Ace-Garageguy

Frankly, I've never understood the sometimes rabid brand loyalty and "this one's better than that one" debates. All 3 have made some knockout cars, engines, transmissions and rear ends over the years, and all 3 have built some real loser turkeys.

Well actually, Ebay DOES allow you to block out a specific seller for a specific search, as the OP mentioned (I believe) and which I just verified. It's easy and only takes a couple of clicks to do.

People who work for me either get it right, which is what I PAY FOR, or they work for somebody else. And I'm FAR more critical of MY OWN WORK than I am of anyone else's. One more thing: the things I build to make a living these days have to work, fit and function correctly THE FIRST TIME, or I do them over for FREE until they're right. Kinda tends to make one a little more aware of quality as "job one". I guess in YOUR world, that's just unfair.

Question: Why do so many of you equate "NO GROSS ERRORS" with "PERFECTION"? These are TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT CONCEPTS, and NOT HARD TO UNDERSTAND. Mr. Metzner's company gets it, and consistently turns out product that really IS good enough. Revell does it a lot of the time, like the '50 Olds and the '57 Ford kits. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPECT THIS LEVEL OF QUALITY EVERY TIME.

And where did YOU get YOUR expertise? Manufacturing is manufacturing, whether it's refrigerators, model cars, or locomotives. The same problems and constraints apply in every field. Quality vs. Time vs. Money. I've been heavily involved in the design, development, tooling and production for a wide variety of products...high-end aftermarket performance car parts, aftermarket aircraft parts, commercial aviation parts, sports equipment, toys, medical devices and prosthetics, and tools...just to name a few. NONE of the products I've been involved with would tolerate GROSS ERRORS. I WAS EXPECTED AND PAID TO CATCH THEM BEFORE THEY HAPPENED TOO FAR ALONG IN THE PROCESS TO CORRECT COST-EFFECTIVELY. This is the way it works: YOU CHECK YOUR STUFF BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR TOOLING. RAPID PROTOTYPING ALLOWS "TEST SHOTS" TO BE 3D PRINTED AND ASSEMBLED BEFORE TOOLING IS CUT. GROSS ERRORS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Got several consecutive hours at the bench for the first time in over a year. I'd really forgotten how much I enjoy actually building models. Got in the zone and the hours just melted away, very pleasantly. Even caught myself smiling once or twice.

Man, expecting the fish fillet to be on the center of the bun is the kind of perfectionism that could drive the company out of business. We should just all be glad we even have the fish in the same bag as the bun, and be willing to center it, or even cook it if necessary, ourselves. PS. I've known a few MBA holders who couldn't be employed if getting the fish fillet in the center of the bun was one of the required skills.

For the 100 dozenth time, NO ONE expects perfection. GROSS INACCURACIES ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE, and IT DOESN'T COST A PENNY MORE TO GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. It takes better communication, more caring about quality-first, and management commitment. I've spent considerable time in product design and production engineering during my 45 year working life. Getting it right the first time IS POSSIBLE IF IT'S A PRIMARY GOAL. PERIOD. People ALWAYS whine and complain when you demand they consistently perform quality work...if you let them...but a truly effective executive will find a way to motivate his people to deliver first-rate product the first time...or get new people.

Looks good, perfect for a wild and crazy exhibition car, tire-smoking all the way down the 1320.

Even more amazing is that these weren't jet-fuel-burning turbines like most helos are today, but gasoline-burning flat-six-cylinder aircraft engines standing on end. Much less power for their weight than turbines.

Exactly.

GREAT looking project.

That is sad. No more beautiful workmanship from a talented and highly skilled craftsman. His engines were a great benefit to the hobby. He'll be remembered.

I think it's good to be able to compare and contrast the excellent work Moebius has been consistently doing in SPITE of the difficulties that Mr. Metzner has cited, with the less-than stellar work some other companies have been content to let slide, and that many seem to want to excuse as "too hard", "doesn't matter", etc. Moebius models look right, they look like what they're supposed to be, they don't need excuses for being oddly proportioned or too big or too little, and they fit together quite well. If Moebius can do it this well every time, excuses from or for the other guys just don't fly.

This headlight looks like the first-time effort of someone trying to learn...NOT the output of a supposedly world-class model company. Real car on right. Do you consider this to be acceptable??

Neither do I. But I don't build every model out of the box, either. You CAN'T swap the ridiculous WAY TOO LARGE late-model Hemi engine into anything and have it fit like it would in reality. NOR can you use the ridiculously TOO SMALL AMT Hemi from the Ala Kart. It's a tiny little joke of a thing. I build REAL CARS. I build MODELS LIKE I BUILD REAL CARS. These things matter. I KNOW what's right, and I NOTICE immediately. I DON'T GET PAID TO DO CRAPP WORK. WHY SHOULD I EXCUSE IT IN THE MODELS I SPEND MY HARD-EARNED MONEY ON ??? If I made a 6" or a 2" or EVEN A 1/4" MISTAKE, I WOULDN'T BE EMPLOYED VERY LONG.

Love it. All of it. I assume you know that Thompson actually DID build hemi heads for the Poncho engine.

I think we have a stench winner. Too bad there's no smellivision via youtube.

Bizarro, indeed.

Very different in a very good way.

Exactly. Thank you. AND...EXACTLY the SAME drawings and tooling COULD HAVE BEEN USED IN BOTH KITS...SAVING MONEY. That's why all the cost-control excuses just don't wash. Again, Moebius is doing a GREAT job in spite of the difficulties. The other guys need to watch how it's done.

BIG issues. Rooflines 2" wrong, that spoil the look of the car (to anyone who has any concept of what the REAL one looks like). A 1/32 scale engine in a 1/24 scale kit. Inexcusable. 2 Dodge Hemis, current production engines for which factory drawings DO EXIST, EASILY ACCESSED, that SHOULD BE IDENTICAL IN TWO KITS FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURER, but are in actuality 1/4 inch different in length. Gross errors ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. People are PAID TO GET THIS STUFF RIGHT. WE PAY FOR IT every time we buy a model. Small errors, no problem. Fix it or ignore it. GROSS ERRORS...may as well buy Palmer kits.

How about the brains from a living monkey that's had its skull cracked open at the table, screaming, after which the "diners" pick the brains out ? A "delicacy" in parts of Asia. Oh, humanity.