Matt Bacon

Because they’re not necessarily flying objects but are undoubtedly aerial phenomena? Just guessing… best, M.

Been looking or one of these for a while, following an article by Jay Leno in a recent Octane and then watching the episode of his Garage featuring the beastie. This boxing of the kit includes many, if not all, of the optional parts from the various versions offered over the years. There's no mention of Yenko or the Stinger in the instructions, but the essential parts for a Monza or Stinger seem to be present and correct. The sail panels that extend the C-pillars and engine cover with spoiler and vents are two key features of the original, and there are "tuned" engine parts and extras for the cabin. Some elements are used in the build option that's described as "Rally" in the instructions, but you really just need to work from references and enjoy discovering how many of the bits you need are already in the box... One key difference between the '69 body in the box and the earlier 66 body used as the basis of the Stingers is that the later model has a lot more chrome trim. Here I've carved off the front end adornment, preparing for the much simpler, flatter nose of the earlier car. Milliput two part epoxy putty to fill the gap, because it's strong and sands really well. After first sanding and a bit of additional putty. Time to begin work on the chassis as well. best, m.

Somewhere in your menu settings, you will be able to get the mirror to lock up out of the way to have a look at the sensor. The mirror is only about seeing the image in the viewfinder, so if you have spots or hairs on your actual images, then they aren't on the mirror, they are on the sensor or in the lens. If they are blurry, like the ones you are showing, they are more likely on the lens than the sensor. A "puff duster" brush is your best friend for both. I have one that's a bit like a squeezy rocket/football shape blowing through a soft brush nozzle. Look at the front lens surface and back glass of the lens, and give it a puff clean. If that doesn't do it, lock the mirror up, turn your camera body down to face the floor, and puff dust the sensor behind the mirror so any contamination falls down and out... HTH, best, M.

Now this is a work of genius (or madness…) https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1449326 If it’s engineered as well as it’s finished, what a car for someone… In love it!!! best, M.

Looks absolutely spot on. Beautiful finish and as others have said, perfect for the believable scale “look”. Very nice detailing as well. On my grail kits list, and this has just reminded me why! best, M.

I have to say, for a 1/18, $300+ diecast, the representation of the engine set up in the pictures on the web site looks awful... best, M.

In terms of best fit to the needs I have and had at the time, hands down the Skoda Superb estate (wagon) I have now and have owned for a decade. Bought as a six month old demonstrator (so 40% off list new price) with about 3600 miles on it when the kids were 10 and 12. Huge boot for family holidays and vast load space with the seats down for taking kids to and from Uni. Biggest rear leg room in the VW-Audi group apart from the A8L, which came in handy as the older teenagers grew to 6ft or so. Built in Wolfsburg (while Golfs were built in the Skoda factory in Slovakia) so it is Audi quality throughout. Peppy 170 BHP torquey diesel and bomb-proof dual clutch robotised manual transmission for fast A-road fun and relaxed motorway cruising. As a demonstrator, fully loaded with options, most of which are useful rather than annoying with it being ten years old. And it has no less than two umbrellas embedded in the passenger door handles and air conditioned cooling directed through the glove box to stop your travel sweets melting or getting sticky… best, M.

@djmcguire mostly around the engine and to bring out the relief on the radiators, which is about the only bit you can see with the fairing on! The gold and blue/brown weld heat discolouration on the exhaust pipe are also metallic wax… best, M.

Take the blue pill, dude. You don't want to know how deep the rabbit hole goes... best, M.

BMW's extraordinary superbike. The main carbon frame weighs less than 8kg (20lbs), and the whole bike, fully fuelled and loaded with fluids only 180kg (400 lbs). It's a different sort of kit, with snap and screw construction (there's no glue in what you see here), moulded in various grades of ABS. Different paint finishes and some decals are pre-applied to the parts, including a very effective carbon weave done using the hydro-dipping technique. I've done some detail painting, and a very small amount of washing and weathering to make a few details pop, but the real things are very well looked after. Definitely as much "assembly" as modelling, it's been a blast to build, and I'll let the outcome speak for itself: best, M.

Package arrived from Indycals this morning with a set of 64/65 wide alloy wheels for the Tamiya Lotus 25, which make it look much cooler, IMHO; a set of decals for the Tamiya Alpine 442B 1978 Le Mans winner; and a set of Apple decals for the NuNu Porsche 935K3... best, M.

Fairing and final decals on: Going to pick out some detail painted bits and then it's time for beauty shots for Under Glass. best, M.

The last few parts together. The shiny BMW badges are beautifully printed metallised decals, so I'm leaving them until tomorrow to thoroughly set before attempting to fix the fairing parts to the bike. Final assembly and the last few decals tomorrow. best, M.

Not the best picture, but three parts, two decals: And then you put these bits together: And finally... Then here: So this is where we're at at the end of Day 8: All the best, M.

Just some pipework today, but it's more complicated than it might first look! The long pipe from the left lever goes to the fitting on top of the radiator, left of the filler cap in the picture above. The short pipe from the white reservoir goes to the fitting on the top front of the right lever assembly. The pipe connecting the right lever to the splitter pipe on the fork which then goes to the front brake callipers goes to a fitting underneath the right lever which points backwards. It is not easy to wiggle into place! The balancing cradle is earning its keep tonight... best, M.

Hi, David… looking good! Re the bonnet fit, I did a couple of things (both late in the build so they are probably still feasible. First I notched the corners of the base of the radiator so the lower edge could drop down a millimetre or two between the chassis rails, and secondly I filed a vertical slot in the hinge piece at the front (making the slot L shaped) and let the dash ends float in their mountings so they are only trapped when the top is on. The bonnet closes flush and stays up open, which is a win as far as I’m concerned. With the reinforcing plate I can see your interpretation… I put mine a bit (one corrugation) further forward, so the plate’s over the prop shaft universal joint and the point is over the tail end of the gearbox… best, M.

or this (the one I want to build) best, M.

Like this: best, M.

On to the coloured parts... Fuel tank is two nice silver parts and a black filler cap with pre-printed bolt detail... These are most of the pre-decalled detail parts based on white plastic. Very crisp, I'd say. First, the seat is attached to the tank (pull the towers on the rubber seat through the base part from the bottom while they are easily accessible), and then.... I've put this in because the white tank top and sides have big ejector towers that need cutting off. I'd also suggest that the screws that hold the sides on can be part screwed into the pillars on the top piece before you position the sides and torque them up for a permanent join. This is what the whole assembly should look like just before you try to fit it. And you end up with this... Make sure the top centreline hole for the screw that holds the front of the tank down is clear before trying to snug it into place. Although it's actually the last stage in the instructions, I figured that wheel stand would come in handy to hold the beast upright while the rest of construction was completed, so here it is... Don't forget the steering damper (two parts) or the single teeny tiny decal on the top fork yoke before progressing to the build of the fairing! ...which begins tomorrow. This is two days of work, thanks to the garden and holiday weekend, so this is where we are at the end of Days 5 and 6, best, M.

Does anyone do a conversion or separate add-ons to make a hardcore racing C1 Corvette out of a 1/24 Monogram or 1/25 Revell kit? Seems like the kind of thing R&MoM might have done… best, M.

Looks very sharp, David. I'm (sadly) glad that it's the kit that doesn't put the rear chassis-suspension location arms in the wrong place (ie they should actually join, rather than float), not just me! At the risk og sounding picky, I'm not sure that the transverse reinforcement plate across the transmission tunnel in the right place:

As promised, time to start on the front end: Basic parts. As you can see, the main tubes are slide moulded in one piece, which eliminates one of the few issues with the Ninja.... the seams between the front and back H-shaped pieces they used instead back then.The colours are very accurate, if a bit weird! The single piece wheel carrier is beautifullly detailed and crisp. At the far right, you'll see a tiny cylinder with what look like crenellations, which is the reservoir on the wheel carrier at the left. Just like the golden inner damper tubes, the sprue gates for the part actually only go into the flat mounting face, so you can remove them without affecting the visible surface colour at all. Just another example of really thoughtful tooling design. And together. This image exaggerates the mould parting line on the tubes: it's not that visible at all. As you can see. I decided that putting the detail decals on now would be a lot easier than after the whole thing was assembled! Control levers -- five parts each, including a teeny-tiny handgrip end cap on the assembled one above. These will get some detailing on the bolts etc. Ready to fit. Do not put them on backwards 😜 Another subassembly completed. That's the end of Day 4. Tomorrow the fuel tank and seat bring some colour to the proceedings. Oh, and one last thing... Hard to resist a test fit! best, M.

The TR4A is also relatively easy to get hold of, and up to the same standards, as is the Mercedes 280SL… though that one will cost you a fair bit more if you ever find one! best, M.

Just beautiful. Flawless paint and detailing… which is what such an icon deserves. Love the backdrop, too… best, M.

OK... very bad news. I think I'm going to have to declare this kit unbuildable. I've discovered some.... flash In case you're having trouble spotting it, I've circled the offending area. That leakage around the sprue gate is... unacceptable. 😜 Seriously, this is the only sign of a moulding issue anywhere in the kit. I forgot to take any pictures of the radiator built but off the bike. There's a water and oil radiator, a four part frame, and a couple of hoses. I washed the radiator matrix to reveal the texture, but goodness knows where you'll be able to see it from with the fairing on! More of those nice etched parts for the front wheel. Those discs are in a different league from the one at the back! Shorter session today, so that's the end of Day 3. Forks are next on the agenda, with some rather nice slide moulding on show... best, M.