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Posts Tagged ‘Wonderfest’
MPC Space:1999 Models: Announcing 22″ Cargo Pod Eagle
Since our 22″ Space:1999 Eagle hit the market, modelers have been clamoring for more and continue to ask what is coming next. Here is our official announcement that the next Space:1999 kit will be a 22″ Eagle with Cargo Pod! I don’t have much time at the moment, so I’ll dive right into the details as we know them right now.
Of course it includes the flatbed “cargo” pod, but comes with a couple options. It will come with a full winch assembly along with the magnetic hoist. Yes, magnets will be included. The kit will also come with four nuclear waste canisters. You can rig one up to work with the magnetic hoist or use all four to fill the flatbed.
The kit will be a full Eagle kit. We will be swapping out tooling inserts that replace the tools that injected the passenger pod parts for tools that will inject cargo pod parts. I say this to be clear that it will not be possible to produce separate pod kits for our 22″ Eagle. Doing it this way keeps both the tooling investment and production costs lower in order to deliver the kit at the lowest price possible.
We haven’t announced the pricing or release date yet. Due to using one sprue of new parts and including things like the magnets, expect it to be a bit more expensive than the standard 22″ Eagle. It will probably be available in mid-summer. The development of the new parts so far has proceeded at a brisk pace, and we will be tooling the parts soon. Expect to see our buildup at Wonderfest in May, 2017.
While I’m mentioning Wonderfest, let me remind everyone that we offer a substantial award in the model contest for the best use of a Round 2 kit. We give prizes to both the adult category and the best to come out of the junior & teen groups. Historically, we like to see either pristine builds using one of our kits OR the significant use of one of our kits in a creative new design or kit bash. They hope to set a new record of 700 entries this year. Sounds like an amazing opportunity!
I also wanted to mention that due to an unexpected delay with the Special Edition Eagle that spotlights Brian Johnson, we are not certain at this point if the kits will ship before the end of the year. There is a chance, but it is slim. If it doesn’t release by the end of the year, it shouldn’t be much further than a week or two into January.
Anyway, on with the pics of the Cargo Pod Eagle!
Round 2 Models: Wonderfest 2016
We had a great weekend displaying our product and meeting the modelers that attended Wonderfest 2016. As promised, we were able to show the first test shots of the smooth 1:350 TOS Enterprise saucer, and more than one person took advantage to rub them like a genie’s bottle wishing they would come sooner than the scheduled September release date. Many folks were also complimentary of the U.S.S. Excelsior buildup on display showing the new improvements we have made over the old AMT kit. It is great to be recognized for “bringing the kit back and giving it the Round 2 treatment” as described by one fan. A small display board advertised a notable new tool we have in the works targeting the end of the year. The product will be a Star Trek 50th anniversary commemorative boxed collection of our 1:2500 scale snap Enterprises, which will include a NEW NX-01 kit. To make the product appealing to the widest possible audience, we will include pressure sensitive decals (high quality, thin stickers) in this release. We received praise for bringing back the U.S.S. Enterprise-D in clear plastic. This version will come in ABS rather than styrene which tends to be brittle. The main reason for that switch is to allow us to include our standard dome base this time around. Aztec decals will not be included in the kit, but will be offered separately. Many remarked about the re-issue of the classic 5 Space Ships of the Future from Lindberg. The kit will use the highly collectible vintage box art for the release. of course people were still in awe of our 22″ Eagle kit. many remarked about how great they found the kit to be. Several folks stopped by with kit in hand to take a look at our display piece. From what I understand it seemed like the big Eagle was the “kit of the show” with many being offered and sold at the event.
Admittedly, this year’s show may have seemed “light” on news as far as new and upcoming releases goes. We DO have things in the works, but it is too early to discuss them with 100% certainty. In some cases, two plans for a license are being evaluated for 2017. Sure, expect more re-issues, but I can guaranty more NEW stuff IS in the works.
For those that weren’t able to attend, here is a look at this year’s display. Feel free to ask questions int he comments section and we’ll answer as best we can.
It was a special treat to meet Nick Tate in person at this year’s show. Nick played Alan Carter in the classic sci-fi show, Space:1999, in the mid-70’s. His storied career led to numerous roles on stage and on screen in shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lost and The X-Files as well as voice over work. As you recall, we offered signature cards in our early releases of our 12″ MPC Eagle kits that featured Nick’s autograph. Nick was happy to share tales from his career with anyone willing to lend an ear. It was an incredible opportunity to get to know him. Thanks to friend of Round 2, Peter Greenwood, for arranging his appearance and thanks also to Steve Iverson of CultTVMan.com for sponsoring his appearance at the show.
As always, one of the highlights of the show is the modeling competition that offers all kinds of sci-fi and horror subjects from big to small (and sometimes small is more impressive than big in cases like this). We always sponsor two awards for the best use of a kit from our brands. We give awards in the junior/teen and adult categories. The junior/teen award-winner walks away with a prize pack of kits while we award a $100 credit to our own autoworldstore.com site. The level of quality in the competition is always impressive which makes our decision tough. here are is a selection of a few models that caught our eye followed by this year’s winners.
These next two were co-runners-up for our adult award.
This impressive kit bash was award to the junior/teen winner. Congratulations Alex tabor for your USS Castor Federation Depot Ship build!
…and this year’s adult award-winner is… Dave Olszewski for his Vulcan Shuttle tribute to Leonard Nimoy. David’s impeccable handling of our admittedly faulty decals that got mixed into that kit cemented his position as winner.
Please keep our awards in mind for next year and future shows. We want to see as many of our kits on the table as possible. The show organizers sent out the challenge at the end of the awards ceremony to blow away their previous record and attain 800 entries in next years competition. (if I can find a way, I may even make the time to build and enter something…)
We have posted higher res images of all of these buildups, our boot and every other model identified as one of our kits on our facebook page. Let’s continue the fun. Go to our facebook page and “Like” the model you think looks most impressive and we’ll tabulate the results on June 30th and send the winner an award. (this year’s contest winners will not be eligible for a second award)
Click here to go directly to the Wonderfest 2016 photo album.
Polar Lights models: Wonderfest is right around the corner
One of my personal highlights each year continues to be the annual Wonderfest show in Louisville, KY. This year’s show is coming up the weekend of May 18 & 19 and it seems to be shaping up to be another great one. Seeing all of the great product available and seeing the work of all of the great modelers out there is a rare treat. Most of all though, I look forward to seeing all of the familiar faces and the chance we get to have to talk about our kits, the hobby and what you guys think.
Even though we won’t be unveiling big news like the 1:350 TOS Enterprise, there will still be tons to talk about. We look forward to showing off our brand new buildups of our 1:144 C-57D, Robby & Altaira, Wolverine, the U.S.S. Enterprise bridge set and plenty more. We’ll give some info on development of the Galileo, Superman and all of the other all-new model kits we have brewing. We’ll have some surprising licensing announcements including hints at our plans for the ALIEN license. As always, we’ll have our annual survey ready to fill out to supply us with your feedback. We’ll be sure to fill in everyone that misses the show with our usual follow up youtube video of our booth and announcements.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the show!
http://www.autoworldstore.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=wolverine&Submit=Search
Round 2 Models: And the winner is…
Believe it or not, I’m still here working away on Round 2 Models of all kinds. Just like you I wish I could have posted sooner than this. Many people have been clamoring for a 1701 Club update. Of course so much time and work has gone by that I have a lot to write about. So much so that as I’ve been writing it, I’ve come to the realization that I will probably have to find a way to break it up into two reports. Besides the 1701 Club, many people are waiting with baited breath to hear what ship won the poll I talked about in my last blog post. More on that in just a bit…
I have a sliver of time this week where I think I can write up several blog posts showing progress on some of the projects I mentioned at Wonderfest. I’ve already got some test shots on the Motion Picture Cadet kits, a few versions of the Wolverine kit digital files and I’ve have reviewed he mockup for the Robby the Robot kit featuring Altaira. I should also be seeing the 1:144 C-57D mockup soon. I look forward to sharing some behind the scenes looks at these kits similar to what I’ve been sharing in 1701 Club updates. I’m not sure I’ll have time to get quite as in-depth as those reports have been, but there will still be plenty to share. Once I get them written, I’ll schedule them to release once or twice a week.
Back to the poll results… as you may know, we recorded video footage of this year’s Wonderfest presentation just like we did last year. We had hoped to get it finished and posted some time ago (like before the poll went live) but as things usually happen, other fires got in the way. That isn’t to say we haven’t been working on it all along. Modelman Tom is well known for his Youtube model kit reviews and he has been putting in all kinds of time on our video to make it extra-special and much more entertaining than last year’s edition. As production on the video has wrapped up, the poll has also come to a close. So like a Reese’s peanut butter cup, two great things have come together. So as they say… WITHOUT FURTHER ADO… Check out the 2012 edition of our Wonderfest presentation video to find out the poll winner!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIbgnXVOZDU
After you’ve viewed it, give us some feedback and let us know what you think.
Round 2 Model Kits: And away we go…!
A month has gone by since Wonderfest and this is the first sliver of time that I’ve been able to quickly jot down some vital info to recap. (as usual, things are super busy in my wing of Round 2 Models) I know everyone has been waiting to hear the details of some of our announcements. Right now, I’m going to give a quick rundown. I’ll be able to go into more detail later on as the kits progress. So without further delay away we go…
New kits-
Dirty Donny’s Two Much – As announced in our last enewsletter, we will be producing a kit based on this Kar Kulture artist’s character design. He’s a crazy-kewl creature that will include several decal options to decorate him with.
Forbidden Planet Robby the Robot Movie Poster Edition- This kit will recreate the classic poster. It will consist of several parts from the existing kit, but with new legs, Altaira (as depicted in the poster) and base with cardboard standup.
Forbidden Planet C-57D 1:144 scale- We are happy to offer the classic flying saucer in a size that will fit on your bookshelf. The model is based on all new research and will not be based on our 1:72 scale kit. It will feature parts for a landed or flying pose including opening and closing landing ramps.
Marvel Comics Wolverine- The fan favorite character gets the treatment he deserves in a plastic model kit. He will be offered in his yellow costume as depicted in the early days of the character. He comes with two head options, masked and unmasked.
Star Trek TMP Cadet Series 3 ship set featuring new tools of the U.S.S. Enterprise Refit, U.S.S. Reliant & Klingon K’tinga as 1:2500 scale snap kits. The Refit and Reliant will come with the surface decals just like previous Cadet kits. The hope is to release at least one kit or themed set like this one each year to expand on the Cadet Series.
New licenses-
Elvis- Yes, he seems to have returned to the building. We are exploring an HO scale Graceland and possibly figural kits. We will see what the future holds for the king.
Wizard of Oz- The first kit we will look at doing is the Wicked Witch of the West in 1:8 scale. Depending on the reaction to this kit, we will take a look at doing the rest of the cast of characters from the iconic film.
DC Comics- Our approach to the Wolverine kit should give some indication into how we plan on creating new figural kits of some of the most widely recognized characters in the world. They will be well posed and detailed, but with a hint of nostalgia mixed in. Our initial ideas are for Superman and Batman kits inspired by some classic comic scenes and artists.
Iron Giant- Though this isn’t technically a new license for us, it was the first we had announced the possibility that we could do a kit form the animated film.
What comes next?
Our biggest announcement is that we are reaching out to the modeling community to decide one of our 2013 kit releases. The audience in attendance at our presentation took an active role to determine who the candidates will be. Everyone is eligible to cast their vote. Go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6HFNN6Zto answer a few questions for us and vote for one of the following kits
1:1000 scale U.S.S. Reliant
1:1000 scale Klingon K’tinga
1:32 scale TOS Galileo shuttle
1:2500 scale U.S.S. Akira
I2” tall Iron Giant
We are putting the finishing touches on our youtube video of our presentation. We have a lot more in the mix this year so please be patient as we get it all tidied up. We hope to have it ready in the next couple weeks. I’ll let you know as soon as it is finished.
Round 2 Models: Things Are Getting Exciting!
Have you ever had news that you wanted to shout to the world but you couldn’t? That’s kind of where I’m at right now. Things are getting exciting here in Round 2 Models-land. We’ve got a couple great shows coming up.
We will be setting up at C2E2, in Chicago, IL April 13-15. I’ve attended the show the last couple of years and I love it personally. The show focuses on comic books, movies and pop-culture of all kinds. We are looking at a show exclusive to sell at the show. We’ll see what we can do. Besides model kits, we’ll be displaying our other lines like Forever Fun seasonal products, Captain Action and Silver Screen Machines die-cast cars as well.
We are also gearing up for Wonderfest in a big way. I cant wait to unveil this year’s product announcements. I’ve stated that I don’t want to announce anything that we don’t have a sculpt or mockup for. I’m working hurriedly to be sure I don’t have to bite my tongue about anything. If all goes well, we will have more new kits out by the end of the year than just the 1:350 scale U.S.S. Enterprise™! I really, REALLY wish I could say more!
Polar Lights Model Kits: This and That.
Our first 1701CLUB update has been sent out. If you signed up for the club but did not receive it, just drop us an email through the contact page of our website. Please be sure to check your spam filters. In a few cases, we have had members’ correct email information in our system but they did not receive the update. We will still be able to show the first update to them using an alternate method but we will not be able to do that every time going forward.
If you haven’t seen it yet, we finally got our Wonderfest presentation set up on our Round2ForYou YouTube Channel. Be sure to check it out! Thanks to Modelman Tom for putting all the polish on the clips.
Thanks for all of the feedback to my last post. It will really help us decide what to do next in our Star Trek Cadet Series line. Feel free to keep responding to that thread with more comments or suggestions.
I was going through my bookmarks the other day, doing some house cleaning and organizing and came across the Polarpaedia page. Someone had pointed it out to me way back at our first appearance at Wonderfest. It was a site I thought would be a good reference about the history of the Polar Lights Model Kits brand. I knew there was a lot going on the PL message boards back in the day and had heard some of what went on back then from some of the folks that carried over from PM to R2. As I looked at the site again, I took note of traditions that had been begun but had fizzled through the years. I know bringing back the glory days is impossible but I’m wondering what little things can we bring back that were worthwhile back then? What are we missing? What can we bring back? The one particular thing that I took notice of was the Golden Frankie awards given out each year at Wonderfest to celebrate one individual’s impact on the hobby. Though we don’t currently have the license to pop a Frankenstein, maybe we could do something similar. I’m open to any thoughts or ideas.
