RoR Step-by-Step Review * Dodge Street Charger 1:16 Scale MPC Kit Review

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1 RoR Step-by-Step Review * Dodge Street Charger 1:16 Scale MPC Kit Review This kit was one I remember building as a kid and I m still lucky enough to have them today. In fact, I built four of them and they are still some of my favorites. When I was asked to build this newly re-popped Charger, I jumped at the chance to relive my past. This kit not only reminds me of better days but also reminds me of the cool, powerful muscle cars that I loved so much as a kid (and still do today). Dodge brought a lot of cool cars out in the 60s and 70s and this Charger was a real favorite of mine then and now. For the Modeler: Looking over this kit and comparing it to the original release showed that there wasn t much change. The body is molded in white (the original in black), and the rear tires are treaded, over-sized street Hot Rod style (the originals were slicks). The change in the tires was pretty nice so there wasn t a lot of disappointment over not having slicks. This kit includes 208 pieces and comes with detailed fuel lines and plug wires. It is molded in white, black, chrome, clear and clear red. It also has vinyl tires with Goodyear logos. Identifying and repairing flash and pin marks; exterior finishing techniques; adhesive choices and applications; test fits; modifying suspension parts for proper fit; using heat to flare joints; proper engine color choices; cylinder head mods; realistic header wrapping; header flange construction methods; scuffing rubber parts for realism; black washing chrome parts; rear end assy. Sequence modifications for fit; realistic carpet flocking; interior finishing methods; scratch built seat belts; using bare metal foil for great looking trim work; using colored pens for finish work; special window glass handling; comparison between this and older kit versions; decal considerations; are all fully examined in this 17 page, full-color Step-by-Step review. In addition, a full set of instructions comes with this review.

2 Fig 0a This is the layout of the kit and box art. Figs 2&5) There is some flashing on the body parts that needs to be addressed. A little extra time here makes everything looks a lot better in the finished product. This might be from MPC using the original dies since the tooling doesn t seem to have changed at all. The flashing and die marks were cleaned up with a sharp blade and some fine sand paper. Finish all these spots off with ultra fine sand paper. The places indicated in the pictures were not the only places that needed attention. Take a look at the whole body and address any areas that might need a little extra clean up.

3 Before continuing, the entire body was given a very light and quick sanding with ultra fine sandpapers. This is to give a good surface for the paint to bond. Fig 7) The entire body, hood and all body parts were washed with mild dish soap, warm water, then dried with a clean cloth (lint free cloth please). This removed all the release agents, fingerprints, oils, dirt and sanding debris. After drying with the cloth, allow it to sit for at least a couple hours to make sure there is no moisture lingering anywhere. Fig 17) Duplicolor gray primer/sealer was applied as the primer base. Two even coats were sprayed over the whole body, giving 10 minutes between coats. This was allowed to dry over night. If you prefer, you could wait as little as 4 or 5 hours for primer dry time IF it s in a warmer area. When dry, the primer was rubbed lightly with a piece of dry, clean t-shirt material. This helps smooth out light dust/dirt in the primer and creates a light scuff without sanding. You could wet sand if there were larger dust particles or runs in the primer.

4 Fig 18) Once the primer was good and dry, Duplicolor Gunmetal Gray was applied in 3 even coats allowing 15 minutes between coats. I used DupliColor Perfect Match spray for this build. This is a period correct metallic shade for this body style. The nozzle was kept about inches from the painted surface. Keeping a little more distance will help keep this high metallic color from having dark patches. After 5 hours in a warm place, a coat of clear was put on (Duplicolor Crystal Clear). It is better to let the paint dry overnight. I used Gorilla Super Glue is for most of this build. This is strictly the builder s choice. In my opinion, this brand gives a better bond and sets parts stronger and quicker. Testor s window glue will also be used but only for the bumpers and glass. The Testor s will not frost on clear parts or chrome like fast setting glues may do. #9 When starting the build, it s best to follow the directions. Staying true to the build sequence will keep things going smoothly. Study the lay out and test fit parts before permanently setting them into place.

5 10, 11 Step 2 (on direction sheet). Pay close attention to parts 2, 3, 4, and 5 to get the proper placement of the right and left upper control arm brackets and lower arm control. Test fit (always test fit) parts 112 to 115. The holes will need to be cleaned out for a better fit when the control arms slide in. Allow the glue for these parts to dry completely before putting any other parts together. The directions will suggest this as well. Figs. 13 & 16) After assembling the front suspension, step 3 will show a picture of a screwdriver and says to heat it and flatten the holding pin to keep it in place. This is very easy to do but keep in mind that you don t have to do this all at once. It could take 2 or more times to get each side done. Don t hurry and don t apply too much pressure or the parts could get melted together. Test your technique on a scrap piece of the parts tree until you re comfortable with how much heat and pressure you will need. Notice that in these pictures the shocks are not in place. You ll put them in after the pins are melted into place. This keeps them out of the way. Before installing them I used some Krylon light blue to replicate the Monroe shocks that were used back then. If this is going to be built by a younger builder, please use extreme caution and care when doing this step. You will be working with a flame (or heat source), hot metal and melted plastic. Adult supervision is definitely required and this is a good time to step in and take over for just a few minutes.

6 Fig 35) The rest of the front suspension assembles fairly well. Study the part locations and test fit before gluing. Fig 21) When starting the engine, build up the block before painting. This helps give better bond when gluing and gives a much cleaner finish to the paint. When assembling the block, there are pin locations to put the block together. These do not line up. Sand the pins off and join the two pieces of the block at the straight edges. Parts # 17 and 18 (right and left cylinder heads) will need to be sanded smooth on the attachment edge to make these flush as well. Before sanding, the parts do not fit level. Also, clean the chrome off the gluing edges of any chrome parts to help them adhere. I used some Hemi orange on the block and painted the tranny with some of the body color DupliColor spray for a custom look. The starter and alternator are painted Testor s steel.

7 Fig 22 & 23) Another thing that can be done to the engine for a bit of realism is to wrap the headers. This can easily be done using cloth medical tape (found at any drug store or in your medicine cabinet). Do this before putting the headers together. Cut the tape into 1/8 inch strips that are a couple inches long. Fig 24, & 26) Carefully wrap these around the pipe; overlapping just a little each time. Keep the tape tight and press as you go around. Leave the bottom of the pipes, where they attach to the headers, unwrapped. Once you glue these two pieces together and they dry, you can wrap the entire base. Use a bit of the parts tree to practice this wrapping technique if needed. This whole process took about 40 minutes.

8 Fig 27 & 28) Part #50 (header flange)-the header pipes should slide through the holds (clean the flashing a little if needed). They won t be even. Gorilla glue was used to set them in place (glued from the opposite side of the pipes). Fig 29 & 30) After these have dried completely you can use a medium emery board or sand paper to smooth this out.

9 Fig 31) It should then fit flush to the block. Fig 32) Part 61 (blower belt)-use an emery board or sand paper in long straight strokes to make the part look like rubber.

10 Fig 39) The final assembly of the motor went as directed. There were very few problems and everything fit well after a little clean up. Make sure to test and pre-fit all parts and you should have no trouble. To give the engine a little more depth and detail, give the chrome areas a wash of very reduced flat black bottle paint and let it flow into some of the feature lines. This gives a little character. Fig 40) To complete the engine assembly, follow the instructions and wire diagram for the spark plug wires, oil lines and coolant lines. Pay attention to lengths. If done right there should be some extra left. Try to stay close to the suggested lengths.

11 Fig 33) Rear end assembly (step 6) should be built completely. But, in step 5 it says to attach parts 233, 234, 232, 235 together then attach to the underside of the chassis. If you do this as the instructions suggest, you will run into big trouble while attempting to attach the leaf springs to the shackets in step 7. Fig 34) It is easier to sandwich the leaf springs between the shackets and apply glue only to the shackets. The leaf springs will still be free because no glue will be applied between the leaf spring and the shacket. Then, as shown in step 7, the rear end will join up at the proper mounting place (which is actually shown in step 5). The shackets can be adjusted (since there s no glue between them and the springs) and glued into place on the chassis. So you can move the position up and down to get the ride height just the way you want it to look. The fuel cell which is used in lieu of the gas tank for strip racing is painted red which was the requirement. The underside is a wash of paint reducer and steel Testor s bottle paint on a piece of cloth then lightly touched to the high spots to bring it out and not look so dull it just picks out some details to the underside over the bare plastic chassis.

12 Fig 37, 38 The wheel assembly needs to be cleaned up a little for proper fit. The wheel retaining pin and wheel hub brake unit should be sanded on the outside following the contour of the part. Then they can slide into the proper places and will be able to move freely. The tires were given a bit of a scuff with a coarse emery board to make them look a little worn and add detail. Figs 42 & 43) It was decided to use flocking on the interior. Before starting, it s not a bad idea to give the interior parts a light coat of dull coat. A flat paint (aerosol or brush) could be used to. Try to paint the parts of the interior that are going to be flocked in the same color family as the flocking. You ll see better results and have fewer visible bare spots. Dull coat was used here on the entire interior to give the parts that weren t being flocked the appearance of leather.

13 For the adhesive, white glue was reduced, 1 part glue to 4 parts water. The reduced glue was brushed onto the areas that are to be flocked. The flocking was sprinkled onto the area fairly heavily, allowed to tack off a bit (4 or 5 minutes). Turn the part upside down and lightly tap off the excess. Do this over a piece of paper so the excess can be reused. You can do one section at a time if you want, or do the entire area at one time. Using the reduced white glue gives you a little time to play with so you don t need to rush too much if you re doing it all at once. ***Builders note**** This was the first time I d ever used flocking so it was a bit of an experiment. I am pretty sure there are lots of ways to do this, some better than what I ve used. Experiment a little on some scrap plastic if you re unsure and find out what works best for you. Fig 44) The instrument panel was detailed with Testors bottle paint and a fine tip brush. The gauges were highlighted with Testor s bottle paints and fine small brush. The silver bezels around the gauged were picked out with a Sharpie marker as well as the dash door and window cranks. Figs 45) The seatbelts were made from craft ribbon. The buckles were made from flat pieces of the chrome parts tree cut to size and glue to the end of the ribbon. After market products are out there to do this same thing and they re really great, but this is an inexpensive way to use what you have to add detail. I painted the steering wheel spokes with Testor s silver paint from the bottle.

14 Fig 52) Here s the rolling chassis with the interior. Figs 46 &48) Putting bare metal foil around the windows and on the side marker lights is another way to add more detail. It takes some practice, try doing it on a scrap body. Make sure when you re using the foil to trim carefully and use a new, very sharp blade. (watch your fingers). You could paint this, but even though it s bigger it s not any easier. The foil really does make it look more realistic. On this kit, the brushed aluminum type foil was used. Fig 49) For color on the side marker lights, an orange fine tip Sharpie marker was used. It looks like clear plastic over the foil.

15 #50, 51 Because the front and rear glass are so tight to the inner edge, it was found to be best to tape them into position first. Testor s model tube glue was used on the inner edge to bond it in. Use the glue sparingly, it doesn t take much to keep the parts in place. Let the glue dry completely before removing the tape. Testors glue is great here because it doesn t frost like fast drying glues do. If you use too much glue, it can cause the plastic of both parts to warp. Figs 53 & 56) Here is a picture of the tires from the original kit compared to those in the re-issued kit. Notice there is some height and width difference along with the change from the slicks (old) to treaded tires (new).

16 Figs 54 & 55) In these two pictures you ll see a white roof (original kit - top) and a gray roof (re-issue - bottom). On the white kit, the lip around the window frame and roofline edge is pretty smooth. On the gray roof there seems to be a couple mold issues where it s a little thicker, not flush and generally less smooth. This wasn t noticed until it had been painted and the foil applied. This may have been caused by damage to the original die that was repaired. If it had been seen before paint, it could have been fixed easily. If you re building this kit for your shelf, it probably won t make any difference. If it s for a contest or show, you may want to spend the time to fix this area however Also, the supercharger decal frosted when applied. A couple attempts were made to get rid of this problem with no luck. At that point it was decided not to apply any more decals on the body in case this was caused by a problem with the decals. Fig 61) One thing I did find was that when I was done there were some extra parts left over on the trees. There was nothing in the directions that told where they went or what they were for. This was a little unusual. If you know more about the Hemi motor, or if you re willing to do a little research, you ll figure out what they are for.

17 Fig 60) Overall, the finished model turned out pretty well. But, as stated in previous comments, you will have to pay attention to minor fit issues and pin locations. The directions are sometimes unclear about part placement. Although the decals are clear they just didn t seem to work well. The model gives you some great looking detail items that will work out great. Building this straight out of the box gives you a good looking model. But, as always, it s up to the builder to decide how far to go. Fig 99) I was really happy to see MPC bring this back. Some older kits can test any builders skills. Take your time and enjoy the kit. This model is not for a weekend build or a new builder. It can be very challenging and needs time and patience. The end results can bring a lot of pride.