tim boyd

Time to tackle the wheels, and what about those '71 only R/T side stripes? ***** These are the MPC 1970/71 Challenger R/T wheels. They are a surprisingly accurate representation of the factory 15"x7" Rallye Wheels. I began by painting the wheels' recessed "openings' Tamiya flat black, then followed with Tamiya Silver on the wheel's exposed wheel surfaces that surround the openings. I finished with Tamiya Metallic Gray on the center hubs (note that the Mopar 1971 Rallye wheels used a darker finish on these hubs than did the 1970 Rallye wheels). ***** Here's a closer look at the finished wheels. The outer rims are left in the kit's factory plating. (The 1/1 trim rings wore a brushed reflective finish; I have not found a way to convincingly do this in 1/25th and thus I leave them plated as it is close to the factory appearance when viewed in scale...). ***** I seem to have exhausted my supply of Round 2 Goodyear Polyglas GT pad-printed tires, and sadly - due to licensing issues, I am told - we are unlikely to see any more of these parts packs produced any time soon. So I I found these old MPC Polyglas GT tires and dry-brush painted the white lettering with Tamiya Flat White. Not bad.... ***** In a sneak peek ahead, here's how the wheels and tires look on the almost completed model. My own view is these two parts go a long way to contributing a factory-correct look to the completed model. (N>B> It constantly amazes me how model detailing that looks good to the naked eye, looks less good when viewed in blown up/magnified digital imaging...e.g. the white letters in this photo....) ***** There are several choices for 1971 Challenger R/T factory side stripes, although the two sheets at the top are no longer produced to my understanding. However, all of them appear to be sized to fit the 1/24th scale Monogram Challenger body. The decal on the lower right, from the c. 2005 "Plum Crazy" Model King reissue of the old MPC Challenger funny car kit, is closer to correct but still a little too long. The only fully correct choice was at the lower left. This was cut from the sheet of decals that came with MPC's 1971 Challenger and Charger promotional models, as the MPC assembly kit omitted any factory graphics. But the key question was, would a decal sheet produced 54 years ago still work? ***** Before trying to apply the decals, I arranged some reference photography to make sure the positioning would be correct. Old school decals required soaking for 30-45 seconds in warm-hot tap water, and with that approach, the decals released and applied beautifully. That was the one part of this project that went completely correct! Note that prior to decals I had applied most of the BareMetal foil; I then used a brand new and handheld X-Acto blade to cut away the stripes over the door handles while the decals were still wet. Worked perfectly! ***** This closeup of the passenger side decal shows where the rear portion has a white underlayment what was not exactly registered with the black portion. There's not much you can do to fix this, but fortunately, it was only present on this part of the passenger side decal. ***** Just about finished with this one...hope to post the finished model photos in the "Under Glass" section of the forum tomorrow....thanks for following along and thanks for your comments, too....TIM

Jim....fascinating to watch you go through this kit and address/fix all the shortcomings of this kit. I built three of them as the kit was first introduced around 1977 and I do not remember any of the assembly issues you have encountered (of course, my memory of events about 45 years ago isn't so great, either). I think it is probably a combination of tooling aging and our standards for building kits that far back being much less precise that they are today. Anyway, thanks very much for sharing your adventure with us and best wishes for final completion (looks like you are really close). TB

Bill is exactly correct in both points he makes explaining why AMT did the front end as they did. I should also add that this kit was developed during a period at AMT where scale authenticity and fidelity were often compromised in favor of reduced project costs and possibly unrealistic timing goals. I was actually somewhat impressed with this kit relative to some of AMT's other projects developed at the same time (e.g. their '34 Ford three window coupe kit). There's more to tell on the development of this this kit but I will post the info later in a separate thread...TB

Greg....fascinating to see how you are approaching this project. Thanks for sharing the project and the techniques you are using to achieve it! Cheers...TB

Alan....fascinating. That last image of the new front shows big promise, and love the backstory you have created for the project. Onward!!!! TB

Hah!....Great one, Scott! Best...TB

The MPC 1970/71 Challenger R/T kits contained a typical MPC 426 Hemi engine. But unlike the 1//1 which included the factory's dual inline intake manifold with dual carbs, these were the parts in the MPC kit - a single carb intake, a tiny carb, and a non-stock air cleaner that was more accurate for the Challenger's standard 318 two barrel V8 than the Hemi. Of further note, those exhaust manifolds were not factory correct, either. ***** Since the resin body hood was already glued shut, I didn't attempt to fix the incorrect intake components, but I did endeavor to make sure to finish the underside to correct colors and textures. ***** The interior pieces were leftover from one of those two drag racing projects. I used Testors Leather enamel to simulate the wood appliques on the Challenger's interior. Note that the driver's seat in these MPC kits washed out the pleating on the seat bottom....and the knockout pin mark is very visible on the passenger side footwell....two of the reasons I chose the all-black, rather than white with black, interior color option. Since it was intended as a quick build shelf model, I also omitted the addition of flocking to simulate carpeting. ***** Applicable elements received some care from a Molotow Chrome Pen. The instrument Cluster in these MPC kits was the base layout, not the Rallye Cluster with the tach. My recollection is that the Rallye Cluster was standard on the 1/1 scale '70/'71 Challenger R/T (I need to verify this in my reference library), marking another inaccuracy in the MPC 1970/71 Challenger R/T kits. (Fortunately, that extraneous hair on the package shelf disappeared before final assembly!) ****** Underneath was a typical one-piece promo-style chassis plate. I painted it primer gray, added some Hemi Orange overspray, then blacked out the fenderwells. All this was done with aerosols rather than an airbrush, which produced a somewhat but not completely accurate representation of the underside. The exhaust pipes, mufflers, driveshaft, gas tank, torsion bars, and K-Member were hand painted with Tamiya acrylics. ********** On the other side of this piece, the engine compartment and firewall were sprayed Hemi Orange (I used Mopar Hemi Orange engine paint rather than the factory correct Hemi Orange Metallic body paint, since the hood was already glued shut) ****** The engine is now installed. I had to go hunting for the MPC kit's rear axle/diff/leaf springs. I found them in a partially disassembled 1969 Javelin Street Machine project, which I also hope to restore some day. ***** That's it for today's update. Next up is detailing the wheels and tires, and adding the 1971 R/T graphics....thanks for looking...TIM

Looking really good Rex....TB

Dennis....very, very sharp, and great workmanship. Big congrats...TIM

Or....yet another project intended to be a stress-buster that didn't turn out that way. It was a fully painted (MCW Mopar Hemi Orange Metallic. about 25 years ago), polished, and lightly cleared (around 2018 or 2019) resin rebop body that sat in my cabinet of partially finished projects. It kept starting at me every time I passed by. I always thought I could finish the model if I could find enough parts leftover from two other projects dating back over 50 years ago to finish the model. It seemed like a great way to take a break from the major kitbash project that ended up on the cover of issue #222 of Model Cars Magazine. So? Here's the beginning volley....thanks for checking it out...several updates to come later....TB I started with a relatively clean resin cast body (or so I thought) of the MPC 1971 Challenger R/T annual kit. I was preparing an article for one of the model mags back around 1999 or 2000 on the various Muscle Era Mopar paint "High-Impact" and midyear colors. I glued the hood shut (don't ask my why, I don't know) and proceeded to paint the car with MCW Automotive Paints airbrushed Hemi Orange Metallic. Nearly 20 years later, I finished the partially rubbed out and polished body and added a light coat or two of aerosol clear for another article in one of the model mags on techniques for getting super-smooth paint jobs.... ***** Last month, I decided to try and finish the model. As I began rumaging through all my parts boxes, I masked off and painted the front and rear ends of the body to match the blackout treatments of the 1/1 scale 1971 Challenger R/T. ***** As resin bodies go, this one (not a Holthaus product) was fairly well done, at least on the surface. It turned out that some of the body was just a smidgen smaller (as in shrunk) from the original master kit. Later on, those clean headlamp surrounds were cracked when I inserted the grille/headlamp assembly from behind. (Yes, I saved it, but only after some lucky tweaking). ***** All the rest of the parts to finish off the resin body and other parts for the project came from the leftovers of two prior model car projects that were started back in 1970. The first was this 1970 Challenger Gasser started that year, and then eventually finished around 1987 or so to the level seen here. I sourced the platform chassis and some other leftovers from the kit parts that went unused for this project. Finding them all some 54 years later...now that was the true challenge! ***** This was the second project that donated leftover parts, a 1971 Challenger R/T Pro Stock based on MPC"s annual kit. This one was inspired by the Hank Borger "Angry Man" Maverick Pro Stock article in the February 1970 issue of Car Model magazine. (It was built before the Jo-Han Sox and Martin ''cuda kit became available.) The interior, engine compartment pieces, and taillamps left over from this one were sourced to complete the new Challenger R/T. (N.B.: I never finished this model - it has no engine - but would you believe that completion is underway now?). ************ Next up...engine, interior, and chassis plate...coming soon....TB . Or....yet another project intended to be a stress-buster that didn't turn out that way. It was a fully painted (MCW Mopar Hemi Orange Metallic. about 25 years ago), polished, and lightly cleared (around 2018 or 2019) resin rebop body that sat in my cabinet of partially finished projects. It kept starting at me every time I passed by. I always thought I could finish the model if I could find enough parts leftover from two other projects dating back over 50 years ago to finish the model. It seemed like a great way to take a break from the major kitbash project that ended up on the cover of issue #222 of Model Cars Magazine. So? Not really, Not even close. But it's done now, and you get a chance to take a look. Check ot the photos and captions using the "Roll" feature tab below. Questions and comments welcome...andOr thanks for checking this one out. TIM

Many of the most respected Mopar restorers have said (in print) that the engines were painted ata the factory with the exhaust manifolds attached, but the manifolds were not intended to wear paint. The net result was varying degrees of engine paint overspray on the manifolds resulting from the paint applications to the engine block/valve covers/manifolds etc. When combined with the rust overlay that quickly developed as noted in the posts above, the net appearance was something like this....

Chuck, given your past pickup truck model projects and knowledge, I will be particularly interested in hearing your thoughts once you check out the 1960 and (especially) 1963 unibody kits....TIM

There are various blues in the late 1960's early 1970s (you'll need someone else to help with the current B5 info). For 1968, the Dodge Bright Blue Metallic was code QQ-1 (though people often incorrectly refer to this as B5 Blue). Plymouth called it Electric Blue Metallic. For 1969 and 1970, code EB5 was the Dodge Bright Blue Metallic. Plymouth called it Blue Fire Metallic For 1971, 72, and 73, code GB5 was Dodge Bright Blue Metallic. Plymouth called it True Blue Metallic. Finally, for 1974, code KB5 was Dodge Bright Blue Metallic. Plymouth called it Lucerne Blue Metallic. All four of these medium blue metallics look visibly different from each other. So which B5 you use is important to be linked to the model year of your modeling project. MCW Automotive Finishes offers the first three blues for airbrushing. They may offer the 1974 color in their regular catalog, if not, you can do a special order. Their 1969-70 EB5 was also available from MCW in an aerosol can several years ago that I used when I built this kitbashed 1970 'cuda 340. Hope this helps...TIM

Claude, your creativity just amazes me. If you were competing in the old MPC customizing championship series, you would have been winning the "Best Originality" awards right and left. Having said that, this is one of your best projects yet! Great job. I wouldn't change a single thing. TIM

Thanks Daniel...this is the info I was looking for. But I also found your explanation of how you did the body panel joins to be very instructive and clever. Thanks for taking the time to explain that and the paint approach! Cheers...TIM

To further the point on Revell....the '29A/'30A tooling was substantially damaged shortly after the ''30A first went into production in mid 2015. It took a major effort (manpower, tooling resources, and funding) to redo the missing tooling for the reintroduction of those kits several years back. While it took way too long (from my perspective as a hot rod kit builder) for the kits to return, the new Revell Germany team (and its US support arm) deserve major kudos for actually making it happen. Likewise, the new Boss 351 kit is in my personal judgement clearly the best muscle car kit ever produced in 1/24th-1/25th scale. Personally, I'd rather see fewer kits introduced from Revell, done really well, than a litany of new kits produced to a lower standard. As I think about it in broader terms, we as model car/truck builders are in a really good position right now. We have Revell's new approach with the '71 Mustang and C8 Corvettes, we have Round 2 reintroducing old kit topics with simplified build processes and outstanding fit/finish refinements, we have Moebius producing long wished for topics from the first generation of muscle cars/missing 1960s era pickup and light duty trucks/and the golden age of 1960's-early 1970s drag racing, and finally have Atlantis reissuing ancient Revell/Monogram kit topics that sell for 1/5th of the price of the originals on the auction sites. And not to mention (but to mention(!) the existing and relatively new overseas kitmakers producing JDM and international automotive/racing-rallying/exotics topics. And further, the yet to be determined output of the new Ohio/Atomic group owners of the Jo-Han trademark. Yes, I'm an optimist, and perhaps overenthusiastic cheerleader for our hobby and its kitmakers, but this is my POV FWIW...TIM

Guys....the team at Round 2 are well aware of the interest in the modeling community for "clones" of the '71 and '72 Road Runner. My past experience is that in these types of cases, the model companies add such a topic to their ongoing list of potential projects. Each year (or budget cycle), the companies go through their potential projects list and re-rank the ideas from top to bottom. Rankings often change each year given how the kit market is developing. Then a budget is placed against the list, along with other considerations like the cost of the project, the timing sequence, coverage of key subsegments (pickups, hot rods, drag kits, etc as well as non-auto topics like sci-fi) and the availability of engineering/tooling resources to support the projects. Then the final list of projects to be produced that year is decided. Topics that miss the list that year go onto the list for next year. Each company has their own approach to this process, but the general description above is broadly representative of what occurs. All of which is to say, again, Round 2 knows very well of the interest on this subject. But when and how they react is subject to a whole number of considerations beyond just the feedback on the subject from the public and this forum. My own uneducated guess is that this kit topic has a fairly good chance of eventually occurring, but as to when and how, your guess is as good as mine. Finally, as you've heard me say before, chances for this sort of kit topic increase notably if the current "clone" kits on the market sell really well. Speaking of which, have you all purchased the '68 R/T convertible kit, and placed your advanced orders (when the order banks open) for the '68 R/T hardtop? Hopefully supprotive....TIM

Mark is 100% correct. The '65 to '69 tool was the same one (albeit with year to year updates), and with a new body added in 1967. The tool switched from AMT to MPC branding for the 1968 model year and continued there for 1969. The 1969 kit just reissued by Round 2 still uses a few parts dating back to the original 1965 AMT annual kit.

Mark is 100% correct. The '65 to '69 tool was the same one (albeit with year to year updates), and with a new body added in 1967. The tool switched from AMT to MPC branding for the 1968 model year and continued there for 1969. The 1969 kit just reissued by Round 2 still uses some parts dating back to the original 1965 annual kit.

Dan....my profound kudos on your project.. I have long thought that the modern-day nostalgia front engine rail dragsters would make a great subject for a model project, but yours is the first one i recall seeing executed to this level of precision and realism. And your quality of workmanship is superb! Finally, how did you do the panel inserts on the body? You have every reason to be immensely proud of your accomplishment here! TIM

Very, very cool! Thanks for sharing, and congrats on completing this "refresher" project....TIM

Ron...here you go....TB Best...TB

Thanks all for your comments....very much appreciated, and glad you enjoyed looking at it...TB

Thanks Bill...appreciated your vote of confidence! In some ways I wish I had taken the time to fix some of the issues....the incorrect dropped front axle....lack of a scattershield....the grille shell mounted too low....a wish to use the early Airheart discs up front...the not completely perfect paint, and some other items as noted in the build thread on this model. But on the other hand it is finished (and I got to it to Tim K. for the article at the agreed time). I pretty much always struggle with the tradeoff between perfect but never finished projects vs. Imperfect but finished model projects. I tend to go the latter route, but with some regrets. Thx for the comments...TB