Matt Bacon

1lb 10oz, since the display cabinet happens to be about 10 feet from the kitchen scales! best, M.

Hi, all.... following some discussion on my XJ13 thread, I though I'd share some thoughts on the white metal kit makers I have experience of. There aren't that many in 1/24: the majority of the white metal catsers are primarily in 1/43, the popular die-cast scale. I'm also restricting myself to kits using white metal to make relatively traditional scale models, not unassembled diecasts (though some of the makers did offer built and painted versions of the models from the factory). Wills/SE Finecast The best detailed, fitting and engineered 1/24 metal car kits I've built. Very high levels of finesse on details, full engines, and comprehensive kits. Range is a mixture of a handful of 20s/30s classics (plus the Silver Ghost), a variety of MGs and Minis. MGA is still unique, B has now been done by Aoshima in various guises, and there's a GT coupe body transkit from C1 models. Minis from Revell, Tamiya and Hasegawa. So the 30s cars and MGA are currently the standouts. Now available from Squires Tools, who took on the range from the original owners. Auto-kits Wide range of subjects, pretty nice but a little cruder and less detailed than the Finecast kits. Finecast took on the Auto Kit range on years ago, and they are also now available from Squires. Range is much more focused on period racing cars from the 30s-50s, with many unusual types you won't find anywhere else. Lotus 7, MG M and TD, and Austin 7 fill out the range. A step up from the "Merit" plastic 1/24 kits (which they will look good with as part of a collection), but not up to the standards of the Heller plastic racecars in 1/24. K&R Replicas Well-shaped, accurate, and somewhere between Auto-Kits and Finecast in terms of finesse and detail. A very wide range of vehicles across scales, but in 1/24 primarily focused on Jaguars. C-Type (the only one in scale I know), D-Type in various body forms, XK120, XJ13 and Mark2 and XJ6 saloon varieties. Mercedes 300SLR, 1954 Ferrari 375 and Healey 3000Mk2 and 3 complete the set. Full detail engines in some. Still trading, but seem to be running down stock of the 1/24 kits. Western Models I don't own and haven't built any of these. From what I can see they are premium products, up to Finecast Standards, and command substantially higher prices (though that may be because they are out of production, so eBay demand sets the price, whereas the other kits are available new from the makers). Anyone who has thoughts on these, please feel free to add to this thread!) Not British: Precision Classics -- looking to my friends across the pond to add any details on these. Very high-end brass model kits, with castings using jewellery materials and methods. The only one I've seen is a Porsche 356 Speedster, but at £500 for a 1/24 kit, I think I'll pass. They do seem to set the quality bar, though, and it's _very_ high. Again... if you know more (were there any more than the Porsche, or is it a beautiful one-off dream...?) please, anyone who wants to add information, dispute my thoughts, or share other manufacturers I don't know, do pitch in! best, M.

After a discussion with @aurfalien, it occurred to me that any pictures I'd taken of this beastie back in 2011 were long lost on an ancient photo host, and predated a decent camera setup anyway. Since it's one of the rarer kits I've built and a less well-known car, while I had the camera out photographing other things I thought I'd do a re-shoot of it... best, M.

I saw that one in real life at RetroMobile in Paris a few years back in a display of Peugeot and Citroen Concept cars. It look absolutely stunning, but I hate to think how long it took every week to keep the copper looking as good as that... best, M.

No sign of my Issue 222 here in South Yorkshire yet... best, M.

PS... it also looks as though I can drop the 427 back into the Mustang, for a rare-groove but period-correct option. Win all round... best, M.

Thanks @Ace-Garageguy Bill.... that's all good news. I have a spare set of Hallibrands from the Monogram 427 S/C -- the one I built a few years back was from a Hasegawa issue of the kit which included better detailed white metal versions of quite a few of the parts, including a complete engine and a set of wheels, but all the original plastic was in the box too. I've got at least one of those GT-350H kits in the stash as well. So it's just a matter of getting hold of another Monogram 427 S/C, and as far as I can see there's a current-ish Revell Germany issue in Gulf livery that's pretty widely available still. The article mentions that the haunches on the AC Sports V8 MkIII aren't quite as Jessica-Rabbit as the 427 for narrower European roads but that's an easy-ish fix. The front flares look much the same. I'm still trying to decide based on the pictures whether the AC has less of a "snout" around the grille than the Shelby. I think that'll have to wait until I have the actual plastic in hand to compare directly to the pictures... Then I need to lose the sidepipes and fake up some kind of straight-through exhaust, but it looks as though the Gulf version of the kit has the chrome "fangs" as well as the race lifting eyes. Thanks, again. best, M.

As far as I can tell from a quick mock-up, the Hasegawa front clip will fit the Tamiya kit perfectly, unlike the Fujimi one, which is noticeably bigger. So if you want to cross-kit with the Tamiya to get a short-nose 240Z with a fully detailed engine, a spare Hasegawa kit is the one to plunder... I'm tempted to go the whole hog, and mix and match the Tamiya kit with a Hasegawa 432R and the spare Fujimi engine that I didn't use in the Super Samuri to get a full detail 432R... best, M.

https://girardo.com/car/1967-ac-289-cobra-sports-mkiii-1/ I'm keen to have a go at one of these. Which Cobra kit would give me the best body this shape and the all coil-spring chassis, and what's the best source for a 289 V8 to drop into it (since I fear that the body and chassis will come equipped with the big-block engine instead...)? TIA... best, M.

They are generally pretty close to 1/24, but not always the same scale lengthwise as widthwise! That's because the "Lego-like" construction is actually Lego compatible, so the dimensions and spacing of the studs and sockets on the parts are fixed. Effectively, like on a real car, the shapes of the external surfaces are constrained by the "hard points" inside where the blocks lock together. So the width can be ten studs or eleven studs or 12 studs, but not 10.5. Ditto the length. IIRC the McLaren P1 was something like 1/26 in length but 1/22.5 wide. The designer has to choose the best-looking compromise that also allows for a sensible assembly (eg in my example, 10 studs or 12 studs wide makes sense, 11 not so much...). They look good, though, IMHO. best, M.

I’ve got the USCP kit. Tom’s unboxing video is here: best, M.

I have no idea, but I _love_ the colour scheme! ? best, M.

Sidewinder? Or maybe a Flak-88… ? best, M.

If the Revuelto is up to the same standard as the new tool Corvette, I can definitely see one of those in my future… best, M.

Not the most productive year, but I'm happy with what I managed... 1/24 C1 Models MGC Sebring, featuring a bit or three of Aoshima MGB, but not that much! 1/8 Pocher Lotus 72D, British Grand Prix: this one took up at least three "normal" build slots! 1/9 X-Plus Metropolis Maschinenmensch "Maria" 1/43 Airfix Bugatti Chiron 1/43 Airfix Pagani Huayra ...little 'uns... 1/24 Super Samuri, which started life as a curbside Fujimi kit... 1/32 Airfix Beach Buggy 1/32 Airfix Bond Bug 70s-tastic! 1/72 Airfix Mosquito FB XVIII 1/24 Lincoln Mint 1969 Pontiac GTO "The Judge" 1/72 Airfix F-80C ...and I think that's it for 2023! The bench is busy, but that's getting a start on 2024, I reckon... best, M.

This is worth a read for all of us who get as much out of the process as the finished result: https://amzn.eu/d/9faPDPV best, M.

Great collection of well-executed builds. I love the range of subjects, all equally nicely finished. The Jag (in my absolute favourite colour) and the Alpine are the standouts for me, but only because I like the 1:1s… A very good vintage, 2023. best, M

Great looking and diverse selection of super-clean and neat builds. Beautiful, all of them… and very well photographed to boot. Best, M.

Those wide gates you’re better off not cutting at all… just bend the dash up and down a few times and it’ll snap right off. You can use the DSPAIE nippers on what’s left, or just smooth it with a file or sanding stick… You’re not tearing the plastic like you would breaking off a part with a single point gate, so it won’t start taking chunks out of the dash (or body shell). best, M.

Welcome aboard! I’m also a fan of the classic kits as well as new ones. Catalogues are often on sale on eBay, as are invidual issues and whole years of old modelling mags. There are also Tim Boyd’s excellent books on collecting model car kits (Muscle Car and Drag Racing so far). Schiffer publishes books on Revell, Monogram and Aurora kits covering the whole range of subjects… best, Matt

I’m with @NOBLNG. A few pins drilled into the edges to provide anchors, and then white Milliput squished out more or less flat. Damp finger to smooth it roughly, let it dry leather hard and sculpt in the gutters and windscreen trim with a sharp knife, and sand to final shape and blend after 24 hours when it’s cured hard… best, M.

I guess in 1/25 it wouldn’t really have any texture, so I’d see about finding an image of a pattern in black and white and printing it on clear decal paper. Or you could try an art and craft store and see what they had in textured paper for cardmaking or other crafts. If you’re careful and have a sharp knife, you can often split the surface layer away from craft papers to get something reasonably thin. best, M.

It's the kettle , isn't it....? best, M.

...couldn't resist this magazine "cover shot" to open... No. the headlights don't work, but the interchangeable grilles are easily tacked in position... Not sure what brought it on (might have been the @tim boyd Collecting Muscle Car Models book...), but I've been looking for a Judge to add to my collection for a few years. I never managed to find the Monogram 1/24 kit on this side of the pond, but a saved search on eBay threw up this Lincoln Mint kit a few months ago. It's definitely a kit... 100+ parts across almost a dozen trees... it just happens that the body and opening panels are diecast and pre-painted/printed. I don't know if it's ever been available as a ready-built, but it has a lot more parts than the average Welly diecast I've disassembled for rework. It's turned out to be very useful to have a kit that doesn't require a spray booth or too many tools so that I can build it indoors at the dining table on evenings when I'm dog-sitting or the workshop is too cold! The fit is very, err.... precise (read you have to clean everything up perfectly and there's some fettling to get everything in the right place, but when you get it right, it goes together very well). As ever with these things, it's a shame that they don't give you a few extra screws in the pack (four types in this one). I could have done with using longer ones in the boot hinge, which doesn't quite sit right because the short screw on one side isn't gripping tight enough. But I think it's a striking model, and captures the lines of the beast very well (I found a handy link with many useful pictures here: https://www.stlouiscarmuseum.com/vehicles/897/1969-pontiac-gto-judge-ram-air-iv). I'm not sure that the Monogram kit would have resulted in any better a model, and I couldn't have built that indoors! best, M.

There’s a great set of pictures here: https://www.stlouiscarmuseum.com/vehicles/897/1969-pontiac-gto-judge-ram-air-iv I would either use the existing one as a template to start making a complete new one from plastic card, or add some card wedges to the front and back of the rolled over ends, and sand to a shape more like the pictures. There are enough views from different angles above to get a decent set of plans for the shape. best, M.