT-One kit. It very specifically represents the car as it appeared at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans. Building it as the '98 version OR the one-of-one Road Version requires transkits or scratchbuilding. However, it's a best-seller to this day, partially owing to the car's mythic status in Gran Turismo and other racing games. The $40 MSRP which makes it fairly inexpensive among Tamiya racing car kits doesn't hurt either. I'm not even opposed to the idea of Round 2 using nicely detailed curbside kits as a work-around for more niche subjects. It works for the rest of the world so why not? Heck, I'm even willing to argue in favor of kits of a similar detail level as the "Snapfast Plus" Mako Shark PROVIDED they have a corresponding restraint in price OR adopt similar levels of detail to other modern curbside kits.

So far so good. My personal set have seen a reasonable amount of use (generally either opening option holes for underwing stores or reaming overly shallow mounting pin holes) and haven't shown any signs of dulling yet.

Thank you and I'm with @keyser on the Revell AAR 'Cuda. That's a standard stock item. I feel badly for you that you had to pull teeth just to get a pair of those. Now, I'll grant that sometimes Revell gets a bit "in between" when it comes to when containers arrive at the distributors which is why I tend to restock Revell in a single big go but that's not really an excuse. Besides, if they're a train shop then one Atlas HO scale 40' Reefer costs more wholesale than a single Revell domestic 1/25th-1/24th kit. It's not as if cost should be giving them shivers.

Where I'm wrong, I'm wrong. That looks significantly better than I was expecting. I'm not thrilled with the lack of depiction of the front lower control arms but everything that is there is nicely defined and certainly holds up. Consider my prior concerns retracted as for about 90% of builders that ought to be more than adequate.

What changed in my attitude, quite frankly, is that Round 2 product isn't sustainable outside of the original production runs. As volume items, consistent production runs at a volume sales MSRP (and concurrent wholesale cost) are necessary. Whenever there is a hot volume selling kit it's a nice thing. This year thus far the crown for the top volume seller in the Auto genre goes to the Moebius '64 Nova SS followed by the Revell '30 Ford Model A Coupe (love real time sales data reporting) with my top Round 2 release being the Wedge Hauler which is currently sitting behind the Salvinos JR Chase Elliot Camaro and the Tamiya Toyota GR86 in the figures. I was glad to be proven wrong by the Nova wagon because I was deeply skeptical of it upon its first showing. Then the Olds Cutlasses bombed. Then the Bruce Larson Vegas bombed. Then Round 2 started shipping those same kits to Ollies and Walmart at a retail price that was below my cost. Yes. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And here's the rub. I WANT AMT TO DO WELL. They're one of the oldest names in the industry. They have released kits over the years that I've absolutely adored ranging from the '62 Pontiac 421SD to the Watson Roadster to both of their classic Studebaker kits. If it's what my customers want I'll sell two cases of Raiders Coaches. They fit in perfectly with all the Unreal Rollers and Groovy Graders that found homes off of my shelves and all of the Son of Troublemakers that are already in bound. Do I doubt that the initial run will sell well to builders who have wanted a Coronet for years? No. Not at all. Clearly there's a market. Do I doubt that after they're sated it'll stay a perennially moving piece of my inventory the way the Revell '66 Impala or the Tamiya Volkswagen Beetle do? Absolutely. Do I fear that it's going to be another dust collector that's going to get undercut by a big box blowout in four months? Absolutely.

I'd be happier if Round 2 gave me a product with the built-in customer base of Bandai or Tamiya, both of whom have significantly higher volume and gross of sales in my shop than Round 2. I have been ratcheting down my Round 2 ordering to just "hot" releases for two years now because their practices simply aren't adding value for my customers or my business. Bluntly, just speaking to SKU's, there isn't a single Round 2 product so far this year that's outsold the Modelsvit 1/48th scale F-82G Twin Mustang. When one of the mightiest of American model companies can't put product one on the shelf that will outsell a premium short run kit of an obscure Korean War fighter by a tiny Ukrainian company with a tenth of the distribution network of Round 2, that's a sign that MAYBE they don't have the right answer for local hobby shops. But hey, they sell GREAT at Walmart and Hobby Lobby...