Matt Bacon

I think they were all originally tooled up as “tuner parts” in specific boxings of JDM kits. There are some that are pretty extreme, and others that can be more easily adapted. I’m glad I have them as a starting point, but whenever I’ve gone to think about using them, it’s felt like it would be a lot of work for the mods I have in mind… beat, M.

Inspired by another recent build, I remembered I'd got one of these in the stash. Revell's older Alpina Roadster kit is based on the BMW Z8 that has recently been re-issued in James Bond form, but it comes with the bespoke Alpina wheels and a hard top rather than the raised hood in the base kit. When I searched online for Alpina Roadsters, I found one in a very distinctive BMW "Hellrot" that had been sold by Sotheby's from a Dubai collection that got me thinking.... (If you want one, there are also plenty on "Bring a Trailer" for s lot less than the half million dollars the Dubai car sold for...) For a kit that's a couple of decades old, Revell's offering is pretty impressive. There's very little engine detail, but that's no bad thing given that the Alpina engine is completely different from the original Z8 version, optimised for a relaxed GT rather than a sports car. The visible changes for a curbside are in the kit (roof, steering wheel, wheels) and the fit is excellent. It's a bit nerve-wracking getting the inside into the body, which wraps around and tucks under it. I'd highly recommend fitting the cockpit tub into the body first and letting it set in place, and then adding the chassis underside separately. Leave off the exhaust and rear suspension until you've got the chassis in place, and add the rear valance with exhausts last. This is the look I was going for: I'm pretty impressed by how well Revell nailed it... best, M.

OK, this is pretty much it for the workbench thread. Beauty shots in Under Glass over the weekend, I reckon... best, M

I think this compares pretty well to the Sotheby's real life shot above. I need to settle the front suspension a little, but overall, not bad, Revell. The hardtop and windscreen are only clipped in place, but I'm pretty impressed by how well they fit, and meet, even like this. Getting the interior and chassis in position was nerve=wracking, but actually worked well doing the tub first, settling it in, and then doing the chassis then fitting the rear suspension and exhaust. I think leaving the rear valance off at this stage helped a lot as well. Only one real "gotcha" here, and that's the brakes. The rear wheels are fine, and the cut-outs on the axles set the callipers in the right place, at the 3 o'clock position. You can get it wrong by 180 degrees, but if you know they go at the back there's no problem. The fronts are a different story. For some reason, Revell has got the callipers 90 degrees rotated from the cutouts, which means that OOB the callipers can only fit at the top or bottom of the disk. I drilled out the interior tab, leaving a circular hole, which meant I could orient them as I pleased when gluing them in place. If you're planning one of these, then check the fit of all the brake disks before you assemble the wheels and drill out the hole whilst you can get a firm grip on the disk. It'll be a lot easier. (I wondered if I'd confused the disk parts, but the rears are different from the fronts, with a deeper hub to allow for the extra width of the rear wheels. So I could only have mixed up the the front L and R, which wouldn't solve the 90 degree offset.) Now it's quite mucky, but in more or less one piece. I've left it atop the marble cakestand while the wheels all set solid with all four corners on the floor. best, M.

That's most of the body details done. Things like the mirrors and lights will come at the end: there's some wrestling to do to get the interior and chassis inside the very "tucked-under" body work, and I want as little to break off as possible!! Everything is painted, but the exhaust and rear suspension are only dry fitted. I'll remove them while I fit the chassis into the body to keep them safe from some wiggling and firm pressing, which I'm sure will be necessary. Cabin fully assembled. If I was doing another one, I'd leave the seats out and the roll hoops off until after I'd fitted the cabin inside the body, because it would be easier to slide it up and in at a shallower angle. They'll go in perfectly well from above once the tub is in place. Revell's instructions would have you build the entire rolling chassis with suspension and wheels in place and the cabin attached, and then stretch the body over the whole thing to to enclose it. I think I'm going to take a leaf out of an online reviewer's build and change the sequence. My plan is to fix the cabin into the body, then add the chassis trapping the front suspension and steering rack and closing the bottom of the body, and finally add the rear suspension and exhaust and then the wheels. I'm just waiting for the glue on the lights to cure for 24 hours before final assembly can begin -- I don't want the headlight clusters coming loose and falling irretrievably into the body when I start flexing everything to get it together. Wish me luck! best, M.

I must admit, before this, I'd only ever heard of the Hornet. But my research took me to a 1952 Hudson brochure, and I was amazed by how many different cars were in the model line up. I can see that the economics of having that many different products to manage must have been pretty challenging. From the consumer point of view it must have been pretty confusing, especially since as I'm sure we all proved attempting this quiz, they don't really look that different! best, M.

I thought this one would progress reasonably quickly... Nice detail parts. The decals for the dash had to be trimmed of carrier film to get them to settle into the dials, and a coat of Citadel 'ardcoat provided a glass effect as well has pulling them down snugly. I had to print a few Alpina badges since the decals were really crude, but they look OK on the wheels and steering boss. The BMW roundels on the fender grilles are from a brilliantly printed metal "emblem set" which I have had for donkey's years. They are supposed to be self adhesive, but after a couple of failed attempts to peel them off the backing, I just soaked them like decals, except for longer, until they came free, and glued them in place with a dab of Formula 560 transparent white glue. The grilles were all stripped of chrome, painted black, and then rechromed with an AK pen. A couple more BMW badges looking very sharp. I've used Citadel dark red wash in the panel lines to emphasise them without too stark a contrast. Windshield painted and the underside making progress. The "heat shielding" is textured foil paper from a cigarette packet, which has been waiting to "come in handy" for a long time. But this is the perfect application. The seat logo decals were the wrong colour, and fell apart, so I've had to hand paint the little red "checks", but they add a little more interest to the black backpads. Cabin ready for final assembly. And this is the state of play. Not shown... some suspension parts and the windscreen wipers which are painted black and drying, and the wing mirrors and lights, which are waiting to be attached. best, M.

Those are superb. Beautiful builds of genuinely classic kits. Having done just the one (the Cabriolet), I know how much work goes into getting a single one completed (and I hear you on the brittle plastic...). never mind the full set of three! On the other hand, they are superb kits, designed and engineered by people who really cared about these cars, so they fully do justice to the prototypes. Your color choices and detailing are outstanding, and that rear-compartment picture of the Town Brougham is to die for. Does the wicker lacquer body treatment on the Brougham come as decals, or have you done that yourself? Looks fabulous, whatever... Well done indeed! best, M.

Inspired by another build on a Bond car theme, I remembered I had the "Alpina" version of the BMW Z8 in the stash. I didn't much like the OOB colour scheme, but this one took my eye doing some research: https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/df24/lots/r0030-2003-bmw-alpina-roadster-v8 Much more fun than sophisticated dark blue, say I... Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red looks close enough to BMW Hellrot, which sounds painful... It's not a Blitzbau, but it's a nice curbside kit that builds pretty quickly... Without an engine to worry about, and with very well-molded interior details coupled with very comprehensive decals, I'm expecting this one to come together pretty quickly. We shall see... best, M.

Thanks, guys… the thing that really surprised me is how small and neatly styled is. I’ve not really had chance to compare one in real life, and in pictures I’ve just assumed it was as big as other US cars of the period. But I put it up against the Revell Foose 65 Impala and it’s tiny! It’s actually similar in size to the 1/25 E-Type in the cabinet… I’m sure they got bigger over the years but the 67-68 models are real petite design classics, IMHO… best, M.

That looks fantastic, in a mean-looking Sci-Fi way. Beautiful detail painting on the inside and the overall finish is to die for… Brilliant photography as well. I love it. best, M.

The AMT 1967 and 1968 kits combined, with @Snake45s suggested modifications. The kit is a bit dated, but the scrubs up very well with the aid of @Snake45s improvements and online reference (RK Motors have sold a LOT of 68 Camaro restorations and restomods....) best, M.

I think to really be able to tell you need to put a block of black foam to fill the glasshouse, and stand well back and zoom in with the camera. As it is, the line of the nearside window is hard to see because of the “view through” of the far side. Standing further away will reduce the fish-eye distortion of the camera lens and give you something more directly comparable with the real car picture. best, M.

That looks great, Rich. Beautiful finish and detailing, and that’s one of the best later ‘vette color schemes. I thought this was one of the best Revell auto kits I’ve built… best, M.

Busy evening yesterday and some final touches today... Time to clean it up and then beauty shots for Under Glass tomorrow... best, M.

Probably on the home stretch now... The "wood" was worth doing: I think it does add interest and a touch of pizzazz to an otherwise dark cabin. But the center console is especially hard to see! It took a bit of wiggling and a few nerve-wracking moments, but the chassis, cabin and body do all fit together! It's definitely worth following the instructions and fixing the cabin in the body before adding the chassis. The rear view mirror is an MCG etch part, made up of four pieces folded and glued together. I used the bigger Polyglas L60-15 tyres on the rear wheels for a bit more street attitude and I'm happy with the stance. It means I have another "big n small" pairing for a different muscle car as well... Just a few small details left and the decals now. best, M.

Got some chrome work done: The rear window is BMF, the rest of the window trim is chrome pen. The grille is SMS Hyperchrome over Tamiya Gloss Black. Gratuitous engines, because these pictures are actually in focus. I've made a coil (which is where the loose end goes), and I need to run a lead from the starter to the battery. Since both the coil and battery live on the body rather than the chassis, I'll add the wire at this end, but final connection will have to wait until the final assembly stage. Anybody know where the coil goes on a period Camaro? Modern/restomod ignition setups seem to be fitted in the top of the firewall, more or less where the heater plenum is on this one. I'm assuming on the firewall behind the distributor, or as close as fits, but if anyone knows for sure... I've used some of the etch pieces from the Model Car Garage set I bought for the badges and scripts for the interior . Making four tiny window winders each from three pieces of increasingly small etch was a barrel of laughs, I tell you... The pedals are a big improvement on the kit efforts, big being the operative word. And as you can see, I decided on the wood trim option, just to give some added interest in the all-black interior. The dash details are quite nice (though having now gone for the wood some of the sliver trim needs revisiting). The later issue of the two kits has got gauge decals, which are very handy. The Citadel 'ardcoat gloss varnish hasn't dried in these pictures, hence the slightly milky look, but it will end up crystal clear and pull the decals down over the molded detail as it dries. best, M.

Slow but steady progress... Engine's completed apart from decals. Cabin under way, in shades of black. Detail painting in the engine bay. I'm glad those extra bits were in the box! I'm sure one will fit inside the other... best, M.

There this version that sits on the bench on a heavy base: https://a.co/d/1TvwCQc (Amazon.com link, shortened so it isn’t showing a preview) best, M.

Me too: I made a couple of “grippers” with foam pads on T-section aluminium that fit into the PCB “jaws”… Best, M.

I can believe it… but does an asymmetric fan really make that much difference to the “noise” when it’s hanging off the front of a 302ci VB with an exhaust system that is consciously not working hard to hush up the “thrumble” as you wind it up? I would have thought too that a bit of fine tuning of the shape of the fan cowl and the distance between the fan and back face of the radiator would have solved any resonance issues as quickly as chopping a couple of blades out of the fan… best, M.

Triggered by building a '68 Camaro with a 302.... why is the cooling fan "3-blades-gap-2-blades-gap"? Does it do something to balance the engine? Or provide a cycle of a bit more and then a bit less cooling? The kit parts are clearly a replica of the real thing, rather than just short-shot, so I'd love to know what the engineering reason for it is... I think I've only ever seen it on this Camaro and a Corvette. Everything else I've built has had evenly-distributed blades (admittedly with anything between 4 and 12 of them...) which I assume makes for smoother operation and consistent stress/wear on the bearings... best, M.

Personally, I’ve always thought there’s a lack of clarity on what constitutes a “Model building Q&A” and “Tips, Tricks and Tutorials”. Any Q that starts “How do I…?/“What’s the best way to..?” usually has an A made up of tips, tricks and tutorials… On the other hand, the How do I? questions are mixed in with “Which kit has this engine? Or “Does anybody make a kit of..?” Questions. I’d like to see a “Techniques, Tips and Tutorials”section covering everything to do with building and finishing a model, and a “Kit and Hobby Q&A” covering off everything to do with kit or part availability, hobby history, model memorabilia and all of that build-adjacent stuff… best, M.

I've stripped all the heavy chrome (mostly because the bumpers have really bad mold lines OOB, so they have to be cleaned up) These have been repainted with SMS Hyperchrome over GS Ueno Black gloss, and the light lenses made with crystal clear 2-part epoxy. Proscale Le Mans Blue with their own 2K clear coat. I need to get used to it some more, but the color is accurate, and the 2K is thinner and more period-appropriate-looking than Zero Paints 2K "Diamond"finish, although it's not as easy to get a glass-smooth finish with... Distributor drilled and wired with Tamiya detailing wire... ...and after some online research into 1969 Chevrolet 302 firing sequence, the "plugs" are connected... best, M.

With thanks to @Quiet Eric for advice, I have filled the cut through the lower chrome trim line: That lower strip is actually a single piece which is covers the panel seams. I've decided on a '68, which means I've also softened the higher character line on the door and lower body. On the 67, it's the top edge of the separate chrome trim, but on the 68 it's a raised fold in the door panel, and much less clearly delineated. That looks much more like my reference images from RK Motors, and the hood fits after a bit of slimming down to allow for paint. I've started work on the engine. Thinned the belt (L) vs the out of the box part. It's not the most finely-molded or sophisticated engine, but it looks OK OOB. The seats are accurate for a specific set of options - DeLuxe seats with headrests. There's only one color for a '68 Camaro. (Obviously, there are lots of colors for a 68 Camaro and its stripes, but there was only ever one combo in my mind...) And finally... I've been thinking that I was going to need to scratch build _some_ firewall detail, because OOB it's very unimpressive. But then I noticed these parts on one of the sprues. I checked, and they aren't mentioned in the instructions of either the AMT 67 kit I have or the Round2 reissue I'm building which is described as a 68 Z/28. But these look very like a brake booster/master and the heater blower fairing, and... something else. So I'm going to use them! It seems odd that they are lurking there and no one has noticed them, but I'm not complaining! best, M.