Junkman

So which is the 'best' kit? Well, IMO it depends on which version you want to build. - If you want to build a late car, deffo Revell. - For the middle aged ones, go for the Tamiya. - If backdating to an early one is what you want to do, I think the Heller one is best suited, but don't forget, that you are dealing with 1980s kit technology here. And with that I mean 1980s Heller kit technology. Having said that, IMO this kit yields the most charming and least sterile results. - And if you want to do an early early one, fit the Ebbro pick up front clip and chassis with a backdated Heller saloon body. Or just wait, Ebbro might release one anyway. Also, I take the liberty to expand on the third side window. French built cars with the corrugated bonnet never had it. But cars built in Belgium were available with it at extra cost from the onset, so a corrugately hooded 2CV with the third side window isn't necessarily incorrect: So we have to thank the Belgians, that the third side window became available at all. However, the Belgian built cars also had numerous other quirks the French cars never had. First and foremost different taillights, a different rear window and a different bootlid: The Belgian bootlid concealed a second boot floor, i.e. a shallow compartment, that contained the spare wheel, which was merely thrown into the boot in French built cars, so in those, you had to put your nice Samsonites onto a dirty wet wheel after a puncture in a rainstorm. . In 1958 they changed it to this arrangement: Note: This arrangement was only legal in countries that allowed taillights and rear numberplates being mounted on folding panels. It was hence deffo illegal in Denmark and Scandinavia. Also note: The above picture is of a 1958 Belgian built car that has the third side window, which was at that time still gleefully absent from French built ones. The Belgians also always got chromed bumpers, aluminium trim on the wings and down the centre of the bonnet, and many colours to choose from. Belgian wheels were always painted body colour and always had chromed embellishers, held in place with a central chromed hexagon bolt. French wheels were usually the same colour of dirty white regardless of the body colour and did only come in body colour and with embellishers on the posh models. Back to the third side window. Once the switch to the creased bonnet was done in 1960, 2CVs were available with, or without the third side window, regardless whether they were built in Belgium, France, or elsewhere. French versions with the third window were called 'Luxe'. The Luxe versions proved so popular, that from c. 1965 onwards, the number of cars built without the third side window is practically negligible and they were dropped altogether in the late Sixties, the exact year is unknown, but it is estimated to be 1968. From 1973 onwards, cars without the third side window were again produced in limited batches until production halted in France in 1989. From then on 2CVs were only built in Portugal for another year or so and all of those had the 3rd side window.

BTW, the earlier taillights can be kitbashed from the Heller 4CV kit. They are the exact same Soubitez units.

I have a nice diecast with them. That's good enough for me. Anyway, after the switch from the corrugated to the creased bonnet in 1960 and changing the front doors from suicide to normal fitting in 1965, the next big change occurred at the back, I believe in 1970, or 1971. Until then, the panel below the bootlid was at the same angle as the lid: It was changed to this almost vertical arrangement: Also note how the bumper is now mounted lower than it was before, almost at the same height as the front one. So this would need to be backdated on the Gunze/Heller, should one opt to build the Clarise version and also if one wants to replicate the one Curt had in AmGraf. During this "taillift", the rear tips of the rear wings/fenders were also slightly changed, they are thus not compatible on the real cars, but I guess that change is small enough that it can be ignored in 1/24. It does properly annoy real car restorers though, since only the later ones are available new. The reason for this was that many European countries did no longer allow the rear numberplate to be mounted at the angle the earlier versions had. I think it went from max 30 to max 15 degrees, IIRC.

I didn't say with one word that not having rectangular headlights is incorrect. The rectangular headlights were at no time the sole option, round ones were always available, although the UK might be as usual an exception, I don't know. I said I prefer the later types with the rectangular ones. However, the round ones in the Tamiya kit aren't typical 2CV headlights, they depict the ones fitted to 2CVs in Japan. Original 2CV headlights: Tamiya: Notice how the Tamiya ones are mounted on stems, so they are higher up, they are shallower, larger in diameter, lacking the typical lever to undo the lens, which itself is less convex, i.e. it's a completely different headlight arrangement. And as I said, this is not a mistake by Tamiya, I have seen 2CVs in Japan with exactly these headlights mounted in this way. I presume this was necessary to meet Japanese lighting legislation when the cars were new. Many surviving 2CVs in Japan have meanwhile been converted to the original headlights.

I never bought the Tamiya because of the wrong headlights. They must be modelled after lights fitted to 2CVs in Japan, because I've seen real 2CVs in Japan with them. Weirdly, all three models depict 2CVs from the same era, namely the final years, but not one of them includes the rectangular headlights that were also available during that period. I'd actually prefer them on a late one. Fitting the Gunze/Heller one with the resin parts will not yield an accurate early type, although I believe the Heller is the easiest one to modify accordingly. I seem to remember, that I explained the main difference before, but am happy to do so again, if you are interested.

What will happen is you'll buy the 4mm and a refill pack soon afterwards.

You can order them online everywhere and then eBay and pay all kinds of postage, alright. My question was: show me where I can BUY them.

Show me where Heller kits are sold. I can't find them anywhere in England, a friend of mine can't find them anywhere in Germany and I was recently in France, a wad of €€€s in my wallet and guess what! It's no wonder they go bust with that business model.

I just leave those here...

I wonder why it wasn't included in Heller's recent reissue spree. Well, it will be now, since you shelled out for one on eBay...

Has anyone tried candy or transparent on top of them yet?

For me they are the game changer. I agree they won't entirely replace BMF, especially not on those easy to foil side moldings and roof gutters, but they will in areas that are notoriously difficult to foil (at least for me), i.e. A pillars, vent windows, wipers and small trim ornaments, such as the '57 Chevy pedestrian slicers, or '58 Chevy hayforks, etc. They are also ace for doing the corners of window frames, which also was always tricky with foil. Where they will completely replace foil is on interior trim. I will also use them on my Corgi/Dinky "restorations", where the trim was painted on with silver paint. They elevate those "models" to an entirely new level. They are also ace for freshening up the oxidised plating on old Norevs. I bet they are extremely useful for Hotwheels and similar restos and mods.

Entirely btw, whoever needs bits for UK chod, I'm at the source.

Does the 700R4 mate right up with the Jag engine? What about the speedo drive? I'm asking because I want to upgrade the gearbox in my Rover P6. A common way is to use a frankensteined ZF4HP22 from a Range Rover with a slightly machined off Jag tailshaft inside a Volvo tailshaft housing, or a Jag/Volvo box with a Range Rover bellhousing and TQ. But I'd much rather have a 700R4 with an adapter.

There is a parallel universe where kit parts vanish to. One headlight cover of my Italeri 250 GTO is over there for 24 years now. Doors, hoods and trunklids that fit perfectly each time they were trial fitted suddenly don't fit for love nor money when you want to finally mount them.

Sounds perfect for snowy roads.

Hey, thanks! Today I already ripped off those daft wheelarch trims. The rear arches are perfect, but the front wings are shot, both of them. That full local UKIP councillor spec leaper has to go next, as do those terminally retarded DRLs. There is a lot of other work to do, mainly electrical shenanigans and obviously the ash tray was on fire once. Apart from the front wings, the car appears to be relatively solid. The only other rot I found is at the bottom of the quarter panels, a few bubbles on the offside A pillar and a few more bubbles near the petrol filler flap. But most importantly, Satan's roof is competely rust free! Engine and box are sound, but I had to top up the power steering today. Let's see how long that lasts...

I think I just bought this a bit.

Icelert was only fitted to NADA spec cars, alongside those gopping bonnet scoops. Mine is a home market V8, in Series 1 flavour rare as hens teeth nowadays. Some idiot resprayed it dark blue, despite its original colour is the most arresting Tobacco Leaf. It has the original Sandalwood leather interior, but I already obtained most of a leather interior in Toledo Red, which hopefully will go along quite nicely with the planned respray in Burnt Grey.

What happened when you tried?

Although I sifted through my Revell AG catalogs of the era to no avail, I clearly remember they announced a Bugatti EB112 alongside their EB110. The real car remained a stillborn prototype, maybe that's the reason why the kit was never launched.

Apparently not. Seems to be a veritable Ghost Kit.

Buy a refill bottle and airbrush it.

^^ This. And he is thankfully such a cheapskate, that his tips helped me to reduce my modeling expenses back into sanity. He even skimps on primer. I use craft acrylics matt white though, at 50p a bottle, which is good for at least ten models. Chris' philosophy is to paint an entire model for under one Dollar and his results are awesome.

Click on the 'Buy' button, click on 'shopping cart', make sure all the items you want to buy are in it, click on 'checkout', enter your details, click on 'continue', click on 'confirm', click on 'I accept the terms and conditions', pay, wait for it to arrive. At least that's how I do it all the time.