Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

Bill J

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    803

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Bill J

    STOP THE PRESS! All new 1977 Oldsmobile NASCAR kit

    in WIP: NASCAR

    Posted · Edited by Bill J

    Brandon, I am not trying to talk you out of buying this Olds kit, it's up to you to accept or reject. The pic of the Petty Olds shows the body line you can see it near the rear bumper and also visible down the sides, although faint because of angle, lighting and camera exposure. Look at the kink in the leg of the number 4. As for the Foyt car, hard to see in that pic which is the size of a postage stamp. I tend to think it is the same car as I posted above, since it would not make sense for Foyt to have more than one since he participated in a few races a year.

    As long as you are convinced that the Salvino kit is beautiful, I say buy you some of them. You can buy the ones I may have bought. You think some cars are smooth sided, then you'll be happy with the kit. I am not going to convince myself that this is right so I can buy one or more and build them. I know they are wrong and I cannot be convinced otherwise.

    I just ask that Salvino owns up to that fact that their kit is wrong in several areas and their next offering needs to be better.

    STOP THE PRESS! All new 1977 Oldsmobile NASCAR kit

    in WIP: NASCAR

    Posted

    I have to say, that I was really looking forward to the Olds kit and future cars that had not been previously modeled. I am really, seriously disappointed in the lack of accuracy they are putting in to this kit. For almost $40 we should be getting an effort at an accurate kit, not one with glaring omissions and components that are glaringly wrong.

    Gerald, I am with you on the FM diecast, I have one also and have not really looked it over in years. Whatever they used as their guide (there was another diecast of the Ghost sold by NAPA stores I believe) their master lacked some details. I can't help but think they used the bandit Resin body as a guide, perhaps someone built one on a old MPC leaf chassis. The Bandit body was decent and mastered off the JoHan 75 Promo and can be forgiven for smooth sides because of the 75 car being different on the side panels. It would have been hard to add that 77 side crease on any body without one. Peculiar that the Salvino kit shows a 75 Cutlass rear bumper, which early versions of Bandit's kit included until they later corrected the rear bumper. The Bandit website still shows the 75 bumper with the pic of their kit.

    So, bottom line, a new kit at a premium price should be somewhat accurate and not have so many inaccuracies, No excuse. I am not buying any at that price, as much as I would love to have several historical 77 Olds race cars on my shelf, this effort is not close enough to earn my business, or respect.

    STOP THE PRESS! All new 1977 Oldsmobile NASCAR kit

    in WIP: NASCAR

    Posted

    Some people want to say this line is not present on the Grey Ghost, it is just as present as on all the other cars. It is the fact that the car is black with reflective numbers that is fails to show in old pictures NASCAR required stock body skins be used in those days and there was no reason so eliminate a body line and they did not eliminate it, if goes not show on some cars due to paint schemes, lighting and far away photos. Here is clear pic of Foyt's car, line present.

    vOLhfqH.jpg

    AXYHqyo.jpg

    It would be hard to add that line to the kit body but that line should be there on all the Olds. The facts are that Salvino's used a diecast to master this kit and who knows what else, They clearly never looks at a real 77 Cutlass race car, or a 77 Olds Cutlass/442 to even see what it looked like. They used the diecast and photos. A weak effort, unfortunately.

     

    STOP THE PRESS! All new 1977 Oldsmobile NASCAR kit

    in WIP: NASCAR

    Posted · Edited by Bill J

    Looked at the posted test shot body, it is missing a major line that goes from the front bumper to the rear, above the rocker. The box art picture shows that the chassis has leaf springs, which is totally wrong and the rear bumper is still apparently the one from the 75 Curlass promo. When asked about the chassis/suspension snafu, the answer was odd and they know it is wrong but not being fixed.

    It was nice to think we'd get a 77 Olds as run by NASCAR in 80-81, but with the inaccuracies, it still leaves a hole. I definitely will not pay $40 for one. This kit appears to be mastered off a diecast and some old photos and no one even looked at a real car for accuracy. Sad.

    215 mph Cheetah ?

    in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)

    Posted

    I saw that McKee with the hemi race at PIR back when they had the old, long road course that went out to the desert west of the main track. Made a lot of hemi sounding noises but spent most of it's time spinning out and extricating itself from spins. Sort of tail heavy and over torqued. Fun to see. Back then it was sponsored by Town and Country Plymouth in Phoenix. I saw this a few years back at a Good Guys show and talked to the present owner, very nice man and as you can see, has taken excellent care of the car.

    I recall Cheetah's also, neat looking cars, they too spent most of their time spinning out. Too short of a wheelbase. You'd have to be awfully brave to hit 215 in a Cheetah.

    Grabowski's "77 Sunset Tee" found

    in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)

    Posted

    There are not too many hot rods that I really liked over the years but the one I liked the most was the Kookie Kar from 77 Sunset Strip. Norm Grabowski created a masterpiece of hot rodding art. I always thought that his car was in the Peterson Museum or someplace where sacred automotive art was being cared for. To see what was done to that truly classic car is beyond sad. I hope someone can restore that great hot rod to it's former and timeless glory. I hope I can forget what someone did to it after Norm passed away. Really a blatant mistreatment of a real classic rod. 

    Lowe's Home Improvement leaving Hendrick Motorsports

    in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)

    Posted

    NASCAR has shot themselves in the foot for over a decade. Interest in the sport is down because of the changes they have devised to spice up the racing, all having the opposite effect. Johnson and his enterprising crew chief have hurt the sport with their trick, rear steering cars, and other cheats to keep them winning. NASCAR closed them down the past few years with tighter rules and they have no more tricks to pull out of their hat. So, they run like everyone else right now.

    Lowe's leaving makes sense, it costs too much to sponsor a race team. We already see more cars without sponsors and there are less than a full field at the races these days. Money is getting harder to come by for all retailers. Menard can afford to by his son a race car to drive and a team to run it. Menard is worth over $17 billion dollars, way more than Penske.

    NASCAR has become a home for rich kids with rich daddy's and not a sport of tough men working hard to get to race top equipment. These rich kids show up and walk right in. I am personally done with NASCAR, it was once the most fun to watch and now it is the least fun to watch.

×
×
  • Create New...