Matt Bacon

And if we’re talking riffs, has there ever been one better than this? Only 50 years or so between performances… best, M.

More of a riff than a solo: best, M.

Thanks very much indeed, Andrew! All four wheels are now spoked. A bit tedious, maybe, but full marks to the Auto-kit team for coming up with something that at least tries to be authentic. 1960s-vintage 3D printing is hard work, though... There's a LOT of cleaning up of details to do, especially around the little tabs, and some molding gates to remove, but if you do clean up everything thoroughly, you're rewarded by something that fits together very well. The mock-up above is just clipped and taped.... I haven't used any glue on it. The last picture shows the only substantial area of filler and sanding -- a hefty seam around the top and rear of the body tail parts, but that's it, and it buffs out easily ? best, M.

Interviewer to Eric Clapton “How does it feel to be the greatest rock guitarist in the world?” Clapton: ”I don’t know. Ask Prince.” best, M.

Watch it all the way to the end… best, M.

Thank you! @absmiami Not that many, to be honest. I’ve got the old “Profile” publication on the cars, and I’ve found the Revs Institute pictures, but the black Seaman car seems much better documented online than Benoist’s steed. Since I’m building it “in action” I’m not planning to scratch an engine or anything bonkers like that, but any decent cockpit interior views, chassis details or suspension anatomy would always be appreciated! All the best, Matt

One of the most attractive and successful pre-war race cars, winning all five Grand Prix in 1927 in the hands of Robert Benoist and making him World Champion. First, the inspiration: There is a reason for this that will become clear in due course, but there's a clue in the image above. The main parts are typical of 1960s-vintage Auto-Kits -- nicely detailed, well-fitting but with a fair number of casting issues to be cleaned up. As with all Auto-Kits, it's "curb-side" (or maybe "pit-wall") but will buid up to look very like the image in the painting above. A handy jig is provided for spoking the wire wheels using Auto-Kits "Patented" mechanism. Above, the grooved rim and hub are mounted awaiting wiring. And here are the first two wheel, after a couple of hours of eye-crossing work. Goodness knows how 1960-vintage modellers did these without the benefit of superglue. They look OK, I think -- bearing in mind the alternative at the time was a clear plastic disc and a printed silver spoke decal. If you really wanted to, I think you could use thinner wire, and double layer both sides with an offset on the second set and get close to a prototypical spoke density. But I'm doing this OOB as a Classic British Kit... I think this one may take longer than the Esprit... best, M

Thanks, all! @Jim B it is! The number plate Fujimi includes in the kit is the one from the Bond film. @Rich Chernosky this is the interior: The seats and door cards are done using nail art plaid decals. I got mine here: https://www.dippycownails.com/products/waterslide-nail-decals-tartan-red?_pos=14&_sid=5b92776a5&_ss=r They look a bit purple in this picture. If I was doing it again, I'd prime the seats in white, apply the decals, trim them and then paint the green instead of just applying the decals over green painted seats... best, M

The purest version of the Esprit, 50 years old and still looking very sharp. Fujimi's kit is simple, but very crisply detailed, and fits very well. Paint is Tamiya TS-101 "Base White" with some TS-13 gloss clear over the top... but not too much; the finish on these is more like porcelain than a modern wet-look gloss. The interior is lurid 70s style at its best -- jade green upholstery, bright orange carpets, and red plaid panels on the seats and door cards. Pity you can't really see it in any of the photos! One of the reasons I dug the Esprit out of the stash was that I really liked the way The Road Rat magazine had done its studio photoshoot of the car for its 50th anniversary tribute, so I thought I'd give it a go myself: I claim no credit for the idea, or the setups .. they were done in real life with what look like 1m x2m reflectors in a studio. My mirrors are made up from a thin plastic mirror tile, cut up into 10cm x 5m rectangles mounted on braced foamcore triangles, with fishing weights epoxied to the rear corner to keep them upright. Given that the real thing was shot in a blacked out barn of a studio with directional photo lighting, I'm pretty pleased with what I managed to get from a smallish photo lightbox. I won't do it with every car I make, but the style suits teh angles and sharp lines of the Esprit very well. There are still a couple of set-ups in the magazine I have NO idea how they did, even after a fair bit of playing around with a scale version... best, M.

Absolutely beautiful. Great building, detail painting and overall finish. An outstanding build of a stellar kit of a car that may have been under-appreciated at the time but is now starting to be recognised as peak Japanese supercar. The uncompromising design lead has written the definitive book about the LFA which is soon to be published: https://theroarofanangel.com/password You can sign up to be notified when the book is ready, if the LFA is your thing, or your interest has been piqued by building one… best, M.

This is literally the "make or break" moment, and boy does it seem risky as you do it! The rear end goes in OK, with the exhaust through its slot, and then you have to flex the corners of the body ahead of the rear wheel arches a fair bit to get the floor pan inside, but the real kicker is front valance ahead of the arches. That takes some pretty determined pushing and leverage to get the front end in. I shoved it hard against one side and used a thin wooden stirrer to shoehorn the other side in. With a some quite loud creaks and snaps, it finally popped into place... Just the body decals to do, and then beauty shots tomorrow I hope... best, M.

This was inspired by a 50th anniversary magazine article about the Esprit and a celebration of all things Giugiaro. The original Origami production car... Plus I liked the outlandish late 70s colour schemes for the interior.... The plaid panels on the seats and door cards are made using nail art decals. They are true to life, if a bit purple, but if this is a problem you need to solve, I can't recommend "Dippy Cow Nail Art" on Etsy highly enough! It's a pretty quick build. The chassis detail is nice, and made of few parts. I tried to make the box section backbone chassis look a bit like the galvanized original with some sponging of different metallics. The body is crisply detailed, and easy to mask... With luck, I should get it together this weekend... best, M.

That looks fantastic, and a fitting tribute to one of 80s TV’s greatest “characters”! Time for a 1/24 steam road roller to sit next to it? ? is there a WIP somewhere? I’m particularly interested to know exactly how you shortened the 109” chassis to an 88”… I’ve got at least one to do the same to, and I’m still trying to figure where to cut how much… presumably in several smaller chunks rather than one big one. Great job best, M.

Wonder if anyone's tried putting in a VR38DETT from an R35 GTR for the full restomod 432.R experience... it's only about twice as many horses as the 370Z V6 and not THAT much bigger..... ? best, M.

Must admit, I bought a set of those cleaning rods/reamers thinking to use them on an airbrush. One look in real life, and no way... they're designed for removing deposits from the business ends of welding equipment, burners etc etc, and there's no way I'm putting anything that coarse and unforgiving in any of my airbrushes' finely-engineered and precision-manufactured orifices... best, M.

The biggest problem I have with BMF these days is that it's very hard to know how old any pack you buy from a supplier actually is. It's not like it's in high enough demand that the stock anyone has is cleared in a month or two and replaced with new from the factory on a regular basis. If Tamiya's "stickers" are launching now, then you at least know that any you buy is going to have been recently manufactured in a well-quality-controlled environment.... With BMF there's always the risk you'll open a "fresh" packet from your hobby retailer and find the springy stuff that doesn't stick, or the shiny thin stuff that's covered in wrinkles that just break when you peel it off to apply... best, M.

Anyone seen this in the wild yet? It's due imminently, but will only make it this side of the pond several months after the US release, so has anyone seen it over there yet? best, M.

Well, it ain't cheap, but whoever thought we'd get a detailed 1/25 kit of a car they only made 51 of? https://www.spotmodel.com/product_info.php?products_id=60262 I don't know who Red Wheel are, but it certainly looks like a pretty impressive kit in the photos! best, M.

Don’t be sad because he’s gone; be glad because we had him. This community is bigger than any individual member, but this community is what it is BECAUSE of every member who contributes. @Snake45 was one of those guys who make this place, this place. I’m sorry to see him go, and condolences to his family. But remember him with fondness, ask yourself “What would @Snake45 do? And then think REALLY HARD about whether you’d want to do the same. Whatever the answer, participate… best, M.

This project began when Classic cars magazine introduced me to the "AC 289 Sports MkIII". ACs Ace was the starting point for the increasingly fearsome Cobra. As it evolved over the years from 62-67, the Shelby Cobra got heavier, wider and way more powerful, The final 427 was curvaceous to the point of caricature, with wide hips flaring over broad tyres, and the engine bay crammed full of a powerful, big and heavy engine. That later Cobras also boasted in improved chassis with coil sprung suspension all round. As Shelby parted company with AC, taking the Cobra name, the English company built one last batch of these: the AC 289 Sports Mark III. Combining the coil spring chassis with the lighter 289 cu inch Ford V8 for better handling on twisty roads, and a narrower body better suited to British B roads (and picturesque continental mountain byways), it's a Cobra in all but name, a thug in a Jermyn Street suit, if you like... If you want to see the real one that inspired this build (and provided lots of useful reference photos, it's here: https://girardo.com/car/1967-ac-289-cobra-sports-mkiii-1/ The starting point was the still-good-after all these years Monogram 1/24 Cobra 427, in a "Dream Rides" box that has no scoop in the hood, and chrome bumpers that can be adapted to the over-riders only look I needed. The major changes were narrowing the body substantially at the rear, flipping the cockpit from left to right-hand drive (which is not just the dash but rebuilding the foot wells with pedals shifted to the driver's side, and replacing the massive 427 mill with the 289 from a Revell Mustang GT350 (thanks to @Ace-Garageguy for the steer). Lots of work under the hood as well to add the details that are missing from the 427 S/C because you can't see them around that mahoosive engine. The full build thread is here: And if you were wondering exactly how an AC289 Sports MkIII compares to a full-fat Cobra 427 S/C, here's one I prepared earlier: Now to go and do something a bit less complicated! best, M.

Well, white LEDs and transparent blue and red paint from Tamiya all exist, so if an actual purple LED doesn’t, it shouldn’t be too hard to fake it… best, M.

First time in a long while I've got this out: "Rotisserie" adapted from an eBay "PCB soldering station" with a 50cm pice of steel rectangular tube to mke it usable for 1/24, 1/25 scale cars and trucks, and 1/35 armour... Exhaust components stolen from a "spares or repairs" E-Type and finished with some aluminum "bootlace ferrules" of the right size. Note, I have NO idea how the actual exhaust run on the Girardo and Co AC289 Sports Mk III that I'm using for reference. Sadly they didn't put it on a lift for the auction photo shoot. I can see some silencer components under the cabin and everything is under the chassis, with no side pipe or out-turn. I can see that the outlets are under the rear wings at each side. But I can't find any reference for how they get round the rear axle. I'm assuming (though I haven't tried to model this) that the pipes go up and over the suspension, like on a Mustang, or around the diff, like an E-Type. I know where they come out, and a bit of what they look like from the side, but much like the suspension and engine mounts, it's my best shot at what the real thing might be like, not an accurate model. Taking advantage of being on four wheels to open up the hood. Just the shiny details to go now... best, M.

Well, this feels like a milestone.... she's now sitting firmly on all four wheels. Next job will be the exhausts, since that's the last reason I'll need to turn it upside down, and then windscreen and chrome details... best, M.

So it did have to come apart again one more time..... access to the firewall wasn't good for attaching all the little boxes and greeblies... but now, I think I'm calling this engine bay done, and moving along. The top radiator "hose" is some aluminium florists wire I bought in several sizes for things like this and exhaust pipes. It's very flexible but not floppy, and goes where you put it and stays there. The rubber ends are heat-shrink tube. The characteristic and brightly-coloured "289 High Power" label on the air cleaner is a home printed decal... I found some old "Lazertran" paper lying around which promises that the inkjet colours dry and don't need a clearcoat, and to be on the safe side I freed the decal by putting the paper down on a damp cloth for a while rather than dropping it into water. The little boxes around the firewall, foot-wells and wheel wells are a combination of parts sliced from the original kit, some reading of a handy 289 Cobra wiring diagram and a Mustang parts supplier's online catalogue (want to know what the starter solenoid switch looks like? pretend you're buying one...), and some creative "gizmology". I should probably put a wash bottle in there somewhere. There is a steering column that runs almost to the right place, and I did manage to slip in the two diagonal frame braces in a way that looks reasonably convincing, thanks to the flexibility of styrene rod and the reasonable amount of wiggle room through the frame as I was working them into final positions. Time to get the wheels and exhausts on and then finish up the cockpit... best, M.

Apologies... I know it's been a while since the last progress report. A combination of going away for a long weekend somewhere hot and having to take several goes to get the next bit right has slowed things down somewhat... not to mention the fact the lawn is growing at a ridiculous rate and needs repeated attention! You need some kind of engine bay walls to hang some of the key components off. The base kit gets away with none, mostly by not including things like a battery or coil. The boxing in of the wheel wells provides the walls, but it took several attempts. In the end I used White Tak to take a profile of the body interior to get the shape of the end wall right and let that set in place, and then drew the bonnet edge profile onto plastic card to get the top curve of the inner fender. Finally some careful measurements along the chassis tubes sorted out where I needed gaps for the suspension components. The battery is sourced from spares and I built a tray for it to sit in. Trying to get everything to fit in and join up the plumbing and wiring is complicated by the fact that you have three main assemblies to bring together, and many bits of cable and tube that connect from one to another. For example, the upper radiator hose runs from the black "rubber" tube on the left hand end of the shroud over the hood hinge to the front of the engine, which is attached to the chassis. The battery cable runs round the firewall and down to the starter motor on the bell housing.... etc. The eagle-eyed will notice I've relocated the coil; on my reference pictures it's clearly alongside or ahead of the distributor, so it needed to move further forward. I hope I won't need to separate the assemblies again now, and can just start joining things up. It'll be interesting to see if I can run the steering column in something vaguely approximating the right place, and fit the two frame braces that connect the transverse hoop at the firewall to the front suspension frame uprights.... somehow. best, M.