The MPC Trick Trike Series History

[ea0863]

Now that the six Trick Trikes are done, I thought I'd do the obligatory "Family Photo" and post them here. My favorites in order are Cobra Chopper, Tiki Trike, Torque Trike, Mail Box Chopper, Milk Trike, and last but not least - the Taco Trike. I'm curious what others think of this order. Which ones were most popular and which least in your circles? 

These builds all started because I found the Tiki Trike for $11 in my Walmart Clearance aisle. It looked cool, but I had no idea what I was looking at. A little bit of research later, I had all six for around the same price and was off and building. I also found out some really cool stuff about these trikes that I wanted to share here. None of what I'm posting is gospel, so feel free to clarify as you see fit. It's just the best information I was able to find.

1) TIKI TRIKE

As best as I can find, the MPC "Digger" Trike came out in 1972. It was later rereleased as the Tiki Trike in 2005 and 2020.

The concept was the result of a custom build named the "T'rantula" Trike by a gentleman named Dennis Johnson who showed it in national competition and won Best-of-Show in 1970. MPC took note and bought the design, as well as two others from Dennis - although for some reason his name never got billing on the boxes as some others did. As you'll note in the article below, Dennis is also the creator of what later became the "Zingers" series of scale models.

Here is his custom build of the "T'rantula" Trike as of 2019. (Apparently it toured quite a bit, and got some cracks in the body along the way)

The article above refers to the body of Dennis' trike coming from the "T'Rantula Digger" dragster designed by Tom Daniel and released in 1973 (?). The family resemblance is unmistakable, and the names are an obvious dead giveaway that these two are related. 

2) Taco Trike

The "Wedge Chopper" appears to have been released in 1971, and is the second of Dennis Johnson's designs sold to MPC. It was later rereleased as the Taco Trike in 2005 and 2020 (I think).

Here is a fairly recent pic of Dennis' concept build.

3) Milk Trike

The third of Johnson's designs was known as the "T" Trike, and came out in 1971. It was rereleased as the Milk Trike in 2005 and 2020.

Here is a photo of Dennis' model for comparison.

Again, there is an obvious relation to the "Milk Truck" designed and built by Bob Reisner (of "Invader" fame) in the 60's as a show car and reduced to a scale model by Doyusha in 1969. I'm guessing Mr. Johnson saw this vehicle and drew inspiration for his build, but whether he used this kit in some fashion I couldn't say. And why MPC didn't release it right off the bat as the "Milk Trike" is probably a whole other conversation.

Here is the show car.

Here it is in scale from Doyusha in 1976 (it was released again in the 1980's, and also has been produced under the name Eldon).

If you are interested in more about Dennis "Denny" Johnson, check out "Tim Nolan's Ratdaddy Studios" and search for Denny Johnson (I tried to put a link here, but it just wouldn't work). His stuff is truly wild!

4) Torque Trike

This one came out in 1973 as the "Black Max" Trike penned by the famous designer Harry Bradley. It was rereleased around 2021 as the Torque Trike (apparently to the delight of many who loved its shape). For me, the whole German cross theme in the decal sheet made a lot more sense when I realized this model's roots.

5) Mail Box Trike

I'm not knowledgeable about the "Rat Fink" vibe, but for fans, the Mail Box Trike is all about Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and his show trike by that name.

It appears to have been somewhat loosely captured in scale in the 1970's (?) by MPC, and carries his name. A reissue in the 2010's (?) has the new artwork, including a decal sheet with tons of Rat Fink stuff. 

There are some references to a relationship between this trike and the "Mail Truck" of George Barris, but whether one exists is anyone's guess. Perhaps someone on this forum could shed some light.

6) Cobra Chopper

And finally, we have the Cobra Chopper originally released in 1973, and rereleased in 2021.

Try as I might, I never did get a bead on who designed this one. It might have been Harry Bradley, but doesn't really look like his work. I do wonder though whether Denny Johnson's three-seater trike was of some influence, as the timing would be about right.

I hope this was fun reading, and might even spur on more conversation on these classic trikes. Perhaps we might even hear from those who were directly involved in their development, who knows? Could definitely use input from @tim boyd who I believe is quite knowledgeable on this topic. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by ea0863

[tim boyd]

8 hours ago, ea0863 said:

Now that the six Trick Trikes are done, I thought I'd do the obligatory "Family Photo" and post them here. My favorites in order are Cobra Chopper, Tiki Trike, Torque Trike, Mail Box Chopper, Milk Trike, and last but not least - the Taco Trike. I'm curious what others think of this order. Which ones were most popular and which least in your circles? 

These builds all started because I found the Tiki Trike for $11 in my Walmart Clearance aisle. It looked cool, but I had no idea what I was looking at. A little bit of research later, I had all six for around the same price and was off and building. I also found out some really cool stuff about these trikes that I wanted to share here. None of what I'm posting is gospel, so feel free to clarify as you see fit. It's just the best information I was able to find.

1) TIKI TRIKE

As best as I can find, the MPC "Digger" Trike came out in 1972. It was later rereleased as the Tiki Trike in 2005 and 2020.

The concept was the result of a custom build named the "T'rantula" Trike by a gentleman named Dennis Johnson who showed it in national competition in and won Best-of-Show in 1970. MPC took note and bought the design, as well as two others from Dennis - although for some reason his name never got billing on the boxes as some others did. As you'll note in the article below, Dennis is also the creator of what later became the "Zingers" series of scale models.

Here is his custom build of the "T'rantula" Trike as of 2019. (Apparently it toured quite a bit, and got some cracks in the body along the way)

The article above refers to the body of Dennis' trike coming from the "T'Rantula Digger" dragster designed by Tom Daniel and released in 1973 (?). The family resemblance is unmistakable, and the names are an obvious dead giveaway that these two are related. 

2) Taco Trike

The "Wedge Chopper" appears to have been released in 1971, and is the second of Dennis Johnson's designs sold to MPC. It was later rereleased as the Taco Trike in 2005 and 2020 (I think).

Here is a fairly recent pic of Dennis' concept build.

3) Milk Trike

The third of Johnson's designs was known as the "T" Trike, and came out in 1971. It was rereleased as the Milk Trike in 2005 and 2020.

Here is a photo of Dennis' model for comparison.

Again, there is an obvious relation to the "Milk Truck" designed and built by Bob Reisner (of "Invader" fame) in the 60's as a show car and reduced to a scale model by Doyusha in 1969. I'm guessing Mr. Johnson saw this vehicle and drew inspiration for his build, but whether he used this kit in some fashion I couldn't say. And why MPC didn't release it right off the bat as the "Milk Trike" is probably a whole other conversation.

Here is the show car.

Here it is in scale from Doyusha in 1976 (it was released again in the 1980's, and also has been produced under the name Eldon).

If you are interested in more about Dennis "Denny" Johnson, check out "Tim Nolan's Ratdaddy Studios" and search for Denny Johnson (I tried to put a link here, but it just wouldn't work). His stuff is truly wild!

4) Torque Trike

This one came out in 1973 as the "Black Max" Trike penned by the famous designer Harry Bradley. It was rereleased around 2021 as the Torque Trike (apparently to the delight of many who loved its shape). For me, the whole German cross theme in the decal sheet made a lot more sense when I realized this model's roots.

5) Mail Box Trike

I have never understood the Rat Fink thing, but for fans, the Mail Box Trike is all about Ed "Bid Daddy" Roth and his show trike by that name.

It was somewhat loosely captured in scale in the 2010's (?) by MPC, and carries his name.

There are some references to a relationship between this trike and the "Mail Truck" of George Barris, but whether one exists is anyone's guess. Perhaps someone on this forum could shed some light.

6) Cobra Chopper

And finally, we have the Cobra Chopper originally released in 1973, and rereleased in 2021.

Try as I might, I never did get a bead on who designed this one. It might have been Harry Bradley, but doesn't really look like his work. I do wonder though whether Denny Johnson's three-seater trike was of some influence, as the timing would be about right.

I hope this was fun reading, and might even spur on more conversation on these classic trikes. Perhaps we might even hear from those who were directly involved in their development, who knows? Could definitely use input from @tim boyd who I believe is quite knowledgeable on this topic. 

 

 

 

 

Emre....thanks for a really well researched post and for some very sharp model builds.   Also really appreciate you giving credit to Denny Johnson for his original models that sparked the MPC Trike Series.  Yes, for those of you wondering, Denny is still building.  He showed some of his recent work, along with some of those originals, at one of the last NNL Nats in Toledo.  At the time, I told the then-editor of the other magazine that he should do a feature on them, but it fell on deaf ears I am afraid.  I have some photos and I will post them here later. 

Meanwhile I can't think of anything to add from my end, other than that John Greczula took it upon himself in the early 2000s to do a reissue of four of the MPC Trike kits.  He setup a company named Retro Hobbies, redesigned all the box art, and took on all the challenges of arranging manufacturing and selling the same.  His final product included all four kits in a single box and prompted renewed modeler interest in the Trike kits.  If I am remembering the details correctly, John's efforts eventually came to the attention of Tom Lowe who was setting up Round 2 at the time, and John then became one of the lead people in the renaissance of the old AMT/MPC et al tooling, licensing, new kit additions, and box art.  John still works with Round 2 to this day. 

Anyone else have any additions on the subject? 

Thanks again for your research, model builds, and post, Emre.  Really well done!  TB   

[ea0863]

2 hours ago, tim boyd said:

Emre....thanks for a really well researched post and for some very sharp model builds.   Also really appreciate you giving credit to Denny Johnson for his original models that sparked the MPC Trike Series.  Yes, for those of you wondering, Denny is still building.  He showed some of his recent work, along with some of those originals, at one of the last NNL Nats in Toledo.  At the time, I told the then-editor of the other magazine that he should do a feature on them, but it fell on deaf ears I am afraid.  I have some photos and I will post them here later. 

Meanwhile I can't think of anything to add from my end, other than that John Greczula took it upon himself in the early 2000s to do a reissue of four of the MPC Trike kits.  He setup a company named Retro Hobbies, redesigned all the box art, and took on all the challenges of arranging manufacturing and selling the same.  His final product included all four kits in a single box and prompted renewed modeler interest in the Trike kits.  If I am remembering the details correctly, John's efforts eventually came to the attention of Tom Lowe who was setting up Round 2 at the time, and John then became one of the lead people in the renaissance of the old AMT/MPC et al tooling, licensing, new kit additions, and box art.  John still works with Round 2 to this day. 

Anyone else have any additions on the subject? 

Thanks again for your research, model builds, and post, Emre.  Really well done!  TB   

Tim, your kind words are very appreciated, as are your years of diligent effort in inspiring, educating, building, archiving, and promoting our hobby. There is no research I do on a build where I don't run across your name or photo somewhere along the way.  I look forward to your photos on this topic, and am hopeful that Denny knows he is appreciated.

[PappyD340]

Fantastic group of trikes, well done!

[ea0863]

15 minutes ago, PappyD340 said:

Fantastic group of trikes, well done!

Thank you much Sir  

[shoopdog]

Thanks EMRE for posting some great information and the family photo. I think I can agree with your order.

[ea0863]

Thank you Keith. Lots of fun doing these  

[iBorg]

I appreciate this post. Great info on the history. The Denny Johnson info is much appreciated. As for favorites: Mail Box (although I wish they'd don a better replica of Roth's trike, Milk Trike and the Digger. Until this reissue, I only had the Digger from the original issue.

[ea0863]

1 hour ago, iBorg said:

I appreciate this post. Great info on the history. The Denny Johnson info is much appreciated. As for favorites: Mail Box (although I wish they'd don a better replica of Roth's trike, Milk Trike and the Digger. Until this reissue, I only had the Digger from the original issue.

Thank you Mike, I appreciate the feedback. It's fun to share what I learn. I also agree with you about the Mail Box.

[slusher]

Great Trikes and info thanks!

[ea0863]

p.s. There were a couple of folks asking why my Cobra Chopper looked different. I took a few liberties with this model and it is now only one cobra, rather than the two on the box art. You can see the transformation and up-close photos on my post for this kit.

[Can-Con]

I highly suspect the 4 cylinder Honda engine in the chopper included with the MPC '79and '80 Monte Carlos was cribbed directly from these kits. It even has similar exhaust. 

[ea0863]

23 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

I highly suspect the 4 cylinder Honda engine in the chopper included with the MPC '79and '80 Monte Carlos was cribbed directly from these kits. It even has similar exhaust. 

Mostly these engines look good, but it sure would have been nice in the case of the Big Daddy Roth Mailbox trike to have had the correct Crosley engine.

[Hmann68]

Super interesting post! I can’t really explain why, but the Taco is my fav. All 6 were on the hobby shop shelf and I took the Taco home with me. I had so much fun building it, I went back and got the rest. Still have the Cobra, Milk, and Torque to do. They are great little quick projects to build in between larger projects as a change of pace. The box art and decal sheets are great. 

[ea0863]

5 minutes ago, Hmann68 said:

Super interesting post! I can’t really explain why, but the Taco is my fav. All 6 were on the hobby shop shelf and I took the Taco home with me. I had so much fun building it, I went back and got the rest. Still have the Cobra, Milk, and Torque to do. They are great little quick projects to build in between larger projects as a change of pace. The box art and decal sheets are great. 

Thank you Christopher. And I agree with you about the fun in building these little guys, and the wonderful decal sheets.

[ea0863]

On 8/21/2023 at 8:16 AM, ea0863 said:

Tim, your kind words are very appreciated, as are your years of diligent effort in inspiring, educating, building, archiving, and promoting our hobby. There is no research I do on a build where I don't run across your name or photo somewhere along the way.  I look forward to your photos on this topic, and am hopeful that Denny knows he is appreciated.

Speak of the devil!...  @tim boyd

Edited September 30, 2023 by ea0863

[tim boyd]

On 9/20/2023 at 9:17 PM, ea0863 said:

Speak of the devil!...  @tim boyd

Yep...that would be me.  That sure was a long, long time ago - 53 years! - yet in some ways it seems just like yesterday.....TB 

[ea0863]

33 minutes ago, tim boyd said:

Yep...that would be me.  That sure was a long, long time ago - 53 years! - yet in some ways it seems just like yesterday.....TB 

Not to worry, our hobby keeps us young!  

[Rocketwheels]

Against my better judgement, my ADHD kicked in and i pulled down and started these 5 all at the same time. It aint like I already have about 100 other projects languishing on the shelf right now.......

.....but, I do so love these awesome trike kits!

https://public.fotki.com/rocketwheels/model-projects-in-p/mpc-torque-trike/1706569226933.html

[ea0863]

21 hours ago, Rocketwheels said:

Against my better judgement, my ADHD kicked in and i pulled down and started these 5 all at the same time. It aint like I already have about 100 other projects languishing on the shelf right now.......

.....but, I do so love these awesome trike kits!

https://public.fotki.com/rocketwheels/model-projects-in-p/mpc-torque-trike/1706569226933.html

That should mean 5 times the fun then, right?  Enjoy!

[TarheelRick]

Really enjoyed looking at these builds and your history of each of them. I've never been much of a bike fan, but these may change my mind. I know my local Wal-Mart has two or three of them still in stock, may have to splurge and buy them.