doorsovdoon Posted March 1, 2022 Author Share Posted March 1, 2022 Continuing with the mods. I carved some recesses in the interior tub parcel shelf and under the windscreen pillar for the trunk hinges to sit in, the interior tub will hold it all together. Hinges are from a Mustang hood in my spares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 1, 2022 Author Share Posted March 1, 2022 Did a bit more work on the rear wheel tubs. I filled them out a little to fit snug to the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 2, 2022 Author Share Posted March 2, 2022 Dashboard painted up and detailed. The hole for the steering column is too far off to the right and doesn't line up to the seat. I drilled a hole closer to the drivers doors and covered the old hole with a tachometer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Man that’s a nice dash! What size sheet stock did you use on adding to the wheel tubs?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 8 hours ago, slusher said: Man that’s a nice dash! What size sheet stock did you use on adding to the wheel tubs?? Thanks mate. I used Evergreen 0.75 sheet. It's very thin but easy to work with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 Might as well keep going with the mods on this. I made some shock tower mounts for the inner fenders. I know my mods are not realistic, more a close representation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 (edited) Surprisingly, the engine in this kit looks pretty darn good, I just tossed the headers for something a little better from my spares and replaced the pulley set up with one that doesn't look like pieces of sprue flash! I drilled holes in the head covers and hollowed out the distributor cap for wiring. Edited March 3, 2022 by doorsovdoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 A better pic of the dashboard, with steering wheel this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 This old MPC tooling really has been through the mill. Gutter trims and front wheel arch mouldings are long gone, so I tried my hand at cutting some incredibly thin strips of styrene and re-making them. Some careful sanding later and they turned out great, I'm well happy with it! ..and I made a little opening quarterlight window too from the left over strips of styrene, Lol. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Opening vent windows look great and I like how you hung the trunk lid (boot). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 15 hours ago, espo said: Opening vent windows look great and I like how you hung the trunk lid (boot). Thanks Dave. It's a lot of fun doing these little add-on's:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 Made a better radiator support. I kept the radiator but I had to build up some material on the bottom as it was too short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 (edited) Excellent work on these modifications! I actually love this old kit no matter how bad it is. lol Out of box the details aren't too good and the chassis is crude but I feel it has a more accurate shape to a Charger than the Revell kit. The front end and grill of the Revell '69 Charger is too bulky. This MPC kit got that area right. I built one of these a few years ago(actually the General Lee kit) as a GL and did a lot of these modifications using parts from a Revell Charger. I have a couple Revell '69 Charger kits that I've still never built. Your build is bringing back memories for me. Keep the pictures coming. Edited March 4, 2022 by crowe-t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rightrudder Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Yes, love all your fabrication stuff. My skills here are limited but I learn a lot by watching these builds. 👍😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 6 hours ago, crowe-t said: Excellent work on these modifications! I actually love this old kit no matter how bad it is. lol Out of box the details aren't too good and the chassis is crude but I feel it has a more accurate shape to a Charger than the Revell kit. The front end and grill of the Revell '69 Charger is too bulky. This MPC kit got that area right. I built one of these a few years ago(actually the General Lee kit) as a GL and did a lot of these modifications using parts from a Revell Charger. I have a couple Revell '69 Charger kits that I've still never built. Your build is bring back memories for me. Keep the pictures coming. Thanks, Michael. Yeah, the MPC Charger is oddly one of my favourites too. I'd love for Round2 to do some repairs to this kit, though I think the snap version of this is the "repaired" offering. I haven't done the snap version yet but it's in the queue:) 27 minutes ago, rightrudder said: Yes, love all your fabrication stuff. My skills here are limited but I learn a lot by watching these builds. 👍😀 Thanks, Douglas. Me too mate. I've learned so much from this forum, and am always inspired by seeing what other builders can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 Engine wired up. I should have painted the wires something other than black, I can hardly see them! The ignition leads are made from solder wire. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 (edited) 13 minutes ago, doorsovdoon said: Thanks, Michael. Yeah, the MPC Charger is oddly one of my favourites too. I'd love for Round2 to do some repairs to this kit, though I think the snap version of this is the "repaired" offering. I haven't done the snap version yet but it's in the queue:) I always thought Round 2 should have gotten a 1969 annual Charger and scanned the body to re-make the annual kit. The original body was perfect. I built the snap version and it's an improvement over the old glue kit. Here's my thread for the snap kit I built. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/128723-another-orange-clunker-car-mpc-snap-kit-general-lee/ Here's my thread for the MPC kit I built. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/121100-orange-clunker-car-mpc-general-lee/?tab=comments#comment-1760087 Edited March 4, 2022 by crowe-t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 18 minutes ago, crowe-t said: I always thought Round 2 should have gotten a 1969 annual Charger and scanned the body to re-make the annual kit. The original body was perfect. I built the snap version and it's an improvement over the old glue kit. We can only hope, haha. I too prefer the MPC body over the Revell, I've built both a couple times. Looking at them side by side, the subtle differences give the MPC body a much nicer flow to the lines. Thanks for the link. I had a good look through the pics, some amazing scratch work there. I am contemplating fixing the rear window but I'm worried I'll mess it up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 (edited) Added some shocks to the rear springs, and a steering box above the lower control arm. The steering box actually comes with the kit but isn't anywhere to be seen on the instruction sheet, not sure if it's even steering box but looks good enough to be one for my standards, Lol. Edited March 4, 2022 by doorsovdoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 17 hours ago, doorsovdoon said: We can only hope, haha. I too prefer the MPC body over the Revell, I've built both a couple times. Looking at them side by side, the subtle differences give the MPC body a much nicer flow to the lines. Thanks for the link. I had a good look through the pics, some amazing scratch work there. I am contemplating fixing the rear window but I'm worried I'll mess it up. Hey thanks! I had a good time building this kit and making the changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Gareth, first thing I noticed was the steering gear box before I read your caption. I sure enjoy seeing what you have added each time I visit… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 5, 2022 Author Share Posted March 5, 2022 11 minutes ago, slusher said: Gareth, first thing I noticed was the steering gear box before I read your caption. I sure enjoy seeing what you have added each time I visit… It's odd that it's not on the instruction sheet. I don't know if it is a steering box to be honest. Could be a left over part from another variation of the kit from long ago, a radio from the Dukes model maybe? Being such a basic kit it would be strange seeing a steering box included, but, that's what I used it as, lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 6, 2022 Author Share Posted March 6, 2022 Made some arm rests for the doors. That's about it for the mods. I think I'll move on to paint next. The mods are getting to feel a bit tedious now and I don't want to put this back in the box to be finished twenty years from now! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 On 2/21/2022 at 10:49 AM, doorsovdoon said: Why do I keep buying this kit? It's awful, fit issues are on another level, Lol! ..but, I really enjoy this type of model building. I like fixing the problem areas and doing a bit of kit bashing using more detailed parts from other kits. After I sorted all the fit issues I decided to open the trunk lid. The panel gap had widened after sanding, so I just added some styrene to the trunk to close up the gaps. I think I know where you're coming from in those first few sentences and I definitely agree with you on the "challenge" aspect. I've built kits that 75% of folks out there wouldn't even touch because of the "terrible kit" factor and while it is a lot of work to bring kits like this one up near to the same level as some of the kits released these days, it is just that that puts that personal touch in a model and yields a greater outcome. Will be watching this..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 8 hours ago, mustang1989 said: I think I know where you're coming from in those first few sentences and I definitely agree with you on the "challenge" aspect. I've built kits that 75% of folks out there wouldn't even touch because of the "terrible kit" factor and while it is a lot of work to bring kits like this one up near to the same level as some of the kits released these days, it is just that that puts that personal touch in a model and yields a greater outcome. Will be watching this..... Yeah, I love this stuff. The way I see it is, there's a kit for every type of model builder and what type of mood we're in. I like to build a well detailed Revell too, where I can just "glue and go" and then sometimes I fancy a project like the MPC Charger where I can add my own details. Fit issues can be a pain, but if you approach them as a project rather than a build it's not so bad. I'd get board pretty quickly if all model kits were so highly detailed that all I had to do is just glue them together. It's nice to take on an older kit sometimes and do something with them, it's a different type of building. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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