Budmaniak

Hey there, I received back some information that I suppose helps clear this up. First, I did hear back from my council on this and they basically said that if it's an official BSA "kit" then it can be used for the requirement it says it is allowed to be used for. However, that was not as cut and dry as what the National Merit Badge Subcommittee wrote back: So, the official word on this says that merit badge requirements need to be followed as they are written. If it says "no kits" then that means no kits. Hope this is helpful.

Hello. New the forum. I'm hoping someone can help me figure out if BSA Blastcars can really be used as a model project for the Model Design and Building merit badge. This is what the description for the BSA Blastcar says at the Scoutshop and everywhere else on the internet: https://www.scoutshop.org/blastcar-racer-car-kit-613152.html "This activity can be used toward requirements for Model Design & Building, Woodworking and Wood Carving merit badges." Sounds great, but then when you look at the requirements for the Model Design and Building merit badge I see that requirement #4e says "Build a model of an actual passenger-carrying vehicle to a scale of 1" = 1'0" or ½" = 1'0" (10:1 or 25:1 Metric)." But if you look at requirement #3 it says: "select a subject from requirement 4 for your model project (no kits). Prepare the necessary plans to the proper scale..." So, essentially the requirement is specifically saying you cannot use a kit. Isn't the BSA Blastcar, in fact, a kit? Or is it not considered a kit because it's just a block of wood like the Pinewood Derby car, even though it comes with wheels and axels? https://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Model_Design_and_Building