johnbuzzed

It seems that Moebius wants to produce kits that have yet to be produced, and they want to do right by those kits. I would say that most of them are kits that we long-time modelers have been requesting for so many years, back to the days when SA would publish their issue with the most-requested kits. And, while they are not the most prolific manufacturer, variety-wise, I haven't seen too many complaints, if any, regarding their kit subjects. Don't anticipate them to pick up any "slack" along the lines of a '69 Chevelle. Keep in mind that a majority of Round 2 kits are reissues of reissues that were introduced, in some cases, maybe 50 years ago. It's clear that they are playing the nostalgia card, directing their products at us old guys. Some of them were one-hit wonders, some have been around the block way too often; Round 2 is doing what they can to fix known problems with those kits in most cases. Sometimes, that's the equivalent of a silk purse from that sow's ear. Sometimes, it's the same-old, same-old product with no real improvement. Many of those kits were not gems when they were first released and time has taken it's toll on those old molds, especially those kits that were released so many times. Unlike wines, molds don't improve with age as they sit unused. At least Round 2 has been offering better tires and decals. I seriously doubt that we will see any of the kits that Round 2 offers being duplicated by any of the other manufacturers in all-new kits.

Thanks again. Things like this can recharge a stalled project.

Ahh, I see- your logic makes good sense. Much better than trying to get an almost-exact size piece of raw material to fit correctly, too. Thanks for the tip.

This is gonna look cool when it's done. What size styrene strip did you use for the trim around the windows? I might "borrow" that technique for my Road Runner.

Very nice. Clean and simple with no clutter. I'd be happy to have that on my shelf.

People are expressing their opinions, concerns and ideas, both good and bad. As long as it's done in a civilized manner, there should be no problems with that.

When installing rear shocks, is there a preferred way to orient the shocks? My brief research shows pictures with the fat part up, toward the body on some installations, and down, away from the body on others.

The Revell Hemi Dart has some nice mufflers- possibly Cherry Bombs?

Might be a good use for one of those early Revell tri 5 Chevys... hmm....

Indeed, this was at a local car show... ">http:// ">http:// ">http:// ">http:// ">http://http://s889.photobucket.com/user/jbuzz710/media/Seen%20at%20a%20car%20show/CAM00415.jpg.html'>

Got a little more done yesterday. A major problem was the firewall and floorboard; the engine seemed to fit initially, but once I added the transmission mount, things changed. Ergo, a portion of the firewall was removed and a replacement piece fabricated from sheet styrene. That's one of the rear wheels; they will be Metalized (possibly Titanium, to match the framework on the body). The brakes are from an XS kit; I gave them a coat of Tamiya Smoke and added some "Wilwood" decals (after the pictures). The transmission mount is strip styrene. On that small strip of Slixx decal material are some Dzus fasteners that will be used on the hood. The radiator is the kit piece; I fabricated an electric fan from a kit fan, some styrene strip and a piece of frying pan splatter shield- the same material will be used for the grille. Comments, criticism, etc, are welcome. Thanks for looking. ">http:// ">http:// ">http:// ">http://http://s889.photobucket.com/user/jbuzz710/media/1929%20Ford%20alloy/CAM00438.jpg.html'>

Indeed. I'm looking forward to more.

Wow- cool. I'll be looking at this for a while today. Thanks for sharing it.

Chris, if you Google image 1970 Mopar B body engine or 1970 Road Runner engine, or anything similar (even '68 or '69 are very similar), you'll get a lot of info to add some missing details. I have about three of the kits mentioned above on my shelves and, once they're built up, you really don't see the problem with the open rear end or master cylinder. I built them way back ('84-'88) and if I built them again, I doubt I would correct that rear end problem- especially if it was just a shelf model.

"Running away" is a childish reaction. Dealing with the situation in an adult manner is the professional way to do things. This is known as "basic customer service". If they can't deal with their jobs and the possibility of flak heading their way, they should turn it over to someone at their location who is capable of being an adult. Not all customers are going to be happy. That's part of the job. Get over it and move on, or find something else to do. We have seen more than enough opinions as to why there are inaccuracies in kits, old and new. Some are valid reasons, some are poor excuses. I think that by now, we all know, realize and accept the fact that there never has been, never can be and never will be a 100% totally accurate kit of any subject due to limitations from various causes. But to try to gloss over an error such as a too-short roof or erroneous body contours or dimensions with lame excuses is ridiculous. This is not rocket science or nuclear physics. We enjoy building scale replicas of mechanical objects. We, as a community, have come to expect the products offered by the manufacturers to be at least accurate in contour and dimension, with scale fidelity. I'm not referring to seat-adjustment levers or lack of a dimmer switch or other such small details. If any of the manufacturers can't or won't see fit to provide us with products that have these basic qualities- and employ reps that prefer "running away" when they are confronted with complaints and questions about their products- well, then maybe they will suffer the same fate as Palmer Plastics did. I would hate to see that happen, but it's a tough world in business, and if you want customer loyalty and satisfaction- i.e., if you want to stay in business- don't run away from the customer. Art, re-read my post #139.

The weird thing about that series of kits (including the Camaro and Firebird) was the lack of headers. There were some huge intake options, lotsa wheel/tire/slick combinations, but no headers... .

I am not justifying rude behavior, nor am I justifying childish reactions to that rude behavior. The people who work for the manufacturers are professionals- they should have the necessary training to deal with irate customers in a constructive manner. It's one of the necessary costs of doing business.

If those "industry insiders" have been "running off" because of what they see in these posts, then, perhaps they should not be in the customer service area of the business. If they take comments personally, they are doing no good for anyone; neither their employers or their customers will benefit by their "running off". I've been there; I've dealt with customers, whether over-the-counter, in the field, via phone, fax and e-mail for most of my life, when I think about it- since I was 18. From landscapers that spoke little English to over-educated medical professionals, pet owners that wouldn't know a heartworm from a roundworm; civilian and military; corporate and private; domestic and international. Any comments that are posted here by their customers should get back to the head honchos at the various manufacturers and be acted on accordingly. They need to realize that the comments are not directed at them, rather, at the products. A little training on their end can go a long way; it's an investment in their business.

Very cool! That's a movie car that would surprise the h e l l out of anyone at a contest. You are worthy, indeed!

'67 Plymouth Fury II wagon, dark blue; a hand-me-down from my parents in '74. That kept me away from another vehicle that I was considering at the time. It was free, it was very clean and maintained and it was the car in which I learned to drive. BIG car, floaty front end...

Really, really nice. The flames look like nice, clean propane flames. I would be happy to have that on my shelf.

Please accept my sincere sympathy and condolences for your loss.

Yeah, definitely, take it outside. That's really nice.

My second post: "I won't go so far as to declare that a ball was dropped, but I will say that my beater Nova never looked more... intense (and, it ain't from the wine)." I am a friend and fellow club member of the photographer who shot my Nova, I saw the images on his camera after he took the pictures. They looked fine. That same Nova had been in another magazine some years ago; it looked fine. My post was not a critique, nor meant to "pee on" anything nor anybody. I, too, realize the publishing situation of the magazine. I merely offered my opinion of what I saw in the magazine vs the actual model, which is in a showcase up on my shelf. I was not pointing a finger; I was stating a fact. If you think that I, or anyone else in the forums, shouldn't do that, that's your prerogative. And, frankly, if anyone is of the notion that I WAS trying to "pee on" anything or anybody- perhaps you have a rather thin skin, and need a reality check.

Go to the Ming website (just Google Ming), look around until you find "supplies", click on that and you'll see a bunch of stuff, including the hardware. Your build is looking good; should be really cool when it's done.