By Don Atherton

I don't really follow Nascar much and as such will not be able to review this kit for accuracy. I'll will review it for quality and detail.

Starting with the body. This is one clean piece. It took me a few to find the mold parting seams.

It appears to match the lines and shape of the real car quite well. The required flaps are engraved in the roof and cowl and their are tie down pins engraved in. Nice detail on the rear spoiler and fuel receptor.

The engine looks like your typical Nascar engine. It consists of 21 parts that are clean and engraved nicely. Of note is the distributor with molded in Plug wires. The serious modeler will want to replace this as the wires are too thick in plastic.

The chassis pan is pretty clean with stamped steel detail. R/M chose to engrave their copyright wording right up next to the fuel cell. Looks like a nasty job to remove. There are some ejector pin marks, but they were well placed to avoid damaging detailed areas.

There is a separate radiator and a simplified front suspension. A separate firewall has a separate set of pedals with it. The roll cage is made up of several parts and the padding is represented quite well. The net looks to thick though. Might want to replace that too. There is a separate fire extinguisher with it's own decal. The drivers seat has a decal for the racing harness. There is a nice separate steering shaft and gear box.

The dash has excellent engraving on it. There is a separate cooling fan for the radiator as well as hoses. The rear suspension is simplified but looks good. There is what looks like a belt driven oilier pump for the rear differential. Still more separate bars and struts and braces here and there. Separate rocker panels are nice too. Air hoses and a fuel cell cover which is good if you are going to cut the trunk open.

The clear parts make up the windows which need some detail painting that will take a steady hand.

The tires are nice and "D5574" is engraved in them in raised lettering. I don't know what that means but they show it in the instructions. The wheels are finally unplated units. No chrome stripping needed.

The decal sheet is nothing short of outstanding. A very colorful sheet with good registration and has Huckleberry Hound and other cartoon favorites from the Cartoon Network. There are also all the usual Nascar markings and markings for the tires.

This is one of the first Nascar kits I have looked closely at and I must say that there appears to be a lot of detail right out of the box, and with all the aftermarket items available for these Kits, a super detailed model can be done as I have seen at some of the major model car shows in the Northeastern US.