 | This 1977 Trans Am was the first Trans Am kit from MPC since 1970. This is the "annual" kit which at the time, MPC put of the shelves sometimes months before the actual introduction. A small chuckle comes from the highlight on the box proclaiming "CB Radio Gear Included". WOW! The kit had accurate looking grilles so the exterior looked quite good. Inside, the car was cast with the base seat trim. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
 | Heres a highlight shot ot the side panel. Of note is the the mispelling on the box. A the top it says "BUILD THE FIREBIRD AS A WIDE STREET MACHINE OR BUILD IT STOCK". Instead of WIDE, I believe they meant to say "WILD". | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Here are some shots of the kit which I built in 1977. The wheel choices were either Rallye II's or wheels which resembled Anson's Spyder Mag wheels from the early 70's. MPC may not have had access to the design pattern of the snowflakes for this early kit as they were included on the later "Blackbird" kit.The kit did include the splitter exhaust pipes, however the hood bird wasn't real accurate. Unlike the earlier kits which included front fender air extractors which you glued on, these were molded into the body. On the MPC kits, the front and rear spats had to be glued onto the body, something Monogram avoided on their 1970 Trans Am kit by molding those items into the body. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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If there was a kit that got alot of mileage, it was the Trans Am
Blackbird kit from MPC. This is a kit which I believe
was issued in 1978 and carried Kit Number 1-0777. The 1977
Model year kit features Gold (gold-like?) plating in place of
chrome. The 1978 version has the traditional chrome pieces. The
gold pieces weren't limited to items like the grilles and wheels,
but also included items live valve covers and the shifter.
This kit is a 1/25th scale. The kit was reissued by AMT under
the MPC trademark in 2005 carried the same boxart.
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AMT/ERTL found the old Trans Am Blackbird kit with the original
stlye box art too hard to resist and reissued the kit in 2005. The kit
retained the MPC logos, but they made no attempt to disguise the
reissue. On the side panels, the AMT/ERTL logos are displayed along
with the GM licensing logos. This kit carried part number 38438-1HD
not the 1-0777 of the original lit. Marketed under the Nostalgic
Series, the kit also featured gold finished parts & decals. An
interesting note is that one side panel is in English, the other in
French.
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In 1977, the Pontiac Promo Kits switched from the Formula Series to
the Trans Am, just like their annual counterparts from MPC. Making the promos
as kits began in 1975 and continued thru the 1980 model year. The kits
came prepainted and minimal glueing was required for assembly. The most
problematic part of assembly was the glueing of the front and rear spats
and spoilers, as the paint had to be carefully removed to guarantee
the glue to adhere properly. The kits were a pure curbside model
with a molded in place hood and shaker assembly. They like the MPC
model kits were scaled at 1/25th. There were no part numbers or
manufacturers name on the boxes. The kits were produced in Silver or
Cameo White, and were marked on the boxes accordingly, which seems
to be a bit misleading as the box are shows a photograph of a
Special Edition. The last photo shows an assembled Cameo White
Promo Kit without the rear spoiler.
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