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Casey

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Everything posted by Casey

  1. Not until the last remaining musclecar variant option has bee exhausted. As others have mentioned, most people want to buy a model of a vehicle which excites them, and musclecars have a proven sales track record. Just about everything AMC did was quirky, so that alone makes kits of their vehicles too risky IMHO. We already had the Plymouth Volare kits, and as a former Aspen Wagon owner, I'd love to see it re-issued, but the Mopar F-bodies were the poster children for bad '70s American cars. Up until the late '80s, they were still holding the title of "Most Recalled Vehicle", and for good reasons: front fenders which were neither undercoated nor protected by a splash shield, leading to the great fender replacement of '76; Chrysler's Lean Burn System; front frame rails with a built in water and crud holding trap; cowl drains which did not work as well as they were supposed to, etc. They were turds, plain and simple, and I still like them, but I know I'm the exception, rather than the norm. I'm still in favor of more kits like Revell's '69 Camaro, '72 Olds Cutlass, and '69 Nova-- kits based on new tooling which are far better than older, dated tools of the same subjects (MPC and Monogram '69 Camaros, JoHan '70 Olds Cutlass 442, and AMT's '72 Nova). Let's also consider that Revell has YEARS worth of modified re-issues based on the '72 Olds tooling alone, and I'm sure we'll see more GM X-body variants based on the '69 Nova tooling, a '70 Charger based on the '68/'69 Dodge Charger tooling, and maybe even a '67 and/or '68 Camaro based on the '69 Camaro tooling. I haven't even mentioned another '67-75 Mopar A-body variant based on the '68/9 Dart tooling (a '71-'72 Dodge Demon would be a huge hit IMHO), a '55 and/or '57 Nomad based on the Tri-Five Chevy tooling, nor any '48 Ford variants. Let's just say they have put them selves in a very good position with regards to modified reissues.
  2. I think the Orange Crate tires are actually soft plastic, though, aren't they? I'm going on memory from the Street Demon's "Chopped Deuce" kit from the '80s here.
  3. You're showing your age with that one.
  4. They could re-use the "new" tires on the Orange Crate kit, too, if they designed them to fit.
  5. That's when the recent Minicraft Model As come in handy.
  6. The VW Kafer from Revell AG was a well done kit wih lots of detail, and I suspect the Kharmann-Ghia shared some of he tooling? I still see the Beetle on eBay for $75 or so, so it's still easy to find. The Revell Firebird SE and Camaro Berlinetta were ok, but were from the time before Revell was re-born, so from what I've seen of them, they wouldn't knock anyone socks off. Not sure if they were re-tooled into the later IROC-Z Camaro and Trans AM GTA or not, but those has better bodies, nicer engines, and some nice Goodyear Gatorback tires, too. Revell can keep their snap-together 1/16 Porsche 928, Corvettes, and the IMSA-fendered Camaro Z/28 kit in the warehouse. Now, the '34 Ford 3-window Coupe and Phaeton were great for the late '80 when the "billet" look was all the rage, but the kits could use some updating, which I would welcome, even if it meant never being able to release the original versions. 14" and 15" Goodyear Eagle ST tires are long out of date, but paired with a nice set of steelies and '40 Ford caps, they wouldn't look half bad. Add in four Moon syle wheel covers and you have another good looking option using the '80s tires in the kits. I want to say the coupe was re-issued as part of the SSP program (same time as the Bulldog Mack log truck?) in the early '90s... The Model As have nice bodies and a nice hopped up Flatty, but the Halibrand style wheels and pie crust slicks are awful, which is why I'm hoping the Lindberg Bullhorn T takes care of the latter problem.
  7. I am a huge 1/16 scale fan, but I would be happy if AMT's '64.5 Mustang and '57 T-bird and MPC's '79 Trans Am and all of their late '70s-early '80s Corvettes never saw the light of day again. IMHO, they just aren't very nice kits. Now, the Rod Shop Vette kit seems to be a kit people DO want to see re-issued, and you already mentioned the THREE 1/16 kits Round2 is re-issuing, so that's impressive by itself. I'm sure we'll see another 1/16 Revell T/F dragster (maybe a R/E this time?) or another F/C in the next few years, and I think the progression is Vega (Jungle Jim), Charger (Hawaiian), Dart/Duster/Demon (RRrrevellution), then Grand Am, so I guess it's Vega time again. Maybe some new decals to do a Pisano & Matsubara version?
  8. IN IMC's case, yes. We've all heard about how JoHan employees took tooling inserts home with them when they weren't being paid by JoHan, so I don't think it's a secret that many (I don't know exactly how many) of JoHan's kits will probably never be seen again, due to missing or damaged tooling. Just look at what X-El, Testors, and now IMC released or plan to release and it's clear there are probably less than a dozen useable tools from what was formerly JoHan. I think Steve G even mentioned this fact in his post under the New Kit Reviews IMC topic. Eventually, IMC will run out of tooling which needs little to know work/money invested to clean them up, and each kit will require more money up front to reissue, but only people who have seen and inspected to tooling know for sure, so yes, I'm speculating. You mentioned yourself how poor the molded parts in the last re-issue of the '69 SC/Rambler were, and considering JoHan hadn't tooled up any new kits since the late '70s (I think one of the Caddy kits was the last one?), they were wearing out tooling for twenty years, with no hope of either replacing them with new tooling, nor any chance of creating enough money to refresh the worn tooling. I haven't been thrilled that Round2 is merely doing what JoHan did for the last twenty years of their existence, but they seem to be doing more than just using, based on what I've seen on their 'site. I see tooling be repaired, additional parts being added, and kits including extra parts and bonus materials, but if they never tool up any new kits how long will each of us be satisfied when the AMTronic is reissued for the third time in 2020?
  9. I wouldn't be so sure that IMC is choosing that kit based on what will sell. It sounds more like they are choosing tools which are either complete or in good shape, and it doesn't sound like there's a huge pool of ex-JoHan kits to choose from. It sounds a lot like what X-El did- invest little to nothing in new tooling and use up what's left to make back some money.
  10. I have to agree. The mid '70s were a low point for American autos, save for a few exceptions like the Super Duty '74 T/As, '77-'78 Trans Ams, and the Lil Red/Midnite Express pickups. Plus, there were plenty of less than exciting '70s American subjects tooled up back in the day- '76 Nova, '77 Volare, '77 Chevette, ever version of a Corvette that was made from '75-'81, '75 Plymouth Fury, and even the soon to be reissued Colonnade Olds Cutlass from JoHan. There's just not much from that time period which excites people, and thus would be good new kit fodder.
  11. The Revell 1/24 '70 Road Runner kit has a nice bench seat and non-console (not sure if it's a correct bench seat lever or not) Pistol Grip floor shifter, but the upholstery pattern is of the base line RR, instead of the top of the line GTX. The entire '70 RR interior is a nice upgrade over the older '70 Monogram 1/24 Mopar B-body interiors. Here are some detailed pics of the '70 RR interior I used inside the GTX body and chassis:
  12. No short sweptline bed is available in kit form, but you can buy a top quality resin bed and related parts from: www.modelhaus.com Click this link, Mike --> http://modelhaus.com/index.php?y=&c=4247&pt=&part=1&Submit=Search
  13. Monogram released a kit of the 1GN S-10 (well, two counting the later Revell Syclone), AMT tooled up all new 2GN S-Series pickups in both Chevy and GMC versions, as well as a Ranger kit, and Lindberg tooled up Nissan and Toyota compact pickups, the 2GN Dakota extended cab, a 2GN S-10 Blazer and Sonoma 4x4, and that's only the mid-size and compacts. Lots of Ford F-series, Silverados, and Dodge Ram full-size pickups have been done by Revell, AMT, and Lindberg, too, in several versions- Flaresides, extended cabs, dually, etc. Yes, some were basically re-boxed promos, but my point is the selection is quite broad...and I didn't even mention the Aoshima. Fujimi, etc. "foreign" pickup kits. Now, if you're clammoring for a new/current/recent pickup kit, then yes, you're out of luck. I pretty much agree with Harry on this one- if the demand and potential sales profits were deemed to be sufficient to produce such a kit, we would've seen it produced. I guess all this debate proves what the O.P. siad- we have it quite good right now.
  14. I was thinking about the lack of models at mass merchandisers as mentioned above, and thought back to when I started buying and building models in 1980 at the age of eight. I bought 100% of my kits from a five and dime store and from K-Mart, because they had a good selection and I could ride my bike there. There were no hobby shops, no interwebs, and mail order was something I had yet to discover. I suspect many others in my age range also bought many kits from stores similar to K-Mart, so don't discount the mass merchandisers role in bringing models to the masses. Without them, I and others may have never discovered models. I also agree that there should always be a mix of models which appeal to not only experienced, adult modelers, but also to younger, less experienced builders. That said, there will never be a perfect release lineup for any one person, so sometimes you have to go outside your comfort zone and build something different. Now, that might mean building a kit that's too advanced for your skills (such as when I attempted MPC's 1/20 McLaren at age eight) or delving into a kit you never would've considered buying, but trying new things and learning from your failures (yes, there will and should be failures along the way) is how you become a better model builder and how you expose yourself to new ideas and subjects.
  15. Related tip- if you're building a Road Runner (not sure of the years, but at least '69-'72), paint the horn with Testors #1134 Purple enamel paint, as it's a dead ringer for the correct color: Tip #2: the wiper motor is not chrome on the 1:1 cars.
  16. Naw, the party's overflowing towards the front, too. All kidding aside, I find Mr. David to be one of the most likable TV personalities of all the "car shows", regardless of his hairstyle.
  17. Wasn't there talk here about Revell creating an all new tool of a '57 Ranchero? The Custom would at least share a few parts with it, so maybe in a few years it's a possibility.
  18. I think we've had it good since the early '90s when the new Revell was reborn and started putting out top notch new tools like the '69 Camaro, '64 Ford T-bolt, etc. The problem with now is that IMC (Johan), Round2 (AMT/MPC/Polar Lights), and Lindberg/Hawk are only re-issuing kits, rather than creating and releasing newly tooled subjects. Even so, these are great times to be a modeller indeed.
  19. Wasn't Moebius supposed to announce a new, never before seen in plastic automobile kit? I sure hope Art wasn't talking about the Hudson convertable as that kit...
  20. I have little interest in a RR model, but I can see a ton of potential in the seats, wheels and tires, Moon style fuel tank, and motorcycle fenders alone. I only hope there is a figure of Mr. David included, accurate right down to the Middle Ages helmet hair. Kudos to Revell for producing a specific hot rod, and not another generic rod and/or custom. I think this kit will be a great seller for Revell, and hopefully helps them continue to build upon the success of their annual(?) model contest, too.
  21. That would require molding full chrome parts trees for both versions. I have some nice Chevy chrome, including the grille, bumpers, and the tunnel ram parts from the monster truck version if you'd like them, Aaron. PM me your address if so, please.
  22. Somebody already makes one, so save yourself a lot of work. It was discussed in the Resin section this past winter, IIRC. Also, I think the AMT (ex-MPC) GMC is the only kit in 1/25 with the Fleetside bed, and it has those funky bed-side storage door lines engraved into it. The Revell (ex Monogram) 1/24 GM C-10 kits are well done, but typical of early '80s Monogram, with an interior bucket and bench seat molded as one, with very undetailed door panels. However, the pickup's bed was very nicely done, unlike the MPC GMC's. I think the Chevy and GMC grilles and tailgates can be straight swapped on the ex-Monogram 1/24 kits, too.
  23. Ed, did you make wood or molded plastic drink trays? They still are very much in demand, especially the plastic versions. I thought the '50 Olds was made as a die-cast bank by Ertl, so I'm sure Revell has its own unique tooling for this one.
  24. It's the same basic kit as the Monogram GMC Sport Pick-up last released in the mid '80s, with a decent set of semi-hard rubber Goodyear Tracker A-T tires: I think the snowplow is a great addition, and in a few years when the kit is discontinued, people will be searching for it just for the snowplow parts.
  25. I was thinking it would be similar to how Round2 did the '68 Shelby GT500 kit a year or so ago, where the box was labelled with the body's color. Not so with the Manx?
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