RESTORED Monkeemobile

[1972coronet]

I just saw this on the Round2 site. I know that its announcement isn't unexpected; however, the mention of the pad printed tyres with the blue pinstripe (Blue Streak) with the accompanying Good Year white letters is awesome in its own right! 

Begs the question: were the Dean Jeffries emblems restored as well? They were present only on the c.1967 original, then removed from subsequent reissues (I have a feeling that Mr. Bondo had something to do with that rubbish).

MPC MONKEEMOBILE TV CAR 1:25 SCALE MODEL KIT | Round2 (round2corp.com)

[64Comet404]

The Jefferies logos were also on the Fonzie Dream Rod issue, but you had to find a full length top and the Monkee licence plate.

[250 Testa Rossa]

I have an original with the correct interior pan, and it does have the Jeffries badge on it. 

[Mike 1017]

I think that someone here grafted the front end onto a 67 GTO body. It was a well-done build. It was this one?

Mike

 

[Oldcarfan27]

I don't see anything on the link that states anything was restored. I presume it's the same as it was in the last reissues. 

Tires notwithstanding. 

[1972coronet]

2 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

I don't see anything on the link that states anything was restored. I presume it's the same as it was in the last reissues. 

Tires notwithstanding. 

I built the c.1989 Blueprinter version earlier this year. The only difficult part of the build which drove me insane was the individual exhaust trumpets! Arthritis and fiddly parts = frustration. 
Otherwise, the thing practically built itself.

As silly as it seems, I would like to see the Dean Jeffries crest restored to its righteous place on the front fenders. The "King of Bondo" doesn't deserve to have any credit to/ association with the Monkeemobile.

[1972coronet]

I've seen about five of these Japanese "knockoff" Monkeemobile kits for sale on eBay : PONTIAC GTO 1/24 VINTAGE MODEL KIT IMAI | eBay 

This is the first time I can recall seeing one of these kits! Does anyone have any information about them (year-of-release, etc.) ?

I recognise the Dean Jeffries crest is present on the front fenders; I also note a few differences between this Japanese "knockoff" and the original MPC kit:
1.) Interior tub has "bumps" where the rear bucket seats mount
2.) Typical-for-Japanses-kits-of-the-era motorised chassis/engine plate
3.) Ostensibly better tyres 
4.) Clear tail lamp lenses 
5.) Revised chrome tree layout
6.) Posable front wheels 

I watched @hpiguy's review/build last night. Compared to the Blueprinter version [1989] I built, it appears that Round2 cleaned up the tooling (chiefly, the 'roof' isn't warped like the version I'd built). Heck, the tyres alone are awesome! Kudos to Round2 for those treads! No comment about the still-absent Jeffries crest...

 

[peteski]

I have one of those as you call "knockoff" Japanese kits of the Pontiac GTO (Monkeemobille).  It is also IMAI kit, but with different boxart than the one on eBay, and has the same "screaming chicken" decals.  It has a copyright 1995. Scale 1:24. But I wouldn't call this kit a knockoff of the MPC kit. It is not an exact clone.

[1972coronet]

16 minutes ago, peteski said:

I have one of those as you call "knockoff" Japanese kits of the Pontiac GTO (Monkeemobille).  It is also IMAI kit, but with different boxart than the one on eBay, and has the same "screaming chicken" decals.  It has a copyright 1995. Scale 1:24. But I wouldn't call this kit a knockoff of the MPC kit. It is not an exact clone.

That's why I put quotation marques on knockoff. I'm not stating it's a direct copy of the MPC kit, but its part count, layout, and construction are -almost- dead nvts to the MPC original.

I'm definitely not stating that it's a bad kit; I can only compare photos to the c.1989 Blueprinter version that I'd built last year. IF it wasn't an expensive-to-import version, I'd not hesitate to buy one for the novelty (and to build).

[peteski]

I just checked, and the wheels and tires of the IMAI kit aren't too good.  While the tires are rubber (like other typical Japanese kits), their cross-section seems a bit square, and the wheels aren't see-through. They are solid discs.

[1972coronet]

2 hours ago, peteski said:

I just checked, and the wheels and tires of the IMAI kit aren't too good.  While the tires are rubber (like other typical Japanese kits), their cross-section seems a bit square, and the wheels aren't see-through. They are solid discs.

Their representation of the Cragar S/S certainly isn't the best -- and as you've noted, they're solid. If they were otherwise decent, they could be trimmed, but... not worth the effort. 

Too bad about the tyres, as they are at least different widths (vs. the tyres in the until-recently-reissued version that was released late last year, which are AWESOME replicas of the blue streak/ white letter of yore).

I don't recall ever having seen the Japanese version here, at least in the hobby shops in the Los Angeles area. I wonder if it was imported to other locales?

[peteski]

1 hour ago, 1972coronet said:

I don't recall ever having seen the Japanese version here, at least in the hobby shops in the Los Angeles area. I wonder if it was imported to other locales?

I have no idea if it was distributed in the U.S. I got my IMAI kit on eBay back in 2007, as a partially built kit.  The body was assembled and painted.  I just took a closer look at the wheels and tires. In my kit all the tires are the same size.   The sidewall marking is 920/10.00-15 which makes no sense (except the 15 part). The tread is poorly done (just simple grooves around the perimeter).  Back in 2007 I was looking for an alternate Monkeymobille (better than MPC kit), so I picked the IMAI kit.  I currently don't have the MPC kit handy, but the IMAI body proportions look a bit off, and the windshield frame seems  really wrong. The kit looks like a typical Japanese toy (not a decent scale model).  That is why it is still sitting in its box untouched.   I would not recommend it (especially since we now have much better MPC kit re-released.

[1972coronet]

2 hours ago, peteski said:

IMAI body proportions look a bit off, and the windshield frame seems  really wrong. The kit looks like a typical Japanese toy (not a decent scale model).  That is why it is still sitting in its box untouched.   I would not recommend it (especially since we now have much better MPC kit re-released.

I know what you mean regarding the windscreen frame -- too thick and not at all representative of the 1:1. 

I'm planning on getting the recently-reissued version (the one I'd built is going to be a gift to a friend and fellow Monkees fan).
The kit builds up so nicely and virtually effortlessly. The only item(s) which drove my arthritis crazy was the individual exhaust trumpets. But, now I've got some good quality tweezers to grasp those slippery rascals so that I can press-fit 'em and glue 'em --maybe Mod Podge or Pledge-- from the backside. 

[peteski]

Well, after reading about the recent MPC reissue, I bought one of those kits.  The decal is nice, and it has those beautiful blue-line Goodyear tires. But . . .all 4 tires are the same size!  The real car has larger and wider tires in the rear!  Oh well . . .

[Kims Kustom Garage]

Well, I made mine into a coupe, grafting the `67 GTO roof and most of the rear deck, unto a Monkees mobile body 🙂 

[stavanzer]

That looks Great, Kim!

[ChrisR]

Very nice!

I also build one years ago but without the Monkeymobile rear end.

 

[blizzy63]

14 hours ago, peteski said:

Well, after reading about the recent MPC reissue, I bought one of those kits.  The decal is nice, and it has those beautiful blue-line Goodyear tires. But . . .all 4 tires are the same size!  The real car has larger and wider tires in the rear!  Oh well . . .

I, too, purchased the new MPC-996 Monkeemobile kit...particularly for the new tires. Upon examination, mine are definately big and littles. Wondering if your same-size set are an error?

The model in the background is the Ertl Blueprinter issue of 1989 that I built in 1990. Note the original-style MPC Goodyear (Sports Car Special) tire, which came in big and little sizes.

It's too bad those old MPC Goodyears couldn't be dressed up with the current tampo printing.

Edited January 25, 2023 by blizzy63

[stavanzer]

I'd contact Round2 about your tires, Peteski. Sounds like you got a bad bag.

My Supernatural Impala had the wrong tires. Round2 sent me another set quickly. Worth a try.

[blizzy63]

6 hours ago, Kims Kustom Garage said:

Well, I made mine into a coupe, grafting the `67 GTO roof and most of the rear deck, unto a Monkees mobile body 🙂 

I've loved this concept since I first saw Daniel Johnson's build on Dave's Show Rod Rally years ago:  http://www.showrods.com/gallery_pages/monkeemobile2.html

It's still filed in my mind for a future attempt...

[peteski]

13 minutes ago, blizzy63 said:

I, too, purchased the new MPC-996 Monkeemobile kit...particularly for the new tires. Upon examination, mine are definately big and littles. Wondering if your same-size set are an error?

The model in the background is the Ertl Blueprinter issue of 1989 that I built in 1990. Note the original-style MPC Goodyear (Sports Car Special) tire, which came in big and little sizes.

It's too bad those old MPC Goodyears couldn't be dressed up with the current tampo printing.

Thanks Robert.  I was wrong (but in this case it is a good thing).  I think I figured out why I thought they were all the same:  The instructions do not indicate that there are 2 different sizes,  They just give part number "2" for all the tires.  I then looked at the tires, still in the bag, and while I noticed the nice printed sidewall details to me they looked like they were all the same size (I guess the instruction sheet made me think they were all the same).  But I'm glad they are different sizes.  Now if they also made the rear rims deeper, that would have been really nice, but that would have meant modifying the entire chrome tree mold, so I guess I can't blame them for not doing that.
I'm happy, especially since the decal sheet is really nice. 2 different door artworks, 2 different GTO emblems, and few extras. And they used nice metallic gold ink. Only missing thing is Jeffries' crest, but that is probably due to licensing issues due to the cars changing hands multiple times.

 

According to this strange blog https://themonkeesandmonkeemobile.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-true-facts-about-all-five-monkee.html  over time there were like 9 different monkemobiles.  Be careful visiting that website in case there is some malware there.

[blizzy63]

18 minutes ago, peteski said:

Thanks Robert.  I was wrong (but in this case it is a good thing).  I think I figured out why I thought they were all the same:  The instructions do not indicate that there are 2 different sizes,  They just give part number "2" for all the tires.  I then looked at the tires, still in the bag, and while I noticed the nice printed sidewall details to me they looked like they were all the same size (I guess the instruction sheet made me think they were all the same).  But I'm glad they are different sizes.  Now if they also made the rear rims deeper, that would have been really nice, but that would have meant modifying the entire chrome tree mold, so I guess I can't blame them for not doing that.
I'm happy, especially since the decal sheet is really nice. 2 different door artworks, 2 different GTO emblems, and few extras. And they used nice metallic gold ink. Only missing thing is Jeffries' crest, but that is probably due to licensing issues due to the cars changing hands multiple times.

 

According to this strange blog https://themonkeesandmonkeemobile.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-true-facts-about-all-five-monkee.html  over time there were like 9 different monkemobiles.  Be careful visiting that website in case there is some malware there.

Thanks for the blog article, Peter.

Speaking of door artworks, I wonder if we'll ever again see the impressive Monkeemobile door decal from Speedway Decals...?

[Mr. Metallic]

1 hour ago, blizzy63 said:

I, too, purchased the new MPC-996 Monkeemobile kit...particularly for the new tires. Upon examination, mine are definately big and littles. Wondering if your same-size set are an error?

 

Man those blue lines are nice. I may have missed it, but can you purchase those blue line fronts in a parts pack or were they in any other kit yet? I'd love to have a pair to go with a set of the blue line slicks I have. No offense, but I don't have much use for the rest of the new Monkeemobile kit to buy one just to steal the front tires. 

But now I'm sure someone will just tell me to make my own with a gel pen.

[peteski]

I have to take back some of the praises about new decals.  They do look nice, but I just placed the sheet against the door and the guitar artwork is quite a bit longer than the door.  That is way too large.  Also the word "THE" uses style of letters I have not seen on any of the Monkeymobiles.  Well, when I bought the previous release of the kit I was going to make my own decal, and it looks like I'll still have to do that to get the correctly sized artwork.  I'm surprised nobody checked the artwork against the model's door before approving it for printing.

[keyser]

Looking around for pics, found these at its real home.