ChrisPflug

Crimson and Clover- Tommy James and the Shondells ( again- later covered by Joan Jett) Fat Bottomed Girls- Queen

Was on a '71 GTX/ Road Runner/ '72 Road Runner kick a while back (a few are missing from the pics) Plan to do all the factory colors and a couple Satellites.....

Bring on the Weird Al Eat It Yoda

When I die and they lay me to rest gonna go to the place that's the best

The tiny purple fishes run laughing through your fingers

As you lie there naked Like a body in a tomb Suspended animation as I slip into your room

Sister Christian Night Ranger

Do you wanna touch me (Oh Yeah) Gary Glitter and later Joan Jett (feel kind of funny typing it.....) Do you wanna touch me (Oh Yeah) Gary Glitter and later Joan Jett (feel kind of funny typing it.....)

The Monogram orange plastic is probably better for polishing- a lot of the newer releases, particularly MPC seem more translucent for 1/24 the original Monogram 71 Hemicuda was orange Others I can think of from my stash are JoHan '69 Road Runner, MPC "fogged" '71 Charger, Revell '69 Vette, and the 80s issue 74 GTX

I like black and white Dreaming in black and white You like black and white.....

Doctor My eyes Jackson Browne

Wonderful Tonight EC

I've got an extra resin 76 Formula hood if you're not wanting to go with the shaker (I forgot about the one I had in a conversion kit and bought an original plastic hood for my 76 Formula project) Missing Link makes nice fitting 70-76 shaker and flat hoods as well Also a fan of the MPC Camaro- have three '72s, a 70.5, and '73 to restore Anybody have a '71 they want to trade for a '72 (or even a back bumper?)

I'm sure some others have purchased built models that aren't exactly in the style you would choose to do them yourself either for parts, restoration, or just because they looked like they needed to be adopted- Show off your ugly cars

Great build of a not so spectacular kit

Original 72-74 bodies can be found in usable condition for not much money- spending an extra 10 bucks or so is certainly a viable alternative to lots of surgery or a conversion kit. The 1980 and up MPC bodies are a bit funky in other details that were restored like the door handles and such

Rocket engine burning fuel so fast Off into the night sky they blast Burning metal through the atmosphere Earth remains in worry hate and fear

Behind the Wall of Sleep from the first Black Sabbath album

Sweet Lucy was a dancer But none of us would chance her Because she was a samurai She made electric shadows Beyond our fingertips But none of us could reach that high

Ready for Love, Bad Co. Ready for Love, Bad Co.

I made some light buckets from an AMT Duster grille

Race cars and reissues The first non stock issue was the Motown Missile from the Pro Stock series. Based on the 73/74 annual with "plain" front bumper and some newly tooled drag parts. The Hemi was converted to dual plugs and twin dominators on an IR tunnel ram. Wheels were changed to slotted mags and only slicks for the rear, a pro stock hood scoop added,and the interior gutted (actually the Dodge Challenger tub with the back seat, console, and carpet detail removed and "rivets" added), a race dash insert, drag buckets and upgraded roll bar. Side windows were also included as well as wheelie bars, cooler, and the appropriate decals. Interestingly the stock chassis with molded in exhaust was still used even though drag car was the only building option Even though it really just used the body from the regular kit, the mid 70s "Barracuda Super Stocker" May have had the most lasting effects. The wheelwells were opened up all around, hood and body side hacked for a scoop and side exiting exhaust, the headlights and door handle details blanked over, and the front turn signal/ parking lights removed from the front valance opening. Chassis and interior were the same as the rest of the modified cars in the series. In 1980 the body was restored for the "Hemi Cuda" street machine. Molded I blue plastic the kit contents were similar to those found in the '74 annual but with heavily treaded big and little tires on Center Lines and a short rear spoiler. The flat hood with multiple score lines on the underside was included. The body repairs weren't the greatest, the most noticeable changes being the absence of the front parking lights, the indentations for the headlights being gone leaving a flat surface for the chrome headlights. The door handles also seem to have grown in size. Locating pins for the glass, interior, and chassis were gone so probably better in avoiding sink marks on the trunk lid. Bumpers were "plain", without the guards. The 80s were unfortunately a bad time for quality at MPC and this kit usually had the poor chrome, cheap tires, and harder to work with soft and deeply colored plastic this era is infamous for. The next releases were in 1985 and 86 labelled "Autoscape" and "Pro Street Barracuda". The Autoscape series featured a vacuformed display base and background poster. Most of the subjects in the series were reissues of Jeeps and trucks but a Mustang and cuda were included. The Barracuda kit was molded in bright yellow plastic and had the dark tinted glass found in many MPC street machines of the day. The Pro Street kit was molded in reddish orange with clear glass and featured an odd single pedestal T shaped rear spoiler. The biggest new feature was a "Pro Street" chassis with the exhaust removed and rubbed rear. Only big slicks were provided for rear tires. The scooped hood and race interior bucket from the Motown Missile were back in these versions and the bumpers once again had huge guards (probably pretty good protection for a show car- 5 mph at the fairground seems like a reasonable real world speed for a Pro Streeter at the height of the craze ) Each of the street machine versions has its own custom graphic decals as well After the Ertl buyout the kit was reengineered into a simple stock AMT snap kit in yellow plastic. The flat hood was molded in place, Rallye wheels and some ugly tires added as well as decals for white or black factory 73-74 style tape stripes. The body detail issues of the later MPC versions pretty much carried over. The AMT was released a couple times as a snap kit and also as a "retro promo" assembled version in Rallye Red. All the versions have strong and weak points depending on what version you want to build. Hopefully the release of the new Revell 70 kits will take some of the pricyness from builder/rebuilder quality used older issues. Parts interchangabilty isn't the greatest for adding chassis and interior detail, the new Revell underpinnings seem a bit large to fit easily but the AMT Challenger chassis and engine bay can be fitted without too much grief. Probably a few mistakes, I own quite a few but not every version mentioned. I Also tend to purchase rebuildables rather than pricy New vintage kits for my modest personal stash Pictures to follow

The MPC 'cudas are pretty much what you'd expect from a promo based annual kit of the era- a very nicely done body, simple but detailed tub interior, so-so engine, and simple chassis with fenderwells and exhaust detail molded in and designed to use screws to attach the rear. A metal axle covered by a separate rear end/ leaf spring is used in the back with separate plastic pins mounting the front wheels (at least we're spared an axle through the engine block). The interior is made up of a tub with molded in door panel, console, and back seat for stock original issues with separate bucket seats, shifter handle, dash, and steering wheel/column. The engine provided has been a 426 Hemi with separate automatic trans- even after the 1:1 hemicuda was no longer available from Chrysler. The body has always been the strong point of these kits- even if certain details and dimensions were a bit off the model just seemed "right". Part of this comes from the 1:1 using lots of design tricks to make the outside look smaller and sportier. These cars were designed to share much of the engine bay, cowl, floor pan, suspension, and mechanical components with the upcoming 1971 B bodies but compete and have the pony car style of the Mustang and Camaro which had started out as reskinned Falcon and Nova compacts. Many of the styling "tricks" didn't translate directly to scale visually so some liberties taken to make the promo look how Chrysler thought it should. The Annuals The 1970 kit was molded in lime green and features a shaker hood with separate scoop, chrome bumpers with a one piece plated front grille shell and bumper piece and dual exhaust tips molded into the rear valance. The interior is upscale featuring the optional leather and vinyl upholstery, Rallye dash, console, and three spoke steering wheel with partial horn ring. Wheels included are a set of stock Rallyes and some nice Keystone Klassics with four shortfalls and a pair of vinyl slicks. Building options included a "High Rise" suspension with a leaf sprung straight axle for the front and exaggerated extensions for the rear spring mounts, traction bars, and coil assist shocks (all rather crudely done). A "Barris custom" version offered custom grille inserts, a strange triple hood scoop, and spoiler. Interior options were limited to a simple roll bar. Decals included some generic drag striping, sponsorship stickers and Plymouth Rapid Transit System logos. A Candies and Hughes funny car kit was also offered featuring funny car chassis and firewall but a stock promo style body with the hood and shaker molded in. For 1971 the body was updated with the new cars styling and the grille shell now molded to the body. White plastic was now used. The interior was unchanged other than the disappearance of the horn ring, the dash emblem changed on the real car but was left alone on the model. A new high rise intake option was offered featuring long criss crossing tubes that came up through the hood to high dual scoops. Decals were provided for a Don Grotheer drag version. The Schumacher Stardust funny car kit was offered featuring a photo of a real funny car on the box but stock promo style body inside. The 72 was again restyled with the kit reflecting the changes. The shaker hood was now gone replaced in the kit with a flat base Barracuda piece (and new flat air cleaner to fit under it for "stock" version. The interior was revised with the new upholstery pattern and two spoke steering wheel. The Hemi was unchanged although the largest factory engine in the 1:1 was now a 340. Chrysler also changed the design of Rallye wheel center cap for 1972 but this change didn't come to the MPC annuals till the '74s. Decals were included for a Sox and Martin version as well as black factory style side stripes like th ones provided with the promos. 1972 was the last year for a factory Barracuda promo. Styling for 1973 was mostly unchanged, most noticeable on the kit was the addition of the huge "crash" bumper guards. "Barracuda" scripts were added to the quarter panels and the "cuda" disappeared from the taillight panel. Stock whitewall tires were replaced with Blackwell Polyglas. The biggest change in the kit had nothing to do with the 1:1 car but rather custom parts. The "High Rise" and drag options were replaced with the "Gasser" version. Injection stacks and a barrel fuel tank were provided for the Hemi, an optional dash, race seats and a "tinwork" cover to hide the back seat was added for th interior. A whole new front end setup requiring the front of the chassis and fenderwells be cut off and replaced with new stub frame and straight axle setup. The rear was less radical than the earlier versions and now had wheelie bars. Custom wheels were now dragster mags and a panel was provided to cover the headlights and grille For 1974 the "Barracuda" scripts disappeared from the quarters and the "cuda" was back on the tail. The big front bumper guards found on the 1:1 went away and th factory Rallye wheels were updated. A pointy extended custom front end was added as well as a spoiler, sidepipes, and a blower for th Hemi.