Design Pitch: MPC Retro "Forever 80s" collection

[Stef]

Hello everyone

Not sure where to post this; I want to pitch a concept to Round2; not sure how to go about setting things into motion.

Basically, what if MPC's 80s kits just kept on going?

Cool names (Dirt Devil, Sod Buster, Evil Spirit, Class Act, Night Moves, etc.), with awesome stylized logos, wicked colours, eye-searing box art, and insane decals.

I want to call it the "Forever 80s" collection, and reissue some of MPC's (and possibly AMT's) best-loved kits, with new names, new logos, new box art, new colour schemes, and new decals, as though they came from that same era.

It would be a sensational hit, and we could probably get it going right here on the forum.

Thoughts?

 

Kindest regards,

Stef

[CapSat 6]

2 hours ago, Stef said:

Hello everyone

Not sure where to post this; I want to pitch a concept to Round2; not sure how to go about setting things into motion.

Basically, what if MPC's 80s kits just kept on going?

Cool names (Dirt Devil, Sod Buster, Evil Spirit, Class Act, Night Moves, etc.), with awesome stylized logos, wicked colours, eye-searing box art, and insane decals.

I want to call it the "Forever 80s" collection, and reissue some of MPC's (and possibly AMT's) best-loved kits, with new names, new logos, new box art, new colour schemes, and new decals, as though they came from that same era.

It would be a sensational hit, and we could probably get it going right here on the forum.

Thoughts?

 

Kindest regards,

Stef

A lot of these kits were older tools that were given the Harry Bradley graphics treatment, along with updated mag wheels and dark tinted windows, and moulded in color. 

Myself, I prefer white plastic, stock graphics, and clear windows.

I always thought MPC tools had some nice details, especially the later ones, and these are some great subjects,  but I already lived this era of model building. Myself, I prefer white plastic, stock graphics, and clear windows. I have had enough of trying to cover black, yellow or red plastic with another color for an entire lifetime. 

Take the Super Charger for instance. I think it would be MUCH cooler if they brought that one back with clear windows, stock stripes, and a 70’s retro box, much like Round 2 has been doing with their other releases. 

They did reissue the “Fuzz Duster” in it’s early 80’s form, as well as the Jeep Commando, but I think that was because of budgetary considerations (as in: no money for new decals or box art). 

I would like to see a lot of these kits back (especially the Ford Van, Corvette and/ or Omni Funny Cars, and ‘74 Charger). If they have to be done in their original ‘80’s boxes, then that’s ok, just don’t model them in color. Sorry, I just don’t really share your vision here, but I do wish some of these subjects would come back. 

[Dragonhawk1066]

I would certainly be in on some of those pictured, the Sundancer, Super Charger, Night Prowler, and The Cat in really any kind of variation. I would like to think some of them would sell rather well, but I can't remember as to the quality and accuracy involved in those kits. A few others come to mind including the 1972 Chevelle SS454, Chevelle SSlasher, Barracuda Pro Street, Twister Vega, and Monte Carlo Class Action, which would probably sell like mad with the included Chopper and Trailer. I fear though, that the perceived failure (just a guess as to whether they could be classified as failures) of a couple of somewhat recent re-releases (maybe better subjects could have been chosen for re-release?), such as the MPC '67 and '72 GTO's, could have Round 2 hesitant to offer up any more of these kits for re-release. They do seem to know what they're doing though, and Chad's vids at the first of every month tend to have a surprise here and there, so here's hoping. I also agree with Bill in regards to including stock graphics/badges on the decal sheet and please, no molded in color, white plastic is fantastic, lol!!

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Dragonhawk1066

[Stef]

49 minutes ago, CapSat 6 said:

...just don’t model them in color.

Totally agree, @CapSat 6, they MUST be molded in white this time. I don't remember all kits having tinted glass, though some did, for sure. Round 2 could continue to offer multiple glass colour options, as they have done with select reissues over the past few years.

Harry Bradley-esque decals would be a must... in addition to Round2's latest and greatest offerings of stock stripes, period plates, dash gauges, and bonus graphics.

Straight reissues of old box art (Bad Company, HighJacker, etc.) has been OK for me, but what I'm really hoping for here is a new series of art boxes that recapture MPC's strong, classic brand, strike a nostalgic chord, and ignite the collector market to collect the entire series.

Will try to design a box or two to get the ideas flowing.

[Snake45]

Several of the kits posted above have been reissued in recent years. 

Others would be better NEVER reissued again. 

But there are at least a few in there that should be of interest.  

[ranma]

Wasn't sodbuster the same kit as Judge Hardcastle's Stepside with the grill changed to GMC? I'd think most of the tooling would still be there as The cab (altered without chevy badging), Interior, chassis and engine are also used for the Ex Fall Guy GMC ( Deserter GMC )

[Stef]

19 minutes ago, Dragonhawk1066 said:

I would certainly be in on some of those pictured, the Sundancer, Super Charger, Night Prowler, and The Cat in really any kind of variation. I would like to think some of them would sell rather well, but I can't remember as to the quality and accuracy involved in those kits. A few others come to mind including the 1972 Chevelle SS454, Barracuda Pro Street, and Twister Vega off the top of my head. I fear though, that the perceived failure (just a guess as to whether they could be classified as failures) of a couple of somewhat recent re-releases (maybe better subjects could have been chosen for re-release?), such as the MPC '67 and '72 GTO's, could have Round 2 hesitant to offer up any more of these kits for re-release. They do seem to know what they're doing though, and Chad's vids at the first of every month tend to have a surprise here and there, so here's hoping.

Hello, @Dragonhawk1066, you're right, there are many many many more awesome kits Round2 could bring back, and some they already have. Their recent "Weekend Warrior" 67 GTO, and their "Deserter" GMC pickup seem to be a couple attempts to recapture the flame, featuring a cool name/wordmark logo combo.

I've heard that some of these tools may be forever lost/damaged (74 Charger?, Backaruda Pro Street? Monza?), but there are still plenty of kits to select from.

I should compile an inventory of MPC kits that have been reissued in one form or another over the past 20 years, to give us a baseline of which tools are still intact.

I agree, I also look forward to Chad's monthly videos; he's always coming up with surprises!

Pics not loading for me; are you able to relink?

 

[CapSat 6]

33 minutes ago, Stef said:

Totally agree, @CapSat 6, they MUST be molded in white this time. I don't remember all kits having tinted glass, though some did, for sure. Round 2 could continue to offer multiple glass colour options, as they have done with select reissues over the past few years.

Harry Bradley-esque decals would be a must... in addition to Round2's latest and greatest offerings of stock stripes, period plates, dash gauges, and bonus graphics.

Straight reissues of old box art (Bad Company, HighJacker, etc.) has been OK for me, but what I'm really hoping for here is a new series of art boxes that recapture MPC's strong, classic brand, strike a nostalgic chord, and ignite the collector market to collect the entire series.

Haha! I remember the tinted glass being a crapshoot. Some of the same kits came with it, others didn’t. I tried building the ‘74 Road Runner- known then as the “ ‘74 GTX”- as a stock-ish car. That was tough because there was no source for the stock stripes in the early 80’s, and the one I had had tinted glass. I think I still have that build somewhere. I’m pretty sure I got a TJ Hooker Cop Car with tinted glass one time! 
 
I do have some tinted glass from some of these kits squirreled away for possible future use, like for whenever I want to build some kind of dementedly customized Limo-Cop-Rod. 🤪 

I think maybe the new box art for the ‘79 Firebird they did recently might trip your trigger. That one had a neat retro ‘80’s look. Maybe more of that will come about. 

[Stef]

15 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

...there are at least a few in there that should be of interest.  

I agree, @Snake45, there are tons of great subjects that haven't seen the light of day in quite awhile. The pics I posted above are but a fraction of what MPC produced in their heyday. I'm going to compile an inventory of their kits, then the community should be able to help us figure out which ones they most want to see come back.

[CapSat 6]

And while I’m kvetching about tinted glass (I’m done after this, promise! 🤞), I’m pretty sure some of the old General Lees I bought way back when came with tinted glass, too. Now that I think about it, that would be suitable for an 80’s Street Machine. 
 

My dream cars back then were always painted metallic blue or screaming zonkers yellow. Tinted windows would probably fit the look, along with Centerline wheels, traction bars, and random multicolored stripes. I know I built a few like that back then. 

[CapSat 6]

This one was one of my favorite from the era. It was perhaps earlier than the era Stef is touching on, but I always liked the side pipes and t tops on an older muscle car. I’m actually going to try to recreate it. 
 

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by CapSat 6

[Fat Brian]

I've been gathering some of these kits from ebay recently. I would love to see these brought back in the current Round2 style with good decals and printed tires. I'm on the lookout for an MPC War Eagle Firebird now.

[stevez]

I luv that pro street mustang!! was that ever re-released?  Anyone have one?

[1972coronet]

Truthfully , I'd be VERY happy to see some of the MPC 80's promo / annual kits again ; mainly , the excellent Celica & Supra kits ( with NEW tyres , please... the c.1989 Gatorbacks would be passable ,and certainly better than the ad nauseam B.F. Goodrich tyres in 99.9% of MPC's 80's offerings . 

The E-150 kit hasn't seen the light-of-day in at least 40 years . It's a great companion to the AMT E-150 ; each offering presented unique changes .

The C/K Pickup ( Dust Devil et al. ) would be great to see again . Round2 would "have to" backdate the front clip to represent a 1973-1979 model ( yes , there are year-to-year grille changes ) ; the original bench seat interior tub would be a great option in addition to the later buckets & console arrangement . Oh , and DEFINITELY a two-wheel-drive suspension as well (and maybe some newly-tooled plain steel wheels with hubcaps like the 1978 D-100 and 1977-1978 Monaco) .

Those early-mid 80's MPC offerings have a deep sentimental value to me . Seeing them reminds me of Saturday morning grocery shopping with my mum , when I'd burn my weekly allowance on the MPC kits at the Alpha-Beta ( and video games ,too ). Certainly , those weren't the best kits ( pitch-black glass ; and miles-deep plating on the chrome tree ) but they were OUR  generation's kits --- and they left an indelible marque on our minds as a representation of fun and freedom .    

[Ron Warner]

I'm not an "industry insider" like so many of the posters here seem to be, but from what I've noticed every time Round2 has unearthed a kit from this era and re-released it in any form, they've been big enough sellers to get multiple issues. To my point: The Jeepster Commando is on either the second or 3rd reissue, the Fall Guy kit (Deserter) seems to have been done in several runs and available constantly for a couple of years now, and a bunch more were treated to a bit of tooling restoration and have been issued multiple times in "more vintage" forms. 

I have no idea what Round2's planning consists of, or what (if any) thought goes into what to reissue/why. Maybe it makes perfect sense to reissue the death-warmed-over MPC '69 Camaro tool, the super-common '68/9 B-body Mopars (and all the other late-90s AMT molds) but I'm not sure it has sunk in that the stock '75/6 Gremlin kit has been issued how many times since they restored the tooling? That one took some investment but I don't think I'm wrong when I say might be at least 4 issues (flat box/regular box/different year and then reissues of those).It would seem there have to be a bunch of the 70s/80s molds that haven't been issued since that could run as-is with little or no tooling changes/restoration that would be successful. Also plenty of "lost forever" stuff seems to miraculously turn up: when the molds are searched magically "lost" stuff reappears when it's looked for. The hobby today versus 1998 is very different as far as what is viable.  Final point: While I'm glad that Round2 spent the money to restore the long-bed Dodge D150, they could run the 1982 Bronco tool right now, zero investment. RC2 did one as a hobby show run not long ago. Just saying it's one example...there's a lot of that MPC stuff that's there but has been gathering dust. 

Great idea, if nobody asks we might not get.

[Snake45]

58 minutes ago, stevez said:

I luv that pro street mustang!! was that ever re-released?  Anyone have one?

Weren't those molds upgraded into the new, improved Malco Gasser and reissued just a few years ago? 

[vamach1]

Was the Dodge truck ever done from Lone Wolf McCade.  Asking for Chuck and he does not take no for answer. 😃

Edited April 29, 2021 by vamach1

[Dragonhawk1066]

22 hours ago, Stef said:

I've heard that some of these tools may be forever lost/damaged (74 Charger?, Backaruda Pro Street? Monza?), but there are still plenty of kits to select from.

Not sure how many of those old molds were lost, destroyed some how or permanently altered, but I wouldn't be surprised if at least a few had met their demise. I'll try to re-link those pics.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fboxartden.com%2Fcollections%2Fgallery%2Findex.php%2FVintage-Model-Kit-Catalogs-1950-1999%2FMPC%2FMPC-1985%2Fmpc_85_06-960&psig=AOvVaw1JDyqgNaplEO33_14poWPz&ust=1619825421328000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCPjTvI7OpPACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fboxartden.com%2Fcollections%2Fgallery%2Findex.php%2FVintage-Model-Kit-Catalogs-1950-1999%2FMPC%2FMPC-1985%2Fmpc_85_06-960&psig=AOvVaw1JDyqgNaplEO33_14poWPz&ust=1619825421328000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCPjTvI7OpPACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

 

22 hours ago, CapSat 6 said:

One of my favorites as well, I remember butchering the decals as a teen in the early-mid 80's.

 

7 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

Those early-mid 80's MPC offerings have a deep sentimental value to me .

I absolutely feel the same way!

 

 

[Snake45]

What? The '67 Corvette doesn't make the list, either as the Streaker or the Night Stalker? 

Not that we really NEED that one back, of course, but it's still better and more desirable than a few of the others....

[Daddyfink]

Luckily, some of these kits have been unscrewed and brought back to their former and original glory

 

[Stef]

On 4/28/2021 at 8:33 PM, ranma said:

Wasn't sodbuster the same kit as Judge Hardcastle's Stepside with the grill changed to GMC? I'd think most of the tooling would still be there as The cab (altered without chevy badging), Interior, chassis and engine are also used for the Ex Fall Guy GMC ( Deserter GMC )

Hello, @ranma, I do believe these kits are all very similar, and share most of the same base components. I agree that SodBuster's stepside bed should still be kicking around somewhere. Would be nice to see this version available again, for sure.

[Stef]

On 4/28/2021 at 8:47 PM, CapSat 6 said:

Haha! I remember the tinted glass being a crapshoot.

I think maybe the new box art for the ‘79 Firebird they did recently might trip your trigger. That one had a neat retro ‘80’s look. Maybe more of that will come about. 

Ha ha, @CapSat 6, me personally, the heavily-tinted glass was something I loved. Knight Rider, 82 Camaro, 84 Corvette, and many more more more I've forgotten.

Yes yes yes, the recent 79 Firebird reissue is a bit closer to what I was thinking of recreating, but I want to take the idea further. The neon blues, teals, purples, and pinks are iconic 80s colours.

[Stef]

On 4/28/2021 at 8:53 PM, CapSat 6 said:

Tinted windows would probably fit the look, along with Centerline wheels, traction bars, and random multicolored stripes. I know I built a few like that back then. 

My thoughts exactly, @CapSat 6. Most of these kits were marketed with a palpable "street machine" vibe, even though many offered stock parts.

[Stef]

On 4/28/2021 at 8:59 PM, CapSat 6 said:

...perhaps earlier than the era Stef is touching on...

Oh no, @CapSat 6, this perfectly fits within the time period, and this is one I wanted, but always slipped away. Was this the only T-top version created? It would be awesome for us to collectively catalogue all of MPC's variants, and drool over the reissue possibilities.

[Stef]

14 hours ago, Fat Brian said:

I would love to see these brought back in the current Round2 style with good decals and printed tires.

Hello, @Fat Brian, I agree, these kits mean everything to so many of us. I built so many of them, they all warm my heart, and it's my personal mission to bring back those nostalgic feels. Never built War Eagle, but I'm with you on wanting one. New decals, pad-printed tires, and extra goodies will make this a legendary marketing effort that is destined to succeed.