Harry P.

Remember... do not post any clues or answers here. PM me with year, make and model.

The answer, and who got it right, coming FRIDAY!

Remember... do not post any hints or answers here. PM me with specific year, make and model.

The answer: 1963 Sabra Sport

This is the Lindberg 1/16 scale 1910 Model T "Torpedo." Here's the kit I started with:

Henry Ford didn't come up with his famous "any color as long as it's black" idea until much later–early Model Ts were actually available in several colors (red, dark green, dark blue, gray and black, depending on the specific model)… but to me a Model T should be black, so that's what I went with. The kit is very basic and simplified, so I added a few details that were missing.

I replaced the kit's dashboard/firewall with a scratchbuilt one, made of real wood, stained and varnished. I also added real wood floorboards and a scratchbuilt pedal surround and steering column collar. All of the "brass" trim on the firewall is strips of paper painted brass, the brackets connecting the upper and lower parts of the firewall are tiny trips of paper, all "bolt heads" are tiny brass nails (hull planking nails left over from a wooden ship kit).

I opened the doors by scribing them with the back side of my X-acto blade. The hinges are made of short lengths of aluminum tube, the hinge pins are more of those brass ship's hull planking nails. The doors really do open now, but I'm afraid the tiny hinges will break if I open and close them too often... so they stay closed! 

I also added the choke control from the dash to the carb. The interior "leather" panels were made by cutting pieces of sheet acetate to fit each interior panel (the area ahead of the doors and the doors themselves, then "sculpting" the leather by laying some Bondo onto the acetate panels and sort of swirling it around. Once the Bondo hardened, I smoothed down the surface with sandpaper, but left a little of the dips and bumps… so it sort of looks like slightly wrinkled or wavy leather. Then I painted the Bondo "leather" panels, popped them off the acetate (Bondo doesn't stick to acetate) and glued them in place. The tiny door latches were scratchbuilt, but they're so small you can hardly even see them on the finished model!

As usual with kits of cars from this era, the "brass" parts have that mirror-finish polished and lacquered look, like brass-colored chrome. That might be fine on a restored show car, but my guess is that most Model T owners didn't keep the brass on their cars in concours condition, so I did my usual trick of spraying all the brass parts with transparent black window tint to tone down the brass and give the parts some depth, then Dullcote over the top to get that look of natural, unpolished brass. In the photos below you can see that my technique on the brass-plated parts comes pretty close to the look of real, unpolished brass (which is what the straps on the gas tank are made of).

I sanded off the molded-in straps on the gas tank and replaced them with straps made of brass strip. I left them unpainted (they would have been painted body color on the real car). The kit glass was useless… it had swirl marks in the plastic, and it was way too thick… when you place it in the windshield frame it sticks out past the frame… sort of that "coke bottle glasses" look… so I used the kit pieces as templates to make new glass from a sheet of thin Lexan (actually leftover "glass" material from the London Bus I posted a while ago). As you can see, the windshield frames are very thin, there's not a whole lot of margin for error when fitting the glass! I "glued" the glass in place by running some Future into the joint between the edges of the "glass" and the frames.

The engine in the kit is very basic, only 4-5 parts in all. I added the lower radiator hose (not included in the kit) and some basic wiring. The radiator "hoses" are lengths of aluminum tube painted a reddish brown (per some reference photos), and the hose clamps are made of aluminum duct tape.

The tires were painted with automotive interior vinyl dye, and the seats, interior "leather" panels and convertible top boot were painted with acrylic craft paint (very dark gray), then sprayed with transparent black window tint, and finally Dullcote.

I'm looking for either of Pocher's Bugattis (T50 or T50 coupe). Doesn't have to be sealed, but must be complete and (mostly) unbuilt. The closer to unbuilt, the better.

I know they pop up on ebay every now and then, but I'd rather deal with a forum member if possible. If you have one, or know someone who has one, PM me.

Remember... do not post hints or answers here! PM me with specific year, make and model.

The answer: 1958 International A100