djflyer

I was sitting right in front of where the crash started - scared the stuff out of just about everybody there. It looked for a second like Dixon and TK were both involved. Even more amazing was how Helio managed to get through going under Dixon's flying car. Side note - any guess how fast some company will release a kit of Sato's car?

That might be true for other items but not for die casts like these. They are securely packed within their own boxes, unable to move as they are attached to, and surrounded by a solid block of form-fit styrofoam at least an inch thick (see photo). Separate boxes with a couple of inches of pellets would have cost less than 25% of what I was charged. That much additional packing was not required, especially if UPS knows how to handle items. So is it the UPS Store is protecting me from the careless UPS shipping?

As bad (or dumb) as some of this sounds with USPS - I will take them ANY DAY over UPS or FedEx. I get lots of things shipped to me by all three and to date every package on UPS or FedEx has arrived damaged - some severely. How do you punch in the END of a heavy duty poster tube with out the tube being damaged in any way?? (unless someone did it on purpose). UPS also has been part of the biggest rip-off I have ever seen. I won two die-casts from the Barrett-Jackson Scotsdale auction, both items in the original boxes with the extra-thick styrofoam liner. They had to be shipped through the local UPS Store. If shipped by weight the cost would have been a couple dollars, but noooo they had to ship based on the size of the box, not the weight at a cost of $55.00. The pictures show how it arrived:

Ray - I have heard mixed reviews of that kit. What's your opinion as the resident Cobraman? Is it small details or what?

The past two days were good - something at the store and something at the door. Picked up the new Revell Mazda RX-7 at the lhs. The 2'n1 is great, although I really wonder why the kit has the "big racer" add-on flares and other parts, but only skinny little street tires. Today, my new Porsche 917 PA arrived. A great little 1/24 resin kit from Allen James at Race Car Modeler. If you dont know the car it was more or less the first of the 917's to turn a wheel in competition. The body is molded in smooth white resin and the detail parts in gray. I would call it a detail curbside as the suspension is nicely detailed at the rear of the car, while the engine is upper and lower inserts, wheels have separate discs and rotors and soft resin tires. The kit includes decals for the blue Porsche markings and a three-sheet instruction guide. Apologies for the not so good cell phone pictures. Contact Allen at allendjames.aj@gmail.com. He has some other 917 variants and a C-type Jaguar in the works

Too bad. It baffles me why we get stuck with curbsides so many times. At least once I would have liked a complete quattro driveline, and I am sure alot of people wanted the tii motor for the BMW. Maybe there will be a diecast I can rob the underhood detail from.

I just picked one up also - an unexpected amount of flash on some of the trees but nothing that cant be easily fixed. The racing parts tree has the bolt-on flares, roll cage and seats, and the racing wheels are there also. Only problem is (for my kit at least) the only tires are some very skinny little street tires. They look undersized for street tires and will look really bad if used under the flares. Anybody else have one of these kits with more than one set of tires?

Fantastic! The Audi and the Porsche (if its full detail) for sure. And a Volvo 240 series! Hot * * * * I have some plans for a couple of those.

I had a look at a few tire sets I have as no built-ups are still around similar to the timelines others have mentioned. Turns out I have what is supposed to be a Pegasus set of wheels and tires where the tires seem to be reacting to something. The "rubber" appears to be drying out as I noticed a crack on one edge along the rim. I also noticed the plating on the surface of the wheel that contacts the tire is coming off as if it had been rubbed down to the bare plastic in spots. Reaction between the plating and the elastomer perhaps? I was thinking to seal the rim and then maybe use one of the car care products for rubber on the tires. Any thoughts?

I would also have to say the car #17A. It appears to be a more recent photo given the style of drivers helmet and size of rear tires, so that might not be correct to the period you are planning for. The build looks great as you have it to this point.

I can hear my wallet emptying. Where can I find AirTrax and order somethings?

Definitely great work Art. I love those old Indy cars!

That looks really good for what is supposedly a toy. Die-casts have become increasingly good in the quality of their details - both interior and underhood, both of which are plastic pieces. If not for the clunky hinges, that could pass for a good plastic kit. It is amazing at what gets released in die-cast as compared to plastic kits (either snap or glue). Where else can you get a current year Rolls Royce Phantom or BMW M6?

Absolutely excellent KGhia. I have loved those since the convertible my dad had while I was growing up. Now I have to build one and can only hope it turns out anywhere near as good as this one. Superb x2.

This came out of at the New York auto show, supposedly being built with approval from GM. Design is by Bo Zolland from Sweden. Over 1000hp and 1046lbs-ft from an LT1 enlarged to 7.4 liters with a Magnuson blower. Can you say conversion kit - please - someone !!!!

Sometimes it is interesting to see what is on these lists, and what's NOT on these lists. I 'll double the votes for the Daytona Coupe and add a 260/289 Cobra like I put on the list at the Milwaukee NNL. If Revell would just give us Ferrari SWB and the Aston DB5 like they advertised I would be really happy. Release the race-spec Ford GT and my wallet will be empty.

Art's point about the production method is certainly true. What also has to be considered is the subject matter itself. We're talking about a total of only six hand-built vehicles, which are already known to have somewhat significant differences between them. The only constant really is the 90" wheel base. SMS states they based their kit from chassis 2299. We dont know what Gunze based theirs on. If they used the SAAC measurements that could explain how their kit turned out the way it did. This really will be a case of building what looks right to you for the subject you want to replicate. For me, the Gunze kit I have looks too short compared to the width. If I build it to the dimensions in 24th scale, adding to the wheelbase to stretch the nose between the wheel opening and the cowl will make it look better compared to the pictures I have seen. The rear overhang also looks a little short but that's something I don't have the information, or more important, the modeling skills to fix.

And...your right. I am going top gripe about the 2002tii being a curbside. Why? Because that little motor was a gem, maybe a better reason to like the car than the sheet metal that surrounded it. RoG (and every other manufacture) has had a long time to do this kit and a driveline should come with it. It also wouldn't surprise me to find there will be a die-cast with underhood detail, if there isn't one already. And speaking of die-casts, they have really taken over from where the annual/promo's used to be. If you don't think so do a search and see how many of the current generation BMW's (for example) are already on the market. The quality of the plastic detail parts has gotten very good along with the accuracy and really good paintwork. It would be interesting to know from any of the industry experts if the cost for tooling a die-cast is very much different than for a plastic kit.

This issue came from a previous post and my question to JC about the wheelbase being too short. My opinion was the body could be stretched between the front wheel opening and the vent on the side of the fender. Most every picture I have seen looks like that is where the dimensions are off. JC followed his usual quest for knowledge and found these numbers. I may still build it to the 24th scale numbers and do the nose job because that's what looks right to me. Nothing too evil if you consider this kit to actually be 1/25th, except that its sold as 1/24. If that's what the box says, that is what I expect to find inside it. Like Bill E (Ace-Garageguy) said - its simple math.

Wow - what an amazing surprise. Calls back to the days of Jimmy Clark, Graham Hill, and other F1 drivers running at Indy. (hmmm...maybe they can get that Rosberg guy too). This is definitely going to sell some tickets, not to mention replicas of Alonzo's car.

I couldn't agree more. My own preference would have been 24th scale, but either would have been well received. As noted in other posts, R-M had a display at the recent Milwaukee NNL and a new 260/289 Cobra was the one suggestion I had to make.

I really like that Revell announcement - everything on that page except the MASH items will find a place on my shelf. (Too bad they didn't make that Jeep in 24th). Could we be unbelievably lucky and an all-new 289 Cobra is following behind that Daytona Coupe???? (Hey Revell - all you need now is the new body)

Hey Rex. Looks like an interesting stash of parts. On question I have is most die casts are 24th scale so will these parts fit on the the 25th scale AMT/MPC kits? I also have a Testors Platinum series BOSS 351 that is missing a few pieces and am guessing some of these will work for me. Send me a PM for a possible trade.

Thanks JC. Interesting that both are too long and too wide and the wheelbase on the Gunze kit is too short. My HRM kit is on the way so it will be fun to compare it to my Gunze kit when it arrives. Another case of build what looks right rather than have the dimensions be spot-on.

Interesting the Gunze kit looks so chopped. Can I assume the SMS kit is correct for dimensions? If so, I wonder if this is another case of a replica/kit car being used as a reference.