GeeBee

Superb model .... Howard certainly does some nice stuff

I have had this model on pre-order since it was announced at the German toy fair, the model arrived yesterday, and I thought I would take some time to have a good look at it, and compare it to the earlier offering from Tamiya. Now this body is slightly different to the one offered by Tamiya, but probably only Mini enthusiast's would know and recognize the differences between the two, Tamiya's model is a post January 1966 while Revell's version is a pre January 1966, you can easily tell by the earlier door handles and the lack of the safety boss fitted to the later models, there were a few other differences but aren't noticed on a model. Having a flick through the instructions I am again impressed with Revell's later model releases, there Citroen 2cv seems to have more detail parts than the Tamiya version, I will be building this one in the future, as I have already built the Tamiya version, and there were fit problems with that kit. Like the Tamiya version, the roof is molded as a seperate part, but is slightly different to the Tamiya's, the roof needs to be painted in a contrasting colour on the Cooper's, either white or black, but the rain gutter trim needs to be done in body colour, masking the roof for the Tamiya kit can be a nightmare, but Revell has done things a little different and molded the gutter trim as part of the body, so painting will be a lot easier .... Other detail touches that are better defined in the Revell version is the seats and seat frame, Tamiya's version doesn't have any detail around the frame, but Revell has decided to mold there's as seperate parts, the frame should be painted gloss black while the seats should be in a two tone fabric, also the side door panels and pockets are also molded as seperate parts,plus in this kit you get seat belts, a very nice touch ... Another pain in the rear end on the Tamiya kit is painting and detailing the dash, as everything is molded as one, again Revell have decided to do these different and mold them seperately, Decals Now one little piece that I found interesting was this .... It is shown on the diagrams in the instructions, but of course it isn't shown in the building diagrams, and wouldn't be used on the Coopers, for one simple reason, it's the standard (Non remote gear change) Mini's, so is Revell planning further versions of the Mini ??? I sure hope so .... So before building this, how do I compare it against the Tamiya version ? if it's builds as nice as the Tamiya version, this one from Revell will be one of my new favorite models, simply because of the better detail in the kit For all other photo's have a look at the one's I took earlier http://s21.photobuck...mview=slideshow

Another one got delivered this morning ....

Thanks for the info' I pretty much do that with all my builds anyway, I have heard about the fir problems of some of the Jo-Han models, but it's a car that I have always like the look of, and the Chrysler Turbine was made the year I was born .....

Another buy off eBay, it's probably the dearest model car kit I've ever bought, but I've been looking one for a while now ...this one's the full detail kit including the turbine engine, I could have bought the skill 1 kit, which was basically a un-built promo and there £20 plus

Great article, loved the video ....

Looking good, paintwork looks superb ....

With the quality of a lot of diecast models out there today, I take it as a great compliment, Thank you ....

Won this on eBay today ....

Superb build ....

I just couldn't help myself, and just ordered one of these online ...

I've only ever painted one car in black, and what a nightmare black is to get right, it shows every little flaw in the paint ....

I'm interested in seeing more of the Amphicar ....

Not sure how I missed this one, but I'm glad I found it, I've been waiting to see some photo's of one of these built up, all I can say is what a superb build, and after seeing this build I really want to get one of these now, I love anything that's a little different ...

Thanks everyone for your kind words, I really enjoyed this build, for me this build was a trip down memory lane, I built this kit first time round when it was first released here in England, (1978) I had just started work and went into town with my first wage packet to the big model shop we used to have, now the memory is a little fuzzy, as I really can't remember if I bought the '32 Chrysler or the Stutz first, and while building this one, I had flash backs to when I built this at the age of 15, in my little shed in the garden hand painting the body in bright yellow enamel, and if I say so myself I did a pretty good job of it, thanks to the old guy in the body shop at work who taught me how to thin and brush paint enamel without getting brush marks in the paint .... if I ever get my hands on another one of these kits I will be build it in the bright yellow I originally did all those years ago ....

Sad news, you know I used to watch I Dream of Jeannie when I was younger, that was one of my favorites, but I never it was Larry Hagman playing the part, he looked so different to how he looked in later life ....

Looking good, the DS has got to be a favorite car of mine, I'd love to see a 1:24th scale plastic kit of one ....

They usually go for £20 and under over here, if you want help in getting one, let me know,

They were masked and airbrushed on ...

Stunning work, it great to see an artist in 'styrene at work .....

All finished !!! I'm still not 100% happy with the Alclad brass, but it was the first time I had used it, I think I needed to give it a few more coats, hopefully the next time I use it I should get a better, more brass like finish.

Believe me, they are brass, and look so much better in the flesh, but just don't come over as such in the photo's ....

Got a bit more done tonight, the seats are in, the boxes on the running boards are on, the pedals are on, and I was going to put the headlamps on, but then I noticed that while the body of the lamps needed to be done in the brass, the reflectors inside needed to be done in chrome, so some BMF was cut into a circle, put on and trimmed to size, you can see the difference in the photo as the one is still not done ...

Anyway I did a little more to this one, I will leave the parts to dry off overnight, the black on the front grille turned out o.k ..... not a lot more to get this one finished now, certainly looking more like a car now !

Got a little more done today, got the steering column fixed into place, this had previously been painted using Alclad polished brass, but the bottom piece that joins onto the floor needed to be done in chrome, this turned out a lot easier than I had anticipated, using chrome BMF, it was fixed into place using 5 minute epoxy, what you can't see in the photo is that bottom of the column needed to line up with the steering arm, again this lined up a lot better than I thought it would, with the column fitted the dash could go on, again fixed on using 5 minute epoxy and a few clamps to hold it in place until the glue dries, I also got the radiator masked up to airbrush the semi gloss black for the grill.