tim boyd

You can see 34 images from the show at this link.... Here's the latest from Round 2 as revealed at the 2024 NNL Motor City. The new 1964 1/2 Barracuda and 1960 Chevy Wagon kits revealed at this show will be curbsides, but are well detailed and show the capability to contain builder added/kitbashed powertrains during the assembly process. As is the case with other recent Round 2 new products, these two all-new tools are based on the original AMT annual kits, but with numerous detail, quality, and assembly enhancements. While no additional variations of these two tools are planned at the moment, as was the case with the series of Round 2 AMT 1963 Chevy II Nova wagon kits, these are designed in such a way that more detailed underbody content could be added during future kit runs if the market demands it (another words, buy the curbsides if you want to give Round 2 management team a business case to justify additional, more detailed kit variations at some point down the road...) Also included is photography of several other upcoming Round 2 kits. I will be adding some additional info shortly including a look at the new Jo-Han and Atomic City booth, and a new 3D designer and printer doing replica stock parts. Thanks for looking...TB

Conversely, I think it's terrific. But to each, our own view! Thanks for the response and comment! Best....TIM

This is the truck transporting the nation's Christmas Tree from Alaska to DC this month....how cool is this? What a great looking truck! Cheers....TB

Any of you guys and gals know the real story behind the "Streaker" nomenclature in this kit? Smile....TB

Stef....they have literally hundreds of tools that they have yet to inventory and check out. Atlantis is a very small shop, and they just don't have the headcount to do a full inventory all at once..and even if they did, I doubt that they would want to share that level of detail in a public forum like this one. Having said that, I just did a one page "Classic Kits" feature on the olds aetotech kit in one of the more general model hobby mags. I agree with you...it's a fascinating kit and like you I would love to see it have another chance in today's sophisticated adult car modeling hobby. Best....TB

Hakan is spot-on here: "All information on Scalemates are not accurate all the time unfortunately, and some timelines are not correct and they miss some kits based on the same tooling that should be there." My experiences are that Scalemates is often a helpful starting point for kit research, but info seen there requires further confirming research before being taken as fact, as there often seems to be significant accuracy issues with info posted there....TB.

To me it appears to be the original Harley parts pack chopper c. 1963, reissued once in 1982. A "Kit" that sold for as much as $150 or more, at least until this news broke a few days ago. Here's mine, built a few years back from the 1982 "Grease" reissue....TB Really great to have this one back! TB

Yep....it's the Parts Pack Harley....up until today (;) those were going for $150 or more...no longer. Great choice....Somewhere along the line I was told that the tool for the Harley also included the Honda....so presumably they will have welded off the Honda runners....here's one built from the original parts pack.... TB

I've never pulled out the parts trees to compare, but my understanding is that the white/brown kit was an entirely new tool sharing nothing (expect perhaps tires) with the California Hauler....tB

Great to see the Polyglas GT F60/L60-15 tire set parts back! Word to the wise....grab a whole bunch of these when they become available again...and kudos to Round 2 and Goodyear for working out the Polyglas licensing issues! Well done! TB

Thanks Harvey! TB

None that I know of. A couple of publishers I have worked with previously expressed a bit of interest in a book compilation, but nothing came of it. Concerns included very low potential demand (regrettably, books sell poorly these days due to the internet) and tracking down/securing intellectual property rights.... TB

Dave,,,,in case you missed my earlier post above, I built the original Otaki (?) 1/16 Mustang II Mach 1 fastback kit that I presume came from this same tooling set. AMT commissioned me to assemble and paint the model to show their sales reps at their upcoming annual sales meeting so that they would better understand what AMT's coming lineup of 1/26th scale kits (Bel Air, TB, Mustang, et al) would look like size and feature wise. I recall it being a surprisingly good kit except that the wheels and tires were woefully undersized. Then again, this was nearly 50 years ago so I shouldn't trust my memory to remember things exactly as they were! TB

Bob...yeah I bought the Cars magazine story issue at the time it came out, but if the timing recollection is correct, that story appeared about six months after I ordered the car and about four months after I had taken delivery. My own spec decisions were mostly driven by some of the very early press previews of the new E58 that appeared around 9/73, plus my knowledge from my Dad's Dodge and Chrysler wagons that the big block wedges were heavy and gas users, while the 340 in my Duster (traded in for the RR) had (even with lowered compression) relatively good mileage and very responsive driving attributes. I had always liked pure black cars with tasteful chrome and mag wheels, so that drove the color decision. Interesting you mention the rocker molding....that was not RR factory content but I bought the rockers and a Satellite Sebring Plus bright molding that went above the grille from the dealer parts department (along with the decklid luggage rack, too) and added them to the car over the first couple years of ownership. I too shared your view on those rockers! Cheers...TB

Thx John...never can remember the correct nomenclature for that non-functional (!) feature...best....TB (My Monroney/window sticker below used a spec sheet nomenclature of "Strato Ventilation"...)

Interesting discussion here as my first new cars were a 1973 Duster 340, followed by a factory ordered 1974 Road Runner E58 360 HiPo. I liked the Duster layout with the flip windows as I could reach behind me and flip open the window for ventilation as described above. My '74 RR did not have the flip feature,, so I added the Astro Ventilation to my order, which was supposed to route added air from the floor level vents to the top two center IP outlets otherwise used for A/C (I couldn't afford AC and did not want to deal with the maintenance issued down the road). That turned out to be a total bust as the only air that ever came out of those vents was hot air, even when it was cold outside. Years later, as some of you here pointed out, Mother Mopar eliminated the vent holes toward the rear of the hood for '74 B-bodies....probably explaining why the astro vent option was now worthless. I knew the RR had the fixed rear quarter windows when I ordered it, but after delivery I was surprised to see there was no B0Pillar. The RR was essentially a two door hardtop body style with the rear quarter windows being fixed in place instead of operating. I also learned, years later, that 1974 RRs ordered with Power Windows (again a cost I did not want to incur, plus my father had had ongoing problems with the power windows in his Mopar wagons over the years), all four windows worked and lowered and the car was then a true hardtop. Sure wish I had known that when I ordered the car....TB

Thx Trevor and Jim... BTW for those not familiar with this issue, authoritative sources say that with 2K paints you really need to use a respirator with a separate fresh air supply, typically only found in a 1/1 scale automotive body shop environment, as well as other precautions. Lots of varying points of view on the above and the overall health risks of 2K paints, particularly as it relates to hobby usage, so I won't belabor the points here. My only comment is to make sure you are educated and read about the topic from authoritative outside sources (i.e., don't rely on hobby message board discussions), so that you are fully aware of the issues, and then decide on your own course of action accordingly...TB

I did not know that. My '79 Chia 5.0 TRX notchback was ordered in early August 1978 and delivered (IIRC) early October. It was one of the first ones off the line Do not recall ever having an issue with the trunk lid. Cool info anyway...thx for posting Rob. TB PS - scroll down through this blank space just below to see two photos...

Justin., are they claiming the 2K clear is also non-toxic (as mentioned in the display stand graphics)? Asking because as we all know, the existing 2K is anything but non-toxid....TB

Craig...my thoughts exactly. But then again, this Tuesday they announced a 2025 version inspired by the Bill Strope desert race winner (red, white and blue) winner back in 1971, and it rocks. I saw a 1/1 scale mockup a few months back, and it really looks the part. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a62600699/2025-ford-bronco-stroppe-edition-details/ My former employer has done a great job (IMHO) at keeping the Bronco lineup fresh and current with the various mid cycle updates. Still, I'd have a hard time choosing between this latest intro and the Heritage Edition (in light blue, please). TB

I don't think there was a recall, but the original 1970 Duster trunk lid was a uniform surface all the way across (vs. the redesigned lid with a vertical peak stamped into the trunk from the forward to rear edges). The original lid was subject to being bent by customers pushing down on it to close it. Addng the peak put enough extra rigidiity in the lld to avoid any customer--imposed damage. I can't recall for sure if this was a running change late in the 1970 model year (unlikely), at the 1971 Job 1, or sometime during the 1971 model year (most likely if my dim recollection is correct). John or anyone else with more definitive info,, please feel free to update or correct the above...TB

Thanks, guys, for the feedback....!!! TIM

Yep DJ, that's one of them...I remember that these bad boys were ubiquitous on the lower left coast at the time... perhaps not so much elsewhere in the States as Toyota's Distribution system at the time was not as well developed and also included some regional distributors (i.e. Jim Moran/Southeast Toyota) that were not factory owned. I recall the blue stripped version to be particularly popular... TB

Hmmm.... a kitbashed representation of a two-door Raptor and/or Everglades sounds like a pretty cool project to me....thx Jordan! TB

Bingo. And this is exactly why I support a two-door vs. four-door for the Round 2 Bronco project. Modeling is about ambitions, desires, and dreams. 1/1 scale has to defer to practicality for most. Having said that, all the comments on this thread have been very interesting and informative for me. Thank you all for sharing your views....TB