1/25 AMT 1971 Mustang Mach 1

[Casey]

Here's a preliminary(?) shot of the forthcoming 1/25 AMT 1971 Mustang Mach 1, James Bond 007-themed reissue:

[kelson]

Nice looking box art!,hopefully the contents look as good.?‍♂️

[vamach1]

The box art always looks better than what is inside.  The movie had the 302 powered stunt cars and the 429 CJ used in the non-alley way driving scenes. I'll write a review once it hits the shelves.

Edited June 4, 2020 by vamach1

[stavanzer]

Rex, since you are the Local Guru on Mustang Kits, what could we expect inside this box? Is there anything Round2 could have added back into the kit, or do you think it will be a straight re-issue with new decals? 

[Casey]

My guess is this kit, tweaked a bit:

 

Someone at Round2 owns a real Mustang of this same era, so not it's inconceivable this mold would get some attention, as it was a bit of a hodge podge the last go 'round, IIRC. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Boss 351 version in the future, either.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Casey

[espo]

I remember building this AMT Mustang when it was offered with the Ford Ramp truck kit. That issue was a Drag Race what if kit. As I recall the Mustang kit it's self was pretty well done for the time. I would build one as a Boss 351 that Ford offered that year. 

[Rob Hall]

2 hours ago, Casey said:

My guess is this kit, tweaked a bit:

 

Someone at Round2 owns a real '71 Mach 1, so not it's inconceivable this mold would get some attention, as it was a bit of a hodge podge the last go 'round, IIRC. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Boss 351 version in the future, either.

 

That's what I would assume it would be, the tired old MPC tooling... last seen in this form:

 

 

The actual AMT '71-73 Mustang tooling has only been seen in street machine/road racer form for decades without a stock interior..most recent version of it was this:

Edited June 4, 2020 by Rob Hall

[stavanzer]

Rob, you beat me too the punch. I was hunting those same pics, myself.

So you are betting on it being the aged but still stock MPC Mustang? There are a ton of extra parts in the AMT "Tope Racer" but I don't see how (or why) Round2 would go to the trouble to tool up anything new for it, to bring it back to stock form.

[Rob Hall]

4 minutes ago, alexis said:

Rob, you beat me too the punch. I was hunting those same pics, myself.

So you are betting on it being the aged but still stock MPC Mustang? There are a ton of extra parts in the AMT "Tope Racer" but I don't see how (or why) Round2 would go to the trouble to tool up anything new for it, to bring it back to stock form.

Yeah, I'd think it would it be just the same old, same old '73 MPC tooling with new decals and box art.  If we are lucky, Round 2 will tool up the flat disk wheel covers and throw in a set of whitewall tires, both of which the movie car had.  I can't imagine them using the AMT 'Tope Racer' tooling.

Though there are several aftermarket sources for the flat disk wheel covers, though...Missing Link and Fireball Modelworks to name two.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Rob Hall

[stavanzer]

One of these kits has a single Disc Type Hubcap on the Chrome Tree. I don't remember which one it is. Maybe they'll clone that one.

 

It is the Tope Kit that has the single Stock-ish Wheel.

Edited June 4, 2020 by alexis

[gray07]

if u look at the 73 mustang boxes the front park lights go up and down, not like the 71 box go side to side, I love these mustangs, in 1983 I drove a yellow and black mach 1 to school everyday including winter, lol.

[Rob Hall]

3 minutes ago, gray07 said:

if u look at the 73 mustang boxes the front park lights go up and down, not like the 71 box go side to side, I love these mustangs, in 1983 I drove a yellow and black mach 1 to school everyday including winter, lol.

Yes, the '73 has a different grille and parking lights.  The MPC kit has a '71-ish grille option, but still has the larger '73 bumper (as seen on the box art of the blue and silver car in Casey's post).  There hasn't been a stock '71 Mustang kit since the annuals. 

Edited June 4, 2020 by Rob Hall

[CapSat 6]

2 hours ago, alexis said:

One of these kits has a single Disc Type Hubcap on the Chrome Tree. I don't remember which one it is. Maybe they'll clone that one.

 

It is the Tope Kit that has the single Stock-ish Wheel.

Yes, the AMT / Tope/ Road Race kit has one of the hubcap wheels on the chrome shot- or it did- I had a copy from the early 2000's that had one. Those wheels weren't all that great anyway- too rounded looking to my eyes.

2 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

Yes, the '73 has a different grille and parking lights.  The MPC kit has a '71-ish grille option, but still has the larger '73 bumper (as seen on the box art of the blue and silver car in Casey's post).  There hasn't been a stock '71 Mustang kit since the annuals. 

My guess is that we'll see the MPC tool with new wheels. There is a '71-ish grille option in the tool currently, but it's not all that great looking.

The MPC tool had a '71/'72 grille bezel, chrome bumper and separate grille base that attached to the body with a '71 style front valence; for the '73 annual, they tooled a grille base to the body and a '73 front bumper, grille, headlights in bezels & lower valence.

They could reverse that and cut new '71 parts, but then they would probably lose the ability to issue the kit as a '73, which would be no great loss in my opinion.

Restoring it to true 1971 form, and adding in a newly-tooled 351 Cleveland engine, would be truly Boss, if you excuse the bad joke...

[stavanzer]

It will be very interesting to see what is in the box when it finally appears.

[vamach1]

12 hours ago, alexis said:

Rex, since you are the Local Guru on Mustang Kits, what could we expect inside this box? Is there anything Round2 could have added back into the kit, or do you think it will be a straight re-issue with new decals? 

I expect not to get my hopes up.  But what I would like to see is the following as a minimum for starters.

Stock interior, side mirrors, correct grille and bumper for a 71-72 not the twice as big 73 bumper and maybe some better decals - not asking too much.

My fantasy list would include underhood ram-air plenum and air cleaner,  better front seats and door panels,  an actual 351 Cleveland or 429 CJ or SCJ engine, dual exhaust with oval mufflers and not those Cherry bomb ones and chrome exhaust tips, Chrome Magnum 500 wheels, shock tower brace, acurate black Mach1 decals for the side and trunk  (with the stripes) and the 429 and 351 ram air hood decals in silver plus some air cleaner decals.  The Mach1 decals in silver would be icing on the cake but I have a better chance of a bond girl jumping out of a birthday cake at my house than seeing most of these things in the kit that is coming out.  There are many other things on a wish list applicable to other versions of the 71-73 Mustang but we all know the aftermarket and some creativity are there to build an Eleanor, Boss, Sprint, etc.

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2020 by vamach1
Wish list

[stavanzer]

Thank You, Rex.

I guess we will know in a few months, what's really in the box.

[vamach1]

53 minutes ago, alexis said:

Thank You, Rex.

I guess we will know in a few months, what's really in the box.

Yes - at this point I'm sure it is to late to expect too much.  Rarely does the manaufactuer "fix" glaring errors afterwards but the Revell 67/68 Mustang and the MPC Mustang funny car come to mind.

[vamach1]

Still a few things I want to add on this one but this gives you an idea of just what a few parts changes can do to turn an incorrect model into a less incorrect one.  To fix or add every detail I would like too takes a lot of extra time.   Just from these pictures I can see where I missed some paint on the gearbox.

Edited June 5, 2020 by vamach1

[Jantrix]

I had a '73 release that came with a terrific set of Minilites. There wasn't much else of quality though to my memory.

 

[stavanzer]

Those Minilites are (or used to be) in the '73 that was last out as the Warren Tope Racer. They are very nice, and they are in bare plastic, not chrome.

[Luc Janssens]

Don't get high hopes, like with every "new" Round-2 kit, I wait for a review on which I will decide buy or no buy.

[gjorenby]

Very interesting!  I was just about to start a kit bashing project to build this very car!  I found that the PSM 1971 Mustang Mach 1 has the correct hub caps.  The MPC 1973 kit has the correct seats.  There is a significant difference in the hoods between the two cars and they are not interchangeable due to sizing.  I don't believe of the kits have an anatomically correct 429 CJ, but that the new release of the Revell-Monogram 1970 Torino GT finally does.  There is a great review of all the V8's in Scale Auto Magazine which I recommend.  https://scaleautomag.com/rapid/2017/04/guide-to-great-v-8s

If the hubcaps are available elsewhere let me know, the ones in the kit I got were badly "de-chromed' due to age.

Looking forward to a review of the new 007 kit!

[vamach1]

If the palmer kit is the one Lindberg reissued then the wheels may be the old thing that is close to correct.  There are aftermarket resin copies of the Ford  dog dish hub caps and trim rings.  In another post someone may have mentioned the 73 MPC kit has only one wheel of that type and it is pretty deep - maybe a scale 9 inches wide.  The bottom line is to build something close to a stock red 71 Mach1 w/o ram air you will have to get parts from a variety of sources to come anywhere close.  I am almost 100% sure all the ram air ones came with the black or silver (argent) paint whic leads me to believe the Bond car did not have the ram air setup.  When the kit comes out I will "review" it and provide some suggestions of how to "fix" some of the obvious issues that have followed this mold for almost 50 years.  Since I was never a historical modeler (i.e. I do not build planes and armor and ships) I do not strive for 100% accuracy as I mentioned before it is just very time consuming.  For those that desire to do that I try to point out what I see is "incorrect" and provide some suggestions if a builder wants to make a change or seek out the parts to make a more accurate representation of one car at one moment in time.

The pictures show an older AMT kit with exhaust mods and the MotorMax diecast which clearly cold use some SkakeFu detailing and removal of the American Graffitti tag and the incorrect Mach1 letters on the hood.  I have yet to put in a engine in the AMT Mach1 as the movie car (not the stunt ones)  would have had a 429 CJ with a C-6 which I can almost guaranteee with 99.007 % certainty will not be in the "new" kit release.  I will buy the new kit (we all love nice box art) and will make sure I shake before opening but not stir it up after that.?

 

[unclescott58]

On 6/3/2020 at 7:51 PM, Casey said:

Here's a preliminary(?) shot of the forthcoming 1/25 AMT 1971 Mustang Mach 1, James Bond 007-themed reissue:

I really hope this is not the rehash of the old MPC '71 Boss 351 kit. And it will have a correct front end on it. Not just the bumper, but the headlamp bezels/area too. Though being the sucker I am for the '71 and '72 Mach I, and a Bond fan to boot, I'm sure I'll be buying this one no matter what. And I do like the box art shown above, if nothing else. 

Edited June 6, 2020 by unclescott58

[Jack Grice]

On 6/4/2020 at 9:12 AM, Casey said:

My guess is this kit, tweaked a bit:

 

Someone at Round2 owns a real Mustang of this same era, so not it's inconceivable this mold would get some attention, as it was a bit of a hodge podge the last go 'round, IIRC. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Boss 351 version in the future, either.

The owner of that must not be too fussy. It's missing the center cap on the LF wheel. ?