Plastheniker

Thanks for the further comments! Robert, I can confirm your judgement for all Gunze all-plastics kit I built. Indeed the rubber parts were not an ideal solution, but they were more or less acceptable. Joe, my old instruction sheet shows only a RHD version (and only English number plates). The same is true for my Gunze all-plastic Lotus Elan. Maybe the High Tech versions had LHD options, but I don't know.

Thanks Harry, indeed much more visible details though it is a very bright black now ... .

Dennis, again a flawless and excellently detailed model in an unusual but convincing colour combination.

Alan, you chose a very attractive load. Could you give some more information about it?

Another fantastic and unique model. Perfect!

Tom, admittedly I am not a big fan of modern trucks, but this is an impressive and very clean build. I agree, the colour looks much better under daylight. BTW for large areas with natural metal finish I tried as a substitute for Alclad and BMF inexpensive and easily to obtain thin household aluminum foil and Micro Metal Foil Adhesive. It is easy to use (water-based) and gives good results.

Still not satisfactory but better than the first attempt:

Scott, Patrick, I agree. IMO the decline of most British sports car manufacturers meant the decline of the true sports car. Subsequently the mainstream of sports car development went into the wrong direction: Permanently bigger, heavier, faster, more and more perfectionized and uniform cars eliminated a lot of the former driving fun.

William, IMO the best way to replicate chrome mouldings with bright wire is this: After removing the plastic moulding I scribe a groove with a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the chosen wire. I drill numerous holes into this groove. After painting the body I fix the wire provisionally f. e. with clamps into/onto the groove . From the backside I make super glue flow through the holes into the groove. The result should be a clean half-round (as far as it is visible) chrome moulding. Greg, yes, indeed it is incomprehensible that there was never a 1/24 or 1/25 styrene kit of the TR 4. And of the TR 6, the never fulfilled dream of my youth …

Thanks for all comments! Skip, after photographing my model all pictures of the entirely black interior showed only few perceptible details. I am going to make a new attempt tomorrow (now it is already rather late in Germany). If I succeed I will post the result tomorrow. Harry, you are right. As my old instruction sheet shows the kit windscreen consisted of 5 parts: 2 big chromed lateral brackets, 1 thick windscreen glass part, 2 thick clear lateral wind deflectors; the upper and lower part of the windscreen frame should be simulated with a silver decal. I used the 2 big chromed lateral brackets and cut the 3 glass parts from clear sheet. I made the upper and lower windscreen frame from bright wire.

Hi, Maybe 20 years ago Gunze Sangyo produced two versions of the same 1/24 car kits: The first line was rather expensive. These kits were labeled “Gunze Sangyo High Tech Model”. They included fantastic PE wire wheels (if the 1:1 vehicle had wires) and a lot of other PE parts whose benefit, however, was mostly doubtful. IMO a really annoying set-back was the extensive use of cast pewter parts not only for the engine and the chassis but also for the exterior chrome parts (f. e. bumpers, door handles). It was extremely time-consuming giving them a smooth chrome-like appearance. Even worse, if you were unlucky your clear coat didn’t prevent these parts from darkening over the years. The second line were inexpensive all-plastic curbside versions of these “High Tech” kits. They came without pewter parts and without PE parts, but unfortunately also the fantastic PE wires were replaced by plastic spoke wheels. I bought only one “High Tech Model”. Taking its high price into account, I was completely annoyed despite the outstanding wheels. Overall IMO the all-plastic kits were the better choice. With some improvements, particularly with better wires, they made really nice models at reasonable prices. My model was made from such an all-plastic kit. After presumably 20 years I only remember that I replaced the rather massive windscreen, and that I used bright wire instead of the cast mouldings on top of the fenders. As usual I made my own wire wheels and detailed the interior.

Great job on (as far as I remember) a mediocre kit!

Done with such perfection even a Trabant becomes spectacular!

Unique idea and an incredible paintwork!

Sorry, Mike, I have no old WIP pictures. Comparing your instruction sheet and my model pictures, however, should give an impression of what has to be done. If you should have built a Casadio/Revival kit never before I would not advise to choose the extremely difficult 156 as a first project. I would recommend the open-wheeled Auto Union Typ C. As mentioned earlier in my contributions it is the best Casadio/Revival kit by far. It is easy to build and to detail by comparison, it should be still available (directly from the manufacturer or from eBay), and it makes a very interesting and attractive model.

As mentioned in my earlier Casadio/Revival contributions I always build two models: The first is a super-detailed chassis without body and the second a complete vehicle with body. Presented together on a mirror (similarily as on my last picture) such a pair makes a very interesting display.

Thanks for all comments! I would sign every word. In those days racing was interesting because newcomers with small budgets like Lotus were able to defeat established competitors only by ingenious engineering - today it is simply money that wins races. Sometimes champagne was drunk even before the race. After a party in the evening before, obviously with sufficient beverages, Mike Hawthorne stopped his car during the race on the track, got rid of the remaining alcohol, and then resumed the race. BTW I love your avatar. These kits are abysmal and building them is a pain. I know several skilled modelers who failed or lost patience. Nevertheless finishing such a kit with an acceptable result gives more satisfaction than any other kit I know. Even the extreme sacrifice of time is really worth.

Some days ago I read that Italeri has re-released its 1/24 Opel Blitz (military version) with better wheels. If this is true these wheels could be a good solution. Since the tank and the cab enclose the chassis of my model completely I restricted myself on essential chassis modifications as f. e. length, width, wheelbase, position of engine/gearbox/crossmembers, steering and fuel tank. As far as I remember the chassis of F-8 and F-800 were almost identical. If you want to detail a visible chassis you should find some very good material online. If your search remains unsatisfactory let me know. I am rather sure that I kept my old files.

Hi, One of the few iconic (if not the iconic) post-war F1 cars was the 1961 Ferrari Tipo 156. What made it so unforgettable? It was the first mid-engine Ferrari ever. A nose cone with two openings gave a unique appearance resulting in the nickname "Sharknose". Many enthusiasts think the 156 is the most beautiful racing car ever. Its dramatic history: Ferrari's rising star Graf Berghe von Trips needed only one point in the last two 1961 races to become Germany's first post-war F1 champion. He died, however, during the first of these two races in a collision with Jim Clark. His friend and stable mate Phil Hill won this race at Monza and became America's first F1 champion. Almost the complete team of engineers involved in the development of the 156 left Ferrari at the end of 1961. Ferrari was so angry that he finally scrapped all 156s. It is said that Mrs. Ferrari became so infuriated that she even slapped one of these renegades. As usual the basis of my models were two 1/20 Casadio-Revival metal kits. Besides the Mercedes W154 the 156 was the crudest of all Casadio kits. Built OOB it would have looked unacceptable. Again correcting, completing and detailing was like falling into quicksand. This pair required probably most time of all, i.e. approximately 1300 hours. BTW MFH made a perfect kit of the 156. To my knowledge, however, it is OOP for years, and it cost almost thrice as much. Please note the rest of the pictures in the following post! Similar topics of mine: 1/20 Scale Casadio/Revival Classic Grand Prix Kits - Pros & Cons http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75275 1907 Fiat 130 HP Grand Prix Racer 1/20 http://www.modelcars...showtopic=75350 Auto Union Typ C - Grand Prix Champion 1936 1/20 http://www.modelcars...showtopic=76696 Mercedes W154 M163 - Grand Prix Champion 1939 1/20 http://www.modelcars...showtopic=79535 1951 Alfa Romeo Tipo 159 Alfetta - GP Champion 1951 - 1/20 http://www.modelcars...showtopic=81024 Maserati 250F - Grand Prix Champion 1957 1/20 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=84195

A resin body is always a challenge in any scale. This is an impressive and really unique model beautifully executed. Wirklich blitzsauber!

Perfect finish, flawless indeed!

Thanks for your further comments! It is very likely that an advanced modeler begins to find building kits more or less OOB sooner or later unsatisfactory. Converting such inexpensive pickup kits into medium trucks is much more entertaining and develops modeling skills very quickly. Besides that it is a very good step towards building resin cabs neatly and probably finally towards scratch building. Give it a try!

Thanks for your comments so far! Nothing sophisticated about my paints: It is Humbrol #19 Bright Red on white primer (the cab was moulded in a very dark blue). I suppose the drums contained special products as f. e. engine oils, hydraulic fluids or grease. Not a bad idea to transport them at the same time in this way - cyclists, however, probably didn't think so

Hi, While searching the web years ago for pictures for my Ford F-8 milk tanker http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=78200 I happened to find some pictures of a fuel tanker of the mid-fifties with a recess on the passenger's side for transporting an additional drum. The protruding drum looked so odd that a corresponding model promised to become an interesting project. I used the cab of the well-known Monogram/Revell F-100 pickup and the chassis of the AMT C-600 as a basis. As far as I remember mainly this had to be done: Numerous modifications were necessary to adjust the modern C-600 chassis The cab's roof above the windscreen had to be modified because OOB it looked much too high and too angular The window parts were poor (I don't remember what the exact problem was) and had to be replaced The cab fenders had to be widened and the wheel openings had to be adjusted. Running boards and bumper were different from the pickup and had to be replaced by self-made parts I refrained from using the six-hole rims of Italeri's Opel Blitz because they looked simplified and not really convincing; instead I made a more realistic set Building the tank was rather time-consuming