RC2 era 'b and s' cars...

[mk11]

Just digging through the pile yesterday prompted me to wonder if anyone had ever made a list of the RC2 era's 'bait and switch' AMT cars, the kits that showed box art with wheels and decals that were definitely not included in the kit. Was this something that came about with the switch to overseas manufacturing?

...I recall a '71 Chevelle with non-matching wheels and this '74 GTX that came with modular and custom wheels and ugly green/blue decals... but no GTX decals or five spoke wheels.

 

mike

 

Edited October 25, 2017 by mk11

[Mr mopar]

don't forget the red charger 500 that showed hub caps on the box ...... but were not in the kit !

 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2017 by Mr mopar

[pack rat]

Was this something that came about with the switch to overseas manufacturing?

 

Those "B&S" RC2-era kits had nothing to do with where the kits were manufactured.            

Edited October 24, 2017 by pack rat

[Snake45]

The model shown on the box of the "AMT" Ferrari 250 SWB was NOT made from the kit in the box.

At least one issue of the '68 Z/28 did not have the nice Goodyear tires on the box, just the skinny little one.

[Luc Janssens]

Those "B&S" RC2-era kits had nothing to do with where the kits were manufactured.            

Most likely marketing guys with little or no knowledge of model kits.

Glad that era ended...

[Bucky]

How about this Plymouth (Dodge) Duster (Dart)? 

[Rob Hall]

How about this Plymouth (Dodge) Duster (Dart)? 

And that error was also present in the mid 80s MPC-branded release of the kit also..

[mike 51]

AMT's re-issue of the recent 60 chevy pickup shows an original AMT kit with a long bed and side-trim on the box.

As common as this is, it seems rather dishonest.....

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2017 by mike 51

[CapSat 6]

& the green 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona that showed recall wheels and an enhanced Hemi on the box, but only came with the same-old-same-old in the box...

...my understanding is that what happened with these was: they were produced just like every run before, and the contents did not change from prior issues, but RC2 accepted builds for the box art photos that in some cases were not box stock. 

Normally, when the model companies commission or borrow box art builds, they will rightly insist that they are built completely box stock. While many of the builds for these boxes were actually very well executed and attractive, many of these builds were NOT box stock. I think this only happened with these kits with the issues from this era (early 2000's, perhaps?).

Even though that '74 Road Runner did not come with stock graphics for decals or Cragar mags as shown on the box, I was still psyched to see it released again, and it was at least done in gray plastic, instead of that awful MPC orange. 

 

 

[martinfan5]

Those "B&S" RC2-era kits had nothing to do with where the kits were manufactured.            

But its so cool to blame the Chinese for everything

[pack rat]

My all-time favorite RC2-era kit is the '40 Ford "Woodie".

   

[Rob Hall]

My all-time favorite RC2-era kit is the '40 Ford "Woodie".

   

That one was so wrong on so many levels..

 

[mk11]

But its so cool to blame the Chinese for everything

Sorry for that implication but I was wondering if they were just simply fed the wrong info... and it does appear that it was a marketing issue.

 

mike

[stavanzer]

I've got a Glue-Bomb of that Woodie. I'd like to get another.

Is it rare now?

[martinfan5]

Sorry for that implication but I was wondering if they were just simply fed the wrong info... and it does appear that it was a marketing issue.

 

mike

Its very possible , mistake can happen on either end of the chain.

[pack rat]

I've got a Glue-Bomb of that Woodie. I'd like to get another.

Is it rare now?

Call me crazy, but I'd like to add one to my stash too.

I don 't know if it's rare or not, but I don't think a Round2 reissue is coming anytime soon.

[Robberbaron]

Their "Street Custom" 1976 Nova box art showed a factory stock build with the 6-hole rally wheels, but what was in the box was the same old street machine/pro street version.

Their 1972 Chevelle box art seemed to show the old MPC '72 Chevelle (check out the weird, too tall parking lights) with Centerline-type wheels.  What's actually in the box is the AMT Chevelle, which started out as the 1970 annual and got updated through 1972.

THEN it got backdated to a 1970 by Ertl in the 1990s.  Then RC2 retooled additional parts to AGAIN offer it as a 1972 (but somehow managed to use an old MPC for the box art).  The interesting thing is that they didn't actually duplicate the old annual AMT 1972 parts.  The front end actually has clear headlights and correctly sized, clear turn signals.  This is negated by a totally incorrect grille pattern that they inexplicably provided.  The kit also does have the correct for 1972 5-spoke SS wheels, plus the same wretched custom wheels from the 1970 version, which I'm not even sure how to describe.

Aside from the wrong grille pattern, what's in the box is actually better than the box art indicates on this one (and the original 1972 annual was actually incorrect in several ways, too).  One of these days I'd like to post a comparison of the old '72 AMT and this one, to show the differences.  If Round 2 would take the initiative and redo the grille with the correct pattern, it could build into a nice shelf model.  That's something that's certainly within their capabilities.

 

Edited October 25, 2017 by Robberbaron

[Snake45]

 

Their 1972 Chevelle box art seemed to show the old MPC '72 Chevelle (check out the weird, too tall parking lights) with Centerline-type wheels.  What's actually in the box is the AMT Chevelle, which started out as the 1970 annual and got updated through 1972.

Aside from the wrong grille pattern, what's in the box is actually better than the box art indicates on this one (and the original 1972 annual was actually incorrect in several ways, too).  One of these days I'd like to post a comparison of the old '72 AMT and this one, to show the differences.  If Round 2 would take the initiative and redo the grille with the correct pattern, it could build into a nice shelf model.  That's something that's certainly within their capabilities.

 

I've posted pics of the two side by side here before. Unfortunately, they got washed away in The Great Botophucket Flush a few months ago.

[martinfan5]

Their "Street Custom" 1976 Nova box art showed a factory stock build with the 6-hole rally wheels, but what was in the box was the same old street machine/pro street version.

Their 1972 Chevelle box art seemed to show the old MPC '72 Chevelle (check out the weird, too tall parking lights) with Centerline-type wheels.  What's actually in the box is the AMT Chevelle, which started out as the 1970 annual and got updated through 1972.

THEN it got backdated to a 1970 by Ertl in the 1990s.  Then RC2 retooled additional parts to AGAIN offer it as a 1972 (but somehow managed to use an old MPC for the box art).  The interesting thing is that they didn't actually duplicate the old annual AMT 1972 parts.  The front end actually has clear headlights and correctly sized, clear turn signals.  This is negated by a totally incorrect grille pattern that they inexplicably provided.  The kit also does have the correct for 1972 5-spoke SS wheels, plus the same wretched custom wheels from the 1970 version, which I'm not even sure how to describe.

Aside from the wrong grille pattern, what's in the box is actually better than the box art indicates on this one (and the original 1972 annual was actually incorrect in several ways, too).  One of these days I'd like to post a comparison of the old '72 AMT and this one, to show the differences.  If Round 2 would take the initiative and redo the grille with the correct pattern, it could build into a nice shelf model.  That's something that's certainly within their capabilities.

 

 

That is good know, I would buy the Nova kit if had those those stock goodies.

[ChrisBcritter]

Would the '32 Ford so-called "Jalopy Stock Cars" qualify?

[Bucky]

I never knew that about the '72 Chevelle until just now! I built the version with the correct grille, but it had molded in headlights. It must have been the MPC issue. I checked the grill in the 2002 AMT issue just a minute ago, and am quite disappointed!

[Bob Ellis]

Their 72 Chevelle has 70 side marker lights on the front fender; as it was on the 71 as well!

 

[Mark]

I don 't know if it's rare or not, but I don't think a Round2 reissue is coming anytime soon.

Thankfully...

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Yeah, 'member those.  Think there was a '69 Charger with dog dish caps on it?

My shame-on-AMT moment came much earlier, when they pictured a 2nd-gen S10 long bed on the cover (1:1 vehicle, no model shots) but gave us the same ol' short bed from the previous year. Think that was '95 or so, and one of the things launched me into kit reviews was that no published review of that kit troubled itself to point out such a significant deviation.

But after being fooled once, it was all shame on me thereafter.  Engine wiring, parts that were plainly never in previous issues of the kit, the fact that Racing Chumps was bleeding the brand a bit by that point; those were all pretty clear indicators their builders were kinda half-a$$ing and sending in previously-finished personal models instead of content-accurate builds - in all fairness, probably for less-than-half-a$$ fees and turnaround times.  That the box cover's original annual long-bed '60 Chevrolet pickup looked so distinct from the newer-tool short bed was plenty clue enough for me of a mistake rather than new parts for the newer kit.

[Chuck Most]

Showed the vintage SMP/AMT kit on the box (long bed, side trim, etc..) but contained the Racing Champions Era new-tool kit. 

Showed the Kelsey-Hays "recall" wheels (were those even available on the Daytona) which were not included in the kit, and the detail photos show several scratchbuilt parts and a chassis from the '70 Super Bee.

 

I don't see how the Rides Magazine '40 Ford is a bait and switch, though... what you saw on the box is exactly what you got.