tim boyd

To confirm and add to what Jim said above, Round 2, Revell, et al typically plan future reissues 1-2 years in advance of their actual appearance, and newly tooled kits are often planned (that is, finally committed to full engineering development and tooling) 2-3 years in advance in some cases. For instance, one of the major kitmakers was putting together potential candidates for their 2022 release plan around December of 2020 if I am remembering the months correctly.... TB

Jim, I think it was David Dale that did that conversion article if I am remembering correctly.....TB

Jim....now that is a great question. Since the rear stabilizer bar was standard on all 1964-72 442's....wonder if the AMT-Ertl 1966 442 kits, the Lindberg 1967, the AMT-Ertl 1969, and/or Revell 1972 kits have them? Best...TB

As Steve said....see images #12, 13, and 14 at the kit review link in the first post above, for images of the new parts tree with the new engine block and manual trans, as well as a comparison of the engine block with manual trans vs. the engine block with the original annual kit JetAway 2-speed auto trans (both are in the new kit)....TIM

Mike....I totally agree. Amazing how much that change does to minimize the wheel well opening discrepancy between the real car and the model kit. Thanks to you and Chris for pointing this out....TIM

Hi Chris....interesting insight you have here. As I noted in my FineScale.com kit review of the convertible kit, the front wheel well openings in the kit do not match the corresponding area in the 1/1 scale car, possibly due to last minute 1/1 scale design studio or manufacturing changes after the kit tooling was commissioned. I wonder if your suggestion of moving the front axle holes forward would minimize the visual impact of this situation? Thanks for the comment....TIM

Al....way sharp and glad to know you were inspired by the article. I think your choice of the AMT '49 Merc 413 Wedge and the wheel tire combo you chose are right on the money. I'd love to see a 1/1 '63 300 built just as you build yours.... Thanks for sharing and way to go! TIM

My advice is that if you see them show up for sale, buy all that you will ever want NOW! TB

Click on this link to see 22 images and captions detailing Round 2's new 1964 Olds 442 Hardtop kit. Please make sure to read the captions accompanying each picture, as there are some surprises in this kit that not only features an all-new Hardtop body, grille and tailamp inserts, but also the product-correct changes to transform the remainder of the tooling from the original AMT 1964 Olds Cutlass hardtop kit into a first-ever product-correct 1964 442 scale replica. Thanks for your interest....TIM

Thanks Craig. Wanted to take the time to check this out myself, but time is tight right now. Thx for posting....TIM

FWIW, the last I heard work was still proceeding on the '71 Mustang kits, even if the announcement (and subsequent withdrawal) was WAY too premature....TIM

I can't think of any reason why the '32 grille would not be in the kit. With the original release box art, they only showed the '30A grille shell in one small buildup picture on one side panel; all the other buildup images were the '32 grille. Maybe this time they went with '30A grille to show some visual differentiation vs. the original release's box art. I recommend we assume the best (that both grilles will be in the kit) until actual experience proves otherwise. Or...hope I'm right on this one! Cheers....TIM

This project has been in the works for a number of months now. Glad to see a formal announcement. Certainly a highly promising development! TIM

Thanks for the heads-up Gilles. I have heard no updates from my sources here in the States about this so extremely encouraging to see this Revell Germany info. ***** Guys, I guess I just have to scratch my head over the timetable for reissuing this kit. So few of the original kit were produced before the production interruption that this one is essentially an all-new tool introduction. One that they have been sitting on for many months now (presuming that the Coupe portion of the kit tool was restored at the same time as the '29 Roadster kit reintro). Coupe was always going to be, by far, the better seller of the two kits. Five years have passed since the first intro of the kit, and while acknowledging the issues - taking whatever actions were required to return the tool to operational status, and then Covid - it still seems that the delay in reintroducing the kit has gone on WAY too long. Obviously, the tooling owners see this from a different perspective than I do. It's their asset and they can do as they please. But hopefully our long wait a return to production of what is one of the best hot rod model car kits ever produced is soon to be over. TIM

Bill and Kit....really interesting and informative updates and progress.....seems like I check back here almost every day for your latest updates... Kit, that trailer is SO 1980's and such a cool execution on your part. Rodney, Dennis, and Bob...thanks for cheering on Bill and Kit, and everyone else contributing to this thread. Right now at the Boyd ranch I'm tied up with actually making progress on some long delayed exterior and interior home renovations, plus building a second revision test shot of an unnamed kit that is tentatively due out on the market early next year, so no time to devote the 1980's hot rod pickup models right now, but I do hope to have some progress on this subject myself to report here later this year... Cheers....TIM

I just checked my MPC 1969 and 1970 Charlie Allen Dart funny car kits. They have the standard and generic second generation Logghe chassis design that was in most of MPC's 1968-1969 and some later funny car kits. The only differences I see (beyond the unique wheelbase dimension) are a two piece (vs. one piece in most of these other kits) drag link and pitman arm, and a unique rear interior bulkhead/seat panel. This is really unique, and includes an engraved shield with script "C" and "A" letters on the vertical surfaces, presumably representing an upholstery treatment featuring the driver/owner's first and last name initials. The rear roll bar is also unique vs. the other MPC funny car kits of this era. These MPC Dart bodies in 1969 and 1970 form (except for the funny car style front wheel opening locations and blanked headlamps, etc.) were really nicely done and would be a great basis for a replica stock Dart conversion. Sure is regrettable that the tool was so heavily modified for the Shrewsbury kit as Mark describes above....TIM

I'm with Jesse on this suggestion! TIM

It is probably hard for many of us here in the States to understand the impact the Sierra Cosworth and other similar Ford performance production cars related to rallying and racing in Europe had back in the 1980's, 1990's and and so forth. These were truly iconic products in their street form, and also in their racing derivatives. As I began to have international assignments in responsibilities in my career at Ford, I heard stories about these cars from my UK and European colleagues about this, and to some extent also witnessed it firsthand. In the UK and Europe, enthusiasts were just as passionate about these cars as we here in the States are about 1960's/early 1970's Mopars, SBC and BBC Chevies, GTO's, 1990's Japanese FWD performance hatchbacks, and today's modern ponycar offerings from Ford, Chevy, and Dodge. Therefore I would think these new kits should have a broad appeal among the adult modeling community in Europe, and to some extent, worldwide. As as for model car building dying out, I of course completely agree with you guys that this is a long running and largely irrelevant pile of hogwash. My go-to model kit store, the Model Cave in Ypsi, Michigan, has a larger, ever growing, and more diverse inventory of model car and truck kits, along with the supplies to build them, than any other place I have ever seen, excepting perhaps a couple of well-known hobby stores nearby to San Jose and Orange County back in the early-mid 1980's. And the store owners Jon and Melissa report that those Gundam kits are among their best selling items, too! Offered FWIW....TIM PS - not to be outdone, let me assure you that our Aussie colleagues were/are also just as passionate about the performance offerings from Holden and Ford as well....

Paul...thx for bringing this one forward again....somehow I missed it earlier. Denis....when you get the time, would sure love to see an update (no matter now small) on this project. Really interesting scratchbuilding, creative and realistic chassis mods, and a killer overall stance. Great work so far....TIM

K.....where did the cooler come from? Obviously, and this really goes without saying, your attention to detail (subbing in the Ford muffler logo) is the kind of precise attention to detail that I love looking at in a model car project, just as much as the radical mods and incredible wiring detail seen in some of the other build styles in this diverse hobby of ours. Bill....same thought goes with the ribbed oil pan in your post a few spots back up the page.... Best to you both....TB

Thanks Tom and Misha for the comments. Obviously, I totally agree with you guys on your thoughts about the Classics. ****** As I looked at these, and especially that Best of Show Cadillac, I couldn't help but think of Harry P. and how he would have enjoyed checking out those cars, and inevitably building a few big-scale replicas of the best of 'em. Both an era, and a builder, long ago passed by and very much missed today... TIM

Probably several if what I hear is correct....and not just from Round 2, either....TIM

Flexibility and adaptability. Two management behaviors that are all too often not seen in the automotive industry (and to be honest, I was as guilty as anybody in my career there). Fortunately for those who attended the 2021 Concours of the Americas at St. John's, the team managing the event and the exhibitors themselves showed a great deal of flexibility and adaptability after the fourth major rainfall event the last month in Plymouth Township, Michigan happened the night before the show. The magnificent St. John's Golf Course, where the event has been held over the last 20 years, become unnavigable due to the latest rainfall. The event team reconfigured the entire layout overnight, and the exhibitors cooperated such that most of the show was moved to the parking lot in front of the facility, along with the Classics exhibits moved to the parking lot behind the facility. Yes, it was a bit chaotic, and yes some of the displays (particularly the Classics classes) were fairly disorganized, but the overall event came off without evident hitches on a beautiful, sunny Michigan summer Sunday. Victory snatched from the impending jaws of defeat! Yes! Great job by the event organizers and exhibitors. Sadly, it appears this will be the last Concours event at the superb St. John's facility in Plymouth Township. In what appears to me (and to some others I talked to there) to be a very flawed decision, the new owner of the event, the highly respected Hagerty Insurance organization, is moving the Concours event to downtown Detroit starting next year. The event will be held there at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Those of us familiar with that venue are having a very hard time understanding how the Concours atmosphere will be preserved at this facility and grounds, as well as logistics that will be required to support it there. I fear they may lose many longtime event spectators with this new location. Time will tell, of course, but in the meantime enjoy these photos of what will probably be the last ever Concours of the Americas at St. John's in Plymouth Township, Michigan. (The image below is one of several in the album showing one of the two "Best in Show" winners at the event. It's a fascinating car. See more images of this car in the album (at the link underlined above) for more details.) Thanks for looking....TIM Flexibility and adaptability. Two management behaviors that are all too often not seen in the automotive industry (and to be honest, I was as guilty as anybody in my career there). Fortunately for those who attended the 2021 Concours of the Americas at St. John's, the team managing the event and the exhibitors themselves showed a great deal of flexibility and adaptability after the fourth major rainfall event the last month in Plymouth Township, Michigan happened the night before the show. The magnificent St. John's Golf Course, where the event has been held over the last 20 years, become unnavigable due to the latest rainfall. The event team reconfigured the entire layout overnight, and the exhibitors cooperated such that most of the show was moved to the parking lot in front of the facility, along with the Classics exhibits moved to the parking lot behind the facility. Yes, it was a bit chaotic, and yes some of the displays (particularly the Classics classes) were fairly disorganized, but the overall event came off without evident hitches on a beautiful, sunny Michigan summer Sunday. Victory snatched from the impending jaws of defeat! Yes! Great job by the event organizers and exhibitors. Sadly, it appears this will be the last Concours event at the superb St. John's facility in Plymouth Township. In what appears to me (and to many others I talked to there) to be a very flawed decision, the new owner of the event, the highly respected Hagerty Insurance organization, is moving the Concours event to downtown Detroit starting next year. The event will be held at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Those of us familiar with that venue are having a very hard time understanding how the Concours atmosphere will be preserved at this facility and grounds, as well as logistics that will be required to support it there. I fear they will lose many longtime event spectators with this new approach. Time will tell, of course, but in the meantime enjoy these photos of what will probably be the last ever Concours of the Americas at St. John's in Plymouth Township, Michigan.

Mark's right on the Grand Am kit sales. This topic is covered in my recent book....TIM

Correct....it's a 1936 Ford Five Window Coupe....TIM