AC Norton Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 ......good evening to all you fellow forum members,...I pose a question to those in the know regarding all the various MPC/ AMT 67 GTO kits on ebay, and at my LHS.............what is the opinion of you guys about what issue may be the cleanest, has the best chrome, overall nicer in general to start a project with, as some versions that are weak or poorly produced as the years have gone by. I saw a pale blue one online a few days ago, looked good, or what I could see thru the bags,,,,,anyhow, jump in here and give me an idea as what version, or box art I should grab.....regards, and thanks in advance,....the Ace........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 As far as I know, the molds for this one have been shot for decades. When I built mine back in the '90s, I had about 40 hours of work in straightening out the body. There wasn't a single line or square inch of surface that didn't require correction. Couple years later, I scored a very restorable built original annual. If I ever do another one, I'm gonna build it on that one--and paint it black, just to show off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Norton Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 ....so, are you telling me that the early 80s blue MPC one, and all other issues other than the annual stink.....because the price for an annual is more that I would pay.....the Ace........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 The reissue body was reconstructed from the Unswitchable funny car. If you look at the inside, you can see all of the marks where the trunk lid exhaust holes were filled, and the wheel openings were moved. The early reissues (molded in dark blue) have that "welding goggle" dark tint to the clear parts, and later kits from that boxing sometimes have bad plating. The later production ones have clear glass, better plating, and the bodies are about the same. Any of the reissues need a bunch of sandpaper work to smooth them out, but it's worth the effort. I remember when that first reissue came out ('84 or so) and was glad to see it, dark glass and all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Norton Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 .........thanks for that, Mark,,,,so, be that as it may, if you were to only want ONE for a future build....excluding a hi buck original, what of all the boxes reissued in your opinion, would be the one to grab,,,,i ask this because we know your collection is vast, and your overall knowledge as well..........best,,,,the Ace........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 To get clear glass and decent plating, I'd probably go for one of the recent kits (molded in gray) or the Round 2 issue. I think those started out molded in color but more recent ones might be white. If you're looking at sealed boxes, I don't know if the Round 2 kits can be told from one another as far as plastic color. If you're buying an opened kit at a show, you can just paw through it and see if it's what you want. I think I've got a pre-Round 2 kit around here, haven't looked at it lately but if I remember right it was gray and had decent chrome. I only finished one of the two kits I bought in '84 (converted it to a Tempest Sprint post coupe)...got pretty far along on the other one, got pretty stupid with the chassis and engine compartment but it's still unfinished. I should get back on that one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pack rat Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 If you don't want to pony up the bucks for the annual, you might as well go with the recent Round2 release.The 80's MPC kit was nothing to write home about quality-wise, with the rough body seams, flash, and (on some) really poor chrome plating...not to mention the dark-tinted glass (some had clear glass though). The subsequent Ertl and RC2 reissues were no better.Round2 had a rough tool to work with, but at least they tried to clean it up as well as possible. And....if you get a defective kit Round2 will look after you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Norton Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 ok, Mark, I appreciate that reply....I also thought a gray, AMT box might be a good choice as well, but am glad to get your 2 cents on this........best,..the Ace................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Norton Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 If you don't want to pony up the bucks for the annual, you might as well go with the recent Round2 release. The 80's MPC kit was nothing to write home about quality-wise, with the rough body seams, flash, and (on some) really poor chrome plating...not to mention the dark-tinted glass (some had clear glass though). The subsequent Ertl and RC2 reissues were no better. Round2 had a rough tool to work with, but at least they tried to clean it up as well as possible. And....if you get a defective kit Round2 will look after you. .......thanks, Mike, for your 2 cents too. I only asked this question tonite because as I mentioned to Mark a post or two up the page, one issue is all I want to get, and, sometimes issue to issue there is sometimes surprises in a box.....some good, some not so good..........thanks for this,,,,,,,,,,the Ace......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Joy Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) This is my recently finished 1967 GTO, in the recent issue blue box. All I did was the standard cleanup - nothing major was required. The chrome was fine, but I stripped it because my wife wanted something in gold. Link: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/108967-1967-pontiac-gto-my-year-in-review/ Edited January 19, 2016 by Harry Joy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pack rat Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Oops....I forgot something!I believe the molded-in-blue MPC 80's issue is the only one with correct '67 bucket seats. All of the later issues have the '72 seats with mounting holes for the headrests, including the Round2 kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Norton Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 Oops....I forgot something! I believe the molded-in-blue MPC 80's issue is the only one with correct '67 bucket seats. All of the later issues have the '72 seats with mounting holes for the headrests, including the Round2 kit. ........thanks for that tidbit....if that's the case, that blue version IS the way to go, ,,, but I'll need to get the current one for clear glass....lol....I love this hobby, buy one, use four or more to complete...lol.....best,,the Ace......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pack rat Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) Sorry, Ace. I should have remembered the seat issue right away. This is the kit I built for Round2 when the kit was in the planning stages (with '72 seats). Normally I avoid black interiors as they tend to hide detail, but when I built this one they were still searching for the '67 seats; so we went with black as we weren't sure which seats would be in the box. Unfortunately, they didn't find the correct '67 buckets. GTO test shot.bmp Edited January 19, 2016 by pack rat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Norton Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 hey, Mike, no need to say sorry, if the seats are not correct, the easy way to solve this is quite simple.....first, pass on a stock build, and go for a wild drag car with racing seats,,,,,or,,, do what most of us would do,,,,buy one, maybe two of these GTO kits, even though you don't really need to, and throw them up on your stack to talk to friends about builds that will never happen regardless....lol...lol....best regards........the Ace........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Are the seats incorrect? True they do have headrests, but headrests were optional on the '67 Pontiacs. Including the GTOs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport Suburban Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I bought an 80s issue molded in dark blue and it had the 70 seats in it. The body was way better than the BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH that was in my later issue RC2 kit. That was the worst I have ever seen. I heard round 2 did clean it up. Also Modelhaus has the correct seats in resin. I bought those for mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Norton Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 ..........good to know, Raoul.....thanks to you.......the Ace........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 The bucket seat insert pattern is different between early production and recent kits...not having a complete original though, I'm not sure which is correct but would bet on the earlier ones. My niece has a 1:1 '67...I should go over and have a look at it.If you get an early kit, first thing to do is take those plastic-eating BFG radial tires and throw them as far as possible... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 The bucket seat insert pattern is different between early production and recent kits...not having a complete original though, I'm not sure which is correct but would bet on the earlier ones. Is anyone sure that there was only one seat pattern available?My '69 Grand Prix has one of about 3 different patterns that were available. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) '67 GTO seats, (carried over from '66, but with minor pattern change and new locking seatbacks): '67 GTO option code 574 seats: Edited January 19, 2016 by Junkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Remember this 1967 kit was a promotional model first, modified to a kit. It had separate exhaust and that was a bonus compared to other kits that year.I am not sure any of the reissue MPC 67 GTOs had the correct seats. Modelhaus has them for sure.One of my 1980s reissue was totally destroyed by those tires flopping around in the box. Almost every piece has a burn mark.I think the MPC 67 body can be massaged to be a decent build despite some problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I think the MPC 67 body can be massaged to be a decent build despite some problems.I've done it, but it was a LOT of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtx6970 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I have what I thought were 2 original issue 67 kits. as well as one of the blue re-issues kits unbuilt I now think one of my builtups has the wrong front seats in it So which one is correct for a 67 GTO one still in the body or the one next to the tree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can-Con Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) The one in the car is correct Bill. Note that it has 3 rows of narrow pleats separated by a double-wide pleat between each row. Matches the back seat. Edited January 19, 2016 by Can-Con Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtx6970 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 The one in the car is correct Bill. Note that it has 3 rows of narrow pleats separated by a double-wide pleat between each row. Matches the back seat.well phoey,That means I have to find a set of originals I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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