A detailed review of Round 2 upcoming product introductions from the 2022 NNL Motor City

[tim boyd]

Round 2 had a table just inside the door at the NNL Motor City today. No sooner than I had paid my money and walked through the entrance, than Steve Goldman of Round 2 yelled at me to come over and take a look. As if I wouldn't!!!

Steve had really exciting news to share, and it is very clear to me that Round 2 has some incredibly exciting projects in the works that will be breaking cover in the next couple of years. In the meantime, he discussed several of their near term introductions, and gave me a thorough tour of their upcoming 1968 Dodge Coronet R/T convertible, which actually has quite a number of improvements over the original annual kit which I will attempt to show in the images at the link below.

What is also evident is that more than just cloning the old AMT bodies and kit contents, Round 2 will now be using those as a starting point and engineering product upgrades, corrections to more accurately reflect the 1/1 scale kit subjects, and new build contents such as the factory hubcaps that are being added to the '65 GTO curbside kit.

Be sure to check out the detail/closeup photos of the R/T convertible to hear all the revisions (well actually, according to Steve, only some of the many refinements builders will find inside the new kit box.

All I can say is, keep buying these new Round 2 product introductions and there will be much more on the way in the future. Exciting times in the scale automotive kit world, for sure!

All the product news in 39 photos and captions is at this link.  And thanks for looking!  TIM

[Misha]

Yes, thank you Tim for the coverage of a very welcome release of products, lots to look forward to. Interesting to see the focus on curbside kits, certainly not the type we had in the 60s, now with improvements or complete.y new molds. The big surprise for me was at the end with a taste of the Black Beauty in scale with other builds! 
Thanks again Tim and Steve, cheers Misha

[keyser]

Thanks yet again Tim. Great pics. Fun stuff, and lots of other associated kits implied by these efforts. I’ve got many original issues, but will dig out my wallet to pop many of these. 
New Bronco looks great too. 
Thanks @Steve G and R2 gang. Nice calls. More to come I’m sure. 

[Bainford]

Thanks Tim. Lots of interesting stuff there. Looking forward to the '65 GTO, for sure. Round2 really seems to be gaining momentum.

[stavanzer]

Que the Moaning about the '65 GTO's Grille/Headlight Treatment in 3.2.1....?

Thanks to Tim's excellent Photos, we can see said Grille quite clearly.

 

Edited to add: Thanks for the Great Photos, Tim! I really like the looks of the Bronco, too! It is going to be a Winner!

Edited November 14, 2022 by stavanzer

[Dragonhawk1066]

Exciting stuff coming!! Thanks for the pics and info!

[1972coronet]

Thanks much for the photos and descriptions! So many sweet kits coming along! 

- 1968 GTO. What can I say? We haven't had a 'real' 1968 GTO since.. 1968? I'm feeling Starlight Black with red interior!

- 1965 GTO. At last! The roof is moulded with the body! Those hubcaps look GREAT! 

- 1965 Time Machine Chevelle. Great to see this Freak back in the mix!

- Datsun Pickup. That'll be an excellent companion to the stock 1977 annual kit I've got.

- 1968 Coronet R/T Convertible. Long... Time... Coming. Its interior looks fantastique! Delightful engraving on those separate door cards! (Now, do I wish that a correct brake master cylinder was added in place of the 1966 & earlier version? Yes. However, it's an easy enough chop-off-and-correct modification, so... no complaints.)

- 2021/2022/2023 Ante-Sub-Sequitur Charger. That chassis and suspension assembly is - dare I say - Tamiya quality! WOW!

**[EDIT]**
- 2022 [?] Bronco. I'm so pleased to see a new subject (along with the Charger) being kitted again (the Camaro was, what, 2015?). Its interior detail looks exquisite! Removable top really gives a bird's eye poo view of the intricate details and engraving. BRAVO!  

Edited November 14, 2022 by 1972coronet

[Raoul Ross]

'65 GOAT? It's always gonna be about the the grill and headlight fitment, isn't it?.

Will wait to be enlightened....!

[ChrisBcritter]

Hmm. Anyone else notice the ribbed (at last!) taillight lenses on the '65 GTO? 

[keyser]

The original GTO kit and promos had good HL and grilles. I posted some in that thread. I have every hope this cloned kit will be proper, maybe separate HL, but if not they’re fine. TL ribs was a hope fulfilled. 

[dbostream]

Am I blind or did they not display the new Charger?

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

Looking forward to the '65 GTO.

IMO, one of the best GM designs. 

Was 14 when they were driving through the neighborhood we were amazed at the improvement over the '64.

[michaelbaskett]

...Lookin' Good so far.....

What I want to know is     HOW FAR ALONG IS THE GREEN HORNET ????

And if possible, could Round 2 include a GMC grille and Decals with the Silverado.????

[Jordan White]

4 hours ago, dbostream said:

Am I blind or did they not display the new Charger?

There was a brief glimpse of a partially painted/assembled kit. I'm glad to see that they went with poseable steering for this kit, I feel it's a minor item that helps improve a kit, especially with this being a new tool!

Edited November 14, 2022 by Jordan White

[Rob Hall]

Lots of good stuff to look forward to.

[Luc Janssens]

A lot to like, thanks Tim for reporting and the Kats for showing!

Now only have to find the perfect bank to rob, and a good crew to do it with  

 

 

[Justin Porter]

3 hours ago, Jordan White said:

There was a brief glimpse of a partially painted/assembled kit. I'm glad to see that they went with poseable steering for this kit, I feel it's a minor item that helps improve a kit, especially with this being a new tool!

Glad to see poseable steering too. Now they just need to figure out that polycaps exist. 

[Daddyfink]

Hold on, Wallet, it's going to be a bumpy ride! 

Thanks for the pics and info, Tim! 

[LDO]

Honda four cylinder chopper? Anyone want the Monte Carlo that comes with it?

[tim boyd]

On 11/14/2022 at 6:56 AM, michaelbaskett said:

And if possible, could Round 2 include a GMC grille and Decals with the Silverado.????

Given the world of licensing these days, highly unlikely they could do this in the Silverado box contents. 

I'm not an expert on GMC vs. Silverado exterior/interior product differentiation for this product generation, but if it does not go much beyond the front end treatment, Round 2 might be able to affordably do a stand-alone GMC version at a later date.  (No insider info on this one).  Not sure what they would do any of the engraved Chevy badging, though.  What I do know is that they have a whole list of future cloning ideas to work on, so I would hazard a guess that if a GMC version was even possible, it would be well into the future.  

One other note on this...for those of you who are newer to the hobby, one of the more popular resin casters back in the day offered GMC substitutes for the original MPC Silverado kit, but the GM licensing department eventually got wind of it and sent him a "cease and desist" type letter, which he eventually did. 

Best...TB  

 

[1972coronet]

15 minutes ago, tim boyd said:

[One] of the more popular resin casters back in the day offered GMC substitutes for the original MPC Silverado kit, but the GM licensing department eventually got wind of it and sent him a "cease and desist" type letter, which he eventually did. 

Sounds like a classic college boy move -- something that reared its ugly head in the 1980's. 
Now, isn't it true that numbers and/or acronyms cannot be copyrighted? To me it seems that 'GMC' is truly an acronym, and that 'C1500' is merely a letter followed by four numbers (okay, I'm not sure about the latter).

[66c10]

Does anyone have a release date on the 65 chevelle Awb kit 

Edited November 16, 2022 by 66c10

[keyser]

Nope. Combinations can be copyrighted. 
Peugeot has #0#, Porsche couldn’t call the 901 that, so 911 born. 
Same with GT350, A6, 340i, etc. 

 

[mikos]

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

 

[stavanzer]

2 hours ago, mikos said:

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

 

They Don't Care...