Matt Bacon

I understand the concern, but I’ve used the Zero system without sanding on dozens of models over the last two decades without any issues no matter what the colour or finish. In my experience, the biggest challenge is with two (or in one case three: solid base colour, tinted metallic, and transparent topcoat) layer basecoats: getting each layer evenly dense across multiple part assemblies. For example when I’m painting doors, engine cover, opening clips and pop up lights separately before final assembly. But I’ve always found the Zero system just works when I do exactly what the instructions say. It’s not for everyone, because of the noxious chemicals, extensive precautions, and the kit you need to use it safely (I wouldn’t be using it if my modelling den was in the house, for example…) But for modern cars and colour matched finishes, it’s hard to beat… especially if you’re in the UK and the alternatives come from overseas with the additional shipping cost and difficulty that brings. best, M.

Whatever they are, their drivers seem pretty accident-prone… 😜 best, M.

I guess that means that there are now Charger chargers… M.

You shouldn’t sand the base colour coat, unless you’re knocking off a small speck of crud or fibre. It’s meant to lay down slightly rough (like 400 grit sandpaper). Repeated light coats are the way to go… if the base colour ever looks wet on the model you’ve laid it on too heavy. I use both Tamiya Fine Surface primer and Stynylrez under Zero Paints with no issues. best, M.

And the clear coat is on: This is Zero Paints 2K Diamond straight out of the brush, without any sanding or polishing. There are a couple of dust specs to be dealt with, but overall I'm very happy with how it turned out. The wing was prepainted to the base coat stage before fixing in position, to make sure the coverage under it was complete and even. best, M.

I looked at the pictures I'd posted of the real thing above, and you know what? I spotted that the splitter needed a bit more upfront airfoil. And I couldn't unsee it. So after gluing on a plastic card extension, some filler, a bit more of the superglue and glass microballoons, I got to somewhere I'm happier with... The body is painted with a Zero Paints "Nissan Gunmetal KAD", intended for an R35 GT-R, but it's the closest I have in the paint locker to the Mazda RX-7 Titanium Grey Metallic special colour for the Spirit Type R. I mean, how many shades of grey can there be? 50? 😜 And yes, it does look rough... that's what Zero base colours are meant to look like before the clear coat goes on... best, M.

I saw this JDM exotic on a Pistonheads auction, and decided I'd really like one on my shelves: Ah, great, thinks I, Fujimi do a kit of exactly what I want: Except, despite the box art, not exactly. The Spirit R Type A kit has the wing, the special red Recaro seats, and the right wheels. What they haven't done, though, is change the nose of the standard kit. So instead of the separate aero splitter and subtle fairings in front of the wheel arches as depicted on the box art, there's just a blunt air dam that goes all the way around the lower nose. Bother. What to do? As it happens, I had a spare cheap-as-chips Tamiya RX-7R1, the 1992 top of the line sports model of this generation (FD3S). It has a more aggressive front splitter, as well as a much more accurate chassis and I'm hoping better dimensioned suspension than the Fujimi kit. So this "quick build" has become a FrankenSpirit, combining the Tamiya running gear and chassis (and full engine) with the later-model Fujimi body and Spirit R details. Fortunately, the Fujimi and Tamiya bodies and chassis are very close dimensionally, which is not always the case with Fujimi kits. First job, as you can see, was to remove most of the air dam from the Fujimi body. Then many rounds of fettling, building up, filling and fine tuning have got me to this point: It's not perfect, but I think it looks a lot more like the real thing now! And finally, I think I can actually start building the rest of the model... best, M.

I think this is he: https://www.writermag.com/improve-your-writing/poetry/virgil-suarez-reinventing-a-writer/ I didn't know any of the poet and writer part, but his Instagram handle is "Dr Cranky", and in the interview (from last year), he says: "I have plenty of hobbies. I build models (cars, mostly), and in the last decade I’ve started to build guitars. I love building things, so I figure I would’ve ended up having my own shop. What am I talking about? I have my own shop. I build things. When I’m not writing, I’m building things or making art or taking photographs. These are my passions." He goes on to say he's working on a couple of film projects and that he's "had to learn many software programmes in order to be able to shoot and edit." So I guess he's been busy with poetry and movies and teaching and hot rod modelling has taken a back seat. best, M.

I think they built about 120 all told. But the concept of two kinds of tanks — heavyweight mobile guns and fast, lighter “cavalry” was becoming obsolete. The Conqueror was supposed to partner with the Centurion, but the latter could do everything that was needed, especially in the later versions, so the Conqueror became obsolete. The Chieftain was explicitly designed to replace both, and the “Main Battle Tank” was invented… best, M.

Later Cromwells, Comet, Conqueror (very big) and Centurion (very successful)... best, M.

Yes. If you imagine pulling the car body slowly up through the surface of bowl of water, each layer printed is the shape at the surface. Your design will be made up of smooth curved shapes joining at corners, but the 3D printer turns that into “slices.” If you print with the body “flat”, large horizontal areas like the hood, trunk lid or roof will be printed in only a few layers, and any subtle shapes will end up looking like the grain of a plank of wood. If you tilt the body 45 degrees nose up then all the surfaces are made of stacks of many more slices and the shape changes between slices can be more subtle and accurate. There’s some other stuff to think about like not having areas where you end up with voids in the solid printed parts filled with uncured resin, but you’ll find a lot of 3D prints have parts tilted up down and sideways… best, M.

I think they’d be fine if I could figure out how to cut away the central hub “tower” on the Fujimi neatly and cleanly. The instructions want you to stack two poly caps one atop the other in the tower, so it’s 3/8” tall… best, M.

Yup… Dragon 1/72 scale kit. The kit is 154cm (5ft and change) as built, but several of the stages are a bit short, so an accurate one is even taller. The stages are multi-part, though, so the box isn’t that big. The Revell 1/96 kit (which uses styrene sheets rolled into a cylinder for the stage walls) is only 3/4 the length, but in at least a couple of versions came in a box that is big enough to function as a “travel case” for the completed model… best, M.

That DeAg is beautiful, @Chuck Kourouklis. To be fair, the Revell convertible is pretty good... certainly better than the 60s 1/25 Revell version (though that kit is actually pretty impressive for its time, and when compared to what other companies were putting out). It's the fact that they either didn't realise that the coupe windscreen is higher than the convertible's, or did realise but couldn't afford to make it different, that means the coupe kit is "low-brow" and the roofline is off. (I mean, who could possibly imagine that the highest point on a curvaceous car's roof would be over the driver's head....?) best, M.

Has anyone got a fool (or Matt)-proof method of adapting some Fujimi wheels (which have the polycaps in the wheel centre and the prong on the wheel carrier) to fit on a Tamiya car (which has the polycaps in the wheel carrier/axle and the prong on the wheel). At first I though it would just be a matter of poly-capping both and using a short piece of rod between the two. But the hub on the Fujimi wheel sticks out too far inwards and will foul the wheel carrier before the wheel is far enough inboard. Thoughts so far: I might have some spare "converter" pins from aftermarket resin wheels intended so they can be be used on different manufacturer's kits; I could remove a chunk of the Fujimi hub, but getting access and cutting it cleanly is tricky; or I could open up the hole in the outer side of the Tamiya wheel carrier enough that the the whole Fujimi hub can be socketed into it. Anybody who's actually done it got any views on what would work? best, M.

Arrived here in South Yorkshire, UK, this morning. Looking forward to enjoying it with a nice cup of Yorkshire Gold tea later this afternoon! best, M.

Now, if only Tamiya did a full-detail 296 kit... 😜 best, M.

I’m guessing he means the iconic shot from “The Seven Year Itch” where Marilyn is wearing a white dress and standing on a subway ventilation grate and the air from a passing train blows her skirt up all around her… 😜 best, M.

This is the tutorial that I was sent: I found it very helpful… best, M.

X Plus snap together (well, very firm push really) kit... Apologies for the large size of the pictures, but it's the portrait format! The skin is all AK 3rd generation acrylics, the uniform mostly Citadel including their contrast paints, and the jacket is Vallejo acrylics. Her hair was far and away the most difficult part, and I'm indebted to Hobby Cheating's Vince Venturella for the "Blonde Hair" tutorial that helped me take it on, and to a fellow Classic British Kit modeller and good friend for introducing me to him. There's a decent amount of reference material with some rare colour snapshots online for what she looked like at the time, and handily you can buy a replica of the blue flying jacket to details of that are easy to come by. The one "gotcha," right at the end, was that I had to take out 3/4" from the vertical upright at the front to get the handrail to sit where it needs to for her hand to be able to hold it. Fortunately it's easy to do it just below the top elbow fitting so that it's not obvious. I don't know how they missed that. best, M.

Formula 560 Canopy Glue. It's ace for clear parts (as you might expect). White glue, a bit like PVA, but dries completely clear and will glue more or less anything to anything with a pretty resilient bond. Cleans up with water, and if you get any where it shouldn't go, cut a chisel edge on a matchstick and you can push it right off the surface... best, M.

Did you guys get the same Focus — the successor to the Escort — as us? Everything Bill says about the Escort goes redoubled in spades for the Focus Mk1 (and later). Especially the ST170 and RS versions… best, M.

Combination of health issues for the owner/designer and as @Bugatti Fan says the guy who cast the resin parts from 3D printed masters passed away. best, M.

Meng's excellent pre-painted snap- and screw-together kit built as a break from soldering ancient white metal racing car kits! It's a really nice kit, if you like this sort of thing. Crisply moulded, astonishing fit and engineering, and the instructions are 100%-error-free, which as we all know is not always the case! Now I'd better go and screw that brace between the rear pannier cases back in place ;-( best, M.

I can’t see any sign of any decals at all in that build up. When I see early builds of test shot kits in model magazines they very often say “Because this is a test shot I had to source decals from the spares box” or some such, so I think they are among the last things to be produced. I would certainly expect those badges to be decals… and some gauges for the dash! best, M.