ronmac

https://mymic.rycote.com/devices/ you can search for best fit here

We have finally landed in "Used Car Lot" territory... "HURRY!!! Limited time offer! Tow, Push, Pull your smoking junker to the lot for a guaranteed trade in deal. Poor credit? No worries!"

That puts your gear in the drop zone. Low velocity breathes and vocalizatiobs will drop quickly, possibly a perfect arc towards your mic and boom. Yuck

A prolific Master has passed. One of my prized possessions is a signed copy of his biography. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53777949 I had to chuckle when I saw this photo of a "BoomOp" at work.

Watson Wu has recorded several car sounds for video games and has discussed his methods on his site and in blogs and interviews on several other sites. Start on his https://www.watsonwu.com/ site and explore from there.

This may help answer some of the questions

I agree that the picture shows it oriented the “wrong” way, but the holder can be easily removed from the clamp and reoriented the “correct” way, as you suggest. I have bought stage mic stands from well respected brands that have the boom arm oriented incorrectly, and always change to prevent the slow motion dive of a heavy mic.

Sunrise in Nova Scotia. Waiting for the lobster boats to leave the wharf to set their traps on the first day of the new season (2019.03.31). Capturing the thunderous noise as the boats race to the grounds with a MKH40/30 rig.

Are you able/willing to rent one of the new Sound Devices MixPre3/6/10? Seems like a perfect job for this new series of floating 32bit recorders.

You get what you pay for, in both examples.

Trew and B&H are both h showing $649USD

Male or female puppet?

My take and experience on the "modelling" mics is that they offer a wide palette of "simulated" flavours. A good analogy is flavoured potato chips. They all start with a rather neutral tasting chip and add a simulated flavour. They taste "like" the flavour added, but will never have the nuance of a proper combination of the two real foods (potatoes + dill, as an example) mixed and cooked together. You really do need to try before you buy. I'm not sure you will hear a world of difference between the TLM103 and MK4. You will hear a big difference, and have flexibility of choice, if

JP Gerard of NoHype Audio is a MBHO dealer who is very active on GS and responsive to questions. I am sure he can sort this for you. nohypeaudio@gmail.com

Personally, I would focus on getting the best protection you can get. Although this may yield a bigger rig than you want, the weight won’t be significant. I generally pack two systems, a medium shotgun (MKH60) and a MS pair (MKH30/40) in separate windshields. The weight is insignificant compared to the recorder, small tripod, cables and food/water. It all fits in a medium backpack. If you are going to hike for hours to get the sound, it is worth expending a little extra energy to make sure you get something useable,IMO.