Moebius 61 Ventura exhaust system locator holes

[Dave Metzner]

It has come to my attention that the locator holes in the floor for the exhaust system of our 1961 Pontiac Ventura are flashed over. They are not supposed to be! the factory was instructed that those six holes were to be open for the street car versions of that car!  They were open on the last test shot I had so here I sat fat, dumb and happy, secure in the knowledge that the production kit would be just like the 3rd test shot with six nice open locator holes for the exhaust pipes.

 I only get production samples after we have them in the warehouse and usually just stick them on a shelf.. Imagine my surprise when I opened my production kit and found that the locator holes for the exhaust system are all flashed over!

SO! please beware that the locator holes are there - BUT you're going to need to open them up to hang the exhaust pipes.

Yes I just sent a very nasty e-mail to my guy at the factory, yes I'll get an apology from him because they screwed up, and no that doesn't make me any happier and it doesn't really excuse the "mistake"  

Sorry for the screw-up!

Dave

Edited January 28, 2016 by Dave Metzner

[1972coronet]

Still better than having them open and  having to fill them with putty , etc.  , than having them flashed-over and only needing to be opened for locating pins .

[Dave Van]

Still better than having them open and  having to fill them with putty , etc.  , than having them flashed-over and only needing to be opened for locating pins .

Much prefer them flashed  over......a note here on the issue covers it for a good number of the builders.  thx

[lysleder]

I didn't get to start on my Ventura yet, but that is good information to have.

 

And also; Thank you for coming out with the alert ahead of the storm, rather than waiting until somebody notices and spread the word (usually in an unkind manner) or just pretending everything is fine. Actually, your interactiveness and accessibility is one of the things I really love about your company :-)

[1972coronet]

Much prefer them flashed  over......a note here on the issue covers it for a good number of the builders.  thx

That's what I was trying to say ! Ha ha ha . Ostentatiously-vague , post-nap reply from me .

[Robberbaron]

Literally just came home from my LHS with one of these kits, haven't even got the cellophane off yet.  Thanks for the heads up, Dave.

 

Very minor issue IMHO - should only take a minute to open those little guys up.  FWIW, as he was ringing me up, the owner of my LHS commented about how many of these kits he's already sold.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Much prefer them flashed  over......a note here on the issue covers it for a good number of the builders.  thx

X2. Some builders are going to build race-cars, customs, not OOB. Having the holes easy to open up but flashed is better, in my opinion.

Might be easier to just modify the instructions to address the holes.

Also very much appreciated is your pro-active stance on issues like this. It's nice to know the guys who make the stuff care about the needs of the guys who buy and build it.

[satterwhite78]

I've purchased two  about three weeks ago. Completed the engine and got most of the parts painted and ready, Sprayed the undercarriage with red oxide and will do a overspray of the body color to it, Thoroughly impressed with what Moebius has accomplished.

What's more impressive to me that Dave Metzner posting a correction ( on a public forum mind you ) that neither has been seen or heard from  other competitors when some of their products fell short of their intended goal, Granted this isn't a perfect world by no means.  Dave puts a 'face" on a company that in return will promote brand loyalty and quality products with fan inputs.  Proud to showcase in my collection and say " That's a Moebius!"

[martinfan5]

While I wont be purchasing this kit, I will add that in kits like these that are going to , or could have different version released,  holes being flashed over does not bother me, in fact , I would rather it be that way.

[unclescott58]

Great to know. Thanks.

[Danno]

I didn't get to start on my Ventura yet, but that is good information to have.

 

And also; Thank you for coming out with the alert ahead of the storm, rather than waiting until somebody notices and spread the word (usually in an unkind manner) or just pretending everything is fine. Actually, your interactiveness and accessibility is one of the things I really love about your company :-)

Dittos!!!!   Thanks, Dave

 

[louie]

I've purchased two  about three weeks ago. Completed the engine and got most of the parts painted and ready, Sprayed the undercarriage with red oxide and will do a overspray of the body color to it, Thoroughly impressed with what Moebius has accomplished.

What's more impressive to me that Dave Metzner posting a correction ( on a public forum mind you ) that neither has been seen or heard from  other competitors when some of their products fell short of their intended goal, Granted this isn't a perfect world by no means.  Dave puts a 'face" on a company that in return will promote brand loyalty and quality products with fan inputs.  Proud to showcase in my collection and say " That's a Moebius!"

x2,3 and 4

[JTalmage]

I've not really even seen any pictures of this kit... but man that's a nice looking floorpan. And, with the others, I'm cool with having to open up a few holes. Beats the heck out of having to fill them instead! Thanks for the heads up!

[gtx6970]

What's more impressive to me that Dave Metzner posting a correction ( on a public forum mind you ) that neither has been seen or heard from  other competitors when some of their products fell short of their intended goal, Granted this isn't a perfect world by no means.  Dave puts a 'face" on a company that in return will promote brand loyalty and quality products with fan inputs.  Proud to showcase in my collection and say " That's a Moebius!"

VERY Well said.

I would much rather they just make a note on the instructions to drill the holes  out IF NEEDED, as 90% of my builds will not have stock exhaust anyway

[Mr. Metallic]

Thank you to Mr. Metzner for being so up front about the problem.

However, most of us wont see it as a problem, and many would even prefer it that way. Maybe simply adding a note in the directions for the builder would be easier than modifying the tooling?

[SteveG]

So the guy at the factory gets ripped over the exhaust mounting holes being flashed over, yet nothing gets said over the fact that the kit's glass doesn't fit at all?

I'm honestly confused ... 

There's a small parting line around the perimeter of both the front and black glass that is due to the molding process that has to be removed. Once that's done the glass fits fine.   It's only takes a few minutes and it's really no different the any other kit part that needs minor clean up as part of the building process.

I think Moebius going with the glass being installed from the outside on most of their new kits has thrown a lot builders off a little bit.  I have to admit I protested pretty hard the first time I saw that design.  It was certainly not what I was used to.

I haven't finished any of the 61 Pontiac's that I have yet but I've built up quite a few of Plymouth kits already with the similar tight fitting glass design and in the end I think it looks more realistic then the old sloppy fitting glass installed from the inside in most cases.      

-Steve

[Jantrix]

X2. Some builders are going to build race-cars, customs, not OOB. Having the holes easy to open up but flashed is better, in my opinion.

 

I quite agree. 

[Mike Chernecki]

I also like having the holes available, but flashed over. 

[Allen Wrench]

There's a small parting line around the perimeter of both the front and black glass that is due to the molding process that has to be removed. Once that's done the glass fits fine.   It's only takes a few minutes and it's really no different the any other kit part that needs minor clean up as part of the building process.

Steve, you're a very talented builder, but, with all due respect, the Ventura glass fit issue is far worse than that. The kit's glass pieces and the openings on the body both require major work in order for the glass to fit correctly. No bash on Moebius; simply the truth.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Allen Wrench

[SteveG]

Steve, you're a very talented builder, but, with all due respect, the Ventura glass fit issue is far worse than that. The kit's glass pieces and the openings on the body both require major work in order for the glass to fit correctly. No bash on Moebius; simply the truth.

Alan,

Thanks for the complement, I actually consider myself to be an average builder.  I'm just relaying my experience with the kit.  On the last sample I tried I had both the front and rear glass fitting as Moebius intended with no gaps in about five minutes using nothing but hand files.  The only work on the body openings I did was to remove the sprue attachment in the front.  To be fair, I'm talking about unpainted bodies and pre-production samples.  Maybe something changed in mass production just like the exhaust holes Dave mentioned.

I'll give you this, I'm not a big fan of the glass trim being molded to the glass. The trim should be more flush, especial the rear glass in my opinion.   Maybe we're splitting hairs here but to me that's a design issue.

-Steve

[Ace-Garageguy]

Steve, you're a very talented builder, but, with all due respect, the Ventura glass fit issue is far worse than that. The kit's glass pieces and the openings on the body both require major work in order for the glass to fit correctly. No bash on Moebius; simply the truth.

Ah, the dreaded truth.

Opening up flashed-over holes under the chassis is well within the scope of the skills of most entry-level modelers. Carefully and accurately hand-fitting a piece of CLEAR plastic to an opening in the upper body...a fit issue that immediately draws the eye to itself if it's not just about perfect... is NOT.

Witness the builds already showing up with both front and rear glass protruding above the roof line.

Though I don't have this particular kit YET, I've read all the threads on the glass-fitting procedures that well-respected, highly-experienced and talented builders like Bill Geary have come up with. It's more than a couple of swipes with a file to make it right.

I'll be buying multiples of this kit, as I have most of Moebius' recent automotive offerings...and I'll fix the windows, and other things.

Some folks don't care and apparently don't even notice if the glass sticks up from the opening. Some do, and will fix it.

It might be nice to address this little issue.

Like the man said, no bash on Moebius; simply the truth.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[charlie8575]

Thanks for the heads-up on the holes. I thought something looked a little off.

That said, I do see the advantage of the flashed-over holes, depending on the goals of the builders, and this may actually be a goof that works out well.

Charlie Larkin

[chopper430]

thanks for the input dave ,I didn't notice the flash over holes for the the exhaust til I read your post as a good thing I haven't started on it yet lol but thanx again .

[MrObsessive]

Ditto what Chopper said! This kit has so many good things going for it, I overlooked that one too! Very easy fix, and shouldn't really give anyone a coronary.

[highway]

Hmmmmm, I wonder if this has ever been brought to the companies attention (before right now anyway) like simple to open mounting holes have been?? 

That is the underside of the 53' trailers, and every single crossmember under the floor is not in line with the rivets that hold those crossmembers in on the 1:1, the crossmember should be centered directly in the middle of each group of four rivets in a square. I'm sure I'll probably be accused of being a "rivet counter" for this post, but being around the 1:1 trailer every day, it's a little more than rivet counting, it's accuracy as well. And yes, I do count my rivets, because I don't want my trailer to end up like this: