Chuck Kourouklis

Hiya, keyser! Just got the scratch for my li'l itch: Would you believe $15 from a yard sale? ? You shouldn't. ? o. m. G., tho - worth every penny.

'66 Skylark has been bandied about, too...

Interior, oh, okay. 'Cause there's an argument to be made that the original kit was so wide of the Rat Roaster, it couldn't have violated any licensing if it wanted to.

Cool! Thankya Steve. ? Very happy to hear the GH Imperial is tabula rasa and I don't know that Round 2 has missed any particular windows on it. The Batmobile might indicate not - is Black Beauty as iconic? Guess we'll see. As so many here have already, I would bring up the Bluesmobile Monaco - would that be one for your team or Sci-Fi? Either department would be operating more on a pop culture subject if they took this on, but perhaps there's enough pattern groundwork in the diecast to make it feasible? It does keep coming up...

Welp, I'm in. For leading the critics brigade until we started matching the toxicity of all the True Believers, ain't it funny how I'm always on board for these new releases? ? Course, the problem is, this release put the original AMT '64 on my radar and gave me an unbearable itch at exactly the WRONG time. So if Round2 ever announces they're "cloning" that original '64 kit... uh, you can probably thank me.

Definitely the balls in their bearing, that's fer sure.

I was just diggin' "NEW TOOLED PARTS" - what, anything besides the hood? Oh YEAH - the hood trim pieces on the chrome tree. Guess that qualifies. ? (and yes, a non-chambered exhaust woulda made this just that bit more worthwhile)

Ah, the fins. Gotcha.

Absolutely no kit? I seem to recall the covers in this being reasonably close...

Yeah, that rear quarter sculpting really likes a fat tire, doesn't it?

Roger Dodger on the Skylark! oof

I'm as big and noisy a parts geek as they come, but if Round2 were to include a single front suspension/tie rod/torsion bar lower piece for augmenting MPC's typically naked, blushing K-member - to accomplish pretty much what Bill S did with his JoHan 'Cuda, without having to raid another kit - then the new '68 Coronet release would have everything I think could be reasonably expected of it. If the budget limited new tooling allocation to prioritize a platform interior over such a part, though, I'd say Round2 made the right call. ?

Ain't gonna knock your point, Justin - actually, I see it pretty well. But I do think it all goes back to your own observations of the target consumers, who are not only happy with the general design m o the kit offers, but... uh... how do I put it delicately? Maybe like this: let's just say the sales prospects for this kit, and '60s muscle generally, might not extend quite as far into the future as the Bronco's and Charger's... ? And so in the business case analysis, the "cloning"/retooling approach was judged the more cost-effective approach here, where the considerably fresher Bronco and even the late hit on the Charger are more likely to justify tooling from the ground up, perhaps? I think the polite way to gauge the appeal of the Coronet is as definitely more "niche", where the Bronco and Charger might cast a wider dragnet for prospective buyers. One thing we gotta remember as consumers is how frequently we've nearly driven manufacturers over a cliff with our requests. '41 Chevrolet pickups and 1/6 engine kits may have been answers to questions nobody particularly asked, but '66 Novas, '67 Chevelles, '55 Cameos and '70 'Cudas were practically demanded. And thus began a cycle of initial stampedes and then rapid drop-offs in sales when the manufacturers played those requests. Sure, that '68 Coronet would appear over and over and over in discussion threads - and based on previous in-demand subjects from folks who could apparently give a hang about chassis detail by and large, Round 2 may have chosen the most logical approach. Would I rather have 150+ parts in separate transmissions and suspension arms and perimeter frames and subframes and steerable wheels and door handles and windshield wipers all across the board? Oh yes. I've played devil's advocate with Tim B about the necessity of an engine in a completely developed kit but in the end, I want one about 99% as badly as he does. And I'll tellya this: that Revell E-Type is a monstrosity for reasons considerably more numerous than just the windshield (just happy about the apparent course correction in their new 911s). Long as this Coronet has the original's proportional accuracy and wow, a platform interior too? More of a win for me than that E-type or the Kit That Shall Not Be Named, for sure.

Reaalllllyyyy gorgeous workup, Bill. And yes, I was curious myself and zoomed in - I'm pretty sure you have the Monogram GT radials on yours, with the blank sidewall out or maybe from just after they removed the lettering. The tread matches. Those weren't quite right so many of R/M's own subjects, but they're a HUGE improvement over what Italeri gives you for most of their vintage Ferraris. ?

^^x2^^ ?

Oh, Tamiya-San, there really needs to be a new Z. Now that Corvettes and Mustangs have gotten truly interesting, there's none of them in plastic. PLEASE don't be as dense as the USDM with your national treasure.

Well. Guess I shoulda left in my original line about “what a difference a little CAD data makes”, but I’d already gone a little snarky. ?

Z4 - ? Heh, that's way out there. I, of course, will register my skepticism of Meng's wisdom with a purchase.

Didn't Revell cover some Gen 6 cars? I mean yeah, the Fusion-to-Mustang and SS-to-Camaro transitions might have been missed, but this Gen 7 car seems a WAAAYY more intriguing subject. Certainly taken me from yawning about 60-year-old technology to whoah... Can't knock Salvinos' rocket trajectory of improvement, either. Things started looking up when they actually made some Chrysler bodies for their old Chrysler chassis but still, to arrive at an offering this serious in such a short period of operation? Impressive. MOST impressive.

ROVER! Niiiiiice. Diggin' the big Lotus too.

"WIN A CESSNA PLANE" - ?? (sorry, just caught that)

Just glad to see I'm not the only one who mixes a little hot sauce with my Tamiya TS... ?

Bad news: that drip rail looks awfully flat. Didn't wanna stir anything up with that preview from months back, and now it looks like it's going to production. Good news: the "meat" right above it seems to follow a better curve, so if it bothers you, all you gotta do is Dremel and file a line that follows the roof contour closer, then stitch in a little Plastruct strip to remake the rail. Even if you take it painstakingly slow, prob'ly done in under 2 hours. And if it doesn't bother you, then hey, not a problem, right?

Ah, well, since it's come up, here are a couple shots of the original Monogram '55 box contents, if you like:

Well. Having been the guy who sorta coined "The Kit That Shall Not Be Named" 'round here, I do maintain the drag version is the more worthwhile one...