Comparison of Yodel and MPC Dodge Monacos

[ABC Auto Industry]

For those not in the know, at some point in the 80s, a Japanese kit manufacturer named Yodel made a series of five "American Police" 1977/78 Dodge Monacos/Plymouth Furies, representing the California Highway Patrol, NYPD, LAPD, San Diego County Sheriff's Department and NY/NJ Port Authority Police Department. The CHP, NYPD and LAPD kits got second issues with different box art, more parts and pre-painted bodies.

Anyways, recently, seeing as how I had some unbuilt Yodel kits on hand, I decided to compare one to an MPC CHP Dodge Monaco kit I also had. Sure enough, being 1/24 scale to the MPC's 1/25 scale, the Yodel body was slightly larger and also had a differently-shaped roofline, plus different grille and taillight parts, in addition to different police equipment. Personally, I'm not sure which of the two kits would be a more accurate representation of the real steel, but based on the grille and taillights alone, I'm leaning towards the MPC. Still, I believe the Yodel kits are good buys if you can get your hands on them.

[av405]

The MPC body is by far the most accurate. The proportions on it are correct vs the Yodel body, which to me looks cartoonish. But based on pictures and what I've read online, the Yodel kit contained some parts that were more accurate compared to the MPC kit, especially wheels and tires.  The Yodel version also had other goodies like a Fury grill.

Yodel:

 

MPC:

[CapSat 6]

37 minutes ago, av405 said:

The MPC body is by far the most accurate. The proportions on it are correct vs the Yodel body, which to me looks cartoonish. But based on pictures and what I've read online, the Yodel kit contained some parts that were more accurate compared to the MPC kit, especially wheels and tires.  The Yodel version also had other goodies like a Fury grill.

I agree. The MPC body looks MUCH better to my eyes. 

The Yodels have gotten pretty expensive. I was able to score some Yodel parts some time ago. I got a clear shot with the taillights…there are multiple styles on the shot, probably Dodge and Plymouth, as those kits were engineered to build either a ‘77-‘78 Monaco or Fury, depending on the grille that was included. 

I want to study those taillights from the Yodel kits to see exactly how accurate they really are to the 1:1’s. I haven’t tried to match any up to the MPC rear bumper yet, but they look like they could fit. 

if they fit and they are more accurate than the MPC kit taillights, I might try to cast some up for myself. 

I also acquired some old GM A body chassis that I want to cut the inner fenders from…the MPC chassis’ inner fenders don’t look very accurate at all, and there are huge gaps showing to the outside after assembly. I think the rounded style inner front fenders could be combined with the kit firewall with some modifications to enhance the under hood look of the MPC kits.

It’s also worth mentioning that there are some 3D pieces available on Shapeways to convert an MPC Monaco to a ‘77 Fury. The same maker also does inner door details and cop car wheels for these kits. They all look pretty good. He used to post on this forum. 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/SR5UCPW7B/1-25-1977-plymouth-fury-grill?optionId=301312939&li=marketplace

[ABC Auto Industry]

1 hour ago, CapSat 6 said:

I agree. The MPC body looks MUCH better to my eyes. 

The Yodels have gotten pretty expensive. I was able to score some Yodel parts some time ago. I got a clear shot with the taillights…there are multiple styles on the shot, probably Dodge and Plymouth, as those kits were engineered to build either a ‘77-‘78 Monaco or Fury, depending on the grille that was included. 

I want to study those taillights from the Yodel kits to see exactly how accurate they really are to the 1:1’s. I haven’t tried to match any up to the MPC rear bumper yet, but they look like they could fit. 

if they fit and they are more accurate than the MPC kit taillights, I might try to cast some up for myself. 

I also acquired some old GM A body chassis that I want to cut the inner fenders from…the MPC chassis’ inner fenders don’t look very accurate at all, and there are huge gaps showing to the outside after assembly. I think the rounded style inner front fenders could be combined with the kit firewall with some modifications to enhance the under hood look of the MPC kits.

It’s also worth mentioning that there are some 3D pieces available on Shapeways to convert an MPC Monaco to a ‘77 Fury. The same maker also does inner door details and cop car wheels for these kits. They all look pretty good. He used to post on this forum. 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/SR5UCPW7B/1-25-1977-plymouth-fury-grill?optionId=301312939&li=marketplace

Oh, he has cop car wheels! That's awesome, especially considering a Yodel NY/NJ Port Authority Dodge Monaco kit I bought recently was missing the hubcaps.

EDIT: I should also like to add that the latest issue of the MPC Dodge Monaco seems to have wheels with the correct proportions, unlike those "deep dish" wheels shown on the brown unmarked car in av405's post.

Edited June 23, 2024 by ABC Auto Industry

[Edsel-Dan]

Some of the Yodel kits had Both grills as well as both roof light assemblies.

Sadly my original issue LAPD only had the Dodge grill, though both sets of taillights.

it only had the base and Siren section of the twinsonic lightbar.

I do wish these kits would be reissued as most start at $80.oo now.

One bad part was the front bench seat does not have a back. I made one out of sheet stock.

Also, the twin rotator lightbar is a decent coy of the Visabeam bar from the old Jo-Han 68 Fury kit,

though the rotator bases are molded with the lightbar while the mounting legs are separate.

this light rack assembly never got used on an LAPD car thar I've seen.

 

I now have a second Yodel kit, the NY/NJ  Port Authority, But it too is a Dodge, and has the twin rotator lightbar only.

I remember Pocmoke Police having that Light bar in the 70's, and recall the siren speaker being Fiberglass Not metal

It was dark gray or black.  Anyone ever see one chome outside of a kit piece??

[stavanzer]

You can add one more Yodel Kit. I've never seen it in person, but It Looks pretty neat. Even had a spoiler!

 

https://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/mkiba-build-under-c/yodel/yodel-big-american-/

[av405]

6 hours ago, ABC Auto Industry said:

Oh, he has cop car wheels! That's awesome, especially considering a Yodel NY/NJ Port Authority Dodge Monaco kit I bought recently was missing the hubcapsEDIT: I should also like to add that the latest issue of the MPC Dodge Monaco seems to have wheels with the correct proportions, unlike those "deep dish" wheels shown on the brown unmarked car in av405's post.

Those would probably be good for a 1977 model. But you need slotted wheels to recreate a 1978 model. Quite a few aftermarket companies currently sell those slotted wheels and hubcaps.

[CapSat 6]

On 6/23/2024 at 10:11 PM, stavanzer said:

You can add one more Yodel Kit. I've never seen it in person, but It Looks pretty neat. Even had a spoiler!

 

https://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/mkiba-build-under-c/yodel/yodel-big-american-/

I had the Plymouth “BigAmerican” (silver car on the box, molded in silver) . I considered kit-bashing it with some of the old Monogram 1/24 Mopars for a better chassis and an engine, but lost interest. 

These came with custom bucket seats, “Champ 500” style wheels, fat rubber tires, and a rear spoiler. They came with some of the stock and cop car parts, too. I now want to clone one using an MPC kit. 

I loved the box art on these. Actually, the box art on all of the Yodel Mopars was excellent. 

[CapSat 6]

On 6/23/2024 at 11:25 PM, av405 said:

Those would probably be good for a 1977 model. But you need slotted wheels to recreate a 1978 model. Quite a few aftermarket companies currently sell those slotted wheels and hubcaps.

The Ras-Ti wheels are the slotted ‘78 style. I think Fireball Modelworks also does a set, both in 1/24 and 1/25. Either set looks like they are of excellent quality. 

I used to use AMT ‘65 GTO wheels for 6 hole cop car wheels. I would sand the lips off of the holes, and use the stock hubcaps from the Monaco. 

[ABC Auto Industry]

On 6/23/2024 at 6:12 PM, Edsel-Dan said:

Some of the Yodel kits had Both grills as well as both roof light assemblies.

Sadly my original issue LAPD only had the Dodge grill, though both sets of taillights.

it only had the base and Siren section of the twinsonic lightbar.

I do wish these kits would be reissued as most start at $80.oo now.

One bad part was the front bench seat does not have a back. I made one out of sheet stock.

Also, the twin rotator lightbar is a decent coy of the Visabeam bar from the old Jo-Han 68 Fury kit,

though the rotator bases are molded with the lightbar while the mounting legs are separate.

this light rack assembly never got used on an LAPD car thar I've seen.

 

I now have a second Yodel kit, the NY/NJ  Port Authority, But it too is a Dodge, and has the twin rotator lightbar only.

I remember Pocmoke Police having that Light bar in the 70's, and recall the siren speaker being Fiberglass Not metal

It was dark gray or black.  Anyone ever see one chome outside of a kit piece??

Never seen a chromed Federal Signal CJ24 speaker, which is what the kit speaker is supposed to represent, but I do have additional information about variations on kits: There were two different issues of these kits. One issue had a painting of the car in question, the second issue had a picture of the built model among various police accessories such as badges, guns, radios, etc... The second issue kits not only had both the Dodge and Plymouth parts, but also had both light assemblies for the Federal Signal Twin Beacon Ray and TwinSonic. They also had pre-painted bodies. To my knowledge, only the LAPD, CHP and NYPD kits got second issues.

[1967RMP]

The ONLY thing the MPC kit has going for it is the accurate body. Considering they modified the 2-door Monaco molds to make it, they did a pretty close job. They did redeem themselves with the new wheels and tires, but neither kit has the correct style dog dish caps. There are many other inaccuracies, but where it really loses points is the fiddlyness of its parts. The Yodel, while having a faulty body, is a lot more fun to build because its parts fit better. The Greenlight diecast is a lot more accurate than either.

Edited June 30, 2024 by 1967RMP