Fuzz Duster - Round 2 serves it up LAME!

[Faust]

I grew up in the middle of the Automotive Dark Ages. I was surrounded by the last, sad remnants of the old V8, rear drive cars and the vanguard of the new, more compact vehicles. At the time, I remember thinking that there was no reason to announce to the world that you had a “2.2” on big numbers on the door. I mean, what good was that?  What I didn’t realize that the time was how truly sad the “real” cars had gotten. 

That dawned on me as I grew up, and that’s part of the reason that I love to model cars from this time period. Remember them from my childhood, and now understand them, and what they meant as the collapse of a passion for motoring that would take a long time to recover.  There are a lot of cars that fit into this category, but some of my favourites are those that tried hard, but failed.

These were the “Faded Glory” cars; little more that econoboxes or downsized shadows of their namesakes’ former greatness. Perhaps one of the best example of this is the Road Runner. By the time 1980 rolled around, it was little more than just a decal package on a Volare, and a not-very-inspiringly-restyled Volare at that.  

That’s why I was so pumped to see Round 2 punch out the old MPC “Fuzz Duster” Volare! It really is an encapsulation of its era, and all that was wrong with it.  Despite the lameness of the car, though, MPC did a pretty nice job on the kit, even if it’s a bit incorrect. 

Check out my out of box review of this “muscle” machine here. Just remember that yes, it DID get this bad!

https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/mpc-125-1980-volare-road-runner-fuzz-duster-oob/

[Chuck Most]

[Motor City]

I grew up in the middle of the Automotive Dark Ages. I was surrounded by the last, sad remnants of the old V8, rear drive cars and the vanguard of the new, more compact vehicles. At the time, I remember thinking that there was no reason to announce to the world that you had a “2.2” on big numbers on the door. I mean, what good was that?  What I didn’t realize that the time was how truly sad the “real” cars had gotten. 

That dawned on me as I grew up, and that’s part of the reason that I love to model cars from this time period. Remember them from my childhood, and now understand them, and what they meant as the collapse of a passion for motoring that would take a long time to recover.  There are a lot of cars that fit into this category, but some of my favourites are those that tried hard, but failed.

These were the “Faded Glory” cars; little more that econoboxes or downsized shadows of their namesakes’ former greatness. Perhaps one of the best example of this is the Road Runner. By the time 1980 rolled around, it was little more than just a decal package on a Volare, and a not-very-inspiringly-restyled Volare at that.  

That’s why I was so pumped to see Round 2 punch out the old MPC “Fuzz Duster” Volare! It really is an encapsulation of its era, and all that was wrong with it.  Despite the lameness of the car, though, MPC did a pretty nice job on the kit, even if it’s a bit incorrect. 

Check out my out of box review of this “muscle” machine here. Just remember that yes, it DID get this bad!

https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/mpc-125-1980-volare-road-runner-fuzz-duster-oob/

a very entertaining review, Adam!

[dartman]

I love your reviews........

[Nova-ss]

hey Adam,

I enjoyed your thoughts and words on this reissue.good work.it brought me back to those days..you have away with words.I look forward to your reviews.thank you......Chris 

[stavanzer]

Oh. Man, what a great review. I've already started mine. The fit is typical MPC, but it has been smooth sailing so far. I'm going all out and using every Flare, Scoop and the Biggest Spoiler in the kit.
 I've scavenged some great 1980's Deep and Deeper 5 Spoke rims for it.  This kit will yield a superb example of the Malaise era Kruiser.

Thanks for the great peek in the box, Adam. Another Winner from Round2.  Now bring on that Squad Rod Nova.

[randyc]

i so wish it had been an earlier version.  Even as passionate as I am about cars, the real once of this car was so awful, even I lost interest in it.   The round headlight versions were at least interesting to look at as a reminder of what used to be.   I was excited about this kit till I saw the square headlights and no real cool decal options.  May as well be beige with a brown vinyl top, slant 6 and 3 spd manual.  And fulll wheel covers to complete the Malaise.  

Going to read your review now so I can at least get some entertainment out of this car and kit.

Thanks for the great reviews.

[Faust]

Oh man, Alan is going to go all out, eh? Nice! Those wheels will look great with it. As for that Nova, I am SO IN! It will HAVE to be light metallic blue. They were ALL light metallic blue when I was growing up. Weill, that or beige. 

As for beige, man, Randy, that's a lot of hate on the Volare. I can totally see why you'd want an earlier version. My brother has the promo of the '78, and yeah, those are really quite nice-looking cars. Your "may as well" description pretty much sums up his IDEAL version of this kit. He loves ultra-base cars (since no one preserves them, but they are usually the rank-and-file that were on the streets - gotta preserve what was real), and would kill for a good slant-six engine!

Me, I love that it's a last-year, square-headlight lame-o Volare. To me, those sum up the total hopelessness and futility of driving enthusiasts and even the automakers in general. It really is like they weren't even trying. Well, I guess they weren't...  I like to do my cars of the Malaise Era up as the "almost cool" cars they were trying to be, just because it's that much sadder. Let's face it, an '80 Road Runner fits well with the "sporty" X-11 notchback and EXP I already have in my collection, right? 

On that note, I found a beautiful black and red example online, and I must say, time has been kind. In immaculate shape and eye-catching colours, this car  can almost pass for cool now. It couldn't do that in 1980, could it? 

Glad everyone was able to enjoy the review. Sometimes, I wonder if I make them too long, but I get passionate, and I have to let my inspiration run its course. Glad you guys take the time to read them. It really keeps me motivated!

[Daddyfink]

I think it was all that gaudy stuff that made me want it back then. It pop'd! Stock was just too boring for me, and still is, but those crazy parts and loopy decals where just the right ticket for a 13 year old! 

Thanks for the neat and colorful review! 

[Motor City]

Adam,

Hopefully someone will give you a Superfly Grand Prix just to read your humorous review!

 

[Bob Ellis]

I didn't like any cars made after 1971.

[Mike999]

LMAO at that all-caps blast of text on the side of the box:

BUILD THE SPORTY STOCK VERSION!  MPC'S FAB VOLARE RULES THE ROAD WITH AUTHENTIC DETAIL AND FACTORY LETTERED TIRES!

"Fab?"  In 1980?  Really? Why not "groovy Volare?"

Yes, I did get one of these. And will probably build it as a boss rusted-out bomb. 

And thanks to Adam for another great review.  I always look forward to the next one.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Mike999
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[Faust]

 

Adam,

Hopefully someone will give you a Superfly Grand Prix just to read your humorous review!

 

Oh my... what in the what is that. It's like the illegitimate (and somewhat genetically de-contented) love child of a Poncho and a Stutz Bearcat. That thing, is just the worst, and yet, it is the best. Now I HAVE to get one of these. Does it even actually have anything to do with Welcome Back Kotter, or did they "Fonzy's Dream Machine" the original Superfly in the same way? That thing would be a scream! MPC, you never disappoint!  I would need a bag of Doritos just on opening the box! 

LMAO at that all-caps blast of text on the side of the box:

BUILD THE SPORTY STOCK VERSION!  MPC'S FAB VOLARE RULES THE ROAD WITH AUTHENTIC DETAIL AND FACTORY LETTERED TIRES!

"Fab?"  In 1980?  Really? Why not "groovy Volare?"

Yes, I did get one of these. And will probably build it as a boss rusted-out bomb. 

And thanks to Adam for another great review.  I always look forward to the next one.

Yeah, I wondered about that. Fab? If it was a 4-cylinder, the "Fab-4" jokes write themselves (Ooh! Abbey Road-themed inappropriate EXP custom is now coming into view in my minds eye!). It's almost like even MPC was just at the end of their ability to care at all about the car. That's fair, I get it. 

One day, I'm going to review something that doesn't suck, and you guys are likely going to be bored. My apologies in advance.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Faust

[Daddyfink]

The Fonz Dream Rod is actually a Mokee Mobile. The Sweat Hogs Dream Machine is the Superfly car. 

 

[Faust]

Man, what WON'T MPC try and repush. What is with the roof on Fonz's rod? At least give the full roof, for goodness' sake! Now it just looks like a big golf cart! 

That Seathogs/Superfly car is awesome, though. All kinds of bad taste in one Hungry Man meal of aesthetic disaster.  I sooo need to get one. 

[Mark]

hey hey, it's the Fonz' dream rod...

The half-top probably changed the car enough for MPC to not have to give anyone a royalty on it, other than the Happy Days folks...

[Daddyfink]

Man, what WON'T MPC try and repush. What is with the roof on Fonz's rod? At least give the full roof, for goodness' sake! Now it just looks like a big golf cart! 

That Seathogs/Superfly car is awesome, though. All kinds of bad taste in one Hungry Man meal of aesthetic disaster.  I sooo need to get one. 

hey hey, it's the Fonz' dream rod...

The half-top probably changed the car enough for MPC to not have to give anyone a royalty on it, other than the Happy Days folk

Well, and I am just guessing, but it looks like T Tops and Landau tops where all the rage and MPC just went with the fad and styles of the time. Notice that the Superfly also gets the butcher treatment on its roof like the Monkee Mobile did. 

And our subject vehicle also has the T Top option as well. 

 

[Faust]

True enough on that analysis, Jesse. 

I do like the "targa" roof on the Superfly, actually. It kind of helps the entire project be almost kind of believable, a bit. 

What ever happened to T-tops? I guess rollover standards killed them, eh?

[Chuck Most]

T-tops were supposed to be a way around rollover standards- you could have the open air feel of a ragtop with (at least some of) the protection of a full roof. They were a bit of a Band-Aid solution to structural rigidity problems- the T-bar was a structural component. Nowadays, there are better ways to stiffen the body structure so a full convertible or even a targa roof is a better idea.

That and the less tangible thing, being that when you say "t-top", things like "mullets" and "jean shorts" also come to mind.

[unclescott58]

What ever happened to T-tops? I guess rollover standards killed them, eh?

Roll over standards never came into effect. They were threatened in the early 70's, but never truly came about. Slow sales and the threatened roll over standards contribute to the convertible's short lived demise. To satisfy open air fans both sunroofs and t-tops were tried as replacements. The trouble is, especially with the t-tops is that they leaked. Convertibles came back, and soon t-tops were gone.

 

Edited September 27, 2016 by unclescott58

[CapSat 6]

Now this thread is finally veering into the true car vibe of the '70's. Personal luxury. 

Most of the Volares and Aspens I remember seeing on the streets back then weren't base model strippers. They were usually upmarket Volare Premiers and Aspen Special Editions (same for the last Valiants and Darts as well). 

GM really invented this segment with the Grand Prix and Monte Carlo intermediates. Both of these cars came out at the end of the muscle era and were bigger-than-expected hits. 

Once the emissions, fuel economy and insurance situations went critical (remember- the Big 3 weren't responsible for the dawn of the Malaise Age- it was "outside market forces"), this of course signaled doom for the musclecar. All of a sudden (as in: really, folks- overnight! If you were a performance car fan and waited for the '72's to come out, you would have been really P.O.'d!!!), multiple carbs and high compression went away, and intermediates got really heavy and cushy. Why? Because wisely, the Big 3 saw that the Monte Carlo was a sales hit, so they went to that spot and shifted the trend. They still had big investments in intermediate chassis, so for the short term, Torino GT's morphed into Elites, Chevelles became Mailbu Classics, and Chargers became Cordobas (or Charger SE's- the kind everybody seems to have forgotten). The Big 3 didn't necessarily tell their public what to buy- it was the result of "outside market forces". 

The Córdoba might have single-handedly saved Chrysler back in the '70's. 

Monte Carlos, Cutlass Supremes, and Cordobas were everywhere. Why bother with a performance car that won't live up to it's looks when you could just buy something that would deliver what it's looks promised? 

I heard about one Philly- area street racer back in the day who swapped a Hemi 4-Speed drivetrain into a Córdoba. That must have been a mind blower to see and hear.

One of my Cousins owned an AAR Cuda new. He wasn't even a car guy- just a cool kid with a good job. An AAR Cuda. The car he traded it in on was a Córdoba. That would maybe bother some people. Not him. Sign of the times- he probably got just as much attention from the ladies, if not more, with that Córdoba, so- fine with him.

Many car guys also jumped onto the truck trend. Again- no hurt expcations- trucks looked cool, and did the jobs they were intended. They didn't have to haul rear like Musclecars did (although we'll ignore the fast one that Chrysler- described by one automotive journalist as "an arms dealer for speed freaks" back in the day- pulled with the Little Red Express- it not only was a looker, it was just about the most capable new performance vehicle available in 1978).

I remember trucks being HUGE during this era. The Big 3 were really trying- look up a few of the interviews with engineers from back then and they'll all say that the technology to wring any kind of power from those V-8's while meeting emissions standards was simply not there at the time. 

I think that's why for instance it is so easy to get rid of the deservedly- much maligned Lean Burn from those engines. Replace the distributor, ballast resistor and electronic ignition unit with slightly older non-LB parts, switch a few wires, and those engines WOKE UP. I did that with a '79 Diplomat I used to own. Night and day. I would do that to any of those cars as soon as I got one. I think the engineers that put that together intentionally made it all too easy to bypass. 

So- I think I'm gonna build one of my Volares with a padded vinyl top, and all the chrome. And maybe  Hemi 'train.

I would really like to have a nice Córdoba kit in 1/25 scale. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CapSat 6]

And another really funny thing (to probably nobody but myself): the term "Musclecar". When it came about in the '80's (thanks to magazines like Car Review, later Musclecar Review, and High Performance Mopar), the parameters were pretty tightly defined: any American car built between about 1964 and 1971, performance engines only, with quarter mile .e.t. capability of about 14 seconds or less. Heck- it seemed like some Musclecars weren't even Musclecars according to some of the stricter interpretations. 

Now- people tend to call any two-door American car with stripes and fat tires a Musclecar. For instance: if an '80 Volare Road Runner were to appear in a new movie, the reviewer would probably say something about it like: "Ryan Gosling looks the part, driving his Musclecar with the fin on the back around town...". 

That probably drives the editors of those magazines nuts when they see it ("It does 16.70 in the quarter! It's NOT a Musclecar!!!"). 

I think Hemmings Muscle Machines did a feature on an '80 Aspen R/T a few years back...

Edited September 24, 2016 by CapSat 6

[Jantrix]

I think this is a must have for me. I love the unusual and the "seldom done" so this is right up my alley. I love the look of the whole thing. After reading the review I've be really tempted to try the AMT '71 Duster street machine chassis and engine in this.

[Fat Brian]

Bill, you are so right about the automotive culture of the time. My dad bough his first car in 1974, it was a 68 Ford LTD with a 428CJ and the police interceptor package. When he was little older and making decent money he traded that car in on a new 1977 Pacer loaded with all the options. At the time this seemed like a logical decision and only in hindsight, knowing now how prized muscle cars are today, does it seem like something done by a mentally challenged person.

[unclescott58]

Bill, CapSat 6, a very good explanation of what happened to cars and trucks back in the 70's. I missed the Muscle Car era by a few years. I was old enough to be building models and lusting over the Muscle Cars. But, by the time I was old enough for my drivers license it was over. Still too, I did/do like the Personal Luxury cars of the time. Didn't care for the vinyl roofs. But, I like the Cordobas, Monte Carlos, Thunderbirds of the era if they were purchased clean (not too much junk, like vinyl roofs or opera lights, on the outside). By the way, in 1976 the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme knocked the long time best seller, the Chevy Impala, out of first place in sales. A sign of the times.