Matt Bacon

Academy has released the 250 Spider as “Classic Italian Sports Car” or something equally generic, with all mention of Ferrari expunged (although the Cavallino is still rampant on the grille). That’s what I built mine from. You might have to order from a Korean hobby shop to get one, though. I too was hoping Revell would do the 250 SWB (I think it was actually announced…). best, M.

A Donohue Javelin AMX and the Pink Panther show rod (Eidei?)are the two that are top of my grail list… best, M.

I’m looking forward to this! You probably know this already having done the spider, but it’s worth beefing up the joint between the rear panel and body shell. I used superglue and micro-balloons to backfill from the inside, but talc and superglue or epoxy putty would work just as well. The last thing you need is the seam popping open just after you’ve primed, painted and clear-coated! best, M.

https://www.scalemodellingnow.com/hnvehicles-motor-museum-in-miniature-1956-1962-morris-minor best, M.

I went old school: decided it was early 50s and pulled a couple of volumes of “The Observers Book of Automobiles” annual editions from the (almost) full set in my office and started flicking through the pages… It’s a reasonably quick process when there are a lot of manufacturers you know it ISN’T 😜 best, M.

That doesn’t necessarily say much about the accuracy or detail of the parts. The Easy Click Porsche 356 in 1/16, the tractors in 1/24 or the eTron GT have all been very good kits that just happen to be engineered to snap together… best, M.

The big problem with the Doyusha kit is that the sides are too flat. You can sand in a bit of a curved section but it’s still not right. If the Revell body is the right shape it’ll be a major improvement. A bit of work will give you a late DB4 or a DB4GT as well…. best, M.

Something I love about the 911… there are so many kits and aftermarket bits in 1/24 over the years that we can all be our own extreme variant builders and restomodders. More or less anything Kremer or Ruf or Singer or Sharkwerks can do in 1:1, we can have fun with on our benches. And we can do things they wouldn’t dream of because of, err… engineering, or legality! Have at it, my friend. best, M

Brilliant job..... that looks super cool. I've heard so many things about this kit that I just glance at it on the shelves of my stash from time to time and quickly come to my senses. You've done stellar work wrestling it into submission, and produced a result you can really be proud of. Full marks as well for achieving removable panels that fit neatly back into position... Great! best, Matt

Progress is glacial, but at least there is some: Chassis and wheels assembled and test fitted into the body. That's pretty much as I want it to look. Phew! And that's the engine wired and heat shield added (aluminium foil and cigarette packet paper for texture...) best, M.

For the Singer, I’m thinking the Italeri 935 “Baby” cross-kitted with a Revell or Tamiya 934 might get you started. But there’d be a lot of work. Alpha Model might come up with one, one day… best, M.

It’s been a good few years since I was (tangentially) involved in this space, but in the 90s, if you were filament winding a pressure vessel, the end caps were part of it, wound in one piece, with a clever collapsible “mandrel” on the inside that would be removed through the smallest possible hole you could leave and still get it out. I don’t recall any use case where you had a plain cylinder with full diameter hemisphere end caps bonded on, especially made of different materials… best, M.

Motobitz.uk has front end conversions and hoods with spare tire recess, plus some conversion sets for SWB vehicles. Look under “accessories” and “kits and trans kits”… best, M.

Seconded. Patto’s Place is great. The only thing you need to bear in mind is that the decals are not designed for a specific kit (possibly for the shells he also sells) so you may need to do some adapting to fit your plastic. It’s easy if the livery is made up of elements on a background colour, but if it’s more “form fitting” (ie Gulf Porsche 917 nose or Martini stripes on a 935) then it’s more challenging. best, M.

Thank you! Progress has been a bit slow thanks to weather, family and work commitments, but time for an update... Cabin parts are done, in various shades and finishes of black. The kit decals work well for the instruments, once you've trimmed off the extensive carrier film. It helps that the Samuri has a pretty standard cockpit, even with a radio and glovebox, unlike the stripped-out 432R. Wheels finished in Stynylrez silver primer, which works well for alloys. Tyres Tamiya Rubber Black washed with Citadel Nuln Oil (which I also used to around the rim to give a neat edge). Lug nuts are chrome, and the Motobitz wheels even have a filler valve. A tale of three engines. The white one is the S20 from the 432R, which I'm building up because one day it'll go in the Tamiya kit to make a detailed 432R (though the Tamiya kit is much more petite than the Fujimi, so I'll need to wait for someone to make a standard short-nose to replace the ZG front clip in the Tamiya kit -- you can't just cut it off a Fujimi or Hasegawa kit). The silver one is the Tamiya L20 engine, built to copy as much as possible. The painted one is the "regular" L20 from this Fujimi kit. 3D printed twin Webers bought from the 'bay. Very nicely detailed, and I have six -- the other three will go on the S20, which is a crossflow design. Essential wiring crib sheet. 1-5-3-6-2-4 or "too young, too old, just right" as I'm reliably* informed antipodean mechanics remember it... In position with a touch of chrome for the intakes and a wash. Looking like a proper engine, I reckon. I'm working on the heat shield most of my reference pictures show between the exhaust headers and the carbs, for good reason, I suspect. best, M. * (or at least that's what they say on the internet)

As a result of this, I checked out the site where I discovered among the new releases a set for Z cars, including the "Datsun" scripts in the same font used for "Fairlady" which I need for my Samuri build -- UK cars were never known as Fairlady's... So thank you @spencer1984 best, M.

Something I wanted to check as soon in the build as possible: using the Motobitz 15" Minilites intended for a Ford Escort rally car on Samuri: OK, so size-wise they look good and I have figured out how to fix them. Only mocked up at the moment so the track needs to be adjusted front and rear. But the rear end looks more like a Safari Rally setting for the suspension! Nothing's glued at the back yet, so it can drift around a bit, but a bit of redrilling the top mounts gets us here, and that is a lot better, I think. Time to get on with some nitty gritty, like the engine and interior... best, M.

I'm enjoying "Poker Face" (the new Rian Johnson TV series with Natasha Lyonne), and her car is pretty cool too. As far as I can see, the MPC originated kit is the only game in town for a 1969 'cuda fast-back. Does the Round 2 re-issue include all the parts to build a stock version? Anyone seen a review of the kit they can point me towards? best, M.

Thanks, guys. Got the clearcoat on -- Zero Paints 2K Diamond. This is straight out of the paint booth. There are a couple of spots to clean up, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with how it turned out: You can see in the pictures above a few places where the pinstripe looks a bit rough. It isn't. This is because the reflection from the daylight LED lamp directly above from the crease in the body falls almost exactly on the painted white pinstripe. I don't think this is a coincidence! I hadn't figured it out when I first eyeballed where the lines went, or with the matt base coat on, but like this it's pretty clear that it's what the paint scheme is aiming for. Where it's not quite right, it's my pinstripe masking that's at fault. Overall, though, not bad, though I say it myself... The panel gaps are low-lighted with a sepia microtip pen and Citadel Agrax Earthshade wash in places. best, M.

You’re right… I didn’t spot that at the time, when I took the picture. There must have been a decent proportion of the Samuri’s made on the field there; I think there are only 25 or so real ones, and there were at least 8 at Donington. Most in the orange and brown original colours… best, M.

Well, it's taken a while, thanks to holidays and some actual work getting in the way, but here we are today: Base coat paint is Zero Paints: BMW Sienna Brown and Henna Red which, I happen to have on hand. I primed with Tamiya Fine White Primer and TS-101 Base White, and then applied the pinstripes using Kyosho 0.4mm R/C striping tape, which is intended for panel line gaps and shut lines on radio control models. Tamiya tape to mask the main areas, and then peel off the Tamiya tape and finally the pinstriping. The gloss coat is still to come, but I'm happy with the overall effect. The firewall in the kit is half-height and completely flat. I copied the detail from the Tamiya 240ZG using plastic card (which will be a common theme -- I'm doing the same with the engine.) The beginnings of which you can see here... It's more orange and less red in daylight, but I think it pretty much captures the look. best, M.

They are incredibly useful, I agree. I searched for “bootlace ferrules” and got a set of six different sizes in a neat sorting container. Mine didn’t have any plastic so are good to use out of the box. One trick I’ve learned is to cut them to length without squishing, just roll gently under a sharp knife blade: if you get the “flare” over the edge of your cutting mat, the cylindrical portion will roll back and forth in a straight line… best, M.

You’re very welcome, Chris. I started out thinking a few pictures might help other people, but we all hadn’t realised how bad the instructions were in some places! A great community effort from everyone and it’ll be there for others in the future… best, M.

G-S Hypo is 50% Xylene, so it will dissolve, craze or mark clear polystyrene, which is why I stopped using it. True, the hypodermic applicator makes it easier to get in the right place in small quantities, but after I'd discovered Formula 560 I've never felt the need to switch back... best, M.

And that's the lot... best, M.