Spottedlaurel
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Posts posted by Spottedlaurel
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Great job on this one Gareth, the final result looks like it was meant to be. I remember the chasssi going together nicely on the '67 Impala SS I built which looks to be similar to your Supernatural donor.
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Snake's BOYD thread cleared me out of pretty much all my longstanding WIPs, which dated back to the early '90s.
I think the only one I have now is a Monogram "White Lightning" Pro/Street Firebird,which I started in the late '80s and got the chassis, cage, engine etc all done, then realised the body was warped. My attempt at gently heating it didn't help, and it's remained that way ever since. One day I'll work out which body nicely drops onto the chassis and it will eventually hit the display cabinet.
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This one has certainly tested your patience and skills! The end result looks to be well worthwhile however, look forward to seeing more.
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12 hours ago, imarriedawitch said:
February's haul......
Well there's a coincidence, this turned up a few days ago:
Looks like a decent kit. We had the hatchback version as a road car for a few years (known as Carina E in the UK) and this is the closest I'll get as a replica.
I like the C110 Skyline kit you got too.
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Great to see what others have been doing with them.
For various reasons I seem to have built far more Monogram than AMT or Revell, especially during the 1980s and into the '90s. Maybe they were distributed more widely in the UK so I could find them easily in small toy/model shops? Also being 1/24 was more familiar to me from Tamiya and European kits I was building. Once I'd built up a few spare parts it was easy to swap things around, so I would be more inclined to buy another one.
Here's what I still have intact and sitting in the cabinet above my desk as I type this....
Black '57 is one of my oldest surviving builds from the mid '80s, refreshed last year with the old brush paintjob given a polish, new foil and wheels from the '70 Chevelle. Purple one uses the running gear from a Camaro High Roller I built about the same time but is now in the parts/restoration box.
Early '90s builds.
'65 Street Machine, with engine from the Monongram ZR1 and some great wheels which came with an Aoshima kit.
I really rate the basic kits they did (Exotics?), we had a good discussion about them elsewhere on here a year or two ago. This was the racing version of the 280Z, with parts from various Japanese kits (got to love that 1/24 parts swapping potential). I also have the street version and a TR7 in the stash (having built one of the latter in my very earliest kitbuilding days).
This was from the same range, although actually a slightly later Revell boxed version in this case. Captured the 308's look really well, yet again with a set of wheels from a Japanese kit.
Rebuilt this '37 back in 2020, after originally putting it together circa 1990/91. Had to rob the wheels from a Revell kit as the originals had ended up on another build, but managed to find everything else in the parts box.
Loose replica of the Two Lane Blacktop '55, which took over 25 years from start to finish. I have a version of the long-running '56 to do someday, to complete the Tri-Chevy set.
Not my build, I bought this completed Mojave Mule several years ago and want to give it a refresh someday, swapping wheels and some parts with another Monogram LUV kit I also have.
Got a fair few others to do someday, including a TR7, couple of Citations and a Corvette America.
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Nicely done Michael. Don't see too many of these around at 1:1, sadly.
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Good to see others making progress (and even finishing) their builds. I made a start on mine today, putting into practice what i'd been thinking about in idle moments over the last week or two......
Time for surgery! First step in stretching the NSX's floorpan by 8mm (around 8" at 1:1). At this stage I'd already trimmed the edges of the floorpan so the width was right for the Accord, and I decided on this point for the cut as there is least detail to recreate in the portion I've got to add.
I decided graph paper would be a good way of ensuring I kept everything square. I traced around the floorpan on a sheet, cut it then moved it apart by the 8mm and taped them down on another sheet. By luck, the squares on the paper I used were 8mm, which is odd as I'd usually expect it to be 5 or 10mm.
Quick check with the Accord's bodyshell, completely unmodified at this moment. The real test will come when the suspension is fitted and I can mock it up with the wheels, but so far so good.
Where it's at now, with a few strips of sheet styrene cemented into place to fix the position before I untape it and fill the gap.
Also gave the NSX interior and suspension sprues a squirt of primer so I can start painting and assembling what bits if it I'm planning to use.
I purchased a random batch of parts off eBay which included a cage and various interior pieces from a Tamiya Toyota Corolla rally car, which I'm hoping will come in useful. That way I don't have to rob parts off another kit and leave it incomplete.
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I've been enjoying watching your progress on this one Steve, great to see it coming along so well. Those bodywork mod's are subtle but so well done, you're really giving this rarity the careful attention it deserves.
There's often as much work, if not more, in creating something simple/smooth/elegant that just 'works' as there is in a more radical approach.
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7 hours ago, kelson said:
Today's arrivals.🤠
I recently got that MR2, looks like a really nice kit and better than Fujimi's aged version.
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Great to see you making good progress on this one. Despite being fairly basic it goes together very nicely.
I went with similar size wheels and what look to be the same tyres on mine:
Just looked to see how I lowered mine. It looks as if I struggled with a clash between the front suspension lower arm and the wheel (even with the back sliced off), so rather than use spacers under the struts I cut off the original arm and glued a new one in place higher up.
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What a fantastic start. I'd love to give one of these a go, as a reminder of those I've seen on French holidays, however I'm not sure I could do it justice....
The later DS is one of the few old cars that my wife really likes, but I wouldn't be brave enough to own one at 1:1.
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I'm pretty much reaching 'peak stash' with my latest arrivals:
All from the same seller, the Mazda and Dodge were cheap and helped average out the cost to a sensible level when I decided to go for the Corvette America. I know that it's not the greatest kit, but it's one of the first few I built back in the early-mid '80s and I still have the remnants of the original in the parts box (I used the wire wheels on a recent project). It's only the second one I've seen come up for sale here in recent years and I had the pleasure of breaking open the seal. Hopefully I can do a decent job this time around....
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On 1/28/2023 at 2:38 AM, Westrods said:
I'm in with a Revell '81 Chevy Citation X-11
Look forward to seeing what you do with it!
I keep pondering the older Monogram versons I have in the stash, not as CBR entrants however.
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I'm getting to the point where I don't 'need' too many more complete kits, but wheel sets and parts to work with what I already have will always be useful:
The Beretta isn't complete, seems like someone had enough out of it to build a slammer, but the remains should be sufficient to give something else the Pro Street treatment.
The Nissan Laurel by Fujimi was bought complete with the intention of restoring/modifying, but it's so nicely done I've just put it straight into the cabinet. I may lower it and fit some different wheels at some point, but I don't need to do much else on it.
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Coming together nicely. Any issues?
This is definitely a kit I want to do someday given the interest I have in 1:1 Datsuns - maybe a retirement project.
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4 hours ago, doorsovdoon said:
1971 Rover 2000. She's a bit rough, but knocks the socks off any modern car in regards to comfort.
That certainly has plenty of character! This is a reference that might not translate to the other side of the Atlantic very well, but do you drive around pretending to be The Gaffer?!
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Look forward to seeing what you can do with them Gareth, good luck!
Must be quite a rarity in the UK, but given what they were like getting them built is definitely the right thing to do.
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Great to see some progress being made on other builds.
Wouldn't say I've started mine, but have done some useful planning this morning......
Working out how best to convert the Accord Wagon to take the NSX's mid-engine set-up. Helpfully I have the standard Tamiya NSX that I built back in the '90s to work things out, so I don't have to mock-up the new floorpan too much. Grey one is from NSX, black the Accord's.
Online sources suggest a difference of 7.3" (185mm) between the two, which equates to just under 8mm at 1:24. Using the assembled car I measured similar. I had been looking to graft the Accord's front floorpan onto the NSX's rear end, but it looks simpler to stretch the NSX. I'll make the cut where marked above, which should be easy to recreate with a bit of sheet styrene. I also need to trim off the sides, then the width is just right to slot under the Accord.
The floorpan stretch as I propose will bring the interior and dashboard forwards to the right place relative to the windshield:
The gap between seat backs and engine will open up a bit, but that's no problem and it will give room for me to create some sort of enclosure.
I think I'll use the NSX interior base, plus the LHD dashboard option which Tamiya helpfully include, but with the sides removed and replaced by those from the Accord (on the front doors at least). I have a rollcage from a Tamiya R32 Skyline racer which I'll use, the width and windshield rake are about right. That might donate some appropriate seats too.
If it fits like this with no work then I think I should be fine. I really don't want to get into bodywork modifications, and the NSX suspension is giving it a suitably low ride height so I don't have to hack around the delicately detailed components. The most I might do is cut some small vents into the rear doors, below the rubbing strip. The NSX is fairly modest in that regard with a front-mounted radiator, so it doesn't need big vents.
My version of the Accord doesn't have any bodykit options, but with it sitting so low I don't think it needs them and I prefer the low-key standard look, I might just add some form of splitter under the front bumper.
Haven't yet worked out colour or wheel choices. Perhaps a dark metallic blue or green, something quite subtle. Wheel choice will be down to whatever suits the NSX brakes and suspension without too much modification. I suppose I could keep the standard NSX rims for an easy life, but I usually like to swap them.
I've got one more current WIP to finish before I fully launch into this, but it's good to have something to start thinking about when I'm away from the bench.
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Perfect in every way! It's amazing.
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Excellent job! The weathering looks very effective.
I enjoyed building one of these a few years ago, and I still have another one in the stash.
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Very nice. I saw it coming together on your WIP thread, the finished result looks excellent.
I've built the simpler Fujimi kit but not yet started the Tamiya version, I need to be in the right frame of mind to do it justice.
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Finished this simple snap-fix kit today, not quite a year after starting it.
WIP thread here:
It's based on a rare surviving UK example seen in this article here: https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-people-guy-nicholls/
I usually take a stock kit and modify it a little, this time I've spent time and effort taking it back to as close to standard as I can.
The kit went together really nicely, I could have easily built it OOB but in removing/smoothing-out a few elements I gave myself some work to do.
The wheels were from an Italeri Land Cruiser kit, with tyres from a later Aoshima Hilux. They are perhaps a little chunkier than the originals, but I think that can be got away with on a 4x4. The plain steel wheels are such an integral part of its look I had to fit them (and I now get some nice spares to use on another project).
Paint was an automotive can of Fiat Red Orange, which seems to replicate the original pretty well. I had one or two issues along the way, requiring a partial repaint of the finished bodyshell.
Rear bumper cut off the chassis and roll bar, etc removed.
Removing the bullbar off the front end made a big difference to its appearance. I was going to reconstruct the remnants of the original bumper but then I had an Aoshima Nissan Terrano kit arrive with a spare front bumper which was close to the original Hilux item, so I narrowed and filled that. Indicator lenses are thin sheet styrene covered with BMF then painted with Humbrol clear orange. I made up UK-style plates with the original LAL 45V registration by printing a CAD image onto normal paper then laminating it by sticking selloptape both sides. It might eventually yellow, but will be easy enough to replace as and when necessary. Brightwork was by a mix of Gundam marker and BMF, 'black' trim my favourite Revell #9 enamel all done by brush.
Lots of black vinyl and plastic inside, I didn't spend a lot of time on this. I trimmed out the quarterlight frames, as the 1:1 didn't have them. Being LHD this is where my build deviates most from the original. I don't think I'd be capable of neatly swapping the dashboard and steering column over, in hindsight the easiest way would have been to scan the original, mirror the file and then 3D print it in RHD format.
Not a lot to say about the underside, other than painting the exhaust I kept my detailing very basic. The body fitted onto it in a very positive way, unlike some of the multi-piece trucks I have to build someday (Datsun 620, Ford Courier and the like).
Just noticed one or two paint chips - the can is almost empty and I don't want to use the rest of it for touch-ups until a 1:24 tractor build my son is doing in the same colour is ready to put together.
This was an enjoyable kit to build, with my early example being well-moulded and fitting together nicely. Any difficulties were of my own making with the conversion back to standard.
Thanks for looking.
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Another of the recent Hasegawa Toyotas, this one probably the nicest so far:
A very well engineered kit, with solid and moon roof options and crisp detailing, and including the top half at least of an engine. I compared it to the rather older Fujimi MR2 kit I also have, the latter wasn't quite as clunky as I remembered but it does have a somewhat longer wheelbase and larger arch openings. I suspect the Hasegawa kit is the more accurate of the two.
Hasegawa for a stock(ish) build, and Fujimi for something a bit more modified I reckon.
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On 1/5/2023 at 10:24 PM, Can-Con said:
Nigel, when you build that Caprice, please foil the whole A-pillar. The pic on the boxes is incorrect, the pillars on all full size GM cars in the mid '80s had a stainless steel trim peice that completely covered them.
I'm kinda anal about those as the '76 I owned was one of my favorite cars that I owned. Looked almost identical to the one in the pic below except with different wheels and colour matched velour interior. Best "drive in" car ever 😁
Thanks for the info. I've started to scribble down little notes when I get advice like this and pop it into the box, as it could be months or even years before I get around to building them....
On Friday I received a mixture of new and secondhand items from an online retailer:
I suspect the Malibu will end up with a few leftover parts from the 3-in-1 '70 Chevelle kit that I also have. I like that era of Monogram box art, evocative of the days when I first started visiting model shops, and it has extra appeal to me as a birth year build.
Ditto the Galaxie, don't know yet whether that will be a stock daily driver, or maybe kept fairly subtle but with upgraded running gear and sat low (imagining it's on airbags).
S&H Torino was cheap, I don't have enough slotmags in stock and one day it'll look good sat on a shelf of stock-ish/day 2 builds. It certainly won't be red with white stripes but maybe those decals will be good to recreate one of the terrible replicas that I would occasionally see, based on something entirely inappropriate.
The Brat will look good with the AMT Hilux I'm finishing off at the moment.
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What did you get today? (Model Car Related Items)
in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
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Really nice Tom, didn't realise they did this one and it's great for it be available as a kit. Good to hear about the quality and fitment.
I only recently became aware of them from a Datsun 1200 2-door they also offer, which is a car I had at 1:1 until a couple of years ago. A UK seller has a couple in stock, a bit pricey for a 'normal' purchase but might be able to justify it when it's my birthday next month....