CapSat 6

Dang. All that for one VERY green T Bird!

I wonder about this one too. The stock ‘72 Torino (through ‘76) did use a full frame. The ‘67-‘69 Fairlane and ‘70-‘71 Torino were unibody, and famously used the Galaxie front stub in NASCAR. I think around 1972 when the Torino hit, the rule in NASCAR was that each model / body style had to use the same chassis format as that particular model/body (but not necessarily stock components)- so - coil springs and full frame for the ‘72 Tornio. I think the Jo Han kit chassis is correct for a ‘72 Tornio/ Mercury. I think the rules were more loose as far as the actual components, or at least that is what I read, so it was possible that a given team could have opted for a Dana instead of a Ford 9” rear, for instance, or even a Chrysler transmission instead of a Ford, if that is what the builder preferred. That could explain the Dana in the kit. Whichever car Jo Han looked at might have run a Dana. I think right in ‘72, the rules were in flux a bit, but eventually, everybody settled on using the same components for their cars, due to cost, known reliability, and availability (I think Richard Petty once described it as the whole aftermarket going “Chevy Chevy Chevy”, as far as engine parts, which hobbled the Chrysler teams, as good aftermarket engine parts were more expensive and harder to get- although not being able to get good new engine blocks from Chrysler, and the lack of a new body style with decent aero eventually put the final nails into the coffin of their racing efforts). I think the same body/ same chassis rule went away some time around 1976- when they went to the “standard” chassis they used through the late ‘70’s and ‘80’s. I always thought that the chassis in the Jo Han ‘72 Torino, Dana aside, was correct for that car (but not for earlier Ford intermediates)- that the Jo Han chassis represented more or less a FoMoCo ‘72-‘76 chassis.

I think some of the old, original Jo-Han '62''64 Dodges and Plymouths came with up-tops, as well as some of their mid-60's C Body Convertible kits. I'm not sure exactly which ones- I don't really pay close attention to convertible kits, or the earlier stuff. To my knowledge, no '68-'70 B Body kit has ever come with an up-top. I don't think any of those old Jo Han kit pieces could be adapted to the later cars. Here's an old thread that describes the differences...

3D Scale Parts on eBay… https://ebay.us/m/Nwv2ny

This one is driving me a little nuts now…when I had the yellow one, I remember that the front clip seemed to be specific to a Z-28…and that if the builder didn’t use the separate side skirts, then they mismatched. Same with the white stock Revell Z-28 I had. I was intrigued by the idea of building it without the Z-28 body stuff…I was somewhat of the opinion that the base Camaros and Berlinettas were a bit sleeker than the Z-28’s. I could have sworn I saw a stock 1/25 Berlinetta of some kind back in the day, but admittedly, I didn’t pay too much attention to Revell kits of that era, and I was a teen then, so my memory could be failing me here. I keep thinking I saw one in one of those auto transport sets (which were thin on the ground, and pricy for the time), but Google isn’t being helpful there. But IF this is to be a Berlinetta, either they will have to tool up a new nose if it doesn’t exist, or it was there all along, either unreleased, or as a rare variant. The box art seems to strongly hint at no body side cladding and lower fascia trim. The pics of the build are a little less clear about that. Either way, this is sort of a “deep cut”. The prior two street machine releases (the ones I know about) were both Z-28’s.

I think the Camaro is one of these. I did also have the white and gold stock Z-28. It is a very nice kit, with separate body cladding. None of these had the Berlinetta nose. I do seem to remember a stock Berlinetta kit in 1/25 though. Could it have come with Revell’s transporter trailer set? I seem to remember that kit came with a Firebird SE and a Berlinetta.

Round 2 absolutely has been on a roll with their box art. It’s no exaggeration to say that right now, Round 2 is perhaps doing the best box art and decals to come out of any model manufacturer ever. No joke- we might be seeing the “Golden Age Of Car Model Box Art” here. The boxes make me want some of their kits even if I didn’t want them before, and I still want some of the boxes, even if I still don’t want the kits. Regarding the Monza, I’d rather have the MPC kit back. I think the body looks SOOOO much better in the MPC kits, although - yeah- the chassis is super basic. The engine is still VERY nice in the MPC kit though. The speed parts in that one (especially the multi- piece custom headers) are really, really nice. They are probably some of the best SBC headers I have ever seen. As they have Siamese port spacing for the middle cylinders, they could probably be adapted to Mopar small blocks, too. I would take as many sets of those headers (and I think they also appear in most late 70’s / early 80’s MPC Corvettes, too) as I could reasonably acquire. I still might try to get an AMT kit, for the chassis bits to use with my old MPC copy, as suggested above.

Smells like updoc to me...

Doing a new '65 Barracuda this way was a canny move by Round 2. Need a mostly stock '66? Bash it with the '65. Want a '65 HUG? Bash it with the '65. Want a detailed Valiant build, using that built Craftsman kit you picked up 20 years ago (😁)? Bash it with the '65... The chassis alone is a HUGE improvement over any of the originals. No more cutting, cramming and carving AMT '71 Duster or MPC '76 Dart Sport chassis for early A Bodies!

Man...be careful what you wish for! That last MPC Pro Street Camaro was sort of really a hot mess. The bumpers, flares, spoilers and and front cap did not fit on the body very well at all (and by that I mean: "really badly". I remember this very well from the last one I owned, started to build, and traded off later). I'm sure that's a result of those parts being adapted to the '74-'76, which before, had been the '70-'73. The chassis was really meh, and very gappy. It had an OK big block / automatic trans (!) which was left over from it's origins as an annual 1970-1/2 Camaro SS. To me, it's really one of the lesser MPC leftovers- not by subject matter, just by overall quality. Just my opinion, I think the MPC '69 Charger is just about more buildable, and that is saying something. I know the subject matter is exciting, and there were some neat racing parts in that kit (but really nothing you can't get out of an MPC NASCAR car kit), but are you sure you want that one back??? That being said- this would be a great subject for Round 2 to clone. Seeing what they have done with their MPC '68 Coronet, '68 and '65 GTO's, and upcoming '65 Barracuda, this subject would really, really benefit from that treatment, AND multiple versions ('74-'76, + mid-'70's Firebirds!!!) could be baked right into the design. There is a LOT of potential (subject matter AND sales potential) in doing a retro tool for this one. Sure, it could also be worth popping a few out of the original tool...as long as it doesn't cost too much. If Round 2 spends too much time or money on this one though, it would have been much better spent on a Retroclone. Just my unsolicited $0.02. I'm sure many people won't agree, but to me, that is one kit that I want to build and don't want to build all at the same time...when they hit, I'll probably end up passing.

This is a puzzler. Do you want to restore it as it was offered by MPC? Or for a stock ‘65 Coronet 500? The kit came with a cross ram race Hemi. You can find more or less the same engine in most releases of the MPC ‘66-‘67 Charger. It’s exactly the same tooling like Mark says above. The Coronet 500 in 1:1 was never available with the Hemi. The top option would have been the 426 Street Wedge. You could use any kit 440, with an air cleaner from either the MPC ‘68 Coronet, Moebius ‘65 Dodge or Plymouth with wedge engines, or Lindberg ‘64 Dodges / Plymouths with the wedge engine. If you want something that would look like something MPC would have put in as a stock engine that would be accurate to a ‘65 Coronet, then maybe the 440 engine from the MPC ‘68 Coronet could be adapted. You would have to work on the transmission, as the ‘68 has a trans that’s split between the driveshaft and the case. If you look at the ‘68 Coronet kit parts, you’ll see exactly what I mean.

I think the Jo Han Furies did come with Hemis. Before the Hemi was banned from NASCAR briefly in ‘65, the Fury was looked at to be raced with a Hemi if it were ever to come back. Also, Chrysler looked at offering the Street Hemi in C Bodies. I think I read somewhere that prototype parts such as exhaust manifolds were tooled up for C Body Hemi installations. As this might have been in the works for Chrysler, it might have been decided to put the Hemi in the kits and offer racing options for that engine. I think either the ‘65 or ‘66 Fury actually had a Petty NASCAR building option, too. A few C Bodies might have been raced in NASCAR, but the top teams all stayed with the B Body after the ban was lifted, initially using a Hemi destroked to 404 cubic inches. The rules might have stated 426 cubes for Hemis for full size cars, and 404 c.i. for intermediates, but eventually, this fell by the wayside. if you want something that would look like a 383 that would better fit the 1:1 car, and look like something that would have come with the kit, maybe try to find the 440 from the Jo Han ‘68 Fury Police Car, or the Jo Han ‘68 Chrysler 300. Those would look the part and probably fit right up. They were great looking engines back when they were tooled up, and they still look pretty good compared to what’s available now. The Chrysler engine comes with an air cleaner with “TNT” detailing on the pie plate area, the Police engine comes with a plain / unengraved pie plate. You could always go with the 383/440 from the Revell Dart. That seems to be the best looking 383-440 in scale. The 440 in the Revell ‘68-‘69 Charger is also a really nice one. Any “440” in scale could be dressed as a 383, or a 400, or a 413/426 Street Wedge. They all looked the same externally except for some details. Earlier engines had different details such as air cleaners. The right air cleaner could be found in the Moebius or Lindberg Dodges and Plymouths. The Moebius engines are pretty good as well, with the Lindberg engines a bit weaker/ squarer/ less detailed looking. The air cleaners in the Moebius and Lindberg kits don’t really look too good to me- Jo Han nailed the ‘65-‘68 big block air cleaner and nobody else really came close. Somebody really needs to cast copies of the air cleaner from the Jo Han ‘68 Fury Police car and offer them for sale.

It would be nice to see Round 2 do a Landy ‘68. They should tool up nice new Cragars on a small shot of their own (perhaps copied from the old MPC units we used to see in their ‘71-‘76 Road Runner annuals, but NOT like the new ones in that ‘71 Demon kit) to throw in the box. For that matter, Round 2 could tool up a new hood, one piece rear valance and grille inserts for their ‘69 Charger, to at least bring that one up to “acceptable”, and do a Landy release. I’m sure with the Cragars, decals and new parts per above, they could wring new sales out of that old chestnut. Now speaking of diecast- and I don’t want to turn this into a hijack- along with the new ‘68 Coronet R/T (which will apparently have convertibles coming in 1/64 within a few months, according to the preorders on some sites), they have also just released a really, really nice ‘70 Fury. This gives me hope that they are at least considering a 1/25 kit.

Don’t take this as a knock. It’s not to be meant as a knock of any kind… I sought out a lot of old annuals for a long time. I got tons of Mopar annuals in my time…but I never had a ‘72 Duster. I still have an MPC ‘71 that I found in the late 80’s and built up. It’s still in my case. I’m not terribly happy with it, but it’s ok enough to stay built. The ‘72 is so similar to the ‘71, I guess I felt like I never needed one. I AM really happy to see Round 2 do all of these retro releases. All of them, even if I’m not an end user, even if a particular subject doesn’t really trip my trigger. I’m really glad to see that there is a company out there making things for “us”. I’ll probably buy one of these out of curiosity. It would be just fine for me to have one of these join the rest of my “stock”. I’m still holding out hope for a ‘72 Demon, though…

That is correct. This new kit seems to share engineering with the ‘71 Demon. I have to figure that the ‘72 Duster was baked in with the original design of the ‘71 Demon. Perhaps we will see other variants- Pro Stocks, maybe a ‘73-‘76 Duster? Otherwise, doing the ‘72 doesn’t make too much sense to me, as the ‘71 Duster is so similar. What I would really like to see out of this tool is a Mr. Norm’s Supercharged ‘72 Demon.