AMT Status

[modelray]

I'm curious as to what is going on with AMT. I believe I read some place awhile back that they are under new ownership again. Plus I visited my local Hobby Lobby yesterday and noticed that they had no AMT kits on their shelves. Is there some kind of boycot going on here or is AMT ceasing to ship kits?

[Zoom Zoom]

At the current time, AMT is pretty much out of the kit business. I believe they have one more kit to produce, a reissue '66 Wildcat, and that's it until they sell the brand. Since the line is being discontinued, retail stores are no longer able to order more if the warehouse is empty; so most chain stores put AMT kits on closeout. They're disappearing fast. But AMT produced a ton of reissue kits in the late part of last year and early this year, so the pinch hasn't really been felt yet. Next year may be a different story. We all hope someone who cares buys AMT.

They are doing private runs of older kits for the Model King and a few others. To be honest, these private run kits are a lot more desirable as they haven't been reissued over and over and over and over and over and over as they have the standard kits. Our closets are full of that stuff. They need to either reissue the kits that haven't seen the light of day in decades, or tool up new kits, if they're going to survive or thrive. I feel no need to hoard any AMT kits; I have plenty to see me through. And I'm enjoying a good number of the Model King reissues.

[Dave Van]

No real new news.....lots of rumors. will be turning out private issues for a while yet...I did a bunch of decal art for coming MK kits.

[bobss396]

I'm not crazy about some of the re-releases, so unless they're cranking out new product, stick a fork in 'em, they're done. How long can they sit around and wait for MK Dave to consign for something?

I was going to sell off a bunch of AMT kits earlier this year, but now I'm hanging onto them as they might become unobtanium in a short time.

Bob

[Zoom Zoom]

Not only that, but the private-run kits, particularly those being done for the Model King, are of far superior quality to those in the regular AMT line in terms of packaging and decals.

While I know this has been mentioned before, I think it bears repeating ... if RC2 had put the same amount of thought and care into AMT kit releases as Model King Dave and his crew, I don't think we'd be having any discussions about the company's uncertain future.

Amen to that; unfortunately the very few new releases AMT did in the past couple years, the Camaro Concept, 300C, Escalade EXT, a couple of Fast and Furious Tuners, all missed the mark in some fashion. The Camaro was probably the best overall, but issues such as sink marks (especially on the wheels), & some missing body engraving showed them to be somewhat asleep at the wheel; the 300C is riddled with clumsy detailing, the body is mis-proportioned (compare it to the Revell 300C which captures the shape/details better, even if it is a bling-mobile), the engine is generic, the wheels seem far too small, the stance on most built ones seems off, the Escalade has the generic motor, the tuners are Jada-like. AMT lost the battle of enthusiasm when they canned the US design team, therefore the only kits that are any good are the Model King kits because the Model King understands the customer and product in a way that RC2's people cannot comprehend. Let's hope whomever purchases AMT has a soul, as the minions running the AMT brand from RC2 certainly haven't a clue, and haven't since they fired the whole team.

[Dave Van]

Well....I guess I am in the minority here..... While the last few RC2/AMT issues were not perfect, yet to find a perfect model, I thought they were worth the $10 I paid for them. I WANT a 1/1 300...but am to cheap to buy one...so I had to build one. I thought the AMT kit came off well. I did fix the stance a little but I do that on ever kit I build so I did not see it as a issue. Yes...there are a few SMALL details missing or wrong...but most can’t spot them when I show my build up.

The F&F III kits were a step down for the once great AMT but far from junk. I wish they had made the models like the cars in the movies....and not just cars ‘kinda like’ the movie cars. The Evo built up well...the wheels were a bit large but not as large as Revell is putting in the bling kits! Under the hood is simplified....but once together it looks fine. Again...$10 kit here not a Tamiya $50 kit....

both are box stock.....

just my opinion.......

[Zoom Zoom]

Dave, I can't fault any fun $10 build, I have plenty of them myself and there is a certain satisfaction that comes from "saving" a turkey of a kit, or turning a sow's ear into a silk purse.

However, let's look at the AMT F&F Evo for a minute (Dave, yours is the only one I've ever seen built; the younger builders on a couple other forums I visit avoided it like the plague)...here they had a chance to satisfy a market that had been ignored; every Evo kit out there is a curbside. Fujimi's Evo VII/VIII/IX has a few minor issues with appearance and the wheels all look too small. Had AMT designed the Evo like Revell did their "Uptown" kits, I'd have been relatively happy. At least Revell keeps the stock body proportions, including wheel openings. AMT made the Evo a complete caricature; not only does it have the huge wheels, but the wheel openings themselves are huge. It went from "bling" to "cartoon" with that one decision; I can't even justify it for parts, it's just too over-the-top. The Mustang kit was another example; the tuner wheel design was far too big; had they included wheels that were of the proper size, it would have been pretty cool. The Skyline GTR engine was a nice touch, but the wheels are obnoxious. AMT just didn't "get it", they were simply filling Wal Mart orders with little care for content inside the boxes. Thankfully the Model King makes sure the content is something we want, and the boxart is accurate, and we get some great new decals that AMT never included. That adds tremendous value to the models. The AMT team as of late was anything but "value added", they were just churning out reissues and somewhat half-hearted new stuff that look embarrassing next to anything by Revell. I have seen a couple AMT F&F 350Z's built, it seems to fare a lot better than the Evo for proportions, but nobody is fooled that it's a Tamiya kit that's been customized. The shape of the car is more adaptable to a wild tuner, and the Z car already has huge wheel flares and wheel openings.

Let's just hope whomever buys AMT returns the competence that they were previously known for. I'm not expecting miracles, but the Model King is proving that there's plenty of life left w/AMT when there are competent people making the decisions and working on the details. Heck, there are plenty of Model King issues coming to pretty much satisfy the entire AMT lineup without needing to bother with big-box retailers. Something like 16 kits expected by the end of the year, and a couple for early '08.

[Harry P.]

Let's just hope whomever buys AMT returns the competence that they were previously known for.

Amen to that.

What a sad way for a once dominant (and founding) company in the industry to come to a sputtering, incompetent end.

Remember the AMT 3-in-1 kits? Those were the days. Used to be that AMT was the engine that pulled the train...now it's the caboose, and at that, it's derailed. Ditto to all who hope for better days ahead for AMT.

[Dave Van]

Bob,

I don't disagree......AMT could have, should have done a better job on all these kits. I have been building plastic models for a long time.....1962. And a lot of them AMT. I guess it's the HOPE that AMT will continue somehow, that keeps me buying/building.

.

And your right.....AMT could have done as well as Dave Burket/MK in box art, marketing and decals. But being the corp giant they are they can't see the forest for the trees. I have been lucky enough to work with Sean and Dave on the decal art. Burket's mode of operation is to give his ideas and then let you go and add your ideas. You can see the results. Corp America just does not work that way.

Thanks

[modelray]

At the current time, AMT is pretty much out of the kit business. I believe they have one more kit to produce, a reissue '66 Wildcat, and that's it until they sell the brand. Since the line is being discontinued, retail stores are no longer able to order more if the warehouse is empty; so most chain stores put AMT kits on closeout. They're disappearing fast. But AMT produced a ton of reissue kits in the late part of last year and early this year, so the pinch hasn't really been felt yet. Next year may be a different story. We all hope someone who cares buys AMT.

They are doing private runs of older kits for the Model King and a few others. To be honest, these private run kits are a lot more desirable as they haven't been reissued over and over and over and over and over and over as they have the standard kits. Our closets are full of that stuff. They need to either reissue the kits that haven't seen the light of day in decades, or tool up new kits, if they're going to survive or thrive. I feel no need to hoard any AMT kits; I have plenty to see me through. And I'm enjoying a good number of the Model King reissues.

Thanks Bob. Sounds like maybe we should pick up a few left overs if we see something we might want to build in this lifetime.

[vwdave92]

However, let's look at the AMT F&F Evo for a minute (Dave, yours is the only one I've ever seen built; the younger builders on a couple other forums I visit avoided it like the plague)...here they had a chance to satisfy a market that had been ignored; ...

The Mustang kit was another example; the tuner wheel design was far too big; had they included wheels that were of the proper size, it would have been pretty cool. The Skyline GTR engine was a nice touch, but the wheels are obnoxious. AMT just didn't "get it", they were simply filling Wal Mart orders with little care for content inside the boxes.

You could not be more right! There is a HUGE market for well done tuner kits. The trick is to do them well. Guys building "tuner type" cars want the same things as guys building the new 49 Merc kit. A few options and good fitting kit. I'm in the group that avoided the F&F Evo for the cartoon reasons. And the Mustang kit, although maybe well intentioned, wasn't fooling anyone. The reproduction of the Skyline motor was miserable... not usable. I think RC2 got swept up in the die-cast craze and it all went wrong from them. Hopefully someone will pick up some of the tuner cars. If you look at the crubside work Aoshima and Fujima are turning out and lengths people will go to get the kits I would think it would be a sure sign the market is there.

dave