|
Dear GPM,
 I have just one question
for you: Will BBR do the 2002 Le Mans winning Audi and if so, do
you know when it will be released?
It would be very disappointing
if they do not, they have been doing such a fine job of it this
far and I think that I have all the winners they have produced.
Please let me know as I would love to add it to my order list. They
are worth waiting for. It's a shame they have not produced all of
the Le Mans winning Ferraris.........
Thank you and Best regards,
Sid Sherland Jr,
Los Angeles, CA
This
is a question we are frequently asked and unfortunately the answer
at this time is no. Apparently the previous Audis weren't big sellers
for BBR and this year's car is too similar to the previous ones.
Some of the winning Ferraris were made by BBR several years ago
and there are very good models available of these subjects by other
makers.
|
I
have just had the opportunity to read your review of the BBR Ferrari
360 Modena kit in FSW 08/2002. You amaze me by the absence of any
remarks concerning the moulds used by BBR for this model and the
eventual problems encountered. Not once do you mention the bad inner
wheel well mouldings which I encountered on all four examples I
have received and I don't suppose these are problems on just my
kits. Also I never saw any remarks concerning the type of resin
BBR use.
It seems to me that BBR
can do no wrong for you. Doesn't this compromise your position towards
your clients? I Always thought that FSW was there to inform us about
the rights and wrongs of any kits and not to be an instrument of
publicity for the industry.
I would like you to inform
my fellow kit builders, who depend largely on your expertise and
evaluations to take decisions in purchasing one kit over another,
if there is any possibility that FSW is an instrument of some of
the kit creators or do you just not dare criticise companies like
BBR? You should be fair to warn your worldwide subscribers, so that
we can all decide for ourselves whether to take the risk of purchasing
these kits without taking consideration of your evaluations.
Please inform us in an
honest way about your current position towards creators and builders,
we spend too much money on our hobby to just follow you blindly.
Of course you will say that we don't have to follow you blindly,
but the discussion about your evaluations a few years back proves
that your readers give great attention to this matter. So, please
be fair with us so that we can enjoy FSW for years to come.
Thank you for your attention
and I look forward to your fair reaction in FSW.
Patrick Scholliers, Belgium
|
We
are sorry that you received imperfect kits. The two kits you returned
to us have suffered damage to the very brittle resin BBR use. We
have mentioned this on numerous occasions in the past and will always
obtain replacement parts if bodies are damaged. We are a little
confused by your comments about the inner wheel arches. One of the
kits you sent back was certainly a faulty casting and very uneven.
If you are referring to the return lip on the wheel arch this is
not visible once the kit is assembled and again could be simply
sanded smooth if you so wish. Otherwise all we could see was casting
flash. If there are holes and bubbles in castings we feel that these
are much more of a problem for the modeller to deal with than removing
a little excess material.
You can be assured that
we are not the instrument of any manufacturers and we will always
level criticism where we feel it is due. If anything we expect higher
standards of BBR than many smaller manufacturers and are often more
critical of them.
Our aim is to try and
give a balanced view and this may not always agree with everyone
else's.
|
As
a long time subscriber of Four Small Wheels, I have always enjoyed
the reviews of the many kits that have passed through Grand Prix
Models. However..........when I read the review of the Provence
Moulage kit of the Bentley EXP speed 8 in a recent issue
(08-2002), I had cause to "spit chips"!!
The Bentley Le Mans
car IS British, as it is completely designed, manufactured, assembled
and run from here at RTN in Norfolk, apart from the (Audi) engine
of course.
Just to help with a few
questions raised in the review of the model, the rear wing is carbon,
not metal, and is painted the same silver colour as the other silver
"features" and the Bentley lettering on it is indeed black.
The silver is actually a different shade to the 2001 car, being
a more conventional colour, rather than the champagne tinted colour
of last year.
Keep up the good work
on the magazine.
Gene Varnier, Assistant Chief Designer, RTN.
|
