What's New? Round 2's MPC Gangbusters 1932 Imperial Eight Convertible with Vintage Motorcycle

[tim boyd]

For the first and only time since the c.1966 initial release of the MPC 1932 Imperial Eight Convertible kit, Round 2 has restored the 1927 Indian Ace to the kit contents. Not only that, they've completely redone the clear parts tree and redesigned the motorcycle wheels spoke pattern to a more accurate rendition of the real thing.

Shown below is the original 1966 kit, along with the brand new August 2020 reissue featuring all new and very detailed box art. In addition to the parts for a very nicely rendered 1932 Imperial Eight convertible, MPC included all the "Gangbusters" parts for a Gangster getaway car and a police car build version.

While you can see a small amount of flash on some of the parts trees, I didn't see any on the critical parts of the kit. The engraving on this kit is really exceptional, as seen in the tiny logos of the wheel hub covers and the super-accurate engraving of the seat surfaces.

The December, 2005 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine has an excellent 13 page full color story on the 1931, 32, and 33 Imperial 8 lineup; well worth searching out if you need subject reference material.

The motorcycle, while fairly simple in its construction, yields a very detailed replica of a 1927 Indian Ace (some experts feel it is the nearly identical Henderson Ace). Don't let the spoked wheel execution scare you; it actually comes off pretty well, as you can see from a slightly modified example I built up a few years ago from an old eBay.com gluebomb kit (this build does not show the new, improved spoked wheel parts).   Not to mention it's a perfect candidate for a scale "Race of Gentlemen" theme entry.

A the link below, I've also included 12 overall and detail shots of a similar 1/1 scale 1930 Indian Ace from the 2018 Concours of the Americas at St. Johns a few years ago.

I wish there was more interest in the modeling community about Classic Era model kits. Whether from MPC, Monogram, Jo-Han, or even the Heller and Italeri kits, they're all exceedingly well detailed and yield very eye catching replicas. They were the "Fujimi Enthusiast Series" kits of their era of 1960's and 1970's model kit tools (Terry Jessee did a very thorough and informative kit history on all these many years ago in the other model magazine, it's an excellent reference). Why not give one a try, especially now that the new Round 2 reissue of the MPC Imperial is available once again?

Click this link for 53 images of the new kit, a built example of the kit's vintage motorcycle, and overall and detail shots of a similar 1.1 scale vintage bike.  

Thanks for looking....TIM

Disclaimer: For this reissue, I helped Round 2 with their research in trying to locate the motorcycle clear shot parts on the original tooling, and also provided reference photography of a real 1/1 motorcycle similar to that in the kit. I purchased the kit with my own money from one of the well-known mail order model kit retailers.  TB

Edited August 29, 2020 by tim boyd

[Jim B]

I have to admit, this kit does intrigue me.

[RichCostello]

Chris(HPI guy) has a new build review of this kit. It looks like a nice kit.

[Luc Janssens]

Saw a build review by Hpiguy a couple days ago, the guys of Round2 did well with this re-releasing this one, it will not be a sales leader like a '60s Muscle car, but man the subject matter and box-art will grab the attention of those who love classic cars, and this design and the box-art is very pleasing to the eye, to say the least
The motorcycle is a very nice bonus, and also could do well included with other kits, like a Van or pickup of a bike restoration shop, though hope that the aftermarket will offer photo-etched rims for it, to really make it shine!
Anyway, this kit is on my shopping list, provided it ends up on our shores.
Luc

Ps:
- I know some mock Chris for his fast builds, but he shows the viewer how the kit goes together and how easy it is to build a model kit.
- his video's lower the threshold for newbies, and most here started like that, no?
- He emphasizes the fun part of building model kits
- The learning curve starts with this and when the seed has been planted the newbie himself will look for ways to improve the quality of his builds.

Edited August 29, 2020 by Luc Janssens

[Tom99]

I will be buying both.

[Classicgas]

Must have. 

[unclescott58]

I got mine from Auto World, a week ago or so now. I'm happy to see this one back. The '32 Chrysler Imperial is a very pretty car. I love the extras that come with this kit. Haven't decided what color I should paint mine? I also have a '32 Imperial convertible sedan waiting in the wings. That one I know I'm going to build with a light blue body. Dark blue fenders, interior, and top. I'm trying to figure what maybe good for comparison/contrast to that for the roadster. 

[espo]

Thank you for the up date on this kit and the source of additional research for a build. I had an original way back when and just didn't have an interest in building it. I don't remember what I did with it. In the years since I now have a much better appreciation for the subject and I'll be getting one and building it this time.  

[Jonathan]

I'm definitely in for this.  

And, I think HPIGuy, and of course Tim Boyd - among others - are great contributors to our hobby.   I look forward to reviews by both of them.   Tim - for his history and beautiful builds; Chris for showing what's in the current release and quickly pointing out things to look for.  

Anywho ... I'm glad to see this classic reissued, especially with Tim's input and the updates. 

[stavanzer]

Great News, Tim! I'm so glad to see this hit the shelves.

I wonder, can the "Ma Barker Getaway Special" 1932 Chrysler Touring/Phaeton kit, a Tie-in from the Movie "Bloody Mama", be far behind? The extras in this kit are not as extensive as the Gangbusters kits, but IIRC, there is a great Battery and Radio in the kit.

A couple Links.

http://www.timepassagesnostalgia.com/&searchkeywords=ma+barker+chrysler&sis=-1&rdir=1

https://www.ebay.com/c/1134506152

[TonyK]

I'm not into the classic car thing that much but I am a sucker for figures and extras. The motorcycle and what I mentioned sold me on the kit and I think I'd like to attempt a "shot up" version of the car. Something different for me.

[GMP440]

 

   Great to see this one come out.  So , this is the 1st time since the 60's that this kit was released?  How much work was needed to be done to the original tooling besides the motorcycle to reissue this kit?

Edited August 30, 2020 by GMP440

[martinfan5]

I like the boxart, kind of cool.

[tim boyd]

3 hours ago, GMP440 said:

 

   Great to see this one come out.  So , this is the 1st time since the 60's that this kit was released?  How much work was needed to be done to the original tooling besides the motorcycle to reissue this kit?

George....the kit has been issued multiple times over the last five decades,  under both MPC and AMT-Ertl branding 

But the only versions with the Indian Ace bicycle are the original 1966 release and the new one pictured above.

Beyond the new clear shot parts tree, I don't believe any other updates were required to the tooling.  The gangster figures and bank vault were missing from some of the earlier reissue, but I believe those parts were reopened on the tooling prior to this latest release.   Best.....TIM we the rthe ope

[GMP440]

7 minutes ago, tim boyd said:

George....the kit has been issued multiple times over the last five decades,  under both MPC and AMT-Ertl branding 

But the only versions with the Indian Ace bicycle are the original 1966 release and the new one pictured above.

Beyond the new clear shot parts tree, I don't believe any other updates were required to the tooling.  The gangster figures and bank vault were missing from some of the earlier reissue, but I believe those parts were reopened on the tooling prior to this latest release.   Best.....TIM we the rthe ope

Thanks for clearing that up.  Good news that Round did this.  Hopefully Round 2 will continue to dig deep into their vaults and find more subjects for us modelers.

 

[Mike999]

11 hours ago, tim boyd said:

The gangster figures and bank vault were missing from some of the earlier reissue, but I believe those parts were reopened on the tooling prior to this latest release.   

They were.  The "gangbuster" parts and  figures were in  the 1986 re-issue of the AMT-ERTL "Connoisseur Classics" series.  But the gangsta parts were not shown on the box, or even mentioned.

The original MPC "Gangbusters" series was 5 kits:  '27 Lincoln roadster, '28 Lincoln touring car, '32 Chrysler convertible coupe, '32 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron touring car, and the '32 Chevy "9-in-1" kit, with parts to build a panel truck or roadster, stock or hot-rodded. 

That 1986 AMT-ERTL "Connoisseur Classics" re-issue only included 3 of the kits:  the '28 Lincoln touring car, the '32 Chrysler convertible coupe and the '32 Chevy roadster.  The Chevy didn't have any Gangbuster parts and only built a stock vehicle.  The '27 Lincoln roadster and '32 Imperial touring car were missing in action. (And still are.)

Just to confuse things further, if you're shopping for sealed kits at a swap meet:  MPC released its own "Connoisseur Classics" series back in the 1970s. That series included all 5 of the original "Gangbusters" kits, in stock-only, non-Gangbuster versions.  The MPC "Connoisseur Classics" DO NOT have any gangster parts. 

As most of us geezers know, the '32 Chevy panel truck body was butchered into the idiotic "Barnabas Vampire Van."  But if you need a stock '32 Chevy chassis with steerable front wheels, it's still there in the Barnabas kit.