Round 2 Models

1/25 Daisy Duke Plymouth Road Runner

Kit Number: MPC-708

Reviewed by  Steve Jahnke, IPMS# 34991

MSRP: $19.99 Website: Round 2 Models While being a fan of the Dukes of Hazzard series, I didn’t remember Bo and Luke’s cousin Daisy driving a yellow Road Runner; however a quick search on the internet confirmed that Daisy did indeed drive/race a 1974 yellow and black striped Road Runner in season 1 and 2 before changing to “Dixie” the CJ-7 Jeep. The 1974 Road Runner was the 4th model year of the “fuselage” styling of the Chrysler B body series cars. Power and transmission offerings varied from the base 318 CID V8 all the way up to the 440 CID (7.2L) wedge motor. The Kit: This current iteration of the MPC “B” body annual dates back to 1971. Round 2 LLC has done an admirable job cleaning up and adding to the reissue of an old favorite. The kit comes in heavy box with Round 2’s new signature graphics depicting Daisy’s Lemon Twist yellow Road Runner with black RR graphics. Quite frankly it was the box art that got me interested in this kit. The kit contains most if not all of the stock parts from the original issue including beautifully chromed pieces and various Road Runner stripes and other decorations in red, white and black variations. The Build: Since I was infatuated with the box art car, I was anxious to start the build. Testors have a Lemon Twist (Chrysler Yellow PY 3) lacquer in their line so I grabbed a can at my hobby shop. Normally I spray Testors lacquer directly over bare plastic without issue. On my first and second coat of paint I noticed that I had both glossy and semi-gloss patches on plastic. I stripped the paint in Super Clean (wearing rubber gloves and eye protection) and repainted with a new can and color of paint. The same blotching occurred with different color paint. This indicated that there was an issue with the plastic and needed to be sealed. After a second stripping I then coated the body parts with 2 coats of Tamiya white primer letting it dry thoroughly for 2 days before painting the parts with Testors lacquer Daytona yellow (a GM color better representing the paler shade of yellow of the box art car) and then color sanded the body to a deep shine. The kit engine depicts the “big block” Mopar V8 of the time. Decals for the 340 CID are included but are not correct for the big block. I chose to build the 440-6 pack version. The engine is basic but captures the feel of the big Wedge motor. It is painted Testors Chrysler blue and red. The interior was painted semi-gloss black with Testors “leather” simulating the extensive use of plastic “wood” so prevalent to dash boards of that era. The chassis plate is very simple with all of the underside parts molded in except for the rear axle; here I chose to paint everything flat black as it was not the highlight of the kit. After letting the paint rest after polishing, it was time to decal the car. As mentioned earlier the decal sheet is work of art. To offer a contrast to the yellow car I chose to use the black decals, I had seen pictures of the built up Road Runner with white decals and that just didn’t do it for me. I generally do not have issues when decaling but I did with this car. I found my set of decals to be very thin and fragile in that they tore easily and were prone to folding over on themselves. My side stripes broke into numerous pieces and had to be replaced. I emailed Round 2 for replacement information; they were very helpful and forwarded me to a decal replacement form that I downloaded and returned the required proofs of purchase. With in 3 business days I received a new set of decals from Round 2 in perfect shape! Thank you Round 2 for your prompt and courteous response. Not wanting to mess up these decals I wound up cutting the larger pieces into multiple smaller parts and applied them that way. Still in the end, the decals are very thin and delicate so care in handling is essential. The only other negative concern with the decal sheet is that the iconic Road Runner cartoon character is not included on the decal sheet! I don’t know if this was a mistake or licensing issue although the kit is licensed by Warner Brothers, the original owner of the BEEP BEEP Roadrunner character. Add on parts. You might have noticed that I have included an antenna to the kit. A larger, chunky antenna is included in the box, but it is way out of scale. My antenna consists of .015 wire found at most hobby shops with a flat black 11/0 ceramic seed bead found at my local Hobby Lobby to represent the antenna ferrule. I first drill a hole with a #78 (.016) drill bit mounted in a pin vise, followed by a larger #61 (.039) drill bit to make a large enough divot in the fender for the ferrule to nestle into. Finally I touch a drop of super glue to the antenna wire and ferrule to secure both. It lends a nice finishing touch to cars of this era. Conclusion: Overall I am very happy with the look of this car. It represents one of my favorite cool cars of the 70’s; it is easy to build and builds into a nice shelf model. If you are looking for a contest winner you will need to kit-bash this kit with AMT/Ertl’s 1971 Charger. I congratulate Round 2 for bringing back this old favorite and for their excellent customer service in providing me with replacement decals pronto! A big thank-you goes out to Round 2 for supplying this kit and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it for you.