# The Man from U.N.C.L.E.



## oliver (Jan 11, 2005)

I've been watching The Man from UNCLE on ME- TV, the last few weeks. I remembered what a great show it was. I had both the kits in 1966. It would be great to see them reissued.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Judging by the current tone I don't expect to see that anytime soon. Maybe back when Tom Lowe was knocking out Aurora reissues like Odd Job and James Bond...
But I agree, they are cool kits and make an interesting diorama. Top it off with Mort Kunstler covers and it amounted to a winning set.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Well, maybe Moebius or Revell could do it. Who knows who has the rights to the nearly 40-year-old Aurora models? That's assuming any manufacturer could be made to think that there'd be a profit in repopping those kits for us niche market schlubs.


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

Since there will be a new a UNCLE movie maybe that will spur new kits. Round 2 has the AMT molds so they could reissue the car.


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## Rattrap (Feb 23, 1999)

Judging by comments I've heard recently, we're more likely to see the car. Round 2, Moebius and Atlantis have all taken pretty hard hits on figure releases over the last several quarters.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I watched the show recently. Season 1 was great spy drama, season 2 was good, then season 3 descended into horrible, ridiculous, Batman-style camp (Napolean kidnapped by a jungle girl and dancing the Watusi in a treehouse with a gorilla!?!?). Season 4 tried to get back to the serious spy drama, but seemed to be trying to apologize too hard.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Round 2 is just a bunch of brain dead idiots now. I think the UNCLE car tooling was also modified to make a show car after the TV show ended.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

dj,

I think "brain dead idiots" is a little harsh - they're in business to make money, not keep a small minority of plastic modelers happy. The sad fact is, figure model kits don't seem to be selling very well, so the Powers That Be at Round 2 have decided to put their money into more profitable kits. I don't like R2 cutting back on figures, either, but that's what happens when you're in the minority.

As it is, I have so many kits in my stash now, I'm not sure I could get around to building reissues of _The_ _Man from U.N.C.L.E._ models in this century, anyway.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

DJ,

Can you point me to any threads or articles that gave you that opinion of Round 2? I've always found Tom and Jamie to be upfront with us and solicitous of our opinions on their products. What changed to make you refer to them as "brain dead idiots"?

(Sorry if I sound uninformed, but I'm genuinely concerned that something bad has happened when a modeler of your stature has such a low opinion.)

Larry


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

*Brain dead "idiots" that gamble*



djnick66 said:


> Round 2 is just a bunch of brain dead idiots now. I think the UNCLE car tooling was also modified to make a show car after the TV show ended.


*I wouldn't go that far in your assessment Of Tom and Polar Lights. I have spoken to Tom many times, and still do on occasion. again, any model kit released has to turn a profit. Polar lights has a budget of $125,000 a year last I heard on new tooling,, so I wouldn't say that they have no interest in producing quality product, but it has to be successful product. I think I d like to see the MFU kits even more than you would be re-issued,but without a wider interest , it just aint gonna happen. perhaps with the advent of the upcoming movie, it might change. I at least , and I am sure many others here we agree we owe Tom at Polar lights a HUGE thanks for the many aurora repops I never thought I would ever see on a retailers shelf again, that he had produced since 1995, and he was the one that started the entire nostalgia reissue craze. Times and tastes economics, and certainly demographics change. There are fewer Figure collectors now than there were in 1995 to now..Considerably fewer, in fact.. I doubt that many of those kits Tom re popped then, if he were to have done them now, would have ever sold well, aside of perhaps one or two of them.

I recall someone who kept spitting out the "No mass appeal" mantra many times in Polar lights' day when The voyager, Jekyll and Hyde, the moonbus, Big Frankie,and even the batmobile were mentioned : His quote:" no one will live long enough to the the 66 batmobile re-issued..The License isn't available and thats it".2001 kits :" The license isn't available and that's it"..Turns out, he got ALOT of egg on his face, since they all came out after all,....And that was because he was calculating kit production at 10,000 to 15,000 kits in a run. Far too much, and then at that time, that was the minimum from China. That has changed. Now they will run 4,000 in a run..And of course, due to that, the unit cost not to mention the mold, is certainly going to cost more, hence the kits will cost more and they gotta sell. After Tom sold Playing Mantis, Frank took the gamble and released all the kits I mentioned that had "no mass appeal" except the Batmobile..Someones gotta be willing to take a chance, and of course Frank ran much smaller production runs than Tom did, and didn't have anyone whispering in his ear "no mass appeal"..

One thing I think many of us will agree on: there IS NO MASS APPEAL in the majority of the kits we like from the heyday of Aurora,and never was, except perhaps when they first came out in the 60's 70's etc, and some of them failed even then... It is a NICHE market, and always will be. I think at least I, am happy with whatever Tom and Frank decide to put out from subjects that do not actually have any wide appeal. Its a gamble. I gotta give them credit, especially Tom from the beginning, for having the guts to take the gamble..

Z

*


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

djnick66 said:


> Round 2 is just a bunch of brain dead idiots now. I think the UNCLE car tooling was also modified to make a show car after the TV show ended.


*by the way, you are correct about the Pirahana ( if I spelt that correctly) MFU car being retooled..they did do that, if I recall correctly, they removed the gun, and that hatch from the hood, and re-issued it. same thing with the Get smart sunbeam tiger...

Z *


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Yes, I'd like to see the two _Man From Uncle_ kits reissued, they're two items that I've never seen except in books, and they appear to capture the international spy-caper seriousness of the 1960's, but like several people have said, realistically we shouldn't get our hopes up.


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

Cro-Magnon Man said:


> Yes, I'd like to see the two _Man From Uncle_ kits reissued, they're two items that I've never seen except in books, and they appear to capture the international spy-caper seriousness of the 1960's, but like several people have said, realistically we shouldn't get our hopes up.


*True, but that's no reason to be resentful of the companies that have re-issued the many repops that we have to enjoy today*


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Sorry, did I seem resentful - I was showing enthusiasm for these kits, and saying that with companies cutting back on figure kits they might take a while, if ever? I wasn't expressing any resentment of the companies whose kits I've been buying for 20 years.


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

Tom Lowe's a fan like us and I got the impression talking to him that he'd release kits even if they didn't make a profit. Tom told me Aurora sold 600,000 of each kit back then.


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

Cro-Magnon Man said:


> Sorry, did I seem resentful - I was showing enthusiasm for these kits, and saying that with companies cutting back on figure kits they might take a while, if ever? I wasn't expressing any resentment of the companies whose kits I've been buying for 20 years.


*Not you, Cro Magnon..I was referring to the member that called Round 2 a bunch of "brain dead idiots"..Thats being pretty harsh and resentful of the company that brought back so much to we modelers of the heyday of Aurora, simply because they don't release a couple of 50 year old obscure figure kits from an old TV show that only just now, is being rerun on ME TV..If Tom issued them now..It would be safe to assume he would probably sell about 200 of them..IF he was lucky..and by the present calculations, if he sold them for $800.00 a piece , it MIGHT pay for Half the tooling costs at the present tooling prices..

Z*


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

I'm afraid your math is dead on, Z - darn it!


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

Mark McGovern said:


> I'm afraid your math is dead on, Z - darn it!



''*without trying to sound.."all knowing",of course it is, as I have been a consultant in the hobby field and have had to keep up on the current tooling costs...:thumbsup: *


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

Maybe at Marx, they could re issue The Man From U.N.C.L.E. figures. I have Aurora and Marx, to me the Marx likeness is much better.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

Have any of you looked on Cult Tv Mans site today?


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

SUNGOD said:


> Have any of you looked on Cult Tv Mans site today?


No. What did it say?:dude:


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

Cro-Magnon Man said:


> No. What did it say?:dude:


*Tom Lowe at polar lights is re-issuing the Pihrana Uncle car as the "pirhana super spy car"*


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Zathros said:


> *Tom Lowe at polar lights is re-issuing the Pihrana Uncle car as the "pirhana super spy car"*


I've been waiting 45 years for that car kit to be re-released. I'm happy as a fly on a cow patty.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

I don't remember watching TMFU as a kid so it's only over the past few years I've been aware of the Pirhana but might just have to pick one of these up. Nice to see this piece of retro future back.


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Zathros said:


> *Tom Lowe at polar lights is re-issuing the Pihrana Uncle car as the "pirhana super spy car"*


Thank you; I wouldn't have known what the announcement meant - I used to watch the show as a kid but didn't know that this car was connected to the Man From Uncle.


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## oliver (Jan 11, 2005)

Maybe they'll issue the figures.


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

Back in the 70's and now AMT reissued both Munster Coach and Dragula as "Graveyard Duo", one can convert figures into the Men from U.N.C.L.E. Speaking of the new film, once set for a January 2015, now has been pushed back to August 2015.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Zathros said:


> *Tom Lowe at polar lights is re-issuing the Pihrana Uncle car as the "pirhana super spy car"*


Oh, that's lovely. I'm all over "retro future." Chevy Astro 1, pleeeease!

But this one is nice. :thumbsup:

http://www.c-we.com/piranha/page4.htm


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Zathros said:


> *Not you, Cro Magnon..I was referring to the member that called Round 2 a bunch of "brain dead idiots"..Thats being pretty harsh and resentful of the company that brought back so much to we modelers of the heyday of Aurora, simply because they don't release a couple of 50 year old obscure figure kits from an old TV show that only just now, is being rerun on ME TV..If Tom issued them now..It would be safe to assume he would probably sell about 200 of them..IF he was lucky..and by the present calculations, if he sold them for $800.00 a piece , it MIGHT pay for Half the tooling costs at the present tooling prices..
> 
> Z*



Maybe it was harsh but they have been sitting on some gold mine kits and release crap like the Roadrunner car and the 1999 Moonbase. Plus their overall quality for new kits is still about on par for the 60s not 2014.


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## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

I watched U.N.C.L.E. as a kid but honestly don't remember a lot about it. Is that a rocket launcher imbedded in the end of the opened drivers door?

Polar Lights gave me another chance (as an adult) (somewhat) to own one of my mostest fondest memory kits from childhood. *THE WITCH!*

*I thank them for that.*

Carl-


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## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

I watched U.N.C.L.E. as a kid but honestly don't remember a lot about it. Is that a rocket launcher imbedded in the end of the opened drivers door?

Polar Lights gave me another chance (as an adult) (somewhat) to own one of my mostest fondest memory kits as a child. *THE WITCH!*

*I thank them for that.*

Carl-


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

I think they didn't add the rocket launcher.


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## Krel (Jun 7, 2000)

hal9001 said:


> I watched U.N.C.L.E. as a kid but honestly don't remember a lot about it. Is that a rocket launcher imbedded in the end of the opened drivers door?
> 
> Carl-


It was on the actual car, but most of the features were never used. The only two I remember, were the forward machine guns, and the engine compartment rocket launcher. There is a publicity photo of Robert Vaughn sitting in the car holding one of the rockets, which looks to be an Estes type rocket.

The car really didn't get used much, as both Robert Vaughn and David McCallum reportedly hated the car. They found it hard to get in and out of, and IMPOSSIBLE to do so gracefully. You can imagine the problems poor Stefanie Powers had entering and exiting while wearing a dress. The car also is reported to have had problems. I've read that you could find the car by following the trail of oil it left.

The original plan for the U.N.C.L.E. car was to use the then new Dodge Charger as a base car, but there were a few problems with that plan. NBC didn't like the idea, because it would be giving free publicity to Dodge, and Dodge might not spend as much on commercials then. Dodge didn't like the idea of their brand new car sprouting weapons and spreading mayhem, it might deter sales to families. The 60s Dodge Charger was an overpowered muscle car. I don't know how many Dads were going to be buying one as the family transport.

Back in the day, I joined the ERTL Blueprinter in hope that the U.N.C.L.E. car it one they would pick to produce for the Blueprinter. They never did, but now I will have the chance to own one. Or more.

David.


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

djnick66 said:


> Maybe it was harsh but they have been sitting on some gold mine kits and release crap like the Roadrunner car and the 1999 Moonbase. Plus their overall quality for new kits is still about on par for the 60s not 2014.


*I haven't seen any quality new subject issues with their kits. Of course, any kits that are repopped are done from original molds. All they do is polish them up and test shoot em. They do not want to spend any additional money with any repairs or adjustments. If they have to do anything more than polish the old molds, then they won't produce the kit

Z*


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Reissue of the car is coming soon: http://www.culttvmanshop.com/Piranh...-2AMT--2595--PREORDER-RESERVATION_p_3048.html

I don't know what the timing is, but the rumor right now is that it will not be repaired to include the items removed to make it NOT the U.N.C.L.E. car.


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## Krel (Jun 7, 2000)

The box cover is a copy of the AMT U.N.C.L.E. Car. If the box cover is a representation of the model, then it has the rocket launchers in the doors and the LASER at the top of the windshield. It is also called the Piranha Spy Car, so while it might not have the U.N.C.L.E. license plate decal, it might have the weapons.

David.


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## Bwain no more (May 18, 2005)

I bought this kit through the mail back in the '80s from a collector but returned it because the vinyl tires had leeched and melted into the plastic on the body. I could have sworn the license plate had the TINY UNCLE emblem molded in. I also recall drive shafts and twin propellers under the rear body for an (unseen in the series) aquatic function. Mind you, this is a 30 plus year old memory, but the aquatic/boat feature is PRETTY vivid (maybe it was a SINGLE shaft, but I KNOW there was a propeller...)
Tom


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