Does the Optima Mid box body exist?

[SteveMax]

Hi all,
I'm working on restoring an Optima Mid and wondering if the body on the box actually exists. Looking at images on the web, the only body I see (as a repro and on original vintage Mids) is the Turbo Optima Mid and Turbo Optima Mid SE body.
If you look closely at the regular Mid box art, you notice the regular Mid and Turbo Mid(s) had different bodies... So, was the regular Mid body ever produced?

[SteveMax]

This is the box body:

This is the body you see everywhere (from ended eBay auction). This is the same as Turbo Mid(s):

Notice the difference - shape of the side window, the missing louvers behind the window, the box body appears to be a bit longer on the sides (less clearance near the rear shocks), etc.

If anyone has ever tried doing an exact boxart Mid, its quite a challenge to get the stock decals to fit the same way as the box.

[SteveMax]

Turbo Mid:

Regular Mid (again):

[XLR8]

That's an interesting question Steve and I'm curious to hear what others have to say. Don't the manuals for all similar Mids refer to the same body and wing part numbers (OT-106, OT-107)?

Anyway, I've notice a differences between the Turbo Ultima's box art body and what is probably accepted as the production version.
I seem to recall that both the Optima Mid and Turbo Ultima were first editions in the series and that Kyosho was cranking these new models out several times a year. I'm guessing Kyosho might have sent these to a professional painter and considering the lead time necessary to perfectly paint and detail the body suitable for box art, could it be that, in the rush to finish the packaging ahead of the release date, the painter received an early pre-production version of the body? It's certainly just speculation.
If someone does have a Mid or TU body that exactly matches the box art, that might be a very rare thing indeed.
Sorry I don't have an answer, I'm just rambling on about something I know very little about. Maybe someone with more info will chime in.

[SteveMax]

Yes, the manuals for all the SWB versions are the same - OT-106

I'm thinking the same thing ... must be very rare - perhaps the only 1 in existence is on the box. I just never noticed until i was trying to restore mine. With the knowledge on this site, was hoping someone might know.

[terry.sc]

No, that body shouldn't exist in the wild. The bubble in the side window is to clear the MSC fitted to the Mid. The only time you'll see a Kyosho body without the bubble is in preproduction images.