mikos

The real question is will bringing back the tooling and equipment back to the states and having U.S. labor working at a U.S. factory making the product be as profitable for the company. That answer would probably be a big no. The supply chains from China have been fully matured and the factories over there are in full production with cheap labor. Like the tariffs many think will encourage more production in the U.S., that ship has sailed 45 years ago. We’re are a service based economy now. And, I’m afraid that if we get too belligerent with China, they could hold the tooling hostage or do some other retaliatory response and make it difficult, if not impossible, to take the tooling out of the country and have it produced somewhere else. Edited.

Unless it was a test shot, which I find highly unlikely even at $25 that “some guy” was selling at the Dearborn show over 45 years ago, they only came in Candy Apple Red. Nice try though.

No black, just red only for ‘69.

I would like to see Round2 clone the AMT ‘69 Mustang. That would give modelers a relatively accurate ‘69 Mustang to go along with the full detail “Mach Won” ‘70 kit. A new release based on the “Mach Won” could be made with the necessary parts to make a stock ‘70 out of it. That would be the cheapest most effective way to get both model years represented on the shelves. Some might say they can just reissue the MPC ‘69 again. However, with the issues that one seems to have regarding the body, I’d rather see them clone the AMT ‘69 from an old promo/kit and use that one instead.

There were many cars with the virtual highest point of the roof over the driver’s head. The 2nd generation F-body was somewhat similar. With a car so well-documented like the Jaguar E-Type, it’s aggravating to know that Revell screwed up on the windscreen by making it noticeably too low. It’s similar to the problem they had many years ago with the Foxy body “notchback” Mustang police car. The designers who worked on the master patterns obviously did not know or care what the real cars looked like in 1:1 scale. I guess they didn’t do an internet search to view the thousands of photos of the real cars posted online.

That built model is screaming for body side mirrors. lol! The ‘69-‘70 Mustangs are my favorite years. Hopefully, Round2 will see fit to do a stock ‘70 out of the Mach Won kit.

That’s only if you assume 1/25th scale. If you switch it with 1/24th scale, the 1983 BMW 7 series (E23) U.S. version is 197.4” long which scales to about 8.2” inches in 1/24th scale which equals about 208mm.

I agree. I got that pic off Ebay so maybe the seller was mistaken. I don’t have the recent issue MPC Nova to compare to. However, it’s not a problem. Sellers part out kits all the time on EBay and I’m sure you can find the AMT Nova versions quite easily.

Yes, I think same as the ones I posted except they look a little more deep dish.

The MPC ‘79 Nova 6-slot Rally wheels are accurate for a ‘81 non Z28 Camaro. RPO (ZJ7) 14”x7” Rally wheels were optional on the Camaro since 1970. They were the same wheels optional on the ‘71-‘79 Novas too. The Chevelle also came with them in certain years. I mentioned 3-piece design because they are similar to a 3-piece wheel; center cap, trim ring and the steel wheel. The Rally wheels that came on the 1969 Chevelle are totally different than the (ZJ7) wheels. They were the older style where the slots in the wheel were elongated. The center cap and trim rings, if equipped, were slightly different as well. GM didn’t start using the later design RPO (ZJ7) Rally wheel until ‘70-‘71. 1969 Chevelle Rally wheel pics… RPO (ZJ7) Rally wheel on ‘80-‘81 Camaro… I mentioned the Revell hood because you could probably file it down and make it work. The only problem would be the center hood dome bulge that would be wider in 1/24th scale than the 1/25th scale front bumper grill bulge on the MPC kit. How much exactly, I don’t know. It’s a moot point, anyway. The AMT Z28 flat hood works perfectly fine with a few modifications. Below are pics of the rims that come in the recent MPC Nova kit (I think same as the old MPC ‘78-‘80 El Camino as well). They look fairly close to me. (Sorry for the editing)

Like Tim mentioned, Cragars were a thing way into the 1970’s. They were heavy as lead too.

The base 5.0L LG4 was rated at 145HP. You could upgrade to the Cross-Fire Injection LU5 which came with 20hp more at 165HP (automatic only). The Mustang was quicker until ‘83 when the mid-year release of the 190HP L69 H.O came out significantly improving the performance on the Camaro.

Okay, that’s what I originally wrote above. It’s just the Fiero that was incorrect. Thanks.

Yeah, I forgot the Fiero was 60-degree V6. If you had some scratch building skills, you could probably make a 90-degree V6 out of a SBC V8 found in other kits. That’s what Chevy did on the real first gen 4.3L V6. They just lopped off two cylinders from the SBC. The MPC ‘79-‘86 El Camino, ‘79-‘80 Monte Carlo and ‘82-‘92 F-body (and Knight Rider) have some nice SBC’s to make V6’s out of them. It wouldn’t be the Buick 3.8L, but pretty close. Did any kits actually come with the Buick-based 231 90-degree V6 in 1/25th scale?

I know the AMT ‘70 kit fits. It actually fits better than the stock hood. Just a little trimming needed. To be perfect, you have to sand down a little bit where it meets the character line coming from the center hood dome bulge near the bumper. However, the headlight pod lines are pretty much spot on. In the pics, this wasn’t done yet, just a little edge trimming.

The multi-piece 6-slot rally wheels already exist in the new MPC ‘79 Nova kit. The flat hood can be found in the AMT ‘70 Z28 kit and now the (Stranger Things) ‘80’s Revell Z28 hardtop kit. The 231 V6 can be emulated by the V6 engine in the mid ‘80’s MPC Fiero GT kit and the old ‘89 Firebird GTA Pace Car kit minus the turbo. The simulated cross-lace wheels would have to be new, though. The ‘73-‘80 Deluxe wheel-covers can be found aftermarket in resin (non chrome plated) on Ebay. No way Round2 would give us all those options for the early ‘80’s Camaro Z28. We’ll be lucky to get a semi-stock reissue out of the Pro Street release. Unless the correct hood is found, we probably get the same ‘78-‘79 style hood like in the Pro Street kit. Better than nothing, I guess.

I guess it’s hit or miss with Revell. The ‘80’s Hurst Olds Cutlass/442 was very well done. One of my favorites!

It bothers me too. I know some people don’t care, but I can find huge multi-page threads talking about minor engine details or wrong seat patterns/interior parts on other kits to the brink of exhaustion. If it was just the flat upper window side rail we had the fix, that wouldn’t be too bad. However, the front wheel wells are super elongated in shape compared to the real car (or even the Johan kit) so those would need to be fixed as well.

Does HL still do the 40% off coupons? The local store by me stopped doing that a few years ago.

I remember reading that it was because Fisher Body was having problems installing the wraparound glass with the ears (the corner edges of the glass) constantly swiping or wiping off the window adhesive when they tried installing the glass on the body. This delayed the introduction of the wraparound glass until they found a workable solution that kept the glass adhesive intact in those areas. I like the non wraparound rear window on the early models. The later ones that came with T-tops with the wraparound glass look good too. The T-top option with the wraparound glass gave the greenhouse an airy C-pillar targa top look that looked very modern back then.

No, you’ll pay the same tariffs as the rest of us. Remember, you’re soon going be the 51st state. (just kidding) lol!

For a second there, I thought my screen was going bad. lol! Wow! I never knew they made them in that color. Looks like a ‘79.

A smaller fear could happen, though. Trump is proposing tariffs on goods coming from China. In what way that could affect prices on model kits, I don’t know. However, if he goes through with it, expect your wallet to be a lot lighter as prices go up significantly.

No problem. I’m not a huge fan of the Pro Street model kit. I’d only be interested in the parts that could be pirated to make a stock Z28. My dream is to make every color/stripe variation offered in ‘80-‘81. I’m thinking it’s basically the same as the annual without the stock wheels/tires and decals. I don’t know if any special parts were included for the “Pro Street” issue, but I do know that the annual kits had a ton of race car parts in them to make a custom street machine or oval track racer. When the Thunder-Z and Pro Street came out, I wondered why they used the old ‘78-‘79 style hood. I figured MPC must have somehow lost/damaged the tooling for the later style hood. There seemed to be no other major change in parts between the ‘79 and ‘80 annual except for the remolded front fender vents, new style hood, and the addition of rear wheel fender spats/flares like on the Trans Am.

You can use the AMT Z28 hood as well, but there’s no scoop. So, only non Z28’s can be made like the base, LT and Berlinetta models. To make a Z28, you need the unique “air-induction” style hood that was only available in ‘80-‘81. The Cheverra snap kit has it, but you’d have to sacrifice that kit (or body) to make the MPC kit. Also, you’d have to find a Chevy small block for the engine since the Pro Street still had the old big block from the early ‘70’s. MPC never changed it even after the big block was no longer available in the Camaro after ‘72.