Dave Metzner

Ok, latest Cyclone news: 2nd test shots that were to be done at the end of November, are due to be sent out around 1/12... IF that happens as promised (please notice the word IF) I should see them at the end of next week or the beginning of the following week. Hopefully the factory will not delay delivery of test shots again and will have made changes that they were asked to make after 1st test shots, we will see once I have pieces in my hands! Dave

Famous cars and Factory backed cars were mostly Hardtops.

both Catalina street car and a NASCAR kit - yes!

Ooops, I forgot the 54 Hudson Special Club sedan - that should be on the boat before the end of January.. in Stores around end of February..

The factory had 12 10"/15" AWB cars built - 6 Plymouths and 6 Dodges.. If I have it right all 12 were hardtops with sedan doors - a 13th car a sedan - Bill Flynn's Yankee Peddler Dodge was built in Dick Branstner's shop. The Plymouths Were - Golden Commandos - Melrose Missile, Sox and Martin, Lee Smith, Butch Leal's Californita Flash, the sixth car was used by the factory for testing Dodges were - Ramchargers, Color Me Gone, Dick Landy, Dave Strickler Bill Harrop's Flying Carpet and Bud Faubel's Honker - the Color Me gone car was taken by the factory and sold to MR Norm - in a dispute over money . The "2 percent cars were converted to 10"/15" cars and are included in the tally above Maybe 5 or 6 of the 13 cars listed here still exist Survivors are Faubel's Honker; Strickler's car, Dick Landy and Yankee Pedler - Dodges Lee Smith, Golden Commandos,and Cecil Yother claims to have the remains of the Melrose Missile car _ these are the Plymouths

Next is the 65 Plymouth Belvedere I and Melrose Missile followed by the 61 Catalina and 65 Comet - I should have second test shots of the Comet in hand by end of next week or early the following week. I hope that all the issues from first test shot have been remedied.It would be nice to be able to get this kit into production after Chinese New Year! We'll see how that goes after the test shots get here! I expect that we'll have a NASCAR Catalina for Model King in Spring / early summer 2016. For you movie car fans, the "Batman vs. Superman - Dawn of Justice" Batmobile is ready for production - just waiting for approval of packaging by licensor. we'd like to have this in stores for the opening of the movie in March. Battlestar Galactica fans - I just got first test shots of the Raptor kit - it looks pretty good and should arrive in Spring / early Summer 2016 There ought to be three new Batman TV figure kits between now and mid year 2016 - Robin, Penguin and Riddler.... Working on about 3 more 60's era car kit projects...and a couple more from the early 70's... Now that the holidays are over I can start chasing some cars to photograph and measure again.. Hope that winter doesn't set in too bad and make it too tough to get out and travel if I need to..

The kit is a hardtop - it will have side windows with the sedan door frames,if the builder wants to eliminate vent windows he can install those windows. The body will have stock Satellite chrome trim - for an accurate version of the race car that trim will also need to be removed.. It will have automatic transmission and correct pedals / shifter for that transmission. Unfortunately, there are some photos out there that do not show final version of built-up model. This is a problem with releasing early photos of test shots or box art models as changes do occur before the finished product hits shelves.

Just putting a spare front bumper in all Catalina kits is not something that's going to happen.. You guys need to understand that the bumper does not just come out of a tool all by itself.. Or get chrome plated all by itself.. or that adding a complete second front bumper to the existing tool is not simple either.

That's easy. They stay in business because they offer something that cannot be had any other way... Most of them make no pretense of selling a complete kit or and easy to build kit.. That particular piece may very well be several years old some Old resin tends to be pretty crude- alot of currently available resin transkits are of much higher quality..I actually have some that are so well cast that they look like styrene That particular piece is certainly not un -buildable, it's not current state of the art, but it's not horrible either.. I wouldn't spend time trying to build it, but then, I've spent more time than I care to admit cleaning up and massaging pieces of resin girl kits (that's what I do for relaxation when I can find a little time) YES she is nekid!

Regarding Parking lights - I just checked 3D files for these kits - guess what I found? Parking lights on front bumpers.. Being a curious old fart I grabbed my built-up Pontiac test shots, and, low & behold those parking lights are engraved in the front bumpers! I needed to look REAL HARD, but, those lights are engraved where they are supposed to be.. NOT engraved as as deeply as I'd like, and we'll fix that on next run of kits. Trust me they are there - the chrome plating may obscure them but the parking lights are where they ought to be...see 3D image attached here. Guess this makes me one for two on obvious errors- Pontiac script is still missing as it was on the 3D

A decal won't work for the Pontiac script logo due to the grille texture.. Pretty certain that there will be a PE set coming for these kits.. that ought to solve the script problem for those who can invest in that set. A little white/ gray/silver or light blue paint judiciously applied to the bumpers may work to represent the Parking light lenses.. Corrections are being made for future kits .. Not too sure that there is much I can do to fix the kits that are here now..

A Catalina is coming in the spring - we've shown a build-up of a test shot at the last Toledo and the last DAMM shows. It'll be a 421 SD car with the Pontiac script on the grille and parking light lenses engraved on the front bumper..

Corrections are in the works.. seems those details are same for all 61 Pontiac Catalinas and Venturas..It'll get fixed for next version...

How do these OBVIOUS mistakes get made? OBVIOUS? Those turn signal lenses in 1/25 scale are about 2x4 mm. The product development staff and the "final approval guy" that we employ here at Moebius (those all would be me) failed to notice that the parking lights were missing, along with the Pontiac script badge on the grille! Also several of my helpers, these are folks that I know and trust who I send test shots to for them to review also failed to spot those omissions. Honestly, I do my best to pay attention to every detail of each kit that I'm working on, but, I do screw up every so often, and that is how obvious mistakes are made!

Ventura kits shipped from China on Nov 7.. I'd say early next month arrival at the port ( East Coast) - should be in stores by Mid December... If everything clear US Customs wtihout any hitch..

Trying to!

That's an very interesting rumor... I need to check my project list... Just checked the list; Uhh, sorry, no AMX on the list right now... Far as I know, the Johan AMX tooling along with two or three others were sent to China last time they were produced, and those tools have vanished. Dave

Proteus..I'd like to think 1st half of 2016...

Proteus from Fantastic Voyage is in 3D desigh stage now. 1st test shots of Batmobile should be in my hands next week.

That's not an announcement We're not getting into military vehicles - that's the next cover of Model Cars Magazine - rear it again - see where is says "Larry Read's Wartime Dodge" that's an article in the new magazine...

Ventura kits are due to ship at end of October - allowing at least 30 days on the water and time from port to warehouse - warehouse to distributors and distributors to stores I'd say mid December on shelves... Catalina will be spring of 2016

I'll be there with a few new Moebius items...

Sometimes it's the message!

Somebody really ought to check out the inanimate corporation end of this! You really ought to check your facts on that one! I happen to know every employee at Moebius, all six of them (three full and three part time) - that includes the owners; and I also know almost all the folks who do contract and consulting work for us! Yes, sir, a big, inanimate corporation... And by the way I also know the ownership at Round 2, pretty sure that Tom would be surprised to find that he's an inanimate corporation! As for Revell I'd wager that their total work force US and Germany is less than 50 people!

NIce love the red paint!