Monster Beetle - MCI Racing Decals

[NZ Lunchbox 5]

I'm contemplating starting a new project.  Looking at getting a Black Monster Beetle (as I want the dark grey/black chassis) and then paint the body in traditional Monster Beetle Italian Red, and purchase some MCI racing decals to give the body the original 1980s Monster Beetle look.

With the option to instead buy a standard red Monster Beetle and use the kit decals, willI I be disapointed with the quality of the MCI racing decals?  I prefer that the MCI racing decals use the real names of real brands compared to the rerelease decals which do not.

Thanks

[Snappy1 966]

MCI decals are not perfect, they seem a little thicker than the original Tamiya to me, but I have never been disappointed with them, their customer service is great.

I think I have used approx 6 or 7 sets of decals so far

[mtbkym01 4008]

Exactly as @Snappy1 describes, they aren’t kit perfect, but they certainly serve the purpose. Without sitting them side by side with originals they will look absolutely fine IMO, I use them a lot, go through my showroom to see which ones are MCI (if you can pick them 🤔😎)

[toyolien 4682]

Agree with above. I used them on my Super Hotshot, and they worked fine. The quality isn't the same, and the colour can scratch off (I found this out wilst using scissors). But for my runner, they're fine.

 

[NZ Lunchbox 5]

Thanks everyone.  It sounds like they will be fine for what I am looking to do. 

[moffman 5752]

MCI are a very close second to the original tamiya but that doesn't mean they are by any means substandard I've had quite a few and wouldn't hesitate on using them in the future they are brilliant for alternative coloured decals 

[NZ Lunchbox 5]

That paint and decals on your Bruiser look great. 

[moffman 5752]

8 hours ago, NZ Lunchbox said:

That paint and decals on your Bruiser look great. 

Believe it or not it's not a bruiser it's one of those hg-p407 clone things my original bruiser is this one

[biguglyxprez 9]

Here's my Monster Beetle build with MCI decals.  I much prefer the real sponsors.  Have since painted the window trim and Albert is behind the wheel. 

Very happy with the end result.

[Kol__ 3377]

The MCI decals are pretty decent. I found that quite a few of the edges of the lines of the decals were quite poor with regard to the jagged edges on the diagonals, which was a disappointment. I'll happily use them for a runner, and will purchase again for that purpose, but not for a shelf queen.

[NZ Lunchbox 5]

On 6/5/2022 at 6:44 PM, moffman said:

Believe it or not it's not a bruiser it's one of those hg-p407 clone things my original bruiser is this one

I'm tempted by a PG407 and could probably build one for similar money to the Monster Beetle. 

[NZ Lunchbox 5]

On 6/5/2022 at 8:32 PM, biguglyxprez said:

Here's my Monster Beetle build with MCI decals.  I much prefer the real sponsors.  Have since painted the window trim and Albert is behind the wheel. 

Very happy with the end result.

Looks good in green and similar logic to me, wanting the original sponsors. 

[moffman 5752]

8 hours ago, NZ Lunchbox said:

I'm tempted by a PG407 and could probably build one for similar money to the Monster Beetle. 

You definitely could I got my hg-p407 just under £190 rtr including battery and it's been faultless and I know I'm going to upset the diehard bruiser fan but it's a lot smoother that my original! 

[87lc2 2666]

I use MCI on a lot of my monster trucks, but probably wouldn't use them on anything I actually cared about or put a lot of time into like a Tamiya hard body.  Their decal quality is OK, but it's gotten a lot worse in the past year or so.  The last order I got has a lot of printing lines and forget gently pulling up to shift a decal even when it's not fully applied yet, the color will just flake off.  I'd go with re-re decals even if they don't have the original sponsor names, much better.