CapSat 6

I have an interior with those odd-seam seats. Notice that the rear seat still is the ‘72-‘73 style, while the front seats have that oddball pattern (front and rears don’t match). I think mine did come with a built ‘74 annual. The pics I have above are of a ‘73 annual. I think the interior was more or less the same in the ‘72, ‘73 annuals and the Super Charger reissue, at least the same patterns on the seats. I never gave the headrests a close look. Not sure why the ‘74/ oddball seats didn’t carry over to the Super Charger.

I can think of a few that ARE being brought up for reissue and new issue. That’s just my opinion though, and it’s only worth what I’m paid for it! I agree that the 360 was a super-underrated engine. Mopar 400’s for the most part were super-choked in stock form, but they do have LOTS of potential, when stroked and poked.

I’m not going to pretend to know for certain how the licensing agreements really work. We would have to ask an insider to know for certain, and even then, we probably would not get 100% of the answer, as it might be somewhat confidential. Much has been made of licensing costs and complexities. That’s why ultimately, I would leave it to the experts to decide. I’m just having fun here. I do know that things in business often change quickly. I’m not knocking Salvino’s, but for all we know, while they are “the” player in NASCAR kits now, that might change down the road, so IF a new kit were developed, then IT MIGHT be worth Round 2’s time to do the design for a NASCAR variant if it permits some additional benefit to doing the design in the first place. I’m not suggesting that the NASCAR variant should be Round 2’s next project by any means. It just might sweeten the pot a little bit. I’m not even suggesting that the ‘74 Charger overall should be their next project. I’m just suggesting that it might be worthwhile to run some plastic through the molds if they have them, sketch up some nice new decals and box art, and the thought is that they would probably have something that would provide a little variety. If they are ever looking at doing a new tool ‘71-‘74 Mopar B Body, then an enhanced ‘74 Rallye and/or SE with Super Charger Energy might be variants to consider, that they could do for relatively little investment, and that could sell reasonably well. Personally, I could think of plenty of cars that are less inspiring than smog choked 318 ‘74 Chargers (to be perfectly fair- the ask is for a smog choked 440 Charger ) that we already have kits of, and plenty of cars that are more inspiring that we will never get. It’s all relative - a matter of taste. If the only ice cream we could get was strawberry, then I would never eat ice cream. If the world was full of people like my daughter, then pizza would not be a thing (and people like me would be very sad, if we knew what we were missing). That’s why smart manufacturers offer variety and occasionally take calculated risks. Frankly, 4 or 5 separate renditions of the same inspiring subject bores me a little.

Thank you! I by no means think that NASCAR variants of the Charger or Road Runner should be a priority of Round 2’s- Salvino’s has those covered, but they could be potential variants based on the same body tooling as new street cars down the line. If I had my druthers, I’d rather have better kits of those available. The street cars would definitely be the priority here.

The Salvino’s kits are a factor. I was thinking from the standpoint that another version could be baked in for each…licensing would be an issue, but then again, Round 2 does tons of licensing, and have had vintage NASCAR licensing for their slot cars, diecasts and other products, too. I wouldn’t know if it would be financially logical or not, but for all we know, it might be a matter of negotiating some kind of rider on an existing license that they might already have. They could also look at either putting out generic versions of both kits (like the old Model King re-releases from about 15 years ago) or getting licenses for lesser known (and perhaps less costly) drivers from the era. Lots of these cars were driven in USAC, for example.

We can wait for pics, but I can also confirm that the “Early” Petty Charger used a completely stock body, that looked identical to the body in the ‘73 and ‘74 annuals. It has all stock trim, including the fluted rocker panel trim that the later “Super Charger” does not have. The box art shows what looks like a photo of Petty’s ‘72 car that has been retouched to look like a ‘73 (the quarter window area, mainly). The hood would have been a stock flat hood with engraved hood pins (the blue flat hood pictured).

Now that I think about this, if Round 2 develops new '72-'74 Chargers and '71-'72 Road Runners, they could also bake in new NASCAR bodies for use on their generic MPC chassis while they are at it.

To me, ideally, the ‘73-‘74 Charger wouldn’t be 100% a clone of the original annual kits, or the Super Charger. I would like to see them do a stock Charger Rallye (with domed hood and stock decal options) with custom parts that are perhaps a mix of the original annual parts (like the Wagon parts and custom front end), headers, the Max Wedge intake, stock and custom wheels (perhaps the Cragar SST’s from the Super Charger). Another release could be a Charger SE body, which has never been done as a kit. That could also come with the custom parts. The ‘71 and ‘72 Road Runners could use a little fine tuning to certain things, like a stronger windshield area, as the A pillars on many of these bodies are warped or bent, the front bumper and grille set up never looked like it was shaped quite right, and there was never any lower grille detail on them. Finally, the inner front fenders were never really shaped right, and separate exhausts would be nice. Otherwise, the custom parts that the Road Runners (and ‘71 GTX) came with would probably work pretty well.

Very nice so far- glad we could inspire you to finish this one. Really looking forward to seeing the finished product!

That’s gonna be nice!!! Definitely check back in with that one!!!

Yes! The whole Round 2 nine yards!

So…in summation: I think this would be worth it to repop, if they have the tooling. For all we know, it might be on the list. I’m sure lots of people would open their wallets for this one. It’s been 40 years after all. This car has “movie car good looks” (much like a person can have “movie star good looks”). I could see a lot of builds of this one if it ever comes back. If Round 2 does bring it back: - they should open up all of the gates and see what’s there (of course they will!). The wagon parts would be really, really great to have, if they are still there. -they should shoot it in white plastic. -they should create new decals: at least one factory body side stripe option, but a comprehensive sheet with black, white, and the yellow/red fade style would be fantastic. The new decals they have been including in their kits have been a real motivator for me to buy some of the kits that I already have. if the tooling for this is not viable, then it might be worth it to them to recreate it much like the ‘68 Coronet and ‘71 Demon/ ‘72 Duster. ‘71-‘74 B Bodies can share a common drivetrain and chassis, and this would allow at least 3 or 4 good spinoffs they can bake in. My suggestions for the spinoffs: ‘74 Charger SE (never done as a kit; these were always a little weird to me, but they have grown on me), ‘74 Rallye, ‘71 Road Runner, ‘72 Road Runner. Perhaps a ‘72 Rallye would work as well. A new tool with it’s variants might generate more sales of their ‘71 Charger, both as a companion piece, and as kitbash material. Dont take this as a rant, it’s just friendly, shameless propaganda. At the very least, I hope you have all enjoyed my presentation.

And here is the spoiler that Tim mentioned above, which came in the ‘71, ‘72 Annuals and Hawaiian Funny Car…

Comparison shot between the Super Charger 440 engine and an original MPC 1969 Coronet R/T engine.

In the weeds! Yup, that’s where I’m going!!! Let’s turn this into a full-on review: Notice the box art build has a NASCAR body, and a Hemi (!).

That Plymouth has the best pre-‘69 big block air cleaner ever kitted! I wish Round 2 would have cribbed this for an upgrade to the engine in their ‘68 Coronet! It looks great on any 383-440 big block.

I really like hearing these "back in the day" stories about factory unicorns. By the time I came along, all that seemed to be left were 318 cars

I probably mixed it up in my haste...the more we noodle with this, the more I'm moving from "shoot some plastic into that Super Charger" to "new project for '71-'74 B Bodies like the Coronet/ Demon". Did I mention I'm having lots of fun?

Nice! You could start with the AMT ‘71 Charger…side marker turn signals from Few Sprues Loose on eBay…I have been wondering how to do a Ball Stud engine for a long time though…maybe one of the 3D guys will do one eventually. If you ever need one of those “proposed for ‘71” spoilers for the project, hit me up- I have a few of those. They came in the ‘71 and ‘72 annuals, as well as the Hawaiian Funny car. I always thought that spoiler was a missed opportunity.

That could definitely be a way to go. The original MPC ‘71-‘74 Road Runners used a different chassis tool, but the 1:1 cars would have used the same stuff. That approach would solve many problems: the wire front axle of the Charger, the poor appearance and molded in exhaust of the chassis in the Road Runner, and also, multiple bodies and interiors could be developed- for instance- ‘72 Charger Rallye, ‘74 Charger SE and Rallye, ‘71 Road Runner & GTX, ‘72 Road Runner…all using the same basic tool. EDIT: Satellites used a 115” wheelbase those years, which Chargers used a 117” wb. This probably would not a huge problem if the kits were developed at the same time.

Thank you Mark! I’m glad you are enjoying this. I certainly am!

That's a beauty! You really nailed the little custom touches with that one. Yes- we need this kit

The '72 kit did come with the Air Grabber and Louvre inserts. Those hoods might have still been in Dodge's production plan early on, but by the time the promos came around, the '72 Promos had the correct domed/ plain hood. I think 1:1 '72's were initially available with the Air Grabber, but from what I have heard, they made maybe 10 or so cars with that hood (and even fewer with the 440 Six Pack engine). They went to the domed hood for '72, probably because muscle model sales were dropping significantly, and it simplified production, as it was just a stamping without any kind of insert. I had read somewhere that by 1973, most dealers wouldn't order 440 cars unless they were paid for up front or with a huge deposit, since insurance and fuel became big questions for many potential buyers during that era. Chrysler read the tea leaves- the Charger went from "Muscle Hero" to "Luxobarge" in just a few short years.

Thank you! I noticed some of this stuff only after shooting the pics and studying them. I guess they had to chop somewhere!

More hoods. The white one on the left is from an original annual ‘72 Charger. It has the optional louvred insert glued in. It’s more or less the same as the one from the ‘71 annual. Notice there are no vents on the back edge. It looks like the 71 and 72 promos did have the louvres. The purple one in the middle had been cut from a Hawaiian funny car body. Notice the louvres. It’s the closest thing to correct for a ‘72- no scoop or insert, just a plain dome, and vents on the back edge, although there should be a small divider in the vents for a ‘72 hood. The vents are the early production ‘71 style. The gray hood is from the “new” AMT ‘71 Charger R/T kit. It has a better look all around, and the early ‘71 style vents at the back edge.