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Packaging - ***1/2
Polar Lights always does a great job capturing the look and feel of any license
they work with in their packaging. This box is a fine example, and has a
tremendous amount if great text on the back, a rarity these days. You'll
have to destroy it to get the little Homer out, but since you're opening it to
build the car, there's not much point in keeping it after anyway.
Sculpting - ***1/2
This sculpt score covers both the car parts and
the little PVC Homer figure.
It's the car that really shines here, as the
little Homer is less than stupendous. He's not terrible, but he's a rather
average version of the lovable oaf.
However the car is a whole 'nother story.
The final product looks excellent, and the work on each individual piece
contributes to the final appearance. There's a ton of detail were possible,
although the nature of the show doesn't allow for anything excessive. For
example, the body of the car won't have a lot of detail simply because the
cartoon itself lacks any sort of surface texture detail. There are a ton
of other great touches here though, including all those accoutrements Homer
thought so important - the cup holder outside the door, the antenna on the dash
board, the bowling trophy hood ornament, it's all there!
They've really captured the look of the vehicle,
and I have to ask myself - who wouldn't buy a car this cool?
Paint - ***1/2
Sure, most snap together kits claim you don't have to paint anything, but that's
pretty much a lie. This is the first time I can honestly say that they've
made painting a completely unnecessary option.
The instructions do say you could paint three
small parts if you wanted - the steering wheel wrap, a couple of the clear tail
lamps, and one other that slips my mind. All three are very minor, and
really are just fine the way they are.
The rest of the parts are molded in the proper
colors, or in clear plastic. There's the predominate green, brown and
chrome, but also some black.
The only negative on the paint or colors comes
with Homer's eyes. Every version I saw looked like the episode where he
was licking toads. All the pupils were quite large, and many were off
center. Be careful picking yours out to get the best possible.
Snap Together Quality - ***1/2
Can you really just snap this thing together, or are you going to be pulling out
the glue after the first instruction panel?
I'd say you can go about 80% or so without glue
on this one. There are some smaller pieces that do snap on alright, but I
glued them just to be sure, like the rear view mirror, or the hood
ornament. I also did a little gluing on the main body pieces just to
ensure overall structural strength.
Most of the pieces do snap together nice and
tight, but be very, very careful. Don't force things, as it can be very
easy to break them. I managed to not break a single tab or post, and
that's pretty impressive for me.
Of all the pieces, the one that drove me bats
was the air freshener. First, it was a pain in the butt getting it on the
mirror just right, and it's one of the earliest steps. That means as you
flip the car around adding the other pieces, there are plenty of opportunities
for it to fall off, which it did with regularity.
Also be particularly careful with the antenna on
the dashboard, as it's quite possible to snap the thin rods as you try to push
the piece into place. And it took awhile to get Homer and the steering
wheel both in place, and you really have to do them together, so it might be
tough to try to use glue on either of those pieces without making a mess.
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