Good news - Tire refresh from Round 2

[Bernard Kron]

Just got this from Round 2 in my e-mail. Sounds like good news to me, and will help drive model sales, I think. Not such good news for e-bayers and after market tire guys... but not so bad, either, really.

2012 is well underway and the Kats at AMT have been busy working on many projects! For this month's newsletter, we thought we'd talk about a particular area of "parts development."

(Link to picture: http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?QGZ9-QA5u-hkrqr0 )

Some of you may wonder, "how long does a model kit mold last?" In most cases, a very long time! In the heyday of the plastic kit hobby, long enough to make hundreds of thousands of kits, sometimes over a million or more. It's the longevity of the tools that allows so many desirable vintage kits to be reissued. Still, no tool lasts forever and that's especially true for tire molds. Always looking for ways to improve quality and add value, the Kats at AMT have taken notice of some tire tools that are reaching their "end of life," so to speak. They've worn out past the point of repair, and the time has come to re-create them, with a goal to increase realism and enhance their details.

First up is the classic Firestone "Deluxe Champion" stock tire. This tire has had to be retooled a couple of times already over the years, as it's used in so many kits. The earliest 1/25 replica of this tire became dubbed the "Trophy Series" tire, as it was generic without any sidewall lettering. Later retools saw Firestone lettering added and changes in the style and accuracy of the tread pattern. AMT's new incarnation of the tire has improved detail, featuring an accurate tread pattern, engraved Firestone lettering as well as the "F" crest and associated "Gum Dipped" lettering. The non-whitewall version of the tire will have the size and "Deluxe Champion" lettering pad printed on. It's too small to be engraved; some of the tiniest pad printing we've ever seen!

Next up are two different sizes of the venerable muscle car tire: Goodyear's Polyglas GT. AMT had the larger L60.15 size found in dozens kits over the years. MPC had the smaller F60.15 size version, which is known for its overly thick raised lettering, and for being included in kits like many of the 70's Pro Stock series. Comparing the two, AMT's larger version is much more true to the appearance of the 1:1 rubber. So it was decided to retool the smaller MPC version to more closely match with the larger AMT version, in order to have a good looking "big 'n little" set of tires. The best part? Since the real tires all had white lettering (with one of two variations - with or without the size included) the Kats are going to pad print the lettering on the tires. They will look spectacular, ready to go right out of the box! No need to try and paint those tiny details. Your models will have a professional edge and sharp appearance! Look for them to appear in AMT's reissue of the all-time classic Pony car: the 1966 Ford Mustang and others later in the year.

[Junkman]

Ye goode olde Polyglase GTse.

What we would need is a decent set of steel belted radials.

[Jon Cole]

Improving on the originals... what a concept!

[Eshaver]

The 66 Mustang itself needs an overhaul ................. Ed Shaver

[Casey]

Dear Round2- please destroy the tire molds for those over inflated, way-too-heavily-treaded Goodyear Rally GT big 'n' littles you've been including with the '33 Willys coupe and other kits for decades. THEY ARE HORRIBLE! The bonus for modelers would be the '33 Willys coupe's front wheels would need to be re-done, and hopefully backdated to something more appropriate to the 1:1 Malco Gasser. Heck, they could even throw in a set of their newer pad-printed M&H slicks for the rear, too.

I do find it interesting that the above blurb from Round2 seems to indicate some form is licensing agreement between Firestone and Round2 had been reached. I guess that's good news, but with decals for tires being more popular than ever, I have to wonder if it's too little too late.

[Rob Hall]

Hopefully they will do a tire set w/ these retooled tires like they did w/ the drag slicks.

[62rebel]

decals don't do the trick for me. tires that have raised letters NEED engraved molds to replicate that. racing tires that get painted on lettering can have decals IMHO. Revell's lack of a licensing agreement and resulting lack of ANY sidewall detail is chewing through my tire stash installing recognizable branded tires on my Revell builds. i don't build much late model/modern stuff so a lack of steel belted radials isn't affecting me. decent tread detail and recognizable branding DO. so, go Round2 and keep it up!

[jbwelda]

how much is the lettering raised on a real tire? eighth of an inch? divide that by 25, umm lessee, carry the 4...hmmm seems like decal thickness is pretty near accurate!

but youre right, your eye wants to see "raised". problem is, that "raised" scaled out would have the lettering hovering 2" off the tire!

i hope they release these in a parts pack too. then some UK street dunlops like SATCO was making!

[62rebel]

what pleases the eye is not always scale in proportion. what satisfies one does not satisfy another.

[Steven Zimmerman]

Kudos to these fellers for the white lettered tires; I also would love to see these sold seperately!

[Greg Myers]

The 66 Mustang itself needs an overhaul ................. Ed Shaver

Thank you, I'm not alone then ?

[Guest]

Dear Round2- please destroy the tire molds for those over inflated, way-too-heavily-treaded Goodyear Rally GT big 'n' littles you've been including with the '33 Willys coupe and other kits for decades. THEY ARE HORRIBLE!

X2 and don't forget to pitch the Good Year 9.50 1200-15s and the 9.25 1000-15s! They are just as bad and always get pitched into the trash. Now that Revell doesn't have ANY sidewall detail on their tires,they suffer the same fate.

[Casey]

Now that Revell doesn't have ANY sidewall detail on their tires,they suffer the same fate.

And some of Revell's tires (Goodyear Radial GTs for example) have been pretty much rendered useless dues to the shaving off of the sidewall's to remove the lettering. I don't mind smooth sidewalls, but if there's a ridge where the sidewall and tread meets, it kills any possible scale realism.