sports850

The trailer now loaded with some of the older mini builds , I was given an incomplete (what is it with people and incomplete kits ) Fruehauf trailer kit (the one with the rolls of steel on the trailer) so built as per the directions to this stage before working out where to cut the chassis as I wasn't sure how it would look till the suspension sub units were installed , Working out where to cut to make it into the front trailer of a B-double combo , The trailer cut before being filed and finished , rear of trailer mostly finished , rear bumper and lights were put on after this photo , B-double combo together , it's about 1.3 meters long now , going to have to build it's own case as it no longer fits in the cabinet it was in .... and with a temporary deck (there wasn't a deck with the kit when I got it so it was a good starting point to cut down to the B-double trailer ) on it so it can carry the mini monster truck that's under construction and minuki for a photo . I still need to move the turntable forward a bit to make it sit more realistic . Finally found the Mini Experience decals , the Mini Experience is an Australian mini magazine so this build became a mythical Mini Experience roadshow type deal . Watto is the owner/editor of the magazine and there is a long running joke of people getting photo's of Watto from behind and posting them in a "spotted" thread on a mini forum which really ticks him off so I had to get a figure bending over that will be painted as Watto ... I showed him the photo's last week and he loved it , until he saw the figure :D Now , should it stay as a B-double or should it be a B-triple ....

The trailer approaching completion , the colour is deeper in person , just the camera flash wiped a lot of the colour Wheels from Auslowe too , and finally a mockup with 8 mini\'s on it , now waiting for more time to finish it , still needed to spray more flat red on the top traier deck then detail the hydraulic rams etc . Prime mover all but finished (was trying to find the decals I had misplaced ...) Just cannot get the passenger side windscreen wiper to sit straight

Hi everyone , I only found this forum a couple of days ago and thought I'd post some pics of my long running Volvo build . This all came about as trying to find a way of displaying some of my older mini builds and also as a post separation project to occupy my time/hands . this is my first ever truck build and as such the sheer size of it was a bit daunting and there were quite a few gaps in inspiration and enthusiasm along the way but it's nearly finished now after more than 18 months (unless I decide to turn it into a B-triple ....) . This started when my local hobby shop was having a 30% off sale so I came back with some more mini's (no surprise there) and the Vovlo , Then I did a swap wiwth someone on another forum for a part built but incomplete car carrier trailer , quick mock up to see how many mini's I could fit on it , I didn't realise the size and number of body panels compared to a car model , it's taken about 3 times the amount of paint so far that a car would use and the trailer even more Right hand drive dash by an Australian truck model modification company (Auslowe) The prime mover sat in this almost completed state for a few months while I did other things and worked on the trailer .

Basher , That'd be great if you could give more details , my attempts at extending bodies so far have been woeful ... If you ever copy and cast that body I'd be keen for a couple . 62Rebel , yes , an Italian Job dio is definitely on the cards here too , but I want to build the bus to go with it .... No idea if or when that will happen as my scratch building skills aren't up to it yet but I can still plan for now . Eric , that's a sweet looking build , you guy's have definitely motivated me to drag the Revell kit out now and have another look at it . The hotwheels looks great too , I haven't tried to repaint one of them yet but was seriously thinking of the flamed yellow one for a full sized colour scheme for a while . Joe , I have a really early version of the Tamiya front wheel drive car , the front suspension is a horizontal spring right across the top of the front so instead of one front wheel rising independently one wheel goes up and the other is pushed down . It works well in some situations but others causes massive wheelspin . They are a hell of a lot of fun though and handle abuse well . I also have the Kyosho .049 rwd mini (1992 or thereabouts) , very fussy thing to keep running , the much later Kyosho .12 fwd mini (2000 or thereabouts , built bubt never fired) and a mardave ministock which is elecctric rwd , slower than the Tamiya and with solid suspension and foam tyres but is brilliant fun . Yes , I am obsessed ..... I also have 5 full sized mini's and variants in various states ... Erik , that's a tough looking build , bumperless mini's always look the business Hi Geoff , I thought I saw your username here in another thread , I don't think you've shown enough of your Tamiya builds over on the IMMCC site , brilliant detailing there , well done .

Basher , that is cool , what body shell did you start with and how did you extend it ? Do you have a build thread on it here ?

VW Dave , your wife did a nice clean job there DoubleD , looks great , I think just about everyone has done a mini at some stage . I have a Fujimi and a Revell version of the New Mini , Revell kit I must have bought about 10 years ago but never gotten around to building it , will have to drag it out soon . It has the A , B and C pillars moulded in clear plastic and you have to paint them black from memory doesn't it ? I opened the box , looked at that and shut the box up again vowing to look at it later and it's sat ever since ...

Nice Mini Martinfan , I've got a couple of new Mini kits in the stash to do so far but haven't got to them yet . Replica of a mates cooper s (same mate as the bathurst mini , this was done for his birthday by myself and another mate who made the decals and certificate for it , we're collectors , only the best models have certificates ...) , right down to the various stickers on the windows Another current build is a mini monster truck , front half of the mini body came in a bulk lot of bits I got in a swap , rear half is from an unknown toy ford pickup a friend on another forum gave me . Chassis etc is the USA 1 Monster truck kit , lot of work to go on this one so far , mainly in the bodywork dept .... So what other mini builds (or mini based variants) have people done ?

Peter Manton's (Australian mini racer in the 60's) first 997 cooper , the car was originally red and had a high speed race car paint job , hence all the engine bay and interior are still red and not the Neptune colour like the exterior , Manton moved the battery to the engine bay in an attempt to reduce wheel spin coming out of corners , 1:35 Heller mini built as the 1967 Bathurst winning cooper s for a mate who loves the car , another mate printed the decals for me . the Heller kit (old airfix kit) is a real pain in the proverbial with the body being in three parts , nose from front edge of bonnet down , main body and then rear from bottom of rear windscreen down . I am also building a 1971 Nota fang which is an Australian road/race car based on a mini (mini front subframe with motor/gearbox/diff is mounted behind the driver , hilman imp front end and minimal bodywork) , I'm having trouble getting the bodywork right for this one so far . I have a 1:1 version of this which is what I'm basing the measuremnets on , unfortunately it's in similar condition to the model and awaiting time to restore . A Nota Fang , not mine sadly

I've only been here a couple of days and I'm really impressed with the quality of builds that have been done . I have been searching through the various post's but was wondering if people could put some photo's in here of the mini builds they have done . I am a mini fanatic and am interested in new ideas for future builds and to just see what people have done . I'll start it off with some of mine (most are still boxed up from a recent move I'm afraid ...) . Italeri Volvo semi with car carrier loaded with mini's which is my current long term build , I wanted some way of displaying some of the older mini builds I've done and came up with this idea . The top row from left is the first Tamiya mini I ever did , all brush painted , then a Tamiya mini with alfoil covered seats , formula one style bonnet scoop and home made rear wing (I was 16 at the time ...) , Fujimi mini 25 , Fujimi Rover mini . Bottom row from left Tamiya mini painted with "sugarcane" acrylic I had left over from one of my previous full size mini's , Tamiya racing mini , Tamiya Monte Carlo rally mini and then Tamiya body on scratch built chassis as a poor attempt at a funny car which is why it's hiding right up the front of the truck . Still got a bit of work to do to the front trailer yet , it started off as being the Fruehauf trailer (comes with steel rolls on the back) as I got it without a deck and then cut it down to be a B-double . It's now on it's way to becoming a B-double with a flatbed trailer to hold a mini monster truck and mini on Suzuki (jimny ??) Chassis , need to finish front trailer and then build a case for it as it's nearly 1.4 meters long ... Another current build is replicating my fathers cooper s we restored 15 or so years ago , Custom mini based on a Tamiya mini with unknown '56 chev tailfins , this is based on a 1:1 mini known as minisota , I was building it for a comp on another forum and ran out of time to get it right so it became a custom inspired by minisota ...

I have a few vintage kits that I keep sealed and have no intention of building (they are ones I have already built in cases though as well for the most part) but I am a collector as well as a builder . For example I spent a few years trying to find a Surfite kit (they are scarce down here for some reason) but then finally managed to get two in the space of a month so one's now being built and one staying sealed . I guess it all depends on whether you are primarily a builder or collector , I have close to a thousand models of mini's in various mediums (plastic , diecast , wood , glass , pottery , stone etc) so tend to get anything I can find , most stay sealed but in the case of kits I try to get two

Yeah , I meant the body bits fitting together , I grew several new grey hairs trying to get mine to fit right , just doesn't seem to be enough meat in the locating lugs to line up right . Still , it's mostly together now .

I've started one of these a little while ago as well (I am mini and mini variant obsessed) , the engine is from what I believe you guy's had as an Austin American , very close cousin to what the rest of the world got as the Austin/Morris/Wolesly/MG/Riley 1100/1300 range (BMC kept the styling very similar , just changed the grille and bonnet front edges and interior trim levels) . I love the detail you've acheived on the kit so far , how did you go getting the body panels to sit , they are a little tricky on mine and not wanting to line up too well ...