Matt Bacon

Thanks, gentlemen! My friend Duncan had a properly "breathed on" Samuri 240Z for a few years after university, and he was forever heading up to somewhere near Silverstone to get the cylinder head ported and polished, or hotter cams, or some other esoteric fine-tuning. Fantastic car, and my word, did it go quick... I wonder where it is now? Anyway, back in the miniature world, more stuff that's not so easy to photograph... Did I mention that there's lots of black? ;-P I'm trying to get some variety using different "shades" of black and very dark grey, and different degrees of shiny, to represent the various black leather/plastic/fabrics in the cabins. There's a lot of vinyl in the Z. In the 2000GT there's some leather and that rather nice "birds-eye maple" (so they say...). But the seat ribs are breathable fabric, hence the "NATO Black" matt finish. Getting the decal to sit over all the switches, knobs and holes was a bit of a "wing and a prayer" job, but at least it's tough and responds well to setting solutions. The instruments were applied to some plastic card, and then punched out, so that I had something controllable to try to get into the bottom of the deep recesses. On the 240Z, I just punched them out of the decal sheet, having learned that the decals don't adhere too well to bare plastic the hard way... Two wooden steering wheels -- Vallejo "Dark Flesh" overpainted with Tamiya Clear Orange for the (vaguely) natural wood effect. ...meanwhile, the Z is getting its distinctive body kit fitted while the 2000GT is drying in the paint shop after the black trim around the "greenhouse" has been applied. Slow progress, but moving forward, at least! bestest, M.

Thanks, guys...yep, they'll both be "totally stock", Julen. The ZG is badass enough as it is, and for the 2000GT, frankly every pimped one I've ever seen online looks far worse than the elegant, curvy original... Even the one Mike Zumbrunn photographed for "Auto Legends" looks the worse for it's otherwise funky black wheels and oversize knockoff hubs... bestest, M.

A pair of the finest Japanese sports cars -- either one you'd love to own, but only one costs the best part of a million dollars. Both excellent-looking curbside Hasegawa kits. Tamiya spray for the bodies: Racing White and Maroon (actually chestnut brown...) They're quite hard to photograph together, since the camera likes to assume that the Toyota is white (it's actually pale cream), and exposing for both dark brown and almost white in the same image is taxing, especially in artificial light. Wheels in Zero Paints graphite grey with bright silver highlights. The tyre tread diameter is the same, but the 240Z has much smaller wheels/deeper tyres... The interiors are under way, but they are both a symphony in blacks... though the 2000GT has some rather cool rosewood veneer highlights... bestest, M.

I dunno -- there can't have been many cars that came with a small-scale cut-out version of itself fitted to the windscreen... ;-P bestest, M.

Fantastic build, Jason. You've given me plenty of inspiration (ie ideas to steal) for when I get started properly on mine. Just Lovely! bestest, M.

Nice one, Oscar! Cool colour -- and it's nice to see that somewhere in the world, the sun is out! One question -- my decal sheet had a separate Ford logo, distinct from the one on the racing stripes, so you should probably have something to fill the oval, somewhere... is it AWOL? One suggestion -- looking at the overhead picture, I think you'd benefit from "low-lighting" the panel lines. Citadel (Games Workshop) do an ace very dark blue wash if you have a stockist locally... bestest, M.

...a but then so would some of the cars... ;-P Seriously, I've been interested in the definition since I got into car modelling and discovered you guys... I don't think we use the word "exotic" to describe a kind of car much on this side of the pond. From reading here over the years, it seems that the US definition of exotic is basically "European sports car" plus a few other bits and pieces. "Supercar" we definitely use around here, and it means the elite of sports and GT cars. A hardcore definition would only include things like the Veyron, F12, Aventadors, Sesto Elemento, P1, LaFerrari, 918 -- and probably not even encompass the "regular" Gallardo, 911, R8 or 458. Top Gear's definition would include those as well. But Exotics seem to include much more than Supercars -- eg European Classics like XK120s, Maserati 3500s and 250SWBs. Would you guys class a Hennessy Venom as an exotic, or a Ford GT (they're certainly Supercars in my book)? What about a Viper SRT or Corvette Stingray? A CTS-V wagon? bestest, M.

That's a stellar job, Harry, really... I only hope that I can get close when I do mine. It's a beautiful car, I think (one of the MOST beautiful, IMHO), and as Skip says, the rear wheel covers give it a real period feel... Anyone wanting to see just how close Harry got: http://www.xkdata.com/gallery/zoom/?id=127264 Here's the real 678 NOK. Nailed, it, I'd say! bestest, M.

Thanks, chaps! Having caught up with the real thing again in London this week, I decided the panel lines are really quite visible, especially around the rear deck/engine cover -- 5mm shut lines they are not! (I think it's because both the rear deck and the door lines have rubber seals in... they aren't just panel gaps) So I highlighted (low lighted?) them with a mixture of dark brown and black washes and fine pen-lines. I'm much happier with the result... bestest, M.

Yeah -- I enjoy it a lot! It's the "That's got a bit of Alpine in it..." though that get's you started that I take the greatest pleasure in. I know exactly how I could cheat, but as someone else said, it's not the destination that matters, it's the fun you have getting there. I always find out about some interesting cars while I'm trying to get to the answer, and they are also a big part of what makes the quiz fun! bestest, M.

Made from the Polar Lights pre-painted snap kit, which is rather nicely detailed, if you take a bit of time to paint the parts. The rear end has lost its bumper and silencer box, just as the real Ford GT does when it's tuned up into this 746BHP monster. Paint is Tamiya Orange from a rattle can, polished with Novus. Detailed measurements at the Drunken Monkey's behest reveal that it's more like 1/24.5 than 1/25, but that suits me just fine... Thanks to Mat Irvine for sourcing the kit for me at a swap-meet in the USA and bringing it back to SMW this year -- it's a very hard beast to get hold of this side of the pond, whether in Polar Lights, Johnny lightning or regular AMT boxes! bestest, M.

The body is now on! I removed the silencer box (the big square lump at the extreme rear behind the engine, because that's one way the 720 Mirage saves weight over the original GT. I've cut out the ring through which the exhausts emerge from the rear bumper part, and glued it in place on the body instead. The instructions have you add the rear bumper last, when the body and chassis are together. However, with the Mirage, the body with the mesh won't drop over the exhausts, so I had to cut them off the engine and insert pins so I could plug them in from the outside after it was all together. Just the last few details and decals to add now... bestest, M.

Thanks! And now for the shiny... ...did I mention that it's quite orange? ;-P bestest, M.

The Mirage was certainly made in the UK, based on a "mint" GT imported from the US. There's a complicated corporate backstory, but it's basically the successor to the Roush 600, another tuned GT. If you really felt that your 550BHP was a little lacking in grunt, you could have it fettled up to 600BHP with a more powerful blower. But the guy who did the Mirage reckoned that the chassis was brilliant and could easily handle even more power, so he upped the supercharger from 10psi boost to 17 psi, and now the engine is good for 750BHP, and 630lbft of torque. It'll spin the rear wheels in first, second and third gear, in the dry, if you're not careful. There's no traction control... This is another review: http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/220638/avro_720_mirage.html bestest, M.

A quick holiday build, starting with the Polar Lights 1/25 Ford GT snap kit. The main visible difference between the super-tuned 720 Mirage and the "basic" Ford GT is the lack of a rear bumper, which leaves the back end rather more open. And lots of cool black detailing... The dash responds well to a bit of detail painting I took most of the chrome off everything, leaving only the supercharger body (which, although it is more powerful on the Mirage, is also chrome plated like the original equipment) The wheels end up like this. If I was even more shortsighted than I am, and had a steadier hand, the orange bar in the middle would resolve into "Mirage", but I'm not, so it doesn't. The brakes are moulded in to the back of the wheel, and so rotate with the front, which is the only major compromise to simplify the kit. They are also not handed, which only matters on the rears which have the main calliper and a secondary thingy (I'd love to know what it is -- you get them on most supercar brakes, on one pair of wheels). I'll just have to set the wheels carefully to put the callipers in the right position before taking pics! The plain black plastic cockpit is much improved by a lick of paint. The seats are nicely thought-through, with inserts for the "breather" holes, but they are even better if you strip the chrome and repaint, and touch in the "holes" with a paint pen. So that's the chassis together. Depending on what you can see (the body is one-piece and doesn't open) I might add a few pipes and cables around the engine. I've no idea whether the colours of the bits in the nose section are right, but since I can't find ANY pictures, and you can't see them after it's built, I'm not going to worry too much. Elapsed time to this stage about 4 hours. Now for the cool black detailing! bestest, M.

...if you HAD a Fiat 124 Spider, why would you want to turn it into THAT? ;-P bestest, M.

Go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p24kaYw9uY at about 2:20, you'll hear how "discrete" the tailpipes need to be... bestest, M.

The car shape is based on the original Lindner-Knocker Lightweight, which Malcom Sayer designed for racing aerodynamics -- the roofline is lower than a regular E-type, with a more raked windscreen, and the flanks are bigger. The body is all specially made by RS Panels, and if it's anything like the speedster, not a single panel is exactly the same as the equivalent on s standard car... bestest, M.

I think the extra £500K over Eagle's "regular" optimised E-types buys you a bit more than a "mild restyle". The engine is 350BHP instead of 210, and it'll get to 60 in 4.4 seconds instead of 7.4. And according to our man at Octane: "This car is really quite astonishingly savage when pressed. This must be one of the best classic cars I've ever driven, and it's also one of the best super cars I've ever driven". bestest, M.

http://www.lowdrag-gt.com Octane has just done a rather good-looking pictorial and drive review. It's official: I want one of these. Now to find the £650K (or more or less a million bucks) to commission one myself! bestest, M.

The Hasegawa 250TR and Miura are probably the best fitting kits I've built; the Moebius Chrysler 300 is awesomely detailed and great to build, but just slightly on the "softer" side. In the box, though, I think it would be hard to beat the Tamiya 360, Carrera GT, Enzo/Fxx, and of all the ones I've actually GOT, above all the LFA. When the LaFerrari arrives in a few months, I might we'll be adding another to the top of that list... bestest, M.

That's truly lovely! I can see why people think the rear quarter treatment is better than the '55 model. Apart from the body fins, new rear lights and, I guess non-chromed headlight buckets, are there any other differences with the earlier kit? And I'd love to know if the body is an all-new tool or some super-clever sectional tool where you can swap out the alternative back ends to get either model... Great work! bestest, M.

I got up close and personal with LaFerrari at Scale Model World this weekend: The lighting was a bit rubbish, but I'm not regretting pre-ordering it from HLJ. Not one bit! bestest, M.

Good grief.... are you feeling OK, Harry? You've posted one that appears, from this angle at least, as though it might be quite nice-looking. That never happens! I guess it might all go horribly wrong at the front end, though.... bestest, M.

...just strikes me that if the Fiat group were to take something that's basically an Alfa 4C, but fit a substantially de-tuned version of the 2014 Ferrari F1 1.6L V6 engine (say only 350BHP instead of 600), optimise the chassis and finesse the body a bit with a few nods to 246 history (front end, mostly), then they could launch a rather excellent 2015 Dino, to take the fight to the Boxster and Cayman. Not a Ferrari, of course, but a Dino... bestest, M.