Atlantis Models has bought another lot of tooling/molds.....

[ozmodeler]

100% Chuck well said !

[randyc]

On 8/6/2020 at 6:59 PM, Shon Wittenbarger said:

I agree 100%. It's a big world out there, and when we go to shows the plane and ship builders hold their own. I would say the powers to be at Atlantis know what they are doing or they wouldn't be doing it. Yes the automotive builders on this board ( I am just one of many ) is supreme but we are talking little fish in a BIG pond. With all the complaints and whining that goes on amazes me. We need new kits the old ones are dated and no good any more. I remember when all we had in a nova kit was the AMT Old Pro and how we need a new tooled nova. Well Revell stepped up to the plate and gave us one. All the crying about the fender opening were wrong and one thing after another. Its a model kit kit for crying out loud, not a life or death situation. You get what you want and still never satisfied, worse than a bunch of women talking  about another ones home made dress. I tell you what needs to happen is all the arm chair warriors need to pool their money together and start their own model company and see how long they stay in business. 

Dang, 19 threads you have posted and you have hit the nail on the head in my opinion.  We have a huge thread on the 69 Chevelle going and lots of nay sayers.  I bought it and am endeavoring to fix what I think needs it.   When finished, it will closely resemble a 69 SS396 to most everyone but an owner perhaps.   I didn't even know there wer issue with the Revell Nova.  Mine looks great and my son helped with it a little.  SO it is the NOVA I will keep in my collection.   I think I have built most every new kit in the last 25 years and didn't think a thing about all the details that are complained about.  Thanks for the post.

[Mike999]

Since the thread spun off-topic from Atlantis...here are some other much-requested kits that didn't sell as well as expected, or so I've heard.  But I'm not an industry insider, and they are welcome to step in and correct me. I'd love to hear from them.

AMT-ERTL '58 Edsel:  at the top of the "most requested" list for decades.  AMT stepped up and did an all-new kit with detailed chassis/interior and a great M-E-L engine.  But I've heard that it didn't sell nearly as well as AMT hoped.  Today, these kits go cheap on eBay and even cheaper at flea markets, both the regular kit and the pre-painted Custom Shop version.  

So what happened?  I suspect '90's reality didn't match up with '50's nostalgia. AMT might have been better off to find an original 3-in-1 '58 Edsel kit, ship it to China and reverse-engineer the molds.  Ditto for their new Ala Kart kit, though that one had an obvious problem with its weird off-scale engine.

Galaxie Ltd. '46 Chevy Aerosedan/Sedan Delivery: another much requested kit and a great job with the finished product.  You'd think we would have bought these kits by the case load.  But the manager of a big Los Angeles hobby shop told me that it took Galaxie more than 10 years to sell out the first run of the Chevy kits. Maybe part of that was sticker shock. These were expensive kits but IMO we got our money's worth.  And we Geezer Modelers are a notoriously tight-fisted bunch.

Revell Midget Racers: again, a brand-new well-detailed kit requested for decades.  Complete with trailer and a choice of Offenhauser or Ford V8-60 flathead engines.  (The small Ford V-8 that had never been kitted before.)  And also again, a big sales dud.  So much so that I've heard the people who designed the kit got fired.  A quick check shows that since May, 27 Revell Midget Racer kits have sold on eBay. The prices ranged from a low of $12.50 for a sealed kit to a high of $38.00.

Edited August 10, 2020 by Mike999
omit

[randyc]

4 minutes ago, Mike999 said:

Since the thread spun off-topic from Atlantis...here are some other much-requested kits that didn't sell as well as expected, or so I've heard.  But I'm not an industry insider, and they are welcome to step in and correct me. I'd love to hear from them.

AMT-ERTL '58 Edsel:  at the top of the "most requested" list for decades.  AMT stepped up and did an all-new kit with detailed chassis/interior and a great M-E-L engine.  But I've heard that it didn't sell nearly as well as AMT hoped.  Today, these kits go cheap on eBay and even cheaper at flea markets, both the regular kit and the pre-painted Custom Shop version.  

So what happened?  I suspect '90's reality didn't match up with '50's nostalgia. AMT might have been better off to find an original 3-in-1 '58 Edsel kit, ship it to China and reverse-engineer the molds.  Ditto for their new Ala Kart kit, though that one had an obvious problem with its weird off-scale engine.

Galaxie Ltd. '46 Chevy Aerosedan/Sedan Delivery: another much requested kit and a great job with the finished product.  You'd think we would have bought these kits by the case load.  But the manager of a big Los Angeles hobby shop told me that it took Galaxie more than 10 years to sell out the first run of the Chevy kits. Maybe part of that was sticker shock. These were expensive kits but IMO we got our money's worth.  And we Geezer Modelers are a notoriously tight-fisted bunch.

Revell Midget Racers: again, a brand-new well-detailed kit requested for decades.  Complete with trailer and a choice of Offenhauser or Ford V8-60 flathead engines.  (The small Ford V-8 that had never been kitted before.)  And also again, a big sales dud.  So much so that I've heard the people who designed the kit got fired.  A quick check shows that since May, 27 Revell Midget Racer kits have sold on eBay. The prices ranged from a low of $12.50 for a sealed kit to a high of $38.00.

I bought ONE of each of the first 3.    I didn't have time to add the midget racers which didn't interest me at the time.   I have also missed the  new Bronco kit - just don't have time and enough interest to do it.  If they ever hit a version I really like - I will though - the Bill Stroppe was close.  

I'm just waiting and not speculating on what Atlantis might have.  HPI GUY did the 1/8 trike from Atlantis - no interest to me at all.    If they do something that interests me, I 'll try to get it.   

[Daddyfink]

I am always amazed at the attention span around here.

This thread was about Atlantis getting their hands on old tooling. Speculation began, statements where made and then it slid into what we want and they don't make, kit accuracy and so on....

These are old tools and nothing is going to change that, unless you make new tools, and that is another thread in itself. 

And then round and round we go! 

 

 

[espo]

3 hours ago, Mike999 said:

Since the thread spun off-topic from Atlantis...here are some other much-requested kits that didn't sell as well as expected, or so I've heard.  But I'm not an industry insider, and they are welcome to step in and correct me. I'd love to hear from them.

AMT-ERTL '58 Edsel:  at the top of the "most requested" list for decades.  AMT stepped up and did an all-new kit with detailed chassis/interior and a great M-E-L engine.  But I've heard that it didn't sell nearly as well as AMT hoped.  Today, these kits go cheap on eBay and even cheaper at flea markets, both the regular kit and the pre-painted Custom Shop version.  

So what happened?  I suspect '90's reality didn't match up with '50's nostalgia. AMT might have been better off to find an original 3-in-1 '58 Edsel kit, ship it to China and reverse-engineer the molds.  Ditto for their new Ala Kart kit, though that one had an obvious problem with its weird off-scale engine.

Galaxie Ltd. '46 Chevy Aerosedan/Sedan Delivery: another much requested kit and a great job with the finished product.  You'd think we would have bought these kits by the case load.  But the manager of a big Los Angeles hobby shop told me that it took Galaxie more than 10 years to sell out the first run of the Chevy kits. Maybe part of that was sticker shock. These were expensive kits but IMO we got our money's worth.  And we Geezer Modelers are a notoriously tight-fisted bunch.

Revell Midget Racers: again, a brand-new well-detailed kit requested for decades.  Complete with trailer and a choice of Offenhauser or Ford V8-60 flathead engines.  (The small Ford V-8 that had never been kitted before.)  And also again, a big sales dud.  So much so that I've heard the people who designed the kit got fired.  A quick check shows that since May, 27 Revell Midget Racer kits have sold on eBay. The prices ranged from a low of $12.50 for a sealed kit to a high of $38.00.

I agree with you on almost every point. The biggest problem is that from the realization that there maybe a market for a curtain model to the planning, tooling, and promotion sometimes the interest has moved on to another subject by then. I'm working on a '48 Aerosedan now and I think these are great kits, but they sure are proud of the pricing on them. I know, you can count me as one of the Geezers but I have the Coupe and the Sedan  Delivery yet to build. 

[Dave Darby]

11 hours ago, Mike999 said:

Since the thread spun off-topic from Atlantis...here are some other much-requested kits that didn't sell as well as expected, or so I've heard.  But I'm not an industry insider, and they are welcome to step in and correct me. I'd love to hear from them.

AMT-ERTL '58 Edsel:  at the top of the "most requested" list for decades.  AMT stepped up and did an all-new kit with detailed chassis/interior and a great M-E-L engine.  But I've heard that it didn't sell nearly as well as AMT hoped.  Today, these kits go cheap on eBay and even cheaper at flea markets, both the regular kit and the pre-painted Custom Shop version.  

So what happened?  I suspect '90's reality didn't match up with '50's nostalgia. AMT might have been better off to find an original 3-in-1 '58 Edsel kit, ship it to China and reverse-engineer the molds.  Ditto for their new Ala Kart kit, though that one had an obvious problem with its weird off-scale engine.

Galaxie Ltd. '46 Chevy Aerosedan/Sedan Delivery: another much requested kit and a great job with the finished product.  You'd think we would have bought these kits by the case load.  But the manager of a big Los Angeles hobby shop told me that it took Galaxie more than 10 years to sell out the first run of the Chevy kits. Maybe part of that was sticker shock. These were expensive kits but IMO we got our money's worth.  And we Geezer Modelers are a notoriously tight-fisted bunch.

Revell Midget Racers: again, a brand-new well-detailed kit requested for decades.  Complete with trailer and a choice of Offenhauser or Ford V8-60 flathead engines.  (The small Ford V-8 that had never been kitted before.)  And also again, a big sales dud.  So much so that I've heard the people who designed the kit got fired.  A quick check shows that since May, 27 Revell Midget Racer kits have sold on eBay. The prices ranged from a low of $12.50 for a sealed kit to a high of $38.00.

The big problems with both both the 58 Edsel and the Ala Kart were out of scale engines and misshapen bodies. The Ala Kart was too square, and the Edsel's body looked like it was sectioned, a look exacerbated by the too fat front bumpers. Round 2 has the better portion of the original Ala Kart, and I believe at least the body portion of the original Edsel tool. Both far superior appearance-wise than the new tool kits. I'd like to see what kind of restoration they could pull off on those two.

[GMP440]

12 hours ago, Daddyfink said:

I am always amazed at the attention span around here.

This thread was about Atlantis getting their hands on old tooling. Speculation began, statements where made and then it slid into what we want and they don't make, kit accuracy and so on....

These are old tools and nothing is going to change that, unless you make new tools, and that is another thread in itself. 

And then round and round we go! 

 

 

That's what's fun about reading these posts.  Right on about the speculation.  Oh, and I love the rumors too.  Most of it with no fact to support them.  Just like the record player, round and round.

[STYRENE-SURFER]

15 hours ago, Daddyfink said:

And then round and round we go! 

Well personally I found this whole thread a fun read.

Some of the best threads here veer intended subject 

matter for various reasons, be it humor(spinning cats) 

or what ever.

"Francis?"?

Edited August 11, 2020 by STYRENE-SURFER

[Daddyfink]

10 hours ago, STYRENE-SURFER said:

Well personally I found this whole thread a fun read.

Some of the best threads here veer intended subject 

matter for various reasons, be it humor(spinning cats) 

or what ever.

"Francis?"?

Oh, don't get me wrong, I was thoroughly entertained by this thread, and many others. Seeing how passionate some can get on little to no information is amazing! 

[Casey]

On 8/10/2020 at 8:44 AM, Mike999 said:

Revell Midget Racers: again, a brand-new well-detailed kit requested for decades.  Complete with trailer and a choice of Offenhauser or Ford V8-60 flathead engines.  (The small Ford V-8 that had never been kitted before.)  And also again, a big sales dud.  So much so that I've heard the people who designed the kit got fired

I think this was discussed here previously, but I want to say this was a Roger Harney project which took many years to finally reach production-- a decade plus, perhaps?:

 

Midget race cars are incredibly niche, and as Chuck Most mentioned in the above-linked topic, the parts were too small for kitbashing with "normal" sized vehicles, so they didn't make great parts donors, either. Sometimes well-engineered and designed can still mean a sales dud.

 

[Tom Geiger]

On 8/10/2020 at 9:44 AM, Mike999 said:

Galaxie Ltd. '46 Chevy Aerosedan/Sedan Delivery: another much requested kit and a great job with the finished product.  You'd think we would have bought these kits by the case load.  But the manager of a big Los Angeles hobby shop told me that it took Galaxie more than 10 years to sell out the first run of the Chevy kits. Maybe part of that was sticker shock. These were expensive kits but IMO we got our money's worth.  And we Geezer Modelers are a notoriously tight-fisted bunch.

Yes! The Galaxie Chevys were a collaboration between Gary Schmidt and was it Tom West if I remember correctly to build the perfect kit. Even the chassis was advertised as a stand alone model all by itself!  What happened?  As Mike said, our cheap compatriots weren’t ready for that price point.. even for a kit of this quality.

It was noted back then that you didn’t even see a lot of built models at shows from the faithful!  It’s been said that these post war cars weren’t all that popular.

I bought both the coupe and sedan delivery when they were new to support the effort. I have since acquired a couple more at bargain prices over the years. These were the prewar cars that were warmed over to support GM until they got the all new cars done for 1949. Gary has promised follow up of 1941 cars but never got that far with the project.

Edited August 12, 2020 by Tom Geiger

[Mark]

The midget is a great kit.  The fanatics bought multiple copies...trouble is, not enough fanatics.  The ones sold at closeout were nearly all the V8-60 version, mirroring the preference of 1:1 Kurtis owners who would nearly all want to own an Offenhauser-powered version provided they could afford one.

[Snake45]

6 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

As Mike said, our cheap compatriots weren’t ready for that price point.. even for a kit of this quality.

Or maybe just not that many modelers wanted a '46 Chevy? I didn't. Didn't then, don't now, Can't imagine ever wanting one. Can't imagine buying one for $1. And the only way I'd ever actually build one is, you'd have to pay me. A LOT. 

This is no knock on the kit, its price point, its manufacturer, or the real car. It's just of NO interest to me, that's all, and that's okay. 

[Dave Van]

The Revell Midget kit was a project wanted by a person in Revell that had the power to OK the project and how well it did didn't come into play. 

[Deuces ll]

21 hours ago, GMP440 said:

That's what's fun about reading these posts.  Right on about the speculation.  Oh, and I love the rumors too.  Most of it with no fact to support them.  Just like the record player, round and round.

Hey what's my cat doing on that record player?????...... ?

[STYRENE-SURFER]

7 minutes ago, Deuces ll said:

Hey what's my cat doing on that record player?????...... ?

Maybe it's an Ted Nugent album?

[Richard Bartrop]

As far as the Edsel kit goes, I put my money where my mouth is, twice.

[Daddyfink]

48 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

The Revell Midget kit was a project wanted by a person in Revell that had the power to OK the project and how well it did didn't come into play. 

That Midget should have been a bonus in a kit. like the Jet Ski or Mini Bikes. Slight up charge, but honestly, probably more desirable 

[Deuces ll]

8 hours ago, STYRENE-SURFER said:

Maybe it's an Ted Nugent album?

Mmmm...... Little bit of some cat scratch... ??

[Snake45]

10 hours ago, STYRENE-SURFER said:

Maybe it's an Ted Nugent album?

Good thing it's not the one with Great White Buffalo on it. 

[randyc]

13 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

Yes! The Galaxie Chevys were a collaboration between Gary Schmidt and was it Tom West if I remember correctly to build the perfect kit. Even the chassis was advertised as a stand alone model all by itself!  What happened?  As Mike said, our cheap compatriots weren’t ready for that price point.. even for a kit of this quality.

It was noted back then that you didn’t even see a lot of built models at shows from the faithful!  It’s been said that these post war cars weren’t all that popular.

I bought both the coupe and sedan delivery when they were new to support the effort. I have since acquired a couple more at bargain prices over the years. These were the prewar cars that were warmed over to support GM until they got the all new cars done for 1949. Gary has promised follow up of 1941 cars but never got that far with the project.

I should take a look for the car version.  I did the hot rodded sedan delivery and liked it.   Actually I could come up with a couple ideas - my grandfather had one junked out in the woods.  And of course, a running car would be cool, street rod or factory stock.   

[Dave Van]

I remember when the 48 Chevy was announced it was the 'first of a long line of kits' I had hoped it was more than 3....but they are nice..I have all of them and a few trailers. 

[Motor City]

I was very excited to see the announcement for the '48 Fleetline Aerosedan (2-door fastback), and was hoping for more variations of the '41-'48 GM body styles.  I would like to do a version of my Dad's '48 Pontiac Streamliner sedan-coupe (2-door fastback).  I guess I'll have to buy another to scratch build that car.  

[StevenGuthmiller]

14 hours ago, Snake45 said:

Or maybe just not that many modelers wanted a '46 Chevy? I didn't. Didn't then, don't now, Can't imagine ever wanting one. Can't imagine buying one for $1. And the only way I'd ever actually build one is, you'd have to pay me. A LOT. 

This is no knock on the kit, its price point, its manufacturer, or the real car. It's just of NO interest to me, that's all, and that's okay. 

I feel the same way about midget racers.

If you gave me one, I'd give it to someone else.

Wouldn't be any point in even keeping it in my stash.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve