Matt Bacon

Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver for the unpainted areas, and TS-17 Gloss Aluminium for the painted areas of the wing. As Bill says, chances are the paint probably got dinged up and worn, but this is what a freshly built one looks like: https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/141825-p51-mustang-wings-painted-or-not Personally, I think a lot of models are over-weathered. Yes, the aircraft were worked hard, but the average life of a wartime aircraft was measured in months not years, and hundreds of hours in the air, not tens of thousands. Plus a beat-up airplane is slower than one that's kept clean and smooth, and a plane that looks like that might make a pilot wonder how well the important bits under the skin are being looked after as well... (Cue lots of pictures of famously beat-up looking airplanes...) best, M.

The headlightlight cowls are on. They are well defined, and the combination of an Optivisor, very sharp nail scissors and an angled light made cutting and trimming them relatively straightforward. They overlap the bodywork substantially, as they do on the original. I'm mulling over how to make the riveted panels that actually hold them on. Embossed aluminum tape, maybe. The bonnet strap is more wine bottle foil and the etched hardware from the transkit. I threaded the two straps with the buckle still attached to the fret -- it made it a lot easier to hang two U-shaped loops over the central bar. Flattening it out held everything in place and let me cut the buckle free. Then I adjusted the top and bottom lengths to get the fittings in the right place before folding the etch over each end. Back door hardware and reflectors attached. The effectiveness of the red interior at "lifting" the whole thing is clear, and what I was hoping for. Identification light, red for Sebring '68 in position. Now the tape is off, most of the handling will be using cotton gloves. ...as you can see from the dust! Time for the rest of the decals, and then the final hardware details which again sit on top or very close to some of the markings... best, M.

I have one of these for “big jobs”: https://www.air-craft.net/acatalog/Mr-Procon-Boy-SQ-PS-268-Airbrush.html It’s more of a small scale spray gun than a sophisticated air “brush”, but it’s brilliant for coverage, and the single action is easy to adjust in the fly if you suddenly decide to draw lines. best, Matt

Auto Kits were independent, and then were bought by South East Finecast http://www.sefinecast.co.uk/Car Kits/1 24 Scale Autokits Page 1.htm They are not quite as nice as the kits originated by SE Finecast, but pretty good. I would recommend investing in a couple of varieties (fast and not so fast) of two part epoxy resin, and three flavours of superglue: gel, gap-filling and thin. You'll also need a couple of decent fine files. The white metal cleans up nicely, but you will need to test fit and adjust some of the pieces before committing to glue. The epoxy provides real strength, and having fast and slower curing varieties will give you a bit of "wiggle room" and time to get everything exactly square before it cures. To see what you're getting into, check out my Finecast Rolls Royce Silver Ghost build thread here: Happy to answer questions you may have... best, M.

Thanks… I know most are painted metal, but this one is modelled on a specific car featured in Octane, which has a leather panel there… it’s also where the striping detail on the hood came from. Nothing like having big colour pics of a 1:1 to work from. best, M.

On to the details now. Light clusters are fixed, and I have to do the rear race roundel because various bits of furniture fit over it... The light cowls are the last bit that worries me. Once they are done, we're on the home straight. I think whoever has done the decals has done a really good job... best, M.

Lynx, Westlake and Proteus all made "recreations", which were generally very convincing... though now Jaguar is getting heavy on recreations and replicas, I guess they are unlikely to make any more. best, M.

It's a very nice kit. This is OOB apart from some lead foil for the tonneau cover and side screens from acetate instead of the heavy kit parts. Fit of the windscreen is challenging, but there's plenty of detail, and a very nice engine. This is 12 of the 16 "real" ones at Pebble Beach. Jaguar has made some "continuation" cars, using the Chassis numbers of the ones destroyed in the Brown's Lane fire: https://www.jaguar.co.uk/about-jaguar/jaguar-classic/authentic-cars/classic-continuations/index.html best, M.

Thanks, gentlemen. The grille is now complete.... a very nice piece of photo etch. The engraved badge takes paint well. I used Tamiya lacquer paint cleaned off with a small cotton swab moistened with thinner, and finished with some Citadel 'ardcoat. best, M.

I've used the "Hold n Fold" for quite a lot of Folding over the years, but here it's coming into its own for Holding... The grille is a stack of five layers of PE... grille, two frames, and two layers of badge. The grille and frames stack like a deck of cards, and the HoldnFold kept them in place while I applied thin superglue to the edges, which capillar-ied into place nicely, bonding them permanently in seconds. Flip it around and do the other end, and then thicker 30s-cure superglue let me position the badges precisely before it went off. Very neat, though I say so myself. best, M.

Time to get on with the details, now... Chris provides replacement main headlights, and four racing lights (only two are needed for MBL). The main headlights are shaped so they fit better under the Perspex cowls than the kit versions, but use the kit lens. He also provides lenses for the racing lights cast in resin. The chrome is AK branded Alclad 3, which works really well if you apply it in really light mist coats over Tamiya Gloss Black. This is 7 coats... You can see the transkit lens at the bottom of this picture... it's quite "cloudy." Fortunately, a rummage through the stash yielded some crystal clear polystyrene lenses for racing lights from a Mini rally kit which fit perfectly. (The Mini has an option for covers for the lights as well...). And here they are in place. Time to start working on the photo-etch grille, I think. Definitely got a purposeful stance, I reckon... best, M.

Digging through my books, the Heller kit "look" is clearly based on the Cunningham/Salvadori 1962 car, which had the rooftop fuel filler. TBH, if you're going to use the Revell kit, you'd be better going for the Sargent/Lumsden car (850009) which actually was a modified convertible, and hence the "short" Revell windscreen is right. It would be worth doing anyway, but building the ONE CAR that the Revell shape is actually correct for would be an added bonus! best, M.

The Heller “Racing” coupe kit is the regular kit body. It’s not a “lightweight” in any real sense. It comes with a (roof-mounted) racing fuel filler and pipe, a bonnet air deflector to sit in front of the driver and the Dunlop racing wheels, and that’s about it. best, M.

As a matter of interest, why not start with the Heller/Airfix kits? The shape’s right and they come in race boxings… which are now available again… best, M.

One that @Ace-Garageguy will appreciate: SE Finecast 1/24 Rover V8. I haven't opened the bags yet, but it from the transmission, it looks like it's the "Morgan Plus 8" incarnation rather than the MGB version of the kit. Though I can see that it has fans and radiators for either, the air cleaner is definitely the one at the top.... which is good because it's the same set-up as a Rover SD1, which is also a possible destination for this lump. There are over 50 parts in the kit, all beautifully detailed and cast (it's the same folks who made the RR Silver Ghost I did a couple of years back). It'll be fun building (and wiring) this iconic engine, and then figuring out what to put around it... best, M.

Might be worth taking a look at this one. It's good value for money: It might be too big a scale, but from the ones I've seen built up over the last few years it makes up into an impressive model... best, M.

Right.... I can't avoid it any more: two must become one... I've decided to take advantage of the separate valance, and rather than add it to make a complete bodyshell which I then have to flex over the chassis, I'm fixing the valance to the chassis using the moulded tabs at the front which you can just see in front of the two ejector pin marks outboard of the three holes in the chassis front. Then I'm going to fit the chassis into the shell locating in the rear notches arrowed above, and use the big pins in the front valance to locate the front section as I bring the chassis down into place. At the front, you can see where I've cleaned the paint and sanded the mating surfaces of the front valance. The two circles indicate the "sticking points" where the body needs to be flexed outwards to clear the tub as it goes in. The arrow is where the plastic chassis is slotting into those notches at the back. I found it helped to get the chassis seated into the notches at the back at about this stage, and then tape the fuel tank on the chassis to the body rear to stop the chassis slipping forward and out of the notches as I folded the front end down and in. At this point it's time to apply glue to the valance joint, flex out the lower rear corner of the front wheel wells and close it down, No nasty sharp snap from inside as the dash coaming pops off this time, either. And here's where I am tonight. I'll leave the tape on until tomorrow... The tape on the sides will stay on until decal time.... it's stopping me getting fingerprints on the doors while I handle the car through the next stages. I find the Tamiya spray is much more vulnerable to that kind of damage than 2K clear. Hope this has been a helpful "how to..." or at least a "How I did it, YMMV...." best, M.

I think the interior is now done: Belts made up with black wine bottle foil and Renaissance photo-etch hardware. The foil is a lot more tractable than ribbon, and stays folded when you fold it... A first test fit (nerve-wracking, so I don't want to do too many!) broke the dashboard coaming off, so I obviously haven't got that right. I think thinning it a bit where it joins to the dash, and making it fit horizontal or even a bit below horizontal is probably the answer. Easing the slots inside the body where the chassis clips in will also help, I think. Also very proud of myself that I remembered to drill the various holes through the body before closing it up -- resin swarf static-ed to the window would have been very annoying! Now for some fettling... best, M.

OldModelKits reckon the Testors box is one of the full detail Enthusiast Models with “over 270 parts.” The engine has a crankshaft and pistons, for example (and 36 parts altogether…) best, M.

Not an easy build, but the 356s are among the best of Fujimi’s insanely detailed “Enthusiast Model” series. There’s a thread about them here somewhere. Testors boxes are a good way to get some of them. Build here (not mine) https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235078360-fujimi-porsche-356/ That’s a good price for one… best, M.

https://uk.airfix.com/new-2023/new-vehicles The quirky Bond Bug is back in 1/32 Joining the Chiron, Huayra and E-Type in 1/43 are a Huracan EVO, McLaren 765LT, DB5 and a really neatly done Land Rover Series 1 pickup. In the Quickbuild range there's a new McLaren Speedtail, London LEVC Taxi, and a sizeable Transport for London New Routemaster bus -- I suspect the last two will be big sellers to tourists visiting Hamleys toyshop on Regent Street... I know they'll be far from mainstream fare for most folks on here, but it's good to see a major kitmaker investing in an entirely new range of car kits featuring some real icons new and old. best, M.

This thread seems related: I suspect it's one of Micro Marks "Magnetic Gluing Jigs" https://www.micromark.com/mini-hand-tools/jigs-fixtures the 6x24" plate and some of the "Squares" as well as magnets look like they could be useful for holding chassis together, especialy trucks and trailers... best, M.

Mine just arrived (entirely @jaymcminns fault…) I’m tempted by the “Rosewood Metallic” to sit alongside the “Maroon” (Chestnut) 240ZG, but I like the zingy yellow and blue as well. Black not body colour roof, though… best, M.

We tried searching that and couldn't find it, I'm afraid. There's a deAgostini Eaglemoss group, but no one building a Lotus (seems very much the partworks, not Pocher), and nothing comes up for |"1:8 @ 1:12 scale builder." Can you post a link to the home page, or even a search that finds it? best, M.

Thanks, James! Dash is finished: My attempt at the Dymo tape labels under alll the switches. They are, err.... "impressionistic", but I think they add to the "busyness" which is the effect I'm after... Roll bar is Gunship Grey, for variety. I drilled out a couple of shallow sockets for the main "legs" of the roll bar in the corners of the floor pan behind the seats. The seats are just resting in place, and there's a bit of fudging to do to fix them properly. I think the handbrake may have to be cut and fitted as close as possible to the transmission tunnel. There's a coaming ahead of the dash ready to fit, and I'll need to make and fix at least one 4-point harness before I can call it finished. best, M.