Does anybody else see this need???

[CapSat 6]

The old General Lee kit has been around forever (actually, since 1979, so...38 years? Practically forever!). 

For a long time, the body had the wrong rear window- instead of the standard Charger “tunnel back”, it had the Charger 500 and Daytona rear window. This dates back to when MPC retooled their 1970 Annual kit into a Charger Daytona NASCAR stocker. 

When MPC revised the tool in 1979, they changed the front fenders back to a non-Daytona, “stock” configuration for their General Lee, rightly seizing upon the popularity of the Dukes of Hazzard show. The changes were incomplete however- they kept the back window in it’s Daytona form, and they also kept the 1970 Charger/ 1969 Daytona hood, as well as some of the racing interior. They also revised the rear valence, so that there was a break in the middle, since they probably saw that the rear bumper would not fit into the gap in the body for it very well. The gap was to be covered by an oversized plastic license plate. It was a cheap fix, but it solved the problem. The grille inserts used in these kits were actually the ones last seen in the 1972 Charger Annual, which coincidentally fit where the ‘69 units would go.

AMT Ertl later made some lemonade out of lemons around 1986- they retooled the kit and released a Charger 500, and later a Charger Daytona. They added the fully stock interior back in, along with some other body engraving and details that were lost when they converted the body to a racer back in 1970. The 1986-ish issue of the Charger 500 had a correct 1968-1969 looking hood (the vents were a different shape than the Daytona/ ‘70 hood). They still however kept the rear valence as it was from the Dukes days. 

Fast forward a few years, and the General Lee is reissued. It still has the 500/ Daytona rear window, the awful rear valence, and the ‘72 Charger grille inserts. Also, the front edge of the Daytona hood was modified to blend with the stock style fenders & grille, so the wrong hood is being reintroduced. 

Around 2002, the tool is revised for the Fast and Furious movie franchise. Many new parts are added in to make it looks sort of like the blown ‘70 in the movie, most of which were terrible, but lo and behold- the rear window has been revised back to the “tunnel back” type. It’s not a perfect job, but it will do in a pinch. 

The General Lee is reissued a few times after that. Any issue released after the Fast and Furious Charger has the correct rear window, so some good came out of the F&F revisions. Still - the hood is the wrong ‘70 type, the grille inserts are still the ‘72 units, and the rear valence is still a mess. 

What am I getting at here? Well- I’m wondering aloud if it would be worthwhile for somebody to cast up correct parts for all of the General Lees out there. I read several times that this might be the most common model car kit in history. I would be inclined to believe it. If the correct hood, grille inserts, and a rear valence were offered for a reasonable price, would there be interest (besides me?).

I know this kit isn’t fantastic, and the superior Revell kit is widely available, but I’m thinking there are a ton of them out there that could use these parts. 

I even have parts that could be used as masters if a reputable caster would be interested. 

Picture 1: top to bottom: 1) ‘72 Charger grille inserts, 2) original annual inserts, 3) grilles cut out of a Revell grille (these look great, but I’m not sure I can get them to fit in an MPC/ AMT grille).

 

[CapSat 6]

[CapSat 6]

Picture 2: left to right, then bottom: 1) Charger 500 (correct) hood, 2) Charger Daytona hood, 3) General Lee hood, 4 (below) Revell ‘69 Charger hood.

[CapSat 6]

Picture 3 top to bottom: 1) General Lee body (just like every variant from 1979 to present, split rear valence), 2) valence cut from a junk MPC Promo Body.

Edited January 30, 2018 by CapSat 6

[highway]

Honestly because of all the PC bull that has now turned the kit into just another Dodge Charger, the simple answer is no. 

Even before all the PC police got on their little bandwagon, the only reason I bought one of the post F&F kits after the window was changed was for the decals so I could use them on a Revell Charger after smoothing the molded in vinyl roof. 

[1972coronet]

There are quite a few more other incorrect items with that 50 year old tooling :

- 1966 & earlier brake master cylinder 

- Incorrect engine / transmission / differential combo 

- 14" 'Road Wheels' 

Corrections :

- Separate brake master cylinder ( optional vacuum booster )

- Either a Torqueflite transmission and / or Dana 60 differential 

- 15" steel wheels , 15" 'recall' wheels , or 15" deluxe wheel covers 

[Rob Hall]

I wonder if the body tooling for the 500 is gone with the last revision.   A new 500 body for this or for the Revell '69 would be more interesting IMO...

[CapSat 6]

11 minutes ago, highway said:

Honestly because of all the PC bull that has now turned the kit into just another Dodge Charger, the simple answer is no. 

Even before all the PC police got on their little bandwagon, the only reason I bought one of the post F&F kits after the window was changed was for the decals so I could use them on a Revell Charger after smoothing the molded in vinyl roof. 

And that would be a good way to go if you wanted to build the best General Lee that you could. I have done that, too. I’m just thinking there are a lot of orphans out there! 

[CapSat 6]

10 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

There are quite a few more other incorrect items with that 50 year old tooling :

- 1966 & earlier brake master cylinder 

- Incorrect engine / transmission / differential combo 

- 14" 'Road Wheels' 

Corrections :

- Separate brake master cylinder ( optional vacuum booster )

- Either a Torqueflite transmission and / or Dana 60 differential 

- 15" steel wheels , 15" 'recall' wheels , or 15" deluxe wheel covers 

Absolutely correct- all the more reason just to build the Revell kit then. I still have all of these AMT’s & MPC’s, though... ?

[highway]

1 minute ago, CapSat 6 said:

And that would be a good way to go if you wanted to build the best General Lee that you could. I have done that, too. I’m just thinking there are a lot of orphans out there! 

They could always be monster truck food! 

[CapSat 6]

10 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I wonder if the body tooling for the 500 is gone with the last revision.   A new 500 body for this or for the Revell '69 would be more interesting IMO...

I wouldn’t be surprised if Revell does this eventually. To build a nice 500 now, you would need 3 kits (or two kits and a 500 grille)- both Revell Daytona and ‘69 Charger kits so that you can combine the front fenders and hood from the standard ‘69 with the Daytona body. 

[CapSat 6]

1 minute ago, highway said:

They could always be monster truck food! 

?

For all of these kits’ faults, I still love them. I grew up with them. The Revell kit is vastly superior, but I still like the simplicity of these oldies, and, I think they can be made to look pretty nice with a little effort. 

Or- Monster Truck food ?

 

[CapSat 6]

16 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I wonder if the body tooling for the 500 is gone with the last revision.   A new 500 body for this or for the Revell '69 would be more interesting IMO...

I wonder. I think they still have it, or they can swap an insert for the 500 rear window - that last issue of the Daytona (red plastic) had the fastback rear window...

[Rob Hall]

1 minute ago, CapSat 6 said:

I wonder. I think they still have it, or they can swap an insert for the 500 rear window - that last issue of the Daytona (red plastic) had the fastback rear window...

That issue was before the retool for the F&F/DOH version, though, IIRC...500 hasn't been seen since then.

[Sport Suburban]

I don't really see a great demand for the parts. Yes there are lots of these kits out there and now the collectors want the actual Dukes boxed kits. Most won't be built. The decals and wheels are available for the Revell kit. Just casting the correct hood and grill inserts is just a start but what would be the cost. Another $10- $15 for the resin parts. The body still has other problems. I have always laughed that it has rear wheel well moldings and no front ones. They still did not fix that when they corrected the roof. I have one of those reissues. I also have a few of the early issue 69 Charger 500 kits that have the correct hood. I do like the simplicity of the kit. But I must really like the Charger 500 as I built one of them and am finishing up another built from Revell kits.

[Chuck Most]

13 hours ago, CapSat 6 said:

I wonder. I think they still have it, or they can swap an insert for the 500 rear window - that last issue of the Daytona (red plastic) had the fastback rear window...

That reissue came out after the F&F Charger, didn't it? I'd say that the body with the flush rear window still exists. I hope so because I'd like to see the 500 make a comeback at some point.

[Rob Hall]

10 minutes ago, Chuck Most said:

That reissue came out after the F&F Charger, didn't it? I'd say that the body with the flush rear window still exists. I hope so because I'd like to see the 500 make a comeback at some point.

Not sure, I have that reissue. Scalemates has it listed as 2003, red car on the box w/ 'Buyer Choice' logo. Box art shows steelies w dds, which aren't in the kit IIRC.    They also list the F&F kit as 2003. 

[Chuck Most]

1 minute ago, Rob Hall said:

Not sure, I have that reissue. Scalemates has it listed as 2003, red car on the box w/ 'Buyer Choice' logo. Box art shows steelies w dds, which aren't in the kit IIRC.    They also list the F&F kit as 2003. 

Yeah- I remember the cagey box art during that time. Remember the green Daytona that had the K-H wheels from the Barracuda and an obvious '68 Road Runner chassis and engine bay that weren't included in the kit?  

[Rob Hall]

16 minutes ago, Chuck Most said:

Yeah- I remember the cagey box art during that time. Remember the green Daytona that had the K-H wheels from the Barracuda and an obvious '68 Road Runner chassis and engine bay that weren't included in the kit?  

Yep..have that kit also.   And the '76 Nova that was shown stock.   RC2 wasn't paying very close attention then...

[CapSat 6]

8 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

Not sure, I have that reissue. Scalemates has it listed as 2003, red car on the box w/ 'Buyer Choice' logo. Box art shows steelies w dds, which aren't in the kit IIRC.    They also list the F&F kit as 2003. 

I checked out what I have...

The Furious Charger was released around 2003. The Daytona I was referring to was released squarely in the Round 2 era- the bottom of the box says 2011, but then again, this box says it was molded in white, and red Daytona parts came in this box. This was put out along with other kits molded in color: a ‘72 GTO in orange, a 55 Nomad in gray, 57 Chevy and ‘66 Nova in blue. 

 

[Rob Hall]

I forgot about that later issue of the Daytona.....don't have that one..so maybe they can reissue the 500 at some point..

Edited January 31, 2018 by Rob Hall

[CapSat 6]

So...looks like I’m getting my answers here, and the more I think about it, the more it’s worthwhile to put the effort into the Revell kit. 

I still think if these parts were offered, there would still be a market for them, at least to restore original MPC annuals.

I might try my hand at casting some of these things myself...

 

Edited January 31, 2018 by CapSat 6

[Rob Hall]

I'm glad I got my parts for my MPC annuals when Modelhaus was still in business..I like the Revell kits and the old MPCs also..they have their charm. 

[CapSat 6]

3 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I forgot about that later issue of the Daytona..don't have that one..so maybe they can reissue the 500 at some point..

That’s what I’m hoping. The last time we saw the 500, it was during that period of terribly misleading box art. The box art build for the 500 was red, with steel wheels and dog dish wheelcovers (which, surprise-surprise- were not in the box)...

It would be nice if they at least located the correct hood for another 500 issue, and maybe gave it the retro-phantom box treatment. Maybe something stock-car themed, or even include decals for the Propane X Charger 500 drag car. Round 2 is very good at this kind of thing, it could happen!

 

[CapSat 6]

3 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I'm glad I got my parts for my MPC annuals when Modelhaus was still in business..I like the Revell kits and the old MPCs also..they have their charm. 

X2. I should have stocked up on those ‘69 hoods!!!