Plastheniker

Tom, I followed your link. It is hard to believe that it is possible to give round or rectangular(!) rod such a uniform shape free-hand and only by eye-balling. I did something similar but today I would certainly use Archer or Micro Mark transfer louvers. Unfortunately I cannot use them for my current 1/24 truck project because here they are too short. Implanting louvers from another kit isn't possible either because I found no kit louvers of the required dimension. Therefore again I have to go back to the same technique I used building the Smer kit: I use quarter round rod of a suitable dimension from Plastruct or Evergreen. Louvers, however, have not a quarter round but a quarter elliptic section. With a Sharpie I paint both plain sides of the quarter round rod red for better visibility. I put the rod f. e. into a groove and fix it provisionally with pieces of tape. Then I scrape off the part of the rod marked red on this drawing: The remaining Sharpie-red surfaces show when you have to stop scraping to achieve a uniform shape. If you have overdone make one rod more. If all rods have been finished cut equal pieces of the required length giving all ends an equal bevel of f. e. 45°. Glue these louvers in place and shape the ends to a more round and uniform look. I hope this was understandable.

Donald, you really hit the nail! Indeed my next pair will show the 1957 Maserati 250F as Fangio drove it. Presumably earlier I am going to show the Mercedes W 196, in which he won the GP championship twice. I hope you will be interested both times.

Hi, Maybe you remember the review of the Atlantis/Smer/Merit 1/24 Alfetta 158 in the August/September issue of the magazine. If you are interested in this kit you can find some additional information here http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=81024 in post #22.

Thanks again! Here come the announced remarks about the Atlantis/Smer/Merit 1/24 Alfetta reviewed in the August/September issue of the magazine: As I pointed out above there are significant and obvious differences between Tipo 158 and Tipo 159. I reworked the Smer (actually not an English but a Czech manufacturer) kit many years ago and before the Casadio/Revival kits. The finished Smer model shows clearly that it is a (1950) Tipo 158 as stated by Atlantis and definitely not a Tipo 159. Please compare the following pictures with the pictures above: (Edit) For a full set of pictures please follow this new link: 1950 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 1950 - The Merit/Smer/Atlantis Kit From The Fifties And Some Extra Work (link will follow) The Ultimate Car Page link given on the MCM website however doesn’t show pictures of the Tipo 158 but misleading pictures of the Tipo 159. If you follow a further link to the Tipo 158 you will find only unusuable pictures of the also different pre-war Alfettas. A thorough research is absolutely indispensable to learn the differences between the various Alfettas, because you find an incredible number of pictures online with wrong captions. Otherwise your model will become an unrealistic mixture. Still the most reliable source are books - as mostly. The magazine article recommends PE wheels from a Maserati Birdcage kit. The tyre size of the Alfettas was 5.50-17 or 5.50-18 front and 7.00-18 or 7.00-19 rear. All Birdcage versions, however, had 5.50-16 front and 6.00-16 rear. Thus these recommended PE wheels, if not completely out of scale, are way too small. Moreover they have almost the same diameter front and rear opposite to the Alfetta. Therefore the result could never look realistic. If you don’t find suitable ready-made wheels (and I am not sure you will) you will be compelled to modify the kit rims and to give the smooth styrene tyres a tread pattern. Another shortcoming at least of my kit were the partially hardly perceptible louvers. I had to remove and replace them all. The most difficult problem of the kit, not mentioned in the article, is the radiator grille since the kit hasn't any radiator grille at all. There is only a massive nose cone without any opening. The grille is symbolized by some raised lines. A real grille has to be convex in all directions. It is extremely difficult to build such a grille from scratch. To cut a long story short: A probably recommendable kit only for the most experienced modeler and Alfetta enthusiast who is willing to spend a lot of time and a lot of effort.

Thanks to all for your comments! Tom, it is really very difficult to make anything presentable from the Atlantis/Smer/Merit 1/24 Alfetta 158. I built mine maybe 20 years ago and it was such a pain that I never built the purchased Talbot-Lago. Maybe you remember the article about this kit in the August/September issue of the magazine. After the information given above about the Alfetta 159 it might make sense to say something about this kit and some statements in the article, too. I will try to post it later this evening (in Germany it is already 7.30). Johann, better her than me (same age as the Alfetta).

Hi, in 1950 the Alfa Romeo Tipo 158 Alfetta won the GP championship. 1951 saw the final evolution of the Alfetta. Since all modifications together were quite radical the Alfetta was no longer called Tipo 158 but Tipo 159. After these modifications the Alfetta won the GP championship in 1951, too. A sub-type called Tipo 159A had the following major improvements: the output of the 1.5 litre engine was increased to 425 hp the single-pivot swing axle was replaced by a de Dion rear suspension the basic twin-tube ladder-type frame was stiffened by a welded-on superstructure of small steel tubes because of the extremely increased fuel consumption always one or two tanks inside the driver’s compartment were fitted the body, particularly the tail, was more roundish the single exhaust was replaced by two separate exhausts the lateral row of louvers below the Quadrofoglio was ceased My models show this Tipo 159A . As usual my models are based on the crude 1/20 Casadio/Revival kits. As probably known all standard Casadio/Revival kits have metal body parts and ready-made wire wheels. Temporarily, however, Casadio/Revival produced considerably cheaper versions of most kits in the eighties or nineties with plastic body parts and simple plastic wheels. For my following models of the Alfetta I used two of these cheaper kits. Reworking the plastic body parts was a pleasure compared with the troubles of the metal bodies. Therefore I accepted the additional effort of making real wire wheels willingly. The Alfetta (plastic and metal body) is one of the better (if one can use this word) Casadio/Revival kits. Though it is one of the most rudimentary and simplified Casadio/Revival kits most parts contained in the box are correct. A real problem was the radiator grille. The kit supplies a usuable plastic grille. However it was impossible to remove the extremely thick flash so evenly that the grille bars looked acceptable when painted silver. It caused a lot of headache making a fitting convex grille from wire. Adding everything missing in the kit, making wire wheels and replacing the grille ran up. Therefore again I spent approximately 1000 hours to finish both models. Similar topics of mine: 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.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79535

Thanks for all further comments! I am really happy that there is so much interest in vintage trucks. Admittedly the AITM cabs have their shortcomings, and it takes a lot of effort, and it requires some skills to achieve a nice result. Nevertheless for the true vintage truck enthusiast the effort is really worth, so I would like to encourage every inclined modeler.

Thanks for all further comments. As said in the topic my L 10000 shows the 1937 model. 1938 Mercedes introduced a modernized cab that anticipated the early post-war styling of all Mercedes cabs. In my opinion this modernized cab is far less attractive. Maybe you agree. I found this 1938 picture (photo by courtesy of Daimler-Benz AG/ Daimler AG) in my old files:

Thanks for all further comments!

Thanks for all further comments! Derick, here are some factory pictures of the engine. They show how Krupp coupled the two engines and that each engine remained almost complete. Nearly at the same time another German truck manufacturer, namely Henschel, coupled two small engines for the legendary "Bimot" in a completely different way.

Thanks so far for your comments! By the way if anyone should be interested in this inexpensive and recommendable kit: It is Revell #6359 and indeed still (or again) available.

Thanks for all further comments. Peter, you really make me blush. Peter, Harry, thanks for your encouraging words. I joined the MCM Forum in May and it took quite a while to realize that it does not work like the European forums I knew before. Indeed, when I wrote the quoted sentence I was still amazed (among other things) that response depends mainly on the interest in the 1:1 vehicle and less on the expectation of seeing a good or poor model. In the meantime, however, I learned that there seems to be a more or less impermeable dividing line between the various fields of interest in car modeling. My personal field of interest, i. e. building historically correct models, is obviously shared only by a minority of members, but I also learned that these members are really interested and that the skills and the historic expertise of these modelers are often excellent. More than that I realized that topics of all members have little response whenever the 1:1 vehicle or even the scale is not mainstream. Knowing this I am quite happy here and I enjoy the peaceful athmosphere. I am afraid you have to bear my German English for the future.

Thanks for all further comments!

Sorry, I announced the F-800 when starting this topic. However I couldn't take the pictures yet, but they will follow.

What an interesting and well-done model! Such unusual models like yours make a forum interesting.

A beautifully executed job, but your paint scheme really hits the nail. Wonderful colour combination!

I am admittedly not a real expert in American fire engines, but certainly I recognize the quality of a model. This is an outstanding job!.

Thanks for all further comments!

Thanks so far. Ken you are right. The white stickers of the kit were useless. I sprayed the stripes but I don't remember if I sprayed the white paint first and then masked the stripes or vice versa. Probably I chose the first way because it is less work.

It will be no surprise to hear that the Blitz is a rather popular kit here in Germany, so you see it finished quite often. Particularly considering that it is not Italeri's best kit I can say that you achieved 100 percent of what can be achieved. It is not only your additional work and not only your perfect paintwork - most of all you hit the nail choosing the colour combination. It looks authentic a n d looks great on the model. I sprayed mine many years ago light grey/dark grey. It looks so hideous that I banned my model into the darkest corner of my darkest cabinet...

I remember these kits quite well. Decades ago my local hobby shop in Hamburg imported them directly from the Soviet Union and obviously sold a considerable number. Therefore I saw several finished kits displayed inside the shop. No question your model is the best by far. In my opinion such unusual subjects like yours make a forum interesting. Who wants to see models shown ninety-nine times before? I really hope to see more from you.

Hi, it does not necessarily take a pricey and sophisticated kit to make an acceptable model. I built this (still available?) Revell snap kit about 15 years ago conventionally with glue and putty. I don't remember major issues. An obvious shortcoming are the lateral scripts that are hardly perceptible after painting, but fortunately on the 1:1 car they have the same colour as the body. The finished kit is not spectacular but presentable.

Even if it sounds stereotyped there is nothing more to say than: Another interesting and attractive kit, flawlessly built and perfectly photographed.

Considering the small scale your finish is fantastic. Hat off to your skills!

A highly interesting and excellently built kit. Unusual models like this make a forum interesting. I really hope to see more.