MattMobile Shell Has Arrived

It was slightly more than a year ago that I officially started down the road (no pun intended) to building my MattMobile. After a ball-drop from another builder took 7 months out of my build schedule, I turned to another builder with a track record of delivery and high quality. Though some logistical problems threw themselves at me (like finding a shipper for the beast!), the shell showed up at just the right time.

On May 03, 2012, the delivery truck rolled into my neighborhood with this strapped onto its bed:

I had actually spent many days preparing myself for disappointment. Many times throughout history, I have ordered things online that look great in pictures, but when they arrive they are a grave disappointment. Having seen pics of many Batmobile kits in their raw state, I have built up some expectations.

However, after having spent some time with this kit, I must confess I'm absolutely thrilled. YES, it is a kit and it obviously needs some clean up. But it's the type of clean up one would expect for something of this size and nature. What the kit is distinctly lacking is serious, hard-to-fix problems. The lines on the car are very clean and free of warping. The symmetry is excellent. Overall, the registration on the mold parts was very nice, and it went together well. There is no hood dip. The parts fit together pretty well, though of course they will need some clean up.

The only area I see that I know I will struggle with are the shapes behind the rear wheels. I knew this was a trouble spot in this particular kit, as I have seen builds in the past that do not address this. It looks like some warping took place somewhere in the life of the molds or pull. I'm sure I can fix it... I just don't know how :) But even with this issue, it does not detract from the overall niceness of the kit, which I am extremely happy with.

Best of all, my primary concern was completely unfounded: the shell fits perfectly in my garage, with an inch or two to spare. When we were first loading it in, I already had a tape measure and drywall saw set out in order to cut some holes into the back wall of my garage. But as luck would have it, she's a perfect fit. No cutting necessary.

I also picked up some extra parts to help out with my build, like a dashboard kit, side cones, and the front turbine intake.