mikos

You know….I’m wondering if they could possibly restore the Arnie Beswick ‘69 GTO back to stock? AFAIK, the Beswick ‘69 GTO is basically pristine body-wise except for the funny car interior and chassis. They could use the newly cloned ‘68 GTO parts for the interior and chassis or just clone another copy for the ‘69. That way, we get a stock Craftsman-Plus ‘68 GTO with limited engine detail and a simplified promo-style ‘69 GTO on the store shelves. And, not to get too carried away here They could also restore or clone the promo based ‘70 GTO stocker back to stock configuration as well. That way, we get a ‘68, ‘69 and a ‘70 GTO out of the mix, not counting the old ‘72 GTO that’s been around in various reissues over the years.

That truck has been worked on since no factory Chevy truck of that time period came with a cowl hood. They were basically “Sport” models that some regional dealers/owners added the 350-SS stickers to them. No C1500 ever left the factory with SS-350 decals. The 454-SS was the only “official” SS trim package to leave the factory floor at that time. Still, it’s a really nice truck that's for sure.

Greedy corporations….what else is new. lol They don’t seem to realize things like this help sell their products too.

An SS 350 truck? I’ve never seen one even back in the day when they were new.

Me too. I hope the first reissue sells well enough so that they can add the hood and wheels at a later date.

Thanks Steve! I’m glad you were able to find it and then reissue it in the near future. I look forward to the ‘68 GTO Craftsman style kit that will be coming out as well. ?

The ‘78-‘81’s all had that same problem. They never fixed it.

That was the ‘81 Turbo-Z annual. The last issue of that tooling was the Camaro ProStreet in the mid ‘80’s. That’s probably the one they’re straight reissuing. The Thunder-Z and Pro Street kits did not come with the stock ‘80-‘81 style hood or N90 wheels. They only came with the earlier ‘78-‘79 style hood and custom wheels. This leads me to believe the original tooling insert for the ‘80-‘81 hood was either damaged or lost back in the early ‘80’s. When Round 2 reissues it again, you will only be able to build a custom ‘78-‘79 style Camaro Z28. The ‘80-‘81’s had a different style hood and front fender vents. Even with the earlier hood, a stock ‘78-‘79 Z28 still can not be made because the fender vents changed in ‘80-‘81.

Were you able to find the original Cold Air Induction hood from the original ‘80-‘81 annual? Except for the wheels, that was the only part that was missing in the subsequent Thunder-Z and Pro Street reissues. Also, it would nice to include the optional stock N90 aluminum wheels that the ‘80 and ‘81 annual kits had. They looked great with those wheels even though the original MPC version was more like a 16” or 17” scale wheel in diameter. I’d hate to have to buy the Revell ‘81 Camaro or the ‘86 Monte Carlo SS kit just to get those wheels.

Concerning those popular vintage kits and promos, I think there are forces behind the scenes that do not want to see that happen. With cloning now being a viable technology, we could see all those old kits/promos reissued again. However, it won’t happen due to what I said earlier. What a shame.

Unfortunately, I won’t getting this one unless it’s just for the decals. The wheel well shape is completely wrong. Sure, it’s not like Revell has been immune to inaccurate wheel well shapes in their recent kits, but with this kit it makes a noticeable difference. The wheel wells should be elliptical not round. It has Firebird style wheel wells. Round 2 should also reissue the AMT Snap-Fit ‘81 Z28. It’s the same kit as the AMT Cheverra reissue, but with the stock rear deck lid/spoiler. The Cheverra came with a custom whale tail rear spoiler/deck lid. Including the stock rear spoiler/deck lid would get more profit out of the Cheverra tooling and offer a more realistic building option compared to the Revell kit. Since Round 2 is reissuing the ‘80’s Camaro Pro Street, I hope it comes with the stock ‘80-‘81 style hood. I think the tooling insert for the Cold Air Induction hood was either lost or damaged because they went to the earlier ‘78-‘79 style hood in the Thunder-Z and Pro Street kits. Anyway, if they can’t find it, they could possibly clone it for a future release so a stock ‘80-‘81 Z28 could be built again. Of course, if they also include the proper N90 wheels so the builder doesn’t have to raid the Revell Camaro or Monte Carlo SS kit to get them.