[DML] Re: Sunstar model questions & remarks

["Walter" <Whalt@xxxx>]

I now own 3 of the Sunstar models and have noticed some interesting
differences between each model.

The first model I got was from a toy model salesman at a local car show. It
cost me $35. I bought it because the other two that I bought through the
internet hadn't arrived yet, and I just couldn't resist having one in my
hands immediately upon seeing one for the first time. :) Besides, my 1:1
scale toy has been on jack stands for 2 weeks while I fix things. :-(

The second one I bought was through eBay for $27.99. I was disappointed
with this one because it was missing the plastic band that held the doors
closed. When I carried the box from the post office, I could hear the doors
banging around. When I unscrewed it from the base, I also noticed that the
rear plastic strap was secured in a double square knot, and the front strap
was taped on the bottom. Since my first model had 3 straps and they were
all heat-sealed tight, I figured that the seller of my second model must
have taken the car out of the box and played with it.

The 3rd model is a real piece of crap compared to the other two. It came
from Exoticar for $36.94. Seeing it convinced me that the second car wasn't
tampered with after all. This 3rd model had 3 straps that were also either
tied or taped -- not heat-sealed like the 1st one.

Then I noticed some unusual differences unique to the 3rd car:

The headlights & front turn signal lights have a vertical ribbed pattern on
them. The other two cars have smooth lights.

The rear lights also have a ribbed pattern all over except for the running
light portions in the centers. The other two cars are smooth on the
exterior and appear ribbed on the backsides that face the car.

The windows appear fogged up in places that is characteristic of
cyanoacrylic glue (Super Glue) vapors. For those of you who aren't familiar
with its properties, a similar substance is used in police work to make
finger prints visible. Well, it did this very well on the inside of the
passenger door window. There is a white fingerprint in the top rear corner
and white opaque vapor stains all across the top and back of the window.
They look like they will clean off with a little rubbing.

The driver's side door sill is warped, and the door doesn't close properly.
It looks like it didn't 'latch' on the rear. The combined effect yields a
2.5mm gap on the bottom rear with no gap on the bottom front. The front
spoiler is attached crooked and sticks out farther than the bumper. The
stainless finish has some dings in addition to some gray specks. I tried
scraping some off with my fingernail, and that removes the grain leaving a
glossy silver finish underneath. It appears that the stainless finish is a
combination of a matte clear/silver paint over a shinier silver base. There
is gray paint flaking off the dash revealing black underneath, and the seam
across the binnacle is more obvious than the other cars.

But hey, we are talking about toys here. If I had the cars to unpack again,
I would have saved the 1st one to keep original it the box. The other two
that were shipped via UPS & snail mail had the plastic windows in the boxes
creased.

If any of you are trying to save some of these cars original-in-the-box,
don't bother unless you have one with the 'tamper proof' plastic straps.
The others are just held on with tape or tied and look unprofessional in
comparison. These can be removed and put back together without any evidence
of tampering.

So has anyone figured out what the "LK" stands for? I noticed it printed on
the bottom of the cars as well as the package.

Walt Tampa, FL