dougwintz

Spent some time building these kits, the Ebbro Brabham Honda F2 BT18, Lotus 49B Ford and Tamiya Honda RA272. Salute to Rich Chernosky who did a similar series and a great set of builds. Some things I learned. It's a shame you can't see all the suspension parts once the car is built because there's a lot of great detail. The Ebbro kits are for me, very, very difficult. I found that dry fitting the pieces first (especially suspension), then applying a small about of glue while they were in place worked best. I put the tires on to the brake drums first, then glued that unit to the rest of the suspension. That way I didn't destroy the work I already put together by trying to press the tires into brakes. I ran out of patience with the gold decals on the Lotus - I should have painted that detail. So you are looking at a version that never existed. I'm going to build this car again sometime and do that. Always something to learn.

Hi Stephen. It's actually a decal from Mike's Decals https://www.mikesdecals.com/sta-power-bobby-isaac-torino-powerslide-048-p-113.html

Really great work Rich. I searched on this topic because I'm building the same Ebbro kit, the Gold Leaf version with the high wing. I have encountered a lot of fitment problems and working through them. Front suspension, engine mount, etc. Looking forward to getting this one out of my system.

Thanks for all your comments. I'm done. As usual, some lessons learned, but overall rewarding.

....and once again, the photos show I need to do some clean up on the paint!

I had to make a decision on the vents that sit alongside the back engine cover. The parts in the Tamiya kit are solid plastic. The parts in the Hobby Design detail kit are mesh. I took a picture of both, and decided to go with the mesh. I'm always divided on how useful some of the photoetch kits are - I seem to only use about 50% of them.

Thanks. I agree. Very challenging. The doors came together ok, although I had to read the instructions about 10 times until I got it right. The bigger issue for me were the rest of the body panels. I scraped some plastic from underside of the engine cover - because it seemed to be hitting the rear wheel wells and causing a big gap. Then there is a side body panel that covers some of the radiators - and I adjusted them so they closed the gap with engine cover. I'm not done yet, so this could still go south on me. But so far so good.

Now, test fitting the body panels. Color is Tamiya TS 16. Sprayed and glossed over the yellow body as it came in the kit. Used after market mesh for various vents and ports.

Thank you. I would advise to do a lot of test fitting of the body panels. Still working that out but more updates soon.

WIP for first build of 2024. Used after-market carbon fiber and photo etch. Looking forward, the biggest challenge for this Tamiya kit is body panels fitting together with minimal gap. At least, that's the case for me. Taking a long time to complete this, next up will be test fitting the body panels. Happy 2024 everybody.

Yes....it is 1/24 scale. From Heller, a French company. But you can actually get it here https://www.modelroundup.com/Renault-Estafette-Delivery-Van-p/heller-80743.htm

Yes...those are the tires that come with the kit. Really good looking tires.

Nice kit, but a curbside. I added some decals for the bench seat. I used Molotow chrome on the rails in the pickup bed.

This is the Tamiya kit and as usual, all the parts fit together really well. I decided to try a two tone paint job, took a lot of time to mask, but came out pretty well.

Hey Lee. Yes...but its hidden unfortunately. I added another photo of the chassis. Too bad, the engine bay is pretty detailed but you can't see it.

Hey Mario. Yeah, I looked at your version of the van and it looked great. It's interesting to see how other manufacturers in other countries (France, Italy, Japan) approach their kits. I will say that the Heller kit has a lot of hidden detail you can't see, like the engine, which is pretty good for a kit like that.

Hi. Heller's Estafette van. I found it difficult because the body was molded in clear, with the windows molded into the body. So I used some after market masks for the windows. The decals are from MotoBitz. Over all, a challenge mainly in painting.

Hi PatW. I believe the NuNu and the Beemax kits are the same. Not sure about the history of the two companies. But I've bought both and I think they are the same.

Hi PatW. This was from Beemax. The kit is the "Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 Group B Audi Team Team sponsored by HB International - Monte Carlo Rally - Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo, Sanremo Rally 1985 and 1986" They are hard to find now...Spotmodel.com used to carry it at https://www.spotmodel.com/product_info.php?products_id=55980 Now, I think the only place to get it is on Ebay. Hope that helps.

Yeah. Add some wide, square fenders to a box. Anti aerodynamic.

Great job Rich. I like the pictures "in the wild".

Finally got this one done. Took a long time in whatever spare hours I could work on it. The engine was from USCP (Ukrainian Scale Cars Production) and came with an engine bay. Took a lot of fiddling to get them in and fitting properly but it ended up looking pretty good.

Thanks. The wheels and tires are from Pegasus. They look more to scale than the tires in the kits, and I wanted to go for an East Los Angeles vibe. If I could make the car hop, I would!

Thanks. The paint is Tamiya "Pure Orange" with a couple of coats of Clear Orange from Tamiya.