Whenever it comes up in conversation, the VBC Ghost18 is a car I give high marks to, for the "stuff" in the kit. But the kit I got was... less than complete. To cut to the chase, I had the same experience with this new kit. Different things were missing or wrong, but I still couldn't just sit down and build the kit start to finish.
Well, the stuff inside looks the same. Same bags, same manual. In fact, exactly the same manual.
So, exactly the same, that it has ALL of the same problems as the old manual. There's no mention of the new materials, and the unclear setup steps are still there.
The parts are so pretty. Crisp edges, tapped holes are all nice, with no flash or swarf. These parts are way above the price class of this car.
Looks pretty good doesn't it. The anodization on the chassis plate is great.
And here, the build process grinds to a halt. That top deck, and those pulleys, are touching.
Yup, touching there too. So the spinny things won't spin, we can still finish the build while we wait for solutions.
It is pretty.
Getting the back end assembled. The ball ends that on the arms are .. I think.. right there. But the manual shows round base ball ends, when one side gets round bottom and one side gets hex bottom. another failure of the manual.
Since this is "another of the same" I didn't take all the step by step photos, so lets get to the end here.
If you look closely, you'll notice there's no links holding the rear swaybars to the rear arms. The top deck not fitting was one thing, and the car came with the wrong ball ends to build the rear swaybar links.
Lets get back to the top deck problem. The car is supposed to come with a carbon top deck (as opposed to the glass top deck the original came with). And that deck is carbon.
It's also, not.. right. That hole doesn't match the motor mount. Take a look at the differences here.
The other end is similarly "not quite the same".
Like last time, I have contacted the vendor, and I got new ball ends to build the rear swaybar links. We're still waiting for VBC to address the top deck issue.
So... the kit, is really good quality. parts wise. The ball ends, the shocks, the bulkheads, the arms, are all great. It seems that there's a lottery of what parts you actually get when you order the car.
If you want that aluminum chassis car, without paying the X-Ray tax, this is a valid choice, but know you're going to be spending some extra time completing the kit before you can run it.
On your previous blog post (the original Ghost 18, not the A version), you said you would review the car later. Will you do that? I'm interested in this car because I can justify its cost more than a $650 Xray T4'21. I like your blog. Many thanks, Mark
ReplyDeleteDang, I meant to add that an "A version" review would be my preference, but either will be fine. Best, Mark
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