Matt Bacon

Thanks, guys.... I literally just found these as well, which are still live on the web: http://www.cscra.co.uk/classic-slot-car-racing-association-prototype-parade.html There are more of them, even if some overlap with the MCM ones... best, M.

For others who may be interested, the MCM plans are online in an archive here: http://web.archive.org/web/20071211013214/http://vsrnonline.com/Mags/MC/MC_Plans.htm Best, M.

Never mind the humanoid ones… the REALLY creepy ones are the Boston Dynamics snake-headed dogs with tentacles that can open doors… best, M.

What a beautiful build! Particularly from what you started with… I loved the car as a kid thanks to a die cast, and the Alan Mann livery is so iconic. I built the Airfix one a couple of years back, but as an adult I realise that its poor track record is probably why there’s no more recent kit. So we have to make do, and you’ve achieved a stunning result. Well done! best, M.

Oddly, they are releasing it as a “gift set,” with small pots of paint, glue and a brush. Now, that might be more profitable because they can boost the price by way more than those things cost them. But I’ve built the Uhlenhaut Coupe, and it is not a beginners build by any stretch. Anyone who has the skill and experience to build it successfully will have all the paint and glue they need… best, M.

The three 1/32 kits are definitely the Matchbox tooling. That’s not to say they are bad or out of date, especially in the 1/32 market where there are very few state of the art kits. I’ve done the Mercedes and the Porsche and they build up very nicely. For the Porsche specifically, the biggest issue in the old one was the decals, but a new release will come with brand new decals and likely resolve that problem. There are aftermarket sets for the Donohue/Follmer L&M cars if you’d prefer one of those to the iconic Martini livery. The Surtees is an oddball… not very successful and in the range because it was sponsored by Matchbox in period. You have a couple of colour options for the livery, but that’s about it… best, M.

And here they are on the table for the weekend in our tribute display at Scale Model World (the IPMS UK Nats) best, M.

The transatlantic shipping probably rules it out for me, but to possibly help make it easier for you to find one… Does it have to be the Airfix box of the MGB, or would an Aoshima one or a Revell box do? They are all the same plastic, and Aoshima have re-released both the chrome and rubber bumper versions of theirs recently… best, M.

Not cheap, and I know nothing about them, but: https://www.tbdecalsmodels.com/product-page/1-8-decals-f1-lotus-72d-1972-1973-full-jps-decal-tbd544 best, M.

I’m afraid that won’t work, Noel… the vast majority of the livery and detail markings are pre-painted/tampo printed on the parts of the Pocher kit. If I remember correctly, there is a tiny decal sheet with the instrument faces and a couple of small warning markings, but that’s pretty much it. best, M.

There are a number of threads on Britmodeller about this. Bottom line is that the Zero primers just aren’t very good. Tamiya Fine Surface Primer or Stynylrez work fine, and in a couple of dozen builds using Zero colour coats and clear coats over them, I’ve never had any adhesion/masking issues. Bin the Zero Primer and buy a can or two of Tamiya primer in grey and white… best, M.

If you have a smartphone, get Google Translate, download the Japanese language pack, and you can point your camera at the instructions and watch them transform into English in front of your eyes. It’ll struggle with the big blocks of text, but for colour call-outs or “make sure you do this in this order” notes on the drawings, it’s invaluable. Or grab these later multilingual instructions from Scalemates: https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/7/4/6/122746-28-instructions.pdf best, M.

Greg Sacks, it seems... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Sacks He was stunt driving for Tom Cruise as well, so it's not like he was only involved in development... best, M.

The fourth in a series of displays to pay tribute to illustrator and Airfix box art legend Roy Cross. This is the Merit kit from the late 1950s, and it's still a better shape than the much later Protar offering... The body is painted with Tamiya Gloss Aluminium spray, the supercharger intake is built up in Milliput, and the rims are 3D printed Mercedes 300SL wheels from Ukrainian Scale Car Production. The Fangio figure is an Immense Miniatures generic body with "Late career" Fangio head, now available from RS Slot Racing in the UK. best, M.

Back from holiday now, and moving forward (the Scale Model World countdown clock is ticking loudly!): I was a bit worried about getting these home-brew decals to settle down around the curves and over the detail, but they've worked out OK, I reckon. I've got a "recipe" for doing these bases now, so it's pretty much rinse and repeat -- helped by the fact that Roy uses a small handful of different points of view over the whole series, so once you've figured out the front to back slope, the side to side slope, and how low or high the front panel needs to be, they are all variations on a theme... Until I've glued the wheels, it'll roll off, so this is the closest I'll get to the cover pic before Under Glass! ...and a couple of off-axis angles to give a clearer picture of how the base works... Nearly there, now! Best, M.

^^^ Either the nozzle is blocked completely, or the needle seals are gone, or both. Somehow, the air is forcing the paint backwards through the brush instead of out the nozzle… which should be the path of least resistance. I don’t think it has anything to do with decanted versus “ready to spray”. If the latter is acrylic I suspect it has gunged up the nozzle and now you have gone back to decanted the thinner paint has pushed past the seals. You are gonna have to take the whole thing apart and thoroughly clean it, I reckon… best, M.

Goldfish, and their memory, are the subject of this excellent comedy sketch ( ) by John Finnemore, an excellent British comedy writer. best, M.

I most certainly will.... Classic British Kits SIG display this year is a Roy Cross tribute, and I fancied trying something different from Airfix Box Art... best, M.

Thanks, all.... Juan Manuel is now pretty much done. Conveniently, Collector Studio has had some replicas of Fangio's racing helmet made, which provided excellent reference (https://collectorstudio.com/product/1955-7-juan-manuel-fangio-replica-helmet/) The clear epoxy trick with the goggles has worked well again. I'm a fan! Moment of truth: Yes, he can climb aboard and hold the wheel with it on place on the dashboard! Phew.... best, M.

BTW… “Snap!” I think that means they are both mine now… ? best, M.

Absolutely beautiful, Jay. Great finish and colour combo. I love the shot with the orange reflections… fabulous with the green interior… ? best, M.

Finally some progress to report here: I've been plugging away steadily... Some very fetching upholstery from the decal stash, and instrument panel home made from an image I found online. I've scribed the fuel fillers as well. JMF fully assembled and pose adjusted so his hands will (should?!) grip the wheel. Nose finished, with teeny-tiny grille attached on the air intake. Not firmly enough, as we shall soon see... Time to take it for a spin... The winglets behind the wheels are in the original kit, but were missing from this second-hand one, so I've made some. Roy doesn't have them in his picture, but they were on the car in that race, so on they go... Trying on the USCP wheels for size... they look pretty good to me. Now, where is that little grille...? Not easy to see, which is kinda the point, but I've printed out some detail inside the "black holes" where the engine is. Note to self -- put something in the back to stop that being see through... Time to start painting JMF.... best, M.

Three displays based on classic 1960s boys' magazine covers in a tribute to legendary Airfix box artist and illustrator Roy Cross, who died this year aged 100. The second picture, from the higher angle, is the best representation of how the real magazine covers look. best, M.

Well, given that the “chrome” finish on plastic model parts IS aluminium, I think that’s pretty effective! best, M.

Something I learned shortly after completing this kit that I think is worth sharing… Back in the build thread, I said I was very pleased that Auto Kits had designed it so the front wheels can swivel and “steer”, which is pretty important for posing it like this. I also thought that the fixed springs would make for pretty sturdy and well braced suspension. As you can see above, I have also taken precautions to help support the weight of the car. What I hadn’t figured out in advance… If the pins on the kingpin/wheel carrier are free to move in the holes on the wishbones, then they can’t transmit any vertical force. Which means that even though the complete wishbones/wheel carrier/spring/mounting is a braced rectangular structure in theory, in practice it doesn’t work. The weight of the car results in a reaction force pushing the wheel carrier upward, and if it’s free to move in the socket in the lower wishbone, the diagonal bracing of the spring to the lower wishbone is irrelevant. The effective weight of that corner of the car is being carried entirely by the two 1/32” white metal struts of the upper wishbone. Which bend. Then the wheel carrier comes out of the lower wishbone completely and goes sideways. Bottom line is you need to glue the wheel carriers in place once you’ve set the desired angle, or make sure they are a tight enough interference fit to transmit vertical forces. Given I’ve put the car in a turn by where Willy is looking and how the steering wheel is turned at an angle, gluing them in place is not a problem for me. But it’s a useful lesson to learn about building white metal models, if you’re an old kit fan like me… best, M.