Why was the Supernatural 67 Impala 4 door kit discontued?

[stavanzer]

21 hours ago, PintoKING said:

Sure would be nice for it to be reissued as as Police/taxi!

But the Police and Taxis did not use the body style of car for those jobs. That is the problem with this kit, in the long run.

You can build it that way, but in real life there were few of them used like that. See the discussion in the 22 pages that were devoted to this kit, in the Link Mr. Metallic was kind enough to find, and share.

Edited April 14, 2024 by stavanzer

[Repstock]

I may be wrong but aren't Police cars and taxis usually sedans? I don't think I've ever seen a police 4 door hardtop.

[Repstock]

1 minute ago, Repstock said:

I may be wrong but aren't Police cars and taxis usually sedans? I don't think I've ever seen a police 4 door hardtop.

I see this issue has already been addressed. Please disregard.

[Matt T.]

Rob Zombie used one in one of his horror movies. Looks great!
Found on the Internet Movie Car Database (imcdb.org). 
If you can get past the lack of 1:1 examples (I can), go for it! Enjoy the build. 
 

Edited April 14, 2024 by Matt T.

[1967RMP]

On 4/14/2024 at 2:40 PM, Matt T. said:

Rob Zombie used one in one of his horror movies. Looks great!
Found on the Internet Movie Car Database (imcdb.org). 
If you can get past the lack of 1:1 examples (I can), go for it! Enjoy the build. 
 

Hmmm. You might be onto something. I've been trying to figure out what to do with mine. Decals, wheels, and tires from the spares box, lights from the Johan Fury, siren from God knows where, some weathering, and voila!

Edited April 15, 2024 by 1967RMP

[ncbuckeye67]

On 4/3/2024 at 9:03 PM, Muncie said:

I'm hoping there will be a future for this kit - with a stock front seat. (doesn't somebody make one?) I'll be patient.

Isn't the bench seat in the Supernatural kit stock?

[ncbuckeye67]

You can always add some sheet plastic & strips to make a B pillar & trim.

[Muncie]

12 hours ago, ncbuckeye67 said:

Isn't the bench seat in the Supernatural kit stock?

In the pictures that I've seen of the kit seat and the car on the show... The front and back seats have different patterns.  The front seat is also smaller than the stock seat.  It looks like the front upholstery wore out and it was replaced a seat from something else instead of replacing the upholstery on the original seat frame.  Not a big deal for TV/Movie cars. I think somebody casts a correct stock seat.

[ChrisBcritter]

On 4/15/2024 at 3:21 PM, 1967RMP said:

Hmmm. You might be onto something. I've been trying to figure out what to do with mine. Decals, wheels, and tires from the spares box, lights from the Johan Fury, siren from God knows where, some weathering, and voila!

And wheel covers from the AMT or MPC '69 Impala.

[disconovaman]

I see a future with this kit, and generally, all the kits have a limited run and then go out of production but not necessarily discontinued. I think they would add the Vette Rallys from the two door as a stock option. If ever it was a Coke product, it would be nice to see the green tinted glass. I don't mind the kit. I think it sold pretty well... and I know plenty of Non model builders who love the TV series who had to have it.

[stavanzer]

2 hours ago, disconovaman said:

 I know plenty of Non model builders who love the TV series who had to have it.

And there you have it. That was the reason for the kit. It wasn't for us. It was for fans of the show. If some Model Builders were also fans, well "Great"! If not, no harm done.

And, I agree. It will return someday. But, no telling what Round2 will do to market the kit.

[Tabbysdaddy]

I guess I'm not an "us".

I bought it because it's a 4 door. 

[stavanzer]

So you did.

[garagepunk66]

20 hours ago, ncbuckeye67 said:

You can always add some sheet plastic & strips to make a B pillar & trim.

No, it would not be correct. Actually the windshield is at least 2" taller on a sedan and the side DLO profile is higher

 

This aspect contributes to some of the proportional accuracy issues of some of the resin 65-70 wagon conversions out there. Once you add window frames to the Hardtop body, the resulting DLO will be far too low. 

 

Hardtop body styles are almost always "chopped", to some extent, from the factory 

[ncbuckeye67]

8 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

And wheel covers from the AMT or MPC '69 Impala.

"Three Inches Under" on Etsy has retro emergency resin parts. A lot of his stuff is resin copies of the old Johan accessories (like the gurney from the ambulance kit, and hearse pieces parts).

[ncbuckeye67]

3 hours ago, garagepunk66 said:

No, it would not be correct. Actually the windshield is at least 2" taller on a sedan and the side DLO profile is higher

 

This aspect contributes to some of the proportional accuracy issues of some of the resin 65-70 wagon conversions out there. Once you add window frames to the Hardtop body, the resulting DLO will be far too low. 

 

Hardtop body styles are almost always "chopped", to some extent, from the factory 

That's good information. Thanks for sharing this. So the entire roof structure is taller, or does it have a bit of a downward slope towards the back?

[garagepunk66]

6 hours ago, ncbuckeye67 said:

That's good information. Thanks for sharing this. So the entire roof structure is taller, or does it have a bit of a downward slope towards the back?

Probably less than the 2 inches of difference in the windshield. Different roof sheet metal for sure to accommodate the B pillar and the taller windshield. And yes the slope is more upright on the sedan roof

You could still build it as a quasi-phantom special order COPO "Chief's Car. GM pretty much let municipalities run wild with options 

Edited April 17, 2024 by garagepunk66

[Robberbaron]

Comparison pics from the previous posted link, for the TLDR crowd:

4-door hardtop rear window/tulip panel:

4:door sedan:

 

[stavanzer]

23 hours ago, Robberbaron said:

Comparison pics from the previous posted link, for the TLDR crowd:

4-door hardtop rear window/tulip panel:

4:door sedan:

 

Great Photo's Robert.  Shows exactly how different the cars are.

[horsepower]

On 4/5/2024 at 6:16 AM, niteowl7710 said:

Licensing tends to run on three year terms, and that kit was produced in 2020, so the licensing is up. Sales of the kit vs. the cost of a future renewal would dictate whether it's ever reissued as the TV car in the future.

Since the Supernatural series is no longer in production I'm not sure what licensing with them would be but the biggest one was probably General Motors anyway. I personally would like to see it with a small block and turbo 400 trans. We had one like that in the dismantling yard I worked for. I wanted the motor and trans and a super clean '69 Chevy wagon we had. But the wagon was snagged by one of our big customers who built four by four rigs for different purposes and had a buyer for it with later model LS engine electronic trans and transfer case with bigger beefier axles. He said it was gonna make the perfect weekend family wagon for the beach AND/OR off-road family.