Spottedlaurel

Looks great, I'd happily have that at 1:1.

Thanks both of you! I put a bit extra into this one because of the link to my real car, and I'm pleased with how it turned out.

I don't usually build anything at 1:20, but for some reason I ended up with this one. I chose the colour so it would be a loose replica of a real Skyline that I owned for some years. 1:20 Nichimo Nissan Skyline C211 kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:20 Nichimo Nissan Skyline C211 kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Very neatly presented. I started it back in 2008 or so, but only got round to finishing it this year..... 1:20 Nichimo Nissan Skyline C211 kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr A reasonable level of detail, although the straight-six engine suffers a bit as it was intended to house an electric motor. At least the batteries would have been in the boot, not below a shallow interior like some older Japanese kits. 1:20 Nichimo Nissan Skyline C211 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:20 Nichimo Nissan Skyline C211 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:20 Nichimo Nissan Skyline C211 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:20 Nichimo Nissan Skyline C211 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:20 Nichimo Nissan Skyline C211 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I swapped the wheels with the only other 1:20 kit I had (because I can't ever keep them standard) but otherwise it was pretty much OOB.

Thanks Tim. I don't enjoy filler work, I've never found anything that sands down particularly easily. I'll send you a PM so we can swap addresses, many thanks for that.

It doesn't warrant a WIP thread, but tonight I resurrected this long-term project: 1:24 Fujimi Nissan Fairlady Roadster by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Started it back in 2007. It got further than this, with detail painting done and more parts attached, but then my daughter (then aged about 7-8) unfortunately knocked it onto the floor..... 1:24 Fujimi Nissan Fairlady Roadster by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr It was so long ago I'd forgotten what I'd done, but it appears that I started to repair the damaged areas. I've now sanded down the filler and I'll repaint the bonnet and front corners (don't have enough paint for a complete stripdown and respray).

Excellent save, well done to the original builder for doing a clean job in the first place and for the sympathetic job you've done on it. Yes, you could have stripped it right back but then it would have lost its character.

I am! Thanks Tim, that's incredibly kind of you. I'd be very happy to take you up on your offer. See photo below, are you OK with the fact I've given them a coat of satin black areosol paint and glued the back on? I've spent some time going through my parts boxes and other kits, the best I've come up with is either a those from the Revell Datsun truck or Monogram Datsun 280Z: 1:25 Revell 1966 Chevelle Wagon by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Bodyshell after more filling and sanding: 1:25 Revell 1966 Chevelle Wagon by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I've shaved the boot hinges as well. Happily I don't have to work out how it would be hinged in real life..... Should be able to at least get some white base coat on over the weekend, before the Camel Yellow.

Good luck, looks even better this time around and would be such a shame if it didn't work out again.

Good to see one of these in progress. Seen them for sale lots of times over the years. Looking good, definitely better lowered.

Another one here who's never heard of a fibreglass being used at this scale, it sounds awful! Great progress so far. I have no experience of Australian racecars like this, but the colour scheme reminds me of the Ford Anglias used here by George Polley on his oval track National Hot Rods back in the '70s. Probably a similar grassroots scene? Also interesting to see what the TS-37 paint looks like for real. I have an old can of it, not entirely sure what to use it on yet.....

Nicely done, very clean.

Shiny! Looks good, interesting to see one of these built. My son is finishing off a Koenig Specials version of the Ferrari Testarossa at present.

Thanks everyone! As I can point out with all of my builds, it's far from perfect but it was an enjoyable process and I'm pleased with the finished result - it matches the concept I had in my head. The blue wasn't the intended colour, I started off using a darker shade but it was a previously started can and I had concerns about whether there'd be enough and how it would spray if I was trying to get the last bit of paint out, so I switched to this one. It might have been 30+ years old, but it still worked nicely..... 1:24 Tamiya Audi Quattro by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr It's a relatively simplistic kit as it's from Tamiya's early days, but it does build up nicely and looks an effective display piece once done. However, if anyone wants to build one, I'd warn of a couple of issues. First, the moulding is a bit too thick under one of the rear side windows so the bodyshell doesn't sit nicely over the chassis unless that is thinned out a bit and/or the back of the interior side panels are shaved. Secondly, the front spoiler/bumper is a separate piece, to allow for the dfferent road and rally car front ends. As is the way with Tamiya and most Japanese kits, the bodyshell clicks onto tabs at the front and back of the floorpan meaning it's reliant on that glue joint between front wings (fenders!) and bumper. I chose to attach the spoiler/bumper onto the floorpan first, then lower the rest of the competed bodyshell onto it. Because of the first issue, it took a few attempts to get it to fall into place naturally. Looking back at my unpainted gluebomb first attempt, it appears that I had the same issue with that one.

Thanks Martin, it's going nicely so far! When I look at the shell I keep thinking of the Victor FD estate, I suppose there was the GM family connection. It was only by chance I found the wheels, I found them in a Monogram Mustang box and I must have been thinking of that as a project at one time. Sounds a good idea, but sadly I don't have either of them. A quick look online shows neither of them are available here at a price that I can justify for the seats alone (and yet another future project which I hadn't planned on). Just about to go for a rummage through a few boxes to see what I can find.....

Not a scene I knew about, I can now consider myself educated - they're having fun with cars, it's all good. I'm not entirely sure it's a look that would translate to the rural area where I live - I'd end up with a car wider than the roads I drive along! Good luck with the rest of the build, looking great so far.

What a fantastic story, and great to hear a bit about what went on 'behind the scenes'. A nice clean build too, as to be hoped!

That is very nice, I'd be proud to have that in my cabinet. Great colour choice, quite subtle. What paint did you use on the vinyl top and interior?

Thanks everyone. Probably not something that's to everyone's tastes, but the fun of doing things in small scale is that we can try out different things isn't it? Scary that late '99 can be "back in the day"! The colour is great, I'm looking forward to using it on something else. I have to say I'd happily own a 1:1 Prelude, although mine would be rather more standard. I really like Japanese cars from that era, I have a '93 Camry on the road (one of Kentucky's finest 2.2 wagons, quite unusual here in the UK).

Thanks everyone! I'm absorbed in it, even when I'm not working on it much/at all during the week I'm still thinking about how to do things on it. Bucky, the roof chop sounds brave! The bucket seats I found are too tall even after I cut some of the base off, so I need to revisit the parts box and see if I have anything else suitable. Nowadays I imagine an owner would be keener on keeping it more original, but back then I can imagine it being modernised with a leather and cloth interior.

Just read this through from start to finish, today's lunchtime viewing - well worth the time, very impressive work here!

What amazing survivors, well done for saving them and respect to their original builders. Wonder where those people are now and whether they remember doing them?

I look forward to seeing how you get on with it, looks like a great start. I picked one up recently, been trying for a while but finally got one for a reasonable amount. No plans yet, I'll see how you get on with yours.....

Pretty much always! Thanks! I think I had in mind what Shelby did to the AC Cobra. Thanks, everything has potential........ I didn't realise that, but apparently so. I'll keep the straight-six engine, might come in useful for another project in the future.

I built the Camaro High Roller when I was about 15, brush-painted Humbrol black. It was OK but eventually demoted to the parts box. It then donated its running gear to a Monogram '57. I think I started it back in the '90s, it got finished in 2009: Monogram 1:24 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 'High Roller' by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr This was how it had sat in a box for some years - I'd done all the difficult work, don't know why I stopped - maybe the prospect of all that BMF?! I painted it in Purple Velvet, a 1970s Ford UK/Europe colour. Back in the '90s it was easy to pick up funky random colours like that from the car parts shops. Circa 2008, I resurrected it: Monogram 1:24 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 'High Roller' by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Monogram 1:24 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 'High Roller' by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I don't know where the blower came from, maybe the Monogram '55 Chevy? I know that's where the hood scoop originated. The engine might be the one from the Camaro? Monogram 1:24 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 'High Roller' by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Monogram 1:24 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 'High Roller' by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Monogram 1:24 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 'High Roller' by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Monogram 1:24 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 'High Roller' by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr As I recall it was pretty easy to add the high lift suspension to the underside of the '57. From a mention I saw in the thread below it doesn't seem like Monogram adapted the base car at all, so it would be easy enough to do this on pretty much anything. Although it looks like the Camaro and Chevelle got a higher lift than the trucks? Or at least different wheels and tyres. Don't worry about the Camaro, It had a bath in a tub of brake fluid a few years ago and is in a box awaiting a rebuild one day.

Not a scene I'm familar with, but I picked up a magazine on a visit to NYC back in 1999 and the look of it came to mind when I considered a Prelude I had on the shelf, combined with gold wire wheels and appropriately bright paint...... 1:24 Fujimi Honda Prelude kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Lowrider Euro inspiration (2) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Lowrider Euro inspiration (1) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr A few different ways to go, it wouldn't be necessary to add a crazy bodykit or wild, muralled paint. 1:24 Fujimi Honda Prelude kit in progress by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Don't know if it was necessary, but I thought the yellow would be a good base coat. 1:24 Fujimi Honda Prelude kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Completed interior, with seats from the Drift Parts set. It's an odd kit with some screws to assemble it (most of which I didn't use, relying on glue instead). 1:24 Fujimi Honda Prelude kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Fujimi Honda Prelude kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Fujimi Honda Prelude kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:24 Fujimi Honda Prelude kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I had to simplify the suspension to get it sitting low enough, the wheels are attached by a bent piece of wire! I also took some very low profile stretchwall tyres from another accessory wheel set, they were much better suited to this look than the slightly chunky tyres that the wire wheel set came with. This one took 'just' four years to complete, it came out just as I envisaged.