Bought my first MPC kit today...

[trey allen]

I found it at the local thright store. I paid $3 for it. It is the 67 gto. Upon closer inspection, I think I over paid for it . Honestly, it doesnt look like a very well made kit. Are all MPC kits this way?

[SuperStockAndy]

From what I've heard, pretty much, yes.

[Austin T]

There were some good ones and some duds.I think all model companies have this issue.

[Chuck Most]

That particular kit dates from 1967, and is based on the original annual kit tooling. You can't expect a state-of-the-art model from 45 year old tooling!

MPC kits are pretty much on par with AMT kits- the last of the MPC kits ('69 Olds 4-4-2, C1500 pickup annuals, etc.) were just as good as the AMT kits. The '70 Super Bee kit is also pretty good, that one is a combination of the original 1970 body and interior, with a better-detailed chassis and engine added in the late '80's. So, no, not all MPC kits are like the one you just bought.

[Nick Winter]

That particular kit does have it's issues, but most MPC's are pretty well manufactured (fit & Finish wise) but remember these toolings are usually atleast 20+ years old and can't rightly be compared to modern toolings.

[trey allen]

Whoa. I didnt know it was based on tooling that goes that far back. Ill stop complaining now. that makes it more fun to build!

[Craig Irwin]

Watch the chassis, it takes some work to center the wheels in ther openings, and severial resin guys cast the right front seats for this kit.

[Casey]

That particular kit dates from 1967, and is based on the original annual kit tooling. You can't expect a state-of-the-art model from 45 year old tooling!

45 years old or not, it's not a well made kit, IMHO. Opinions will vary with every kit from every time period, but to use the excuse of "it was done xxxx years ago" is a bit of a cop out. There are some great kits from the '60s which still hold up well today (all of Monogram's "Big" 1/8 scale kits, for instance), so I don't why other, lesser quality kits should be given a pass.

The last of the MPC kits ('69 Olds 4-4-2, C1500 pickup annuals, etc.) were good kits, and probably MPC's best fitting, best engineered kits, to paraphrase what Chuck said above. Yes, there are kits far worse than what MPC offered, but there are also kits which are far better.

[trey allen]

I also may have spoiled myself by starting with 1/12 Tamiya kits...

[Ben]

Some MPC kits were/are cheesy but there were some great ones that still fetch big bucks!!!!!!!! The Mustang II Cobra is one of them! I paid 145.00 for a sealed kit and 65.00 for one built really well. I'd love to find a few more!!!!

[62rebel]

three bucks for a kit that you would pay twenty-five or more for at a hobby shop is a darn good deal, dated molds and low detail notwithstanding.

i'm surprised at how many of us who've been building since these were new releases are still in the hobby, having had to deal with literally hundreds of low-res kits over the years..... just plain stubborn, i guess. we didn't have much choice but to take what was offered in the "good old days"..... we're spoiled by numerous choices today.

[High octane]

I recently purchased the '32 Chevrolet Roadster kit by MPC and I hear that they're pretty hard to come by.

[Wagoneer81]

I also may have spoiled myself by starting with 1/12 Tamiya kits...

Uhh... Yeah, definitely. You, sir, are spoiled! Just remember, test fit, trim, test fit, trim and test fit, trim, glue... Something you don't always have to do with better engineered kits...

[martinfan5]

Dave, I would love to find the Z kit *insert drooling smiley here *

The best to do with MPC kits, is not to have high expectations with them, they can and do build up to be a very nice finished model, just some extra work might be needed to get that though

[Austin T]

The gangbusters series was a really nice series of kits.

[jeffs396]

I think alot of MPC kits are comparable to JoHan kits of the same era...accurately scaled bodies, low in detail.

But most look favorably like their 1:1 subject once built

[Longbox55]

I recently purchased the '32 Chevrolet Roadster kit by MPC and I hear that they're pretty hard to come by.

The Roadster (actually, it's a Cabriolet) isn't all that hard to come by, as it's been reissued in several guises by both MPC and AMT over the years, last time being in the Connesuer Classics line along with the '28 Lincoln and '32 Chrysler. The rare version is the original Gangbusters "9 in 1" kit, which also had the '33 Panel Truck body. There was also a version of the Panel releasd on its own, before it got butchered into the Barnabus Vampire Van. Both the Cabriolet and Panel are very nice kits. Edited March 29, 2012 by Longbox55

[SuperStockAndy]

MPC's Firefighter Mustang II kit........................................

Nice model

[Tom Setzer]

You can billd a decent looking car from that kit, just lok at what Barry Faddan did with one. The problem is that you really have to work at getting the parts to fit. At $3 you can afford to add deail parts from Model Car Garage to improve it.

[von Zipper]

From what I've heard ( ) some of those old MPC kits are pretty nice.

[Rob Hall]

I don't remember the MPC 280ZX...I have the AMT one from that era. I like the MPC Supra. I have loads of MPC kits in my stash from '64-88, original issues and reissues...I esp. like their '68-76 full size Chevys, '60s-70s Pontiacs, and Mopies...

Edited March 29, 2012 by Rob Hall

[Rob Hall]

well that's a huge stash of MPC kits Rob!

I have a few.. Those pics are over 10 years old, they all went into storage when I moved in '02.

maybe the 280ZX wasn't originally MPC tooling?

Good question...I seem to remember an AMT snap kit version also. Maybe the one I have an AMT rebox of the MPC--it's an issue from the '90s, IIRC.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Rob Hall

[Bob Turner]

Perhaps one thing we need to address in this fount of misinformation regarding the "low quality" of MPC kits, (from what people have been told), is that besides that 67 GTO kit coming from tooling cut for the 66/67 annual kits, the fact is that MPC, AMT & Jo-Han's annual kits all tended to be simplistic, based as they were on promo tooling in many cases. In addition, most annual kits, while featuring multiple building options, had to be compromised for that very reason, in order for the parts to fit the standard box, as well as keeping the general cost down.

For a look at first rate, high quality MPC kits, unencumbered by said compromises, simply check out these links.

1968 Lotus Indy Turbine:

http://public.fotki....otus-stp-indy-/

Dan Gurney/Denny Hulme 1968 Olsonite Eagle Indy car:

http://public.fotki....an-gurneys-ols/

"Winged Express" Fuel Altered:

http://public.fotki....ild-willie-bor/

Young American AA/Fuel Dragster:

http://public.fotki....oung-american-/

And finally, the soon to be reissued 1/16 scale Richard Petty STP Dodge Charger:

http://public.fotki....etty-nascar-ch/

That last one is 300+ parts, precisely engineered, & the instruction booklet is as close to a set of blueprints for building a 1/1 Nascar racer of that era as you're likely to find.

Look through those & tell me that all MPC kits were poorly detailed &/or of low quality. A few people in this thread knew what they were talking about, the rest just parrotted half remembered & inaccurate information.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Bob Turner

[Dragline]

I cannot wait for that Petty kit!

I'm buying several.

Thanks Bob

I was always partial to MPC kits.

[Longbox55]

Here's a parts shot of the Street Charger, which was tooled from the Petty kit.

Now, I'm pretty sure that not all of the original parts are there in this version, but the engraving and detail it top notch. This particular kit is the "One Run Of Fun" issue, which is scheduled to be restored back to the original Petty kit.