Matt Bacon

This one's been going for a while, so this is a long post. Airfix's Jaguar 420 has been one of the "grail" kits for classic British kit enthusiasts for years. It's not been released in a very long time, and while some people are fans of the "Festival of the Ordinary" contenders like the Vauxhall Viva estate or Morris Marina from Airfix's contemporary range in the 60s, the Jag has a bit more appeal to me as a subject. But not £120-worth of appeal. So imagine how glad I was when Airfix announced they'd added it to their range of Classic re-releases this year, along with the Beach Buggy. The kit is reasonably well detailed, with engine, opening bonnet and complete drive train with independent rear suspension from the E-Type. There's also a driver figure, who we'll see more of later. On my kit, the body was slightly splayed out, and there are definitely plenty of moulding age-marks to be taken care of. But the proportions and shape look very good. After several rounds of filling, sanding and primer, this is what we get. Note the "shelf" at the base pf the C-pillar. Not only is the C-pillar the most dinged up bit of the mould at the seam, but it's also completely missing this body detail. It's only on the S type and 420s, not any earlier "Mk2", so it' not surprising that the designer didn't spot it it. Built up with plastic rod and filler. Interior and chassis painted. Surpisingly, the carpet in the "red-on-red" scheme is brighter than the seats instead of the other way round. Citadel paints and washes for the interior trim, and Tamiya Titanium Gold to represent Opalescent Golden Sand from the Jaguar palette. Engine built up. It's got a strange taper front to back almost like forced perspective, but it seems to fit well, and looks OK in place. Probably some compromise forced on the designer by the thickness of the plastic in the body. You could do more with it, but you'd have to watch out for the engine bay space -- those wheel arches with cutaways are not how the real thing is laid out, so the space for ancillaries and plumbing/wiring is limited. Test fit of the body and hood, which doesn't seem too bad. Engine in the body and interior parts painted. The "wood" is my usual mixture of flesh tones overlaid with Tamiya clear orange, and the dials detail painted with white gel pen ink. Panel line wash applied using Citadel yellow "contrast colour", prior to final polishing. Chassis assembled. So you don't have to go through the same rigmarole as me later, cut a couple of square notches about 3mm wide and 2mm deep in the corners of the radiator, so it can drop a little between the chassis rails instead of resting on top. That way the hood will close. More to follow.... best, M.

I know things are different in the US, but how many cars actually have a 3G connection (in Europe that means their own SIM card and mobile subscription)? Handful of high-end BMWs, Mercs and Audis. Most work on a Bluetooth connection to the owner's phone or proper Apple Carplay/Android Auto integration. Either way, the phone has the connection, not the car, and whatever connectivity the phone has, the car has it too. And all of them are designed to make sure they work if there's no mobile network coverage -- which is why anyone who tells you an essential use case for 5G mobile is autonomous vehicles is blowing smoke... best, M.

I guess that's the Revell Germany kit in export version. Looks really good, and they are such fun cars. All I ask is don't go overboard with the wheels and arches! You see Coopers with wide wheels, and you know they are all show: the real thing's suspension and wheels/tires are a finely tuned solution for competitive racing, and a bit of oversteer is all part of the mix. The best drivers sling Minis into corners on a 45 degree drift angle and power out in a straight line, and being too grippy and uncompliant messes that up... best, M.

That look isn't new: ? (and yes, the above is a fabulous engine, and nothing like so hard to work on as it might look, I'm reliably informed...) best, M.

Rapide's a good choice. But I think Bill's XJ6 has it all for a "realistic" option, either for Europe or the US. If we have any Aussie members, I'd be keen to hear what you'd pick for a ride that has the Great Sandy Desert in the middle of it, one way or another... best, M.

I believe a Ferrari Daytona is the weapon of choice, isn't it? I guess it depends on the "rules": can I stop at nice hotels? Is it London --> Rome or New York to LA? Do I have to sleep in it? I think for going a long way in Europe, with stops at chi chi hotels and some really nice technical driving roads on the way, a new Bentley Continental GT would be great, a second hand well looked after Jaguar XJL would be the affordable choice, and a Gordon Murray Automotive T33 (with no less than six fitted bags and 800 litres of luggage room in a driver's supercar...) would be the dream ticket. For a coast to coast in the US, a new Range Rover SV. And if I had to sleep in it, a 1973 GMC MotorHome... best, M.

There's a white metal one from SE Finecast in 1/24. It's actually the first of theirs I bought, and one of the reasons why I bought the cheap Silver Ghost to practice on. Needless to say, I haven't built it yet. It's an original Finecast kit, not one of the Auto Kits they picked up later, so it's beautifully mastered and finely detailed. For some reason, the model they put on the box and web site is painted in black, which makes it hard to see the quality! best, M.

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.