MPC 67 Pontiac GTO

[John King]

All I can say is wow this kit is horrendous. The flashing is so bad some parts you can't tell where the part starts and stops. There's a chip out of the interior tub about the size of pea right where the dash attaches, the chassis is twisted. Even some of the parts have a burnt look, kind of a brown appearance around the edges. I should have read the reviews I see some were not so good. I did buy this kit brand new still in the factory seal form a local hobby shop. I'm not one to give up on a kit, but this one may tempt me. 

[gman]

I had a late 80's release of this kit that is just as you describe- molded in light blue, with brownish portions on a number of parts and a greasy residue on many of them. Full of flash, short shots and twisted plastic. It is possibly the most un-buildable example I have owned, but there are a few built versions on the forum which show it can be done.

[John King]

9 minutes ago, gman said:

there are a few built versions on the forum which show it can be done.

I'm not a pro by any means, but I'll give it a go. The body is straight and looks good, but you can hold the chassis up to the light and see thin spots in it.

[doorsovdoon]

ye, I've built this one and can agree, it's horrendous! I'm not usually one to complain about a kit, especially one as old as the '67 GTO, but man, if the flash and ill fitting parts aren't cleaned up it would look awful. I remember the exhausts/axle/driveshaft looking worse than the sprue it was attached to. I did get it looking fairly decent, but I wasn't happy with the end result. Unless I see a real GTO in a combo I absolutely must have it's not a kit I'll do again.

[RichCostello]

I think that I'll put the body on the AMT 67 Chevell Pro Street chassis(if it fits) and try to save it that way.

[Jim B]

Are these all the same kit that you're talking about?

The look the same, but then again, they're the same car.

[John King]

The blue one is the one I have. It is molded in white.

[Jim B]

I've been tempted to get the "Weekend Warrior" issue, but after hearing this, now I'm not so sure.

[doorsovdoon]

I will say, the interior on this kit (the black and blue MPC box) is very nice and looks great when painted and detailed up. The worst area is the front where the grille/bumper fits in. It's almost as if the part is for another kit, it's that bad of a fit. Don't be put off though, it's not 'Country Charger' bad where you have to add styrene and scratch build to make things fit. Some carful sanding and shaping will fix the front fit issues.

Edited January 26 by doorsovdoon

[StevenGuthmiller]

Or you can just build the Revell ‘66 GTO. 😉

 

Steve

[Joe Nunes]

I bought the blue/black box issue at HL some time back with the idea of using it for airbrush training.  Sounds like that would make the 40% off purchase price worthwhile.  Perhaps a “junker” model would be appropriate, or a demolition derby car?  Glad I also have the Revell ‘66 GTO kit on hand here in my shop. 😉

Joe

[Mike 1017]

My biggest complaint is the front and rear bumpers. They just don't fit. I did a test fit prior to building the car. They looked ok and needed some work nothing that I could not fix. Wrong!! I could not get them fit no matter what I tried. The taillights also had problems.

Why do they sell kit with so many defects?

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Mike 1017 said:

Why do they sell kit with so many defects?

'cause people buy 'em.

 

 

 

Steve

[Snake45]

I built one in the late '80s or early '90s and I had something like 40 hours in straightening and "blueprinting" the body. It came out okay finally but man what a PITA, a truly wretched backbirth of a kit. 

Few years ago I scored a fairly clean builtup of an original first-issue of this kit. The body is nice and straight. Someday I'm gonna rebuild it and paint it black just to p*** everybody off. 

[Belugawrx]

I built that one many moons ago, and it came out ok

There are definitely proportion problems, like the roof being too long and tall and the rear quarters having a bit too much hip in them, but other than that, it's a GTO on my shelf !!

 

 

 

 

Edited January 26 by Belugawrx
speling

[Jim B]

And he makes it look so easy:

 

[NOBLNG]

2 hours ago, Jim B said:

And he makes it look so easy:

He claims it went together easy. No fit issues or fighting.🤔 I have one, so I will attempt it eventually.

[Jim B]

2 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

He claims it went together easy. No fit issues or fighting.🤔 I have one, so I will attempt it eventually.

What I have to keep reminding myself is that he's a salesman, and a good one. I have purchased several kits based on his reviews, and have had a heck of a time with some of them. 

[stavanzer]

On 1/26/2023 at 5:00 PM, Jim B said:

What I have to keep reminding myself is that he's a salesman, and a good one. I have purchased several kits based on his reviews, and have had a heck of a time with some of them. 

Well, The minute he bags on one there goes $500.00 a month in free kits!

[Dpate]

I avoid anything MPC and recently Atlantis.

[stavanzer]

12 hours ago, Dpate said:

I avoid anything MPC and recently Atlantis.

There is no real reason for that. Some of the MPC Stuff is decent. Witness the Recent Toyota Supra Kit, tooled in the mid 1980's and as good as any AMT Kit. Also, look at the upcoming ex-MPC '68 Coronet kits.

And Atlantis is using old Revell tooling that is 60/70 years old. It is just not up to modern standards. As long as you know that, the fiddly ,delicate nature of the old tooling becomes just another challenge. The Fireball Dragster is old Monogram tooling, and while highly simplified, makes a great little build as half a dozen builders on this board have shown.

However, if you feel you have been burned by those brands, there are plenty of other brands to build.

Model On! 

[blizzy63]

I had this 1989 MPC/Ertl kit in my stash for decades...because I always liked GTOs.

Never built it because...MPC. It looked like a dog's breakfast with its mixed '72 GTO parts and flash. The kit looked like an orphan from a prouder era.

Even as a kid in the '70s, I avoided MPC kits because of their comparative crudeness and excess flash.

About 3 years ago, I wanted to experiment using Rust-oleum 2X spray paints for bodies and interiors, along with Pledge (Future) floor gloss for the clear finish.

This kit became the guinea pig for my trials.

Turned out OK for a quick build despite proportion issues.

(Paint: Rust-oleum 2X Gloss Colonial Red, Satin Heirloom White interior)

[espo]

One nice thing to remember with his little presentations is that you get to see what the parts in the kit look like and how well they fit together. MPC and AMT along with others all seem to have a few older klunker kits that need some help getting them to look right. Watching these presentations, you can determent if the kit is something you would want to build. You can decide if you want to build it, use it for parts, or whatever. I think it is invaluable information before you put your money down based on a box art for a subject you would like to build only to find out it's good for parts or little else.