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1956 Austin Healey 100-Six


Plastheniker

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Hi,

The truism “More perfection - less fun” is true for 1:1 cars as well as for model kits.
I am always delighted when I have a reissued kit from the early days of styrene kits on my work-table. Opposite to the nowadays almost perfect Fujimi/Hasegawa/Tamiya shake-the-box kits they are still a challenge, and they have mostly unique subjects. If the finished model is presentable this is first of all the achievement of the modeler and not of the kit manufacturer’s engineers.

This said it is probably understandable that the following model is one of my favourites among more than 100 finished passenger car models that I still own.

It is a 1991 Matchbox re-release of Revell’s 1956 Austin Healey 100-6 first released in 1959.
My kit had the typical features of those early days: a multi-piece body, opening hood and boot lid, two-piece soft plastic tires, solid plastic “spoke” wheels. As I read recently: “This kit is not for the faint of heart”.
Nevertheless the overall quality of the kit is amazingly good if you consider its age. It really deserves to be reissued again and again . The latest reissue by Revell was in 2010 and it is still available at many hobby shops.
I started my kit immediately when the 1991 Matchbox re-release was available. I chose a typical and in my opinion the most attractive colour combination of the original car. I hope you agree.

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Gorgeous!!!! Great model.

Fond memories. My long time best friend & next door neighbor's brother had an AH 100 that he generously allowed us to tool around town from time to time. It was a total kick . . . and the best part was we were not responsible for all the niggling repairs necessary to keep it running!

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Once again, a masterpiece. In the 60s, this was one kit I wanted to throw against the wall because of the complications of a multipiece body and slow-drying Testors tube glue, but you have totally nailed it.

I believe it was re-issued a year or so ago by Revell.

Edited by sjordan2
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Healeys have always been one of my favorite British cars.....to get a solid example of one today you are looking at a minimum of $65,000 to $75,000. You can find them for less, but the condition of those examples will require big bucks to make right.

You are right, those old Revell kits are not as bad as they have been made out to be, but they still require skill to get the multi-part body panels assembled properly.......clearly, you possess those skills because this model looks first rate, and you are also correct about the color, light metallic blue over white is the premo combination for that car. Beautifully done.

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Your outstanding skills have resulted in making the Healey live and breathe as though it were a real automobile. I have restored some British cars and this makes me think of how one should look when it's presented to the customer. Please share more of your work.

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Very nice as always! You did a great job of putting the body together and smoothing out the seams between those separate body parts. Smooth paint and fine detailing, especially the wheels look spectacular. I have the same kit too, but the wheels just slow me down, they don't look good and I don't have enough skills to scratchbuild more realistic wheels either... But your build makes me want to try again.

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