Matt Bacon

So the answer is scroll to the VERY bottom of the page, click on the down arrow where it says "Theme" and ensure "default" rather than "Cleancut 4.0.0" is selected, just in case anyone reading this doesn't want to scroll all the way through the other thread... best, M.

I have a strange message at the top of the forum page, at the top of the blue bar showing the location in the forum (eg Home>General> How to use this board) and below the MCM menu (Forums Calendar gallery etc) [[Template core/front/global/utilitiesMenu does not exist. This theme may be out of date. Run the support tool in the AdminCP to restore the default theme.]] Any ideas? best, M.

Assuming that the US models aren’t significantly different from UK ones: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/volkswagen/passat-b8-2015/ Is it the 2 litre diesel he’s looking at? If so, do you know if it’s the 140 or 170 horsepower version? I’ve got the VAG 170 hp diesel and 6 speed DSG dual clutch auto box in my Skoda, and it’s a great combination... economical and quiet, but with a great surge of power when you need it for the 30-70mph overtaking dash... best, M.

Brilliant! Great colour choice and such a cool subject. I see the mobile “Creperie” version has just been re-popped. I MUST get one... beat, M.

Whatever it is, it's a pretty terrible example of design... those long front and rear overhangs, a wheelbase barely big enough to fit the door in, and that horrible fudge with the sidestrake detailing at the front edge of the door... eurgh. best, M.

Don't lose heart on the paint... with Zero Paints the transformation when you finally apply the clearcoat over the matt basecoat(s) can be dramatic. I used the Liquid Blue Pearl on my LFA, and it looked pretty uninspiring with the base colour and blue translucent topcoat on, but when I hit it with the 2K clear all the richness, depth and subtlety of the colour appeared, as if by magic! best, M.

Does this help? Best, M.

Yep... it's definitely a paint mix or colour ... there'll be a recipe either with the paint listing, or sometimes on the painting/decal placement guide for the whole car. It's usually one of two things: A mix of black, grey and possibly a clear matt or satin coat, which is what Aoshima uses in places where there is carbon fibre on the real thing or alcantara fabric (a different mix, obviously) Where you have to paint something the same colour as the body, and there are several choices for the body colour... though now I think about it, maybe that one actually says Ph[BODY] Looking at the picture you posted, this one is probably Alcantara, so look at @Dann Tier s recipe here: best, M.

What a fabulous collection! Very cool cars, all of them, and great examples of how older (even “Classic”) kits can be turned into beautiful replicas by a skilled modeller who’s prepared to put the time in. I’m not going to pick favourites, but with a Merit Lotus XI on the go myself, yours is an inspiration. I must check out how much Herb Deeks wheels would be posted to the UK! Great stuff... best, M.

Nice haul! I’d love to know what’s in the Revell GTO box... the old Aurora/Monogram one, the Italeri or the Protar? That Italeri 250SWB is a bit of a “grail kit” for me, as was the Cali spyder until I discovered it new in an Academy box without a Ferrari license... best, M.

I think it's clearly a real, and unusual, thing. But it looks like it's of that vintage where they still gave you a motor, so it's a big toy car. With the normal scale model versions running about 1/10th the price, I suspect the ONLY people interested would be Tamiya "completists." And in that market, as you say, it depends how much silly money they have, and whether a couple of them get into an ebay bidding war over it. For the rest of us, it's not remotely "worth" that asking price... best, M.

If you do find that the tip on the larger markers has dried up, you can recover it by spraying it with a spritz of airbrush cleaner/liquid reamer, pulling it out, flipping it round and doing the other end as well if necessary. Just make sure that you get the ink flowing through and rewetting the tip by drawing on some scrap paper before applying it to the model, otherwise you'll be applying airbrush cleaner to your topcoat... best, M.

Here you go David @Anglia105E : That "Silver Wraith" looks a bit odd, doesn't it, with the invisible window pillar at the back.. a bit hearse-like. best, M.

That looks absolutely fantastic, Bernard. Amazing quality and detail throughout... it’s a shame so much is hidden at the end, but I guess we’ve all been there with some kit or other. This’ll be vital reference when I finally come to build mine. Brilliant! best, M.

My build is here: The biggest problem was the metal transfers for the engine, which would not stick to the matte finish engine cover. After destroying one and recovering with some difficulty, in the end, I applied all the rest to decal film, and then applied them as water slide decals, which worked fine... It's a great kit generally, with excellent fit and very nice detailing, along with Tamiya's usual trick of getting a lot of detailed parts combined into single mouldings. best, M.

Picked this up in a local charity shop for £2, and was surprised to discover that it's almost an "Abe-whack": a book that has only one copy on AbeBooks. There are two. It seems that 1957 edition is the only one there ever was, but it's a treat... especially if you chose 1957 as your favorite year for American cars. I've photographed a few pages below (I'm nervous of scanning them flat in case the laminated binding starts falling apart). There are quite a few candidates for the Auto ID quiz, which I'm keeping under wraps, but if there's a particular 57 model or range you'd like me to look up and post up, just holler... Quite a stylish cover... This is what each spread looks like... photos to the right, key data and vital statistics to the left... And now, on with the 1957 Car Show... There are 210 pages in all (105 picture and data spreads), so this is just a small sample, but it's a real blast from the past, and some of the photography is super cool... in a kitsch sort of a way. It's clear that, for example, Buick put the effort in on their location photography, whereas Pontiac... not so much) best, M.

That does look very cute, and colourful! I love the exotic sunroof style... very chic. It looks like something one of the many young ladies that Bertie Wooster has been engaged to might drive around Town and down to Totley Towers in... best, M.

That looks pretty good! The bare aluminium effect is very impressive... of course it could be because it actually is aluminium! Given that the "wind wing" looks to be made of inch thick armoured plate glass, I'd use the one you have as a template to cut a couple of scale thickness ones from acetate and call it a blessing in disguise... best, M.

These look great! If you had the time, I'd certainly be in the market for a generic sheet of dash instruments, including a bunch of Smiths and Jaeger gauges for European exotics -- speedos to various MPH/KPH, with and without tell tales, rev counters to 8 and 10K with various redlines, oil, fuel and temperature gauges, ammeters... maybe some heater controls and radios? There are plenty of such things in 1/32 and 1/48 for aircraft of different vintages, but I'm not aware of any for cars... best, M.

Thanks, guys... much appreciated. Gonna get back to something in 1/24th, though it might still be a Porsche, since the '74 Fujimi Martini 911 Carrera RSR and the '77 Revell Martini 934 RSR have just landed on top of the stash pile... best, M.

I don't have that one, but I do have several of the books in that series and they're all pretty good, so I think it's a safe bet quality wise. Beyond that, I guess it depends what you're looking for -- reference pictures, narrative, technical history...? I have the Doug Nye "Dino" book which covers all the V6 Dino cars including Fi cars, street cars and even the Stratos to some extent. But that's definitely a comprehensive technical and competition history with some pictures, not an illustrated reference book. Anthony Curtis's Crowood Auto Classics book on the Dino is also good, and is available for $10 from Amazon marketplace sellers... HTH, best, M.

He does... every time I see him at a show, I try to persuade him to do a "Carrera" facelift front end for the AMG GT, and GTR/S transkit... I really want to use the Green Hell paint that Hiroboy makes... best, M.

The Arii "Owners Club" kit is simple (with only about 25 parts) but nicely shaped and crisply-moulded. It has a one-piece chassis and no engine, but does at least come with alternative regular and Fuchs wheels. You need those for the McQueen car, which occupies the screen for most of the first 3 minutes of 'Le Mans" and sold at auction for $1.3m a few years back (which provides some excellent reference photos on the RM Sotheby's site). It's not big: It was finishing the 935 that triggered me getting this out of the stash as a "compare and contrast"... there's about 10 years of 911 evolution separating the two... best, M.

The real things are 225/50 16s, so you have 4.5" sidewalls on 16" wheels... a bit more than 1/3 the distance from the centre to outer edge is tyre. Doesn't look so bad to me: best, M.

Looks like a great GT3R... and very neatly done. I've been really enjoying doing some 1/32s as a break between full-detail 1/24 kits! Did Humbrol really issue a kit with "Penthouse" decals, or are they from Patto's Place? ;-P best, M.