An in-depth look at all the parts of a test shot of the upcoming Moebius 1965 Chevy II Gasser....

[tim boyd]

You all saw pictures of an early prototype of the Moebius 1965 Chevy II Gasser in my coverage of the NNL Motor City a couple of years ago. More recently, some of you may have seen photos of assembled test shots and maybe even an early build by Dave Metzner who does much of the model car kit development for Moebius.

About two months ago Dave sent me a complete set of parts for the Chevy II Gasser, for my in-depth critique and comments, which I subsequently supplied to him. (An "outsider" getting a set of test shots is NOT a common occurrence, at least with me, but several of the kit makers have asked to me to provide these reviews over the years, which I have generally done as requested.)

Given the interest in the modeling hobby about this upcoming kit, I then asked Dave for permission, and he agreed, to let me do a full test shot kit buildup on-line, which I will be doing over the next couple of weeks.

My plan is to post links in the "WIP Cars" section of this forum to my Fotki Album buildup, every few days, showing the build process, with a final album of pictures of assembled the kit when complete.  

I'll begin here with an in-depth look at virtually all the test shot parts in the kit, along with commentary on the same.

Now remember this is a test shot, not the final product, although I found this one to be very highly refined as test shots go. It will go through probably one more round of final details, mostly fit and finish items, while Dave and his team prepare the decals, instruction sheet, and box art. Best guess at this point is that the kit will become available very early in 2022, although this is subject to change as you might expect. I will answer any questions to the best of my ability.

One more thing....because of the nature of this presentation...the images of the kit and build and the associated commentary are copyrighted and may not be reproduced or copied, either digitally or in printed form, without my express permission in advance.  Thanks for your cooperation on this.

OK then, let's get started...here's the link to the album of photos showing nearly all the photos of the test shot parts....thanks for looking....TIM

[1972coronet]

Looks quite good , @tim boyd . Thanks much for the preview / overview !  Looks like a winner !

[Altered Ego]

I personally can not wait for this kit.  I have two planned builds right away.

[CabDriver]

Really excited to see the WIP on this one Tim - and thanks for showing us some good clear shots (as always) of the contents!  

I’m excited to build one of these!

[tim boyd]

Thanks guys....I should be able to post the first "WIP Cars" build update sometime later today....TIM 

[Classicgas]

The body in that pic on your site, is it the changed height roof?

[tim boyd]

3 hours ago, Classicgas said:

The body in that pic on your site, is it the changed height roof?

Yes....TB

[wrenchr]

Thanks Tim, looking forward to your review / build and this kit. 

Edited September 26, 2021 by wrenchr

[Snake45]

Tim, does the front axle mount under or atop the leaf springs? And if under, does it look like it could be moved to mount atop? I find that in most cases, axle-under-springs puts the front end a little higher than I'd like it. 

[tim boyd]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

Tim, does the front axle mount under or atop the leaf springs? And if under, does it look like it could be moved to mount atop? I find that in most cases, axle-under-springs puts the front end a little higher than I'd like it. 

Richard....the tubular axle will mount below the leaf springs.  I'll have pictures showing all of this in a couple of days. 

I think mounting the axle above the leaf springs would be a fairly involved kitbash; you might find it easier to keep the existing mounting points but substitute a slightly dropped tubular axle. 

Having said that, preliminary mockups indicate that the finished model will sit nearly parallel to the ground, with perhaps just the slightest hint of a raised front end.   Certainly not the prominently raised front end approach taken by many of today's contemporary 1/1 scale street gassers....   TIM l

[the other Mike S.]

The side window aperture stills looks a little too narrow to me.  I wonder if reducing some of the lower window sill height/thickness would make it look better.  I know you can sand some of it off when building it, but can they still change this in the CAD stage before cutting the actual tooling?

[stavanzer]

What is the story on the taillights, Tim?

You hinted about that in the first pic of the clear parts.

[tim boyd]

1 hour ago, the other Mike S. said:

The side window aperture stills looks a little too narrow to me.  I wonder if reducing some of the lower window sill height/thickness would make it look better.  I know you can sand some of it off when building it, but can they still change this in the CAD stage before cutting the actual tooling?

Mike....the tooling is already cut.....this is an actual test shot from the tooling after several rounds of refinement. 

I do agree that reducing the sill height, which could be accomplished with just a few minutes of filing and sandpaper, would be an easy way to address the issue for those that perceive the DLO (automotive design term for side "daylight opening") to have less than factory correct height.   But I think we need to see what the finished model looks like before making and definitive decisions on this.   Just my view...TIM  

[tim boyd]

1 hour ago, alexis said:

What is the story on the taillights, Tim?

You hinted about that in the first pic of the clear parts.

Alexis....I will address this further in one of my build progress reports in a few days.  Thx for asking....TIM 

[Classicgas]

With all due respect to Tim and Dave Metzner, the roof is still not right. Still looks 2-3 inches chopped.

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Classicgas

[Classicgas]

[tim boyd]

5 hours ago, Classicgas said:

With all due respect to Tim and Dave Metzner, the roof is still not right. Still looks 2-3 inches chopped.

 

Thanks Lea.  I don't work for Moebius and I don't have a dog in this hunt other than to make the model car community aware of this upcoming kit and its features. 

I do have three observations, however.  (These are based in part on what I've learned from my 45 years of modeling journalism and my 10+ years in a very senior position in Automotive Design at one of the world's top auto companies; I recognize that you may not agree with me):

1) Comparing an unpainted, unfinished model car body to a photo of a real car can and often does lead to misleading conclusions. 

2) Differences in photography angle, camera lenses, lighting, et al can lead to false conclusions when comparing these two images.

3) I hate to see the discussion about this upcoming kit descend to a focus on one single element of the kit, as once my build is complete, I believe many may conclude that it could be one of the best and most innovative 1/25th kits to come on the market in the last decade or so.     

If, when the build is completed (painted, trimmed), you still see an issue with the roof height, that also is a conclusion you have every right to draw.  I'd feel even better still if you built the model yourself and drew your conclusions from examining the real thing rather than relying my pictures.   And if you still have an issue, as we've noted above, the remedy appears to be relatively quick and easy.  

Thx for the observations and the pictures...Best....TIM 

Edited September 27, 2021 by tim boyd

[Snake45]

Tim, best post I've seen on this subject in quite some time. 

[Classicgas]

I give up. One thing everyone I'm sure knows about me, I'm no rivet counter. Everyone ragged like crazy about a hard for me to see 1" problem with the revell jaguar roof. I didn't see it. Got labeled as accepting mediocrity. Now I see a legitimate questionable issue that clearly isn't right and I'm still wrong. Hopefully mobius gets the stock one done correctly. A friend of mine that knows the subject well thinks it's still off as well and he said as highly anticipating this kit. I'm damned if I do damned if I don't.

[Ctmodeler]

42 minutes ago, Classicgas said:

I give up. One thing everyone I'm sure knows about me, I'm no rivet counter. Everyone ragged like crazy about a hard for me to see 1" problem with the revell jaguar roof. I didn't see it. Got labeled as accepting mediocrity. Now I see a legitimate questionable issue that clearly isn't right and I'm still wrong. Hopefully mobius gets the stock one done correctly. A friend of mine that knows the subject well thinks it's still off as well and he said as highly anticipating this kit. I'm damned if I do damned if I don't.

The roof height of the actual car and the model body shown aren't even remotely close. Very easy to see. 

[tim boyd]

6 hours ago, Ctmodeler said:

The roof height of the actual car and the model body shown aren't even remotely close. Very easy to see. 

Please read my prior reply.  Right now you are comparing apples to oranges.  Both from my modeling experience and my professional career, I am advising that photography can and does play tricks. 

To everyone else reading this thread, again, my advice is to wait for the final images of the complete model before you draw a definitive conclusion. 

At that point you may completely agree with the initial thoughts of Lee, Kenneth, and others, or you may conclude differently.   But make a decision right now, and you are making a conclusion without all the evidence.  That's my only point right now....

Best...TB 

Edited September 28, 2021 by tim boyd

[Classicgas]

I'm looking forward to seeing your build Tim. Might I suggest you not make any adjustments to it. Build it as is so we can see clearly what is in the box. Then you can do one with corrections if needed or explain how to correct it. I'm really hoping they get the stock one correct. This was going to be my first gasser kit, so we'll see.

[tim boyd]

38 minutes ago, Classicgas said:

I'm looking forward to seeing your build Tim. Might I suggest you not make any adjustments to it. Build it as is so we can see clearly what is in the box. Then you can do one with corrections if needed or explain how to correct it. I'm really hoping they get the stock one correct. This was going to be my first gasser kit, so we'll see.

Lee...appreciate your advice on my build approach and that is exactly what I am doing.  No mods at all. 

The test shot came without decals, so I plan to add a Gasser-themed livery from Slixx decals, but I will show the completed model both with and without those decals.   Best...TIM  

[niteowl7710]

4 hours ago, Classicgas said:

I give up. One thing everyone I'm sure knows about me, I'm no rivet counter. Everyone ragged like crazy about a hard for me to see 1" problem with the revell jaguar roof. I didn't see it. Got labeled as accepting mediocrity. Now I see a legitimate questionable issue that clearly isn't right and I'm still wrong. Hopefully mobius gets the stock one done correctly. A friend of mine that knows the subject well thinks it's still off as well and he said as highly anticipating this kit. I'm damned if I do damned if I don't.

You're not wrong, but it's just one of those "Is what it is" type scenarios. It's too late to fix it, as the required fix would require scrapping the entire body tool and also the clear runner (to make the windows bigger). Unless they can do something with an optic illusion.

The Revell Charger thing is always brought up and so I asked Ed about that in Vegas and he said that all they did with that was remove material from inside the roof area to make it appear to have a higher roof, BUT in fact the windows between the "chopped" roof and the "fixed roof" are in fact the exact same ones and so the entire fix to it is in fact an optical illusion that makes the roof appear higher. But is not in fact higher physically. 

It's the old thing of not costing any more to get it right the first time, but I've said before and I'll say again - once a test shot is shown in the stage where they are being built up, that's how it's coming.

[Classicgas]

Yes and that's unfortunate.  I'm not usually too fussy,  but this one is far enough off for me to pass, hopefully the stock one is correct.  If not I'll pass on it as well.  Pretty rarely  I do that.