Flashback 1976 - MPC '76 Monza 2 + 2

[Casey]

Is it just me, or do A LOT of parts fall off the trees on these old MPC kits?

It's not just you. I noticed the same on my Chevette kit. Maybe the sprue attachment points on MPC kits were a little bit thinner or smaller? I dunno, but I've noticed the same thing, at least compared to Monogram kits, which seem to hold up the best out of the Big Four's kits.

[1972coronet]

Even back when these kits were new , their parts were loose ! As a kid , when these kits were new , I didn't mind the loose parts , as that only meant that I had to bother an adult that much less to cut parts for me !

[topher5150]

I remember one of these kits being in the house when I was a youngin it was molded in yellow and it had a black decal running down the side

[zenrat]

...I have a general question for the group here. Does anyone ever feel guilty

about building "old" kits? I like the original review of the old kit in this post

and I think he said he was going to build this kit. I have a old kits that I want

to build myself but sometimes wonder if I shouldn't. They aren't in that great

of shape so I don't mind.

What do others think about building older kits?

If you've got 'em, build 'em. They'll never be worth so much you can retire on the proceeds of selling them.

[Lunajammer]

I built this in the 70's when I was about 13. (Had to pay extra for that custom brush painted finish and tube glued felt carpeting ) Thanks Erik, now I can say, "so THAT'S where those honeycomb wheels in my parts box came from."

MPC had the Monza Mouse mentioned above. I got this at a flea market last summer. It's rough but salvageable. It appears to have acquired a Vega hatch somewhere. It also came with Mickey Thompson grooved drag slicks. Might've been kit issued, not sure.

[gray07]

Theres the kit i built many many years ago, the monza mouse.

[mangodart]

Very interesting topic, I have some Monza kit also, I just bought this one a few weeks ago :

I also have the Monza from AMT with the wide fenders.

In the pic of all the Monza kits, is the Buick version the only one they produced, or is there some other boxes ???

Also, gorgeous build for the orange one, I like it very much, what wheels have you used ??

[mangodart]

Some pics I've found on the net, just to give some idea of building, the blue one is pure 70ies Street Machine style !!!!

[topher5150]

Very interesting topic, I have some Monza kit also, I just bought this one a few weeks ago :

I also have the Monza from AMT with the wide fenders.

In the pic of all the Monza kits, is the Buick version the only one they produced, or is there some other boxes ???

Also, gorgeous build for the orange one, I like it very much, what wheels have you used ??

That's the one....That's the one my dad let me play with when I was a kid. Looked it up on Ebay and some guy is selling his sealed kit for $140

[gray07]

Love these cars, just wish they would reissue them, i have a sunbird built like the blue monza, i think it was a revell kit though.

[mangodart]

That's the one....That's the one my dad let me play with when I was a kid. Looked it up on Ebay and some guy is selling his sealed kit for $140

140$ !!! That seems a bit excessive for me, I payed mine around 25$, I found it with some other kits in a little shop in Genève ( Swizerland ), amazing shop where it looks time stops at the end of the 80ies.....

[Steven Zimmerman]

Some pics I've found on the net, just to give some idea of building, the blue one is pure 70ies Street Machine style !!!!

The bottom one is stock, came with a small V8

[mangodart]

Yes, I remember a very nie article on Hemmings Muscle about one like that

[Erik Smith]

I like the Mirage version

http://www.monzamirage.com/

I little info on them.

[gray07]

http://youtu.be/HwcBgswi_Sk

[charlie8575]

I'm not so sure about the Mirage, although it is neat in its own right, the Oregon plate is certainly attractive.

I would like to see these models of all the 1970s compacts come back. Maybe they weren't the best cars, but they were very important milestones in the development of American automobiles, and are interesting simply for that.

Charlie Larkin

[Luc Janssens]

For those of you who never saw the Buick version, here some pics..

[gray07]

Cool never saw the buick, now i want one.

[AC Norton]

I built this in the 70's when I was about 13. (Had to pay extra for that custom brush painted finish and tube glued felt carpeting ) Thanks Erik, now I can say, "so THAT'S where those honeycomb wheels in my parts box came from."

 

 

 

 

MPC had the Monza Mouse mentioned above. I got this at a flea market last summer. It's rough but salvageable. It appears to have acquired a Vega hatch somewhere. It also came with Mickey Thompson grooved drag slicks. Might've been kit issued, not sure.

 

.....just noticed this older but interesting thread on Monza kits....sooooo, 2 questions here....is the above pictured 78 MPC  Monza Mouse version one that seems to be harder to find out there compared to many other MPC Monza issues, as from what I see around , and if my memory serves me, I seem to recall less of those around even in the 80s at the kit and toy show events,,,,and lastly, does this Mouse version include the long drag hood scoop some of the other issues have.....thanks in advance here, boys.....the Ace....

[unclescott58]

Being a big Buick fan I need a Skyhawk. So other than wheels and engine it can be built to look like a fairly stock Skyhawk? That's okay with me.

i don't need other Monza. I've got a '79 promo. Which is good enough for me.

[Mark]

I don't know that the '78 (Monza Mouse) annual would be so much tougher to find than any of the other annual kits.  The later, molded in color Monzas do seem to be more common though.  With the MPC kits, I'd put the one-shot Buick Skyhawk at the top of the heap price-wise, then the '75, '76, and '77 annuals, then the '78, with the molded in color variations at the bottom.     

[AC Norton]

I don't know that the '78 (Monza Mouse) annual would be so much tougher to find than any of the other annual kits.  The later, molded in color Monzas do seem to be more common though.  With the MPC kits, I'd put the one-shot Buick Skyhawk at the top of the heap price-wise, then the '75, '76, and '77 annuals, then the '78, with the molded in color variations at the bottom.     

Mark, thanks for jumping in here...I asked only because I see the 78 MOUSE less available in most cases. anyhow, do you know if this  1978 version has the long hood scoop like some issues have.....thanks...the Ace...

[Don Sikora II]

Not sure what it would mean for values (I agree with Mark, the Buick is top of the heap for price), but in my experience the '78 Monza Mouse annual and the last-issue Pro-Street kit are the harder to find MPC Monza kits. No idea why the '78 would be less common, but I don't even remember it from when I was a kid in '78. Of course my kit shopping was extremely limited in those days to where ever I went with mom.  The Street Spyder custom was also a '78, so maybe they made relatively fewer '78 annuals?

[AC Norton]

Not sure what it would mean for values (I agree with Mark, the Buick is top of the heap for price), but in my experience the '78 Monza Mouse annual and the last-issue Pro-Street kit are the harder to find MPC Monza kits. No idea why the '78 would be less common, but I don't even remember it from when I was a kid in '78. Of course my kit shopping was extremely limited in those days to where ever I went with mom.  The Street Spyder custom was also a '78, so maybe they made relatively fewer '78 annuals?

Don, glad you jumped in on this too. I just bought  the 78 Monza annual and frankly, was darn happy to snag it. I only threw the questions out there about the MPC Monza kits to get opinions, but, like you just mentioned, the 78,  Street Spyder, and the Prostreet always seemed to be harder to grab even when they were fairly current, as I recall. do you happen to know if the 1978 kit also has the long hood scoop included in it......thanks,,,,the Ace....

[Mark]

I don't have a '78 annual, but do have some of the others including the Skyhawk and the yellow "Pro Street" issue.  I didn't do a concentrated search for that one (bought mine almost as an afterthought) but the yellow one (on paper) shouldn't be a big deal.  It may have been produced by both MPC (pre-Ertl) as well as Ertl.  It has a set of four-lug Centerline wheels which were probably only in that issue. 

The '78 annual might be tougher because it was the fourth annual and the 1:1 hadn't really changed all that much.  I remember picking up one or two of the early annuals on closeout back in the day because the engine in these kits was pretty good compared to other small-blocks.  I've been wanting to build a pro stock version using the chassis and parts of the interior from the Twister Vega, so I was looking more for a '75 or '76.

I had a '78 kit back in the day, can't remember specifically what was in it except that it was changed around a bit from the earlier annuals.