Reviews - Nifeliz Sby GT50 Muscle Car Building Kit and Engineering Toy

My father is a big muscle car fan, who was born in the 1960s. The muscle cars’ booming period was just his whole childhood. Influenced by him, I also became a muscle car fan. For my father's birthday last month, I bought a muscle car for him. Of course, not the real car. The real car was beyond my reach, I chose a model car building kit. And I bought two colors, the blue one was for my father and the red one for myself.

Hi, guys. Welcome back to our blog. This is Alex from Nifeliz team. Nifeliz's sets are not Lego, but compatible.

Today, we are going to review a muscle car building kit, and this should be an elaborate car model building set for the persons who are technic car building fans or car model collection enthusiasts or muscle car fans. First of all, let's get to know something about its details.

-Set Details-

This product is called Nifeliz Sby GT50 Muscle Car Building Kit and Engineering Toy, which consists of 2814 pieces. From the set name and the car model picture on the box, it is not hard for us to know that this car model is a replica of the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. As a muscle car fan, I can't move my eyes away from its classic muscle car type appearance. And the recommended age is 16 and up showed on the box.

OK, it is time for us to open the box and look at what there are in it. An instruction book, a sticker sheet and the whole bunch of component bags.

Let me count the bags, there are a total of 26 component bags except the hubs and tires and three bags of fasteners of the car model. 

-Completion-

As a muscle car fan, I couldn't wait a minute to start to build this Nifeliz Sby GT50 Muscle Car Building Kit and Engineering Toy after I received the package. With around 10 hours’ hard work, I completed it. Look, it was really a monster with such an aggressive face standing over there.

During the whole building process, I found two steps that we needed to pay attention to and make a bit of adjustment. The first one was the 34th step. When we built the pistons, the technic bush 1/2 smooth with axle hole should be placed on the top of the technic axle, thus the pistons’ movement would be obvious when the car model was moved manually.

And the second one was the 245th step. The technic connector of the snake logo on the rear part should be inserted into the car model body at its 1/2 depth or the rear part panels’ build would be affected in the following steps.

The completed car model is 18in in length, 8.5in in width and 4.5in in height. It is almost in the height of my cellphone. This 1:10 scale Nifeliz Sby GT50 Muscle Car model is in the right size to show every details.

Every brick connects tightly and won't fall off easily even though I shake or press the car model.

The whole color scheme of this muscle car model is red, black and white, which is very classic. After we affix the racing strips stickers, it becomes its racing version. We can imagine how cool the real car is on the race track.

This car model was placed on my car model shelf, and it was so cool and harmonious with the whole environment. Staring at this muscle car model, I felt so accomplished and satisfied. 

-About Muscle Cars and 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500-

I became a muscle car fan because my father loved the muscle cars so much. I was always inculcated the knowledge of the muscle cars by him.

Muscle cars look insane. They are really aggressive and some have such cool liveries and stripes on them too. They are beloved by so many people because of their big power, classic styling, and storied past. Muscle cars originated in the 1950s. The economy recovered gradually after the World War II, the auto industry's development was also improved rapidly. And the 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 was cited as the first full-sized muscle car which was the first time to be tucked a powerful engine into a small and light body style. 

The popularity and performance of muscle cars grew in the early 1960s, as Mopar (Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler) and Ford battled for supremacy in drag racing. Although muscle cars sold in relatively small volumes, manufacturers valued the halo effect of the publicity created by these models. Competition between manufacturers led to a horsepower war that peaked in 1970 with some models advertising as much as 450 hp (336 kW).

The popularity of muscle cars declined from the early 1970s due to factors including the Clean Air Act, the fuel crisis and increasing insurance costs. The 1973 oil crisis resulted in rationing of fuel and higher prices of muscle cars.

Muscle car's performance began a resurgence in the early 1980s. And the later 1990s till now is the period of muscle car recovering. As Chrysler announced Dodge Viper and received great successes,  the muscle-car type super car brought back the memory of the muscle car. Thus many auto manufacturer giants began the revival plan of muscle car to ride the nostalgic muscle car tide.

Ford Motor Company was one of those giant auto manufacturers, and the first Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 arrived in 1967, which was one of the Ford Mustang classic muscle car types. 

The new 2020 Shelby GT500 is a world apart from its predecessors while still retains all of their best attributes of muscle cars. It has available wide fender flares, prominent functional hood scoops,  and it has a 5.2-liter V8 engine with a 2.65-liter roots-type Eaton supercharger generating a whopping 760 horsepower and 625 lb-ft of torque. The supercharged 5.2-liter aluminum alloy engine reaching to 7500 rpm with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is built by hand. To keep the intake air cooler and deliver a lower center of gravity, the engineers invert a 2.65-liter supercharger with air-to-liquid intercooler tucked neatly in the V8 engine valley. 

It is good for a 3.5-second rip to 60 mph and an 11.0-second quarter-mile. The GT500 is with significantly less power but more rear grip. Of course, it's not all about straight-line performance. On a race track, the GT500 snaps off raucous shifts and sounds every bit as menacing as it is. And Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires are standard, but it's the optional Cup 2 tires that transform the GT500 into an apex-hunting machine. While it's heavy with an estimated curb weight of 4200 pounds, the GT500 corners with confidence and turns in without hesitation. The massive Brembo brakes hold up nicely to track abuse, with no evidence of fade.

-Features-

After I shared the information about the muscle cars and the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, are you also very excited with the 2020 Shelby GT500 like me? Yes, then let's take an intensive look at its replica, the Nifeliz Sby GT50 Muscle Car Building Kit, and appreciate the detailed features.

First of all, on the whole, this Nifeliz model car is an aesthetic modified version of 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 with an aggressive look, simple and elegant lines, cool track-version stripes and strong muscle-car feeling. 

Then, let's look at the front end of this car model, which is the part that I like most. The wide open upper and lower grilles, the special silver snake logo and the pre-facelift headlights make this car model a very savage look and add its  muscle car features. This part well copies the real muscle car's squared-off aesthetic.

Looking closely, three oblique white transplant plastic tubes are held by three transparent fasteners, and a round yellow transparent piece is pinned next to them. These two parts make up of a headlight of the car model. The white transplant part seems like the white part of an eye and the yellow part can be the eyeball. Taking a look from a distance, it seems that the eyes on the two sides of the car model look piercingly at the front place before its nose. Compared with the real car's headlights, they can primely reveal the origin design of the real ones.

Moving our eyes to the middle of this car model’s front end, no matter the upper and lower grilles or the  prominently displayed silver snake logo are well designed. The silver snake logo is fastened by a black connector inserted into the car model. For the real car, those wide open grilles give the car better cooling and air taking in.

And down further, the bumper lip or front shovel of this car model is composed of two bevel black panels and a technic liftarm 1*11 straight. The front shovel of the real car can protect it from scratching and add the downforce for the car body.

Now let’s look at the hood of this car model. There are two trace strips which extend to the trunk cover. And the oblong protuberant part represents the louvered vent of the real car, I guess. On the real car hood, the louvered vent is the largest one in any Ford ever.

Besides, the two black technic pins on the hood of the car model may stand for the hood pins of the real car. For the real car, the hood pins are very necessary to make sure the hood is stable at speed.

The hood of this car model is designed with a half-opened function. When we half open the hood, the automotive electrician part of this model shows. To be honest, this seems a redundant design.

With the hood opened entirely, there is a long black technic axle, which should be the hood support rod of this car model. This hood support rod can be folded when it is unneeded.

Beneath the hood of the car model, there is a device made up of some black and light gray technic liftarms and technic connectors. This device may stand for the aluminum rain tray of the real car underneath the hood vent. If the aluminum rain tray of the real car is removed, the under-hood pressure can be reduced largely.

Now the most important and shocking thing of the car model under the hood unveils, the simulated V8 engine. There is a red snake logo on the engine like the real car engine with a silver snake logo. The supercharged engine of the real car empowers it 760 horsepower and 625 lb-ft of torque.

The pistons can move when the car model is moved manually. If we keep moving the car model, the different pistons will go up and down because of the engine linkage. It's really amazing.

Between the engine and the front wheels, we can see clearly the front suspensions of this car model. There are two strut suspensions with two strong springs beside each wheel of the car model. With this suspension system, it must be very safe and comfortable to drive it if this were a real car, I suppose.

Behind the engine, two light gray gears and two red gears connect with each other to realize the steering wheel and front wheels’ turning linkage. How incredible and magical it is!

Finished with the front part, let's look at the car model from the side. The muscle car's characteristic sporty exterior and shining hubs make it so cool and it seems ready to run with a roar.

The electroplating hubs are the most eye attracting parts on the side view of this car model, which look like the silver sunflowers from a distance. The rear wheels are a little bit larger than the front wheels, same with the real car. 

One amazing thing about the front wheels is that they can be turned right and left when we turn the steering wheel of this car model.

The panels of the fenders are designed so well with the same arc shape of the wheels, adding this car model more muscle feeling.

The door of this car model can be opened and closed manually. When we open and close the door, we need lift it up a little bit, thus it can be opened and closed smoothly. The door of this car model almost can be opened at the same angle degree with the real car.

The side view mirrors represented by the transparent plates are designed on the door, which can be moved to adjust the angle like the real ones.

Under the door, the side skirts of this car model are black panels, which are inserted into the car body at one end and pined with two buckles in the middle and at the other end. The end pined by buckle is not so stable in horizontal direction, but it is still acceptable for me.

Now look at the rear part of this car model, it has the muscle cars'stubby rear part. The silver snake logo and silver exhausts make the rear part attractive. We can imagine the picture when the real Shelby GT500 passes by leaving us its back side view.

In the very middle, the silver snake logo is pined by a black buckle. Under the logo, there should be the place for a license plate if this was a real car.

There are two silver exhausts on each side of the rear end of this model car. Looking at this doubled exhausts, we may imagine the roaring and the tail gas from the exhausts when the real car runs on the racing track.

And three black and four red transparent plates combine together to form the rear lights of this car model, which can well show the shape design of the real car rear lights.

Move our eyes to the rear wing of this car model, which consists of some black technic liftarms and panels. And the angle of it can be adjusted like the real one, but the rear wing of the real car is hand craft with small hole on underside for condensation drainage.

With the exterior part completed, it's time for the interior part of this car model. The simulated interior part forces me to think about what the feeling it is if I could drive it.

When the door opens, the things catching our eyes firstly are the simulated front seats. These two seats have the classic color scheme of red and black and the angle can be adjusted. There are more functions designed for the real car seats, which can be heated automatically and changed to normal seats when the car is on the city roads if necessary.

In front of the driver's seat is the steering wheel, which is also a simulation of the real one with a snake logo sticker in the middle. When this steering wheel turns, the front wheels of the car model will also turn right or left. The leather and Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel of the real car can also be heated automatically.

In front of the steering wheel, two round light gray plates and one rectangular black plate combine together standing for the instrument board, I think. If the instrument board can be designed much more accurately, it would be better.

Under the steering wheel, one U-shaped light gray plate represents the gas pedal and one rectangular dark gray plate stands for the break pedal. They look so real that I even want to try them.

On the right side of this car model's driver seat, there is a round light gray plate to represent the rotary gear shifter in its center console. For the real car, the computer programs for different types of driving and paddle shifters are mounted on the steering wheel if the driver wants to take over.

Above the rotary gear shifter, a simulated sticker is used to represent the infotainment screen and two round light gray bricks and three black bricks stand for the music and air-conditioner control buttons. The sticker can show the infotainment screen precisely, I like this design.

And above the center console, a rectangular transparent and a rectangular black bricks combine together to get a rear view mirror, which is inserted into the roof of this car model with a black pin. And this rear view mirror can be rotated to see different back directions like the real one. Good design.

Finally, when we turn over the car model, we can see clearly the suspension system and the rotational structure of the whole car model. If we turn the steering wheel, the gears rotate accordingly and drive the front wheels turning and then the back wheels turn accordingly. The huge project of movement linkage is just awesome.

-The Blue Car Model-

After my father received his birthday present and I shared my completed model with him, he couldn't help with his excitement and wanted to start to build the Nifeliz Sby GT50 Muscle Car Building Kit and Engineering Toy as soon as possible. He finished it within two days as he had plenty of time after he retired.

When I saw the blue car model, compared with the red car model giving people the passionate and dynamic feeling, this color scheme of the appearance was also very cool and gave me a feeling of serenity and low profile. But there is a wild and ferocious power under its low profile appearance.

My father and I stored each other's car model in our own homes. When we communicated with each other, I found that we both enjoyed the process of build and satisfied with the completed car model. And we both liked to display the Nifeliz Sby GT50 Car Building Kit car model on our shelves.

-Summary-

All in all, the Nifeliz Sby GT50 Muscle Car Building Kit and Engineering Toy fits you no matter you are the muscle car fans, brick toy fans or the car model collection enthusiasts. This car model  is with classic muscle car appearance and fun building process. Especially, the Father's Day of this year is around the corner, you can buy it as a present to give your father because this set is equipped with an exquisite box.

Furthermore, no matter the red or the blue car model, their display on the shelf or in the cabinet is a cool and showing-off decor at your home. My father and I really enjoy them.

Here are the links to get these two sets.

Nifeliz Sby GT50 Muscle Car On Amazon (Red)

Nifeliz Sby GT50 Muscle Car On Amazon (Blue)

And for more interesting builds, click the link below. 

Nifeliz Official Amazon Shop

So thank you for reading, guys. I hope this review was a help. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

Bye-bye. Adios.