HEY,HEY, HERE COMES MY MPC MONKEEMOBILE

 Here's some photos of my MPC 1/25 scale Monkeemobile kit. 

It's a fairly easy build as long as you constantly test fit the parts, apart from the bonus key fob which needs a steady hand to paint.  

As with most kits I find it simpler preparing each individual component as I go along, right up to the point of giving them finishing lacquer as some parts are gloss, and others satin. I'm still thinking of darkening the front grills, but other than that it's finished,

When it came to the body colour, the general consensus is  'candy apple red', and a very light beige for the seating and canopy. (Although it does look white on TV)

After a little more research it seems modern 'candy apple red' which apparently was originally  a flat gloss,  is now metallic.  It's probable the original  car  wasn't metallic, as presumably  a normal gloss would be easier to touch up if it got scratched during filming. I read somewhere that Dean Jeffries, the custom designer and builder used a colour he called 'lipstick red'.

Even though the two original Monkeemobiles built for the series still exist, over time they've probably been restored, reupholstered, and resprayed, so looking at modern photos of those doesn't answer the question.

I eventually decided on a Halfords 'Mars Red' as it looked right and was a nice flat colour, and after a couple of coats of gloss lacquer it looked the part.

I chose a  Hycote Ford Sierra Beige for the upholstery and canopy, and finished them in a satin lacquer.

I don't have access to all the episodes (the Monkeemobile featured in 18 of the 58 episodes) ,  so I was limited in checking details on the No. 1 car ( The No. 1 car was used in the episodes, the No.2 was used for promotional purposes) .  I decided to paint the interior carpet and dashboard black rather than leave them beige, and used the number plate PER 450 which was used in the series. 

The kit needed very few alterations apart from lowering the chassis using plastic packers glued to the base of the car  floor pan. I needed to do this otherwise the rear wheels would have touched  the top of the wheel arches. It also gave the model a bit of a 'hot rod jacked- up' look. 

The 'Monkees' logo door decal completes the look.  Originally the car didn't have the door logos, until they first appeared in the episode,' A Nice Place To Visit'.

There was no shortage of T.V. custom cars, or 'kustom' cars during the sixties, mainly thanks to the legendary Batmobile, and when the American sitcom The Monkees was in production, customizer Dean Jeffries, who also created the T.V. Green Hornet’s Black Beauty, was brought in during 1966 to come up with a Monkeemobile for the pre-Fab Four. (The Monkees pilot episode had originally used a red & yellow 'Woodie' Station Wagon)

At the time Dean Jeffries was under contract to Model Products Corporation better known to modellers as the kit makers, MPC at the time.  (MPC was given the exclusive rights to market a plastic kit of the car, which apparently went on to sell over 7 million) Word of the project also got through to motor manufacturer Pontiac who saw it as a promotional opportunity for their Pontiac GTO. Two cars were supplied to the studio, one to be used as the ‘hero’ car and another for promotional tours, although both did appear on TV. Before it was customised, the second car was apparently used as Major Nelson’s convertible GTO in the sitcom, ‘I Dream of Jeanie’.

The first car originally had a 6-71 supercharged blower engine, a solid mounted rear axle with no springs, and extra weight at the rear to enable it to’ pop wheelies’. However, the excessive power meant the car was hard to drive,  so the original blower set up was removed and replaced with a dummy blower covering a Pontiac’ Tri-power ‘ carburettor arrangement used on large performance V8 engines. Frankly, I haven’t a clue what all that means, as I’m not completely au-fait with the workings of superchargers or V8’s, but I imagine, put simply the car could still really shift!

This hippie hot rod has a distinctive convertible top, reminiscent of an exaggerated model T Ford, which certainly gives a unique look,(like it needed one!) although this is occasionally removed during  it appearances in the series; there are exaggerated tail lights, and a rear mounted parachute; the front fenders and side panels are modified. The car also has three rows of seats. The rear truck (or boot, as we Brits like to call it) was removed to accommodate the extra third row. 

The Monkees do have a  connection with Century 21 in that a comic strip based on the TV series appeared in Lady Penelope magazine. The strip was initially drawn in black & white by Tom Kerr, and later in colour by Harry Lindfield.  Century 21 also published the Monkees annuals.

Most people of a certain age will know something of The Monkees, and the ensuing Monkeemania.

The Monkees comprised of Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz who were both primarily actors, and Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork who were more accomplished as musicians. 

The TV series originally aired in America from September 12, 1966 until March 25, 1968. It ran for two seasons comprising 58 episodes. It was primarily a surreal sitcom inspired by the Beatles’ film, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, and centred on the zany adventures of an aspiring pop group.

Although they were a made-for-TV manufactured band, the Monkees did have chart success with their debut single, ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, written by the song writing team, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. It was released on August 16, 1966, just prior to the September airing of the Monkees TV series, and reached No 1 in America.  Their second single, ‘I’m A Believer’, released in December, 1966, and written by Neil Diamond was a number 1 smash hit in 13 countries including  America and the UK. It went on to become the biggest selling single during 1967. 

 Monkeemania had arrived.

With the phenomenal success of the TV series and the spin-off musical recordings, a live tour was organised between December 1966 until April 1967, with the Monkees’, themselves providing vocals and playing their own instruments for most of their live set. There was some controversy however, over who provided what during studio sessions, following newspaper interviews with the band, and that session musicians’ were used on recordings. They were greeted with a frosty reception during their summer 1967 tour in the UK, and labelled the ‘Pre-Fab Four’!

The second season tried to redress this by letting the Monkees’ themselves write and produce their own  music, and replace their clean cut  image with  what was considered a more counterculture hippy look.  Unfortunately the whole exercise resulted in a big drop in ratings and record sales. It seemed the producers had completely misjudged the audience, and the TV series was finally cancelled in 1968. 

A post I did on the Corgi Monkeemobile: https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2019/04/monkeemobile-mania.html