AMT 2021 Dodge Charger Pursuit

[av405]

3 hours ago, SteveG said:

Yes, both the windshield and back glass are now pre-painted. 

Note the decals are just decals, not meant to be a political statement or endorsement by Round2 or its staff one way or another.   I like to believe this is still a hobby that can bring people with very different interests and viewpoints together.  However, I would assume if you're interested in building a Police Car replica model, you probably support the Police and are not offended by any graphics that might be displayed on a Police Car. 

-Steve 

Good news on the windshields, thank you for that!

I like your second statement. I shouldn't have used the word "politics," I just appreciate that including those decals is clearly not problematic for Round2, as so many other things seem to be these days (in general, not just for R2).

[Chuck Most]

Only reason I wanted this kit was...

... to build one of these.

I'm about 2/3 of the way there.

As of right now it's out of the box with the exception of the flasher (not a perfect match but it came from the '63 F100 if you were curious) and some Chimneyville decals that are probably almost as old as I am.

So far the only thing that's given me trouble is the column shifter. It's tiny and cleaning off the flash without breaking it was "fun". There's no positive means of locating it, so I installed it after the wheel to help position it.

And if you're thinking "hmmm ... seems like a minor problem", you're right. Like I said, I would have had no interest in this kit whatsoever if not for the fact that MSP runs a bunch of them. So it's nice to have a pleasant building experience, gnat's hair shift lever or otherwise. Pretty sure my future self induced problem of having to make the hailer will be the worst part of the project. Kit itself fits together pretty well, which it probably should because it's new tooling, but that isn't always a given.

Pre painted windshield and backlight are a nice touch to those of us with ten thumbs. 

Shame that (once again) we have a modern kit with undersized wheels, but otherwise it's good enough to almost make me want to take a shot at the RT version. Or at least do another police Charger as a 100th Anniversary MSP cruiser...

 

[SteveG]

14 hours ago, Chuck Most said:

Only reason I wanted this kit was...

... to build one of these.

I'm about 2/3 of the way there.

As of right now it's out of the box with the exception of the flasher (not a perfect match but it came from the '63 F100 if you were curious) and some Chimneyville decals that are probably almost as old as I am.

So far the only thing that's given me trouble is the column shifter. It's tiny and cleaning off the flash without breaking it was "fun". There's no positive means of locating it, so I installed it after the wheel to help position it.

And if you're thinking "hmmm ... seems like a minor problem", you're right. Like I said, I would have had no interest in this kit whatsoever if not for the fact that MSP runs a bunch of them. So it's nice to have a pleasant building experience, gnat's hair shift lever or otherwise. Pretty sure my future self induced problem of having to make the hailer will be the worst part of the project. Kit itself fits together pretty well, which it probably should because it's new tooling, but that isn't always a given.

Pre painted windshield and backlight are a nice touch to those of us with ten thumbs. 

Shame that (once again) we have a modern kit with undersized wheels, but otherwise it's good enough to almost make me want to take a shot at the RT version. Or at least do another police Charger as a 100th Anniversary MSP cruiser...

 

Chuck, 

Nice work on your MSP Charger.  Glad to see you made use of the beacon from the 63 F100.  It should have been made clear on the instruction that there is a blind hole on the back of the dash to locate the shifter.  It's just to the left of the start button. 

When I built my Lindberg based MSP Charger pursuit, I used the Hailer off of a Greenlight MSP Crown Vicky, although I'm betting those are getting hard to find these days.  

-Steve

 

[Chuck Most]

Now I see the divot for the shifter. ?

Not sure why you guys provided a red (instead of amber) flasher in the F100 kits but it definitely came in handy for this. Having a red flasher on a non-police or fire vehicle can land you in all kinds of hardship. ?

Would be nice to see an MSP version of a Round 2 kit at some point. If nothing else it's a nice nod to the Michigan origins of AMT and MPC.

A hailer, an actual Unity Spitfire gumball and graphics would be about all you'd need for the Charger. I suppose the same is true of the Lindberg Charger kit, but I have no familiarity with that one. 

If the Lindberg P72 molds are still around, same as above plus a new push bar and steel wheels with separate caps. 

MPC Dodge Monaco in a pinch, it would need to be Plymouth-ized and get either new bumpers with guards or separate guards on top of the additional parts needed for the Crown Vic. But that kit is begging for the '63 Nova Craftsman wagon treatment anyway... I.E. just start over.?

I know Lindberg did a 1:20 phantom Jeep Grand Cherokee but let's not go there.

[Mr mopar]

I'm going for this !

[mrm]

This looks cool and I may actually get one of these in the future. What I am most thrilled about is that it is a new kit and not yet another repop of some obsolete kit.

[SteveG]

29 minutes ago, Chuck Most said:

Now I see the divot for the shifter. ?

Not sure why you guys provided a red (instead of amber) flasher in the F100 kits but it definitely came in handy for this. Having a red flasher on a non-police or fire vehicle can land you in all kinds of hardship. ?

Would be nice to see an MSP version of a Round 2 kit at some point. If nothing else it's a nice nod to the Michigan origins of AMT and MPC.

A hailer, an actual Unity Spitfire gumball and graphics would be about all you'd need for the Charger. I suppose the same is true of the Lindberg Charger kit, but I have no familiarity with that one. 

If the Lindberg P72 molds are still around, same as above plus a new push bar and steel wheels with separate caps. 

MPC Dodge Monaco in a pinch, it would need to be Plymouth-ized and get either new bumpers with guards or separate guards on top of the additional parts needed for the Crown Vic. But that kit is begging for the '63 Nova Craftsman wagon treatment anyway... I.E. just start over.?

I know Lindberg did a 1:20 phantom Jeep Grand Cherokee but let's not go there.

I had initially wanted to do an MSP Charger Pursuit, but those parts are so unique to MSP that I didn't want to tool them without a licensing agreement.   Still a future possibility along with Monaco to Fury conversion.  We currently don't have the old Lindberg Ford P72 molds, they were apparently moved before we acquired the Lindberg tooling. 

Both of the F100 kits had red beacons in the original annual kits, so I didn't change that, but I did change the beacon lamp cover for the '63 F100.   I could run the clear red parts in either amber or clear too so you would have both in a later version.  I'll keep it in mind for later. 

-Steve

[Luc Janssens]

Monaco to Fury conversion, what would it take?

- New front cavity of the body tooling and tooling up a new grille.

Plymouth lettering on the trunklid. Which one has to sand off when doing a Dodge, or decals?

Or reworking the body tooling so that a separate front clip is needed, that way the earlier round headlamp versions are possible too.

Tho I have all the parts to make the change myself, it still would be nice if Round-2 could make it happen.

 

[Chuck Most]

1 hour ago, Luc Janssens said:

Monaco to Fury conversion, what would it take?

- New front cavity of the body tooling and tooling up a new grille.

Plymouth lettering on the trunklid. Which one has to sand off when doing a Dodge, or decals?

Or reworking the body tooling so that a separate front clip is needed, that way the earlier round headlamp versions are possible too.

Tho I have all the parts to make the change myself, it still would be nice if Round-2 could make it happen.

 

I don't think the body even has scripts to sand off, so skip step two. 

Even though the kit is a Dodge it's always had Plymouth taillight lenses so you're ahead there.

Even though the CHP reissue has new wheels they aren't the 1978 six holers, which isn't a problem if you want to do a '77 I suppose.

Like I said, that MPC Monaco is a subject that needs the Round 2 "let's just make a better version" treatment. ?

 

[1972coronet]

4 hours ago, Chuck Most said:

Like I said, that MPC Monaco is a subject that needs the Round 2 "let's just make a better version" treatment.

Engine and trans from the 1971 Charger R/T would be a fine starting point for that upgrade - just a couple of minor changes to bring it up to 1977/1978 appearance. 

[Chuck Most]

23 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

Engine and trans from the 1971 Charger R/T would be a fine starting point for that upgrade - just a couple of minor changes to bring it up to 1977/1978 appearance. 

Then you just need to take care of the inaccurate engine bay. And the two door interior tub. And the inconsistent wheelbase side to side. And so on. ?

[niteowl7710]

10 hours ago, Chuck Most said:

Now I see the divot for the shifter. ?

?

 

A hailer, an actual Unity Spitfire gumball and graphics would be about all you'd need for the Charger. I suppose the same is true of the Lindberg Charger kit, but I have no familiarity with that one. 

Good lord Chuck there hasn't been a Unity Spitfire on an MSP car in over 10 years. They ran a modified Unity body with Whelen LED Internals, and now are running SoundOff LED equipment.

[1972coronet]

2 hours ago, Chuck Most said:

Then you just need to take care of the inaccurate engine bay. And the two door interior tub. And the inconsistent wheelbase side to side. And so on. ?

Well, of course ! Haha. Needs the proper 1975-1978 engine compartment, too... and the 9.25" differential, a separate exhaust, the (dreadful) ELB computer on the air cleaner, etc., etc. 
A scratch-builder I bain't  - that correct boiler room alone would drive me to the brink of sanity ! A Dana 44 looks the part of a Chrysler 9.25" (close enough), and is certainly better 'an the 8.75" which went bye-bye after the '74 model year. 
But, at least Round2 hook us up with much better wheels (no more 15x10" rims !) , a correct push bar, and other better "A38" equipment - the prima facie is handled. But, yeah, that Chrysler B/RB - 4-speed combo's always bothered me. Fixin' to suppose that the 440 / T-Flite from the '68 Coronet R/T kits would at least be a drop-in affair (different air cleaner and revised rocker arm covers to complete the update).

BTW, I never did understand the MSP's use of the "STOP" embellishment on the bonnet. 

[Luc Janssens]

11 hours ago, Chuck Most said:

Then you just need to take care of the inaccurate engine bay. And the two door interior tub. And the inconsistent wheelbase side to side. And so on. ?

Then it's better to start from scratch, but don't think that this is in the stars.

IMHO when tooling up an all new vintage police car one is better off with a series of late '60s to mid '70 Chrysler C-Bodies. Cuz if I'm correct (if not please say so) much of the under body components can be used for this gen.

 

 

Edited August 13, 2024 by Luc Janssens

[Chuck Most]

8 hours ago, niteowl7710 said:

Good lord Chuck there hasn't been a Unity Spitfire on an MSP car in over 10 years. They ran a modified Unity body with Whelen LED Internals, and now are running SoundOff LED equipment.

"Yes, but..."

1. A retrofitted Spitfire is still, spiritually and visually, a Spitfire. No matter how "off" they look at night after seeing mechanical ones for decades. Barring that...

2. How many kits in the potential Round 2 tooling bank besides the Charger would use the retrofit flasher?

8 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

 

BTW, I never did understand the MSP's use of the "STOP" embellishment on the bonnet. 

Today it's mostly a "decoration", for want of a better term. But years ago MSP would perform what's called a side stop. If the trooper wanted you to pull over, instead of hitting the lights right behind you, they would pull alongside you and light up the hailer (aka "hood light" or "shark fin") and signal you that way.

Today I know of a couple troopers who will turn it on at night when they pull into a driveway to a location they've been called out to, so that whoever called them will know it's a trooper without drawing as much attention as activating the beacon would.

But much like the characteristic blue paint job, door seals, and drum beacon, it's mainly there for tradition's sake now.

[martinfan5]

On 8/11/2024 at 5:20 PM, Chuck Most said:

 

 

So far the only thing that's given me trouble is the column shifter. It's tiny and cleaning off the flash without breaking it was "fun". There's no positive means of locating it, so I installed it after the wheel to help position it.

 

 

 

Out of the four Ive built so far( currently on #5 , we'll see how it goes) Ive broke 2 column shifters, super fragile.

[Chuck Most]

5 hours ago, martinfan5 said:

Out of the four Ive built so far( currently on #5 , we'll see how it goes) Ive broke 2 column shifters, super fragile.

It's the only part of the kit that's come close to giving me fits, so far. 

Might just get a couple more of these to just invent a use for later.

[av405]

17 hours ago, Luc Janssens said:

Then it's better to start from scratch, but don't think that this is in the stars.

The kit has a lot going for it, including a very accurate looking and well-proportioned body. But yeah, the internals are definitely not great. Maybe they could start from scratch like they did with the recent Chevy C-1500 and C-3500 kit. Or just tool up a new cop car kit, like the boxy Chevy Caprice. Now that would be a dream! But granted, highly unlikely. 

[1972coronet]

40 minutes ago, av405 said:

Or just tool up a new cop car kit, like the boxy Chevy Caprice. Now that would be a dream! But granted, highly unlikely. 

Definitely a 1984-1990 9C1 Caprice , 1993-1996 9C1 Caprice, 1998-2011 P71 Crown Victoria, 1974 Monaco A38, 1969 Monaco A38...

[martinfan5]

On 8/13/2024 at 7:09 PM, 1972coronet said:

Definitely a 1984-1990 9C1 Caprice , 1993-1996 9C1 Caprice, 1998-2011 P71 Crown Victoria, 1974 Monaco A38, 1969 Monaco A38...

Yes, ill take all of these, cases of them all .

[Luc Janssens]

4 hours ago, martinfan5 said:

Yes, ill take all of these, cases of them all .

At least two of each, to have a CHP and an NYPD unit, two agencies Tinseltown promoted through the ages, at least for people outside the USA

So was very glad Round-2 did both their Dodge's as CHP cruisers, now I'm hoping they find plenty of sales when discussing adding a Fury version to their Monaco kit to release as an NYPD patrol car.

 

Edited August 15, 2024 by Luc Janssens

[av405]

8 hours ago, Luc Janssens said:

So was very glad Round-2 did both their Dodge's as CHP cruisers.

I know some will always want other agencies to be represented, but I commend Round2 for going down the CHP route. With the worldwide recognition CHP has, I have no doubt that the mere subject has attracted additional buyers. Small decisions like these only help all of us in the hobby in the long run.

I participate in various facebook emergency build groups. Prior to the Charger and Monaco being released, I saw (and still see) quite a few builders seeking out/using the late 80's CHP Ford Taurus police car kit just for the decals. It shows that sometimes the theme can be more enduring than the kit itself. 

Edited August 15, 2024 by av405

[Edsel-Dan]

How about a 66-72 Belvedere/Satellite 4dr?? (or even Wagon)

LAPD and other city agencies used that body more that the Fury or Monaco

 

Adam-12 used the 66 to 69 Belvedere and 71/2 Satellites since they were correct LAPD cruisers

[DJMar]

On 8/13/2024 at 7:09 PM, 1972coronet said:

Definitely a 1984-1990 9C1 Caprice , 1993-1996 9C1 Caprice, 1998-2011 P71 Crown Victoria, 1974 Monaco A38, 1969 Monaco A38...

As someone who owned a 1992 9C1 (Z09/L05) Caprice, I would offer a resounding YES PLEASE to a newer, non-snap 1993-96 9C1 in model form.

Also, the '84-'90 flying brick Caprices really deserve a modern, mass produced kit.

[1972coronet]

3 hours ago, Edsel-Dan said:

How about a 66-72 Belvedere/Satellite 4dr?? (or even Wagon)

LAPD and other city agencies used that body more that the Fury or Monaco

 

Adam-12 used the 66 to 69 Belvedere and 71/2 Satellites since they were correct LAPD cruisers

Absolutely. ADAM-12 used - as you'd mentioned - 1966/1967 Belvederes (first , short , season), 1968-1970 Belvederes, 1971 Satellite, then a 1972 Matador (until series' end in 1975) .

LAPD (and LASD) used the mid-sized cars (and sometimes compacts) ; full-sized were 'reserved' for the fledgling state agencies (until 1975, 1976 when the CHP started downsizing its fleet to the B-body Monaco / Fury, still with 440 power) .

Heck, a 1975-1978 Nova 9C1 would be the bee's knees !