Ben Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 I just won a couple auctions for two sealed original MPC Mustang II kits. The first is the Cobra II with "The Snake is back!" on the box and the second is the King Cobra kit. I am just curious (it will be a while before I get them in hand) do these two kits share the same basic kit with different add on parts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc @ MPC Motorsports Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Other differences include different interior patterns(I think, can't remember without looking). The Deuce has a V6 and the King comes with a 351 shared with the pro stock kits. The King's body has the side moldings down the side that are missing on the Deuce. They share the front spoiler and side window louvers. The rear spoiler on the King is an exaggerated version of the stocker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 Great, thanks guys! So could an accurate King Cobra be built using aftermarket parts and the King Cobra kit? I think Mustang Mike made the conversion parts? I'm still hoping to get ahold of him. Hey MpcMarc, did you get my reply to the email you sent me? I sent you some pics of the Monroe Handler i'm working on. I replied to you email which I think came from here so I didn't know if you'd get it or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 To do an accurate King Cobra will take some scratchbuilding and parts swapping. The front air dam/wheel spats will have to be crafted out of sheet plastic, with perhaps some partial use of a pair of fender flares (think '70-81 Trans Am) being used...Honestly I'd scratchbuild the whole air dam/spat unit and not waste the wheel flares since you'd use so little of the pair. You can use modified T/A spats in front of the rear wheels as well. A stock rear Cobra II spoiler is needed...you can get that out of the "Fire Fighter" recent reissue kit. You then have to decide if you want a T-Top car or not...which had a substantial targa bar/molding that needs to be scratchbuilt along with removal of the "t top" sections of the roof. I started a King Cobra conversion when I got back into modeling to go with my Cobra II conversion. It got all the way to the paint stage before I lost interest and moved on. The Cobra II was done with the AMT kit in 1999 long before I knew there was a Cobra II kit in the first place. The spoilers are all scratchbuilt, and the louvers taken from a Cavalier kit of all things. I never did finish the King Cobra because I rapidly progressed from Squadron putty and Testors paint to all the newer finishing supplies that had popped up in the 10 years since I had been building regularly...now both the Cobra II and King Cobra aren't to the standards I now build to...so the King sits unloved in the "never going to happen pile" For what it's worth, and not to be hypercritical but just honest, the "Mustang Mike" resin parts were only semi-accurate at best. They'd need substantial work to make an accurate Cobra II or King Cobra since his parts appeared to be parts out of other kits that looked and fit kinda/sorta close to the desired shapes. Wow, your Cobra really looks sharp!!!!!!!! I am currently bouncing back and forth between black with gold stripes and white with blue, like yours! I'm going to try and find another Cobra II kit and do both! LOL I've never bought from Mustang Mike but remember him having a lot of stuff to convert the Mustang kits. I didn't realize they were just copied kit pieces. I was looking at Keith Marks decal site and he shows the King Cobra decal sets in two color schemes. It also shows a picture of the McLaren Mustang kit and states to use the front air dam from that kit and, like you said, the little fender spats from a 78 Trans Am kit. I was thinking Mustang Mike would have those pieces and i'd avoid having to rob them from kits? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc @ MPC Motorsports Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 I thought the King Cobra was all that and then some back when they were new. I might try my hand at scratchbuilding one someday. Don't think it would be too difficult. Mine would probably end up looking something like this. Ben, I did receive your email. Just haven't had time to reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_rad88 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) someone say the monroe handler eh? lol ...... hum, i have a kit based on that cobra II, and sorry its not a mpc kit(or i don't think it is)........ here is my revell hotrod mag cobra street machine and i just found this on the web: http://www.mustangii...ndler/model.jpg the engine in my revell hotrod cobra lot is very, very........ bland/plain/flat! there is barely any fudgin detail, and its just ugly, so im going to drop in a modern 5.0l from the '93 svt cobra in it! lol. Edited April 21, 2010 by B_rad88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 I thought the King Cobra was all that and then some back when they were new. I might try my hand at scratchbuilding one someday. Don't think it would be too difficult. Mine would probably end up looking something like this. Ben, I did receive your email. Just haven't had time to reply. Oh man, that's all I need to see is another cool one! Now I want one like that too!!!! LOL No problem on the reply Marc, I was just curious if it made it to you. I did some research and found that Keith Marks is still selling those decals. Thanks for the tip on those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 someone say the monroe handler eh? lol ...... hum, i have a kit based on that cobra II, and sorry its not a mpc kit(or i don't think it is)........ here is my revell hotrod mag cobra street machine and i just found this on the web: http://www.mustangii...ndler/model.jpg the engine in my revell hotrod cobra lot is very, very........ bland/plain/flat! there is barely any fudgin detail, and its just ugly, so im going to drop in a modern 5.0l from the '93 svt cobra in it! lol. Hey Brandon. You have the later release of the Monroe Handler kit that Revell reissued back in the eighties. I'm building yellow, first version just like the box art. Your correct, the whole chassis and engine are pretty bad in those kits! I bought a Beatnik Bandit II kit to use the whole front suspension and rear axle from, and a resin 351 Cleveland street rod version motor from Scale Modeling By Chris to stuff under the hood. I also had Jim Littekin CNC machine me some Centerline wheels to fit the tires i'm using with it. It should be pretty cool when finished! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 I don't know what Mustang Mike's parts actually were, I just know they weren't really correct for the cars if you wanted them to look the way Ford made 'em. Again that's not a slam but they seemed kind of expensive for parts that would need almost as much work to correct as starting from scratch. The McLaren air dam isn't exactly right either...I say go with Evergreen sheet plastic and make one that's right if you're going to put in the effort. As for a second Cobra II, you do know that Missing Link resins does a Cobra II, right? That's the easiest way to get one...it's an exact duplicate of the MPC kit. Hey Mark, after looking at the red one posted here, your right, it would be best to just scratch build everything to get the right look. I may even send it out to be cast after the body work is done. I'll check on that Cobra Missing Link has. Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue coyote Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Yeah, I haven't been around much lately (other priorities)... On the Monroe Handlers, regardless of what the box claims, the original Handlers were ALL 302 powered cars. The first one that Jack Roush actually built the engine for was punched out considerably, but it was not a Cleveland... And if anyone wants to assemble a "correct" one, let me know. I helped build one in 1:1 scale (and took it for a rip last week...DANG was that a blast!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 Yeah, I haven't been around much lately (other priorities)... On the Monroe Handlers, regardless of what the box claims, the original Handlers were ALL 302 powered cars. The first one that Jack Roush actually built the engine for was punched out considerably, but it was not a Cleveland... And if anyone wants to assemble a "correct" one, let me know. I helped build one in 1:1 scale (and took it for a rip last week...DANG was that a blast!) Oh great! NOW you tell me! LOL I would like to make mine as realistic as possible. I sure hope they had the four lug wheels at least! I just had my little Centerlines machined and drilled to accept four lugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_rad88 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Yeah, I haven't been around much lately (other priorities)... On the Monroe Handlers, regardless of what the box claims, the original Handlers were ALL 302 powered cars. The first one that Jack Roush actually built the engine for was punched out considerably, but it was not a Cleveland... And if anyone wants to assemble a "correct" one, let me know. I helped build one in 1:1 scale (and took it for a rip last week...DANG was that a blast!) hey bro, good to see you again... i still got all 3 sets of the centerlines you sent me(thank you very much!), i found some other cars they looks nice on...... now i just need the space and time to work on my models, lol Oh great! NOW you tell me! LOL I would like to make mine as realistic as possible. I sure hope they had the four lug wheels at least! I just had my little Centerlines machined and drilled to accept four lugs. and in my red monroe handler, it came with the 4-lug centerlines and a set of wheel covers(in the box art) im ditching the covers.. the centerlines look so nice! thats what came in my kit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 24, 2010 Author Share Posted April 24, 2010 Ben, I have that "Firefighter" kit in mt stash. Let me see if I need that rear spoiler to build a Dyno Don Nicholson Pro Stocker from the kit, If I don't need the spoiler I'll let you know. Cool! Thanks Mark! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 24, 2010 Author Share Posted April 24, 2010 hey bro, good to see you again... i still got all 3 sets of the centerlines you sent me(thank you very much!), i found some other cars they looks nice on...... now i just need the space and time to work on my models, lol and in my red monroe handler, it came with the 4-lug centerlines and a set of wheel covers(in the box art) im ditching the covers.. the centerlines look so nice! thats what came in my kit... My Yellow Monroe Handler comes with those chrome four lug Centerlines as well but I wanted the real aluminum look so I had these made. (see pic) I machined the center caps and had RB Motion make some lug nuts to my specs. There's more pics in my Fotki albums. www.public.fotki.com/lotso http://images47.fotki.com/v1588/photos/3/1602553/8667284/3-vi.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Here's a kit I wish Round 2 would reissue. I still like the looks of the '76 and '77 Cobra IIs. Like the one below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blunc Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 I like the MPC version of this better than the AMT version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Here is what I'd like to be able to to build. In this color combination no less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 I'm not a fan of the '78s, T tops, or the King Cobra variations. I like the early Shelby Mustang look of the '76 and '77s much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 (edited) Last, and I doubt there is a snowballs chance in hell of seeing. But, like Revell's done with certain kits, it would be nice to have a figure of Farrah included with a Cobra II kit. Edited June 22, 2018 by unclescott58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vamach1 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Missing Link resin has some of the Cobra II parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Junkman Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 And Keith Marks has the graphics http://public.fotki.com/mofobow/ford/mustang/7677_cobra_ii/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcarfan27 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 What's funny to me is that car enthusiasts HATE the real car - it's not a true Mustang to them. But modelers are clamoring to buy kits of these! Go figure. I would want to buy multiples of these if they were brought back. In fact, I wrote a message to Round 2 asking them to consider reissuing the MPC Mustang II kit as the stock version with enough parts to make both the Cobra II and King Cobra options. They didn't say "no way" but I have a feeling the tooling was modified to make the pro stock version we've seen reissued multiple times since 1978. So here's where letting them know your interest might persuade them to bring it back. They did it with the Datsun pickup, they can do it with this one too, if they think it would sell enough to recoup the investment. Let them know - Nicely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 6 hours ago, The Junkman said: And Keith Marks has the graphics http://public.fotki.com/mofobow/ford/mustang/7677_cobra_ii/ Interesting that Marks does not make decals for the version I'd want to build. The dark blue with the white stripes. I'm guessing he has no way of printing white decals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 I liked the Mustang ll cars . I fact I had two that I bought new . They may not have been great cars but they both served me well . First was the 74 Mach 1. Had the V6 as the V8 was not out till the 1975 year . Also bought the 78 King Cobra right off the delivery truck . That had the 302 but as you all know hp was way down . Still I really liked both those cars . I have heard it said that the Mustang lol saved the Mustang nameplate . Not sure if that is true or not . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainford Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 10 hours ago, unclescott58 said: Interesting that Marks does not make decals for the version I'd want to build. The dark blue with the white stripes. I'm guessing he has no way of printing white decals? Several years ago I wanted some Shelby stripes in white, but Kieth only offered them in black. I emailed him and asked if he could run off a set in white, and he obliged me. There may have been a premium charged for this, though I don't remember for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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