Justin Porter

Genuinely that's looking like it will be a pretty nice kit. I'll hold out hope they'll do an Alpine A610 or GTA.

Tamiya X-27 will take care of that just fine. Much prefer that to trying to mask and paint slender bezels on molded lenses. As to the wheels, they're not great but I see folks forgiving much worse wheels in other kits. Wheels are easy enough to rectify for the builders who want to, and honestly I get the impression a LOT of these are going to end up on Torque Thrusts or Cragars or Keystones.

Really nice looking kit. The headers in particular jump out at me.

I definitely like this build. It feels very fresh from the lot.

Yes it is! That's the Gunze High Tech kit which was a fantastic demonstration of why I should have tracked down an Italeri SWB instead!

I like that this has a very "parked outside the local convenience store" feel to it.

Your tastes reflect what is potentially popular in one solitary and shrinking demographic of builders. You say "not too many" in a way that positively drips of a willful lack of exposure to the hobby at large. That stinks to high heaven of the same mindset that won't buy "foreign" paint brands like Vallejo or Gunze and moans about the implosion of Testors. That looks at the teenagers and twenty year olds piling Gundam on my counter and KEEPING MY DOORS OPEN with scorn as if they're unwelcome guests in "their" corner of the world. Hypercar builders were ecstatic when the Zonda was released as it's one of the seminal new cars of the 00's. Off road builders were thrilled by the Land Rover because it's one of the big boxes to tick off (an early Land Cruiser still hoped for with bated breath). History buffs lost their heads when ICM made it possible to build what's popularly considered THE VERY FIRST AUTOMOBILE. Circle track fans have devoured the Salvinos/WMCC Tour Modifieds as it's the first dedicated kit for them since the Revell ASA Camaros! YOU are not the hobby. The hobby is breathlessly vast and filled with as many diverse and delightful people as there are stars in the sky. Take off your chromed V8 blinders for five uninterrupted seconds and you might even enjoy yourself.

MkI Escort RS1600. Lancia Delta S4. 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen. Citroen DS21. 1961 Pontiac Catalina. Land Rover Series III. Nissan R91CP. Brabham BT-18. Pagani Zonda C12. Tour-type asphalt modified. Dallara DW-12 Indycar. STOCK Ford Model A Phaeton. Just because YOU aren't getting the kits that YOU want doesn't mean other folks aren't having dreams fulfilled.

Thank you to everyone! Wiring the engine was a combination of drilling the kit supplied twin coils, an Iceman Collections predrilled V8 distributor (modified to accept a second coil wire), a pack of Gofer gray ignition wire with boot material, and some 0.3mm solder for the tie wraps.

Quick check. Nova Wagon - molded wipers and door handles '71 Demon - molded wipers and door handles '64 Olds 442 - molded wipers and door handles '68 Coronet - molded wipers and door handles '68 GTO - molded door handles I specifically outlined modifying older tooled bodies so that they conformed to the detail expectations of modern tooled kits. I also pointed specifically to detail expectations consistent with industry standards that have been in place since the late 80's when we began to see kits like the Monogram 1959 Cadillac Eldorado (first released in 1989 making it a 35 year old kit). It only works for Round 2 because Round 2 isn't bringing these kits up to an appreciable modern standard.

By the time an engineer has redesigned the initial 3D scan so that the body has separate wipers, door handles, sharper panel relief, is symmetrical side for side (which many of the old hand pantographed kits are not), the thickness is re-engineered to fit the new chassis and interior, headliner detail is added, and any molded in headlight/taillight buckets are removed so that separate chrome pieces can be used, how is 3d scanning an old body a time saving move for designing a new modern kit? And keep in mind, I am NOT talking about a state of the art kit like an Aoshima Pagani Zonda or Ebbro Citroën DS or Tamiya GMA T.50. I'm talking about just equalling the tooling efforts of 30 years ago with kits like Revell's '69 Camaro and AMT's '67 Mustang GT.

What fun this was! I cannot say enough what a delightful build the Tamiya classic sports cars are. I only added plug wires to the Twin Cam with this, and am planning another build to take advantage of USCP's freshly released 3D print detail set. Paint is Rosso Corsa from the new Cobra Motors line of automotive acrylics from AMMO by Mig under Gunze GX112 UV Cut Super Clear.

Alfa is all buttoned up with and in Under Glass. What a fun build this was!

I absolutely could see sustained sales of model kits of a '64 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, of a '71 AMC Javelin, or a '68 Oldsmobile Toronado. The Cadillac is a car that will appeal hugely to the lowrider set. Why release a kit that isn't engineered with poseable suspension ala the Revell '64 Impala or the AMT '70 Monte Carlo? What's the point of having a Javelin kit on the market that doesn't even match the fit and detail of the now 35 year old Revell '69 Camaro, let alone their '71 Mustang or '68 Firebird. The Toronado is going to give the most appeal to factory stock builders. Why release a kit that isn't a good shelf match for AMT's '66 Riviera? The biggest sales potential for these subjects does not lie in reviving old tooling in order to scrape the bottom of a 50+ year old nostalgia barrel but in new tooling that will suit the tastes and expectations of modern builders.

The new-tool Revell '71 Mustangs have been tremendously successful on my shelf. I attribute this to several factors. #1 - Excellent "Buzz" - Revell has done a good job marketing the kit as "all new" and that helps move units, as well as other folks seeing the positive experience of other builders on various forms of social media. #2 - Strong Subject Matter - The Mustang is a popular car, and it's a popular car with an excellent media record ranging from Gone in Sixty Second to Diamonds Are Forever (which Revell smartly tied into) to even the Top Gear Patagonia Special. #3 - Price Point - The Revell Boss 351 wears an MSRP of $31.95. The Revell "Diamonds Are Forever" Mach 1 wears an MSRP of $25.95. AMT's 1971 Mustang Mach 1 (kit #1262) wears an MSRP of $34.99. So, in short, Revell delivered an excellent kit of a "name brand" subject that got a lot of good press and they undercut the old product sold by their biggest rival. That's how you make a sales success. The Round 2 "malaise era" reissues have been pretty spotty for success on my shelf. Of that group, the Gremlin sold best and primarily to slot car drag racers. Not awful but nothing to write home about.

Of that list, only the '66 Mercury has been a mild success on my shelf. The best selling of the classic tooling based full size 60's classics have been the '61 and '63 Galaxies. I brought in the '69 Galaxie but it hasn't moved yet. Likewise the '70 Wildcat. Truth be told, I've sold more of the Aoshima "Game Center" mobile arcade kei trucks than any three of the kits mentioned combined.

Several bits of feedback point to it. Firstly, a lot of the Mueller kits are fairly "everyone likes this" subjects like the '71 Duster. Secondly, the Craftsman Plus kits aren't priced at a discount compared to the "full" Mueller kits meaning unless someone specifically wants that subject, they're not as appealing. Thirdly, customers who are shopping for parts donors don't generally rob the clones and Craftsman Plus kits. For instance, the AMT pro street B bodies (either the Super Bee or GTX) are kits that are frequent sellers because their engines and chassis are going under other kits INCLUDING the aforementioned MPC '68 Coronet. I have high hopes for the reissue of the '57 Chevy Street Machine and the lowrider '70 Monte Carlo because of the high quality of those kits. Those kits are worth their pricetags AND I can completely see customers sliding the Chevy's frame under other Tri-Fives now that it'll be better marketed.

The '68 GTO does better than the Coronet. I'd say among the "clone" kits it's my third or fourth best performer behind the Nova wagon and the Mustang fastback, and doing about even with the Comet Caliente and the '64 Olds hardtop. Among Round 2 kits in general though, aside from the Nova wagon all of the clones get trounced in sales figures across my counter by Mueller era kit reissues like the '71 Duster and the '62 Bel Air.

Considering that the #1 volume seller at my shop is Tamiya kit #24090 which is a full detail Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R, I think you're vastly underestimating the number of builders from what I loosely term the "Gran Turismo" generation of car fans, whose tastes decidedly don't run towards American muscle cars. I have a pile of unsold '68 Coronet convertibles that tells me that old muscle car reissue hype doesn't always equate to sales.

Chassis and interior are all done on the Alfa and I am very thrilled with how this lovely little car is coming together. Even mocked up the body for a final check before glass and such go in and the chassis is in place permanently. I've done two coats of Gunze GX112 UV Cut Super Clear over the Cobra Motors Rosso Corsa and I am really happy with the results.

This is such a lovely, tidy build. Lots of thoughtful touches to elevate what's already a great kit.

The Campagnolo wheels most often found on the "Chairs n Flares" Dinos rate pretty high on my list. I'd also like a set of 365GTB/4 Daytona rear wheels with the proper rear dish. This is one of the few genuine let downs about the Fujimi Daytona.

Small update on the Alfa. I chose AK Interactive Real Color Ochre for the carpeting and Gunze Mr Color Brown for the leather. A little bit of foil went onto the side panels plus picking out details in Mr Color Silver.

Strangely enough, the NRHSA's monthly magazine - Hobby Merchandiser - did a very interesting article discussing Lego as a sales avenue for hobby shops. The article focused heavily on the benefits not only of sustained sales, but also the SEO benefits because customers who quite likely won't be searching for products you currently carry will definitely be searching for a brand name as big as Lego. For me personally, it's an intriguing opportunity but I'd have to learn more about distribution and deals and at the moment I already have taken on the challenge of promoting the new wargaming lines. Gotta grow one thing at a time to the point of sustainability before jumping into another project.

Really cool to see such a nice replica of such a specific Morgan! Always good to see other folks enjoying this really fantastic kit.