Matt Bacon

Personally, I prefer the short-tail version I posted up the thread, so it wouldn't just be a case of accurizing, but a fairly major rebuild of the back end... bestest, M.

I'm sure that's it, Skip, but this is what I see when I'm thinking of the Tipo 33: I didn't know there was a "long-tail" version... and I've never had the Fujimi kit, though it is on my "saved searches" now... bestest, M.

You're right, it does look a lot like a Tipo 33. I was confused by the long tail, which doesn't look like the photos I have of Tipo 33 Stradales, which also show black mesh covered vents behind the front and real wheels. But looking at a picture of the plastic in the Fujimi issue of the kit (I don't have one, but there's one for sale on eBay with pictures...), it seems that the Otaki/Nichimo model DOES have a long tail and no vents. Mystery solved, then... (Oh, and the windscreen wiper on the ones in my pictures is at the bottom...) Thanks, all... bestest, M.

http://tinyurl.com/oe5cc8t It looks a lot like a Ford P68, but there are a bunch of detail differences, and it's quite like a Lola T70 road car, but it's not that either. I think it must be that era, though. The colour makes me wonder if it might be some Alpine that I've never come across, but I think it's too big and beefy for an Alpine... Any ideas? bestest, M.

That looks absolutely stellar. The paint and detailing do full justice to that amazing chassis build, and I love the driver figure as well. My only niggle is that given the awesome work that's gone on to make everything as prototypical as possible in the paint and detailing, why make the stance so aggressive, and inaccurate? Is it to keep the CG lower for racing? bestest, M.

Very nice indeed. That looks great to me, and I love the interior colour scheme. Did you do like me and fix the door hinge parts so that you can switch them in and out, or have you built actual working hinges? I love your roadway for display -- though in some of the pictures it does make it look like there's been an emergency stop or a shootout, with the angle the car's at! bestest, M.

It's gone, now, anyway! ;-P bestest, M.

Just the body painted so far: and a couple in the sun: When I did my Moebius Iron Man, I was struck by how good the TS-39 Mica Red over TS-84 Metallic Gold looked, and I thought it was a pretty good match for the "electric red" of the SA Aperta. So I promoted this Modelzone bargain (£12.99) up the build list... bestest, M.

I use Copydex rubber cement when I tack things together to paint as one unit and then disassemble to fit other bits in around them. It's not super strong and only really bonds when it's fully dried, but it will glue everything together AND peel off completely with no residue, and you can just pull all the assemblies apart. bestest, M.

Try looking here: http://tinyurl.com/puacosv It may be more than you want, but it's pretty detailed! bestest, M.

And here she is... one of the most enjoyable £4.99s-worth of modelling I've done in a long time ...time for your close-up, Ms Johansson Really nice kit, with very good fit, even without glue. And the sculpt is very faithful to the delectable Ms J, although I suspect her legs aren't quite that long, nor her thighs quite so robust. However, this is Natalia Romanova, international super spy... bestest, M.

Thanks, Ira! Very nearly finished, now. I just want to see if she needs a few more highlights and shading in the daylight... Proper pics in the studio tomorrow... bestest, M.

I just could't resist those Modelzone prices -- £4.99 for this... Not a complex kit, and intended to to snap together. Nicely detailed, though, even if her legs do seem unfeasibly long! Primer everywhere to start with. The sculpt is extremely good, I reckon. It's got Ms Johansson's turned up nose and full lips rather nicely, and the eyes have slightly raised detail for the iris and lashes, which will help painting no end... She's not actually as yellow as she looks here! Citadel colours mostly, with Elf Flesh as a base, Dwarf Flesh for the lips, and a lot of mix and matching, wash and blusher from chalk pastel. Hair is mostly Vallejo -- I started with "Saddle Brown" overlaid with red "Woodgrain", then progressive dry brushing in lighter colours, finished with a coat of Citadel "Fuegan Orange" wash, because the home team all though she was too much a brunette, not a redhead... The suite is actually blue, not black or grey. I started by spraying the body matt black, and then used my "carbon fibre" technique of spraying through a fine mesh (salvaged from a bunch of flowers we bought this weekend) to mask a dark blue top-coat, which now has the look of a "technical fabric" of some sort. Actually, though it's hard to see clearly in this image, the effect of the mesh stretching and distorting over her curves makes the fabric effect even more realistic... And this is where I'm at tonight. Most of the details painted in Vallejo German Grey with some dry brushing for relief. She's not quite a "weekend project, but not far off. Should be finished tomorrow, I reckon. bestest, M.

And here are a few with the granddaddy... bestest, M.

This started life as a nicely moulded but crudely painted (and in many places not painted) Mondo die-cast. I stripped all the paint, and detail-painted the nicely detailed black plastic parts for the interior and engine. I still need to add some chrome badges and scripts, but that may take a while since I'm still working on how to do it! bestest, M.

Now we see the advantages of a "kit" with only 20 parts that press or screw together. I did say the fit was impeccable, didn't I? This'll be the last "in progress" update. I need to figure out how to make some "chrome" logos and badges as decals, but then it really will be done, and proper photos in proper light will be on their way... bestest, M.

Thanks, chaps! I agree, Tom... but this one was half the price of a Revell 599 or California, say. If it's the only game in town AND it's cheaper... Our friends at Mondo decided to make the tails lights all in red. After looking closely, I figured out that it was paint, not coloured styrene. Caustic soda wouldn't shift it after a couple of days, so, I tried putting it in Surgical Spirit and running it for a while in my ultrasonic cleaner. That turned it first into pink jelly and then took it off completely. Hooray! Once they were properly clear, I painted them in the right places with Tamiya Clear Red. Headlights finished with lenses in place. I outlined the glass with a Sharpie, and put some black paint on the inside ends of the locating pins to prevent a rather weird "light pipe" effect. The grille got a chrome surround courtesy of a brilliant paint marker. Last good look at the inside before it's all closed up. I hate DOING BMF, but I like the results when it's finished. These are just raised lumps in body colour on the die-cast. They shouldn't be... Door handles BMF'd and shaded with Citadel dark wash for red to give a bit of relief. ...and now we have a kit of parts to put back together! bestest, M.

I don't have both to hand, but I think the consensus is that if you don't have a 250 GTO kit already, then the Fujimi is the one to go out an buy. The shape is better than the Gunze (and the MFH, according to Tom Tanner) -- I know, for example, since I HAVE built the Gunze, that the rear wheel arches on it have more angular "corners" than the the real thing, which is a smooth semicircular curve. However, if you HAVE a Gunze kit, especially if you have the full on version with the white metal engine, then you have a superb set of wire wheels that are way better than the Fujimi ones, which you'd have to pay a LOT of money for in the aftermarket. The Fujmi has a full engine, which my Gunze kit (actually an Airfix rebox) didn't. Although, oddly, the Airfix rebox of the Gunze E-type DOES have the white metal engine, and very nice it looks too. In the end, I think if you've got a Gunze kit, especially if it's the full-detai version, then there's no need to buy a Fujimi one. The wheel arches could be fixed pretty easily if you start with a bare body shell (I didn't find out until after mine was painted and there was no way I was starting all over...) bestest, M.

That Monogram 250 GTO/LM is a very different beast from the 250 LM that Academy makes. The 250 GTO LM is the 1964 version of the front-engined 250 GTO. The Climax kit is now available from Model Factory Hiro. The 250 LM is a mid-engined design, and only available in the fairly mediocre Academy kit in styrene. I thought it was an ugly looking beast until I saw the Ralph Lauren car in an exhibition last year. It's not. The best way to get a decent-shaped 250 LM is probably to start with the Burago diecast and go to town on that. It's a lot cheaper than the MFH resin one, that's for sure! bestest, M.

I think the first thing, as the guys have said, is to figure which generation of 911 you want. This may help: http://blog.caranddriver.com/porsche-911-generations-the-legend-grows/ Then for every generation there are steadily more extreme versions, usually Carrera, Turbo, GT2/3 and more pure racers. At one end of the story there's the Fujimi 911R 1967, and at the other end (probably) the 911 GT3R (which is a 997 generation car). There must be 50 kits covering the spectrum from one end to the other... Personally, my "grail" kit is the Fujimi 911S 1969 (another Enthusiast Model), which I'd make up as the slate grey car Steve McQueen drives at the beginning of "Le Mans". To me, that's the essence of 911, but it's kinda hard to find one... bestest, M,

Lots of detail painting. There are only four parts in this picture (five if you manage to separate the steering wheel...), and that's after me prising out the gear shift because the assembler had put it in backwards. All this interior was black raw plastic in the model I bought. It just goes to show... there's lot's of crisp detail to paint if you want to! And yes, there's a wash and some dry brushing on the seats to give them a bit more relief. It may look a bit caricature in bright light, but inside the car it just makes the "modelling" a lot more convincing. This is all detail painting of the kit part, with the exception of the instruments, which are printed out from a Car and Driver review... This is a single moulded piece, which should be a wake-up call for "curb side" manufacturers. I'll probably add a few more bits of wiring/tubing, but with careful painting it's pretty convincing, IMHO. The headlight buckets are not body coloured, as the diecast would have you believe. A bit more final detail, but these are pretty much finished now... Coming together nicely, I reckon. There's some detailing to do, but the mainstream plastic kit vendors could learn a lot from these diecast guys. There are only 20 or so parts in this "kit", but the fit is irreproachable, and the end result really benefits from some detail painting on the crisp components. Great online picture reference is invaluable, of course.... bestest, M.

It's the only way to get one, so I'm treating this as a white-metal kit, rather than a "detailed die-cast"! It's the Mondo Motors model. The one I received shows every sign of corner-cutting and cost reduction compared to the reviews of the model on the web. There was nothing like the level of detail painting you can find online -- just one overall red body, a few black grilles, and nothing else... So, I stripped all the paint, and primed all the black interior plastic for a new colour scheme... ...and a couple of days later, here we are... The moulded detail on the dash and the engine bay is actually pretty crisp -- at least the equivalent of a current Revell Ferrari. The colour is the same Rosso Brunello as the 3500 GTi -- I want them as a pair/compare and contrast... The dash isn't glued in place... The main problem is access around the seats, but as you can see, there's a good level of detail to paint. Black carpets, and dark wood trim with this leather, all picked from the configurator... bestest, M.

In the car park... I just liked the colour! I guess if you can afford to run a classic racecar, the odd supercar is pocket change... Lots more, including some detail shots of some modelling use here: http://cmatthewbacon.smugmug.com/Cars/Donington-Classics-2013/29286583_Knvk5R bestest, M.

A few things you don't see every day, from a great day out at the Donington Historic Festival: Sunbeam Tiger LM Coupe Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato Mercedes W125 continuation Jaguar XJR-15 Facel Vega 2 My garage... ;-P DBR1, DB3S and DP212 (I think...) Lancia Aurelia ERA and Alfa wheel to wheel Not the best picture, but the unique ERA GP1 in action... Senna's Lotus 97T in which he won his first GP, before it went out on the track...

Thanks for all the positive comments, everyone. It was worth the extra effort to do justice to the lines of this lovely (and if Leno is to be believed, undervalued) classic car. This is no contest winner, but I might put it on a few tables just so other people can see what you can do with some of these "classic kits" as a starting point. I've picked up a Mondo 1/24 diecast of the 2009 Maserati Gran Turismo very cheaply, which is in the paint stripper as we speak. I shall finish that in the same colours as this one, as a companion. And I think it'll probably be a 240Z OOB next -- the body has been painted for a while, and it's a nice, straightforward Hasegawa build... Thanks again for your support! bestest, M.