1/25 MPC Super Stocker Series

[the other Mike S.]

11 minutes ago, Casey said:

I hope someone starts a new topic for the MPC '70 GTO kits, and it's various and assorted iterations, as the details have been mentioned here on the forum, but they're scattered across multiple topics in different sections. It would be nice to have all the pertinent replies (mostly Mark B's) in one place for convenient reference.

The issue released in circa '87 was a new tool, I believe.  I don't think it was based upon the existing '72 GTO which has the front clip molded to the body.  The '70 Super Stocker with the molded on front clip (?) appears to be the old promo tool which the original annual was based upon.  So, this makes me wonder what happened to the AMT/Ertl version from the mid '80's.  Of course, Mark is the resident guru on questions like this.  So, I will await his answer on what happened to the (stock) mid '80's AMT/Ertl (Mpc) '70 GTO.   

Edited April 2, 2021 by the other Mike S.

[Mark]

Nothing to add, but I'll repeat it, the Ertl '70 GTO was based on the '72 kit.  If you have both, check the inside of the body: both are slicked up on the inside as that is the body that was used in the clear body Pearson/Vallo NASCAR kit.  The interior in that one-shot '70 was from the other '70 GTO, the promo/contest promo/Fast Pack snap kit that was turned into the dirt track car.  RC2 altered it back into the '72; why, I don't know.

MPC did a lot of '70 GTO items in 1970: regular promo, "contest promo" (red, with license plate detail on the rear bumper instead of "1970"), Fast Pack snap kit (sort of a 1/25 scale Hot Wheels car), regular annual kit, and mid-year funny car kit.  One tool seems to have been used for closed hood items only.  I forget which ones are which, but a number of parts are marked "#1" or "#2" in inconspicuous places, like on the connecting strips between windshield and back glass, or bumpers.  I don't have an annual kit but I did check a funny car body, a Fast Pack kit, and a "contest promo" and found parts marked differently.  Parts do interchange between all of these items however.  The only outlier is the Ertl '70 as the '70 parts were newly tooled for that kit.  It has a separate piece for the Endura front bumper while the originals all have it molded as part of the body.

'72 reissue kits made after the re-conversion back from the '70 all have some funkiness going on around the headlight areas.  Again, if you have one of those and an earlier kit, compare them.

Edited April 2, 2021 by Mark
Added info

[the other Mike S.]

13 hours ago, Mark said:

Nothing to add, but I'll repeat it, the Ertl '70 GTO was based on the '72 kit.  If you have both, check the inside of the body: both are slicked up on the inside as that is the body that was used in the clear body Pearson/Vallo NASCAR kit.  The interior in that one-shot '70 was from the other '70 GTO, the promo/contest promo/Fast Pack snap kit that was turned into the dirt track car.  RC2 altered it back into the '72; why, I don't know.

MPC did a lot of '70 GTO items in 1970: regular promo, "contest promo" (red, with license plate detail on the rear bumper instead of "1970"), Fast Pack snap kit (sort of a 1/25 scale Hot Wheels car), regular annual kit, and mid-year funny car kit.  One tool seems to have been used for closed hood items only.  I forget which ones are which, but a number of parts are marked "#1" or "#2" in inconspicuous places, like on the connecting strips between windshield and back glass, or bumpers.  I don't have an annual kit but I did check a funny car body, a Fast Pack kit, and a "contest promo" and found parts marked differently.  Parts do interchange between all of these items however.  The only outlier is the Ertl '70 as the '70 parts were newly tooled for that kit.  It has a separate piece for the Endura front bumper while the originals all have it molded as part of the body.

'72 reissue kits made after the re-conversion back from the '70 all have some funkiness going on around the headlight areas.  Again, if you have one of those and an earlier kit, compare them.

Thanks Mark.  I knew you would have the definitive answer. lol! 

I have one question though.  How would they block the flow of injected plastic for the '72 body cavity tool with the intergrated front bumper/grill, substitute it for the separate add on style '70 GTO front bumper, and then go back again (after the conversion) to molded in bumper/grill of the '72?   I do remember that the '72 wasn't offered at the time the AMT/Ertl (Mpc) '70 GTO came out in the mid '80's.

Since the '70 is probably the more popular of the two, I wonder why they just didn't just leave it as the '70 GTO like they did with (converted from '72) AMT '70 Chevelle?  

Edited April 3, 2021 by the other Mike S.

[Mark]

The "newer" '72 body looks different from the earlier (pre-'70 backdate) body in some ways.  Hard to describe, you'd have to have both within reach to see the differences.  It's hard to say just how the body was re-converted back to '72 spec, but my guess is that whoever did it used the earlier version as a template and worked backwards to take it back to the earlier version.  I'd also guess that the '70 backdate was done with no thought of going back to the '72, anything not used for the '70 (except maybe the interior bucket) was thrown away and had to be reconstructed for the '72 redux.  The newer '72 is somewhat crude compared to the earlier '72, notably around the headlights.  The earlier '72, itself restored from the clear body Pearson NASCAR version, is in turn not quite as clean as the annual and pro stock kits that preceded the clear body issue.

[Snake45]

And don't forget that in all the recent reissues of the '72, the rear bumper is significantly wider than the body, so either the bumper grew somewhere along the line or the body got shrunk in width. 

[Don Sikora II]

35 minutes ago, Mark said:

The "newer" '72 body looks different from the earlier (pre-'70 backdate) body in some ways.  Hard to describe, you'd have to have both within reach to see the differences.  It's hard to say just how the body was re-converted back to '72 spec, but my guess is that whoever did it used the earlier version as a template and worked backwards to take it back to the earlier version.  I'd also guess that the '70 backdate was done with no thought of going back to the '72, anything not used for the '70 (except maybe the interior bucket) was thrown away and had to be reconstructed for the '72 redux.  The newer '72 is somewhat crude compared to the earlier '72, notably around the headlights.  The earlier '72, itself restored from the clear body Pearson NASCAR version, is in turn not quite as clean as the annual and pro stock kits that preceded the clear body issue.

I don't know it for a fact, but I think the RC2-era '72 body was newly cut steel rather than a revision of the Ertl '70. 

[Mark]

The only way we'll know for sure, is if the stock '70 reappears at some point.  Even then, that could be new again too, if someone at Round 2 came to the conclusion that one would sell in the needed numbers...

[Tabbysdaddy]

How far from stock is the nose and hood? I have some 72s and would like to make one a 70. I see I would at least have to open up the headlights and probably make grilles. The hood looks funny to me. 

[Mark]

If you scrounge around, some of the '67 reissue kits include the '70 Endura front fascia piece.  Probably not the recent (Round 2) issues though.  If you can piece that onto a '72 body, and cut the hood from a '69 funny car body, you're part way there.  You still wouldn't have the grille or headlight pieces, or the correct interior pattern.

[Rodent]

On 4/1/2021 at 6:25 PM, Casey said:

Wonder no more. ?

 

I have a built example of the original one here somewhere. I watched Chris' build last night and was a little annoyed to see a Big Block Chevy engine, not a Pontiac. I assume that mine is exactly the same.

[Mark]

All of the MPC kits used the same engine, even the Mustang and Barracuda.  None of the 1:1 cars (successful ones, anyway) were running Pontiac engines by then.

[Rodent]

3 hours ago, Mark said:

All of the MPC kits used the same engine, even the Mustang and Barracuda.  None of the 1:1 cars (successful ones, anyway) were running Pontiac engines by then.

Didn't know that. The GTO is the only one I ever had or saw in person.

[the other Mike S.]

14 hours ago, Mark said:

The only way we'll know for sure, is if the stock '70 reappears at some point.  Even then, that could be new again too, if someone at Round 2 came to the conclusion that one would sell in the needed numbers...

I think the '70 GTO would sell in the needed numbers.  All of these recent super stocker/circle track reissues are great for the race car fans, but what about the replica stock builders that would like to have a stock version?  Since the '72 GTO reissue is fairly recent and plentiful to find in the secondary markets, bringing back the '70 GTO again would be a no brainer.  If Round 2 was really smart, they would modify the '72 tool with a separate front clip so that they could be switched back and forth between the two model years.  That way, if they wanted to reissue the '72 again, they do it very easily by including the '71-'72 style front bumper clip and hood and visa versa for the '70 GTO style front bumper and hood.

The '69 GTO Funny Car is another one that could be easily converted back to a replica stock version.  That one would be easy since it would only require a new interior to be accurate.  However, they could get away with using the '72 interior bucket for less accuracy.  The chassis could be borrowed (with an engine plate) from the  '71-'72 GTO.  They could reissue it as a simplified  "Craftsman" style (easy) kit.  I would have no question that would sell very well.  If they wanted to be more adventurous, they could open up the hood and release it as a full detail kit.  And, if for some reason they wanted to reissue the old funny car kit again, they could do it by just closing up the hood and substituting the stock style interior bucket and chassis for the funny car parts again.  

Edited April 4, 2021 by the other Mike S.

[bisc63]

9 hours ago, Mark said:

If you scrounge around, some of the '67 reissue kits include the '70 Endura front fascia piece.  Probably not the recent (Round 2) issues though.  If you can piece that onto a '72 body, and cut the hood from a '69 funny car body, you're part way there.  You still wouldn't have the grille or headlight pieces, or the correct interior pattern.

I believe the 90s release of the 69 Firebird also included some sprues from the 70 GTO, maybe the bucket seats? Someone here will know for sure, but it seems lots of parts of the 70 GTO are floating around in various kits.

[Tabbysdaddy]

I was looking to do it with easy to find parts. I don't mind playing with the nose, I've already worked on the terrible '72 nose so I have some practice, but the hood looks like it would need more than I might be able to fix. 

[the other Mike S.]

3 hours ago, Tabbysdaddy said:

I was looking to do it with easy to find parts. I don't mind playing with the nose, I've already worked on the terrible '72 nose so I have some practice, but the hood looks like it would need more than I might be able to fix. 

The hood is totally different.  You would need the '69 GTO hood from the "Arnie Beswick" funny car which is completely stock as far as the body is concerned.  Either cut it out or cast a copy of it.  I think Reliable Resin makes a resin '70 GTO trans kit as well.  It's $$$, but their reputation is not the best from the model forums I read.

[Tabbysdaddy]

Thanks for the info. 

[oldscool]

After watching hpiguys build on YouTube I ordered one of these kits and it arrived yesterday. The chassis and suspension detail are outstanding IMO. I remember seeing these in stores back when they were first released and didn't pay much notice after building some of the MPC Pro stock kits. I expected this kit to be just as inaccurate at the time and I built drag racing subjects mostly anyway. Now that I see what is in the box I can't wait to get started on it. This one is going to be fun!

[P51Mustang]

On 4/3/2021 at 10:17 PM, the other Mike S. said:

I think the '70 GTO would sell in the needed numbers.  All of these recent super stocker/circle track reissues are great for the race car fans, but what about the replica stock builders that would like to have a stock version?  Since the '72 GTO reissue is fairly recent and plentiful to find in the secondary markets, bringing back the '70 GTO again would be a no brainer.  If Round 2 was really smart, they would modify the '72 tool with a separate front clip so that they could be switched back and forth between the two model years.  That way, if they wanted to reissue the '72 again, they do it very easily by including the '71-'72 style front bumper clip and hood and visa versa for the '70 GTO style front bumper and hood.

The '69 GTO Funny Car is another one that could be easily converted back to a replica stock version.  That one would be easy since it would only require a new interior to be accurate.  However, they could get away with using the '72 interior bucket for less accuracy.  The chassis could be borrowed (with an engine plate) from the  '71-'72 GTO.  They could reissue it as a simplified  "Craftsman" style (easy) kit.  I would have no question that would sell very well.  If they wanted to be more adventurous, they could open up the hood and release it as a full detail kit.  And, if for some reason they wanted to reissue the old funny car kit again, they could do it by just closing up the hood and substituting the stock style interior bucket and chassis for the funny car parts again.  

I'm all in for a 70 GTO stock version, I think it would sell very well also.

[restoman]

I picked this Chevelle up a couple weeks ago. Lucked into it, as I got the pictured L A Dart, quite a few built gluebombs, a few decent built-ups, and a pile of parts and tires, all for $40 CDN.

The body has a warp to it, but the kit is opened, un-built and complete.

I'm happy for this thread. I was sort of wondering if I wanted to build it or not. I do now!

Edited June 26, 2021 by restoman

[slusher]

53 minutes ago, restoman said:

I picked this Chevelle up a couple weeks ago. Lucked into it, as I got the pictured L A Dart, quite a few built gluebombs, a few decent built-ups, and a pile of parts and tires, all for $40 CDN.

The body has a warp to it, but the kit is opened, un-built and complete.

I'm happy for this thread. I was sort of wondering if I wanted to build it or not. I do now!

I don’t believe I have seen that year Chevelle stocker before..

['70 Grande]

That is quite a find Restoman... that Chevelle kit in just about any condition would go for $100+ out on the "Bay", and as you describe it, probably $200+!

Edited June 26, 2021 by '70 Grande

[restoman]

3 minutes ago, '70 Grande said:

That is quite a find Restoman... that Chevelle kit in just about any condition would go for $100+ out on the "Bay", and as you describe it, probably $200+!

I know! When I first looked at what the seller had, they were all just tossed into boxes. He asked which ones I was interested in and I said "I've got $80, how far will that get me?"

He said "Take all of them!"

There were a bunch of transports and trailers in with them. I sold those to a friend for $40.

A lot of the GBs are parts-only, but there are a few that are worthwhile, like a '72 Javelin AMX Trans-Am racer, the L A Dart, a 70's Ventura, BRE Datsun...

I feel pretty lucky.

[Casey]

1/25 MPC #962 - 1971 Chevy Monte Carlo Super Stocker

 

 

[slusher]

so it’s coming out.. Thanks.