Anglia105E

While browsing on Ebay, as you do, I was studying a 1959 Morris LD 150 Royal Mail Van by City Vitesse in 1:43 scale, when I noticed the price.... this van model had a missing cab mirror, and also a badly cracked perspex case, and was priced at £24.99 GBP, which is a typical price actually. Then further down the screen I could see an identical model but priced at £4.99 GBP, with no missing parts or damage..... at £20.00 GBP cheaper it had to be that one . At first, I thought it was a starting bid price, but it was a ' Buy it Now ' David

Having applied a coat of yacht varnish to all the areas of the body that require chrome plating, I must wait for at least 24 hours to let the varnish dry thoroughly. The loft space is not particularly warm at the moment, with outside temperatures of -1 degrees at night time , rising to only 3 degrees above freezing in the daytime. During Thursday I may look at applying the liquid chrome pen to the roof and window mouldings, front grille and rear panels, door handles and bumpers. David

I strongly agree with you there, Trevor.....Have a look at a cleverly shaped container of Revell Aqua Color acrylic paint..... the print on those labels is so tiny, you will struggle with a magnifying glass. Myself, I am 66 and my eyesight is not great...... surely most model builders these days are senior citizens? David

Thanks, Buz....... maybe no shows, but I hope this model will be a good one. David

Thanks, Ismo..... You can see from the following photo that the vinyl roof does continue down along the A-pillar.... so that is why my Parisienne model will have the brown vinyl..... also, I used to own the real car, and I can remember the brown vinyl on the A-pillars..... but well spotted by you, and good question! David

Thank you, Pat..... steadily moving forward....... there have been delays, such as waiting for parts and also the Aqua Color Clean got lost by the carrier, but I ended up with two bottles for the price of one as the original order surfaced! David

The Revell Aqua Color Clean product has been used successfully to remove the ' leaked ' brown acrylic paint from the yellow enamel. Actually, I found this product to be quite aggressive, in the sense that as well as removing the acrylic paint quite easily, the solution went on to remove 4 coats of enamel paint if applied with a cotton bud soaked in the solution. Having tested this product on an area of the car that would not matter later, I simply dipped a cotton bud in the Aqua Color Clean and then absorbed most of it with a piece of kitchen roll paper.......so that I could lightly brush away the brown acrylic, without harming the underlying enamel coat. Today, a set of Pontiac Rally II wheels arrived from the USA, kindly sent by Bill Newcomer..... these wheels will replace the existing wheels on the Parisienne, which were taken from a '70 Bonneville kit. Working on the front grille detail, by painting the surface of the grilles with satin black. This will have Molotow Liquid Crome pen detail applied at some stage, and also headlamp lenses added. Thanks for looking, guys! David

Good luck with the hard drive replacement. David

Nice looking rig there, Steve...... crew cab, boat and trailer fit together well. Needs a fair bit of display space! David

Yes, of course..... spraying paint from a distance is a good way of achieving a textured finish.... and cheaper too! David

The three 1:43 scale diecast model cars arrived yesterday..... particularly impressive is that Oxford Diecast have got the correct registration number plates on the Smoke Green Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I, and also they have not put thin white walls on the tyres, which is also correct. David

Nice work on the sidewalks, Tom..... and the high traffic areas look well dirtied up. David

My theory is that MOST people have some form of OCD, myself included, and those that do not have OCD are actually in the minority.... that suggests to me that OCD is NORMAL behaviour !!! David

If you are going for black, Steven...... I would strongly recommend Rubberised Black enamel in a rattle can..... if this product is available in the USA ? David

Much easier to move heavy engine cylinder blocks around the shop floor now, eh Pat? David

Not sure if this helps you, Steven..... I have just this week put a vinyl roof on the 1968 Pontiac Parisienne that I am building in 1:25 scale, which is brown..... sort of a caramel / light chocolate brown ( don't know the correct name for the colour ). I am not aware if Oldsmobile is the same as Pontiac, but I used a Revell Aqua Color Mud Brown acrylic, airbrushed over Halfords Rubberised Black enamel........ the rubberised black has produced a realistic vinyl roof texture. David

Your garage diorama is starting to really come alive now, Tom...... I think it is the baseboard, the fuel pumps and the tall sign. You have put this project together nicely, and I look forward to seeing it develop further...... well done! David

This one arrived today..... a 1:43 scale Franklin Mint 1922 Rolls-Royce Phantom I, in blue and black..... as new condition, no parts missing or damaged. Following photos show this car alongside a 1:43 scale Oxford Diecast Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I from 1955 - 1959. Although I have purchased many 1:24 scale Franklin Mint and Danbury Mint model cars, this is the first 1:43 scale Franklin Mint model car that I have purchased. David

Two new Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I models arrived today..... both are 1:43 scale Oxford Diecast cars, one is finished in black and one in Smoke Green. Here are a few photos of XGO 999 in Smoke Green, which was the last Silver Cloud I ever to be produced, in 1959. I was quite impressed with Oxford Diecast as a company because not only did they get the registration number plate right, but also the tyres do not have a thin white wall, which again is correct for this car. The Rolls-Royce is parked outside the Victorian terraced houses and blends nicely into the cobbled stones of the street. David

The MK III version of this wheel is the most desirable version ! David

Maybe the drawing relates to a Mk I version of the palette truck, and the one you saw in Wal-Mart was a MK II version?...... just guessing. David

I always store my Molotow Liquid Chrome Pens upright, with the tip and cap at the highest point. Also, these pens need to be shaken vigorously before use, for a minute or two..... when you shake them, make sure the cap is on tight, and hold the pen in a vertical position. By that I mean shake it up and down while holding the pen in the vertical position ( cap to the top ). I found that most pens are no trouble, but you get the odd one that plays up a bit. If you shake the pen while it is held horizontally, you will get chrome paint spraying all over the place! ( happened to me with the first one I ever purchased ). David

Today the Parisienne has been unmasked, following a visual inspection of the vinyl roof area....... the first two coats of airbrushed brown acrylic were mixed too thinly, so the third and final coat was applied with less water. All the blue masking tape and tissue paper was removed, and I am generally pleased with the result, apart from one small area where the fender meets the windshield surround at the lower corner. As you can see from these photos, the acrylic brown paint has leaked under the masking at some point and produced a nasty looking stain on the yellow body paint. Hoping to remove this acrylic stain with a product that is being delivered tomorrow....... ' Revell Aqua Color Clean '.... hopefully this product will not remove any of the 4 coats of Buick Cameo Cream body paint ! David

Nice work, Pat...... and that was lucky to find that the drawing came out to scale..... saves having to do the maths! David

I like this technique, Steve..... and I can see myself using this idea to produce realistic looking, and realistic thickness floor mats for my builds. Thank you. David