Matt Bacon

Too fussy for my tastes -- it looks like a Chrysler Crossfire put through a blender with an XKR. Personally, if I was in the market for a modern take on an E-type, I'd much prefer an Eagle Speedster... (which I would have in a heartbeat if I had the money) bestest, M.

I don't think the main problem with decals is creating artwork. It's outputting the things as artwork you can transfer to your model (I'm deliberately not saying "decals" because I hope there's some out of the box thinking out there...) Most of the professional decal designers _I_ know (YMMV, obviously) use Illustrator, because they are creating (in black and white) colour separations for screen printing solid inks. That's not an option for most of us, obviously. What I'd like to hear is your recommendations, tips and tricks for the right products (eg paper, film, varnish) for printing out home-made decal art. Especially, my single biggest problem is to find a way to print metal/chrome logos. I have no way of printing silver ink, although I've seen some arty "ink-jet foil" (http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/.Laser-Transfer-Foils_FOIL-LAZ1M.htm) which might do the trick but I'd like to hear from anyone who's tried it. I have both clear and white decal paper, but it's quite thick, especially when you have the varnish layer on it. The colour density on the clear film is very poor, and the white film ends up with a border (if you don't cut well outside the printed area, the ink bleeds when you put it in water to release the decal). I've had some success with printing artwork on clear and applying it over a cut out plain white decal to back it up. That works OK for simple shapes (eg race number circles) but try cutting out a Vargas pin-up nose art for a bomber... I'd love to hear how anyone manages this without an ALPS printer (and boy, do I wish 1/10th of the effort that's gone into 3D printing had been devoted to a hobbyist 2D printer than can deal with silver, white etc inks...) bestest, M.

Oh, you're SOOO out of practice... ;-P They look great. The Dino is my favorite -- it's one of my top most-wanted cars, and I love it in yellow, which is what mine will be when I get round to building it. I'm not so convinced by the metallic blue on the TR (personal taste, I'm sure), but the build looks excellent. My only nit-pick is that there looks to be a bit of a gap where the dash fits to the coaming and at the undernose panel on the Dino. I've heard that there's some tricky assembly there, and that the chassis doesn't fit in if you build the body up as one piece, though, so it may be there's no alternative... Good stuff! bestest, M.

Here's something I have NOT been looking forward to... This Maserati is a GTi, it appears, with fuel injection. And two plugs per cylinder. And a duct for the wiring. So, armed with some more excellent reference material courtesy of Skip Jordan, we begin. No way can I drill a distributor cap for 12 wires, so I used a piece of electric flex with the insulation cut back to leave twelve wires (with some superglue at the bottom to hold them in). These are glued into the widened end of some aluminium tube, which I then drilled for the individual plug wires. Those wires are fixed into holes drilled into the the plug locations in the cylinder head. Then I drilled the fuel injection system for some more shiny wires for the injector tubes. The end result after some cursing. There's a whole lot of touch-up and detail painting to do, but this is as good as I can manage (no tiny hose clamps for this cack-handed modeller!). And yes, those injection tubes really are a mare's nest like that on the real thing... I wonder if it's something to do with having the same length for each tube, despite some cylinders being much closer to the unit than others. bestest, M.

Thanks! If you're going to buy resin wheels anyway, something like the Renaissance Campagnolos (for the Ferrari 275) with a dish hubcap would look pretty much like the factory options... ... and here we go with the shiny: There are a couple of areas on the body that'll need a bit of a polish, but that can wait a few days until this stuff has set thoroughly hard. You can see the brownish tint to the red here, though. Rectangular grille etch arrived today (along with a Nardi steering wheel) As you can see, the basic mesh turns out to be far too big. However, gluing two pieces together with an offset doesn't look too bad. I'll keep an eye open for something better, but if I can't find it, I think this looks OK... bestest, M.

...certainly am. I just tend to do it with a brush and some Humbrol matt enamel after the outside is done. It's easier than masking against overspray, whichever way round you do it... bestest, M.

Rosso Brunello Micalizzato going on. Nice colour, eh? You can just about see the "mica" in it... definitely slightly pearlescent in the flesh. Time for the 2K clear now... bestest, M.

Thanks, guys! OK... not shiny and red. I decided it was definitely better to get everything fitting properly BEFORE I painted it! The bonnet and boot have some issues -- the boot at the sides, and the bonnet at the windscreen end. And there's some serious gappage around the doors at the "shoulder". I also decided that the rear lights as provided in the kit are pretty irredeemable. There's an entirely different style with a one-piece coloured plastic light unit which has a chrome "hood". It seems quite common, so I'll go for that instead -- I made a similar set-up for the DB4GT, so I know that it can be done, and how... Time to break out the plastic card. I think for problems like this, plastic card and liquid cement is the best answer -- any kind of filler will just fall off, and the styrene is exactly as hard as the plastic of the kit part for easier sanding. Some time later... I fixed the hinge parts to be a little more realistic (not perfect scale, but not a toy, either). In case you were wondering about the colour, here it is in sunlight: There 's a fine, light, metal flake in there, which isn't so obvious behind the dust and reflections in this pic, mind... And finally, here's where I am this evening: I have test fitted the doors, boot etc before committing to primer. There are a couple of bit son the boot and one door that will need cleaning up, filling, and re-priming, but I think that'll be about it. bestest, M.

...and as if by magic... Yep... that's the colour I'm aiming for. Sorry it's been a while since the last update -- I've been travelling away from the bench all week... Anyway... I finished a few details, and have got to the stage when I can try a first coat of primer to see how it looks (and what needs fixing...) There's obviously some filling, sanding and repriming to do here and there, but overall, I'm pretty happy. As you can see, I've fitted the rear valance. I figured out that you can get the interior in and then fit the chassis in at the front and finally join the two, which means that you don't need to put the whole thing in as a unit and fit the valance last. I think I can get a much better finish on the back end by doing it this way, with the valance seamlessly blended before painting. Not quite seamless yet, obviously, but getting there. The other main details are proper "scoops" over the engine bay vents, the windscreen trim, and fixing some odd damage at the rear lights. Not the best picture, but you get the idea. I added a thin strip of plastic card to the moulded ridge, and then built up and blended it using superglue + micro balloons, because I thought it would be structurally tougher than plastic putty, but still easy to sand and shape. It'll need a smear of regular putty to deal with a few imperfections, but you can see that there's now a decent, and thin, lip for the grille to hide behind. Skip pointed out earlier that there's actually a gap between the windscreen and door chrome trim on the A-pillar, so I scribed and sanded one to give me something to work on with the BMF. I think that minimising the "weight" of the chrome on the kit will be key to achieving the elegant look of the real thing, especially on the door windows. And finally, an odd one. On my kit, the outside lower edge of the rear light "oval" was misshaped on both sides -- almost as though it was "torn" outward. It's near the worst mould seam on the kit, between the light clusters and the boot opening, so I suspect it's something to do with the way the mould opens to eject the body... Anyway, once again out with the microballoons and superglue. Still not perfect, but much improved. Next task is to hit those areas that these photos have highlighted as needing some more attention with the plastic putty, as well as a few more I haven't shown you (mostly front end seams...). I'm hopeful that she'll be shiny and red by the end of the weekend... bestest, M.

Did you guys have "Top Trumps" in the US? Card game where you had a deck of 40 or so cards in a category (eg Star Wars, Military Aircraft, Top Gear Supercars...) and you had to pick one of six characteristics (eg Maximum Speed, or Payload) and if your friend's card was lower or slower or had less Magical Power, you took it and had the next go? The supercar guys are either selling to brand loyalists... in which case "fastest ever round Fiorano" matters, or they're in a game of Top Trumps with million dollar stakes... Just LOOK at the press releases for the LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Lambo Veneno. They've got that old Veyron dinosaur in their sights and they're hunting him down. Neutral drivers at the 'Ring... It's the only solution... Bestest, M.

Read the press release... It's CFD'd and wind tunnel tested to the same degree as the F1 cars, (and those guys worry about the effect of tar splatter and the placement of sponsor decals on airflow), and the designers worked completely hand in hand with the aero engineers to fine tune the shape. At worst, I imagine every aesthetic line has zero negative impact on drag, downforce, cooling airflow etc. Can you imagine the conversation...? "You want to add 0.3 seconds to our Fiorano lap time because you want a crease in the fender?" When I did the fluid mechanics courses during my engineering degree, I was still writing Fortran IV, and the Silicon Graphics workstations had to be booked out in 10 minute slots. I imagine things have moved on since then, and there's NO excuse for not knowing EXACTLY what your neat-looking curve on the drawing board will do to the fuel consumption or on-limit road-holding... Bestest, M.

I think the point is that there are NO "pointless" creases. It's all aero... bestest, M.

Dr Cranky.... do you have any decent link or title for the "New" Pat Covert book? It sounds great if it combines stuff from his previous hard to find and expensive books, but I can't find anything on Amazon UK or Com, and I can't even find a web site for Motor Books International to look in their "Forthcoming Titles" section... ? bestest, M.

Surely if that's what they're after it should be "la Ferrarissima"... ;-P Seriously, what happens in five years time when the next ultimate expression of Ferrari-ness comes along? Or maybe that range-topping model is ALWAYS LaFerrari now... Personally, I think the cylinders/capacity number thing is part of Ferraris DNA, and they mess with it at their peril! Bestest, M.

So... LaFerrari (I really HATE the name), P1 or Veneno for YOUR garage? (Though I guess if you can afford a Veneno, you can bag one each of the other two as well...) I'd like to see a Top Gear group test to see if any of these knock the Veyron off its perch... ;-) From a design point of view, I'd say the Veyron was drawn for Gulf princelings, whereas this generation appeals to the aesthetics of young Chinese nouveau riche... Bestest, M. (And before you start, Skip, I'm 250 miles from the Maserati, so I'm ALLOWED to procrastinate! ;-P)

Nope, but I'd pay $60 for a Aoshima kit of one and it'd go straight to the top of the build pile... that is one awesome piece of kit. YMMV, obviously... Take the motor and put it in a Mustang? That's like strapping Seabiscuit to a Conestoga... ;-P bestets, M.

Well, I'll certainly be watching this one, as well. I've wanted to see how this Revell kit builds (I think it's back again this year, IIRC). I'm not sure whether it's originally Protar or Italeri plastic, but I've built kits of the same vintage from both, and they're not bad at all. Personally, I think Rosso Corsa is the best choice for a GTO, thought the Swedish blue and yellow car and the David Piper pale green are nice alternatives. Have fun! Of, course, you realise that you'll have to do a 288GTO after this to complete the set...? ;-P bestest, M.

I've been thinking about the rear valance and the chassis/body build up. The main issue is the boot liner, at the back of the cabin moulding. Looking at it, though, and trying a quick test fit, I think it should be possible to slot the cabin interior in place and THEN plug in the chassis frame below it. I think you can get the cabin up into the body and slide it back, and then sneak the rear frame onto its mounts under the rear skirt. With the opening doors and boot lid, you've got plenty of access for fiddling the two big assemblies to align them... you could even add the front seats from outside afterwards, if needed... bestest, M.

BTW... have you seen the JayLenosGarage 3500 GT "barn find" restoration blogs? I've watched the first one, but some glitch is taking me to a Daimler Sp250 Dart restoration for the other two... bestest, M.

...actually, Skip... the steering wheel. Is the kit part a really bulky attempt at a Nardi, or did some of them really have that much more 3D triangular hub and spoke set up...? And do any of your pics show the firewall equipment without the engine in the way? bestest, M.

Decisions, decisions... Skip's favorite 3500GT above has rectangular auxiliary lights below the headlights, just like the kit. Most of the pictures I have looked at so far (see above for examples) show a different layout with a larger circular lamp and a separate smaller indicator. Just building the kit would obviously be rather easier... Skip, do you know if both were reasonably common? Any ideas on when/why it changed -- is it a model year thing or a European spec versus US spec thing, maybe? Or just a mystery, like the chrome micro-fins on the rear wings...? bestest, M.

Thanks for that, Skip! As you say, the liners will be black, and there are those details at the top to hide the joins... The seats are seriously anemic, and they'll certainly need those BIG metal side braces/hinges as well as bulking up the bolsters and backs. I'm still looking at wheels. I also have somewhere a spare set of the steel racing wheels from an E-type Jag, which are being replaced by the wires from a Tamiya Mk 2 Jag (the best plastic "wires" I've ever seen). If I can find them, they might work, with some hubcaps, to look like the ones in your gunmetal grey example... I decided to take a bit of a break from bodywork, and progress elsewhere for a bit. Here are lots of parts that used to be chromed. Five minutes in some carefully handled caustic soda solution, and they're clean. You can see the varnish is still there, but glue does work... There are some sink marks in the bumpers which prompted stripping them, and obviously the chromed engine parts are just daft. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by the level of detail supplied for the engine -- separate alternator, starter motor and distributor, belts etc. As you can see from the engine pic at the bottom left, this is clearly a car with the fuel injection engine rather than carbs. The decals are in a parlous state. I can see several cracks across the number plates. I've painted the logos and instruments with liquid decal film to try and save them, but I've also made a scan just in case I need to make my own. Anyone know of an aftermarket silver-ink decal sheet of Maserati logos...? ;-P I've ordered some rectangular mesh from Detail Master -- we'll see how that looks. With some measuring and counting, it needs to be 1mm spacing vertically and 2mm horizontally (or a bit bigger than 1/32" x 1/16") bestest, M.

Yep... thanks for the pictures, Paul. I think it probably could be done, but you'd have to reshape the windscreen "master" a lot to remove a good chunk of the lower corners, sanding through to the Milliput and well into it, to get the smoother curve along the bottom edge instead of the rectangular shape. Compared to that, adding some styrene to fill in the corners of the aperture in the body and rebuilding the "lip" would be almost trivial! Looking at the instructions on mine, the problem with getting a chassis you can test seems to be that there are four sections that have to be assembled before you have something you can test fit -- the back end with interior, the main chassis with front frame, the suspension assembly which sits on the end of that frame, and the extreme front frame which attaches to the axle assembly. I don't know how positive the mounting locations are, either. I'd like to use the chassis as a jig to assemble the firewall and engine bay sides (fender liners) on their mount points, and then remove them and attach them to the body interior, if that works. My worry is, though, that they are essential bracing to support the front frame assembly! Also, does anyone who has built this kit know for sure whether the engine bay sides sit at right angles to the firewall, or taper in toward the front to follow the line of the bonnet cut-out? The instructions are very unclear, and the fit into the slots isn't positive enough to tell one way or the other! bestest, M.

Thanks, guys! This is precisely the right time for "a bit more work" suggestions -- I can actually do them! There's nothing worse than posts AFTER the body is painted and cleared saying "did you think about...?" when I obviously didn't ;-P Skip... don't worry, suggestions are always welcome... as you can see: I was probably going to get to this at some time -- I already did it on my Astons -- but it was a worthwhile reminder. I scribed a line along the front face of the "scoop" with a P-Cutter, used flat -- ie parallel with the bonnet. Once that was reasonably deep, I scraped away under the bonnet, and alternated both until I had a narrow slot cut through. Then I used a "Flexi-File" - thin strips of abrasive on a plastic backing held in a U-shaped handle. I threaded the strip through the slot before attaching it to the handle, and then used it to widen the slot at both sides. I also used a fresh #11 blade to carve away a bit on the inside of the scoop as well, to get the sort of "W" cross section. Finally I sanded the upper corners of the scoop a bit, which are too square on the kit... ...best part of an hour to make a small hole. Who'd'a thunk it? ;-P bestest, M.

Thanks, Skip... are you thinking something like this (55 Bel Air from The Model Car Garage) bestest, M.