Reviews : MPC 1971 Dodge Demon Car (Customizing Kit)

Hello Everyone This was a model kit I always wanted, without spending the $$$ for an original. This kit is disappointing in a lot of ways. Round 2 is going out of their way to copy / remake 70's Mpc tooling, which is going backwards as a model company. Amt Ertl made all new tooling when they made the 71 Charger and 71 Duster, both great kits. Round 2 should have used the existing tooling from the 71 Duster for the 71 Demon, but instead they copied the 70's style Mpc tooling. The chassis is more or less one piece, the rear axle has the exhaust molded on, the front suspension is molded to the chassis with the exception of the wheel mounts. The interior is a one piece tub with very little detail, the steering wheel is cheesey. The motor is terrible, poorly detailed, it's the typical Mpc tooling back in the day. The Mopar rally rims are decent, better tooling than the older Mpc stuff, the cragar style mags are good. The pad printed tires are Firestone. The decals are decent with some nice options. The grill is molded in white, Round 2 should have plated the grill , or included two grills, one plated, and one unplated, not everyone knows how to make the grill look like silver plastic, properly. There is some fitment issues with the kit, be patient and test fit everything. I have been building models for close to fifty years, and I have had a lot of Mpc kits. My opinion is this, if you are trying to bring an old model kit back, if the original tooling doesn't exist, don't try tooling the kit to be like the original, tool the kit to compare with more modern model kits. Sure nostalgia is nice, but some people expect more when it comes to a new model kit.

This is the first model car that I've built since early 1980, when I met my then future wife. I didn't have time to continue building model cars any more, so I gave up the hobby. Now, 45 years later I'm back, and this is the car that I chose to build first. Doing so brought back a lot of memories, and I caught myself doing things the same way I did them 4 and a half decades ago. It turned out better than I thought it might because my hands don't work like they used to. I built it to be a street machine/bracket car. I wish it had a better roll cage, as well as a set of headers, finding some that will work online hasn't been easy so far. My next build will be a '71 Duster Super Stock car, I'll have to buy an additional model of a '67 Chevelle for the roll cage, tires/wheels, and the rear end, and look for more parts online until I can build up my stash of spare parts.

I built the original version of the MPC kit back in 1971, painted it yellow with black stripes and interior. Even with its inaccuracies, it was a good kit. When Round 2 chose to re-release MPC 1971 Dodge Demon, they retooled it to correct some of these inaccuracies, providing us with a MUCH better finished product. All of the moldings and parts are crisp and clean with no flash. The pad printed Firestone Wide-Ovals and Drag 500 slicks are a greatly appreciated detail added to this kit. I purchased several copies, 3 to build as factory stock in different colors, 1 to kitbash into a Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge GSS Paxton Supercharged Demon 340, and more to build as Sportsman Drag Racing Demons or Day 2 modified street machines, using the 340 6-Pack from AMT's '71 Plymouth Duster in a couple of them. Well, I'm excited, it i9s time true break out the sprue cutters and glue and get BUSY!...

This wasa very hard to find kit a year or so ago so glad to see it here! This is a different build not hard in the lease but easy to make look good. Don't really like the grill as it's not chrome molded that's a little weird. Overall I'd buy this kit a couple times over for sure!

I got this model as a gift. I loved it, the fit was perfect, no flashing. I liked it so much I bought a 2nd one to build a different version. This would be a really nice model for a beginner.

Absolutely loved building this kit. Just the right detail made this a fun build.