Matt Bacon

This place isn't the easiest to navigate, but has lots of the information you want: https://www.scalemates.com If you Google <name of kit/original> "scalemates" you'll usually get what you want in the top couple of results eg: Googling "Ford Galaxie Scalemates" gives you this: https://www.scalemates.com/products/product.php?id=227920 bestest, M.

It would! You could, I dunno, maybe semi-close about 1000 miles of public roads ranging from smooth highways to semi-dirt tracks, with fast straight sections and twisty mountain passes, tell 'em they can take any car they want, and the winner is the one who has the shortest time over the whole circuit. See if any of them can do it in less than 10 hours... bestest, M.

Thanks for the kind comments, everyone. It may not be a "state of the art" Tamiya kit, but it's still a fantastic canvas to build on. As ever, reference is key, and I found a great book at a very reasonable price. I could have spent even longer in the engine bay, but life's too short... and there are too many other goodies in the stash. What's up next? Decisions, decisions... Thanks again, all! bestest, M.

One of the sleekest supercars ever designed. And don't believe all you read about how the car was compromised by replacing the V12 of the concept with "the engine from a Metro". Not exactly... the engine is a custom version of the TWR racing engine that powered the Jaguar XJR-11 Le Mans car, so its racing heritage is strong (it also powered the Metro 6R4 bonkers rally car, which is where the Metro jibe originated). Interestingly, the output of the engine in the XJ220 is almost exactly the same (540-odd BHP) as that of the V8 that powers today's XKR-S and F-Type R coupe. The engine is where most of the extra work on this kit went in, since the Tamiya original lacks most of the "plumbing" that is shoehorned into the engine bay. A wide range of wire, solder, jewellery elastic and even cigarette packet foil served to "busy up" this important part of the car. There's also a fully wired distributor in there, but you can't see it! (For anyone building the kit, the small cylinder at the rear end of the cam cover of the left hand bank of cylinders is the distributor, and it should be painted red!) Otherwise, the kit is great in terms of shape, fit and detail. The cabin responds really well to simple detail painting (though I did add some seat-belts, which are kinda obvious in that pale interior). The working headlight covers do work, somewhat surprisingly... It is possible, as you can see, to make the rear engine bay cover open. I ground out the slots on the body into which the hinge pins moulded on the clear part fit so that they were deeper and bigger from front to back than moulded. This allows the the cover to slip backwards as you lift it, so the front edge can clear the roof in front of it. When it shuts again, it slides forward and drops into place as gravity does its thing. The fit of the chassis into body is easy enough, but it's lacking positive locations, so you really do have to glue it in place at the front end and at the sides of the rear diffuser. All the pictures were done in exactly the same lighting. The difference is the tone of the card background -- the "brighter" shots later were taken on dark grey card, the earlier ones on a more neutral grey. It helps explain why pictures of a "Brooklands Green" XJ220 can look like anything from almost British Racing Green to zingy turquoise (check out "DK Engineering XJ220" to see the inspiration for this build...) Thanks for watching! bestest, M.

A quick gallop down the final straight now (yeah, right...) I used real glass tinting film for the sunroof, and it worked pretty well. And before anybody comments, I know the wing mirrors aren't symmetrical -- apparently the design around the A-pillars means that the driver's side needs to be forward, while they look into the passenger side through the quarter light. Last glimpse of the interior details And together at last: The fit's OK, but there are no positive locations for anything, and getting the simple hinge mechanism for the headlight covers into the right place as you bring the body and chassis together is a barrel of laughs. Proper final pictures when the weather permits... All in all, an enjoyable build of a pretty good kit. bestest, M.

Thanks, Cliff..! On the home straight now: With a bit of luck, and some extra supplies I've just mail-ordered, it should be finished this week... bestest, M.

Mini, Beetle, 2CV, Golf (Rabbit to you guys)... these are serious big sellers in real life, and familiar to everyone in Europe. More to the point, they're held in real affection by millions. I don't think anyone really loves a Fiat 124 or Ford Anglia... The Saab, maybe. Of all the cars above, I reckon the BMW 2002 Neue Classe, new in time for the 50th anniversary in 2018, is by far the most likely Revell Germany release... bestest, M.

Body is making progress... None of the windows are fixed in place yet. I'll post a bit more detail next time, but I think it is possible to get the rear screen to open safely if you open up the slots for the pins on the hinges, so that the window can move backwards a bit once you've popped it slightly open, and then rotate above and over the rear edge of the sunroof. It has rails on each side and the louvres behind (and gravity) to hold it in the right place when closed, so it doesn't matter if the hinge is a bit sloppy. And I couldn't resist this: The rear louvres (just like the X framework over the engine) are the original black plastic, polished. I think one of the tricks with cars is to get as many different finishes as possible on the black bits, to give the impression of all the different materials used in real life... bestest, M

Thanks, chaps... this is it for the rolling chassis: If you look really closely, you might spot the teeny-tiny Jaguar heads on the wheel nuts. Or you might not. Looks like I need to check the tracking... either one front wheel is on loose, or the steering link came off one of the wheel carriers while I was putting the wheels in place -- a tight fit! Currently faffing about with the windows... bestest, M.

Thanks, Glenn! ...and now the chassis is coming together... ...with a bit of luck, the lid will be on this weekend. I've found a solution for the sun-roof, I think... bestest, M.

Can you find some solder the right diameter for the round bit at the front? Then roll the bit behind so that it flattens and flares out. Cut the outside edge to shape, and scribe the lines on it. Then add the turn indicator and sidelights from clear sprue. bestest, M.

And here we go... after much cursing and swearing, and a lengthy period holding stuff together because there's no clamp in the world the right shape... The chassis should come together pretty quickly now, I hope... bestest, M.

I think I've done as much plumbing round the engine as I can stand (and fit in...) The big insulated pipes are made from solder, wrapped in the embossed paper/foil from a cigarette packet. Whenever I see a fresh empty packet dropped somewhere, I always plunder it for modelling goodness before putting it in the bin and tut-tutting... See that tiny splash of red, buried deep in the guts of the thing, in the angle of the two insulated pipes? That's the distributor, properly wired with six plug leads, all going to the right places on the cylinder heads... At least I'll know it's there.... It's now a bit of a 3D puzzle. The instructions would have you add the firewall to the cockpit, but I can't see any reason why I can't complete the engine bay with four walls at this stage. The piping on the blue tank and coming out of the firewall are is new -- a combination of fuse wire, aluminium tube and rubbery jewellery elastic. The two insulated wires coming out of the right hand wall have to wrap around the back of the connector on top of the blue tank, so that corner has to get done first. I have no idea where to finish them off -- somewhere down in front of the engine. Equally, I'm not sure where the pipes from the front of the engine terminate, so they'll just get lost in the spaghetti junction of the firewall. The two insulated pipes coming over the left of the engine terminate in that black box on the wall -- that one I CAN see in my pictures. There's probably rather less than half the plumbing of the real thing, but it'll look busy enough I reckon... Time to try a test fit! Wish me luck! bestest, M.

...anyone on here built one up that they want to show me (ideally as a straight street version, not any kind of racer...)? Is the engine a reasonable starting point for detailing? How does the body fit together? What version is it -- round-arsed or with the sharp Kamm tail? Since I'd really like a 1:1, but can't afford one (yet), I have a hankering to add one to the scale garage instead... I DO have the definitive reference book to work from now, post-birthday... bestest, M.

I'd love to get one of these: http://www.bbrgti.com/product_details.php?id=11676 Serious sports car for less than £25K... bestest, M.

It's not just about what it looks like -- it's 100kg lighter, lower centre of gravity, shorter...all in all, they're trying to get it back to being a great to drive sports car, as opposed to the previous trend for steady bloating. I welcome that. And since it's always been an homage to classic British sports cars, I don't think there's anything wrong with putting a fair dose of F-type into the mix... bestest, M .

Well, it has been a while. Since the last bulletin, my wife's been ordained, we've moved house, my eldest has left for university at King's College, London...and my dedicated modelling shed has transformed into most of a garage: Anyway, on with the important stuff -- I'm back at the bench! The Jaguar has got some seats at last. Cockpit in various Vallejo tones of beige and sand. Home made belts with some spare Hobby Design brass buckles. The dash responds really well to some detail painting. Very eighties plastics, too... Brake disks painted with Humbrol Metalcote steel -- polished on the rotors, left matt grey on the callipers, and painted with Citadel Boltgun Metal in the centres. I could drill them, or draw tiny dots for holes, but given that they completely disappear inside those alloy wheels, I'm not going to bother. Cockpit all together. I'm still slowly working on cabling and piping the engine, and I'm getting to the point where the engine bay needs to come together around the engine and frame, so I can start on the plumbing that attaches to the walls... Progress won't be quick (still many other demands on my time) but at least I'm making some headway, and it feels good! bestest, M.

I think if I was Frank Stephenson I'd have asked them to take the McLaren name and logo off it... it's kind of cool in an art deco movie prop way, as Bill says, but it's really not a McLaren design, is it? bestest, M.

Naaaahhhh... that's not a Mustang II. THIS is a Mustang II: ...and it's really not ugly... ;-P I think the hood air-scoop is essential to the look, and on this one the rear wing/fins actually make a significant contribution to the aerodynamics... bestest, M.

Aston DB5 (without the secret agent extras...) Bentley Continental S1 BMW 507: Bugatti Atlantique And just to prove it's not only old-timers that I like: The Huayra... bestest, M.

...that's not to say I don't like it -- I'd have one (or at least a Aoshima kit of one) like a shot. It's just a bit "generic supercar", when you can usually rely on Lamborghini to do something bonkers and excessive... As for the Mercedes -- hell, yeah! A pocket (well, a bit slimmer, anyway) SLS they can make a profit on? That's got to be a good thing. And the Lagonda is seriously elegant, but would I have it over a Rapide? Not so sure... It kinda reminds me of a Phaeton -- crazy expensive, but so refined it's barely noticeable that it is, which goes against the traditions of its two main markets in a big way. If Ford was still making the Granada/Scorpio, you could have told me that shape was the 2015 model, and I'd have believed you... bestest, M.

I think the Lambo looks cool but not very Lambo-ish... The back-end is an "homage" to the end of the CX-75 that AGG didn't show us: The middle bit looks rather GTRish, to my eye and the front borrows a lot from just down the road: All in all, I think it looks a lot like one of the family of concepts Lotus brought to the Paris show in 2010... bestest, M.

Lovely build. I assume it's the 1/24, not 1/35? bestest, M.

Where's the "Piranha Spy car" from, then? And that 1/125 scale "Blue Devil Destroyer" must be pretty sizeable, eh? I'll have to lay in a Space:1999 Eagle Transporter as well... bestest, M.