CapSat 6

Dude- that's not a firecracker. I think that's an M-80!

I bought a box of MPC Dodge Monaco Cop Cars at the NNL East several years back. There was one 2-door "Force 440" build in there. Firecrackered. I was still able to salvage a few things from that one, but the roof was blown off at the "a" pillars, and the roof and interior tub were a bit melted. I did firecracker a few when I was a kid (MPC kits! ). I remember blowing up an MPC '72 Chevelle (reissue), and a '78 Dodge Pickup. We had a side door in our house that had an inner and outer door that were about 16" apart. I would set the model on the floor inside the two doors, stick the firecracker in it, light it, and close the door. This would keep the noise down to an inconspicuous level (I was a city kid), and contain all of the shrapnel. I would open the door to a twisted body and scattered parts...

My call would be that Daisy's 1971 car was probably a Satellite Sebring Plus, painted up to look a little like a Road Runner. That was the top model 2-door in the Satellite range (other than the GTX). It's roughly equivalent to the Charger SE. The serial #'s started with "RP" ("R" for Plymouth Intermediate, "P" for "premium price code"). I owned two 1971 Satellite Sebring Plus cars. One had a 318 engine, Amber Sherwood Metallic with a black vinyl (full) roof covering, green bucket seat interior with auto console shift. Power steering but manual drum brakes all around. That was my college car. The other had a 383 2 barrel, Autumn Bronze Metallic, with a black vinyl canopy top, black bucket seat interior with NO console and a column shift. It had power steering and power disc brakes. Both of them had AC, the Rallye dash clusters (round gauges), bucket seats and the GTX-style upper door skins. I think the SSP and GTX more or less shared interiors. Bucket seats and Rallye gauges were standard on both models, but consoles were optional. All Satellite models, except for the Road Runner and GTX, got the standard "flat" hood. That is to say that Satellite Sebring Plus cars never got Performance Hoods (the non-functional "twin scoop" or "Air Grabber" hoods) from the factory. I have looked at some pics online- regarding the rocker panels, it looks like all three styles (Road Runner/ Satellite thin, Sebring Plus- broad/ flat, and GTX, ribbed) show up on old pics of the car(s). You could either use the GTX rocker panel trim, or replace it with broad, flat pieces of sheet plastic, if you see those in pics of Daisy's car.

The F&F kit comes with the door panel that looks like the one up top. The old Monogram '71 Satellite comes with one that looks more like the one in the ad picture. It looks like bucket seat cars got either of the door panels above.

Very nice work. I really enjoyed learning about this car and model as well!

The body looks right to me. It's a bit different than the MPC kit, but I think it still looks right. Perhaps the bumpers are a little heavy handed compared to the MPC kits, but I would still buy and build these, no problem. It's nice to have the right style grille inserts in this kit. The MPC kit did not get that right on their Petty cars.

Looking great, Tim! Are the white stripes the kit decals?

Either way, it's looking great. That color is going to be stunning! I like the changes you're making to the inner fenders - the fact that the inner fenders are the wrong shape entirely (rounded) in this kit is one of my biggest pet peeves. I have put MPC '76 Dart Sport chassis plates (with some trimming) under these with very good results.

Hi Michael, Not sure if you are aware...Harts parts (https://hartspartsresin.com/) sells some conversion bits to make a '69 into a '68. They sell the '68 grille & header panel, tail panel, and some other things. So far, your Barracuda is looking great! If you're interested in ordering, I have found that they ship pretty quickly, and their parts quality is very good. I have ordered things from him several times over the past few years.

I think there was a resin Black Beauty available a long time ago. IIRC, it was rare even when in production. Perhaps it was Monsters in Motion, or I think somebody named Al Martino who made it? I seem to remember somebody (maybe Mr. Martino) doing a big scale version as well. The AMT '64-'66 Imperial last was issued either as the Western Pickup or as the car from the old show "The Hero". It's possible that Round 2 has that tool. If they did, and I was in charge at Round 2, I would look at revising the body & other parts to Green Hornet (show) spec, and I would also give a look at doing the car from the movie they did some time back. Those subjects are right up Round 2's alley. Also, Polar Lights had the license for the Black Beauty some time ago, releasing a 1/32 scale kit and slot car. I think the Black Beauty in any form, rather than a stock Imperial, would give a better return on any revisions they would have to make.

In the end, the way the cars used in the series were equipped was governed partially by need, and partially by what was easy, inexpensive, and/or available. Most of the General Lees in the series had pretty much standard engines (318's for jump cars, since they were less nose-heavy, and sometimes 383's and 440's for stunts where they needed more power). For specific stunts, they would add headers and better intakes as needed. I'd guess that the car they used for Daisy's Plymouth had whatever it was born with. I'd imagine the car they used in the series probably had a 2 or 4 barrel engine of some kind. Since it was a standard Satellite, it was likely a 318, but they did make quite a few 383 2 and 4 barrel Satellites, too. I'm not sure they even did much by way of stunts with Daisy's car (except for jumping it off a cliff! ). When I plan and build movie and TV replicas, I like to equip them as I would imagine the car as a character was equipped, if it was never actually stated in the show or movie. For instance: when I built my General Lee, it got a sort of NASCAR-inspired Street Hemi. That's what I imagine the car as a character would have had in the '70's. None of the cars used on the show were Hemis as far as anybody knew, but to me, that engine fits the legend! I would imagine Daisy's car as a character was probably a big block, maybe slightly modified but nothing crazy, so if I were building Daisy's '71, it would probably get a blue 383 4-BBL engine. Still, it's plausible that Cooter and her cousins might have swapped a 440+6 engine into her car...

If by "hood with no scoop", you mean the Fast and Furious / Satellite hood...then yes, the 440 6BBL engine was available in the 1971 Road Runner and GTX without the Air Grabber Hood. The F&F/ Satellite hood was actually the "Performance Style Hood" that was standard on the Road Runner and GTX. The standard Performance Hood and 440+6 engine were not available with the other Satellite models in 1971. In 1:1, the air cleaner would have differed a bit between Air Grabber and non-Air Grabber 440+6 engines. It would have likely used the same lid or very similar looking lids, but the base would probably be different, accounting for sealing to the Air Grabber mechanism. In scale, I would say that they both would look the same. If I cared about differentiating the air cleaner for this purpose, I would either try to cut the lower lip surrounding the base of the air cleaner down a bit, or maybe I would use a spare air cleaner without the separate base from the Revell/Monogram '69 Dodge Coronet Super Bee 440 Six Pack kit. I probably wouldn't bother, though. I'm just not 100% sure whether or not the 440+6 intake/carb/air cleaner combo will fit under the F&F / Satellite hood. I'd mock it up first.

I was able to check into this a little bit. Looks like for a Hill Street Blues build, one would want to start out with an AMT/MPC Dodge Monaco. Seems like they used a lot of those on the series. Or maybe you could use a '70 Galaxie for a "prequel" build...

Well...I don't want to get too technical on this one, but I think in around 1970, NYPD still had the green, white and black color scheme on their cars. I think the "Hill St. Blues" look came in the mid-'70's, when by then, most if not all of the '70 Galaxies the NYPD used were probably long out of service. By then, I think the NYPD used the Plymouth Gran Fury & Chevy Caprice for their squads. Of course, there will likely be others on this board who know a WHOLE lot more about NYPD squads than I. Personally, I think the old white/green/black scheme would make a very interesting build, and there should be a lot of reference pics on the internet for one of those, but sticking to initial question, if I were to replace the tires and wheels in this kit, I would probably stay with the kit tires & hubcaps, and replace the wheels with the ones from the CHP Dodge Monaco (newest release only), or the MPC '78 Dodge Pickup. Actually, almost any skinnier generic steel wheel would probably do. I have even narrowed the wide ones in the other Dodge Monaco releases with decent results. I haven't checked the newest releases of this Ford, but I think it would come with either the old MPC or AMT Goodyear Polysteels, or maybe their new Polyglas GT's (but as blackwalls), which would be good for an early '70's period police build.

Another more current source in 1/24 might be the Revell (formerly Monogram) 70’s GMC and Chevy pickups, but you would still have to come up with car street tires.

If you’re looking for those wheels for a 1/24 build, Japanese manufacturer Arii used to offer them as a set with some nice fat 1/24 rubber BF Goodrich TA’s. They’re not so easy to find, but they do pop up on the auction site from time to time.

That's probably a good yardstick...as in: "what would you trade for it?"...

It depends on what you want a particular piece for. If you're truly a collector, then you want the original parts, box, decals, etc. in unbuilt condition. That's where it will really cost you. If you're a builder on the other hand, per Snake's and Mark's comments above, you really can often make built, newer and/or more widely available kits work very well sometimes. Some subjects seem to jump right when they dry up (and that seems to be happening more often with more subjects, as newer runs tend to be more limited as far as production numbers), and others are truly "investment" grade bets- where you will likely never see a retool or reissue of a particular subject (most Jo Han kits, for instance). What cracks me up lately is that even a lot of the old "swap meet dogs" - 80's cars, custom vans, etc.- seem to be getting up there, too, although I think in some cases, it's eBay sellers who are pricing them very optimistically. The Dukes kits prices entertain me. The General Lee was perhaps the most produced kit of all time. There is no shortage of these kits AT ALL. You can actually build a better General Lee out of the Revell '69 Charger kit and some choice aftermarket pieces. Most releases of the MPC/AMT kit are nearly worthless as builders. You could just as easily clone Daisy's Plymouth from a non-Daisy's release of the same kit, for much cheaper. I think some of the General Lees sell sort of high, and the asks are strong these days, but I think many of them still sell for reasonable money. I think you can still find reasonable deals out there for a lot of kits, especially at model swap meets. It does seem like the truly "grail-y" stuff remains "grail-y" though.

The Revell '71 GTX's were molded in white (including the F&F car), although the first release from around 1994 was molded in yellow. The F&F car is more or less the same as the '71 GTX releases, except that the Air Grabber hood in the '71 GTX has been replaced with the standard twin scoop hood, and the 4 barrel intake manifold, carb and air cleaner from the old "'71 Satellite" release have been added back in, with new F&F parts (new wheels and tires, brakes, dropped suspension pieces). The only thing I see different from the 71 GTX release is that the Air Grabber hood is not included, but the 6 Barrel intake, Air Grabber under-hood mechanism, stock tires and wheels, etc. are still included. The F&F car I have was molded in a white plastic that seems a little rubbery to me.

Full disclosure: I have owned multiple '71 Satellites. I love the way they look (although some people hate their looks). I used to be unenthusiastic about the '73-'74 cars, but they have really grown on me. I would take a '73-'74 Road Runner of any kind in a hot minute! I very nearly bought a '73 in the 90's, the reason I passed at the time is that it was a manual steering car (and stripped, too- it was a Rallye Red 318 car with a black bench seat interior). In hindsight, I should have bought it. When I had mine (and my best friend still has a '71 Satellite Sebring), we would refer to them simply as our "Plymouths". The '71 they used on the series was likely a Satellite that was dolled up a little. The standard hood was never used on Road Runners or GTX's (except as an Air Grabber- the AG hood was basically the standard Satellite hood with a fiberglass bubble added to it with the flapper door and a cutout in the middle). So to me, it would be "Daisy's Plymouth". But that's just me...

One other difference is that the 340 engine was optional in 1973 (the 318 engine was standard in the Road Runner in 1973 and 1974), but that was replaced by the 360 engine in 1974, as the 340 was discontinued. There might have been numerous other details and options (including available colors) that differed between 1973 and 1974 Road Runners, but for the most part, sheet metal, body adornment (except for those rear bumper guards) and basic configuration were the same in those two years. Personally, I see Daisy's car as a '73-'74. I will eventually build one like that (a '74 in yellow with black stripes, Magnum 500 wheels, maybe a 400 engine?). The '71's they used in the series were cool, but look a little weird to me, as they weren't really stock. It would make sense that the character had something more or less off-the-shelf, but sporty.

I sent some resin bumpers out to Dale @ LMKC. Like Kurt said, he had me put resin parts on a separate tree than plastic parts. His literature said that he uses a different process for resin parts. The bumpers I sent to him turned out pretty nice. One thing I would recommend would be to clean the resin wheels very well with Westley's Bleach White whitewall tire cleaner first, to remove any mold release.

Hmmm...an El Nomado. I like that!

I think some of the 1:1 dashes were fabricated panels with woodgrain decal (much like the vinyl on the sides of a Country Squire wagon) on them... These kits, including the Dukes Chargers, all had this woodgrain pattern on the dash. I don't think they were ever made of real wood. I think in this era, they used a stock upper dash pad and maybe the frame, and added a sheet metal panel to the front. If it were me, I would sand that down when building. The references I have show most of these dashes were finished more plainly.

I think it was Car and Driver Magazine who used the line in one of their articles about the Buick Grand National: "Darth Vader, your car has arrived". Well- here's the Grand National's Granddaddy. Very Nice!!!