Round 2 January 2017 Product Spotlight

[Jordan White]

They need to bring back many of the Amt-Ertl era kits, especially the trucks and suvs, and release them with new extra parts.

[niteowl7710]

Missing from that video, but on the January release sheet are -

'49 Ford with it's original trophy base restored.

Prepaint '16 Camaro which sounds like they took the Aoshima approach and painted the entire kit for you (rather than just the body like Revell's)  You just provide glue and an afternoon, be forewarned everything will still be on sprues and have all of it's attendant seams and mold lines.

'60 Starliner which will be the full 2n1 with both stock and custom parts (which gets you two entire engines) for the first time since the original kit was packaged that way.

[Luc Janssens]

Missing from that video, but on the January release sheet are -

'49 Ford with it's original trophy base restored.

Prepaint '16 Camaro which sounds like they took the Aoshima approach and painted the entire kit for you (rather than just the body like Revell's)  You just provide glue and an afternoon, be forewarned everything will still be on sprues and have all of it's attendant seams and mold lines.

'60 Starliner which will be the full 2n1 with both stock and custom parts (which gets you two entire engines) for the first time since the original kit was packaged that way.

Under Ertl ownership Amt had a similar range of pre-paints, but think they were a Wall mart exclusive.

[niteowl7710]

Under Ertl ownership Amt had a similar range of pre-paints, but think they were a Wall mart exclusive.

Right the infamous AMT "ProShop" models.  Ya know you still come across people every now and then still trying to enter one of those in a model contest.

[Luc Janssens]

Ya know you still come across people every now and then still trying to enter one of those in a model contest.

Those dirty rotten scoundrel's

 

 

[Sledsel]

Well, my wallet is saved for a bit.

What I hope to see in the future is the '64 Galaxie (even as a craftsman kit) the Ohio George Multi Maverick and the AWB 67 Comet. Those are on my Round2 wish list. 

[keyser]

Not a great month, but the usual piling on happens yet again. Y'all could just cut and paste the same comments in various threads

Re-issues PAY for new tools. Round 2 is in business to make money, attract new business. Not to make our tiny segment of market happy. Seems impossible for some anyway. 

Just because some of us have jillions of re-issues, lots of people have never seen these kits.

If you hate re-issues, why'd you buy more in the first place? People complain about kit prices, only use 40% off coupons, so you should be doing cartwheels about cheap kits. 

Thanks for posting Bill, and glad some of us can get some kits we may have missed, or have never seen before.

[AC Norton]

Not a great month, but the usual piling on happens yet again. Y'all could just cut and paste the same comments in various threads

Re-issues PAY for new tools. Round 2 is in business to make money, attract new business. Not to make our tiny segment of market happy. Seems impossible for some anyway. 

Just because some of us have jillions of re-issues, lots of people have never seen these kits.

If you hate re-issues, why'd you buy more in the first place? People complain about kit prices, only use 40% off coupons, so you should be doing cartwheels about cheap kits. 

Thanks for posting Bill, and glad some of us can get some kits we may have missed, or have never seen before.

.....all true....100 per cent...............the Ace....

[unclescott58]

I happy to see that AMT's 1:32 scale '65 Mustang is coming back. I love the kits from the old AMT "All Star" series. Nice simple little kits. I hope the '63 Corvette, '60 Thunderbird, '40 Ford sedan, and '32 Ford 3-window coupe are not far behind.

And I get a kick out of all those who complain about Round 2 reissuing mosting old kits. Many of us are very happy with with what Round 2 is doing. Round 2 does spend money tooling up new die casts, sci fi models, etc. So they are offering new things. They must know where the money is. That's the reason they keep offering what they do. Rather than complaining, spend your money on the new kits you like from other companies. If that's where the market is, I'm sure Round 2 will follow suit.

Scott

 

[Robberbaron]

Not a great month, but the usual piling on happens yet again. Y'all could just cut and paste the same comments in various threads

Re-issues PAY for new tools. Round 2 is in business to make money, attract new business. Not to make our tiny segment of market happy. Seems impossible for some anyway. 

Just because some of us have jillions of re-issues, lots of people have never seen these kits.

If you hate re-issues, why'd you buy more in the first place? People complain about kit prices, only use 40% off coupons, so you should be doing cartwheels about cheap kits. 

Thanks for posting Bill, and glad some of us can get some kits we may have missed, or have never seen before.

Concur.

I often wonder what would happen if, somehow, somewhere, someone found ALL of the classic Johan tooling (long thought destroyed), and then started reissuing all of the long sought Johan kits and X-EL promos.  How long would it be before certain folks started complaining that the new company wasn't tooling anything new?  Or at the very least, complain about the molded in chassis detail and inaccurate engines in many of those classics.

If Round 2 had not ridden to the rescue (what, about 8 years ago?), it seemed very likely that all of the AMT and MPC tooling would end up similar to the Johan situation.  And you can bet there would be plenty of people longing for these very kits that are now being panned for being reissued, again.

Round 2 purchased the AMT and MPC production rights (and eventually the tooling itself) strictly because of the enormous tooling catalog.  They are getting to the point where they are again reissuing some of the kits they put out 7 or 8 years ago.  I bet they are choosing those specific kits because they sold well last time.  Kits such as the '49 Ford are including additional tampo printed tire options and retooled wheels.

And it's not all the "same old reissues".  For each of the last several years, Round 2 has also been bringing back kits that haven't been available for 30 to 40 years, such as the Gremlins, Pacers, Squad Rod Nova, and some of the show rods.  You might not LIKE what they're reissuing, but you can't honestly state that it's all the same stuff they've been making for the last 30 years.

I personally question how well the AMT branded '64 Dodge will sell, for all the reasons already stated.  But I also agree that Round 2 is counting on the general public to buy 99% of them, not the lunatic fringe like us (who know better).

Edited January 4, 2017 by Robberbaron

[1972coronet]

Round 2 ... It's in their name ! 

Keep up the GREAT work , guys ! Certainly I'm not alone here ; I positively LOVE the latest and oddball Pacer , Monza,  Volare,  etc.,etc.?????

[Robberbaron]

One additional comment, a 7 to 8 year gap between reissues doesn't seem too unusual, historically speaking.

Many of the classic AMT kits that Ertl began to reissue in the mid 1980s were previously available probably about 8 years before in the Countdown and Cruisin' USA series.  I remember being happy back then when they reissued the '65 Riviera, I couldn't have cared less that it had been available in the late '70s.  Wasn't too happy with the bright yellow plastic, though..

Edited January 4, 2017 by Robberbaron

[Rob Hall]

One additional comment, a 7 to 8 year gap between reissues doesn't seem too unusual, historically speaking.

Many of the classic AMT kits that Ertl began to reissue in the mid 1980s were previously available probably about 8 years before in the Countdown and Cruisin' USA series.  I remember being happy back then when they reissued the '65 Riviera, I couldn't have cared less that it had been available in the late '70s.  Wasn't too happy with the bright yellow plastic, though..

The Countdown Series and Cruzin' USA series were my first exposure to many AMT kits---I started building glue kits in '78...it wasn't until later that I learned about the world of original annuals and reissues and all the nuances of them...

[Robberbaron]

The Countdown Series and Cruzin' USA series were my first exposure to many AMT kits---I started building glue kits in '78...it wasn't until later that I learned about the world of original annuals and reissues and all the nuances of them...

My older brother also started building glue kits around that time.  He built several of the Countdown and Cruisin' USA cars, as well.  I remember thinking how cool some of those subjects were, so I was pretty excited when Ertl began reissuing most of them.

[Don Sikora II]

Same here, my first "classic" AMT kits were mostly Countdown, Cruisin' USA, and Reggie Jackson releases. When those early Ertl reissues of Trophy kits and old annuals started showing up in the early 1980s, they were completely new to me.

[wrecker388]

They need to bring back many of the Amt-Ertl era kits, especially the trucks and suvs, and release them with new extra parts.

Yes!! I'd love to find a stock version of an 88-98 Chevy or a 92-96 Ford for less than $50. I'd also like to see the 72 Chevy make a return. Those get pretty scary on eBay.

[echoxrayniner]

Man, with all the re-releases of the forty year old kits, I'm still pining so hard for a re-release of the AMT '74-'77 Camaro or even the MPC version... But I get the sensation they're too, I suppose 'normal' to mark a re-release. MPC kits always had these superbly odd extras that makes them pop(though don't get me wrong, I do love me that Pacer, Pinto, Volare and so on!) and AMT seems to put a lot of money in the rods, dragsters and such re-release pool.

Maybe I'm just getting jaded >.>

Ah well I'm just happy they re-did the '68 Soapbox Derby El Camino SS the other month, still working on that baby.

[Daddyfink]

Funny, most of the folks on here where commenting on how they are going to save money on not buying any of this stuff, I make a comment about the same old re-issues and the board goes nuts, but, there are still more folks who are not going to buy any of this stuff. 

Just an observation. 

Yup, Round 2 sure know what they are doing. 

[ZTony8]

If  all those reissues pay for new kits,you mean to tell me that all they've paid for is the new 2016 Camaro tool and it's upcoming derivitives?

[unclescott58]

Funny, most of the folks on here where commenting on how they are going to save money on not buying any of this stuff, I make a comment about the same old re-issues and the board goes nuts, but, there are still more folks who are not going to buy any of this stuff. 

Just an observation. 

Yup, Round 2 sure know what they are doing. 

You expect people to be rational about this, do you? I get a kick out of people telling us what they are not going to buy. I personally like to talk about what I'm excited about in each new release. And through my buying habits, hopefully get the model companies to release more of the stuff that I'm interested in. Again, the EMPI Imp dune buggy, even if it's 1/32 scale excites me. Though I do hope it the 1/25 scale version that they are planning on releasing.

There are several things in Revell's latest announcement that I have no interest in. But, I have no interest putting those kits down. Especially if another person here is excited about them. Why should I rain on their parade? I hope we all can get what we want. I don't enjoy hearing people tell me what they don't like. Or to implying that what me interests don't meet with their approval. Who cares? I'm in this hobby to have fun. And there is an old saying that, "Money talks. And BS walks." I almost always in every release find something to be excited by. Whether it is something new. Or something old that I liked in the past, or wish I could have purchased in past. It's all okay.

One last thing. There have been times when another's excitement and/or interest, or a review of a particular kit, has gotten to get me to take intest in and buy a kit I have no interest in initially. That why I peruse these threads.

Scott

 

[Daddyfink]

You expect people to be rational about this, do you? I get a kick out of people telling us what they are not going to buy. I personally like to talk about what I'm excited about in each new release. And through my buying habits, hopefully get the model companies to release more of the stuff that I'm interested in. Again, the EMPI Imp dune buggy, even if it's 1/32 scale excites me. Though I do hope it the 1/25 scale version that they are planning on releasing.

There are several things in Revell's latest announcement that I have no interest in. But, I have no interest putting those kits down. Especially if another person here is excited about them. Why should I rain on their parade? I hope we all can get what we want. I don't enjoy hearing people tell me what they don't like. Or to implying that what me interests don't meet with their approval. Who cares? I'm in this hobby to have fun. And there is an old saying that, "Money talks. And BS walks." I almost always in every release find something to be excited by. Whether it is something new. Or something old that I liked in the past, or wish I could have purchased in past. It's all okay.

One last thing. There have been times when another's excitement and/or interest, or a review of a particular kit, has gotten to get me to take intest in and buy a kit I have no interest in initially. That why I peruse these threads.

Scott

 

I am not telling you not to buy anything and just like everyone else, I have the right to my opinions and points of view. I get a kick of those trying to dismiss someone for stating an opinion. 

It is not about putting kits down, it is about expressing disappointment about releases that are repetitive and the lack of new product. And yes, I spend my money where I see fit and move on when I don't want it. You want to buy it? Help yourself! I could care less what you like. 

 

[Snake45]

There have been times when another's excitement and/or interest, or a review of a particular kit, has gotten to get me to take intest in and buy a kit I have no interest in initially. That why I peruse these threads.

Scott

Same here. I wasn't planning to buy the reissued '60 or '75 Corvettes, but now I own new copies of both.

[Daddyfink]

So, how many more of these do I need to buy before I get a new tool or a vintage tool gets repaired? If somebody would only buy my re-issues from my model table, at only $5 bucks, I would buy the latest issue! 

[Xingu]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just remember that if you post your opinion on a public forum, such as this one, you will get comments good and bad. That opinion may also be the same opinion that person posted last week, last year or in the last thread about new releases. What I have noticed is that we have all lost the ability to scroll on to the next post and let others have their opinion without injecting our own.

With Round2 - I have no idea what they paid for all the old tools. I have no idea what condition the old tools are in. I have no idea what their budget is each year. I have no idea how much profit they made in previous years. I have no idea what their business plan is or how they intend to recoup the money they have spent. I have no idea how many kits they sell each year. I am sure they have a plan for old and new tools, but since I do not work there I have no idea what it is. I am just happy there are companies out there that are still producing reasonably priced plastic model kits.

Now my opinion - We should be glad that there are still plastic models to be bought. I feel we are a small, very dedicated, percentage of the model buying public. We look for perfection, or at least a good attempt at it. I do not know what the average age of the members of this forum is, but I guess it would be up there a little bit. This means a lot of the folks (or at least a lot of the regular posters here) have seen and built all of the old kits, several times. Of course you are looking for something new or a reproduction of your first car, but there are still new people (maybe not as many as in the past) getting into, or back into, the hobby. These reissues will be new to them. Everyone is not on eBay, so they don't always know you can get some of the old kits cheap. They go to a local store and see the model on the shelf.

[crazyjim]

I wish for world peace.