
Matt Bacon
Members-
Posts
3,128 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by Matt Bacon
-
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.
-
Airfix Quick Build Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4
Matt Bacon replied to ewetwo's topic in Model Cars
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. -
Porsche 550 Spyder
Matt Bacon replied to Gramps46's topic in Other Racing: Road Racing, Salt Flat Racers
I’ve got the USCP kit. Tom’s unboxing video is here: best, M. -
Autoquiz #596 - Finished
Matt Bacon replied to carsntrucks4you's topic in Real or Model? / Auto ID Quiz
I have no idea, but I _love_ the colour scheme! ? best, M. -
Sidewinder? Or maybe a Flak-88… ? best, M.
-
The Future of Revell...for 2024 at least.
Matt Bacon replied to niteowl7710's topic in Car Kit News & Reviews
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.
-
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
-
How would you repair this?
Matt Bacon replied to redscampi's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
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.
-
Autoquiz #593 - Finished
Matt Bacon replied to carsntrucks4you's topic in Real or Model? / Auto ID Quiz
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.
- 8 replies
-
- 10
-
-
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.
-
The last one for our 1973-themed tribute display at this year's Scale Model World. This one didn't make the show because the decals I bought to replace the shot originals from 1973 turned out to be unusable. But I managed to pick up some early-80s-vintage Microscale sheets for the F-80C at the show, which worked brilliantly. Those guys knew what they were doing (and Microsol and Microset solutions are still around to prove it). Another old Airfix kit that gets the shape and "feel" of the real thing spot on. It's only let down by overly chunky landing gear doors. I've enjoyed revisiting a few of my childhood builds, but normal service will now be resumed -- there are a few of the new Airfix 1/43 cars on my bench awaiting my attention! best, M.
-
Built in a bit of a blitz for our Classic British Kits SIG display at this year's Scale Model World (IPMS UK Nats), this is the 1973 "new-tool" Airfix Mosquito more or less straight out of the box. It's certainly better than the last one of these that I built, a mere 50 years ago. Of course, it's still the same version I built as a kid, with the BIIIGGGG GUN (a 2" anti tank cannon intended to deliver a one-shot kill of a U-boat) because why wouldn't you? I think it's actually still a pretty good kit, with the exception of a cockpit that definitely needs a bit extra added, if only the parcel shelf for the radio gear behind the crew. On the off chance you didn't spend your childhood watching "633 Squadron" ? The Mosquito was the best British "multi-role combat aircraft" of WW2. Built mostly of plywood by furniture makers (who weren't in demand for the war effort like metalworkers or auto craftsmen) it strapped two Merlin engines into a sleek aerodynamic fuselage which was adapted for every type of fighting. It could carry more bombs to Berlin than a B-17, and outrun everything the Nazis could get in the air until the jet-powered Me262 came along. Originally an unarmed bomber that relied on speed rather than firepower to escape the opposition, it turned out that if you stuck 4 machine guns and four more cannon in the nose, it was a pretty good fighter. Keep the four cannon and put a radar up front and it was a ground-breaking night fighter, with the radar operator sitting right next to the pilot, unlike the Beaufighter or P-61. And this particular version was designed to make life pretty unpleasant for U-boats and enemy shipping, what with the machine guns, anti-U-boat cannon and a salvo of rockets under each wing. No wonder teenage (and nearly-60-year-old) me figured it was a "must-build".... best, M.
-
The Future of Revell...for 2024 at least.
Matt Bacon replied to niteowl7710's topic in Car Kit News & Reviews
Ah, but did they have authenticated SPECTRE bullet holes…? ? best, M. -
The Future of Revell...for 2024 at least.
Matt Bacon replied to niteowl7710's topic in Car Kit News & Reviews
They said May in the UK… best, M. -
The Future of Revell...for 2024 at least.
Matt Bacon replied to niteowl7710's topic in Car Kit News & Reviews
James Bond licences don’t come cheap… best, M. -
The Future of Revell...for 2024 at least.
Matt Bacon replied to niteowl7710's topic in Car Kit News & Reviews
Corvette parts on show at Scale Model World this weekend: It looks really good in the flesh… certainly a step up for Revell in terms of detail and engineering. best, M. -
Model kit scales: Fraction, ratio, proportion??
Matt Bacon replied to Nacho Z's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
A thought… did anyone ever refer to 1/24 as 1/2” scale or half scale, like 1/4” or “quarter scale” once meant 1/48? I’ve never seen 1/72 referred to as 1/6” scale either. The 1/4” scale thing seems like a unique use. While we’re at it, 1/25 seems like a “metric” scale not an Imperial one, so why do US car models come in 1/25 instead of 1/24, when airplanes almost universally come in 1/48 (unless you count some very rare groove old Heller and Japanese kits in 1/50…) best, M. -
Quirky 70s Brits: Bugle Buggy and Bond Bug, Airfix, 1/32
Matt Bacon replied to Matt Bacon's topic in Model Cars
They are a bit “uncanny valley,” with that fixed stoned stare, I agree. I’m not a good enough figure painter to really bring them to life, but they’re part of the character of the kit, so I couldn’t leave them out… Let's just say he's grimly determined to push it to the edge, and she's clinging on for dear life... best, M.