Minor pet peeve...

[Harry P.]

Ok... I can let it pass on models that were tooled up in the '60s and '70s and even the '80s and '90s... but on brand-new kits that have been tooled in the 21st century, why do they still insist on making the wipers a molded-in detail instead of making them separate pieces? Same for door handles. (I'm talking about subjects from the era when wipers were not flat black and hidden under the hood and door handles were chrome and not body color). It would look so much better and so much more realistic if the wipers were separate pieces. It would also make foiling the windshield trim easier, and separate door handles would make polishing the body easier.

[Danno]

They just do that to annoy you, Harry!

[Harry P.]

They just do that to annoy you, Harry!

Well, it's working...

[ZombieHunter26]

I'll have to agree with you on this one Harry.

Many times I've bought a kit that was tooled RECENTLY (like 2000's recent) and the quality of the kit is shoddy at best. I'm lucky to have a manager at my LHS willing to let me take a look at the kit bags before I decide to buy the kit. This has become the norm for my 'purchase' visits to the LHS, unfortunately.

One could only hope that the model tooling will improve as time goes by.

I hope that this isn't wishful thinking at it's best....

[Roncla]

Couldn't agree more on the wiper and door handles. Molded in wipers in particular just look plain crude.

[Casey]

Is it even possible with current injection molding technology to replicate an accurate windshield wiper and arm in 1/25 scale? The blade alone would be paper thin, and the blade holder would also need to be very thin, not to mention compound curved.

It's a compromise, but I think Revell did a good job with the '66 Chevelle and El Camino's separate door handles. I can't remember seeing separately molded windshield wiper arm/blade which really knocked my socks off, though.

[martinfan5]

I agree Harry, I dont think we are asking for knock your socks off wiper blades and arms, but lets at least have separate castings for it, and if you want that knock your shocks off , there is always the P/E option.

[Dave Van]

Lindberg did some of the door handles in chrome....and Moebius has the wipers separate so you have a start. Wipers are a bigger issue than door handles on subjects that could become race cars!

[Erik Smith]

Revell has a few with seperate wipers and handles - '64 T-bolt and '66 Impala both come to mind as I recently finished both. I have to say, the wipers in the '64 kit don't fit well and I replaced them with PE parts. At least I had the option though.

I really like seperate door handles.

[CorvairJim]

I'd sure like to see more seperate wipers. I've built several racing Corvairs and had to C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y remove the molded-in wipers from the old-as-dirt AMT Corvair body. Now if someone would just do us all a favor and come out with an all-new Corvair tool with seperate wipers and door handles, all would be right with the world!

(That's a kit we would all appreciate, right? )

[slotbaker]

Maybe cost to tool up? An extra mould would be needed for separate wiper/s.

It's clearly not a technical issue, because making moulds for wipers has been possible for a long time.

S'pose they could make a generic wiper that could be adapted to all similar applications.

That could slightly reduce the cost of the body mould, by eliminating that detail.

It does seem a bit wierd, because many slot cars (mainly 1/32) have separate wipers.

And they get broken off during racing.

Edited April 24, 2012 by slotbaker

[jamesG]

Rebellion 68 charger and 69 nova ss have both handles and wipers separate though I havent looked at them close enough to judge the quality yet.

[Foxer]

Maybe cost to tool up? An extra mould would be needed for separate wiper/s.

It's clearly not a technical issue, because making moulds for wipers has been possible for a long time.

I think Steve has it .. it HAS to be cost .. there's no other reason to do anything with a car model. Saying it's technical just because it's a new kit doesn't cut it. Examples have been given above as to the abilities of mold makers of older kits.

[philo426]

what do you think of photo etched wiper blades?

[rmvw guy]

I agree, especially on the door handles. I'm always tempted to shave them off but, I don't want to make everything a custom. Photo etched wipers are pretty easy to come by.

[Austin T]

I agree AMT's 53' Ford pick-up has the UGLIEST molded in wipers I have ever seen.Sadly that is one of my favorite kits,Hey Mobius wana make a completely stock 53' Ford Pick-up ?

[Dr. Cranky]

I agree with you Harry, but I also think they are counting parts . . . perhaps they don't want to go over a certain number of parts in Skill Level 2, etc . . . that's the only thing I can figure out. Or maybe they have market statistic that says that nobody really cares about wipers and door handles. Which they might be right about since I always remove all of mine . . .

[Jordan White]

Adding the wipers to the molds wouldn't be difficult since they would just have to mill out the space in the blocks on a free space on the parts tree. However if the body mold is already made, then it's tougher since they can't exactly fill in the spot where the molded in wipers were.

I think the main reason is they know there's a chance that the builder will accidentally break the wipers and complain that they should have been molded in. Personally, I think that most regular builders would prefer the separate pieces, but I suppose the companies would rather cater to the more casual crowd.

[crazyjim]

The Trumpeter '64 Falcon has separate wipers.

[LoneWolf15]

As of late , all of Revell's new releases have the door handles and wipers on the chrome sprues rather than the bodies .

Ease up , Tinman , take a deep breath , a swig of Geritol , and you'll be just fine ! Lol !

[Guest]

The '65 -'66 Impalas and the '66 Chevelle wagon came with seperate wipers and door handles. I wish they would get rid of the molded in scripts and decals for the body and replace them with photo etch. Seems to me that it would probably be easier and more cost productive to make the emblems out of photo etch rather than have the tool makers cut them into the molds on the body. I've opened up enough door handles now that I can do them in just a few minutes.

[ffreak]

Revell '68 Charger, and '69 Nova's were separate wipers and door handles also. Can't remember about the '69 Charger though.

[mickey1938]

I have one Pet Pee!! Why doesn't the Model Companies make Dip Sticks for their regular Street Cars?

I once collected Die Cast Cars, The Companies that charge $139.99 for a Car and no Dip Stick, nor a Automatic Stick, what's up!!

Of course when I was younger they didn't even have Plug Wires or even Plastic, everything was Wood.

I love Model Cars!!

MICKEY1938

[Art Anderson]

I agree AMT's 53' Ford pick-up has the UGLIEST molded in wipers I have ever seen.Sadly that is one of my favorite kits,Hey Mobius wana make a completely stock 53' Ford Pick-up ?

Why?

AMT made a perfectly good '53 Ford F100 for years, in fact the last go-round of it was in the late 1980's. This kit, dating from 1964 could be built stock, custom or as a service truck. Nice tool, chock full of optional parts, including a complete chromed tool set (lots of those got robbed for custom car displays!) Often, this kit gets confused with the MPC (later reissued numerous times by AMT/Ertl as an AMT kit) which was the "flip-nose" version of the '53 pickup. Now if only Tom Lowe and Mke G. of Round2 could see fit to release the original AMT kit!

Art

Edited April 24, 2012 by Art Anderson

[Art Anderson]

Parts count can have a lot to do with it. There's only so much room in a tool base for parts, and if a kit has an already high parts count, corners often get cut, and molded-in door handles and wipers sometimes get axed. Of course, decades ago, model companies often did mold in very small parts simply due to the anticipated skill level of the then-preteen/young teenaged buyers of model car kits. That said, I was looking at the test shots of the upcoming Revell '50 Olds, '57 Ford Custom Tudor, and '62 Corvette. Door handles and wipers? You guessed it--molded in.

Art