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MPC's '75 Vette on the road again!


Faust

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I know that most of us have our comfort zones. We like certain kinds of planes, or cars, or whatever, and we tend to focus on subjects in those categories. For me, when it comes to cars, I’m probably most well-known for, and most comfortable with, loving the losers. Chevettes, Citations, EXPs and Omnis – these are what make my world go around.

 

Still, every now and then a kit comes along that encourages me to branch out. One perfect example of this is the MPC (Round 2) ’75 Vette convertible. I know, I know… you’re thinking “Why would he build a Vette?”. Still, you have to admit that the ’75 convertible is one of the slipperiest automotive shapes to come out of Detroit, pretty much ever. I find it very attractive, and I was very excited to get a hold of one just the other day.

 

So, while it doesn’t have the cachet of loserness that some of the other Round 2 reissues do, I was compelled to buy one. It doesn’t hurt that ‘75s are also pathetically slow, too.

 

Check out this newest offering from MPC, another interesting “back from the dead” offering that proves you can have your Vette and build it too!

 

https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/mpc-125-1975-open-corvette-roadster-oob/ 
 

MPC '75 Vette Convertible (OOB_Small.jpg

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I have several of these in the stash from various issues, I think a couple are in 3-Vette Gift Sets or something.

I prefer the look of the '73--chromeless front end, but still the original flat rear. Best of both worlds, and one year only. Couple years ago I came into possession of a nice AMT '73 Coupe body and interior, but missing the vital front bumper and hood. The parts from the MPC won't fit, not even close. Major job to MAKE them fit. Ended up buying a box-water-damaged AMT '75 roadster cheap on ebay just for the hood and front bumper. I'll use its chassis and engine and so forth, too, and still have less in it than MSRP of most current new kits.

Sorry to ramble off-topic there. I recently bought MPC '79 and '79 Vette promos dirt-cheap, and am getting in the mood to Snake-slap one of those MPC '75 roadsters together just to keep them company on the Shark Shelf. What's a great color for these? (I'm doing the '73 in the metallic orange.)

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So, while it doesn’t have the cachet of loserness that some of the other Round 2 reissues do, I was compelled to buy one. It doesn’t hurt that ‘75s are also pathetically slow, too.

"Pathetically slow," yes. Some rude people called this era of Corvette -  "a two-seat Cadillac Coupe de Ville." 

Thanks for another great, entertaining review!  Not sure I'll grab one of these. I already have several Malaise Era Vettes, including some builders/beaters. 

That miniature box has been standard in many Round 2 kits since they started up, so I'm surprised this is the first one you've seen.  

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Yeah, This is on my Wish list. But I have the MPC 1980 RoadRunner to work on right now, so it will have to wait.

Great Review!

P.S. Checking the entry at the Drastic Plastic website shows that the box art for this kit is a "nearly" word for word duplicate of the original 1975 kit. Enjoy!

Edited by alexis
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The '75 Corvette and the Pinto wagon are the next two on my list of kits to buy. I'm not a big fan of Corvettes after 1973. Like Snake, I didn't mind the rubber bumper up front. But, the round rear end on the '74 - '82 Vettes never sat right with me. I do remember building round rear end Vette kits at the time. And I do like that it is a convertible. The convertible IMO carried that rear end slightly better than the coupe. And the car looks a little bit better since 40 years have now passed by. So for nostalgic reasons I want this kit.

On the subject of these Corvettes being slow. Slow compare to what? Late 60's, early 70's muscle cars? Yes. Other cars on the market in 1975? No. Amongst 1975 cars, the Corvette was still an outstanding performer. This was a very tough time for auto industry in general. I think General Motors/Chevrolet did a good job of keeping Corvette near the top of the heap. It was a very good car for the time. It was still a car I wanted at the time.

P.S. I like the green one on the box art. A good mid 70's color. I may have to paint mine to match that.

 

 

Edited by unclescott58
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I know that most of us have our comfort zones. We like certain kinds of planes, or cars, or whatever, and we tend to focus on subjects in those categories. For me, when it comes to cars, I’m probably most well-known for, and most comfortable with, loving the losers. Chevettes, Citations, EXPs and Omnis – these are what make my world go around.

Still, every now and then a kit comes along that encourages me to branch out. One perfect example of this is the MPC (Round 2) ’75 Vette convertible. I know, I know… you’re thinking “Why would he build a Vette?”. Still, you have to admit that the ’75 convertible is one of the slipperiest automotive shapes to come out of Detroit, pretty much ever. I find it very attractive, and I was very excited to get a hold of one just the other day.

So, while it doesn’t have the cachet of loserness that some of the other Round 2 reissues do, I was compelled to buy one. It doesn’t hurt that ‘75s are also pathetically slow, too.

Check out this newest offering from MPC, another interesting “back from the dead” offering that proves you can have your Vette and build it too!

https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/mpc-125-1975-open-corvette-roadster-oob/ 
MPC '75 Vette Convertible (OOB_Small.jpg

Ah, a subject near and dear to my heart - C3 Corvettes, including the smogger "malaise mobiles".  In some respects, MPC put a little more effort into these 'Vettes than the majority of their other kits.  The chassis is fairly detailed and features posable steering and separate half shafts for the independent rear suspension.  With some detail painting (fiberglass section under the seating area, fuel and brake lines, separate IRS components etc) it can really look good.  

OTOH, despite sharing 99% of its components with the coupe kits, MPC left the master cylinder/brake booster completely off the sprues. IIRC, it's not mentioned in the instructions either. If you're a stickler for detail, the dash is garbage, as MPC neglected to add the vents or speakers to the top surface. (The AMT '75 snapper 'Vette has a far better unit.)  I'd also mock up the inner fenders and hood to see if you need to make any modifications.  If this step is not taken, the hoods often end up tweaked higher at one or both corners at the cowl end.  Lastly, the big block can be a decent engine with proper research and painting, but you'll need to put in some time on the tranny, especially the trans fluid pan, as it doesn't line up well and will need some serious file work. 

 This is an '80 coupe I had for 20 years.  Let's just say that crate motors eliminate malaise.  

SAM_0085.JPG

Edited by Monty
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I think that car still fits into your niche, Adam. While it was a rather attractive LOOKING car, and doesn't seem out of place next to other generations of Corvettes, it has the same 175 hp as my Ford Fusion (which has a 4 banger), and gets about half the gas mileage to boot!

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I can't remember now, but this or the 74 was the FIRST kit I ever built when it was the annual.   These boxes look very familiar to me.  I was a lad of 8 or 9 and had seen my uncle's models.  I also played with my uncle's models, which didn't sit well with him.  I have built other cars for him as an adult to try to repay him.  Hope it worked.  At any rate, the Vette was my first.  No paint and a couple tubes of glue.  Some of the parts never dried.  They were soft from overuse of Testors orange tube glue.   I didn't undertand how this stuff worked back then.  The metal springs were awesome.  Actually, I don't think I really got them right.  But looking back, seems like they would look great under there.   I loved the annuals and 3 in 1's.  Soo many extra parts for the parts box.   Metal axles ruled - build and play.  Then tear it apart and rebuild a different way.  Or combine a bunch of things to make a new model.  If you didn't glue the body and interior to chassis, you could mix & match til you had a new car.  

From there it kept getting better and better.  An d here I am 41 years later, still playing with toy cars.  And loving it.

Randyc

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I can't remember now, but this or the 74 was the FIRST kit I ever built when it was the annual.   These boxes look very familiar to me.  I was a lad of 8 or 9 and had seen my uncle's models.  I also played with my uncle's models, which didn't sit well with him.  I have built other cars for him as an adult to try to repay him.  Hope it worked.  At any rate, the Vette was my first.  No paint and a couple tubes of glue.  Some of the parts never dried.  They were soft from overuse of Testors orange tube glue.   I didn't undertand how this stuff worked back then.  The metal springs were awesome.  Actually, I don't think I really got them right.  But looking back, seems like they would look great under there.   I loved the annuals and 3 in 1's.  Soo many extra parts for the parts box.   Metal axles ruled - build and play.  Then tear it apart and rebuild a different way.  Or combine a bunch of things to make a new model.  If you didn't glue the body and interior to chassis, you could mix & match til you had a new car.  

From there it kept getting better and better.  An d here I am 41 years later, still playing with toy cars.  And loving it.

Randyc

A-Freaking-Men!

That is an awesome story! I love it! 

My uncle also built car kits, and he used them to teach me all the parts of a car and engine. Thus, when I was 3, I could pop into our neighbour's garage when he was working on his Vega hotrod, and name a bunch of parts. It was pretty cool. He doesn't model any more, but I still strive to be as good at it as he was. I think I might be better now, but the thought keeps me motivated.

I love that kids got to have fun with kits. They weren't the gold-plated, fidgety detail-overkill monsters we all pay too much for today. They were simpler and more fun. No wonder a lot of us still do it! I just turned 40, and I've been modelling since I was 12. One of my first cars was the HOT ROD edition of Orange Crate - that was a disaster, but it got torn down and repainted like 4 times in its life! I hear you!

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.........I'm not particularly fond of this era of Vette, but to brand them as losers I'm sure may be offensive to those who own, or have owned such cars and enjoy them very much. I bought the kit back a couple of months ago when first released, and can say its a nice piece. the metal injectors and decals are killer, not to mention that this car will build a very nice showroom car, or with some effort and planning a great street beast.....innocent smog motor Vette  sporting a built to the nuts rat under the hood.....lots of potential there. I wouldn't call that loser stuff at all.......the Ace.......^_^

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A-Freaking-Mememoriesfor me

My uncle also built car kits, and he used them to teach me all the parts of a car and engine. Thus, when I was 3, I could pop into our neighbour's garage when he was working on his Vega hotrod, and name a bunch of parts. It was pretty cool. He doesn't model any more, but I still strive to be as good at it as he was. I think I might be better now, but the thought keeps me motivated.

I love that kids got to have fun with kits. They weren't the gold-plated, fidgety detail-overkill monsters we all pay too much for today. They were simpler and more fun. No wonder a lot of us still do it! I just turned 40, and I've been modelling since I was 12. One of my first cars was the HOT ROD edition of Orange Crate - that was a disaster, but it got torn down and repainted like 4 times in its life! I hear you!

Brings back memories for me.I started building models at the young age of 4 years old.I can't remember the car,but it was a AMT.my friend named David and I started on my bed,asked my mother for glue,she said no and gave us scotch tape...we built the most we could with tape..I was in love with building.my first kit was I got on my own was Barnabus Collin's show car.my uncles helped me with parts of the car.knowing engine parts.trying to build as good as they did.it was so fun back then.less about if the plug wires where wired in the right timing order..sure miss those days...I do feel and hear ya.it was so fun......Chris

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.........I'm not particularly fond of this era of Vette, but to brand them as losers I'm sure may be offensive to those who own, or have owned such cars and enjoy them very much. I bought the kit back a couple of months ago when first released, and can say its a nice piece. the metal injectors and decals are killer, not to mention that this car will build a very nice showroom car, or with some effort and planning a great street beast.....innocent smog motor Vette  sporting a built to the nuts rat under the hood.....lots of potential there. I wouldn't call that loser stuff at all.......the Ace.......^_^

I didn't mean to offend anyone. Heck, just because a car can be labelled a loser doesn't mean they aren't cool to look at or own. My brother has a '77 Cougar with a 302; not a rocket nor most people's dream car, but he absolutely loves it! Most sports car and muscle car people wrinkle their nose to my face when I tell them that I still have the 301T in my '80 T/A, too. That engine was largely regarded as a loser, but I love it too. There's nothing wrong with supporting the underdog.

That's part of the reason I love building "loser" cars. It wasn't the car's fault it got stuck between immature technology and over-zealous government regulations. It's the victim!

I do see a tonne of potential in the vette convertible, though. Heck, get 2 and make an earlier version of the Corvette America! (PS - I need to find the Monogram Corvette America some day!  Maybe a reissue, Revel?)

Chris: That's awesome about the tape! Great way of doing it. You're right; it was a lot more fun when you didn't worry about every tiny detail. That's why I kind of tread the middle line: Good work on the finish and interior, but no super detailing, just working with what's there!

The simpler times were more fun for a lot of reasons, and if we're going to get people to get into this hobby, we really need to bring them back!

 

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Saw this at HL this morning, but decided to use my coupon on the '57 Ford Gasser. Maybe next week.

Did some googling on mid-'70s Vettes last night. Looks like with no more than minor alterations, this kit could be built as a '74 or '76 too, am I right?

Also, gonna look at the possibility of grafting on a flat back end from a Revell '68 (have one I'm breaking up for parts) to make a '73 roadster, or something that looks very, very much like one. That would be something you don't see every day!

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Well, I DO remember this car when it was new as 1975 were high school days for me. I wasn't into models yet however------that wouldn't come about till three years later when my the first model I ever built interestingly enough, was a '57 Corvette.

I have this kit unbuilt somewhere in my stash, but I can remember building this before sometime back in the mid '80's. Not a difficult kit at all, and that was for someone that was still a relative novice at that point. As Snake said though----I'd LOVE to see the '73 somehow come back as I like that one too with the "old style" rear end, but the newer Endura nose.

Fat chance of that happening unfortunately as MPC I believe updated the annual's tooling yearly, and the '75 may have been the last of those updates till the bubbleback '78's came out. 

Did some googling on mid-'70s Vettes last night. Looks like with no more than minor alterations, this kit could be built as a '74 or '76 too, am I right?

Also, gonna look at the possibility of grafting on a flat back end from a Revell '68 (have one I'm breaking up for parts) to make a '73 roadster, or something that looks very, very much like one. That would be something you don't see every day!

Snake the only differences I can remember between the '74-'76 'Vettes on the exterior were these.........

'74 had the vertical "split" in the rear bumper cap
'75 had the full rear cap with the '74 "Corvette" logo lettering (I believe bumper guards too although that may have been for '76)
'76 had the Corvette name in a "tighter" logo than the '75 on the rear cap

There were probably some minor interior seat/door pattern changes.........those wouldn't be too hard.

Edited by MrObsessive
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Okay, been doing some googling.

A '76 conversion would be out, unless one wanted to call it a phantom. No roadsters in '76.

The split in the rear end cap for '74 is right. That's a 5- minute scribing job.

Not sure the '75 front bumper is right for '74--will have to do more research on that. Might have to do a little surgery there on the bumper guards.

I also noticed that the AMT '75 front bumper I'll be using on my AMT '73 body will definitely need that surgery, but should be do-able.

As far as grafting the Revell '68 back end onto the MPC '75 roadster body to make a '73, it won't be a bolt-on deal. The Revell body is wider by a noticeable amount, and there's no good way to narrow the back end without losing detail. Best way to do this would be to chop both bodies shortly behind the rear wheel openings (need to save the MPC '75 flares), cut the MPC body lengthwise through the "trunk" (two cuts might be better than one, dunno), glue the rear end on at the sides, and then fill the gap at the "trunk." The big question is can this be done without making the body too wide for the interior (or for the hard top to fit, which I'd want to use). Lotta trouble, but '73 had some cool colors. Already planning to do the AMT coupe in the metallic orange, but there was a cool "metallic yellow" too that I think Model Master Turn Signal Amber might work well for. There was also a great "blue-green" that Testor Teal could represent. Hmmmmmm......

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Okay, been doing some googling.

A '76 conversion would be out, unless one wanted to call it a phantom. No roadsters in '76.

The split in the rear end cap for '74 is right. That's a 5- minute scribing job.

Not sure the '75 front bumper is right for '74--will have to do more research on that. Might have to do a little surgery there on the bumper guards.

I also noticed that the AMT '75 front bumper I'll be using on my AMT '73 body will definitely need that surgery, but should be do-able.

As far as grafting the Revell '68 back end onto the MPC '75 roadster body to make a '73, it won't be a bolt-on deal. The Revell body is wider by a noticeable amount, and there's no good way to narrow the back end without losing detail. Best way to do this would be to chop both bodies shortly behind the rear wheel openings (need to save the MPC '75 flares), cut the MPC body lengthwise through the "trunk" (two cuts might be better than one, dunno), glue the rear end on at the sides, and then fill the gap at the "trunk." The big question is can this be done without making the body too wide for the interior (or for the hard top to fit, which I'd want to use). Lotta trouble, but '73 had some cool colors. Already planning to do the AMT coupe in the metallic orange, but there was a cool "metallic yellow" too that I think Model Master Turn Signal Amber might work well for. There was also a great "blue-green" that Testor Teal could represent. Hmmmmmm......

hey Richard, while your at it checking EVERY possible detail and pitfall of these Vettes on Google,,,, remember you have to measure the steering wheel - to dash- to - crotch distance as you usually do....lol..:lol:...:P......the Ace....:lol:

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hey Richard, while your at it checking EVERY possible detail and pitfall of these Vettes on Google,,,, remember you have to measure the steering wheel - to dash- to - crotch distance as you usually do....lol..:lol:...:P......the Ace....:lol:

Hey, if it looks like a human of any size could get in and operate the thing, I'm good. Looking over some of my older models, I'm amazed at the rather "casual" relationship between steering wheels, seats, and so forth. Apparently very few were paying attention to such things back in the day, from kit engineers to builders...but tell me, if the steering wheel is actually touching the seat, how are you gonna get IN the thing? :lol:

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Hey, if it looks like a human of any size could get in and operate the thing, I'm good. Looking over some of my older models, I'm amazed at the rather "casual" relationship between steering wheels, seats, and so forth. Apparently very few were paying attention to such things back in the day, from kit engineers to builders...but tell me, if the steering wheel is actually touching the seat, how are you gonna get IN the thing? :lol:

well, now that you ask, the job is all yours to research, repair, and figure out each and every one of them, then share and post all for the rest of us to read, be impressed, study your pictures,,,,,then toss our said kit back in said pile for yet another day...lol....:lol:....the Ace....oh, on another note, that new issue 75 Vette is a pretty nice piece overall, and worth getting if one has no example of it at all in their pile......

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I didn't realize there might be a difference in the nose cap between '74 and '75. 

What IS the difference? Is it just the bumperguards? 

Given that this thing has such a sad engine compartment, I'm thinking I'll just make it a curbsider; close the hood down and glue it shut, make up the vague-looking engine so there's something to see, and take it from there. 

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