Matt Bacon

XKSS is a really nice kit -- combine with Merit or Lindberg body parts and you can make a good D-type as well. Technically, of course, it's only 4 years of Jaguar (1957-61) -- 100 would need to be a dual Swallow sidecar and i-Pace kit... best, M.

Clear/Pledge/Future (whatever it is now in your country), coloured with food colouring works as a dip. Leave the part to dry on a paper towel, and repeat as needed to get the colour density you want. If you're using Tamiya, painting the front and back of the lens helps even out the colour if you're brushing it. Obviously, put the silver reflector coat on on the back last of all! best, M.

When I started out on my white metal kit of the Silver Ghost, I invested in a Swiss (Vallorbe is a brand to look for…) “Cut 4” watchmakers file which was about £10 and worth every penny. The trick I learned was to use a piece of scrap brass tube to clean the teeth after each session. Squish the end flat and use it like a brush pulled through the teeth at +-45 degrees and all the white metal blobs will come straight off… best, M.

Prince at Wembley Arena (around 5000 people, not a stadium gig) in 1988. The band, the showmanship, the musicianship (The Cross, solo for the most part, under a spotlight), the banter, the choreography, Sheila E, the man himself, and it went on (in a good way) for nearly four hours... two "halves" either of which with any other artist would have been the whole thing, four greatest hits as the encore, and then a final, awesome coda to send us out into the summer evening buzzin'. By all accounts, he then went into central London and played another couple of hours "after party" in small club venues... a different one every tour night... We shall not see his like again... best, M. (Honourable mentions to: a relatively unknown Irish band I was dragged along to see at Exeter Guildhall as a 17 year old in 1982 by a friend at who was at art college there, who sang some songs in Gaelic and were testing out some of the material that was about to become an album called War and change those lads lives; and to Elvis Costello at the Royal Albert Hall running a whole, fantastic greatest hits and new album show from a Wheel of Fortune-style random song selector instead of a set list...)

Apologies for posting this as a link to another forum, but I put it up there a good few years ago and the thread has gotten some useful additions along the way: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234956647-matts-tips-for-painting-cars/ HTH, best, M.

Some lovely renderings there. I (naturally) like the Shaguar XJ-13... best, M.

Hi, all... can anyone tell me if the Round 2 AMT 3in1 Barris Riviera includes the parts to build a stock version, or do I need to look for one of these kits: best, M.

Looks really cool... that Polar Lights snap kit is pretty good, isn't it? The two look great together (Gulf colours always work, don't they?) The latest issue of Octane magazine has a piece comparing the original GT in road and spider forms, the 2006 version and the new one. (The 2006 comes our really well as a "proper" GT that you could drive to the track, race it successfully, and then go away for a long weekend for two with your luggage in it...) It has an excellent petrolhead headline as well: "The Best Four by Ford by Far..." I'll leave the historic reference as a challenge for the interested reader... best, M.

Thriving scene over here in the UK, too: https://www.austinj40pedalcarclub.co.uk/ https://petrolicious.com/articles/the-settrington-cup-is-a-unique-pedal-powered-take-on-vintage-racing These started out as kids toys, then became fairground rides as they dated, and are now powering a small scale take on the classic car hobby. There are restorers, resto-mod builders and "continuation cars" believe it or not... best, M.

... the cynic in me also reckons you're going to get a lot more views for a video with "Tesla" in the title than "Ferraris" even though the latter was a couple of years earlier to the concept, though Tesla "invented" it independently in that interesting late 19th-century window of 50 years or so when the concept and bureaucracy of patents was widespread, but international communication and global lookup was rather slower... But Jeremy Fielding IS a brilliant science communicator, without doubt... best, M.

That does look absolutely stunning. Love the colour -- almost TOO tasteful for a Lambo, mind you. Detail painting is great, and the body finish is lovely... I can't see the issues... As for the issue with painting ducts etc, I think it's because the airflow from the brush has to go somewhere, so you end up with a backdraft coming OUT of the closed part which carries the incoming paint back out again. A trick I've tried is to paint the pieces before assembling. You're not trying to get them perfect, just to get a good opaque layer down on the inner surfaces which then blends into the main paint job after assembly. I can't remember from when I built mine whether this is possible with the Aoshima Aventador, but it works for Ford GTs... If it's not possible, I think the only way is to use the lowest possible pressure that still sprays and doesn't spatter... best, M.

The only TR6 kit I’m aware of is the Airtrax one which requires a Gunze TR3 donor kit as well (though it is a very comprehensive “trans” kit). Pretty darn rare, though… best, M.

I've invested in one and some metal from eBay to increase its flexibility. The basic product (https://thepihut.com/products/fully-adjustable-pcb-clamp-holder) is a little bit too short to reliably hold everything you might want to throw at it (max length is 20cm or so). So I bought 50cm of 30mmx15mm steel rectangular tube section off eBay, which should hold pretty much anything in any rational scale. I also invested in some 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/16" aluminium T section, which is glued into the board clamps, and foam attached to the flat surface with double sided tape to provide a firm and flexible grip. I haven't used it in anger yet, but tests with a large 1/25 body and a smaller 1/32 suggest it will do the job... best, M.

Looking good. Interestingly, Classic Cars magazine has a buying guide to the MGC and MGBV8 in this months issue, which says you should be able to see all of the rear wheel. If any of it is up inside the wheel arch, then "the springs are tired" and you'll need to budget for new ones... Looking forward to following your progress. best, M.

When I did it with my stash a few years ago, I used Microsoft Excel (which has functions for lists and databases) and the dictation that's built in to the Mac. A database is just a set of different fields (say scale, kit manufacturer, auto company, year, model, condition...) stored for each model in your collection. Excel understands a data format called "CSV" for Comma Separated Variable, where you make a list with a comma between each field relating to the same model, and a new line for each separate model. In practice, what that meant was that I made a Word document, and started dictation. Then I walked around my shelves with the laptop open, reading each box and saying "comma" and "new line" out loud "24 COMMA Airfix COMMA, MG COMMA 1973 COMMA MGB COMMA GOOD NEW LINE 24 COMMA Airfix COMMA Jaguar COMMA etc etc" If you don't have a bit of data for a specific model, remember to say "none" in that slot, otherwise you'll throw what is what. This whole process is actually quite quick (took me about 30 minutes to capture 300 kits). If there are difficult words ("Zoukei Muira" for example) just substitute an easier one ("Zebra") and then do a "find and replace all" on the final document to swap all the zebras for Zoukei Muira's. This process will give you (after a bit of tidying up) a document with a line for every item, and commas dividing the data. Save it as a text file, and call it "Filename.CSV" instead of "Filename.TXT". Then open up Excel, and import the CSV file. Excel will bring it in as a spreadsheet. Give each column a title (Eg "Scale") and Excel will probably say "It looks like you're managing a list" and start to give you advice. Or Open Excel and start by telling it you're making a list. All this is here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-lists?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US Once you've got the whole thing set up, you can add a column(s) in the list for "Picture" and use the Pictures function to pick an image for each model and put it in the cell in that column. Once it is a list, you can use the filters to only show you items that meet your criteria. So I can see all my E-type kits, all my 1/32 kits, all my Jaguars, all my "for sale" items, or all my 1/32 Jaguar E-Types that are for sale... HTH a bit... best, M.

Very little of the lander is actually silver. The ascent stage (cabin) is dark grey, pale grey-green, beige or black-grey in different panels depending on what coatings or protection are applied. The link SfanGoch has posted has drawings showing the panel layout. best, M.

It is a good idea… I went ahead and ordered one. Just beware that most of the listings on eBay are for a holder with maximum PCB length of 20cm and width 14cm, which is a bit small for 1/24 1/25 cars. I found one that’s bit more expensive that goes up to 30cm long. best, M.

Heller confuses matters still further: back in the day, their 1/24 E Types were the FHC, "Racing" and "OTS". The Fixed Head Coupe is as discussed. The "Racing" is a convertible with a factory hardtop and Dunlop racing wheels, so adaptable to represent some Lightweight E-type originals, especially if you're prepared to beef up the rear wheels/arches a bit. The OTS stands for an "open two-seater", which is actually not something that existed in the E-type range. You'll see it describing XK120s especially, where it refers to an open car with two seats, but without a foldable, retracting hood and storage for it. Nowadays, Heller has reissued its three boxes as the FHC, Racing and Cabriolet, which makes more sense to all of us! best, M.

Outstanding work! Lovely crisp,. clean detailed builds, flawlessly executed, and it's nice to see such a wide range of subjects. I'd be proud to have built any of them, but I think the Skyline just shades the win with that engine bay detail (though I have a soft spot for a Pink Cadillac, like anyone, right?) Great stuff. best, M.

I genuinely think you’d be better off with plans and some plastic card… https://aerofred.com/details.php?image_id=91773 There’s so little in common between the Spitfire fuselage and S.6, and any resemblance between the wartime floats and the earlier ones is coincidental: on the S.6b, one is longer than the other to counteract prop torque, for example… best, M.

Thank you all very much indeed for the kind comments. If nothing else, I hope I’ve persuaded a few that white metal kits are a workable alternative if there’s no other way to build the auto you want on the shelf! best, M.

These guys are following up the first new build steam locomotive in the UK for 70 years (the Tornado) with new Gresley P2 -- the most powerful steam loco ever to run in the UK. The P2 had a difficult start but diesel and electric were just around the corner which meant they were never developed and improved like earlier steam locos (https://www.p2steam.com/design-study/). So they've decided to build a P2 as it would have ended up if it had the kinks ironed out: https://www.p2steam.com/ It isn't cheap... buying two boilers costs $1m. but they are fund-raising very successfully. My uncle and I own half a dozen rivets in the frame somewhere... best, M.

I like the Tamiya Fine Surface primer from a can, but it is expensive -- but if you want to never have to polish a clear coat, it's the best starting point. For simplicity of clean up (water), and quality of finish, especially under acrylics, for airbrushing I'd recommend the Stynlyrez primers, which come in silver, grey, black and pink that I know of -- there may be more. Grey is neutral, silver makes the colours pop (and helps stop bleed-through from the base plastic), and pink is ideal for reds and yellows... Ferraris, basically. best, M.

Moving house put a big crimp in my building this year. I've got a brilliant new workspace in theory, but getting the house in order has been the #1 priority this Autumn/Winter. Hopefully, electrics outdoors will be done early 2022 so I will have heat, light, and fume extraction up and running so I can get back to the bench. So for 2021 I have only these two to offer: Ford GT40 Mk2, Meng, 1/12 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, SE Finecast, 1/24 With luck, 2022 should be a little more productive! best, M.

Well, I haven't quite _got_ it yet, since it's a Christmas present, but this arrived today: I'm looking forward to parking it next to the Airfix Bentley and Meng GT40... best, M.