Revell '70 Charger

[crowe-t]

There's finally a nicely detailed 1970 Charger available.  Otherwise it was a resin casting of the old MPC kit or big bucks on E-Bay for an original.  The 1968 & '69 Revell Chargers are great kits and finally a 1970 is on it's way.  I wish there were more options but parts from the '68 & '69 can be swapped in or from other kits.  I can't wait to see some Revell '70 Charger builds here.

[1972coronet]

While I understand the mantra of , "Hemi will sell" , I also must take issue with that ; to wit : the fantastic 1968 Charger R/T from ~10 years ago ! It has two engines : 440 and Hemi . Why couldn't that same "largesse" have been bestowed-upon this all-new tool 1970 ??? How about the awesome 1972 Hurst/Olds (and its other iterations) ? Again , all-new tool , and that rascal has TWO transmissions ( TH-400 with the mandatory Hurst edition , and the 4-speed ) ; and , the latest edition has TWO freakin' grilles ( Cutlass AND 4-4-2 !! ) .

No excuses , guys .

[unclescott58]

I'm still waiting for the 1970-1971 W11 Dodge wheel covers to find their way into one or more kits :

 

By the way, why is the Dodge Features Manual, Dart page of of wheels, wheel covers, and steering shown here? And not the correct Charger one? You can see the correct Charger page at the Hamtrack Registry web site.

 

[1972coronet]

By the way, why is the Dodge Features Manual, Dart page of of wheels, wheel covers, and steering shown here? And not the correct Charger one? You can see the correct Charger page at the Hamtrack Registry web site.

 

You bring up a valid point , Scott . It was a simple oversight on my part , as my main directive was to showcase the W11 , and not necessarily the Charger options . To that end , here's the Charger's wheel and tiller page : 

[Rob Hall]

You bring up a valid point , Scott . It was a simple oversight on my part , as my main directive was to showcase the W11 , and not necessarily the Charger options . To that end , here's the Charger's wheel and tiller page : 

The plain S83 steering wheel on the far right reminds me of '70s Dodge pickup steering wheels...IIRC, the '79 Power Wagon I learned to drive in had one similar to that.. 

[1972coronet]

The plain S83 steering wheel on the far right reminds me of '70s Dodge pickup steering wheels...IIRC, the '79 Power Wagon I learned to drive in had one similar to that.. 

The Rim-Blo wheel certainly does look like the 70's D/W Series version , but I don't believe that the D/W got the Rim-Blo feature . My friend's 1970 Charger ( base hardtop , 318 , auto , bench seat ) has the S83 . It was a fairly-common option on the Dart Swingers of that era ; not sure how many Chargers got the 'Blo (most likely the base models) .

[Rob Hall]

The Rim-Blo wheel certainly does look like the 70's D/W Series version , but I don't believe that the D/W got the Rim-Blo feature . My friend's 1970 Charger ( base hardtop , 318 , auto , bench seat ) has the S83 . It was a fairly-common option on the Dart Swingers of that era ; not sure how many Chargers got the 'Blo (most likely the base models) .

The truck had either a horn ring or under the center padding...didn't realize Mopar had a Rim-Blo steering wheel, only place I'd seen those were on Mustang Mach1s.

[CapSat 6]

You bring up a valid point , Scott . It was a simple oversight on my part , as my main directive was to showcase the W11 , and not necessarily the Charger options . To that end , here's the Charger's wheel and tiller page : 

Still missing the center caps on the Rallye Wheel. I can't unsee it!!! ?

[gtx6970]

I just picked up a steering wheel from an early 70s Dodge B  van kit that can can pass for the rim blow wheel pretty well. 

 

Need it for a Superbird build I have in process

[High octane]

The way I see it, we're not going to see tons of optional parts any more. The trade off for the past 25 years or so has been more detail. I don't mind that most new kits only come with one engine, set of wheels, or intake any more. I happen to like the greater detail, better chassis, etc. 

For that matter: yes, the product planners are going to keep pressing the Hemi button, as that will get the most attention for their new, risky, costly products. If that's what it takes to get new products to market at a reasonable price, then I guess I'll be building more Hemi cars!!!

 

Good point there Bill and it makes sense too. Guess I'll be scrounging around for more wedge engines.

[CapSat 6]

Good point there Bill and it makes sense too. Guess I'll be scrounging around for more wedge engines.

This is why I pick up Revell '68 Darts whenever possible, especially if I see them at Michael's or A.C. Moore (hello- 40% off coupon!), especially the Hemi Dart kit (that one comes both with a Hemi / 4-Speed combo and a wedge with Torqueflite). I must have about a dozen of those engines ready to go...

The fun part in having all of these Hemis is: puttIng them in cars which usually don't have them. I have a '78 Magnum (resin), a '74 Charger SE (being converted) and a '77 Monaco that will all get Hemis eventually... ?

 

Edited September 17, 2017 by CapSat 6

[CapSat 6]

The truck had either a horn ring or under the center padding...didn't realize Mopar had a Rim-Blo steering wheel, only place I'd seen those were on Mustang Mach1s.

Dis you ever see the Mopar rim blow for '71?:

 

 

[Casey]

While I understand the mantra of , "Hemi will sell" , I also must take issue with that ; to wit : the fantastic 1968 Charger R/T from ~10 years ago ! It has two engines : 440 and Hemi . Why couldn't that same "largesse" have been bestowed-upon this all-new tool 1970 ??? How about the awesome 1972 Hurst/Olds (and its other iterations) ? Again , all-new tool , and that rascal has TWO transmissions ( TH-400 with the mandatory Hurst edition , and the 4-speed ) ; and , the latest edition has TWO freakin' grilles ( Cutlass AND 4-4-2 !! ) .

No excuses , guys .

Revell's '72 Olds Cutlass, '68 Charger R/T, and '68 Dodge Dart Hemi were all "Special Edition" kits, while the new '70 Dodge Charger R/T kit is not...as special, so not as much content, and probably a few dollars cheaper (adjusted for inflation), too. Recall the original Revell '69 Dodge Charger R/T kit was a Pro Modeler kit, which is similar to what the more recent SE kits offered-- a second engine, multiple part options, etc. The "standard" Revell '69 Dodge Charger R/T kit included only the 440 engine, and fewer options compared to the PM kit.

TL/DR: Special Edition = more, non SE = less.

[1972coronet]

Revell's '72 Olds Cutlass, '68 Charger R/T, and '68 Dodge Dart Hemi were all "Special Edition" kits, while the new '70 Dodge Charger R/T kit is not...as special, so not as much content, and probably a few dollars cheaper (adjusted for inflation), too. Recall the original Revell '69 Dodge Charger R/T kit was a Pro Modeler kit, which is similar to what the more recent SE kits offered-- a second engine, multiple part options, etc. The "standard" Revell '69 Dodge Charger R/T kit included only the 440 engine, and fewer options compared to the PM kit.

TL/DR: Special Edition = more, non SE = less.

Ah ! That makes sense . I thought that the 'Special Edition' deal was just some hyperbolic embellishment ; apparently , that's not the case ! 

Okay , then ... how about a Special Edition of the '70 Charger ?

[horsepower]

FM3 Panther Pink/Moulin Rouge was a factory 1970 1/2 color, introduced around February of 1970.  At that point in the 1970 model year the muscle car market was tanking big time, so dealers did not order much fresh factory production with the new mid-year features, which is one of the reasons these were so rare when new.  

FM3 was only available as a regular production order for the remainder of the 1970 model year only.  It was listed as an option for all A, B, and E-body Mopars, so that includes Dodge Darts, Coronets, Chargers, and Plymouth Dusters, Satellite/Road Runner/GTX's, and Barracuda/'cuda.  

As mentioned elsewhere in this this thread there were just a few factory-produced 1971 Mopars that were special ordered with FM3 paint; these are pretty well documented by now to the point that if you wanted to paint a 1971 Mopar muscle car in Panther Pink, go ahead and do so and say that it could have been built in 1/1 scale using the same special order process.  

By the way, years ago I fully documented the factory correct applications of all those "Muscle Era" special paint colors from Ford, GM, AMC, and of course the Chrysler High Impact paint line; it is available as a downloadable .pdf for a minimal price.  If any of you are interested, PM me and I will send you the link to order it  

TIM 

 

 Yeah, as luck would have it just after posting that while looking up images for the '70 Charger to freshen my memory (I sure seem to be doing a lot of that lately) I came across three different cars in this color. In fact one appears to be the one used for making this kit. It's identical except for the fact it doesn't have the "Bumble Bee" stripe and instead has some strange white and black pinstripes that run front to back and also along the bottom demarcation line.

[horsepower]

Hubcaps usually get no consideration from the manufacturers for new designs if there was a styled wheel option available. Maybe Fireball Modelworks will come to the rescue with this one?

It would be nice also if they came with either decals or photo reduced items for the centers- either saying "Dodge" or "Challenger" optionally...

...and I always thought it was funny that almost all of the '70 lit showed Rallye wheels without center caps.  There are several factory photos of '70 cars with Rallyes and no center caps. I can't imagine that these were designed for the caps to be optional??? They just look too unfinished without center caps...

 

 

God! How I hated those steering wheels with the horn on the outer rim. Seemed like every time I went to back up in one I'd end up blowing the horn.....repeatedly!

[horsepower]

There was an FM3 Charger R/T with the dual pin stripe on the side the go over the door scoop (no bumble bee stripe) in the Cedar Rapids / Iowa City area. I have talked to the original owner (also a model builder) and he has some good pictures taken of him and the car back when it was new. As the owner of a 68 Coronet 500 convertible myself I have talked to many Mopar people in the area that remember the car. It was stolen in the mid 70's and never seen again.

Carmak

 

If you search for images of 1970 Chargers you'll find pictures of that car.

[gtx6970]

Dis you ever see the Mopar rim blow for '71?:

 

 

Thats the Wheel used in 70-71 - A bodies, 70-71 - E bodies and 71 up B bodies

[niteowl7710]

While I understand the mantra of , "Hemi will sell" , I also must take issue with that ; to wit : the fantastic 1968 Charger R/T from ~10 years ago ! It has two engines : 440 and Hemi . Why couldn't that same "largesse" have been bestowed-upon this all-new tool 1970 ??? How about the awesome 1972 Hurst/Olds (and its other iterations) ? Again , all-new tool , and that rascal has TWO transmissions ( TH-400 with the mandatory Hurst edition , and the 4-speed ) ; and , the latest edition has TWO freakin' grilles ( Cutlass AND 4-4-2 !! ) .

No excuses , guys .

Well in all fairness to the CYA Division of Revell (Motto - Making You Buy Another Kit to Get What You Paid for the First Time), the only reason the most recent version of the '72 Olds has two grilles is because the original one DOESN'T have two grills and therefore couldn't actually be built as the 4-4-2 as advertised on the box.  To boot you have to pay more to get the right grille since there's that resin figure of Linda Vaughn in it.

Edited September 17, 2017 by niteowl7710

[Rob Hall]

Ah ! That makes sense . I thought that the 'Special Edition' deal was just some hyperbolic embellishment ; apparently , that's not the case ! 

Okay , then ... how about a Special Edition of the '70 Charger ?

In a year or two, they will probably reissue the '70 with parts from both versions (stock and F&F) and call it a 'Special Edition'.... 

[Xingu]

You would think that the model companies would make really nice versions of small blocks, big blocks and Hemis. They could include one engine in a kit and sell the others as engine packs. I guess they have done "research" and determined they would not sell as many complete car kits. I think a lot of folks would pay as much as $10 for a nice small block with optional intakes. Could do this for all the major car brands. Seems like the tire packs that are offered sell pretty well.

[niteowl7710]

You would think that the model companies would make really nice versions of small blocks, big blocks and Hemis. They could include one engine in a kit and sell the others as engine packs. I guess they have done "research" and determined they would not sell as many complete car kits. I think a lot of folks would pay as much as $10 for a nice small block with optional intakes. Could do this for all the major car brands. Seems like the tire packs that are offered sell pretty well.

I'd guess it would be the tooling investment in today's dollars.  The way engines are designed on the current kit runners there's no easy way to just stamp out a few thousand 383s with some stuff over here, some stuff over there, and some stuff on the chrome runner, etc.  You'd be talking about making all new engine tools for all of that.  Now you could argue that going forward you'd design each engine to be modular enough to be run individually, but I'm not necessarily sure anyone at Revell possess that much insight - or bravery to take that kind of risk.

[1972coronet]

I'd guess it would be the tooling investment in today's dollars.  The way engines are designed on the current kit runners there's no easy way to just stamp out a few thousand 383s with some stuff over here, some stuff over there, and some stuff on the chrome runner, etc.  You'd be talking about making all new engine tools for all of that.  Now you could argue that going forward you'd design each engine to be modular enough to be run individually, but I'm not necessarily sure anyone at Revell possess that much insight - or bravery to take that kind of risk.

I agree with the cost considerations ; however , if R-M were to release the engines / transmissions from the 1968-1969 Dart ( beautiful 'generic' 383 / 400 / 440 , backed with an equally-nice TorqueFlite) , 1968-1969 Charger ( excellent 'generic' big block , and a 4 speed  ) . The only 'gap' would be a nice LA Engine ( 273 / 318 / 340 / 360 ) , as Revell didn't / doesn't make that engine (and , no , that oversized 340 T/A engine , nor the oversized 318 / 360 in the Ramcharger don't count ! ) .

[CapSat 6]

I agree with the cost considerations ; however , if R-M were to release the engines / transmissions from the 1968-1969 Dart ( beautiful 'generic' 383 / 400 / 440 , backed with an equally-nice TorqueFlite) , 1968-1969 Charger ( excellent 'generic' big block , and a 4 speed  ) . The only 'gap' would be a nice LA Engine ( 273 / 318 / 340 / 360 ) , as Revell didn't / doesn't make that engine (and , no , that oversized 340 T/A engine , nor the oversized 318 / 360 in the Ramcharger don't count ! ) .

I agree...the LA series is something of a "lost engine" in 1/25 scale. The LA's in the old MPC Darts, Dusters, Vans & Volares were way underscale. Same as in the IMC (later Lindberg) A-100. The AMT '71 Duster scales a bit better (it should be AT LEAST the physical outside size of a Small Block Chevy), but to me, that engine doesn't look quite right. I think the engines in the Monogram 1/24 Challenger T/A and '80 Ramcharger, although simplified, at least LOOKED right. I have spent enough time messing around with 1:1 LA's to know. 

So- Revell NEEDS to do a '70 Swinger 340, at least so we can get a 340 out of it. ?

And- if they put all of the engine parts on one tree and sold it separately as a parts pack, that would truly be awesome. I'd buy as many as I could. Problem is: the last time Revell went to the well with parts packs (late '90's?), when they rolled out the vintage Ford 427/ Caddy/ Pontiac/ Chev Small block kits...crickets. I think those packs even sold for around $3-$4 a piece at the time, and still, they did not seem to sell. I think all they really did was to serve to devalue the specific old original copies of said packs. 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by CapSat 6

[Dom2000]

Like Revell did this kit with an Hemi engine, if I want a 440 six pack, what kit could be a good donor?

I just have that 70 Superbee kit in my head that has a 440 six pack but, it is an AMT kit.

Should the motor fit in the Revell 70 Charger?