I have started building MPC's infamous 1972 Pontiac GTO kit.
The kit is every bit as bad, as it's reputation. Poor detail and fitting, lot's of flash and sinkmarks.
The plan is to build it as a daily beater.


Removed the inmolded wires and "details" on the firewall. New wires and clampdowns made from metal wire and winebottle foil.


A wee bit of detailing on the undercarriage.

Cool, a GOAT!!

Beautiful orange plastic, nice detailing so far. I'm looking forward to following your progress on this one!

Cheers, D

ooo good choice Jesper!

This brings back memories of my childhood! Watching with interest!

If memory serves these were often built in a day or two with paint following shortly after

Ah, how times change

Sorry, MPC of course

Damian: Yeah, you gotta love orange plastic. Will add more details, to the undercarriage. Next will be brakefluid line, if I can find wire in a suitable thickness

Russel: A day or two, well this will most likely be in a year or two

Thanks for looking in guy's

Jesper, it was said already, but I cannot contain myself: the orange plastic is "spectacular" and the runny underside detail as well However, you have the skill to by-pass the kit's shortcomings and the beginning looks very promising. I will follow with big interest this build, because I need to do my firewall and brake lines on my Chrisler 300 as well...

Cheers!
Gabriel

I almost bought an MPC 67 GTO for $10. I was nervous because that is really cheap for an unopened box! Good to hear they are kind of meh.

Will be watching with interest!!

Garbage Truck Option. I'm assuming that the photo on the box is of the completed model. Or is that just an extreme example of GM's refusal to take fits and finishes seriously in the '70's?

Looks like some really neat detail work you are putting into this one.

Welcome aboard gentlemen.



Mark: I'ill save that one, for if/when we make another Mopar Vs Chevy group build.

Hey, don't knock the Goat! It was ahead of its time. Just look at those beautiful colour-coded bumpers.

A wee update. Since this will be a daily beater, it needs to be corroded. To obtain this I have grinded(Dremel) from the backside, of the panels, until they where very thin and then used a scalpel to work my way through, to create the holes. If you just grind all the way through, with the Dremel, you will have round or elongated holes, which will just look odd. By using a scalpel you can create irregular/serrated edges.
The dark marks are, from a marker.

In all my years of modelling the only kits I've ever built that were molded in orange was this one and the General Lee. And the General Lee was the only one that looked good in orange. Chargers and Goats were/are some of my childhood dream cars. Both kits had sink marks, soft detail and warped frames but I pulled them off. Watching this build closely.

Jesper,
That's one excellent start to a GTO daily beater. I don't recall seeing any, but a ton of LeMans beaters for sure.

I really like how you thinned the shell from the inside, then carved through from the outside. Really looks quite realistic. Back then it didn't take much for a American made car to have body rust and holes up here in the North East. The roads were always salted for every snow storm, so your car took a real beating.

Joel

Nice development, Jesper!
I am familiar with the method you have used to make the rust holes, but I've never tried it myself because my cars have to have salon looks. But you stir me to try it on a 35th scale truck or somethin'.

Keep at it - it looks good (and interesting) so far!

Gabriel

I have started working on the seats. The idea is to paint the seats in an orange/yellowish color, resembling the filing, of the seats, partially cover the seats in bmf, cover everything in semi gloss black and make wear and tear by scratching and removing part of the bmf.

This is the pre paint experiment.


The kit headlights really s... Found some lenses, in the spare part stash, incl. some smooth lenses, with a hole in the middle, which I think might have been some optional custom lenses, from a very old kit. These i will use as domes, inside the headlights. I have started drilling out the existing headlights and hopefully the spare lenses will be a perfect match.

Love the seat idea, might just try it on my next Chevy.

Great progress Jesper, some effective techniques used here to give the old Goat the character you're looking for. The BMF used on the seat is like a modified hairspray method, without the nice smells and water. I'm very interested to see how it turns out.

Cheers, D

Great start Jesper, I'm on board!

Aha!

Jesper you're a goldmine of "unorthodox" methods. I'm going to rob you (again)!
I was contemplating to throw away my BMF chrome black which really is craps but now I have a use for it! Great idea!

On the lenses: I've done the same on my Mack DM600 build, but without the mirrors. It looks better than the blind molded parts, but I wasn't thrilled. Your idea is much better than mine. Good thinking!

Gabriel

Jesper,
I'm looking forward to seeing how your seat technique works with the BMF, as it sounds very interesting.

Joel

Thanks for looking in guy's.

I'm hoping the bmf trick Will pan out. If not, well it's easy to Peel off and try another approach.

Made a bit of detail work, on the old Goat.

The levers, for the steering column, made from steel rods(Found at work ) Made the knobs by dipping the ends in CA glue. The steering column is primed and I just scraped of the primer, to show the metal.


Found some wire suitable for the battery cables. Made battery clamps, from wine bottle foil. A highly recommendable technic, since it gives you a perfect excuse to drink more wine


My first attempt at making a throttle return spring. The thinnest copper wire, I could find, wound around a 0,50mm drill.

Wow.

That is some great work!

How did the seats turn out?

Have made a base coat, to resemble the seat filling and have painted the seats with that, but have not yet applied the BMF. Will do that next week.

"Small" but very effective improvements, Jesper! Noted into my Book of Secrets

Gabriel

Jesper,
I'm really impressed with both the battery terminals and the carb return spring. Can't wait to see them installed as they really kick up the build a few notches for sure.

Joel