Matt Bacon

...well. I'm an _enthusiastic_ car modeller, and I don't recognise any of those "icons", nor do I have any interest in building them... A decent state of the art kit of an E-Type would be top of MY list, followed by any number of more recent Jaguars and Astons and Maseratis and Alfas and Lotuses and Lancias... bestest, M.

I was thinking more the dwarf love-child of a Ford RS200 and a Fiat X1/9... bestest, M.

It is: http://www.revell.de/en/products/model-building/cars/young-oldtimer/id/07077.html And the Fujimi one is a fantastic kit, too: http://www.amazon.com/12358-24-Ferrari-250-GTO/dp/B001OC74Y8 I'm not sure I'd have one at $60m., but $60 seems OK... bestest, m.

Nice one, Tom... I'll be watching with interest, since I just picked up the alternative Tamiya kit for about €20 _delivered_ from Japan, new from an Amazon seller! Ever since I built the LFA, I've seen a few of these around town, and I'm keen to get started on mine. What interior colour scheme are you going for? I think I'll do mine in the "red" version, just for some variety inside. Or are your sport seats going to be crazy blue or something? Knowing you, it'll be half painted tomorrow night, and done by the weekend! bestest, M.

OK... the Lambo is still under way, but this one is now done! Lovely little kit of a lovely little car. The only thing I'd do differently if I did another one would be to thin out the body at the wheel arches, to give the dropped suspension a bit more room to move... bestest, M.

If you ask Mr Callum, he'll tell you all about how the back end (appropriately) is looking backwards towards the E-Type, and the front end is showcasing the new Jaguar "signature" grille. Just because a car's "British", it doesn't mean the only thing it has going for it is "heritage"... ;-P bestest, M.

Small, nimble and chuckable? Oh, I think so.... http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/comparison-new-jaguar-f-type-r-coupe-vs-porsche-911-turbo-s The F-type R coupe (unlike the convertible) has got the 542BHP top of the range V8 that's been pushing the XKR-S along these last few years, except the F-type weighs 220lbs less... (and it's $20,000 lighter on the wallet) You need never buy another Porsche again... (BTW, @jbwelda -- there's not a _plastic_ Xj13 available, but if you want one... http://www.kandrreplicas.co.uk/jagkar2417.html ) It's a very nice kit, if you're comfortable working with white metal, and boy, does it have "heft" when you've built it! bestest, M.

You could try looking for sites that sell "70mm" or "75mm" figures and accessories. Those are the figure modelling "scales" that correspond (more or less) to 1/24... http://s1181.photobucket.com/user/LargeScaleArmory/library/?sort=3&page=1 http://armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=182012&ord=&page=1 Good luck! bestest, M.

Thanks, chaps. @Cliff -- the woodgrain is painted, with Vallejo "flesh" colours overcoated with Tamiya Clear Orange, brushed to leave some "grain" visible. Life has got a bit in the way of bench time lately, but I'm still plodding on. Focusing mainly on the Alfa at the moment, so there's nothing interesting to photograph on the Murcielago, but it is bobbling along in the background. Anyway... A couple of sessions got the BMF on the side windows done, and the windows in. The kit's really well engineered -- enough so that the layer of paint and BMF on the side window "bars" makes the fit a little "tight"... I've fettled somewhat, but there may need to be another session. Last chance for a good look inside before the rear window and windscreen get in the way! And now the windows are on. Just the final bits of detailing to do now... mostly in "chrome"... bestest, M.

Very nice... though I think that's the first time I've seen the word "Refined" used to describe what Kahn does to cars. "Blinged" or "Pimped" usually covers it better! ;-P It's a beautiful replica, though I'm not sure I like the 1:1. It may be just me. but to me, those wheels make it look more like a Hot Wheels toy than a real car... BTW -- I drive under that bridge in the background most weeks! bestest, M.

Thanks, Cliff. Here's the interior more or less done (the instrument panel is just dry fitted for the moment) The complete chassis: and I couldn't resist a quick mockup: A few interior tweaks on the body shell before she's quite ready to go together permanently, but it won't be long, I'm sure... bestest, M.

Thanks, Cliff... it'd be good to see how the PE mesh compares... I wanted to see how the "stance" of the GTA would look. I've lowered the rear by about 1mm, by drilling out the spring sockets in the body shell, and the front by about 0.7mm, by removing the "pillars" at the mounting points on the front subframe. The effect is not the full on racing look, where the rear tends to be well down, but it's a little more aggressive than the standard set-up... ...back to the interior, now... bestest, M.

Hi, Cliff... I'm glad you're enjoying the build -- so am I! I haven't got any PE for the SV. TBH, I find it's quite expensive for a bunch of bits you barely see. These days, the PE grilles etc often come in the kits, and life's too short to build your own brake rotors from 7 layers of etch... IMHO anyway! As for the Carbon fibre -- yep it's going to be paint. Actually looking at my refs, there's not that much visible texture outside of the cabin. The big wing, for example, seems to be grey-black on the detail photos ins my "Lamborghini Supercars" mag/book, rather than "woven texture" so I guess it must be painted with a protective outer coat. Your teak brown Gallardo is very tasteful, to be sure. It's not a colour I'd paint a Lambo -- the more "in your face," the better, for Lamborghinis IMHO. I'd go for Arancio Argos for the Aventador, if it were me. Oh, I did: Seriously...I think black isn't a good colour for something as "sculptural" as an Aventador: you can't see the shapes like you can in a paler colour with black detailing. Same with my LaFerrari -- "resale red" for me, all the way... bestest, M.

Thanks, Robin... mostly progressing the GTA at the moment. This is the engine bay done: I need to find out where the other battery lead goes. I think round the far side of the bay to the "fusebox" on the firewall The uses of Humbrol Metalcote Steel. Polished for the discs, lightly buffed for the "metallic grey" callipers, and a nice flat primer base for the black bits. ..and finally, the front end coming together. bestest, M.

Beautiful builds all... but that Novitec pimping-package really destroys the good looks of the F12, IMHO, anyway... Hilux for me, too. bestest, M.

Thanks, Mike -- that means a lot, coming from you! Got the exhausts done now: ...as you can probably tell, I'm quite pleased with the way the heat discolouration came out. Citadel blue, purple and orange washes over Humbrol "Chrome Silver" from a can. I'm not totally convinced that the real things were chromed, and I really doubt there are many running with them in that condition now, but they certainly look cool! Not all the GTAs I've found online have a grey dash, so I decided the wood effect would provide a nice highlight in the cabin. All the wood is various "dark flesh" or "Leather" colours, with a glaze of Tamiya Clear Orange, applied with brush strokes carefully visible... And a quick mock-up . The engine is going to need some work on thinning down the mounts and refining the gearbox to make sure that it sits down properly into the chassis, at the correct slightly inclined angle (The sump is dead horizontal but the block is leaning about 5-10 degrees left. bestest, M.

Thanks, chaps... slow progress, thanks to trying to manage my stash "garage sale" eating into bench time... but at least I'm getting somewhere. I'm a little nervous about posting this while Mike Villena is crafting his masterwork on the other channel, but here are my best efforts: Engine (which is surprisingly large) is now done. The wiring is a pain, since it's a "twin-spark", with two lines per cylinder. A bit of wash and detail painting brings the kit parts up a treat. The interior is based on a real period car that I found online at Bring a Trailer. The seats are grey vinyl, not black, and the door cards are NATO Black with Citadel black details. Carpet is done with Plastikote Velvet for texture. bestest, M.

Model -- the wire wheels are very impressive, but they don't look like quite right compared to real Cobra wired rims... bestest, M,

I've seen guys racing (hard) in 250 GTOs and in a 330 GTO that is one of only three ever built. The Cuda's only worth a couple of million dollars and has some rarity value -- but why wouldn't you drive it? Granted, you might not thrash it around a racetrack like the guys with their multimillion dollar GTOs, but since it's not really a race car, you probably wouldn't anyway. I don't think any car should be "too rare and valuable to drive" -- I mean, both Ralh Lauren and Jay Leno make a point about how their cars are all driven regularly, even the Bugatti Atlantique and the Steamer... bestest, M.

These guys can sort you out: http://www.whatrecords.co.uk/search.asp?artist=Led+Zeppelin&title=&format=&catalogue=&submit.x=-312&submit.y=-314 not cheap, but impressive reissue sets... bestest, M.

Model, but a very good, large scale one! bestest, M.

There's also the distinction between "Lightweights" and "Low drag". The lightweights have major structural parts and the engine block in aluminium instead of steel. This is a lightweight in action: As you can see the nose is a bit different for better breathing, and some have wider rear ends, but they look essentially like an E-type with a hard top. Then there's the low drag version (also a lightweight, but not all lightweights are low drag): The windscreen is more raked, and the roof is very different from a coupe. From above it has a tear drop shape, almost coming to a point at the tail, giving much wider haunches -- which were often even bigger to take wider tyres as well. I think the mods are all doable with Milliput, and the recent well-documented restoration of the Lindner Nocker low drag lightweight to racing form means that there's plenty of reference material to hand... bestest, M.

The mid-60s Revell E-Type (also boxed as an XK-E) was tooled in England, by the Revell (UK) operation in Potters Bar (previously they'd done several of the "modern" 1/32 cars for Revell -- a Healey and a Sprite, at least, which have also been re-released as Advent kits). It is still available, and is the plastic that has recently re-appeared in a Revell Germany box with artwork of a black car wearing a black factory hard-top on the front, which could easily confuse you into thinking that it was a coupe, at a cursory glance. That'd be the easiest E-Type to obtain, if you don't care that it's 1/25 instead of 1/24. The Heller convertible is probably quite rare -- I think I've only ever seen one in all the years I've been trawling second hand car kits at shows. The coupe has been reboxed much more often, I suspect, and certainly on this side of the pond the Airfix boxings turn up very regularly on eBay for reasonable prices... The Airfix FHC "which resembles a lightweight version" is just the same Heller coupe, but with Dunlop steel racing wheels instead of wires, some stripes in the decals, and box art that leaves off the bumpers... I _THINK_ the best starting point for a real lightweight would be to begin with the convertible with factory hardtop, rather than a full coupe. There's much more room to create the "haunches" of the lightweights around the hardtop than starting with a full couple, which would have to be cut away, I reckon... There's also an even older Airfix 1/24 E-Type, about the same vintage as the original James Bond DB5, which was motorised. I have no idea what its origins are (Airfix tooling or bought in), but it's a rarity that goes for £80 plus on the rare occasions it shows up on eBay. Plus there's a Frog 1/16th version of similar vintage: which is even more expensive... bestest, M.

Hi, Charlie -- I wouldn't say a LOT more recently, but there is a Heller E-Type Coupe in 1/24 (which seems to have a very similar parts layout to the 1/25 Revell kit), which also occasionally turns up in Airfix boxes. There is also a Gunze Sangyo kit of the convertible, which also occasionally turns up in Airfix "Hi-Tech" boxes. This kit is quite a challenge, though, because the body shell is about the only part moulded in plastic -- the rest is white metal castings, wire to fabricate some steel tube parts from, and photoetch steel for parts like the underbonnet structure. It does have great wire wheels, though... bestest, M.

Oh, that's just ridiculous. So I want to know people's tips or tricks to do something and because it's a question it goes in Questions and Answers? There's no logic or rationale behind separating these sections, really... It's just making the site harder to use for most people. As it stands, it seems that if I, without prompting, want to tell the world my painting secrets, it goes in Tips and Tricks, but if I want to ASK the world their painting secrets, it goes in Questions and ANSWERS, which then presumably have exactly the same content as if those same people had just decided to write them down on their own cognizance. Time to merge these two subforums under a single "Modelling How-Tos" topic, IMHO... unless there's some well thought-out rationale to keep them separate... which I'd be very happy to hear. bestest, M.