What do I do with the MPC 69 Barracuda, its soo bad

[Oldmopars]

I have this kit that has been on my shelf for a while. Every time I open it up, I just seem to put it back out of frustration. The kit is just bad. The chassis is zero detail, the fit is poor at best, the body is not very good, the grill and head lights are not even close to the 1:1.

I know some have put the Duster chassis under it, but for me, that would be a waste of a good Duster kit, I like them better.

My plan was to put a slant 6 in it, and so I gave the engine away. I wanted to make a very basic, low trim level 'Cuda

If anyone has any suggestions of how to turn this Sows Ear into a Silk Purse, let me know. Otherwise it will go back on the shelf or be traded for something I can use.

[High octane]

If you really want to build it, make a drag car out of it as there are a few classes that Barracuda can be made to run in. Then put it on a trailer and make a nice tow vehicle for it also, perhaps the '65 Dodge van from Jimmy Flintstone. Next Question?

[cobraman]

You could always make it a wreck in a diorama setting.

[Oldmopars]

Thanks, I will ponder the ideas. Kind of a shame, I wanted to put the slant 6 in it, but the engine compartment is terrible, huge gaps and poor detail. It would be a waste of a nicely detailed slant 6.

I may do the Dio thing or make it a "barn find" rust bucket on a trailer with no engine.

[Snake45]

The body and its trim aren't THAT bad IMHO. I can think of a dozen popular kits that are much, much worse, some of which I've actually built myself. It'll help to cut the pillar out of the body behind the door windows, if your body has them molded in. (I think some do, some don't.)

If you want underside/chassis detail, you're probably stuck with sacrificing a Duster or Dart chassis. Maybe you can find a cheap glue bomb for a donor. 

Improvise! Adapt! Overcome! OR just forget about it and move on to other projects. That's what real modelers do. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

4 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

Thanks, I will ponder the ideas. Kind of a shame, I wanted to put the slant 6 in it, but the engine compartment is terrible, huge gaps and poor detail. It would be a waste of a nicely detailed slant 6.

I may do the Dio thing or make it a "barn find" rust bucket on a trailer with no engine.

This is why we're "modelers" and not "assemblers".

Go ahead and fix up that engine compartment & maybe swap engines.

The old MPC kits had some pretty bad fender well detail & they were always for too narrow to help facilitate easy assembly.

But they're not that difficult to upgrade with a little ingenuity & some plastic stock.

I had the same issue with the engine room on my latest '67 Bonneville build, but I put a little bit of effort into it & it now looks every bit as good under the hood as a modern kit.

There's a whole world of subject matter out there that would be cast aside if we took the attitude that they were not worth building.

 

Steve

 

[smhardesty]

This is the first I've read about that kit being that bad. I've got 3 in my stash. My intent was for one to be pretty much factory stock, one as a "Day 2" car, then the third kit is to be a donor for my resin notchback kit, which might be an idea for you.

What about you other guys? Is the kit a bad one? I know the chassis lacks detail, but that's not a major concern with the way I'll display them. 

[SSNJim]

Combine it with the Fireball 500 to create a hardtop version of the Fireball. I don't know what the underpinnings of the Fireball 500 are like, but can it be worse than you described for the Barracuda?

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, SSNJim said:

Combine it with the Fireball 500 to create a hardtop version of the Fireball. I don't know what the underpinnings of the Fireball 500 are like, but can it be worse than you described for the Barracuda?

They're the one-piece chassis from the '66 Barracuda, and yes probably a step backwards. 

[SSNJim]

Thanks, Snake. Forgot about the Fireball being the earlier Barracuda.

[MrObsessive]

If you really want to use the Duster chassis, but don't want to trash an entire kit, well there's sellers on the 'Bay that are probably selling just that. Parted out a kit and now have the chassis only to get rid of. Some hate when eBay sellers do that, but this is an instance where this can come in mighty handy.

If not the Duster, than you can check out the Dart as well but there's a bit more tweaking to do on that one.

[StevenGuthmiller]

The Barracuda is not that bad of a kit.

I've built a few over the years & was happy with the results.

It all depends on what you expect from a kit.

This kit was originally tooled in '69 & has not changed since, so it will be on par in the detailing department as most kits from that era.

Half of the fun of building an old kit is seeing what you can do to improve them.

 

Steve

[Mark]

27 minutes ago, MrObsessive said:

If you really want to use the Duster chassis, but don't want to trash an entire kit, well there's sellers on the 'Bay that are probably selling just that. Parted out a kit and now have the chassis only to get rid of. Some hate when eBay sellers do that, but this is an instance where this can come in mighty handy.

If not the Duster, than you can check out the Dart as well but there's a bit more tweaking to do on that one.

You've got to watch some of these swaps, particularly Mopars and some Fords...the Duster has its inner fenders molded as part of the body.  Same deal with the Revell Dart.  I bought the Hemi issue of the Dart, minus the body, from a slot car guy with the intention of using its underbody with a 'Cuda.  Fortunately, I still had the defective body from another Dart I'd bought earlier (Revell sent a replacement for that one).

[gtx6970]

Its not like the duster is super expensive ,,, I would part one out without question if I wanted more detail on the Cuda

 

but then ,  my builds are for my shelf. so the B,Cuda chassis is just fine for my needs

[Can-Con]

For me, it's just the inner fenders that would bug me. I can certainly live with a 1-piece chassis.  Won many awards with them.

I'd just build up the inner fenders from sheet stock. aside from the shock tower areas, it's pretty simple, flat areas. The fire wall and rad wall will look much better once the fenders are taken care of.

[smhardesty]

Thanks, Steve. I was hoping I didn't have 3 kits I wouldn't want to build.

[Dave Van]

Inspired by Mad Max..........

[Luc Janssens]

Sell it on ebay

 

 

[Jantrix]

15 hours ago, Dave Van said:

Inspired by Mad Max..........

See now THIS is a great idea. I have done this many times with a less-than-terrific (or interesting) kit or a mess of leftover parts.

[randyc]

Yes the chassis is bad.   Save it for when you need a simple project.  Put a nice paint job on body and build as best you can with what is there.  Makes a reasonable shelf replica.   Body not all that bad.  Or do like so many of us do - start it and put it up for a while.   Then get it out once in a while and add something to it till you can finish.  Took me a while to finally finish mine.   But I do look back at the kits from that era and they really look pretty good on the shelf.  Bodies are fairly nice.   And the chassis can be painted black and left like that.  Easy to build.  

Heck, I'm not sure where mine is.  In a box somewhere - I saw it a couple years ago.  And thought it still llooked pretty good.  Like a pale yellow, fairly plain.  Kinda like you said you want to do with yours.  

Good luck figuring it out.

[afx]

[CapSat 6]

I will agree that the chassis for that Barracuda kit is pretty close to terrible. The grille is shot from overuse, so getting an older casting helps if you can find one. At worst, do some web research on the rare Savage GT Barracuda, you could always try to clone that grille set up and eliminate the stock one. I still think the body and interior are not too bad, though. The hoods usually don't fit too well (too tight) on these, so I'll warn you to maybe consider going curbside.  

If you don't want to waste an AMT '71 Duster, an alternative could be to use the chassis from the MPC '75-'76 Dodge Dart Sport. While it's not a modern kit chassis by any stretch, it's a step up from the one in the '69...at least the inner fenders are shaped much more like the real ones, and it seems to fill the fenders better. Also, the rear axle is separate in that chassis. You might be able to prowl the swaps or check eBay for one, and also, you won't need the body from the kit to complete it.

The only downsides to the Dart Sport chassis are: some versions have the mid-exhaust pipes molded in, the firewall was hogged out to accommodate the optional Hemi in that kit, and also, the front suspension/ K member detail is light. Maybe use an extra front suspension set up from a new Revell '70 'Cuda, as you get two in the box in each kit. Also, you will have to grind the bottom of the interior tub in the back to make this one work, but again, it's a step or two above what comes in the kit...

Personally, I kind of like improving kits like this, but that might not be everybody's cup of tea...  

          

[Casey]

On 8/8/2018 at 1:29 PM, Oldmopars said:

I have this kit that has been on my shelf for a while. Every time I open it up, I just seem to put it back out of frustration. The kit is just bad. The chassis is zero detail, the fit is poor at best, the body is not very good, the grill and head lights are not even close to the 1:1.

I know some have put the Duster chassis under it, but for me, that would be a waste of a good Duster kit, I like them better.

If you take a close look at the AMT '71 Duster 340, it has some serious warts, too. The unibody structure would be a good donor for under the '69 Barracuda, though, and you can always trade off the parts from the Duster you don't use. The wheelbase measurements are the same, too, saving you some shortening work if...

...you choose to use the Revell '69/8 Dodge Dart kit(s) as the starting point for a donor. I like the Revell '69 a lot, but the wheel base is 3" longer, and you'll need to shorten it to match up with the Barracuda.

Factor in the '71 Duster is going to be reissued in November 2018, and, well, seems like the best choice if you're serious about building a nice '69 Barracuda.

[StevenGuthmiller]

4 hours ago, CapSat 6 said:

The hoods usually don't fit too well (too tight) on these, so I'll warn you to maybe consider going curbside.        

Tight hoods are pretty common and an easy fix.

A little sanding on the edges is all that's needed.

I do this on most builds anyway to accommodate for the thickness of the paint.

There's nothing worse than having a nice fitting hood before painting only to find that it won't close afterwards.

 

Steve

[Oldmopars]

OK, now I think I may just have to let it sit for a while till the Duster is reissued. The hit Hobby Lobby and get 2 or 3, or 4 when they discount them to $7. I get more kits that way, like this silly Barracuda, I only paid $7 for it, I hate to spend $25 on a chassis to make it work. But $7, OK.

Or, I will just use some sheet styrene to make it look like is is supposed to look. The inner fenders should be flat, not round like the kit. It is a MOPAR A or E body(can never remember on that year)