This pony is ready for the glue factory
This is a disappointing offering from AMT, but if you need to build a 71 Mustang for your collection, it, or its companion kit, AMT 1262M, are the only game in town. These kits appear to be nearly identical, but 1262M has additional decals and is molded in white rather than red styrene. My review covers 1262M. The body is not horrible, but on my example, there was a large sink mark on the left front fender that required filling. I’ve also seen this sink mark in video reviews of AMT1187. In addition, there is a bump (a reverse sink mark!) on the right rear corner of the deck lid that only became noticeable after painting. Luckily, it is covered up by the rear wing. I assembled the body with the tail light panel, front bumper, and valance for painting. The bucket style interior has door panel engraving that is weak and disappears under a coat of paint. The dash has better engraving. The Windsor V8 is undersized and the valve covers and air cleaner are terrible. The optional Boss 429 engine would be suitable for a race version, but is let down by the valve covers, which lack detail. Application of the first decal did not go well. I dipped one of the hood pinstripes in for a second or 2. The stripe disintegrated into several small pieces. A larger fender stripe broke in two. After that, I coated the remainder of the sheet with Tamiya TS13 Clear. Problem solved.
Sub-par kit
Too bad this kit does not look as good as the box art; this is clearly a very old mold with lots of flashing and a VERY low part count. The front grill is molded to the body and lacks detail. The rear filler panel does not fit well and will require filler and sanding to make it even look half-way presentable. Similar to one other reviewer, I took out the parts and spent a few minutes test fitting and put it right back in the box. Probably will use this one to test my airbrush skills or for spare parts.
