MPC 1969 Dodge Charger

[doorsovdoon]

I can't really say anything good about this MPC kit, the fit issues are are as bad as legend says! I went into this kit knowing this which did help, otherwise I probably would have given up on it. Knowing I was going to have to put some effort into this just to get it looking half decent, I decided to go wild on it and not just correct the fit issues but really make it my own. I put a slant six in it from the Lindberg '64 Belvedere and wired everything, plug leads, heater hoses, and even the alternator. The chassis is an awful fit out of the box which makes the engine bay not fit right, so I scratch built some of the firewall and inner wings to fill in the huge gaps under there, consequently that also fixed the ride height and centred the wheels in their arches. Wheels are from my spares stash, no idea what they came from originally, but they needed lots of sanding to fit the skinny tyres I used. Colour is Rover Seafrost Blue metallic, the roof is just a random can of aerosol white. Bad kits can be made to look good, and can be lots of fun, you just have to approach them knowing the amount of work they'll need and not just another kit that needs some correcting, otherwise it'll feel like you're just constantly fixing problems and cursing the manufacturer for putting out such an ridiculously rubbish kit and saying, "What were they thinking?!" Lol

[doorsovdoon]

[doorsovdoon]

[Captain Spaulding]

Great job on the Charger, think that's the nicest looking one I've seen made from the MPC kit.

[doorsovdoon]

1 minute ago, Captain Spaulding said:

Great job on the Charger, think that's the nicest looking one I've seen made from the MPC kit.

Thanks mate. I never thought that one of the worst kits out there would be one my best builds, haha.

[Zippi]

Nice looking Charger Gareth.  The color looks spot on for the 69.  I like this one.  

[oldscool]

You did some outstanding work on this kit. Looks great!

[David G.]

A respectable build by all accounts! And then some.

David G.

[doorsovdoon]

46 minutes ago, Zippi said:

Nice looking Charger Gareth.  The color looks spot on for the 69.  I like this one.  

Thanks, Bob.

45 minutes ago, oldscool said:

You did some outstanding work on this kit. Looks great!

Thanks, Gerald.

41 minutes ago, David G. said:

A respectable build by all accounts! And then some.

David G.

Thanks, David.

I'd like to build another one without fixing any of the fit issues just to compare it next to one that has. It would make an interesting comparison!

[Dominik]

2 hours ago, David G. said:

A respectable build by all accounts! And then some.

David G.

Agreed. i know the MPC-Kit very well and "fighting" also on one ?. Your shows also, that you can make a good looking model out of a bad kit if you take your time. a lot of time.

well done!

[Just Jim]

Looks great. I plan on chopping mine up and turning it into a street rod. Hopefully it will turn out half as well as yours.

[grodudulle77]

Very nice look !!??

[iamsuperdan]

This is one of those kits that when given to young kids, it makes them want to go play video games instead. MPC should be embarrassed that they still issue this thing.

 

Having said that, you did an awesome job in making this clunker look good!

[Jim B]

I like you Charger.  The Slant-6 is an interesting engine swap.

I have this MPC kit:

Is this the same Charger in the box?

[doorsovdoon]

4 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Looks great. I plan on chopping mine up and turning it into a street rod. Hopefully it will turn out half as well as yours.

Thanks, Jim. Chopping it up is probably the bests thing for it, haha!

7 hours ago, Dominik said:

Agreed. i know the MPC-Kit very well and "fighting" also on one ?. Your shows also, that you can make a good looking model out of a bad kit if you take your time. a lot of time.

well done!

Thanks, Dominik

[doorsovdoon]

1 hour ago, grodudulle77 said:

Very nice look !!??

Thanks, Philippe.

[doorsovdoon]

1 hour ago, iamsuperdan said:

This is one of those kits that when given to young kids, it makes them want to go play video games instead. MPC should be embarrassed that they still issue this thing.

 

Having said that, you did an awesome job in making this clunker look good!

Thanks, Dan. I do wonder if someone who picks up a kit like this one for the first time could be put off by the hobby thinking they're all like this.

[doorsovdoon]

1 hour ago, Jim B said:

I like you Charger.  The Slant-6 is an interesting engine swap.

I have this MPC kit:

Is this the same Charger in the box?

I think the Dukes version has the Charger 500 body, though it's been changed so many times it could be a number of variants. Some even have HEMI on the door panels.

[Snake45]

Fabulous work! I think you are a strong contender for "Polished Turd of the Year" award! VERY well done and model on! 

[Mike F.]

Very nice job. I love the used car look.

Earl Sheib would be proud.

[Tom99]

Looks good, I like the slant 6.

[doorsovdoon]

7 hours ago, Snake45 said:

Fabulous work! I think you are a strong contender for "Polished Turd of the Year" award! VERY well done and model on! 

Thanks, Snake. Yep, who says you can't polish a turd, hu. haha!

7 hours ago, Mike F. said:

Very nice job. I love the used car look.

Earl Sheib would be proud.

haha! and just like the real thing, there is a lot of bondo under that $29:95 paint job!

7 hours ago, Tom99 said:

Looks good, I like the slant 6.

Thanks, Tom. It's from the Lindberg '64 Belvedere, it's a very nicely detailed engine.

[Hans1971]

Looks good anyway?
Maybe the engine compartment looks too 'metallic' ?
The wheathering of the underside is nice ; as I've noticed on real cars, even the cleanest one has never a neath bottom.
 

[kruleworld]

12 hours ago, doorsovdoon said:

I think the Dukes version has the Charger 500 body, though it's been changed so many times it could be a number of variants. Some even have HEMI on the door panels.

AMT have fixed the later Dukes charger release to have the correct buttress rear window. Since Jim B has the version with no Southern Flag on the roof, it's a newer release.

@doorsovdoon

Awesome build and nice weathering. 

Edited July 9, 2021 by kruleworld

[doorsovdoon]

10 hours ago, Hans1971 said:

Looks good anyway?
Maybe the engine compartment looks too 'metallic' ?
The wheathering of the underside is nice ; as I've noticed on real cars, even the cleanest one has never a neath bottom.
 

Thanks, Hans. Yeah, the engine bay isn't great, the engine is the wrong colour too. 

8 hours ago, kruleworld said:

AMT have fixed the later Dukes charger release to have the correct buttress rear window. Since Jim B has the version with no Southern Flag on the roof, it's a newer release.

@doorsovdoon

Awesome build and nice weathering. 

Thanks, Walter. It was interesting reading up on the changes done to this kit over the years. They still got it wrong when they updated the rear window on this kit, it's too small and square compared to the real car.