sjordan2

I would assume it has to do with the tradition of bicycles at the time, and the fact that the original Benz Motorwagen used it. So subsequent manufacturers were just vamping on what went before.

All of this while you live in the Southern California beach area. I assume you live with a popular bikini model and have a Hawaiian cook, who divert you between your model building and surfing sessions.

That old Airfix kit has been through lots of stuff. It started out as motorized kit with the motor inside the engine block, with gears attached to the flywheel, and the batteries under the rear seat (the parts for all that are still in the kit), then the motor became a mail-order item, later dropped altogether. It's really a very simplified kit, offering untold opportunities for anal detailers. I spent about a week on it, mostly waiting for paint to dry. The only real complaints I've heard are that the Bentley badge is placed too high on the radiator shell, and like all antique car kits, the wire wheel spokes are a bit too thick -- but I find them better than most. I did nothing to my wheels, but I'm using needle files to thin out the outer spoke halves on my 1/16 Jaguar SS 100. I should have done that on the Bentley. I think you could add more detail than I did (I didn't add the mesh stone guards over the carburetors next to the supercharger, or around the gas tank), without going freaking batty like John Teresi did on his kit. Just be sure to add typically British oil leaks on the oil pan like I did.

In many cases, it all goes back to who owns the original trademarks of the original cars, but that is usually covered by ®, which is the only true trademark protection because it means it has been officially registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office. In my experience as an advertising executive, however, TM and © don't have to be registered with the USPTO, they just indicate an unspecified intent to register the trademark at some future date, and add a certain amount of protection if a dispute arises with someone who didn't use those symbols. Anybody can use those symbols at any time. TM, of course, stands for trademark, and ® for Registered Trademark, usually applied to a company name or product like "Exxon" and "Exxon Superflo Motor Oil," and there's a weirder one, "SM" standing for "Service Mark," usually applied to things like slogans - which can also be covered by TM. TM is usually a placeholder for early introductions by large companies during the time the Registered Trademark is pending at the USPTO.

Yup, it's in my stereo cabinet. I just took those pictures last summer (BTW, the tonneau is made from a Glad leaf bag, and hasn't survived well -- the dullcote is wearing off and you can see the separate sections of card stock now). This is the only finished kit I still have, though many unbuilt kits await me to to do something. If you haven't built the Bentley, I can't recommend it enough. The current Airfix reissue is exactly the same as the old ones, except for a change in the original registration number now owned by Ralph Lauren – a change dictated by Bentley because one of their executives owns the new number. For more on this, go here (several more pictures of my kit on page 1): http://www.scalemotorcars.com/forum/large-scale-cars/43479-1-12-airfix-bentley-returns-does-2.html

Thanks, I just used the book photos as a guide for painting and adding some details like real mesh. No way I'm even close to being as good a builder as you.

The windshield would be a nice finishing touch (well, everything on this model looks like a finishing touch).

The Stein book is still one of the most influential sources in my files and was all I had to go on when I built my 1/12 Bentley in 1973. It also includes photos of the Rodney Clarke road version of the Bugatti T59 as produced by Bburago with fenders, but now restored to its original Grand Prix version without fenders. I have harvested many parts from the Bburago SSKL for my 1/16 Academy/Minicraft/Revell 1928 Mercedes SS Kabriolet, which I'm working on turning into the 1933 Sindelfingen version. Anyone who wants info on that one, I will be happy to send you my large files on CD.

Nobody -- not even me, with my ideas about how this could be accomplished, -- would have any idea how far along this could be produced. Unbelievable.

PS: Anyone wanting my research files and observations on building a correct Bugatti T59 is invited to PM me.

My biggest puzzlement with that kit is the shape of the fenders. Does anyone have images of a 1:1 with those fenders? I've seen hardtop saloons with such fenders, but never a sedanca, and I have tons of reference material.

To me, the biggest challenge in upsizing a kit like this is dealing with wheels and rubber tires. However, I think guys who are into this large-scale stuff don't really care about exact scale, they just want them big. So Fiat wheels and tires may not be exactly to scale with the Locomobile, so I'd adjust the upsized scale to what the requirements of the tires/wheels may be. Bburago did this with the diecasts and kits they made of their classic series (I think so they could use the same wire wheels for different kits and pre-built diecasts). For example, the Bburago Bugatti T59 is not really the advertised 1:18 scale, it's closer to 1:15 if you look at the 1:1 specs. (And typical wire wheels aren't even accurate to the T59; they all had piano wire wheels that don't have intersecting spokes. Fortunately, there is a source for beautiful piano wire wheels made specifically for the Bburago T59.)

As an advertising agency executive, I can assure you that there is no issue regarding making copies for your own personal use. Just don't sell the copies.

Would it be possible to enlarge the Hudson templates and plans, add some Pocher Fiat parts, and make a 1/8 version?

Interesting article on Hudson. It appears that Aurora bought the Old Timers name and turned some of the designs into their plastic series. http://www.autoworldmobilia.com/oldtimers/main.html

A Czech car made in India? This is getting way beyond my research skills.

Where did you source the wheels and tires?

Very well said. I'm one who gets irritated after following a WIP and becoming a fan, and then having it stop. But your points are very well-taken and have caused me to alter that point of view.

This is all truly awe-inspiring to those of us who love these cars.

Some people post interesting topics because they don't know they're going to be incendiary. Like me, on the "build" topic, which started innocently and got completely out of hand. However, your opening post indicates that's exactly what you're after. Comment?

Is that the Helck car?

Beautiful. What kit and scale?

I'm not sure you understand what simple maturity and courtesy are.

I thought we were grownups, too. Evidently you don't, or this sort of useless, snarky comment would not show up. "Go build something." Who would have thought that such a simple topic would become a troll magnet?

"it depends on what you mean by "is." -- Bill Clinton