Matt Bacon

I'll have to weigh the pieces an see how heavy it will be! I have got some 1/2" clear perspex rod, which I've been working on shaping the top to fit the curved undertray on the chassis, which will carry the weight when the car is done. Just have to figure out how tall the cradle needs to be! Amazingly, the seat building method turned out to be OK. I fixed the base cushions to the ledge along the bottom of the back cushion out of the car, then put the sides into the car and dropped the "bench" between them, wiggled everything into place and ran some thin superglue down the seams, using microballoons to fill bigger gaps at the corners.Once verything had set up, I took them out of the car again, and applied epoxy to the joints from behind and below for strength. These are just resting in place.... I need to get them out a few more times yet! Mockup with a view to seeing how the bonnet fits (I really need to build it so that I can paint it at the same time as the body) Couldn't resist trying a mockup with all the parts to date! I didn't like the look of the seats so I've done a bit more work on them: Onward! best, M.

The Porsche Outlaws and RWB Meyers Manx topic seem very popular. Apologies for being a bit behind the curve here but I was thinking... I have wanted for a few years to build a Singer 911, and I've gotten very deep into research, but I suddenly had a moment: why do I need to slavishly copy one that exists? I'd still like to make a replica in scale of one of the Singer cars, but I'm going to have more than a few bits left over. Why don't I build my own Outlaw Porsches? Or not-Eagle E-types? Or Alfaholics GTA's? There aren't any rules about building Hot Rods, though believability scores as well as artistic flair. So why not Restomods? It's a lot easier (and cheaper) to make the engineering decisions and body mod choices in 1/24-5 scale and work up your ideal interior and colour scheme than it is in full size. Given how popular the restomod scene is in real life, is it maybe time to make it a genre in car modelling...? best, M.

@89AKurt You could also look at this: https://haynes.com/en-gb/ferrari-250-gto-manual It's not a traditional Haynes "Owners Maintenance Manual"... I don't have this one, (yet) but I have around 30 others in the same series, and they are a really good combination of development history, "anatomy of" (usually based on a restoration workshop dismantled vehicle), chassis histories and driver and engineer interviews. IMHO, they usually have everything you need to build a model, and most of what you need to decide which one you want to build... Plus at £12.50, it's a LOT cheaper than anything else you'll find easily... best, M.

This is the one to get: https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22699953626&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-tile2&searchurl=an%3DPritchard%26sortby%3D17%26tn%3D250%2BGTO Still expensive, but not insane. Porter Press also does one of their “car biographies” on Chassis 2153 GT, https://porterpress.co.uk/products/ferrari-250-gto-the-autobiography-of-4153-gt-standard-edition?_pos=2&_sid=b04f8ed8c&_ss=r This series usually has a good general model history as well as detail on the life of the specific car. It’s quite a bit cheaper as well. Porter also has what they claim will be “the definitive” 250 GTO book coming up later this year, but that’s going to be £450... mind you, better than paying more for an older book! best, M.

You shouldn’t ever have a “wet” coat with Zero base coat paints. Several light coats a few minutes apart should do it. If you spray it too thick, the surface dries before the underneath, which can result in wrinkling, and the remaining solvent eating the primer. It’s a bit hard to tell, but that picture looks to me more like grittiness from the paint drying too soon than crazing the plastic underneath... Glad you found the tutorial helpful, though! best, M.

Got started on the body. I glued the back to the sides first in a U-shape. The mating faces are very well-shaped, once you clean off the moulding pips and small amount of flash. The fit is such that when it's flush, the joint is at 90 degrees. After that had set (I used gel super glue) I put in the front floor. It you're doing one of these yourself, note that the floors sit on top of the moulded ridges on the sides. This is not clear from the instructions OR photos. Then I dropped in the front and rear seat fronts, which slide firmly but easily into the slots in the sides. The central seat back and divider are an equally good fit. The idea is to use the body as a jig to assemble the seat upholstery and cushions, gluing it all together, and then remove the complete seat benches to paint separately from the body. Hmmmm... best, M.

Right, that's it: "Stage 3:the engine" is now complete... Boy, am I glad to see that back of this bit... Still, it's a cool engine, and I understand much better how it works having built one. The wires could be thinner, but being black they have less visibility than they might, and I think the engine is much improved by having them in place... Now, on with the body.... best, M.

Looks great... but shouldn’t you display it sideways on two wheels? ? And if there was ever a kit crying out to be “enhanced” with an appropriate figure set, that’s the one! best, M.

That looks absolutely fantastic. The detail, and the quality of the paintwork, are second to none. I doubt that Revell kit has ever looked better... best, M.

Idly looking... the 1/12 Franklin Mint "die-cast" model, which is very impressive, seems to sell for less than $1000. Believe me, if I was charging for building this 1/24 scale model, it would be a LOT more than that by the end. Interestingly, the follow-on to the 1/12 Bentley from Airfix was going to be a 1/12 Silver Ghost https://www.vectis.co.uk/lot/2953-airfix-archive_149132 It would be interesting to know how much, if any of Airfix's research investment supported the Franklin Mint version... best, M.

Agreed, but it doesn't exactly encourage Meng (a Chinese manufacturer themselves) to behave in the "right"way in global commerce, does it? As long as Meng has been around (and they started in armour, but have also made some fantastic airplanes and their own "Toon" series of armour and ships), they've played by the same rules as Tamiya or Hasegawa, and all credit to them for that... best, M.

Well, I imagine part of the reason the Meng kit is more expensive is that they paid Ford the license fee they are owed, and “Magnifier” didn’t... best, M.

3460 lbs with no one aboard and no fuel... That’s about 2 and a bit Model T’s. For context the modern Rolls Royce Phantom weighs in at 5640 lbs, so the 1907 Silver Ghost is 60% of the weight of the 2021 range topper... best, M.

The “Roi de Belges” body on AX201 is famously heavy, especially compared to later coach work. It might be a unique (or unusual) arrangement to ensure a compliant ride even with that heavy body full of people. Although the 40/50HP was in production a long time, it was a continuously evolving work in progress, and the rate of change was pretty high in the early years! best, M.

I’m not that daft @absmiami ! ? The back end is how it’s shown on the built model photos. And while I’m struggling to find a rear view pic of AX201 IRL, this is the (famously meticulously researched) Franklin Mint 1/12 model: best, M.

Thanks, all... any pictures of an early Silver Ghost would be much appreciated... unless they show I've got it wrong ? So, I've bitten the bullet and started the wiring... and stopped. there's only so much I can do in one session before my eyes and mojo give up the "Ghost"... In these pictures, the "Pan pipes" are not fixed. I just wanted to satisfy myself that it can be fixed and stay below the line of the water pipe. The real pipe angles up much more steeply to the top of the radiator, but this has to stay low to make sure the bonnet top fits, which is definitely more than scale thickness. As you can see, half the magneto wires are in place at one end... Turns out, I CAN drill the distributor... without even breaking one .35mm drill bit! Another session or two to go, I think... best, M.

That looks fabulous. What a beautiful model of a beautiful car. You don’t see many people building these, but when they do, they turn out very special builds like this one... best, M.

I'll have to have a look at the steering wheel more closely and see what's in the middle! So, moving closer to the moment of truth with the plug wiring: this is pretty much everything to complete the engine except the distributor and plug wires. Fortunately, the plug ends of the wire on the real thing just clip on from the side, so I can expose the metal on the top face, and superglue wire across rather than having to drill each plug. I need to drill the distributor (probably cutting off the projecting terminals and drilling down into the body). The magneto wires mount onto the stepped "shelves" you can see at the top of the brown part of the magneto, so no drilling needed there. The last piece of the puzzle, then, is to make the "pan pipe" structure that carries the wiring from the distributor side to each of its plugs. Fortunately, I have some thin brass tube and some superglue... Making it was surprisingly easy: thank capillary action for that. The tricky bit will be keeping it together while I fit it and wire it! Wish me luck... best, M.

Thanks Bill, Don... one of the parts NOT yet fitted in “Stage 3:the engine” is the starter handle! There’s no starter motor, so I imagine minimising the number of gears and linkages you had to hand crank around the the engine on a cold day would have been an important goal... The wiring of the magneto driven plugs is fairly simple: up from the mag between the two cylinder banks and outwards. The distributor/coil wiring is trickier: IRL the wires from the distributor go up to the front end of the engine and are carried to the plugs by a set of 6 “Pan pipes” which lead them to individual plugs. best, M.

Thanks, all! @DonW can you remember if there were specific circumstances to use one or other or both? Hard to see why you would ever NOT use both unless there were some downside... like increased fuel consumption. Though without integrated systems, it’s hard to see how the carburettor would “know” whether there were one or two sparks in the cylinder when the air/fuel mix got there... best, M.

Thanks, Geoff... Not a great picture, but here are some key bits of plumbing, "painted" with AK "True Metal" wax and polished: This is the water pump (brass) and cooling manifold. The water pump is driven by the shaft from the right, which clearly also drives the distributor (not yet installed). And this is the shaft driven magneto and inlet manifold (at the top) which will be attached to the carburettor. BTW, in terms of attention to detail, look at the valve springs, which are not all moulded generically in the same positions, but "animated." A couple of other views. I'm pretty sure that the pulleys on the timing case and fan drive should have a belt or chain joining them, but haven't found any clear views of it yet for this engine. The rather funky carburettor in place. This really is the cross-over of steam age engineering and the 20th century! And this is where I'm at tonight. I need to think about how much I want to wire those plugs! best M.

It’s actually more like a James Bond movie! Produced by Cubby Broccoli from a book by Ian Fleming, written by Roald Dahl and Richard Maibaum and with a car and locations designed by Ken Adam, featuring Gert Frobe (Goldfinger)... as well as being a United Artists production... I’d still like one of those kits, though! best, M.

Slow progress, but some... Chassis has been primed and painted with Tamiya Mica Silver, and has (just) been given a fairly subtle wash with Citadel "Nuln Oil" to pop the detail, particularly on the springs. And assembling the engine has begun: Now, the sharp-eyed among you will have noticed that there are two spark plugs per cylinder. One set are wired to the distributor, which sits on that mounting at the front (to the right in the second engine picture), and the other set are wired to the magneto, mounted on the other side of the engine on the shelf in the middle of the crankcase on the first picture. I'm curious what this set up is all about... anyone knowledgeable about 1907-vintage engines able to enlighten me? Bill @Ace-Garageguy ? There are a fair number of small ancillary parts painted with AK True Metal Copper and Brass drying in a warm place before polishing them tomorrow... best, M.

Thanks, guys... busy day, so not a lot of actual modelling progress today, but... These two have arrived. I'm reliably informed that there's not much difference between American fashions of the swells of 1910 and Edwardian aristocratic Brits, so with appropriate painting, they'll provide scale and animation... best, M.

Beautiful building on both, and the little beastie is growing on me: it seems to be a French Morris Minor... Mind you, I think the "Sport" might be a little optimistic ? Lovely models and photography, as always. best, M.