# Very interesting news - Atlantis buys old Revell molds



## Jodet (May 25, 2008)

I can't wait to find out what's going to be re-popped: 

http://culttvman.com/main/breaking-news-atlantis-buys-revell-toolings/

I hope this mean Revell wants to do new toolings!


----------



## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Very good news- and I am so glad they are going to be produced in the US instead of being farmed out to China.


----------



## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Cool news!


----------



## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Jodet said:


> ...I hope this mean Revell wants to do new toolings!


I could be wrong, but if I've read the various reports correctly Revell no longer exists in the U.S. in any form. Revell Germany might continue and any kits they produce might be exported to the U.S. and other countries under the Revell name, but they're now owned by a larger corporation whose plans for Revell Germany have not yet been made public as far as I know. I'd guess any new kits produced from the Revell tooling now owned by Atlantis would be released under Atlantis' name, but that remains to be seen.


----------



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Sounds like everybody else got all the good stuff, and Atlantis got "whatever was left".


----------



## ausf (Sep 25, 2017)

Out of curiosity, what is the interest besides nostalgia?

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see another run of the old Aurora monster molds, Rommel's Rod, Red Baron, etc. I'd buy 'em all.

But I grew up building the Monogram/Revell military kits and they weren't exactly the best representations, especially considering today's offerings from Tamiya/DML/WNW etc.

In the past 15 years or so, you'd have to be careful and check the timeline on Scalemates or elsewhere to make sure you weren't buying a rebox of a crappy 70s mold.


----------



## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I can see two groups benefiting from this. There are a lot of rather obscure subjects which have not been deemed popular enough to have the new tech kits issued of them. While they may be crappy compared to what can who would like to get a second chance to built a kit from the past- some of the show cars in particular I am interested in.
The second group would be the studio scale builders- some of these may be donor kits which are very hard to find these days or cost far too much on eBay.
It will be interesting to see what is released


----------



## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

Zombie_61 said:


> I could be wrong, but if I've read the various reports correctly Revell no longer exists in the U.S. in any form. Revell Germany might continue and any kits they produce might be exported to the U.S. and other countries under the Revell name, but they're now owned by a larger corporation whose plans for Revell Germany have not yet been made public as far as I know. I'd guess any new kits produced from the Revell tooling now owned by Atlantis would be released under Atlantis' name, but that remains to be seen.



On Revell of Germany's Facebook page they replied to a post asking what their plans are for Revell in the US. It's not much info, but at least their in the process of doing something: _ "Hi James, our American sales office is currently still under construction. However, it will go into operation in the near future. Of course, we will then inform you about the start of operations via our Facebook page."_

Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/Revell/posts/1988767381168687?__xts__[0]=68.ARCI4-MTPKC4aazELi1iHJi91Zl_yMepsp7AQWKRiyB7q10-WgxUKMMpAPPuKln_-FwFZD-PoFFSO6Y5_OmxmUuPK5kv_jI0DXzlEM-0iD_fL2rKVYqiDf1sKQuKE5081yiVhIY&__tn__=-R


Regarding Atlantis, I think this is great news, looking forward to the kits they decide to release. Hopefully, it's not just more of the same, i.e. car kits!


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Yes, Revell of Germany still exists, I googled Revell just the other day and clicked the link to their web site and it had been redone with some of the old Revell USA kits now under the ROG label including the old Monogram Voyager kit and theshutt;e kits which were first released in the late '70s, just to name a few.


----------



## Jodet (May 25, 2008)

There's been an update to the original news story. Seems that Revell Germany kept a LOT of the molds and Atlantis bought the left-overs. No details, but it's not encouraging news.


----------



## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

It would be great if Atlantis put up a list of the molds and took a poll as to which ones to release again.


----------



## rhinooctopus (May 22, 2011)

*Finks*



John P said:


> Sounds like everybody else got all the good stuff, and Atlantis got "whatever was left".


Let's hope Atlantis got the Revell "Fink" molds and will reissue those!


----------



## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

Jodet said:


> There's been an update to the original news story. Seems that Revell Germany kept a LOT of the molds and Atlantis bought the left-overs. No details, but it's not encouraging news.



Per Atlantis Models:_ "Atlantis Model Co., manufacturer of plastic models and toys has purchased the tooling for many plastic model kits from the new owners of Revell, Revell Inc. USA-Blitz Partners. These molds were from the tooling banks of *Monogram, Revell, Aurora *and *Renwal*, some dating back to the early 1950s. They were stored in Revell’s Elk Grove facility in the great state of Illinois* and represent Automotive, Aircraft, Ships, Military, Figures, Space and many other interesting subjects.*"_

According to Atlantis, they have 100's of molds from all four companies, in all subjects. We don't know what they have, but I wouldn't say it's bad news. We'll just have to wait till 2019 to see what they acquired.


----------



## ausf (Sep 25, 2017)

My modeling Holy Grail is the 60's Aurora Demolition Demon.

It was the first model I ever built.

It's also one of my earliest memories, an Easter scavenger hunt that ended in the clothes dryer in a house we moved from in 1970, which puts me under 5. I still can envision opening the box on my bunk bed, trying to wrap my head around this thing that you make from pieces that became a dented car.

I didn't know what the kit was until about 10 years ago when I came across it in the Aurora book. No doubt, same color, only model of the subject and same time frame and LHS that was an Aurora dealer (had all the monster kits when I was older).

It would be amazing if that mold was still around and slated for production once again.


----------



## TUFFONE (Dec 21, 2004)

rhinooctopus said:


> Let's hope Atlantis got the Revell "Fink" molds and will reissue those!


Now that's something that would be worth the effort if they had the original packaging also...


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

TUFFONE said:


> Now that's something that would be worth the effort if they had the original packaging also...


If they bought the Revell brand name as well as the molds then maybe they'll do original box art.


----------



## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

ausf said:


> My modeling Holy Grail is the 60's Aurora Demolition Demon...


I'm not normally interested in 1/32 scale car kits, but if this kit ever gets reissued I'd get one just because it's an unusual subject.



irishtrek said:


> If they bought the Revell brand name as well as the molds then maybe they'll do original box art.


_If_ it got reissued and _if_ they used the original box art, I wonder if they would correct it since the "'57" Ford in the kit is actually a '56?

Regardless, I'm guessing it'll be a while before we get any official announcements because Atlantis will surely want to conduct a thorough inventory to make sure they got what they paid for, and determine whether or not the molds are still viable.


----------



## ausf (Sep 25, 2017)

Zombie_61 said:


> I'm not normally interested in 1/32 scale car kits, but if this kit ever gets reissued I'd get one just because it's an unusual subject.
> 
> _If_ it got reissued and _if_ they used the original box art, I wonder if they would correct it since the "'57" Ford in the kit is actually a '56?
> 
> Regardless, I'm guessing it'll be a while before we get any official announcements because Atlantis will surely want to conduct a thorough inventory to make sure they got what they paid for, and determine whether or not the molds are still viable.


I'm not much into cars myself, except the TV/film stuff like the Batmobile, Mach 5, Dragula, Monkeemobile, etc.

I think it being 1/32 hurts my chances more because slot car guys are looking for it too. 

But maybe that makes it even more attractive for re-release (if the tooling still exists).


----------



## packard400 (Apr 24, 2006)

I'm hoping that some of the remaining Renwal tools are from the Revival kits. (1960's versions of classic cars.)
I would love to see these kits sold again.


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Zombie_61 said:


> Regardless, I'm guessing it'll be a while before we get any official announcements because Atlantis will surely want to conduct a thorough inventory to make sure they got what they paid for, and determine whether or not the molds are still viable.


And why would the molds not be viable??? I cannot see Revell or any other company ruining something like that.


----------



## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

We don't know the condition of the molds when they were retired- they do wear out with use and need to be replaced every so often. It is likely some kits were not selling in great enough volume to justify the cost of replacement molds so when they started to get worn out they were just pulled and stored.

We just do not know enough about the situation to more than speculate- no idea what subjects or how many molds is involved. I am sure Atlantis will go through them and first produce the kits which would seem to be the most popular today, perhaps they are gauging interest by lurking forums such as this. Posting wish lists could possibly help. I never heard of the Aurora Demolition Demon kits before- they look wonderful and I would get a couple if they were produced again.


----------



## ausf (Sep 25, 2017)

I think those old molds last a long time.

My understanding was after the initial success of Frankenstein, they made duplicate mold and ran the two around the clock for years, only stopping for repairs to the tooling or injector. 

I took this photo during a resto, it's an early '61 in grey versus a '90s Toys R Us run in black. You can certainly see the wear to detail and flash, but also a lack of skill in the sink marks.


http://ausfwerks.com/photos/aur6.jpg


----------



## TUFFONE (Dec 21, 2004)

packard400 said:


> I'm hoping that some of the remaining Renwal tools are from the Revival kits. (1960's versions of classic cars.)
> I would love to see these kits sold again.


I to would love to see the Mercer, the Packard, and all the others like that. Cool kits...


----------



## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

Some of the mold quality may be from where they store them, Glencoe showed issues when some of the old Strombecker stuff got used again, the molds were water damaged to clearly show rust encrustations on the molded parts.


----------

