MPC Tiger Shark Out Now

[62rebel]

has anyone here bought the AMT repop tiger shark? i'm thinking its a converted car craft dream rod from circa 1963? the original didn't have "pontoons" over the front wheels IIRC. i'll probably snag one tonight to build, and compare it to photos in one of my car books. i think it was a very detailed kit for the time with a full frame and opening doors and trunk. if possible i'm going to build it in dream rod version and not as a later and probably fictitious version.

AMT and MPC had(?) a bad habit of converting "outdated" tooling to make new kits. many great kits long gone because of that.

[paulcolt]

Yes it was based on the dream rod and is very detailed.It even comes with the display base.

It cannot be converted back though,the changes are WAY to extreme.

All in all a really nice kit though.

[bob paeth]

It will be interesting if the display turntable is still in the kit. This was a first of its kind, ever found in a kit. The turntable rotated on a base and was supported by ball bearings. It even came with a small tube of lubricant for a smooth operation. To make it work, you had to wind it up, and it did work very well.

Bob :shock:

[Mr. Metallic]

Yes, the Tiger Shark was modified from the dream rod kit, but so was the real car modified in the same manner. Many people have been contemplating doing the dream rod specific parts in resin, but none are in production that I know of.

Bob, the display is included in the re-release. I beleive the ball bearings they included may be the wrong size though

[Guest zebm1]

Tha 1:1 Vette I fell in love with was tha pre-Sting Ray with tha double-bubble top and tha fade blue paint. Any of yall remember this design exercise?

[62rebel]

i closely examined the box art of the tiger shark and do see the obvious changes. man that bites. i don't know if the three pictures i have of it would be enough to retro the tiger to the dream car. i saw also that corners were cut (given the original issue date of the dream car) as far as creating the headlights and grille. will still buy one if only to try a retro.

worst that could come of it would be a source of parts. i've bought at least three silhouettes for the wheels and engine alone; it's a great source kit since i've never been able to finish a silhouette correctly. (and shouldn't a representation of the first version have a buick engine....)

[BIGTRUCK]

I noticed a few questions on this kit, so I cracked one open to give you an idea of whats inside . The turntable and ball bearing kit is bagged by itself , chrome is bright , some mold lines and slight flash on the body, Goodyear big an littles are bagged with the rear red glass , [you might want to pull that lens out before it sticks to a tire],clear glass bagged by itself as is the steering wheel. The only thing not present is the lubrication capsule for the turntable. The 2006 Toy Fair exclusive is done in white plastic.

[oldcars]

Thank you very much. Just bought one.

[Jairus]

The box art is nothing to write home about but the kit is well received!

I wish the folks at AMT would pull there heads out... and produce some decent artwork for the boxes!!

But then that would require some ....

THOUGHT!!!

And we know that they don't want to do that....

[Darin Bastedo]

i closely examined the box art of the tiger shark and do see the obvious changes. man that bites. i don't know if the three pictures i have of it would be enough to retro the tiger to the dream car. i saw also that corners were cut (given the original issue date of the dream car) as far as creating the headlights and grille. will still buy one if only to try a retro.

worst that could come of it would be a source of parts. i've bought at least three silhouettes for the wheels and engine alone; it's a great source kit since i've never been able to finish a silhouette correctly. (and shouldn't a representation of the first version have a buick engine....)

I was loosly discussing with one of the resin casters the possibility of doing a trans kit to turn the tiger shark back into the dream rod, but, having seen the differences there are way too many parts that need to be changed.

I'm currently working on a mint original dream rod, and I'm thinking your best bet would be to pick up an incomplete kit and use the Tiger shark to complete it.

[jbwelda]

based on this thread i picked up a tiger shark the other day.

all i have to say is: what a gawd awful design. who thought this up? they actually butchered the dream rod (1:1) into this monstrosity? someone had way too much coffee (or something a lot stronger) the day they "designed" the shark!

oh well, its cool for the parts nonetheless.

quick edit: looking at it in the kit reviews section though, it doesnt look nearly as bad as i remember. maybe it was *me* who was on something?

[samdiego]

I put one together, typical ancient kit problems. My frame was really twisted, but fixable. The Cragers and Bluestreaks are sweet. A more exotic powerplant would've been nice. And of course the styling is still controversial. It built up well and I'm glad to have it.

Does anyone know the history behind the radical change from Dream Rod to Tiger Shark?

[Darin Bastedo]

Funny how much different peoples' tastes and perceptions can be ... I actually think the Shark is MUCH more pleasing to look at than the Dream Rod. Getting rid of those front wheel cutouts helped the design a lot, IMHO.

In my opinion niether design is especially pleasing to the eye, but both are perfect snapshots of that era of custom auto design. I'm building my dream rod not because it is a design I particularly like but because it represents a significant part of the history of custom car building.

I never really got into the early sixties asymetical designs, although some were more pleasing than others. Of the two, I prefer the dream rod.

[larrygre]

Someday, I plan to pull this puppy out of storage and attempt to convert it back to the original Car Craft Dream Rod. That is, when I find some really good references on it.

[Jairus]

Hey Larry!!!!

Going to GSL this year?

[larrygre]

As much as I'd love to, Jairus, I don't think I'll be able to go. :cry:

Perhaps next year, my friend.

[jbwelda]

those headlights on the tiger shark crack me up, light up one side of the road, about 6 inches from the front of the car. lets see you get *that* licensed in cali!!!

[Bowtienutz]

Does anyone cast the parts need to convert this kit to the dream rod ?

[Darin Bastedo]

Someday, I plan to pull this puppy out of storage and attempt to convert it back to the original Car Craft Dream Rod. That is, when I find some really good references on it.

I have both the car Craft Dream rod and the Tiger shark Modifying the Tiger shark back to the dream rod would Require quite a bit of scratch building as they changed just about everything except the basic chassis. The Dream rods still show up on ebay with mint originals usually going for about $100. while steep it is well worth the money not to have to go through all the work.

[Darin Bastedo]

Does anyone cast the parts need to convert this kit to the dream rod ?

A resin caster and I talked about doing this back when this was released but the sheer number of parts that would have to be cast would make the Resin kit more expensive than a mint original. (plus you would have to sell a lot of them just to pay for the rubber. I have a couple of these, if there is enough interest I would be willing to sacrifice one of my originals to make a simplified resin kit (with out the opening doors and with trim molded on rather than separate) If anyone is interested email me at editor@eastcoastcarnews.com

[Casey]

Round2 has preliminary release for the 1/25 scale MPC Tiger Shark kit, so pending further info and finalized box art, I thought it'd be a good idea to get the ball rolling, so to speak. It's an interesting car with an asymmetrical design, and though the Tiger Shark is a re-work of the earlier Car Craft Dream Rod, this kit is likely all that is left...so enjoy it. I suspect Round2 will be including the same pad printed Firestone tires found in the recently reissued Barris Ice Cream Truck and Tansy Vending Machine kits to match the redlines on the real car, but otherwise expect a cleaned-up version of the RC2 reissue.

Previous topic of the same TS/CCDR: 

Good article covering the history of both the Car Craft Dream Rod and Tiger Shark:

 

 

http://customrodder.forumactif.org/t1428-car-craft-dream-rod-bill-cushenbery

Edited April 16, 2018 by Casey

[samdiego]

Also known as the Python in HotWheels lingo

 

[Mark]

Anyone ever get that revolving display stand to work?

[Casey]

On 3/2/2018 at 12:48 PM, Mark said:

Anyone ever get that revolving display stand to work?

It was rubber band powered, right?

Was it the same stand as found in the MPC 1965 Dodge Monaco kit, as in the same one which migrated from the Monaco to the Tiger Shark?

 

Edited March 30, 2018 by Casey

[Mark]

I've got both kits (the Dodge and Tiger Shark), never really compared the stands in them though.  The RC2 reissue even included the ball bearings and (I think) the little packet of oil that the original MPC kits had.  I thought about sticking a motor in one to get it to actually work, but that's probably pipe dream # 13,587,691...