Matt Bacon

Next rod for my own back... the original I'm building is a right hand drive, like about half the 289 Sports built. So, time to start changing the kit over. There's more to it than "just" flipping the dash... The easy bit... that three pronged box between the outriggers at the right is the pedal booster set-up. It snipped out neatly from the left and slotted into place on the right with no issues. The left footwell is shortened and the right extended by 4mm to give room for the pedals so they will sit over the booster box. The firewall has a reasonable amount of moulded in detail. That will clearly need to be redistributed and probably adapted, because the 289 Sports I have found online have a different layout of bits and pieces in the engine bay. That said, really good, clear pictures are hard to come by. With the help of a good razor saw, I've got most of them off more or less intact and started to shape the firewall itself. I can't finally glue it in place until I've sorted out the "carpets" and fitted the pedals at the far end of the foot well. First check of the engine position. Getting that in place is the next big challenge of swapping out the power plants. I think it will need to be higher so the starter motor when fitted clears the transverse chassis tube, and probably a bit further forward as a result so the bell housing doesn't clash with the transmission tunnel moulded into the tub. Who knows, the engine mounts might even line up and save me a job! best, M.

This is the IMC/Union kit Ace-Garageguy posted above: The full gory details of what it takes to convert what Bill posted into the above: In short, it was hard work, but I think it was worth it... best, M.

I'd take that burgundy Alpine 610/GTA in a heartbeat.... it looks as if it's a Euro-spec one, rather the GTA USA... best, M

So, that was a bit of a battle, but I think I'm done... The first part of the plan, implementing the cuts marked above, worked fine. That was when it got interesting. I started mocking up the wheels, suspension and tub. The narrowed arches mean that the tub needs trimming around the upper rear cabin corners to fit. Then I discovered that the tires were rubbing on the inside of the arches and wouldn't go in without lots of camber.There's not much room to thin the arches, and after doing all that filling and paintwork I wasn't planning to risk it. So I looked VERY closely at the tires. It turns out that they are handed. Whether deliberately or a moulding artefact, one shoulder of the tread is markedly more curved than the other, and I'd got it on the inside. I turned the tires round on the hubs. This also made the inner hub halves click into place deeper inside the tire. I suspect it may be designed that way, but the only way you'd ever notice on a normal build of a 427 is if you actually followed the instructions closely enough to put the right-numbered tire on the right side, and who does that? ? That bought me some more clearance at the top of the arch, but the wheels still weren't going all the way on. I shaved the front outside edges of the rear pan, as you can see above, and the rear corners of the tub for 0.5mm or so extra clearance each side. Even then, the wheels were still too far up in the arches. I cut off the axle stubs from the wheel carriers, filed everything smooth, and re-glued them 1.5mm or so lower, which is why they no longer line up with the half-shaft universal joints on the inside of the wheel carriers... and this is where I am tonight: The wheels are just pushed onto the axles, and the front end of the chassis is floating free, so it's not how it will finally look when it's glued together, but I'm happy that it will eventually look more or less OK. On with the engine now... best, M.

@Pierre Rivard, I was thinking of using narrower wheels on the back, but closer inspection of the photos of the real blue one I'm basing this one suggest that it does have the wider rear wheels: There are two more "rows" of tread on the rears than there are on the front, and you can see they pretty much fill the full width of the bulged fenders. I think the plan has worked. Just letting some things set before putting the body over the top for a test.... best, M.

Next challenge.... Having narrowed the body to make sense for British roads, I now have to narrow the rear track so the tires fit under the wheel arches. Although the original AC 289 MkIII's may have had different wire wheels, the car I'm trying to copy still has wider Hallibrand mags at the back. I can win a few millimetres (scale inches) by using the narrower front wheel backplates in the kit, and by taking off the raised hub section on the wheel parts, but I have to lose a scale 10" overall for the wheels to fit. So, here's the problem... And here's my plan: I reckon I can get 3mm each side by cutting as shown above and moving the wheel carriers inboard, another 1mm by cutting off the inner wheel hubs, and a last 1mm each side by using the narrower front wheel inner rims (of which I have a spare set from the previous build) on the rear wheels as well. Update tomorrow! best, M.

Well that took a while, and a few rounds of filling and priming, but I think it's finally there: Stynylrez silver primer, very lightly sanded... The real one seen above is described as "Guardsman Blue" but it's a lot brighter and bluer than the color-matched paint on the 427 S/C with the racing stripe that's already in my display cabinet. So, to emphasise the difference and look more like the prototype I'm copying, I've gone for Tamiya TS-54 Light Metallic Blue (the Alpine color). The surface will tighten up and smooth as it fully cures, and metallics are always hard to photograph without the speckling looking much more pronounced than it is, but I'm confident this will be a more accurate portrayal of the original... best, M.

Comparison after the first round of shaping, smoothing and priming. I'm broadly happy with that. I think I need to straighten the lower rear edge of the front arch in profile, which will taper it in toward the body more quickly in plan view. It's a lot easier to see how it's going when it's all in primer! Which also, sadly, reveals: Out with the Tamiya putty for round 2! best, M.

Ever wish you could unsee something? So, I thought I was nearly done, and laid the body over my carefully sized photos to mark exactly where the fuel filler cap would go on these reshaped fenders. And then.... I realised I could see a lot of bodywork through the open wheel arches at the back where they sat over the photo. Not only are the fenders narrower, but the wheel arches are smaller. On the full fat Cobra, the top of the arch is more or less level with the top of the bodywork alongside the cockpit. The AC Sports is nothing like as high, giving a much larger smooth expanse of fender side above the arch, and contributing even more to the different look. So... I traced round the inside of the existing wheel arch onto the photo, then used a needle poked through the picture to transfer the shape of the arch and the line of the new arch onto thickish plastic card, and glued the resulting crescent-shaped extensions into place. I then applied "sprue goo" (styrene dissolved in MEK glue) generously inside and out along the seam and let it set. Now back to filling and sanding! best, M.

Thanks, guys...made good progress on the body today: The sides look reasonably even, so that's good... Need to lose the side-pipe exits under the vents and the mounting holes in the sills, since the exhaust is tucked away underneath. A few rounds of filling, sanding and priming later... best, M.

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... Having seen one in a recent issue of Classic Cars, I decided I wanted one of these understated roadsters on the shelf next to the full-fat 427 S/C. That one is a Monogram kit in 1/24, so I decide to start this one with a relatively recent "Dream Rides" boxing, which saves one job by having a flat hood without air scoop. So, in the spirit of trying to get the "make or break" tasks out of the way first, I set to work to reshape the bodywork. I have found a bunch of auction house photos of 289 Sports MkIIIs, and scaled them to 1/24 for direct comparison. The overall width of the rear flares needs to be 10mm less than the 427 S/C, 62mm instead of 72mm. That, it turns out, is handy. After thinking about it for quite a while I came up with this solution. I have some 5mm wide Tamiya flexible masking tape, so I applied that along the "peak" of the rear fenders (neatly indicated by the mould seam line), and sprayed on grey primer. When I took the tape off, on each side I had a white strip 5mm wide with the sides parallel and offset the same amount on each side of the high point, which I hoped would the sides would line up nicely when I removed the central "summit." I chain drilled along the edges of the white strip, scribed down the front edge of the flare, cut out the plastic section, cleaned up the edges, and then glued it back in place with thicker cement to give me some "wiggle time" and dissolved plastic "squidging" to fill gaps. The difference is pretty clear now! I drilled the left side, but then I thought it would be more sensible to let the right side set nice and solidly before doing anything to this one, to try and forestall the whole back end of the car falling off (it's only connected by unbroken plastic in two very small sections behind the top edge of the doors). The other major difference between a Sports MkIII and a 427 S/C. On the left, the 427 cu in mill of the Cobra, a 'spare" from the previous build which also came with a rather nice cast white metal engine. On the right the beginnings of a 289 from the Revell and Monogram Shelby 1/24 Mustang GT350. Thanks to @Ace-Garageguy for the recommendation -- I knew I had one somewhere! You can see why one's called a "big block"... The 427 can in theory go into the engine bay of the Mustang for a genuine period factory option (though they didn't build very many that way...). In practice, I dunno... it's going to be a pretty tight fit! That's it for tonight. Tomorrow, it'll be time to slim down the other haunch... best, M.

Nor with me. At this rate 223 will arrive before 222… best, M.

Revell Germany's Easyclick Audi ETron GT in Kemora Grey Zero Paints colour-matched Kemora Grey, panel lines highlighted with a charcoal grey fine-tipped pen before applying Zero 2K Clearcoat. Wheels are Humbrol Metalcote Polished Aluminium with the central rotors "diamond cut" using SMS Hyperchrome marker. Straight out of the box the fit is excellent, and it really does snap together. I wanted a grey one to match a local car that I see reasonably often; you could use the blue body unpainted, but being slightly metallic, it does have mould swirls and lines visible in the metalflake even though the surface is perfectly smooth. The roof decal is a pain to get to settle down, and this one has had multiple treatments with setting solution. Front and rear light reflectors are chromed pieces, but neither should be, though especially at the front they have all the moulded relief you need to paint them accurately, and it makes a big difference to how they look. The interior I did trimmed in mahogany eco-leather, but you really can't see it very well from outside! There are some serious sink-marks on some parts, mostly not very visible, but some in very inconvenient places. I put it down to the slightly odd plastic, which is more flexible and tougher than regular polystyrene to ease the snap fitting process. The windows are something more like Lego clear plastic and much more flexible and tougher than normal clear parts. All in all, a good base for a real replica and a fun kit for a 10 year-old. best, M.

Ahh… they saw that Pistonheads “feature” as well! best, M.

In need of something a bit less involved, I turned to a Revell Easy Kit snapper. It could certainly be built without paint and with the stickers provided as an option instead of decals, but I wanted to make one I've seen locally regularly. It's Zero Paints "Kemora Grey" externally, and I liked the look of the rich mahogany upholstery. This is just Taimiya red-brown primer with a Citadel flesh contrast paint over the top... Several different flavours of "black" to give the interior a bit of variety. The wheels are cleverly designed to make painting relatively easy: the "spokes" are a separate insert moulded in black, with the diamond-cut look added thanks to an SMS Hyperchrome pen. Brake callipers are lurid Citadel green. he front end is very cleverly engineered to nest various pieces one on top of the other without the need for lots of masking to give a realistic result. The lights are also a pretty good combination of detailed moulding and decals, but I'd strongly advise stripping the chrome from the plastic provided and recreating the look based on references. It's been Revell's Achilles heel for over a decade -- most cars since the 2010s have not had chrome headlight "buckets" and look so much better with charcoal grey mouldings and embedded projector lenses like the real thing. Bizarrely, Revell usually gets the underlying structure and relief moulded right, and then chromes the sprue! All the best, M.

Looks like you could do 66 or 70, though for some later cars you’d need to add a chin spoiler. Patto’s place has 1/24 decals for the Kwech 1966 car. best, M.

You're doing brilliant work, and I hope when it's completed you'll get someone to turn your automotive sculpture into the master for the ultimate correction set!! My only comment, and it may be the same thing as Bill's @Ace-Garageguy is that the rear edge of the door shutline and the front edge of the wheel well cut out are straight and parallel for a decent amount of their length.... best, M.

My word... spectacular! Brilliant building, painting and detailing. Mind you, that now makes me want to add an Avanti to my build list... best. M.

I have the Michael Zumbrunn “Ferrari Legends” book. I won’t paste the picture in here, but take a look at the yellow 250SWB here: https://en.wheelsage.org/persons/158403/author/rp1srp He’s one of the most sought-after photographers for auction catalogues, with cameras, lighting and skills to match. Look at that picture and tell me it doesn’t look as if there’s a curve in the fender over the front wheel… best, M.

You might as well have all of these here: best, M.

It's a great project, Pierre. Your model body photos are taken from a higher relative position than the ones of the real thing so the relative positions of different features may appear different than they are in real life. On the real-life pictures, the lower sills of the door windows are almost lined up, but the model pictures have a discrepancy of almost 20% of the door height at that point. It doesn't seem like a big deal for the vertical height of features on the near side of the car, but it'll throw off the lower corner of the rear valance quite a lot. I know you're constrained by photographing it in front of your computer screen so it's not that easy. Depends on your camera, but for a compact DSLR you want 45mm focal length lens and a 50mm on a full frame camera to get a view like the human eye. I think you need to drop the "horizon" on your model body profile pictures to more or less line up with the lower door window sills to get a truly comparable image. If you do that with the right focal length lens, and pull back as far as you need to get the framing of the body the same as the "real-thing" pictures then you can compare like for like... You're probably just wanting to make the point, which is absolutely fair, but even the best thought-out photos need to be treated with scepticism unless you know the exact details of the lens and geometry of the set-up... best, M.

Look what I found: It's not the Sport model, but they had enough profile to make it into cross-sectional fame in a leading boys' magazine... best, M.

Looks fabulous, very clean build with great colour choices and very neat detail painting. Forged carbon looks very good. I hope you had less trouble than I did getting the rear clip to fit and stay in place! It looks like you did the body tweaks to fix the awkward panel shapes on the rear wheel arches and at the front of the doors, and it looks all the better for it… Great build. best, M.

No need to pay bonkers auction prices any more in ‘24. That’ll please many! best, M.

Sill waiting in South Yorkshire, too... Is there anyone in the UK who has got theirs yet? best, M.