I am a drag racing fan and built this kit in the mid-90s. It went together well with no issues and has enough parts and detail to form the basis of an ultra-detailed model. The parts were nicely molded with minimal flash. I elected to cut the top of the bodywork free in step 8 in order to better display the cockpit area. The injector hat, valve covers, and front wheels, while not bad parts, were replaced with better looking aftermarket parts. I also added numerous scratch-built and aftermarket details. Good quality decals finish off the model, however, some of them caused yellowing of the white paint. My understanding is that new decals accompany this latest reissue, so perhaps that will no longer detract from what builds into a very attractive model.

First dragster kit since my 20 years away from the hobby. Looks clean and fairly simple but nicely detailed. Can't wait to get started!

Having built quite a few 1/24 and 1/25 models of famous (or infamous) racing cars, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this kit, my first dragster. The Ramchargers rail is the car Leroy Goldstein drove to many AA/FD victories. The kit includes a driver’s helmet, which I painted gold in honor of Mr. Goldstein, “The Israeli Rocket.” I built a couple of MPC kits when I was young and was not impressed with their quality, even compared to other manufacturers of mediocre-quality kits, such as Revell Monogram or AMT. That was a long time ago. This kit is manufactured in China now but the molds appear to be the same ones used when the kit was made in the USA (I presume) in the 1970s. On the plus side, the kit includes a full frame that builds from five pieces and looks terrific. The engine also has good detail and the decals are excellent, which is fortunate because a lot rides on the decals with this kit. On the downside, parts fit is often poor, flash is ubiquitous and locating tabs are seldom the same size or shape as the location point they are intended to fit into. A significant drawback is the instructions, which are vague or even incomplete. For example, the instructions indicate that the driver’s tub fastens directly to the upper rail of this very nice frame. Then the two body halves enclose this assembly, which leaves a huge gap between the tub and the body. I looked at many photos of this dragster and they showed the tub upholstery attaching to the body, not the frame. Maybe I missed something, which happens. However, I used sheet styrene to close the gap. The instructions for step 8A are also confusing and it is only by trial and error that I discovered the correct alignment for the tie rod. I saw a video online that showed the tie rod assembled incorrectly. In the video, the assembler ran the tie rod across the nose of the car rather than through the front axle openings. This mistake is completely understandable from my point of view and is entirely due to the instructions not making clear how the tie rod is to attach. Despite all that, the kit is enjoyable and a presentable model can be produced with a little research and some scrap plastic. I don’t plan to buy any more MPC kits, however.