'74 Vega Bruce Larson USA-1_FYI Reissue Update

[magicmustang]

On 7/12/2019 at 11:59 AM, Force said:

I will buy if it comes out. 

Got most of them but will buy more. Can't have too many MPC Pro Stocks.  

 

Edited July 15, 2019 by magicmustang

[bismarck]

1 minute ago, magicmustang said:

Got most of them but will buy more. Can't have too many MPC Pro Stocks.  

WOW!!! I just flashed WWWAAYYY back to my favorite hobby shop in the early 70's. That's the last time I saw all those kits in one place. VERY nice stash man!!!  

[Rob Hall]

Maybe they will do a Dyon Don reissue of the Firefighter Mustang II, we know that tooling still exists.

[1972coronet]

If nothing else , the interior tubs from the Pro Stock Duster series is what I want to see make a comeback ! There's no console nor a back seat , which is perfect . That tooling must still be around , or at least its floor pan inserts .

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Rob Hall said:

Maybe they will do a Dyon Don reissue of the Firefighter Mustang II, we know that tooling still exists.

I'd be down for one. Planning to do a series of Dyno Don models. 

[Daddyfink]

Nice to see it coming back in both Flat Nose and Shovel Nose versions! Now, buy them to prove that they will sell and hopefully we can get some other stuff back!! 

They hear us loud and clear when we talk with our wallets! 

 

[BubbaBrown]

I won't hold my breath, the 1964 Plymouth they kept showing at shows took 7 or maybe 9 years to get made. We have been hearing and seeing this on their website since 2016 so I figure  sometime after 2020.

[niteowl7710]

2 hours ago, BubbaBrown said:

I won't hold my breath, the 1964 Plymouth they kept showing at shows took 7 or maybe 9 years to get made. We have been hearing and seeing this on their website since 2016 so I figure  sometime after 2020.

Round2 purchased the assets of Lindberg in the Spring of 2013, and the Lawman kit was released July of 2016.  I can't remember when Round2 started teasing the idea of merging the NASCAR and Drag car together to make a Plymouth Drag car, but even if it was the day they purchased Lindberg it's a hair over 3...

Sometimes you throw an idea out there and see what the reaction is like before you actually spend the money.

[Mark]

The Lawman Plymouth is not a combination of parts from the Plymouth and Dodge kits.  It's the Plymouth with new parts added.  Some of the new parts for the Plymouth were also tossed into the Color Me Gone Dodge reissue

The Dodge and Plymouth don't share major parts like chassis, interior, etc.  They are similar but the parts are different for each kit.

[SteveG]

To set the record straight, the Lawman Plymouth kit project started with Lindberg at iHobby 2008 as suggested by Bill Coulter.  The prototype Display model built by both Bill and the Late Tom Creager was shown the following year.  Ernie Pettit did want to use the Super Stock Dodge kit parts but as Mark said they were designed separately so it turned out not to be practical.  It was scheduled for the 4th Quarter 2010 (the sign says 2009 in error) but the project almost died with the sale of Lindberg.

 John G. at Round2 restarted the project when he came across the display model after the Lindberg purchase and started asking around about it.  They basically had to start over and ended up tooling up over 40 new parts.   

Creating modified re-issues from old Tooling is no easy task, so I would cut them some slack.  The fact that they are showing prototype parts means the project is pretty far along.  My best guess is that your looking at another nine months or so before they hit the shelves. 

-Steve

[Mark]

It's surprising Lindberg didn't have more commonality between the Plymouth and Dodge.  That would have allowed for more versions, like (with additional body tooling) Plymouth sedans and Dodge hardtops, maybe even a convertible or two.

[SteveG]

57 minutes ago, Mark said:

It's surprising Lindberg didn't have more commonality between the Plymouth and Dodge.  That would have allowed for more versions, like (with additional body tooling) Plymouth sedans and Dodge hardtops, maybe even a convertible or two.

I asked Ernie about that when we started development on the Lawman Plymouth.  I don't recall his response exactly other than it was just typical corporate inefficient mindset of the Mid '90.  Why have one shared project when you can two at twice the price.   

[BubbaBrown]

I'm sorry, going by your numbers here it was scheduled for 4th qtr 2010 and released july 2016. So I should of said 6 years and Not 7 or 9. If them Vega's come out before 2020 i'll be surprised.

[tim boyd]

6 hours ago, BubbaBrown said:

I'm sorry, going by your numbers here it was scheduled for 4th qtr 2010 and released july 2016. So I should of said 6 years and Not 7 or 9. If them Vega's come out before 2020 i'll be surprised.

That's a bit of an "apples and oranges" comparison as there were two intervening corporate repurchases with Lawman tooling, vs. none with the Vega redo.  I don't know when John G. first scheduled the Round Two Lawman project, but my guess would be that the period between program inception and delivery would be more like three years. 

What model car builders and collectors often don't fully understand is that there are always lists a mile long at the model companies of future projects, but only a certain number of tooling dollars available each year, and further intervening priorities that emerge. Sometimes long planned projects do take years to emerge at the hobby stores.  I know of at least one other major project at Round Two that is of a similar scope as the Vega bodies, and last I heard it was still in the plan but has yet to materialize.  Difference being, of course, that this project has not been revealed publicly, vs. the Vega project which was apparently publicly listed several years ago. 

TIM 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2019 by tim boyd

[Mark]

Agreed, it can take forever to get a kit actually produced.  Someone (now deceased) told me that, in the early Eighties, he found a couple of cars for Monogram to photograph and measure because they intended to make kits of them.  One was a Ford Thunderbolt, the others were a couple of '70-'72 Olds 442s.  Someone else told me about a late Forties Ford wagon.  Had they jumped right into these projects, they all would have ended up as 1/24 scale kits back then.  The T-Bolt wound up getting done several years later after the merger with Revell, the Ford woody wagon a few years after that, and the first Olds 442 came much later.  I recall reading or hearing somewhere that the Revell 1/25 scale Kurtis-Kraft midget kits were over ten years in the works also.

[Casey]

Now that Round2 has shown two newly created, Vega Pro Stock-specific bodies, I'm wondering if they are still planning to package it with the Twister Vega (IIRC, what remains of the GM H-body Pro Stock tooling) chassis, etc? Sadly, that "chassis" is no more that the remnants of the stock everything-molded-in, promo style piece with space hogged out to clear the slicks. Stock rear Vega suspension, a metal axlerod, and a plate to hold it in place...hard to get excited about this reissue unless you love curbside builds.

MPC American Spirit Vega:

 

Twister Vega:

Edited October 15, 2019 by Casey

[Mark]

The remainder of the "new" Vega kits (chassis, interior, basic engine) will be carried over from the old kit.  The older pro stock kits were compromised due to the bodies and other parts being shared with stock kits.  The chassis in all of them were compromised but overall the assembled model did look the part.

[stavanzer]

Maybe they will at least include a choice on Induction Systems. Both the Blown and High Rise Twin Carb intakes are cool, and would allow models to be finished in different Classes. Hoping that there might be some optional wheels too.

[magicmustang]

Could always use more 4500 Holleys and high rise (Mopar) manifolds. But the Big block Chevy engine with molded in auto trans will be used in other projects. Wish for a Lenco trans?

Edited October 15, 2019 by magicmustang

[Casey]

On 10/15/2019 at 12:42 PM, Mark said:

The remainder of the "new" Vega kits (chassis, interior, basic engine) will be carried over from the old kit.

Is the plan still to release the Bruce Larson U.S.A. 1 '74+ version first, then (my presumption here) a '71/'72 version of the USA-1 or Grumpy Jenkins car? Or a late Grumpy car? Maybe eventually all four?

The newly-tooled hood scoop pieces seem to jibe with the real low snorkel-style parts on Larson's early Vega:

 

I'm guessing this was an earlier style hood scoop?:

 

A new low-profile Grump Lump would be needed for the early Grumpy Jenkins car:

 

 

Well, Round2 will definitely have plenty of options to choose from:

 

On 10/15/2019 at 1:03 PM, alexis said:

Hoping that there might be some optional wheels too.

I hope they eliminate the "stepped" wheel the Twister Vega currently has. While I think they were used on at least one real car, Cragar Super Trick wheel were certainly the go-to wheel of choice by '73 or '74 for Pro Stock cars.

[Mark]

If these sell well, I'd bet on seeing as many versions as Round 2 can think of, and can get licensing for.  Slixx has a few decal sheets already; they've had them for a long time, to go with resin Vega bodies. 

[Casey]

 

[Casey]

Looks like this one is back and headed for production, with the same MPC 828 kit number as earlier.

[Matt T.]

Yes! Looking forward to it. 

[Mark]

On 10/18/2019 at 1:35 PM, Casey said:

 

 

 

I'm guessing this was an earlier style hood scoop?:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The snorkel scoop is the newer design, it worked on both the early and late style Vegas.  The early style only worked on the early body style with the vertical grille.  The slanted front end pushed the air over the top of the early scoop.  I believe it was the Mopar Missile guys who figured out the snorkel style, and then everyone else just copied what they had done.

I remember reading about Jenkins testing the two front ends, he claimed the later style had no advantage over the early one.