You have to stop and look at the Badman for what it is, not necessarily to a young builder but to us "ahem" older guys that remember it from waaaay back when. In my opinion its an iconic model...more so than any of the other re-releases that have came out in the last few years. I always buy a model or start a custom build with the thought in my head," what would this be like and what kind of impression would it make if it was a real car rolling down the street". And if you look at Badman in that light, even right out of the box ...........it would be one baaaaaad mother.
When I was 10 I got the Badman for Christmas from my oldest sister. It was the coolest model I had even seen, and one of the coolest gifts I had ever gotten. It really stuck with me. I still remember the huge slicks, that big chrome blower and the outrageous "396" and "Badman" decals on the side. I didnt even know what a 396 was but the decals were sure cool! My Dad helped me build it because I wanted to do a really good job and not screw it up. For the most part he instructed me and then put the decals on because they were too tough for me do do properly. It was by far the coolest model on my shelf and I loved it right up until the moment I screwed it up by trying to do my first lowering and tub job 2 years later.
When I saw it on the shelf in a Hobby shop many years later all those memories came back to me in an instant, I could even smell the distinct scent of the Lepages model glue that we used, and everything was cool again.
Yeah its a basic model, and now that I know what a 396 is I know for sure that THATS NO 396! The molded in exhaust is a drag and shouldnt be there, its terrible and detracts from the model but who cares. I have the modeling skills now that I could have gotten rid of the molded exhaust, put a real 396 in it and built the heck out of it to make it a show worthy piece but instead I took it home, got right to it and built it box stock (aside from the BMF which was a first for me) in a day and enjoyed every second of it just as every 10 year old should. No smoothing the mold seams out of the body then covering it in perfect paint. Not even a clear coat over the plastic to give it shine. Just wash the body, trim some flash and get on with the show.
It was the model that really got me fired up on modelling as a kid and every model I built after that I tried to make as cool as the Badman without much success. In my later teens I stopped building models and didnt build for many years until the day I found it in that Hobby shop. Thanks to Tom Daniels and the Badman my spirit to build was re-kindled and I`ve been doing it and enjoying it ever since.
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Couldn't have said it better myself dude
