This is a review of the MPC 1971 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler Kit#7124

I finally got one! I’ve wanted one of these since I found out they made the kit (a good many years now). These baddies are RARE, but they’re a muscle car I think is cool as heck and fast enough for the track. The kit to the right is the only other one I know they have made, and from what I’ve seen, it is molded in a horrific maroon. Either way, however, it is expensive.

CAR BACKGROUND :: The “Spoiler”. Sounds like something that will ruin your day! Honestly, if you saw this big lummox drive up beside you at a stoplight, you might not realize it could just ruin your day! Even with the side stripes, the car looks somewhat sedate compared to the utter ferocity it can unleash. No, not the dreaded 351ci, but the ultimate in Ford performance – the 429. At top trim level, this engine churned out 370hp and a whopping 450 lb-ft of torque.

Enough brawn to make Mustangs run and hide to Mama. Low 14-second times were easy, and it did so with a level of comfort the typical Road Runner never saw. The Cyclone also had a style that was as far out of the norm as the first set of bell-bottom jeans. That amazing nose-cone with the built-in reticle in front?! All it needed was a fighter helmet and a set of M-16s on the hood! That style didn’t last long, and by 1973, the Cyclone was all but a memory.

SO PSYCHED to pick up this model off eBay, and SO GLAD to be done with it, as well. Painted in Tamiya Camel Yellow (a close facsimile of that year’s Competition Gold), this Cyclone was a BEAR to make, but it finally came out just right. I scrapped the tires that came with it for the red-line ones I had on hand, and used the stock rims. I also scrapped the chrome garbage MPC-called side mirrors for the ’69 Cougar set I had lying around. I created a stripe kit to match the one for 1971, and I think it works nicely. This kit had no stock decals, only race ones, which I thought was a pity. I can, however, recreate these if someone needs them.

MPC did a decent job here, though I think it’s more a recreation of a 1970 Torino/Fairlane than a Cyclone. It is fairly detailed and comes with a nice console insert. The kit needed a rear-view mirror and a directional stalk, but the remainder of the interior was good.

One big note: the glass, ruined by a horrible tire mark, was also a bit long, making it hard to join the body to the chassis. You may need to carefully trim the bottom of the windshield so the interior tray sits correctly. BTW – I believe a ’69 Olds 442 windshield fits perfectly as a replacement.

The engine/engine bay is a bit of a mess, unfortunately. The brake boost was a TINY spec on the firewall, so I cut it out and replaced it. The air cleaner (though stock ram-air in nature) looked badly molded and had to be trashed. The headers were replaced with ones from a 428CJ because they were giant and didn’t match the smaller stock dual exhaust. AND, finally, there was no radiator hose.

You WILL NOT get the look to the left from the stock kit… not by a long shot! There are no engine braces running from the fenders to the firewall; the gap behind the bumper is terrible to look at, and there are no decals to help. This came out as good as I could make it, but it’s still a poor offering by MPC.

The underside is nothing to write home about, but fortunately isn’t a fiasco either. I can say the exhaust is good, given how half-baked the rest of the kit is. It has just enough detail to make it worthwhile, too.

Another issue with the chassis is that this MPC/AMT kit kind of “floats” underneath and never sits completely evenly without some coaxing. I cannot imagine why they couldn’t make a groove or two for everything to sit in for a tighter fit. Again…seems very half-assed.

I cannot stress enough how terrible this model kit is, and how you should run screaming from buying one. After a dozen or so parts, fixes, and issues, it still could use some extras. I also didn’t want this for a track car, and in that fashion, this car may have excelled more than the stock variety, but that isn’t the point of the review. I can say that IF you need this car in your stable (as I did), it WILL work. However, just be aware of the hair-pulling days ahead to get to this point… and spending some $150 for the privilege!

5.75 – Poor