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1956 Austin Healey 100-Six


Plastheniker

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Thanks to all for your replies!

Jurgen, great job ! I traded Ken, a model member here for one of the Revel re issues some time back. I didn't really have any issues with the kit . I simply took my time and everything went together as planned , jus like you're did !

Ed, exactly this is what every modeler has to learn first. It doesn't matter when, but how one finishes a project.

You've done a beautiful job with this, as always. I have a couple of original-release kits on the shelf, and the proportions always looked very good to me...except, I think the windshield frame is a tad tall.

Bill, you are right, but tackling this problem would be quite difficult. Considering pros and cons I think this minor shortcoming can be accepted.

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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!

I would have really been delighted if I had had such a neighbour in my youth. Or, being more exact, such a car!

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.

Skip, indeed today, compared with the sixties, building such a kit is ducksoup. We modeling veterans remember: Viscous, slowly drying (as you said) tube cement, no super glue, no BMF, no Alclad, no airbrush, no Plastruct or Evergreen products, no PE materials ... and even worst probably parents who considered modeling as a complete waste of time and money. Today's modelers live in Cockaigne.

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Great build, What wheels did you use?

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.

Chris, Niko, the two-piece soft platic tyres were of course not usuable. I used suitable rubber tyres from my spares box, but I cannot tell from which kit they came originally.

As always on my models I used self-made wire wheels. I described the technique here:

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=77554

As said in the tutorial, once understood the technique is really simple.

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Beautiful build.

I agree with you on your comments about the kit, they require more work but because of this often provide the most satisfaction when you're finished. Most modellers are more interested in building the latest and best kits so if you tackle an old classic like this few others will have one on their shelves

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Wow! Stunning, looks so real. Those wipers, are the PE?

Lee, I use PE parts almost never. Particularly PE wiper blades look way too thin in my opinion. Moreover they are designed for modern cars and simultaneously they are very big.

The small wipers of my model are simply several parts of bright wire bent and pressed into shape. I didn't find suitable wipers in my spare box.

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Beautiful build.

I agree with you on your comments about the kit, they require more work but because of this often provide the most satisfaction when you're finished. Most modellers are more interested in building the latest and best kits so if you tackle an old classic like this few others will have one on their shelves

Robert, you really hit the nail!

I sign every word.

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Since the lack of decent wheels in this kit have kept some from building it, perhaps one could consider fitting steel wheels, instead of wire wheels. The standard equipment wheels on 100-Six and earlier 3000 Healeys were steel disc wheels (and, as I recall, they had a row of rather small round holes in them, plus a rather basic center cap). They were bolted on, and did not employ knock offs like those on the optional wire wheels. btw - the wire wheels were painted silver, and not chromed; only the 2-ear knock offs were chromed. They were very similar to those found on Triumph TR3s and MGBs, both available as plastic kits. Perhaps a more knowledgeable modeler in the UK could suggest suitable wheels & center caps. . .

Another alternative would be to use Minilte wheels, as quite a few Healeys used them, esp those that were rallied, as did some that were road raced. (Minilites were found on some Trans Am cars raced in the late '60s-'70, such as Bud Moore's '70 Mustangs & Penske's '69 Camaros. There are some aftermarket sources for Minilites. Herb Deaks offered them in white metal alloy that could be polished to a nice luster. I've seen them done in resin, but do not remember who the casters were. The more recent releases of Revell's '67 Corvette coupe (and possibly the convertible) includes an unplated set of Minilite type wheels. AMT's '53 Studebaker also has a set of plated Minilite-type wheels in every release of that kit. The wheels found in both the Vette and the Studebaker would need to be narrowed considerably for use on a Healey. When seen on Healeys, they were painted silver, and not polished nor chromed.

btw - I'm quite partial to both Healeys and Minilite wheels, as I had a '60 Healey (w/ wire wheels) when in college, and had a set of Minilites that were polished on my '65 Corvair Corsa turbo coupe that I reluctantly parted with about 12 yrs aqo. I also had a set of polished big 'n little Western Superlites - a close copy of Miniltes - on my '34 Ford roadster that also went down the road to a new home about 20 yrs ago.

Edited by buffalobill
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  • 2 years later...

A few months ago I saw the same kit finished by a rather skilled fellow modeler. Built OOB in BRG and with the kit wheels it looked ... well, like a neat build of a very old and obsolete kit.

Your achievement here is incredible, both builds are worlds apart. You really turned an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan! Fantastic!

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  • 2 months later...

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