Matt Bacon

I didn't realise there was one... my memory of building the EM one is that the back end is all held together by the "prototypical" engine and subframes around it. Hard to see how it would work in a simplified version... best, M.

You could even go the whole hog, like these guys have done... re-engineering “inspired by” the DOHC v12 intended to power the Jaguar XJ13: https://buildingthelegend.co.uk/category/original-jaguar-xj13 best, M.

Thanks, guys. The interior is done now. Not many parts, but crisply detailed and easy to paint. Citadel paints and some art pens... As someone in a Youtube video I watched for research purposes ? said: "It's not very special inside for something that costs so much money..." ...and finally: State of play for tonight... symphony in black, red and silver... best, M.

Thanks, guys. I've heard some folks have problems with the fit and closing of the hood, so I thought I'd better try it sooner rather than later, while it was still fixable. The mountings on the hood just click onto the hinge bar, so it's not so risky... Looks basically OK... however... That's 3 2mmx1mm rare earth magnets let into the top of the engine, under the red induction cover. I'll put some tin can steel under the rear of the hood, which should be pulled down to snug it into place. Just trying out some of the interior parts. I'm pleased I chose the more dramatic black and red colour scheme. It's the one I'd have in a real one, too... best, M.

99% Isopropyl alcohol will take it off. If it’s recently cured, a bath overnight will lift it off in sheets. If it’s older it might take a few days. best, M.

Thanks, guys... @CabDriver yep, regular lacquer thinner will work. I use Zero Paints Airbrush Cleaner which is much cheaper than the thinner they package with the 2K components. A good mask is essential and fume extraction if you’re not in the open air, but the finish is hard to beat even as it comes straight from the airbrush... best, M.

This has been lurking in the stash for quite some time... I'm not sure what brought it to the top, but a nice straightforward Tamiya build is just what the doctor ordered! Thanks to the way the real car is engineered, there's no main bodyshell... the components and panels hang off the chassis and tub. Basecoated with Zero Paints Mercedes SLR-specific Palladium Silver. I quite like the matt look, but... The chassis is somewhat simplified, but in terms of what you can actually see when it's built, it does the job, IMHO. Interior trim under way -- I wanted one of the more colourful options, rather than plain black. Tamiya NATO Black for the majority, so details painted in semi- or gloss black will actually be visible. Two piece engine washed to pop out the detail. Better not forget the decals on the brake callipers! Zero Diamond 2K clear coat on. This is straight out of the airbrush... I haven't sanded the primer, the base coat or the clearcoat Time to progress the interior... best, M.

RIP Eddie... though someone who can knock out “Jump” as a synth pop hit because he’d like to try something new should be celebrated as more than “just” a metal guitar hero... best, M.

You think the dolls commute to work every day? ? M.

... because that looks like it’s a little Adolf Hitler moustache? beat, M.

I doubt Bandai would even think about tooling up a ‘68 Cougar (it being totally irrelevant to their market). If you needed any more persuading that Japanese modellers are a law unto themselves, and that Japanese model companies focus on what sells at home first, then this is it. Hasegawa’s 1/12 scale office furniture range of kits that includes a toilet and vending machine as well as chairs, desks and cupboards should have been a big clue already, though! best, M.

I think it would be the Revell/Monogram 1/8 E-Type. Superdetail and accurise it, and then do a Series 1 and Series 2 coupe and roadster, a “lightweight” racer and a Low Drag coupe, Eagle Coupe and Speedster, and then spend the last decade of my life converting it into a V12 Series 3... You really can never have too many E Types... Alternatively, the Eduard P-51D. The kit’s beautiful and builds up very straightforwardly with plenty of detail OOB. And there are hundreds of notable aircraft and marking schemes from dozens of users... enough to keep a chap busy for a couple of decades at least! best, M.

I only went through the top 100. I guess I’ve listened to around 90 of them at some point, and I own more than half. Not liking Dylan, Joni or Carole reduces my score a bit; not writing off the entire rap genre in one go improves it. They’re wrong about their Beatles albums: Abbey Road isn’t better than Revolver or Rubber Soul. I might argue about the order of the Top 10, but not really what’s in it... As ever with these things (and my first Rolling Stone Best 100 albums of all time was in the late 70s) they pick more variable recent product than classics, just ‘cos it’s not clear yet what’s faddish and what will stand the test of time. Any list that’s got London Calling, Never Mind the Bollocks, What’s Going On and Sign O the Times on it is OK by me... best, M.

That’s the current DBS Superleggera... the older ones are just DBS’s. I’ve always wondered about those Alpha Models resin kits... the breakdown looks very similar to what you get if you take a die cast apart: and I wonder if the masters start life that way and they are adapted the way some of our community do to “accursed” die casts when there’s no plastic kit to be had. If I knew how to cast resin successfully, I’d be doing the same with the Alfa Montreal I have in pieces on the shelf! best, M.

Squeeze some lemon juice onto a handkerchief and try that... best, M.

The Stainless Steel Rat and its sequels (though a bit by “diminishing returns”) were some of my favourite books as a teen. Though “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” was as significant to my generation of young Brit as Monty Python or The Goons were to previous, I pretty soon realised that Harry Harrison and Bob Sheckley had done it first... best, M.

This started as a barn-find spare, kindly donated by a fellow forum member on Britmodeller to the cause of displaying Classic British Kits for the IPMS CBK SIG: Some months later, thanks to various life events, and she's now rather shinier, and ready to race: Next up, but not for a while, the Aston Martin DB3S, this time from an unbuilt kit... best, M.

Biggles as a 7 year old, then Alistair Maclean and Len Deighton as an early teen (I still go back to Deighton these days ). Arthur C Clarke and some Heinlein — Troopers, Glory Road and MiaHM. Dick Francis. Bond and Philip Marlowe. Spenser, Modesty Blaise, Flashman, and The Aubrey/Maturin books are regularly revisited, and anything by Terry Pratchett is worth reading and re-reading... best, M.

Looks like a nice kit and very cleanly built. Did the commissioner specify the colours? Just wondering why a Spitfire Mk9 is wearing BoB era DE/DG over Sky instead of Dark Green/Ocean Grey over Medium Sea Grey? And a couple of minor nitpicks, if i may..? There's no aerial "wire" between the mast and the tail, whatever the Revell box art may show, and the crowbar on the door is only red on modern warbirds; it would have been the same interior green as everything else in wartime... best, M.

Well, I see lots of stuff. But I also see a can of Xylene, so I really hope you've got also a high quality respirator mask (like a 3M 6200) and a paint booth with substantial extraction to the outside world and spark-free fans... That stuff on your desk can kill you quickly or slowly... please take safety equipment seriously. best, M.

Neat little Heller kit of a genuinely exotic beastie. Aftermarket decals, because I wasn't convinced that the ageing Heller ones would be worth the paper they were printed on. Did I mention it's quite small..? best, M.

A quick build between battles with the suspension on a Heller Mclaren. Like most of Heller's 1/43 kits of this vintage, it's simple, but crisply moulded, reasonably well detailed, and fits really well... All you get in the kit is the one lower exhaust pipe, so I've done some gizmology to busy up the back end. Cabin with paint detailing and tape seat belts. I added a couple of miscellaneous boxes and moved the gear shifter over to the edge of the tunnel, where it belongs. Cabin looks OK inside the body with dash fitted. Used some surgical tape to make mesh "grilles", and added the final details. Just need to get all these on... Like this. Finished pics in Under Glass best, M.

If you have access to a war game shop that sells Citadel paints (Warhammer) than they have a huge range of water based washes and “contrast colours” that will apply over pretty much any paint without affecting it. You can get dark washes in black or black-brown, but also in a variety of “colours” to suit different body hues... so you can use a midnight blue or deep green to avoid the starkness of black lines but still give effective shading... best, M.

I think it looks like a pocket DB5. I recognised the doors and remembered a story in Octane about the Belgian coachbuilt MGBs... best, M.

Nice, isn't it? best, M.