Did this car inspire mpc to do the Mustang Fire Fighter (what's in the name?) Pro Stocker?

[Luc Janssens]

Photo courtesy of Motor Trend.

Please visit site via link below for more....

Restored! That Infamous Ruggirello-Roush Mustang II (motortrend.com)

 

mpc kit...

 

 

[keyser]

Pick one. 

[Mark]

MPC probably had to plan for that kit alongside the '74 annual, before they knew for certain that anyone would actually run a Mustang II.  So they went with a fictional car.  

MPC was generally a year behind with their drag cars.  The first pro stock series (1972) included the Bill Jenkins Camaro, when he was running the Vega.  The '73 series included the Motown Missile Barracuda when it was no longer the "factory" car, having been replaced by the Mopar Missile Duster.  

Someone at MPC must have liked that "Firefighter" name, they later used it on a custom Dodge pickup and a Corvette funny car.

[Daddyfink]

[BlackSheep214]

Oh man....I’ve been wanting that Mustang II Fire Fighter Kit for years

[Mark]

The Dyno Don kit is the '75 MPC issue.  The Firefighter was done first, after the '74 annual.

[Oldcarfan27]

I thought the Pro Stock was done after the stock annual run. I assumed the stock tool was permanently modified into this configuration, never to be returned. 

I'd like to be wrong. 

[Mark]

7 minutes ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

I thought the Pro Stock was done after the stock annual run. I assumed the stock tool was permanently modified into this configuration, never to be returned. 

I'd like to be wrong. 

MPC used to flip back and forth between versions back then.  With most car kits, they liked to get two versions out of one body in any given year.

They did that with the Mustang II kits, if you have the stock versions the quarter panels get lumpier around the rear wheel openings every year.

After the last stock annual ('78) they seem to have went with the competition version on a permanent basis.  Round 2 won't change back to the stock version, as they can issue the AMT kit if they see the need for a stock one.

[Daddyfink]

9 hours ago, Mark said:

The Dyno Don kit is the '75 MPC issue.  The Firefighter was done first, after the '74 annual.

The Dyno kit came out in 1974

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Daddyfink

[Mark]

Late '74, it is a '75.  It has the larger '75 hood.  The Firefighter was first, it is a '74.

[keyser]

5 minutes ago, Daddyfink said:

The Dyno kit came out in 1974

Yeah. I didn’t like Mustang 2’s but that was first one I recalled other than AMT.

Firefighter had no scoop or weird one on box. 
 

[Mark]

The original Firefighter had that low profile Grumpy Lump style scoop, with the low slot in front.  Outdated by '74 for Pro Stock, still used in Modified Eliminator though.  That scoop was also in the '74 and '75 annual kits.

The snorkel scoop was added for the '75 Dyno Don kit, and retained for the '76-'78 annual kits along with the V8 engine.  The first pro street issue or two also had the snorkel, later issues had a hole in the hood and no scoop.

The most recent issue (Nostalgia Series Firefighter) again has the Grumpy Lump style scoop.  The hood opening in that issue was rebuilt back to the '74 only shape, with the wider header panel at the front.

Note too, on the Dyno Don kit, the box art is doctored to add windshield wipers.

[keyser]

Lol. Why I always qualify my comments. 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by keyser

[Daddyfink]

15 hours ago, Mark said:

The original Firefighter had that low profile Grumpy Lump style scoop, with the low slot in front.  Outdated by '74 for Pro Stock, still used in Modified Eliminator though.  That scoop was also in the '74 and '75 annual kits.

The snorkel scoop was added for the '75 Dyno Don kit, and retained for the '76-'78 annual kits along with the V8 engine.  The first pro street issue or two also had the snorkel, later issues had a hole in the hood and no scoop.

The most recent issue (Nostalgia Series Firefighter) again has the Grumpy Lump style scoop.  The hood opening in that issue was rebuilt back to the '74 only shape, with the wider header panel at the front.

Note too, on the Dyno Don kit, the box art is doctored to add windshield wipers.

Well, the box says 1974, but, it is in the 1975 Catalog. Weird! 

[Mark]

Weird too, the '74 USA-1 Vega is still in the '75 catalog alongside the '75 fictional American Spirit.  Other than decals, the only difference is the molded-in license plate.  I have two original USA-1 kits, both are 1974...maybe some were made with 1975 bodies? 

[Rob Hall]

2 minutes ago, Mark said:

Weird too, the '74 USA-1 Vega is still in the '75 catalog alongside the '75 fictional American Spirit.  Other than decals, the only difference is the molded-in license plate.  I have two original USA-1 kits, both are 1974...maybe some were made with 1975 bodies? 

'74 and '75 Vegas were pretty much identical in 1:1, so it wouldn't matter...

[Oldcarfan27]

1 hour ago, Daddyfink said:

Well, the box says 1974, but, it is in the 1975 Catalog. Weird! 

Whatta great ad! Box art and built ups make me want to buy all of them!

[Rob Hall]

1 minute ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

Whatta great ad! Box art and built ups make me want to buy all of them!

That is a great ad...never seen '70s MPC catalogs, I wonder how many of these were still in the catalog for '76, '77, etc.   

[Mark]

45 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

'74 and '75 Vegas were pretty much identical in 1:1, so it wouldn't matter...

That's what I said...just wondering if any were produced with '75 bodies.  Other than that plate detail, the two Vega kits would have had the same plastic in the box, just different paper...

[Rob Hall]

36 minutes ago, Mark said:

That's what I said...just wondering if any were produced with '75 bodies.  Other than that plate detail, the two Vega kits would have had the same plastic in the box, just different paper...

So MPC was still doing the year on the plate thing then... I've seen the year on the plate on late 70s and 80s promos, didn't realize the kits were still doing it.

Edited April 22, 2022 by Rob Hall

[Mark]

Not all "annual" kits had the year on the plate...but nearly all of them with promo model origins did.  MPC wiped that info from reissues, often replacing it with model info ("Cougar", "Mustang", etc) or license plate detail.  AMT annual reissues usually kept the dated plate area the first couple of times, in the Seventies they started getting rid of it.  A few here and there never got messed with though.

[1972coronet]

RE: Dating of Annual Kits by MPC: I have a 1972 Duster 340 annual, and its decal sheet has a date of "05/1971". Heck, that's only midyear 1971 model year! 

[Mark]

Well, they were doing the promos.  So, once MPC's designers and planners knew what the car looked like, they could work out things like decals and optional parts.

[Daryl Romain]

I wanted to build something different. Scratchbuilt the trunk (lid) and rear of the roof from scrap plastic. Scribed in the trunk lines. This was the "Dyno Don" kit. Built in 1978. Has been since cleaned up.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Daryl Romain