?1968 Coronet R/T Test Shots ?

[1972coronet]

Every so often , I hear the rumbllings of a proposed-but-then-cancelled 1968 Coronet R/T (or was it a Super Bee ?) that was slated for ca.2004 release under the AMT (et al.) banner . My question is , were any test shots released ?

[John Pol]

I also would like to know what happen to it.

John Pol

[Mark]

2004 was smack in the middle of the era when the AMT and MPC brands were run by non-hobbyists, without any of the engineers or other people that had solid knowledge or information regarding what still exists and what doesn't. They announced a bunch of items including that Coronet, and a stock '71 Mercury Cyclone. One catalog even listed a reissue of the '61 Ranchero, with the accompanying box art being a copy of the annual kit box. The Coronet still exists, but as the 1970. A '68 would have to be all-new.

[1972coronet]

2004 was smack in the middle of the era when the AMT and MPC brands were run by non-hobbyists, without any of the engineers or other people that had solid knowledge or information regarding what still exists and what doesn't. They announced a bunch of items including that Coronet, and a stock '71 Mercury Cyclone. One catalog even listed a reissue of the '61 Ranchero, with the accompanying box art being a copy of the annual kit box. The Coronet still exists, but as the 1970. A '68 would have to be all-new.

Thanks for the info , Mark .

That stock '71 Cyclone would have been SWEET !!

I wonder if any tooling exists for the supposed-to-be-all-new-tooling Coronet ?

Then again , if Round2 had access to any of the alleged tooling , I'm certain that they'd have at least alluded to it by now ...

[Mark]

The only "official" reference to a '68/'69 Coronet was a listing in an RC2 catalog. I think there was an illustration of an MPC 1969 hardtop annual kit box. Until/unless someone can produce a picture of a test shot, the catalog listing is all that ever existed...

[gtx6970]

I was told by someone who used to do box art builds for AMT/ERTL and the 1968 Coronet never went any farther than pictures of an original annual / box art photos

[GMP440]

There were no test shots released at the time when Round 2 announced they were bringing back the MPC 68 Coronet kit. This was around 08, when the news came out. They never proceeded with the release.

I read that Round 2 did locate the molds/tooling and actually tried doing a shot, but found there was missing sections.

Maybe someone in the know could shed a little more light as to what Round 2 found.

I vividly remember the announcement on the Spotlight Hobbies message board. Also, I remember that Tower Hobbies

had it listed as a future release with a picture of the MPC 1968 Dodge Coronet R/T hardtop box.

A lot of people were very disappointed when Round 2 cancelled it. That was a kit that was going to sell very well.

I hope sometime in the near future Round 2 will produce this kit. We all have been waiting a long time time for this one.

[biscayne63]

There were 3 tools Promo closed hood, also used as a funny car. The hardtop kit body and the convertible. There has to be 1 of these laying around.

[JS23U]

I would bet that at least the kit Hardtop and kit convertible came out of the same mold, just using different inserts for the roof section vs. sun visors. Maybe even the promo mold is the same one.

[Rob Hall]

I assume some of the tooling was revised from the '68 form into the '69s and then the '70, which is still what exists today. Who knows what happened at MPC..was over 4 decades ago...

[High octane]

_{If you want the '68 Dodge Coronet R/T, the Modelhaus offering looks great as I picked one up recently.}

[Rob Hall]

_{If you want the '68 Dodge Coronet R/T, the Modelhaus offering looks great as I picked one up recently.}

Yes, theirs is quite nice...I have one along w/ the MPC originals..there are a couple other resin ones out there, but the Modelhaus one is probably the best.

[gtx6970]

_{If you want the '68 Dodge Coronet R/T, the Modelhaus offering looks great as I picked one up recently.}

Very true and i agree it is very nice.

BUT, at the modelhuas price of almost $100 , IMO, your in the price range of a decent builtup .

And for me personally, I would rather have the stryene builtup..........................my opinion only.

I've bought 1 each of a hardtop and a convertible rebuilders in the last 2 years or so give or take and I don't think I put more than $100 in either one.

Here are just a few recent sales ( not mine nor do I know the sellers )

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1968-DODGE-CORONET-R-T-CONVERTIBLE-ANNUAL-BUILT-RARE-/221275997243?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item338513c43b

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MPC-1968-DODGE-CORONET-R-T-HARDTOP-BUILDER-BOX-/290949957470?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item43bdf8075e

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MPC-1968-Dodge-Coronet-R-T-/161093367929?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item2581e9b879&nma=true&si=fXZpXBilaHOBbEn96wGNMElhH9o%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Edited September 4, 2013 by gtx6970

[Tom Geiger]

Who knows what went on back then! As said, the company was run by non-modelers and they could have misjudged what tools they had, or relied on something that was mismarked. We know we did get reruns of the 1961 Falcon Ranchero. I'm not sure what they needed to do to reissue it, but it did come with brand new funky wheels in those issues. We'll be seeing it again shortly with a new 1960 grill.

As far as the '68 Coronet and the Cyclone, it's likely that the tool or parts of it existed back in that 2004 era. Back then the current owners weren't likely to invest a whole lot in repairing or supplementing broken or incomplete tools. Now the new owners, under Round Two are a completely different story. If indeed these tools exist, they're more likely to invest the funds needed to get them in shape. They understand our market and how well both of these will do.

[GMP440]

Forgot that a promo, hardtop and convertible bodies were produced as mentioned by Biscayne33. I also would agree that one of these has to still be around. What would it take for someone at Round 2 to dig and hunt through their inventory to find out what they actually have?

I hope Round 2 is seeing this thread. If Round 2 can produce something, even a drag version; if that's all they have, I'm in as a buyer.

I beleive most people on this board would feel the same way too.

Round 2 is very agressive in getting kits to production. I think now is a very opportune time for them to do a release of the 68' Coronet R/T. At the rate they are getting kits to production ,we could very well see this happen.

Edited September 4, 2013 by GMP440

['70 Grande]

The story that I remember hearing regarding the intended-reissue, (back in 2004), of the 1/25 MPC 1970/71 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler factory-stock kit was that they had found molds marked-up as being for that Cyclone kit, but when they poured molten-styrene into those molds, the Hemi Dart came out!

That Cyclone kit is one of my few, never-obtained "holy-grail" kits... I've pretty much given-up on ever seeing it get reissued.

Edited September 5, 2013 by '70 Grande

[Mark]

That Cyclone kit is one of my few, never-obtained "holy-grail" kits... I've pretty much given-up on ever seeing it get reissued.

The Cyclone was converted to NASCAR trim after the '71 kits (annual and funny car) exited the MPC catalog. The NASCAR version (reissued by Model King a few years ago) uses only the body and trim parts from the annual, on a generic two-piece adjustable-wheelbase chassis (that was used in all of the kits in the series). Every Cyclone part is altered in some way except the windows (and the rear spoiler, if it is in there; I don't have one handy to check). The body is largely stock, though (no reshaped wheel openings) and can be brought close enough to stock. The stock hood, bumpers, and taillights can be had in resin. The Model King issue has stock 1970 and 1971 Spoiler decals ('71 annual didn't have stock decal stripes) as well as the stock wheels on the plated tree. The Revell '70 Torino GT/Cobra underbody is an incredibly good fit for the ancient MPC body, and that kit's separate door handles and side markers (cut from the body) will swap onto the Cyclone. The interior is the sticking point; I'll probably pull molds off of some MPC parts for mine. Mine isn't very far along, but I have seen one combination Model King/Revell Cyclone Spoiler finished...

[High octane]

Forgot that a promo, hardtop and convertible bodies were produced as mentioned by Biscayne33. I also would agree that one of these has to still be around. What would it take for someone at Round 2 to dig and hunt through their inventory to find out what they actually have?

I hope Round 2 is seeing this thread. If Round 2 can produce something, even a drag version; if that's all they have, I'm in as a buyer.

I beleive most people on this board would feel the same way too.

Round 2 is very agressive in getting kits to production. I think now is a very opportune time for them to do a release of the 68' Coronet R/T. At the rate they are getting kits to production ,we could very well see this happen.

Very well see this happen? I HIGHLY doubt it.

[Randytheroadrunner]

I know there have been people begging for a '68 Coronet for years. I'd be on board for one...I can't afford 100 bucks.

[RodneyBad]

I'd love to get my hands on a Reissue Coronet.

The only one I got has seen better days but could be restored.

[GMP440]

Here are the 68' Coronet builtups I aquired through the years.

The silver one, someone glued on the custom airscoop and custom grill that was included in the original kit.

The black one someone did it with stock hood, grill and used the optional Hurst wheels that came in the kit.

What's interesting are the different building options you had back in the day.

[Lancer]

I would love to see this too! I have some parts of an original, body, interior, and exterior chrome, it is a nice car. I wonder why Monogram / Revell doesn't do to their 69 Super Bee like they have done with their 32 Fords, with body and engines. It seems like it would not be as hard as a new tool. I do think the 68 would be a good seller, either as a R/T or Super Bee.

[GMP440]

Here is an order form for the MPC 69 Chargers and 68 Coronets. from back in the day. Notice the large scale

wooden 68' Coronet model prototype and pictures of the models being packaged.

Edited September 7, 2013 by GMP440

[Sport Suburban]

I would love to see this kit restored. Here is my builds based on resin kits.

I'm not 100% sure but I think this one was from Motor City Resin but I got it so long ago.

I used the AMT 68 Roadrunner for the chassis and engine.

This one started out as a Modelhaus kit that I converted from a Coronet RT to a Super Bee.

Also used AMT 69 GTX for a 383 version.

Edited September 8, 2013 by Sport Suburban

[Guest]

Beautiful!