pack rat

Sorry, Ace. I should have remembered the seat issue right away. This is the kit I built for Round2 when the kit was in the planning stages (with '72 seats). Normally I avoid black interiors as they tend to hide detail, but when I built this one they were still searching for the '67 seats; so we went with black as we weren't sure which seats would be in the box. Unfortunately, they didn't find the correct '67 buckets. GTO test shot.bmp

With that box, you don't know what you'll get until you open it; Johan threw various parts in that box in the later years. I have one like Jeff's,with a 73/74 in the box. I also have one with the '72 tailights as pictured on the box, but a '73/74 body (yes....they're different: look at the roof panels on 1:1 Javelins)

Oops....I forgot something! I believe the molded-in-blue MPC 80's issue is the only one with correct '67 bucket seats. All of the later issues have the '72 seats with mounting holes for the headrests, including the Round2 kit.

If you don't want to pony up the bucks for the annual, you might as well go with the recent Round2 release. The 80's MPC kit was nothing to write home about quality-wise, with the rough body seams, flash, and (on some) really poor chrome plating...not to mention the dark-tinted glass (some had clear glass though). The subsequent Ertl and RC2 reissues were no better. Round2 had a rough tool to work with, but at least they tried to clean it up as well as possible. And....if you get a defective kit Round2 will look after you.

I think you're looking at the mock-up pic used when the kit was first announced; it shows a 1:1 car with photoshopped graphics. The production box shows a kit built from the Street Rods release with the USA-1 decals applied. That's basically what the box contains; the Street Rod parts with the USA-1 decal sheet.

Yes...licensing is a major factor in bringing any kit to market nowadays. Another thing to consider...licensing has to be obtained individually for each and every product the model manufacturer produces. If, for example Round2 decided to produce a new Ford kit they would have to go through the same approval process they have already gone through for the other Fords they are already producing. This applies to new tools, re-issues etc. Licensing can be denied if a manufacturer doesn't like the look of vintage box art that originated in the '60's. (Note-I'm only using Ford as an example....this applies to all manufacturers) Like Dave....I've heard some stories. I'll go out on a limb and predict that the Brat might be a tough one to get licensing for; those rear jump seats they were equipped with might be considered controversial from a safety standpoint, and nowadays that's enough for corporate lawyers to get nervous.

A lot of the Iron Horse parts live on in the '66 Mustang hardtop; AMT essentially replaced the Iron Horse body/interior bits with those of the promo '66 hardtop when they first issued the Countdown kit.

The air cleaners are just above the carbs....yes, they look like headlights

That's the one, Casey. The parts pack will contain two of the ex-MPC "dirtbikes" mentioned above.......note that no brand is specified (kinda like Revell's "no-name" tires....."cough"licensing"cough") There was also a Suzuki 400 included in some MPC kits, but AFIAK that bike is MIA.

They have to stay in business. If they decided to only produce kits from tooling that hasn't seen a reissue in x number of years ,, they would be out of business....I don't know how much simpler I can put it. Re the Manx, I know darn well it wasn't used as a doorstop by the previous owners. If you knew the kind of enthusiasm the guys at Round2 have in trying to bring back "the good stuff" you wouldn't be so cynical. "Executive Lounge"?........we're dealing with Round2, not General Motors.

The program was cancelled by previous owners long ago. I don't know why everyone assumes Round2 isn't bothering to investigate what they have in old tooling; it's something they've been working on since they took over...do you think they just tripped over the Meyers Manx tool (and other examples) when they walked in the door? They're looking for stuff, they're finding stuff, but they're working on seeing what they can produce (profitably). So how to generate revenue?.....keep the production lines humming using tooling they have available. I suppose they could just shut everything down and have their entire staff search through old tooling....

Absolutely correct....it's a daunting task. There is still old tooling there, but it has to be found, identified, inspected to see what condition it's in after all the years of storage in different locations under different ownership, etc etc...then, perhaps it will be sent away to have plastic shot through it to see what pops out. Case in point...the '64 Cutlass hanger shot. It is not, as some have stated the '64 Cutlass funny car. It's the '64 Cutlass annual with the body parts heavily modified from it's funny car days. The funny car chassis, engine and interior bits are all missing. So it can't be issued in it's original annual form or as the funny car in it's present state....and what condition is the tooling in? How much will it cost to restore? etc etc If Round2 found complete, production-ready tooling for some annual we haven't seen for 40-50 years, they wouldn't just sit on it. Rest assured, there is still stuff to find, and they're digging for it.

The original issue had the so-called "Darlington" rubber tires that were also used on the Turnpike cars. I still have the set from my original kit. They didn't age well over the years; they're ozone-cracked and brittle, although I recently got another original kit in a collection with like-new tires (?).

John G at Round2 gave me the bobblehead; it came with the yellow jacket. I found out later it was a limited edition (most are red...I think).

Those later kits are butchered versions of the original...I wouldn't recommend them. The box you have is for the first or second issue; after the '65 annual run it was re-issued soon after as a Trophy Series kit. There was at least one other box variation after that, along with an "Elegance Series" version in a wide, flat box (very rare). In around 1971, AMT butchered the kit as part of the Modified Stocker series. In the '80's, Ertl decided to return the kit to stock, but it was a half-hearted effort. If I were you I would seek out one of the pre-Modified Stocker versions. The later ones are pretty easy to spot...just look for the bug-eyed headlights. If you don't mind starting with an old built-up, the earlier versions are out there, and I've seen them go for reasonable prices.

That's a whole lot of speculation; the old annual was never part of the plan. Don't believe everything you hear.

This got me wondering, so I just had to check it out. You're right; the annual and the prestige hoods are totally different; the underside detail doesn't match, and the prestige hood is fractionally longer.

Yes....409, Keystones...all non-stock pieces gone. This series of kits (Round2 called them "Mass Market" kits) were issued to appeal to first-time/casual modelers as opposed to us more serious hobbyists, they decided at the time to exclude all non-stock parts and include only the parts to assemble the kits as pictured on the boxes. The '55 Nomad in the series also got the same treatment.

Yes, that is the old-tool (this issue contains no custom parts). This is the new-tool

The new-tool kit is still around; the last issue was by Round2 in 2012 in a collector tin.

Yes, I agree that the new-tool isn't a bad kit. I only say its unfortunate because, like Casey I would love to see the old-tool reissued in it's original form with all of the styling parts intact. Based on what I've heard re the condition of the old tool I doubt it will ever happen though.

Casey-Unfortunately I'm 99% certain this '57 is the new-tool.

I like what you did there, Chris. This is one of those kits you can have some fun with if you want a slump-buster.

Ok, I'll play

Doesn't sound remotely close to anything I've heard.....I have my doubts.