johnbuzzed

Bill, drive your Saturn to a dealer and bang into a few of their parked new cars. Blame it on the steering!

Yep, while engineering might have something to do with it ("Yeah, the specs look good; that should work".), all it boils down to which part costs less to procure. I would dare to say that a higher quality item at a higher cost would not only perform the job as expected but it would also be reliable and last longer. I see too much of that in today's high-tech society, even in medical applications. Cheaper is not always good.

When I first noticed the topic all I saw was "Spiderman" and wondered: "What the heck is a Spiderman kit review doing here?" Ahh, now I see. Details, details, details...Thanks for the cool review, Tom. This kit seems to be a good slump-buster or weekend build.

Cool.

Thanks, Don and Dave. And Dave, I have CRS and I really thought that was the first issue of that model. I think it had all the stock pieces plus custom/big wheels and tires and the engine options that you mentioned, plus a sheet of cool decals.

All of the automotive companies have had their share of problems over the course of time. My Dad drove Chevies, Fords, Buicks, Plymouths, Pontiacs, Dodges; all (except his first car) purchased new. None were trouble-free. It's not fun but it happens. This situation with GM occurs at a time when communication throughout the world is just about instantaneous, and the information is immediately out there; almost impossible to cover-up. The issue is compounded by the use of low-cost, poor quality parts; most likely caused by: a. The bottom line (greed) -or- b. The quest to meet CAFE standards to avoid fines, which boils down to: greed. It doesn't appear as though the problem is caused by poor engineering and design or by environmental/weather/climate issues. That's the essence of the problem. Pay a little now instead of paying a lot later.

Glenn, that came out really nice; much better than what I built when I was your age. The best part is that you had fun and enjoyed the build, and that's what counts. Keep up the good work and keep asking questions.

When the bean counters realize that the better quality part can be had for just a little more $ and that those additional $ can be recovered by raising the MSRP by the same amount, the world will be a better place. It all boils down to $$$. Those people who are in charge of procurement and purchasing look better if they spend less, and that's all they care about. I have seen it and continue to see it all too often in the corporate world.

Very nice work, Mike. That's a classy hot rod.

Thanks for the compliments. I realized after I took the pix that the cars were a little dusty as they don't lead a sheltered life- no showcases for them(yet).

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A couple of older builds based on the Polar Lights pre-painted kits. They were built a few years apart. I replaced the kits' 6-cylinder distributor in each with parts box parts, added some flock, co-ordinating paint and BMF to the interiors and used dot matrix printer pins for antennas. The red car has some BMF for the exterior trim and steelies from my parts box. The exhaust tips on the black car are styrene tubing. Decals are from my parts box, the peace sign is a fingernail applique and the Nixon bumper sticker is a photo-reduced item (I still have the original!). As usual, comments and critiques are welcome. Thanks for looking. http:// http:// http:// http:// http://

It's not so much that the cars are... problematic; it's how and why they get to be that way. Then, there is the additional problem of inept management that seems prevalent in our corporate society these days, on all levels. It'$ all about the $$$- the more $$$ $saved, the more in their pocket$ and more $$$ for the $shareholder$, too.

Steve, that's looking nice, but the headers aren't right for a small block Mopar. The inner ports are closer together, not evenly spaced as on a small block Ford. Small block Chevy headers work OK as it's a similar setup to a Mopar.

Really nice and clean. The paint scheme looks better than it sounds. Very cool.

I did well at two MASSCAR contests with the Lindberg snap Dakota kit- both were left unpainted, except for interiors and trim. They were entered in "shelf" categories, if I remember correctly. And Tom, I have one of the snap Caravans in stock, too- ready to be a pizza delivery vehicle. One of my two previous Caravan builds survives, one (a dark green pro-Yup) bit the dust the hard way ...

You're a busy man, Steve. You got a lot of projects going at once; all cool stuff, too. I like this one- it's different.

Thanks to all for the compliments. I'm not sure if I like the One Coat Lacquers more than Tamiya rattle cans but it's real close.

Yeah, that's neat. You don 't see a lot of Dusters in the Pro Street world and it just looks... sneaky. Now I got ideas rolling around in my head; I hate that! I will be following this build.

You don't often see these built up so nice, clean and simple. I really like it. Very cool.

Glenn, if I had any pictures I would be happy to share them, but I don't have any... try skspeed.com, look at their customer rides; you might be able to get a larger picture of that Nomad. Whatever you do, don't rush things. My Road Runner is coming along, s l o w l y... but I am making a lot of mental progress on it that will be practically applied ASAP. Maybe some chassis paint this weekend.

As long as the parts go together well and the finished model looks realistic, this certainly won't hurt our hobby. Come on- some of us more-experienced builders will probably get some just as slump-busters. This might even be a worthwhile category at contests, whether in-club or the larger, regional events.

Mike, I like all things Mopar and I really like your '68. So neat and clean and well-detailed. I would be proud to have it on my shelf. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Well, I think it's a 1950... I could be wrong. It's the first issue of the kit by Revell; I finished it in early 2011. It's box-stock except for some BMF. I didn't even drill out the exhaust tips or intakes but I did fill in the seam in the front end because I thought it was just ugly. The color is Testors One Coat "Mythical Maroon". Hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome. http:// http:// http:// http:// http://

So is the manual spark advance as found on those old Fords.