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Showroom Perfect: AMT’s Pre-Painted 2016 Camaro SS
If you want to build and display a showroom replica of Chevy’s beautiful Camaro SS, AMT has just the kit for you.
We’ve taken our newly-tooled 2016 Camaro SS model, containing a highly detailed engine and intricate rear suspension, and applied a factory finish to make building a beautiful version of Chevy’s number one muscle car a lot easier.
Featuring a Garnet Red Metallic body, AMT’s pre-painted Camaro SS kit also has finely detailed badging, painted and pad-printed engine markings and multiple paint operations on the engine and exhaust systems.
We’ve also added some great detail to the interior including the door panels, dash and seats.
Already a great kit to build and enjoy, this pre-painted edition will easily shine in your model kit showroom!
Autoworld Exclusive: AMT’s Streetle Beetle In A Limited Release!
AMT has again come up with another great Autoworld Store Exclusive and has taken the opportunity to offer a truly unique and wild street rod!
The Streetle Beetle – is it a VW? Is it a classic?
It’s a little of each, with some trick custom touches like a sectioned chassis and beetle body, classic car hood, grille and headlights. At the rear of this modified Bug is a “Continental“ trunk lid, to complete that street rod look. You can build your version with a choice of mag or deep-dish “baby moon” wheels.
We’ve expanded and completely updated the decals with improved “woody” panels, custom accents, license plates and more to finish of your kit in style. Combined with our signature Retro Deluxe packaging, you’ll want to get this Beetle before it’s gone. Be sure to visit autoworldstore.com for details and availability in November.
Star Trek Model Kits: U.S.S. Enterprise D & Aztec Decals sneak peek
Here is a preview of 2 upcoming Star Trek releases, the AMT955 1:1400 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D kit and the Aztec decal set for that kit. They will be sold separately.
The U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D model kit will be coming out first. This all-plastic model kit is 18 inches long when fully assembled, and features a removable saucer section and dome base with metal support rod. This special edition is molded in clear plastic, which allows the modeler the option of lighting the kit. (Light kit not included.) Also included are standard marking, pennant, registry, and lifeboat decals; and complete instructions.
The 1:1400 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D Aztec decals will be released shortly after the base kit. The set will include 4 – 9.25 x 13.25 inch decal sheets and placement instructions. If you pick up the Enterprise D kit make sure you don’t miss out and keep you eyes out for the Aztec decals!
AMT’s Flying Wedge is Set To Take Off Again!
After many, many months of research and design, we’re finally ready to release our beautiful Original Art Series issue of AMT’s Flying Wedge Rear Engine Dragster!
This was quite the endeavor as the entire body sections had to be retooled, so we took this opportunity to compare it against AMT’s other wedge dragster based on Steve McGee’s Black Beauty. While the two kits were similar, the original Flying Wedge kit’s body was lacking detail and the original McGee kit wasn’t quite accurate. So this time, we authentically duplicated the rear wedge section to match the real McGee car. The wedge section also features additional detailing like sheet metal rivets and in our research, we discovered that the rear lip of the wedge was adjustable by means of a piano hinge along the back. We’ve added that hinge detail, making the this kit the most accurate 1970’s style wedge dragster kit you can build.
The photo shown is an early test mockup, but you can see the complete engine shroud and added details.
The Flying Wedge Original Arts Series issue also features newly tooled front body sections, plus a new one-piece injector scoop!
We’ve also updated the decals to include the original markings, plus added the white stripes as seen on the box lid, which were never included with the original kit.
As with our other Original Art series releases, the kit contains a fantastic print of the box art suitable for framing.
Set to be released later this fall, be sure to pick up this great AMT kit at your hobby retailer!
AMT’s Graveyard Ghoul Duo Rises Again!
AMT’s association with the King of Kustomizers, George Barris, goes back decades and has produced some of the greatest cars (and model kits) of all time. Many of Barris’ cars became some of AMT’s most popular kits and his input helped develop optional “kustomizing” parts in various models.
But perhaps two of his most famous cars were developed for TV and even people who aren’t custom car enthusiasts recognize The Drag-U-La And Munster Coach. Originally issued during the show’s primetime run, the model kits of these cars have stayed in demand over the years.
This year, AMT is issuing a new Barris Commemorative Edition of The Drag-U-La and the Barris Koach (as it’s now called). We’ve given the Retro Deluxe treatment to the original “Graveyard Ghoul Duo” kit, but this time with a twist. The box now features new, brighter colors and will be wrapped in a special reflective side band.
Also included is a special full color postcard featuring either the Drag-U-La or Barris Koach and one card is randomly inserted into each kit.
With the Drag-U-La molded in gold pearl plastic and the Barris Koach molded in midnight black, this is going to be one ghoulishly great kit!
Star Trek Model Kits: U.S.S. Excelsior buildup
I promised a while back to show some photos of the buildup from our upcoming release of the U.S.S. Excelsior kit from Star Trek. I was kindly reminded of that, so here I am to honor my word.
As you know the fan-favorite ship was featured in two films Star Trek III: the Search For Spock…
and in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country…
Between the films the original shooting miniature made and appearance in the debut episode (among others) of Star Trek: The Next Generation…
Along the way certain details changed and our kit includes parts to build either the NX-2000 or NCC-2000 version.
Another smaller miniature was later built for an episode of Star Trek: Voyager which featured a few additional variations in paint scheme.
Later still, a CGI version of the Excelsior-class ship was used for some memorable episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
The CG model was faithful in shape to the earlier appearances, but the color of the “strongbacks” was shifted. As an additional bonus to add to our aztec decal set, we have included alternative registries and names of the key Excelsior-class ships as well as the deeper blue strongbacks as featured in DS9.
Without further ado, here are a slew of pics of our buildup.
And here is a look at the decal art for the sheet included in the kits as well as what to expect in the Aztec decal set.
Ask your retailer for AMT843 U.S.S. Excelsior and MKA017 U.S.S. Excelsior Aztec Decal Set. Both should be out by the end of August.
A quick word about our friendly competition’s entry into Star Trek modeling… I hope they fair better than George Kirk did in his voyage into the new frontier…
The New AMT 2016 Camaro SS Update
It’s taken a while between the first set of test shots I posted to getting an improved second set as there were various injection issues, but Round 2’s offices finally received full second set of test shots of both the glue and snap versions of our upcoming 2016 Camaro SS. We’ve done some quick test builds to check fit and to look for other issues and we’ve given the factory further comments to improve the tooling. We’re getting close but for now, here’s a couple of images of the full glue kit.
AMT’s Trojan Horse Mustang Funny Car Is Back!
Larry Fullerton’s Trojan Horse funny car was always one of the favorites on the track and his Mustang II FC has been considered one of the most beautiful cars on the strip. When AMT originally issued the kit, the decals failed to capture the fantastic colors and his signature Trojan Horse mural accurately. Additionally, at the time, AMT also supplied the kit with unusually tall front tires that were not proportionally correct. With our Retro Deluxe re-issue coming out later this year, we’re correcting those details by supplying a more accurately-sized set of front tires, plus an all new and expanded decal sheet. We’ve also re-tooled the front and read body sections, and this time the front headlights are recessed to match the 1:1 car.
The decals now include the body side paint scheme (although you’ll still need to paint the rear body section to match), detailed front grille and rear taillight decals, additional sponsor marking to duplicate various versions of the car and a much improved trojan horse mural. Below is a printout of the new decal set, along with the kit’s body showing a little test-fitting of some of the body markings.
Star Trek Models: My Enterprising Journey pt. 3
Here we are with Michael Scarola’s third part of his build process of our classic AMT U.S.S. Enterprise kit.
My Enterprising Journey: Building the Classic AMT 18” Enterprise – Part 3
There have been many discussions and articles that talk about the color of the TOS Enterprise studio model. On screen it appears anywhere from white to blue to green-gray to silver. It’s been revealed by Richard Datin that the studio model was actually a light gray with a hint of green. Datin chose the WalMart Concrete color chip as a near perfect match to the Enterprise’s hull color.
I started my research with a WalMart Concrete color chip and found Tamiya JN Grey appears to be a little too green. I had access to Gary Kerr’s actual paint samples of the hull color and the color that appears on the leading edge of the dorsal and also a sample that was matched to the Master Replicas TOS Enterprise.
The mixture I came up with is 3 parts Tamiya JN Grey, 1 part Sky Grey & 4 parts Flat White. It looks neutral with a color shift towards green when viewed under indoor lighting and it even appears to shift a bit blue at times. It’s right in the ballpark of the 3 samples and is very close to Gary Kerr’s hull color, only lighter, which is a good thing for the smaller scale AMT kit.
After the main hull color was painted I drew on the saucer grid with a pencil using the scaled blueprints, a straight piece of styrene sheet and a compass.
I mixed a darker shade of gray to pre-shade the grid lines and toned it down with the hull color.
I mixed some Testors Acryl US Navy Blue Grey, Pale Green and Flat White for the leading edge of the dorsal and used Testors Acryl Neutral Gray for the darker colors. The nacelle grills are painted Tamiya Chrome Silver and the ends of the Intercoolers and Control Reactor are Testors Acryl Neutral Gray lightened with white. For the triangles on the bottom of the saucer and the darker areas on the undersides of the front of the nacelles I mixed a darker, more neutral, variant of the hull color.
Weathering and decals…
Dark gray and green pastels are used for most of the weathering and rust colored pastel chalk for the ‘rust ring’ on top of the saucer.
I did my best to represent most of the look of the weathering of the 11 foot studio model while toning it back a bit for this smaller project.
The decals that come with the Round 2 kit are very accurate. I did, however, separate the saucer’s U.S.S. ENTERPRISE/NCC-1701 decal into pieces. The ‘U.S.S. ENTERPRISE’ seemed to sit a bit too close to the ‘NCC-1701 and the spacing of the ‘U.S.S. was a bit too much compared with the 11 foot studio model. In addition I also separated the NCC-1701 into individual decals. This eliminated the clear film and due to the grid on the saucer I was able to place them according to the studio model’s placement. Other than this, the decals actually are very accurate. The below image shows the placement of the decals on the top of the saucer.
I sprayed Future floor polish over the model before applying the decals and sealed them with Testors Create FX acrylic flat clear, with a few drops of semi- gloss clear added to keep the surface from appearing chalky.
All in all I had a lot of fun working on this project. This is my first time building the AMT 18” TOS Enterprise and I’m glad I started with the Round 2 release. The smooth top of the saucer and the wonderful decal sheet really improved this classic kit.
I’d like to thank Jamie Hood and everyone at Round 2 for giving me the opportunity to share my build.
Michael Scarola
Take a bow, Mike. Great job. Have a gander at these beauty shots of the finished model.
AMT Model kits: 1964 Belvedere Lawman NEW PARTS!
The long-rumored and anxiously awaited 1964 Belvedere 426 Super Stock Lawman will soon be here! With the release comes a few parts from new tooling. The shining features of the new tooling are the 2 all new sets of rims: a stock steel rim with an optional chrome hubcap and a Torq Thrust rim. New front spindles, rear blocks, and shocks will be included that enable the suspension to be raised or lowered, to achieve the proper wheel stance of the drag racer. The new parts will also include: racing headers, dual chrome air horns, intake manifold, chrome tachometer with oil gauge, and 2 different hood scoop options.
Accompany the new parts, the Lawman will have highly accurate decal sheet, updated instructions, chrome parts and vinyl drag slicks. The packaging will feature a full color tray and a new painting from Brad Leisure.
