Spottedlaurel

I wish I could send you some of the Tamiya clear yellow I have leftover from painting just these two foglights! 1:24 Tamiya Renault 5 Turbo kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr The kit didn't have clear lenses there so I painted the clear onto BMF. Now need to build more kits with yellow lights to justify the paint......

It looks fantastic, as befits the care and attention that obviously went into it that we saw on your WIP thread. Just a small detail, but the rear lights capture the look of the Lucas originals really well.

Got to admire your dedication in taking these on! Good luck with it.

O/C '68 Corvette is Monogram 1/24 isn't it? I had to check as I bought mine unboxed. And thanks, yes, it'll be done!

I put this to one side for a few days after polishing through the front wing top again. The wait was worthwhile..... 1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr The above shots are with this installed underneath: 1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Gentle polishing of repaint #2 did the trick, which gave me the boost I needed to complete the engine installation. 1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Getting the radiator and electric fan set-up in place was the challenging aspect. 1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Yet more trimming of the chassis, suspension crossmember and shaving the bottom of the fan installation did the trick. Shortening the air cleaner snorkel means that the bonnet can close as intended on its pins. While I had this on the bench I thought I'd see how a C3 Corvette body fitted, in this case the Owens Corning '68. The answer was not very well, the wheelbase was somewhat shorter than the C2. 1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

It may not have been your intention, but that's worked really well!

Managed to make useful progress on all five currents WIPs: More detail painting and a bit of BMF done on Roadster bodyshell, front end of Toyota repainted and sunroofs sprayed with Tamiya Smoke, newly resurrected Ferrari's ride height rectified, Datsun Z got more primer and other components painted, and the Corvette reached a significant point with its paintwork and engine installation. I'm not sure how I've ended up working on so many 2-seater sportscars, at 1:1 I much prefer saloons, estates and coupes. In an ideal world I'd like to finish almost all of them during the remaining week of my holiday, I've already got several new projects in mind......

Great to see stuff like this being built, complete with pies! Looks good.

It's nice to see a Stag out and about on the road, but I tend to overlook them at shows. Don't know if it's just a local thing, but the owners tend to turn up and do everything en-masse, and there's only so much interest can be had in a row of 12 similar cars. Styling of the 2000/2500 saloons works better, I'd happily have one of them (or the elegant estate version).

That's rather nice isn't it? Looks very promising so far.

More progress on this one: 1:24 Monogram Datsun 280Z kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Here next to my Revell issue of the Monogram Ferrari 308 from the same series, which is a mothballed WIP that I resurrected yesterday. 1:24 Monogram Datsun 280Z kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Other than a moulded-in system, there was no meaningful exhaust and I wondered if this accessory item would work. 1:24 Monogram Datsun 280Z kit1:24 Monogram Datsun 280Z kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr That looks the part. 1:24 Monogram Datsun 280Z kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Basic interior is coming together. May as well use that simplistic rollbar as it's there, assuming it doesn't foul the seats. These were leftover Recaros from a Tamiya Audi Quattro, before I get too much further I need to check the bodyshell and glass will fit over them, the tops may need a bit of reshaping? Steering wheel is of unknown origin from the parts box and 80-grit paper will be painted for the main carpet areas. The door panel has been left unpainted intentionally, the reason why will become clear in due course.

Interesting, you have pretty much the same system we do here. Definitely wise to go to a trusted garage who knows the car and owner. That was the reason for taking the Datsun to the garage, it went straight through the test with just one suggestion on something I need to look at. I could have not bothered, as relatively recently the rules changed and cars over 40 years old are exempt for the MoT test. However that doesn't seem right to me, and if ever there was an accident I think it would be helpful to show the car did have a current MoT. For the sake of £25 it's good peace of mind. Oddly, in Northern Ireland (which is part of the UK) the MoT tests are carried out by a government body. In France the tests seem to be carried out by private companies who do not carry out repairs. Saw a couple of interesting things yesterday: 1984 Renault 4 GTL by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Good inspiration for the Heller kit I have? I should be on holiday in France right now, they have quite a few of them there still in everyday use, so it felt appropriate to catch sight of this one. 1974 Triumph Stag by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr The original 3-litre V8 in these makes a lovely noise, but many got converted to Ford/Rover over the years due to overheating issues. Nowadays there's the knowledge and value in the car to deal with that and keep the original unit.

That thought did vaguely cross my mind, I have one or two other kits which I've also considered for some kind of Speedster conversion after they've suffered similarly.

Thanks Don, it did work out nicely. Hopefully the engineering on the real thing would be a bit more thorough than my conversion which concentrates on style over substance ? I haven't got a clue what they sell for now, luckily mine was bought in a local model shop back in the early '90s. Ha ha, I think we've all had kits go through our hands like that. Thanks Carl and Larry. It's great to see it finished in the cabinet after all these years.

I'll look to keep the Monogram '92 for a kerbside build one day then. C4s are probably quite a complex thing to model, with that clamshell bonnet.

That looks fantastic, really effective with nice detailing.

That's very nice, so much better than the box art! Excellent work on the chrome trim.

This week's arrivals: 1:24 Hasegawa Subaru Impreza Sports Wagon WRX kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Always good to get a wagon. 1:24 Tamiya Alpine Renault A110 Monte Carlo kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Had one of these in the past but traded it for a load of Tamiya TS spray cans. Very nice kit, always regretted moving it on so was pleased to find this one. Has been started, but nothing too significant and the important bits are intact. 1:24 Tamiya Toyota Celica kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Tamiya Toyota Celica kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Ouch. It turned out this was damaged before being shipped to me, the seller genuinely didn't realise and very amicably gave me a partial refund. Might be repairable, I've got nothing to lose by trying.

A sad reason for getting them, but what you suggest will be a nice way of remembering him.

I know I've had 35+ years to get used to the concept of this thing, but on the basis of those 1:1 shots I don't reckon it's so bad.

This thread has reminded me that I got SAE for a year or two back in the '90s. Chances are I will still have them somewhere, will be interesting to dig them out.

Looks good so far. Who does the best C4 Corvette? I've started getting familiar with them as I've just robbed the LT5 out of Monogram's '92 ZR-1, and I also have an MPC 1987/88 2-in-1. The Monogram doesn't look too bad (remember that I don't get much opportunity to see these at 1:1).

Thanks Atin and Mike, this one's just a bit of fun. The driver will certainly watch out at those junctions! Yes, I think those 8-spokes will be my choice - I have several of them and they suit it really well. Cheers Tom! The photos you've shown of it so far look better around the rear end. I think the Z might be one of those iconic designs that for some reason is difficult to get just right. I look forward to seeing what you do with yours. Thank you Brad, it's really good to see one built-up - yours came out well, I like that you painted the rubber and chrome strip around the windscreen. The big bumpers aren't beautiful for sure, but the whole thing nicely captures the feel of an American Z. The rear end modification wouldn't be necessary if I'd kept the bumper, indeed it would make fixing it more difficult. Due to their cheap original price I suspect most were quickly thrown together by kids and then discarded, and they haven't had much attention since due to their perceived crudity and lack of detail. The basics all seem to be there though for a decent display piece, as you have shown, and it's ideal for something where I want to experiment a bit. I have the nicer Hasegawa kits when I want to do a 'proper' build. I also have a Fujimi Z, not quite as good as the Hasegawa but it does have a reasonable-looking L24 engine with it. The wheels off these Zs have been very useful on other projects (you'll see the slotmags off the red Z on another one of my builds in the next week or so, if all goes well. As mentioned elsewhere on here, I also built the TR7 in this series when I was about 11-12 and I still have the wheels from that, with a project in mind for them. Some years ago I started Revell's reissue of the Ferrai 308, my son was looking at it yesterday and encouraging me to finish it off. The 280Z isn't a car we got in the UK or Europe at 1:1, we kept going with the 260Z until the 280ZX was launched. I saw this 2+2 version in NYC back in 1999: Datsun 280Z GT-33 (Bob Sharp Racing), New York 1999 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Datsun 280Z GT-33 (Bob Sharp Racing), New York 1999 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Maybe that could be my inspriation for the other 280Z? Or what about this?..... Datsun 240/260Z Saloon Stock Car - Horry Barnes, Swaffham c.1996 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

That's worked-out very nicely, colour is a good choice and a bit more subtle than these often seem to be.

Well done on the exhaust (I've just left it off on my latest build) and also on persevering with the lowering. Sometimes the kit suspension doesn't give the ability to go as low as required, and bit of wire, rod or pin is the only way to go. It all looks to be coming together nicely.