Ron Warner

Unbelievably great progress since your last build!

INSIDERRRRRHSSH.

Which of those "Tools and Garage" sets used a battery box? That's the confusing part to me.

Very nice!

While on the surface that seems as good a guess as any, the above photos show that there's no lift in either of these kits. Both the #2 and #3 Tools kits seem to be a mix of newly-tooled tools...and recycled accessories from other models/sets. There are a bunch of camping accessories in set 3 that don't have much to do with car repair, but also house the bike and space heater. The ones in set 2 are more confusing to me. The battery box, the girder/beam parts, some things that are clearly specialized (is that a road sign? door to a toll booth?) and was just wondering what the KK and kk sprues really belong to. They look interesting to me.

I just got this kit. The lighter gray sprues on the right are labeled "KK" and "kk." The only parts used are the bookshelf/locker and locker door (the three parts in the "center" row of those lighter gray racks) are the only ones used. I was wondering if anyone knew what the extra parts are supposed to be, and what kit they came from originally? There's a batter box that would hold two "AA" batteries, and the random looking frame shapes. They must be from another kit. Any idea what? Is there another Fujimi kit that can be added to use these parts? Thanks for any ideas. It's strange that almost half the plastic in the box has nothing to do with the finished product.

I'm not an "industry insider" like so many of the posters here seem to be, but from what I've noticed every time Round2 has unearthed a kit from this era and re-released it in any form, they've been big enough sellers to get multiple issues. To my point: The Jeepster Commando is on either the second or 3rd reissue, the Fall Guy kit (Deserter) seems to have been done in several runs and available constantly for a couple of years now, and a bunch more were treated to a bit of tooling restoration and have been issued multiple times in "more vintage" forms. I have no idea what Round2's planning consists of, or what (if any) thought goes into what to reissue/why. Maybe it makes perfect sense to reissue the death-warmed-over MPC '69 Camaro tool, the super-common '68/9 B-body Mopars (and all the other late-90s AMT molds) but I'm not sure it has sunk in that the stock '75/6 Gremlin kit has been issued how many times since they restored the tooling? That one took some investment but I don't think I'm wrong when I say might be at least 4 issues (flat box/regular box/different year and then reissues of those).It would seem there have to be a bunch of the 70s/80s molds that haven't been issued since that could run as-is with little or no tooling changes/restoration that would be successful. Also plenty of "lost forever" stuff seems to miraculously turn up: when the molds are searched magically "lost" stuff reappears when it's looked for. The hobby today versus 1998 is very different as far as what is viable. Final point: While I'm glad that Round2 spent the money to restore the long-bed Dodge D150, they could run the 1982 Bronco tool right now, zero investment. RC2 did one as a hobby show run not long ago. Just saying it's one example...there's a lot of that MPC stuff that's there but has been gathering dust. Great idea, if nobody asks we might not get.

Very cool. Thanks for the info on the hood, also

Really? You did such a poor job you confused others. Maybe mocking people isn't really what one should be attempting without the ability. Or, maybe mocking people really doesn't belong in the forum at all. Thanks for admitting to it, though. Your intent is now out there for all to see though, so you finally accomplished your goal after multiple tries.

Beautiful work!

Well if they hear from the well-known insiders they may not be for long. The hobby has no place for rule breakers!

I know that you have insider information because you work with the kit companies from previous posts. Have you thought of telling your insiders at Beemax/NuNu that someone is breaking the rules by promoting secret product announcements James? I'm sure they would appreciate it. They should cut off distributors who don't play by the rules!

Really good work like this is fantastic. It truly looks real.

I'm surprised by how many folks here thought any of this was spontaneous. Just one hint: American Pickers is shot with a single camera, so how come the "big find" is always being filmed? You'd think 50% of the time the person on the other side of the barn (or in the other barn half the time) would find the treasure. Nope! Always caught on camera, in an area lit well enough to make for a good view. All of these thing have to be looked at with the idea that it's a show looking for an audience that happens to be about X, which most people know nothing about but might watch if you concoct a good enough story around X and the people in the show to make the layperson care.. It's not a show about X that happened to get on TV to appeal to people already in the X hobby. The target audience for CSI wasn't forensic science workers, and I'm sure they "loved" the liberties taken there, but they'd be no more foolish to expect a documentary as anyone watching American Pickers....

"The naysayers will take potshots at us to assuage their own egos, even to the point of wishing death to the magazine just because they can. We are already seeing examples of that on this Forum. I, nor anyone else on the team, will dignify such vitriol with a response." -Larry Greenberg, Associate editor of Model Cars Magazine. Interesting.

This doesn't seem like a mature or even reasonable stream of logic. If you didn't like "the things you had to listen to over the last few years," why would you do the same to others? I'm guessing you really didn't mean to say that you're spreading "baseless speculation" about Scale Auto because you're upset by what people said on the Model Cars Magazine forum. Unless those things were said by employees of Scale Auto, of course.

Everybody saying these are reprinted articles, does anyone know or is it just speculation in the absence of actually knowing anything? I mean, with all the people who are insiders here I'm sure someone actually knows.

I'd rather fill the vents than have the completely inaccurate shape of the NACA ducts on the AMT hood. Little putty is all you need.

Very interesting solution. They retooled the header panel attached to the front of the body to mimic the separate part in the original annual, so that the original grille surround (part 103) could be re-used. Clear lenses are a nice "first" for this issue too. Any competent builder could make a nice 1971/2 out of what is here...super-detail is up to the builder. This issue is the best one yet when you figure in the wheels/tires/decals.

My mistake. You seem like a very reasonable and not at all angry person based on your response. I now appreciate your clarification that how many posts I have made here determines my ability to say things. Not at all angry Danno. I'll have to remember that. I'll leave your statements about me right where they are, because they're conclusive proof you're not emotionally reacting and getting angry. BTW, thank you for your heartfelt welcome to the forum. I truly appreciate it.

Hmm. I've been stiffed on jobs, and it's bothered me for more than a few years, so if this person was defrauded this seems like a pretty mild way to share it. Not sure why two out of two responses seem to attack the ripped-off person? Maybe there's more to the story with the people responding? I'm new here, and getting up to speed on the story of MCM's (many?) troubles. Looks like there have been lots of problems with the magazine over the years. However, these seem like harsh responses for someone who didn't get paid for services rendered. Unless those covers are fake? Maybe that's what you two are suggesting and in that case, it's terrible someone is making up fake stories of the magazine not paying people. I mean, how would MCM still be around if it didn't pay people? It would seem to be very easy to prove one way or the other. Does anyone who works at MCM have prof the writer was paid? If so, this is without back-up. If not, maybe think about paying him now that the magazine is being published again. You seeem very angry Danno. Sounds like you may know the writer personally. Maybe take your personal problem with the writer to him directly? With all the due respect.

Wow! It's so cool to have insiders to inform us "regular guys." Can't beat this board for fast expert answers, can you Tim? Thanks Nightowl!

If you're looking for decals there are decals for these on a site called Indycals. I don't know if it's OK to post links so I won't, but you can just search the name and find their site. I got stuff from them and they're good in my opinion.

Thank you everyone

Returning to the model car world after a long time out, who has the JoHan car kit molds? Does AMT or whoever owns AMT? I'd love to see some of those kits come back out, especially the hearses and the funny cars.