THarrison351 Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 My son and his wife gifted this model to me a couple of years ago. I decided this year I would work on models they gave me over the years and models I had started. I decided to build this one as the Fuzz Buster street machine. I don't usually build optioned models, just build them stock. I saw a couple finished online and the blue in the graphics was lost on a black finish. What to do, what to do? Thinking about colors that would work, I decided a metallic grey or silver should be OK. I used Tamiya Silver Leaf with pretty good results. The model was built mainly box stock with a few substitutions. Wheels came from the parts box. AMT 1969 Dodge Charger 500 optional wheels. Headers came from a AMT 1966 Chevy II Nova and were modified to fit. A prewired distributor from eBay I purchased years ago and recently found. I also used supplemental decals from Rays Kits. That's what took the longest. Took two months after I ordered. One day after deadline for that months print, argh! Then another five weeks due to a mistake in shipping. The model is fairly easy to build. Typical 1970s-80s MPC promo to kit model simplicity and incorrectness. The body is fairly OEM for a 1980 Volare. Would have been nice if the removable molded in T-tops had replacement clear glass that could've been tinted instead of plastic. The interior is correct for 1976 (never updated). The rear window louvers are also correct for 1976-78, but became horizontal in 1979. Under the hood typical MPC. It does have an overflow bottle for the radiator (incorrect), washer bottle, wiper motor, battery (won't fit properly without modification), master cylinder (incorrect too). The engine is OK for an LA small block. The box art incorrectly identifies it as a V-6. I guess the art department never heard of Siamese exhaust. The chassis shows it's promo heritage too. Single exhaust attached to rear axle and springs. Driveshaft is molded in (heavy sigh). The front suspension is almost nonexistent. You can see hints of the transverse torsion bars. There was no really heavy flash or bad parting lines. Only four places with severe sink holes. Unfortunately, two were the chrome mirrors. The others were on the steering wheel which was a warped mess. Hot water and patience fixed it fairly well. Overall, I'm happy with it. Looks good on the shelf. Never contest worthy. I could have used taller rear tires, but alas none in the spares or unbuilts that I liked. I do like Tamiya paint Decals from Rays Kits. Nice if you're building stock. Mine were initially missing the silver decals. See next photo 1975 Dodge Dart Lite How about those flares! I didn't have large replacement square headlight lens. I tried something different. I mixed clear and a touch of white and I put it on the parking lights too. Meh These taillight decals from Rays aren't perfect, but they are so much better than the stock lenses. Oh, those tread patterns. Old NASCAR and dirt track Next, a model I started over thirty years ago. Johan 1973-74 AMC Javelin AMX. It came in the box with the yellow 1972 AMX on the box. I have the Modelhaus correct rear taillights and missing spoiler. Those were mail ordered. Pre-internet! I've recently discovered the resin rally wheels are the earlier versions. I'm going to rob my Gremlin kit for it's wheels and maybe the steering wheel. Thanks for looking! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMT68 Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 That is a really sharp looking build and great photography. I like what you did with the headlights and will have to experiment with mixing white paint and clear. I've been trying to develop a way of creating a translucent white for headlights/side markers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcarfan27 Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Very nice! We don't see too many of these built up on this forum, which is a shame as I think it's a pretty fun little kit. I do think it looks much better with the silver paint. What do you plan to do with the rest of the stock Roadrunner decals? It'd be a shame not to use them on a stock build. They look really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Nicely done!👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazlow Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 That's neat. very 70's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Looks good box stock. I built mine as a regular car but kind of wish I did it this way now! Very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Beautiful looking finishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toys4Don2 Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 I turned mine into a Volare stock car. Always wondered how the box art version would look. You nailed it. The silver looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonhawk1066 Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Looks very good in Silver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THarrison351 Posted April 18, 2022 Author Share Posted April 18, 2022 22 hours ago, AMT68 said: That is a really sharp looking build and great photography. I like what you did with the headlights and will have to experiment with mixing white paint and clear. I've been trying to develop a way of creating a translucent white for headlights/side markers. Thanks! I saw something similar on this forum or Reddit with chrome headlights, but they didn't hint what was done. 18 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said: Very nice! We don't see too many of these built up on this forum, which is a shame as I think it's a pretty fun little kit. I do think it looks much better with the silver paint. What do you plan to do with the rest of the stock Roadrunner decals? It'd be a shame not to use them on a stock build. They look really good. Thankyou! I like the old AMT/MPC annuals too. I've built so many since I started in the seventies. Their vagueness and ill fitting temperamentality is never a huge problem. I'm happy Round 2 is releasing these old molds mostly as is with what I see is good updates. The people who've limited themselves to the ultra precise Japanese and Euro model kits and complain that these cars are impossible to build need to work on their skill set. At this time I will keep the leftover decals $$$$. I'm hoping R2 will release it again. I'll do a stock version. It would be awesome to be backdated to the 1976 release. It's only the body and associated chrome that is incorrect. 13 hours ago, PappyD340 said: Very nice! Thanks! 12 hours ago, NOBLNG said: Nicely done!👍 Thank you! 11 hours ago, lazlow said: That's neat. very 70's. Street is Neat! 10 hours ago, doorsovdoon said: Looks good box stock. I built mine as a regular car but kind of wish I did it this way now! Very nice. Thanks! If R2 releases it again, I will use the leftover decals to build a stock version. I built it this way because of my son and daughter-in-law. They liked the box art, so that's the reason. Today they were over for dinner and I was able to show them the results. They really liked it. A little while later, they told my wife and me they were going to have a baby! I'm going to be a Granddaddy! What a weekend! 7 hours ago, espo said: Beautiful looking finishes. Can't beat Tamiya! Thanks! 1 hour ago, Toys4Don2 said: I turned mine into a Volare stock car. Always wondered how the box art version would look. You nailed it. The silver looks great. That sounds cool. I think the silver turned out better than I expected! Thanks! 1 hour ago, Dragonhawk1066 said: Looks very good in Silver! My thoughts too! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can-Con Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 Pretty neat Tim. you don't often see these wild optional parts used on these kits, let alone one built at all. I have one in my stash but I haven't touched it yet. [although my last Volare Road Runner turned out pretty good 😉] One thing though, you say the interior wasn't updated since the kit was first issued in '76. Not quite correct. The seats were updated and are more or less correct for a '78 or '79, but not an '80. I think you can see what the original '76/77 interior looked like on this pic of mine. Hi back seats with verticle pleats. ,,But, again, wonderful build of something you don't see very often. Kudos. 👍👍👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 15 hours ago, THarrison351 said: 15 hours ago, THarrison351 said: Thanks! If R2 releases it again, I will use the leftover decals to build a stock version. I built it this way because of my son and daughter-in-law. They liked the box art, so that's the reason. Today they were over for dinner and I was able to show them the results. They really liked it. A little while later, they told my wife and me they were going to have a baby! I'm going to be a Granddaddy! What a weekend! That's awesome news, Congratulations 🎉 I bet you're already picturing teaching him/her how to build a model! haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drodg Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 Fun. Great job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THarrison351 Posted April 19, 2022 Author Share Posted April 19, 2022 7 hours ago, doorsovdoon said: That's awesome news, Congratulations 🎉 I bet you're already picturing teaching him/her how to build a model! haha. Oh yeah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewetwo Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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