sjordan2

You may also find this tutorial from Erik to be helpful. It fixes the biggest gripe about this and other E-Type kits, namely the seam line above the rocker panel areas. http://www.scalemotorcars.com/forum/building-tutorials/6549-cracking-code-getting-rid-xke-panellines.html

Yes, someone with John's skill could replace the very fragile and flimsy fender struts and headlight brackets with stronger material. The cleaning lady snapped off three of my Bentley's fenders when lifting it to dust the bookshelf.

This is why I think modelers should post "On the Workbench" AFTER they've worked on a build journal and not do it in real time. It's really frustrating to get into a build and see it abandoned.

A bit more: This is one of the 4 other of the Lauren car's sister cars built for the Birkin team. A few minor differences. I recommend adding the wheel weight cylinders (I made them from the kit's sprue bits). This is the Lauren car's cockpit. You'll notice at the top center of the dash a knob that is shaped like an awl and has a coil spring around the shaft under the knob. This is for priming the gas. The steering wheel is wrapped in cord, like most of the Birkin Bentleys. And the aft-facing side of the seat back is carpet/fabric, not leather. You will also notice that Lauren's restoration has a semi-gloss finish to the painted fabric part of the body shell - it's not as flat as might be expected, or as I painted my kit. Also, Lauren has added a removable gray carpet on top of the aluminum floorboard. There are two horizontally mounted black cylinders just above the dash on the fabric cowling; these are map lights. In this shot, you will also see that the mesh stone guard in front of the windscreens is much finer than any of the other mesh. I recommend using a replacement coffee filter. Regarding the kit, you've probably seen that the gauge faces are totally black. This is because the dials are on the other side of the decal, which is to be applied on the back side of the clear gauge lens part of the kit. You may want to make your own gauge lenses to get rid of the sink marks in the kit plastic. The other side of the engine. Another Blower Bentley. Note the cross-bracing between the firewall and the cowling. This car is painted closer to British Racing Green, whereas the Lauren car appears to be the sort of dark olive that was used on the Jaguar SS 100. At this point, I would turn over any further questions to Harry, who knows even more detail than I do.

Might be some help here. This image is larger than shown here. Also, you may have discovered by now that this kit was originally intended to be motorized, with a battery box under the rear seat and some unnecessary gears that go into the engine block.

I would also recommend looking at the Rolls gallery at modelmotorcars.com and getting the free download of the Pocher Sedanca instructions there. That kit isn't perfect, but it's almost like having a Rolls parts manual.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with this. If it's anything like your Cadillac V-16, it'll be a stunner. My favorite kit that I've ever built, and it screams for detail upgrades. Let me know if you need any reference (this is the same car now owned by Ralph Lauren, but was kitted in the early 70s before he bought it), and you might search this site for Harry P's experience with it. Just some top-of-mind tips: • There's a lot wire mesh on the 1:1, which is molded into the plastic in the kit: headlight stone guards, stone guard in front of the Brooklands windscreen, and surrounding the gas tank. You'll probably want to replace these with real mesh. I even added flyscreen to the radiator, and you may want to add the mesh guard covering the carbuetors. • You may want to replace the interior side panels, which are molded into the body shell, and the doors should open on the 1:1 car, which they don't in the kit. • I lost the links, but there are downloadable super-detailing guides available on the Web. You might also check out Gerald Wingrove's site for his 1:15 scratchbuild. • Engine needs a fan assembly.

As I recall, the doors are separate but you have to make your own hinges. So I've heard. If so, it's the most accurate and detailed kit they ever made. I've never seen the Renwal boxing. Nothing at all like the abominable Renwal 1/12 Ferrari 275GTB and Mercedes Gullwing.

I have a few of the original issue waiting to be built, plus massive reference material. The biggest challenge I've heard about is that the ride height is way too high and needs to be lowered. The late Martin Swire said the whole suspension needs dropping 3.5MM to get the stance looking right. His build journal was illuminating... http://cs.scaleautom...732.aspx#501732 This kit is based on a car formerly owned by PII expert Raymond Gentile, then in The San Diego Collection.Don't know where it is now. Please contact me for whatever information you may need. Here's just the tip of the iceberg from my files on Phantom IIs... Some more shots...

PS - you can get more info in the April 1980 issue of Road & Track. http://www.jimsmegam...oducts_id=14195 Complete article here (unlike what is stated in the links I posted above, R&T says the engine is a V8, not a V6). One fuzzy engine shot, plus a look at the interior. You'll note that the kit wheels are different from the turbine-style wheels on the 1:1, and the 1:1 has functional hood louvers. Plus, the 1:1 has body color T-top panels, not black or tinted glass: http://www.ebay.com/...6922256&vxp=mtr

A little background on the Turbo Vette. Experimental Turbo Vette: http://www.corvettes.nl/gm_prototypes/turbo80/index.html Granatelli's turbine car: http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2009/12/9/Corvette-Oddball-Andy-Granatellis-TurbinePowered-C3-Corvette/

To me, F1 is far more interesting than the cloned COT NASCAR racers on an oval track. There are more differences in F1 among the cars - they even have a manufacturer's championship - and the curving road courses require more driving skill. The downside is similar to NASCAR in that you see the same small group of drivers doing the same thing all the time, every week, and the most critical element is tire changes and pit stop times. The DRS part of F1 racing is very difficult to understand (Drag Reduction System, where you can adjust the rear wing only at certain times and certain points on the track). But to me, it's far more glamorous based on the worldwide settings and the fact that I've followed it for decades (Lewis Hamilton , for example, is the main squeeze of ex-Pussycat Dolls lead singer Nicole Scherzinger). One thing that happens in this type of open-wheel racing, which occurs frequently, is when a pursuer's front tires ride up onto the rear tires of a competitor.

I assume that's the new Fiat 500, so it's a Mopar since Fiat controls Chrysler.

The Gunze roadster looks very nice to me...but $160??? http://www.hobbyxstyle.com/EN/productDetail.asp?PID=231&Price=160&MCid=&SCid=&StoreID=

This is a tough one because there have been so many spectacular Bugatti models scratch-built by people like Wingrove, etc. But the paint finish and uneven body parts tell me this is a real survivor.

Absolutely killer issue, one of the best yet. One of the advantages of the magazine is being able to see multiple images laid out in front of you, with crisp, clear reproduction, without having to scroll through a Web page. Great recap of Hudson builds, love the article on the incredible Jaguar XJ220 that could easily be a Real or Model subject, nice guts on spotlighting the diecast Packard Caribbean, and everything else is as good as can be expected. As for the stunning 1/43 Ferrari build, I don't even know how to react - how can work that good be built at that scale (I guess Scale-Master knows)? Nice work. Got a good chuckle from the Spotlight full-page ad, considering how often they get dissed on the forum.

I can't tell what you're doing without some commentary on images.

Unbelievable awesomeness. What are you going to do to indicate the body panel lines?

There is nothing wrong with fomecore board if you use artist's acrylics. Just like any other artist's painting surface for acrylics, it would be wise to coat it with gesso first. Gatorboard, on the other hand, has something of a plastic surface and in my experience has a striped pattern molded on it. For diorama purposes, using a sponge for acrylic paint application is also a good idea. Also, consider using styrene sheet for model railroad dioramas, available with a huge variety of brick, stone, and other patterns, which you can get from hobby shops. Just experiment before you make a decision. As for the Esso decals,download logos from Google, and print to size on decal paper. http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1355&bih=750&q=esso+logo&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&oq=esso+logo&aq=f&aqi=g3g-m1g-S4g-mS1&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=3327l5174l0l10404l9l9l0l0l0l0l203l1313l1.7.1l9l0

Huh? Can someone explain???????

Also being shown at the L.A. Auto Show for Spring 2012 introduction, a 5-liter 420 hp Mustang GT convertible, adapted from the Boss 302. A bit more civilized for daily driving. http://www.ultimatec...onvertible.html

I have over 8 GB of downloaded and organized digital files for about 2 dozen cars (1.7 GB on the Mercedes 300 SL alone), plus books, magazines and videos similar to Christian's bookshelves. I've found it important to download the files because Web pages are constantly changing or being eliminated, and you can't always go back to them or find them at your fingertips.

Well, to me, it all depends on what you're looking for. If people don't care about a solid rear axle, and Ford can cut thousands off the price, what's the problem? A Corvette would cost a bunch more if they wanted to add world-class interior materials instead of the cheap stuff (always at the top of the criticism list), and they and their buyers are happy to deal with it and pay a more affordable price (though the Corvette value paradigm has become a thing of the past).