Anglia105E

Picked up a really nice 1:24 Wills Finecast Auto-Kit today, which is a white metal kit of a 1933 MG K3 Magnette Open Tourer. The original box is in very good condition, especially considering this kit is 46 years old or more. I managed to bid for this kit on Ebay and got it for £9.99, which is around US $. 12.73 and I can see built versions of this kit on sale for £150.00 ( US $. 191.28 ). The wire-spoked wheels have to be wired by hand, but they include a wheel winding jig and plenty of wire in the kit. I shall be building this as a 1932 MG F Magna which is very close in appearance to the K3 Magnette of 1933. David

Bruce...... I have just been studying all four pages of this wonderful topic, and as a builder of British and European scale model cars in 1:24, seeing your incredible work on this '55 Chevy makes me want to go out and buy the Monogram kit and build one myself! Maybe this will happen, as a direct result of your inspiration. In a few weeks I shall be taking delivery of the excellent book by Tim Boyd ' Collecting Muscle Car Model Kits ' that everyone is talking about. If there is a 1955 Chevy in there like yours Bruce..... I may well go ahead with it. ( no way am I going to achieve your paint finish, and I love the two tone look of the'50's David

Just placed an order for your book Tim on Ebay UK and although my field of interest regarding the building of scale model cars is not actually American Muscle Cars, there is sure to be a wealth of fascinating knowledge among your thousands of words and hundreds of photos! Having studied three pages of brilliant reviews here on MCM forums I simply had to order a copy quickly, before they are all gone! The Waterstones website was stating ' Currently Unavailable to Order ' and ' Publisher Out of Stock ', while the Ebay website only had 2 copies available ( One of which I reserved ). Good luck with your whole publishing experience Tim...... I just have to wait 3 weeks to get my copy of your book! ( I can wait ). David Watson, Derbyshire, England, UK

Gary..... I like the Econoline van and Don Parker trailer combination, and the Ford GT40 sits nicely on the trailer. The black and white photo of the 1:1 outfit alongside your diecast models goes together well. Today I received a delivery of some nice 1:24 scale cotton flags, comprising one pack of two France Tricolour and one pack of two Union Jack. David

Mark..... the engine has fitted into the engine bay quite nicely by the look of it, and your detailing continues...... detail, detail and more detail! David

That is a well regarded article Gary, and as we can see it is providing continued reference for members of MCM even after 16 years since you wrote the article. David

Nicely done badges and scripts Steven, and all done using foil and paint...... as D Spencer said, does look more realistic than decals. You must have a steady hand and good eyesight Steven ! David

Richard.... the 400 ml aerosol can of cellulose was ordered from Autopaints of Brighton, in Hove, England UK David

Just like Michael of South Carolina. I was really impressed with a very fast delivery today...... I placed an order for a rattle can of cellulose Ford Imperial Maroon paint to build a 1960 Ford Anglia, which was yesterday 3rd January and by midday today, 4th January the paint had been mixed to order and delivered to my home address. This is so fast I cannot understand how the company did that? Sent an email to say thanks for a brilliant service! David

Nicely done Ismael..... and given how you feel about AMT kits and their problems, this model looks rather good, especially the paint colour. You Dad will be pleased, I'm sure. David

Gary...... I saw a Bburago Citroen 15 on Ebay and I was tempted to buy one at some stage, but I noticed the engine was silver coloured rather than green so I passed on that one. I didn't notice the lack of windshield wipers and I have to say that Heller haven't drilled any holes for the wipers, even though the parts are supplied in the kit. Actually, the wiper arms have ' tabs ' rather than pins, so what they need is a slot as opposed to a hole. As regards the length of the car...... the Citroen DS19 is 190 inches in length, while the 15.Six is quoted as being 175.2 inches to 195.3 inches in length. There was an extended wheelbase version which had an additional row of seats, so this could explain the 195.3 inches, and this would be slightly longer than the DS19 ? David

I agree with David from Kansas...... I bought a large chocolate birthday cake from Marks & Spencer which was ridiculously cheap because of the use by date, and I noticed the box had a very large window panel of clear plastic. This plastic is very clear and very good quality plastic, so I have used this material to make windscreens for my 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud builds. The thickness of the plastic is so much more accurate than the plastic windscreen supplied in the kit box. There you go...... instead of all of the cake box packaging going in the waste bin, I have re-used 50% of it to build scale model cars! The chocolate cake was very nice too ! David

For my first five Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud builds I used Meguiar's Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax liquid polish, which is wonderful stuff. Picked up a large bottle from Halfords that will last a long time for scale models and I must agree with other members on here, in saying that a poor paint job cannot be enhanced much by slapping on some expensive polish, no matter how good the product is. My thinking was...... if I was lucky enough to own a real 1:1 Rolls-Royce, then this is the polish that I would use on such a fine motor car, so if it's good enough for the real car, it has to be good enough for my model cars too. David

Thank you Gary and Pat...... Heller manufacture a 1:8 scale kit of the Citroen, and also the 1:24 scale kit, which is the one I have built here. I found it a bit tricky in places, but got there in the end. The reason I am building a few French motor cars is that I already have the Heller Talbot Lago T26 Record Cabriolet, and the next build is a Delahaye 135, also by Heller. Along with a 1:24 Franklin Mint diecast Bentley MK VI Franay Drophead, the idea is to set up an Anglo-French Joint-Venture stand, outside the Hooper & Co building to display the four cars. This is an event which never happened in reality and it is just an idea of mine. The stand will have English and French flags, the three French cars and the one Bentley model. I see this as what might have been a joint venture between Hooper's of London, England and Carrosserie Franay of Paris, France. There is also a Talbot Lago GP car that I have from the same period of automotive excellence which could be added to the display. Work is also going on with a 1933 MG K3 Magnette and 1932 MG F Magna, which is all to do with the famous lady driver Kitty Brunell. These are white metal kits rather than styrene. David

The 1948 Citroen 15.Six Traction Avant has been fully repaired for Hooper's French visitor Monsieur Delon, and the motor car is being brought round to the front of the building so that the owner can be reunited with his old faithful. Monsieur Delon is naturally very pleased to see the Citroen in such good shape once more. All that remains is for the gentleman to settle his bill with the famous coach builder and the refurbished Traction Avant can be loaded onto the Bedford lorry, prior to making it's way to the port of Dover. David

Thanks very much Pete Ramirez for your comment....... the collection keeps growing at a rate I cannot control.........it must be like this for all members of MCM David

All of your builds are really good Marcos..... and I particularly like the dark green Ford Mustang ( I hope that I am right in saying it is a Mustang ! ) - It looks like a photo of a giant hand holding a real 1:1 car. David

Apparently, and you may know this already, there are vast " islands " of plastic waste floating around the Pacific Ocean which the environment care people don't quite know how to deal with yet. They are trying lots of different methods to deal with the huge problem and there is ongoing research into this serious issue. David

Excellent work Erik on these two models, and to complete both builds side by side, in such a relatively short time is quite an achievement! Thanks for the detailed review and have a good year for 2019 David

Nice set of builds you have there, Bernard....... and I particularly like the 1932 Ford Tudor Sedan. David

Thanks a lot Fred from Orlando...... as well as the Phantom I and the Phantom III's completed during 2018 there is also a Phantom II in my collection and on the workbench I have two 1931 Rolls-Royce Henley roadsters. Pleased to hear you like the vintage Rolls-Royces and Happy New Year to you! David

Thank you Bob, and Happy New Year........ the Rolls-Royces are where the whole project started out. David

I agree with everything mentioned on this topic, and some nice work there by Steven Guthmiller! My experience with the Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen has made me realise that you have to think of the pen as a brush. By that I mean you need to stroke the part that you are applying the chrome to, as if you were brushing on the fluid. You have to move the pen in one direction and you can't really go over the same area twice, although I find myself doing just that, with varying results. Also, you have to watch how the liquid chrome flows over the surface of the part as it spreads out a little in some directions. This can be helpful if it fills part of the area as you want it to, but there can be some over painting that needs to be removed with a cotton bud. On the subject of drying time, I find that 24 hours is generally good in Summer temperatures, and longer now it's Winter, but the surface shouldn't really be touched or handled excessively even after 24 hours. I haven't yet purchased a refill and tried air brushing and this is something I would like to try. Bare Metal Foil is nice to use for larger areas, but as someone mentioned the foil doesn't like the curved ends of bumpers, where it tends to wrinkle a bit. David

Worthwhile and successful maintenance I would say...... always a bit scary to do though, in case you mess up something.... but you clearly know exactly what you are doing Dave! David

Just replied to your PM ( Gary ) Thank you David