Harry P.

Yeah, but what does that mean??? At least mine makes sense! (if you picture Napolean Bonaparte saying it, that is)...

And where would the brakes go???

Welcome aboard! (But I really think your last name deserves a capital "H")...

My favorite palindrome: ABLE WAS I, ERE I SAW ELBA. (look it up)...

Not so much dangerous as totally impractical for most automotive applications. 1. How do you attach the wheels to existing shock/steering/drive technology? Is the car manufacturer going to completely re-engineer existing chassis technology just so they can use "cool" wheels? 2. The bearings are exposed to the weather and will be in mud, under water, etc. depending on the driving conditions. 3. The slightest damage to the rim (pothole, etc.) and the wheel will not rotate, so you're stuck right on the spot. 4. Incredibly tight machining tolerances needed, incredibly high cost to manufacture. 5. All driving/cornering forces are concentrated on the bearing area, making them highly susceptible to quick wear and/or failure. 6. What benefits offered over existing wheel technology?

I thought it was a razor...

I thought the glowing puck was cool! Finally I could actually SEE the puck! Without it, you can't see the thing, so what's the point of watching? (Said the total hockey non-fan)...

Since many of you are still recovering from the trauma you've undergone the last few days... I figured I'd ease you back into the swing of things with an easy one! Final vote: 31 Real, 8 Model. And it's REAL!

Very impressive. Thanks for the great photos and commentary.

Seems kind of hard to argue against it...

Because NASCAR has shifted the entire focus to the drivers! It doesn't make much sense to be a NASCAR "Dodge fan" when your "Dodge" is the same exact car as all the others! That's my whole point–the focus has been shifted by NASCAR from the cars to the drivers. It was obviously a business decision.

If it's a Revell kit it ain't resin!

I think maybe I'm focusing on a too-small piece of the overall NASCAR story. My interest in NASCAR (such as it was) was because I could see Fords and Chevies and Dodges going head to head, back when NASCAR racers actually were Fords and Chevies and Dodges (more or less). To me at least, NASCAR was about the rivalry between the makers. I guess if you look at the overall history of NASCAR that wasn't always the case... but for many people "of a certain age" it is.

There you go! "Brand identity" is the whole point! Maybe I should clarify... when I talk about NACSAR being all about Chevy vs. Ford vs. Dodge, I'm talking about it from the fan's viewpoint, not NASCAR's viewpoint. Whatever behind the scenes wheeling and dealing goes on, whatever level the factory is involved or not... that stuff is all "inside baseball." I'm talking about the fact that as far as the fans are concerned, their "brand loyalty" has become irrelevant in today's NASCAR... and that brand loyalty is what fueled so many NASCAR fans back in the day. Take away that aspect and you have a whole different ballgame, which is what today's NASCAR is, compared to what it used to be.

Gotta disagree with you, Drew. In my mind (and as Dennis Miller says, "I could be wrong")... NASCAR traditionally was all about the battle of the brands. The Ford guys and the Chevy guys and the Dodge guys watched NASCAR because they wanted to see "their" car beat the "other" cars. It was all about Dodge beating Chevy, or Ford beating Dodge, etc. It wasn't about "Billy Bob" beating "Billy Joe." The competition between the brands was what set NASCAR apart from say, F1, where the focus was more on the driver, not the car. NASCAR was always about the car... and when the powers that be took away the cars' identity and put all the emphasis on the driver–when they made the driver, not the car, the star of the show–the essence of what NASCAR was all about fundamentally changed. I agree with you that today's NASCAR is legitimate... it's real racing. But it's a different type of racing than it used to be. The basic underlying concept has changed from competition between cars (and the manufacturer of the car) to competition between drivers. The "car" part of the equation has been removed, and the drivers all drive identical "racing appliances." Neither concept is "right" or "wrong"... but the basic metamorphosis that NASCAR has undergone is the main reason that so many people feel disinterest with today's version of NASCAR. Again... there's nothing "wrong" with NASCAR as it is... it's just so very different than what it used to be, and many people don't like the change.

Drew, I'm not trying to take NASCAR away from you (or from anyone)... everyone who likes NASCAR, more power to 'em! I'm just trying to answer your original question, which concerned the "bashing" of NASCAR by many people. IMO, the main reason is due to the fact that NASCAR has completely changed, and like Ken said earlier, it has left many of its long-time fans behind. Sure, NASCAR is bigger than ever, and in that regard NASCAR has been a success, no argument there. But the very nature of the competition is different today than it was 30 years ago. The basic underlying concept has changed. The competition between rival auto makers, which was the draw of NASCAR in the first place, has been removed and now the focus is on the drivers as "celebrities" and marketing stars. Today's NASCAR is a completely different thing than it started out to be, which is not true of other major sports like baseball, football, etc. Yes, their rules have changed over the years, but the basic concept has not changed the way that NASCAR's has.

Drew, your "fad" theory makes sense. And doesn't that early 2000s era peak of interest in NASCAR coincide with FOX beginning to televise most of the races? Before that NASCAR was only available on cable, I think. Fox made it available to everyone with a TV set, and that may have contributed to the temporary surge in NASCAR popularity. But I do think the fact that modern-day NASCAR bears absolutely no resemblance to what NASCAR was in the 60s and 70s is also a factor in the way many people feel about today's NASCAR. For newer fans, the identical (or nearly identical) cars is the only NASCAR they've ever known, so they don't contrast and compare to the type of cars that ran in NASCAR 20-30-40 years ago, the way many older and long-time fans can't help but do.

I think the real reason that so many people have been turned off to NASCAR racing is the fact that the cars have indeed morphed into cars that are not in the least bit "stock." "Stock car racing" started out with actual STOCK cars racing. Soon, racing teams started to bend the rules and began installing race-specific parts, and also along the way NASCAR rules gradually changed (partly in the interest of safety, mainly for various other reasons, though). The result was a gradual transition through the years... the cars became less and less "stock" as time went on. Like several others have said, the last vestiges of "stock" in stock car racing disappeared years ago, but the "stock car" name has stuck, even though it's completely inaccurate today. And that's exactly the problem with so many ex-NASCAR fans: the sport has completely changed from what it used to be (actual competition between the manufacturers resulting in the "race on Sunday, sell on Monday" theory) to a corporate "sport" where every car is identical, and any competition between Ford, Chrysler, GM. etc. has been completely eliminated. Old-school NASCAR racing was a totally different thing than today's version, and a lot of people don't like the path NASCAR has evolved along–from an exciting Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge shootout to a race where the competition between manufacturers' rival technology has been eliminated and the only "competition" is between the drivers. The excitement of different cars racing against each other is long gone. Remember how exciting and fun to watch NASCAR was when the "aero wars" were raging? When Chrysler and Ford were battling to out-do each other on the track with innovative cars like the Daytona and the Talladega? Now those were fun races to watch! But of course, NASCAR has homogenized everything to the point where every car is basically identical and labeling a car a "Ford," a "Chevy," or a "Dodge," etc. is meaningless.

The real reason the site was down: Gregg had his Mustang parked on the internet hose.

Looks like we survived! So better late than never... real or model? The answer: REAL!

The forum is working very slowly right now. There have been some problems "behind the curtain," so to speak... but those problems will be fixed and the site will be back to normal. Until that happens we all just have to put up with things being a little less than perfect. No sense complaining about it, because complaining isn't going to fix what needs fixing. Gregg already knows all about what's happening and the problems will be corrected. In the meantime... remember that you all are getting this forum for FREE.

Not only makes sense, but works! Because the stacks are so close together, it's very easy to see just by looking if one is "off"... so by using the first one as your visual guide, it's easy to line up the rest of them.

Mark's tip #2 is good, but a little, uh... labor intensive! And, it assumes you will drill all the holes perfectly straight and parallel to each other. Highly unlikely... Here's the lazy man's way: Use 5-minute epoxy or slow setting superglue to glue one stack (one on the corner) in place. Use the setting time to make adjustments, eyeballing the stack to make sure it's straight when viewed from both the front and the side. Once it dries, it's your reference for the other seven. Glue one at a time, using the first one as your guide to line up the next one. That's how I do it when I need to get several vertical items in alignment, for example a railing on a ship model. I glue the first post, adjust it to be straight, and use it as a visual reference to "eyeball" the rest of them.

Congratulations! Let's hope that many more people can say the same thing in 2011.

Not only did Skip answer your exact question, he also showed you where you can download the instructions for FREE and saved you the cost of buying them on ebay! So why the sarcasm?