Here are a few quick shots. I only had a Buzz-Off handy for scale. My Mandora doesn't arrive until Friday.
A few random thoughts:
- This feels like a quality piece. It's not worth the price tag IMO, but at least it's solid for what it is. Paint is clean and the plastic feels like good quality. But for this price, it should have light-up features and/or spring-loaded wheels. But it is what it is.
- The wheels turn smoothly. The tires feel like rubber, not plastic.
- Exposing the wheels means removing two panels on the bottom of the bike. You have to pull/push the wheels out. (The front tire you pull from below, the rear tire you push down from above after opening a back panel.) It's a bit cumbersome to do, and if you push down too hard on the bike from above, the wheels retract back inside.
- The steering handles do not move. This is a bummer and should have been a no-brainer to include.
- The radio is permanently connected to the dash via a cloth string. The string is on the short side, which I think is going to limit its posability with Mandora.
- The dash comes with two differently-styled panels that connect to the dash with magnets. One panel is a radar screen, the other is a series of switches. Those "switches" lay a lot flatter on the production piece (looking more like buttons than switches) than they did in the prototype pictures.
Be careful: the magnets on the backs of these panels are small and the glue on both of mine didn't hold, so both tiny magnets fell out when I removed them from the package and I had to glue them back in.
- I wish the flight stand was a bit taller, but it is what it is and at least it's clear. It's a square connection, so the bike cannot swivel or pivot on the stand. It's one-position-only. A ball connection would have been nice.
- There's a panel in front of the driver's seat the opens up, revealing storage space for accessories.
- This really should have come with instructions concerning the wheels, the various panels, the radio (which looks like it's just part of the dashboard until you pop it free), and the rear antenna (which is a snug fit to get in).
Bottom line: I'm really quite happy with it, with a few caveats. This will definitely be the centerpiece of a TCats collection (until the tank arrives, that is).
