Matt Bacon

You could try Tamiya AS-5 spray for the Gulf Blue: bestest. m.

It was made by Shell in the early 50s, so the latest footage is more or less "contemporary". It's certainly one of the best motor racing documentaries ever made, and I wish it was available on DVD, but as far as I can see, it was only ever re-released on (now horrendously expensive) VHS cassettes. That's why I'm so glad that someone has put it on YouTube... The footage might be better if it had been assembled and scanned for DVD rather than going via VHS, but 90% of it is period material anyway, which probably looks as good as it gets. Problem is, for this kind of "niche" material, no one wants to spend the time on digital transfer, even if the raw material is still accessible. My Blu-Ray copy of "Wings", from 1928, shows how good original footage, even of that vintage, can look if someone's prepared to put the effort in... Bill Mason (father of Pink Floyd's Nick Mason) did another series for BP, instead of Shell, called The History of the Motor Car. Those films are available on DVD: http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Motor-Car-DVD/dp/B0042FXI58 bestest, M.

...I've been looking for this on DVD for a while. I'd obviously missed the fact that a kind someone has uploaded it to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEEC587278736BB88 Written and directed by Nick Mason's Dad, which (partly) explains why the Pink Floydian spent a chunk of his change on classic racing cars...! Footage is rough early on, but you'd expect it to be in the 1905-era... Apologies if this is "old hat" but it is a goldie, even if it's an oldie... bestest, M.

...without wanting to sound smug (OK, maybe a bit... ;-P) it just screamed "80s Zagato" at me, and I Googled "1980s Zagato design" and there it was. It does look a lot like his Aston Martin project of the same era (in all the BAAAD ways). The thing that gets me is that this was a SERIOUSLY expensive car, and it looks, just.... horrible. ;-P bestest, M.

Hi, all... anyone know the origin of the Hasegawa "American 66" line? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hasegawa-American-66-Buick-Wildcat-1-24-model-car-kit/331570769676 There are several up at the moment: Cadillac Coupe de Ville, Chevrolet Impala, Pontiac Bonneville as well as the Wildcat... I'm guessing that these are Hasegawa reboxes of someone else's kits for the Japanese market; they couldn't possibly be original Hasegawa tooling, to the same high standards as their Miura or Integrale, could they? bestest, M.

Thanks, guys. It's a static model, built from one of a series issued by the quaintly named "Rosebud Kitmaster" in the late 50s/early 60s. You can see all the loco kits here: http://www.kitmaster.org.uk/Locomotives.htm They made them all to true OO (1/76) scale to run on OO/HO track. Fine for British enthusiasts who wanted OO models, but it turned out to be a bit of a mistake when doing Swiss, Italian, German and French prototypes -- the Continental modellers wanted HO or 1/87, so the Kitmaster models were all way too big... They're often used as accessories, but back in the day there were several motorisation kits issued, made by other model railway vendors. I think most of them used a motorised tender to push the loco on ahead, but I think there were ready to run chassis for a couple of the models with full sets of driven wheels and working mechanisms. I don't have any track... I'm a member of the Classic British Kits IPMS SIG, and the theme for our display at this years Scale Model World in November is celebrating classic railway kits from the likes of Kitmaster and Airfix. Part of the display will have a simple two-loop model railway running but the majority of the models will be displayed statically... bestest, M.

First time I've built a steam loco since I was a teenager with a model railway... Here's how it looked yesterday: ...and now it's finished: Considering this dates back to the late 1950s, it's a very nice little kit: crisply moulded, well detailed and fits together nicely. Weathering based on Tim Shackleton's 3-colour airbrush technique -- various proportions of Humbrol Metalcote Gunmetal, 62 Matt Leather and Matt Black. A few weathering powders and MiG "Oil and Grease" wash. bestest, M.

This: Pop along and buy them from Mike at Scaleproduction.de. They're only €8 a pop, and he's got some of the best and most characterful 1/24 scale figures I've ever come across... They'll look great with the truck, especially if you "weather" them as well... ;-P bestest, M.

Looks absolutely fantastic, great job!. Though I must say that if I had broken down and the garage guys turned up in a truck that they'd allowed to get into that condition, I wouldn't want to let them NEAR my car! ;-P All the best, M.

Interesting about the simplified detailing, when you consider that "vintage Monogram" era 1/48th aircraft kits in the 60s and 70s set a very high bar for accuracy, detail and parts count. They must have consciously decided that the auto kits were appealing to a different builder market... bestest, m.

The Gunze and Heller both have the steering wheel on the left... that should say "driveR on the left..." ;-P That's why I'm surprised at Gunze... bestest, M.

It's not so complex... the Aurora, Monogram and Revell-Monogram Coupe's are all the same badly proportioned kit. The Revell "XK-E" roadster is the one designed and tooled by Revell UK and first released in 1964. Whatever Revell or Revell Germany box it's in, if it's a roadster it's that kit. And I don't agree with Junkman's comments in the other thread: the Heller Coupe doesn't look too tall to me... Compare that with my profile picture. I think it's an illusion caused by not having the windscreen in place, so the side pillars make you think the screen is much more "upright" than it actually is.. If you were being REALLY picky, you could bring the roofline above the top front corner of the door down a little: the Heller roofline is at it's highest right by the windscreen, whereas the apex of the curve is actually more like the middle of the door, though it's pretty subtle. bestest, M.

Well, most of what I build is 1/24, so I guess I'm glad they didn't ;-P Mind you, it's easier for me: since most American cars are so darn big, the fact that the Chrysler 300 or Camaro are 1/25 and the Ferrari next to them is 1/24 isn't anything like so obvious! bestest, M.

As for "wrong-hand drive", the Revell kit, bless 'em, provides two dashboards (probably because it was tooled in the UK) so you can take your pick. The Heller is drive on the left (unsurprisingly for a French kit) but so is the Gunze (more surprisingly). It's not a horrendous job to flip it, but you have to not only swap sections of the dash, but also the front wall of the footwells... bestest, M.

If you want to build a lightweight low drag coupe, you're best starting from the convertible with the hard top. It's a bit hard to see in this picture (and this is not a real, in-period low drag coupe, but the shape's the same), but the cabin is basically a "teardrop" in plan view, coming more or less to a point in the middle of the boot. The factory hard top with a half-cone behind it is a lot closer to the shape than the coupe. For any lightweight I've ever seen, you'll also need to "flesh out" the rear wings, which always seem to be bulged to accommodate those big fat rear tyres. Lots of pictures of a real (albeit heavily restored) lightweight low drag coupe here: http://www.classic-motor-cars.co.uk/restorations/jaguar-e-type-lightweight-“lindner”/ bestest, M.

The Revell 1/25 open top is the same in all the boxes you show there (the new Revell Germany 07291 box confuses matters by showing it with a factory hardtop, but it's the same kit). It was designed and tooled in 1964 by Revell (UK), working with Jaguar, which is why it got such nice and complete detailing. It is NOT the same as, or derived from, Look at teh the Coupe version, which you have in Aurora (originator), Monogram, and Revellogram boxes. Look at the boxes with built models on the front at the bottom, and you can see the distorted shape of the Aurora nose section, versus the more accurate Revell... bestest, M.

As it happens, I've built the Revell 1/25 convertible, and I have the Heller Coupe and an Airfix "Hi-Tech" boxing of the Gunze kit. So, some comparisons: The Heller Coupe is red, the Gunze roadster white. The Aurora kit is dire, and you should forget it if you want a model that looks like an E-Type. If you must have 1/25, then the Revell is your only option. Despite its age, it's not a bad kit, and the engine detail is excellent (though it can be dressed up further). In 1/24, if you want a Coupe, the Heller is the only option. It's a good kit (and yes, it has also been reissued, so it should be much more easily available). The detail is on a par with the Revell kit (and in fact, looks a bit suspiciously similar) The shape is excellent, IMHO, and captures the lines of the most beautiful E-Type rather well. There are some odd kit design choices -- for example, the wipers are split between the body shell and transparent windscreen part, which will make for some interesting BMF work... For the open top spider (OTS), you have the choice of Heller or Gunze. Confusingly Airfix has boxed both at one time or another. The Airfix "Hi-tech" box is the Gunze kit with white metal engine and suspension parts. The other Airfix boxings contain the Heller OTS kit, one with wire wheels and a soft hood, the other with Dunlop racing wheels and a hardtop. Both these versions are now available from Heller again, the latter called the "Le Mans" boxing. It's probably the best starting point for a "Lightweight" E-type, because that hardtop will come in useful. The Gunze kit is a much harder build, since not only are there white metal parts, but steel dressmakers pins to be cut up for parts of the suspension, etched metal to be folded for the underbonnet structure, and a vinyl interior. Comparing the shapes directly, I think that the Gunze is a bit "rectangular", especially from the top. It's not quite got the delicate lines of the real thing, which the Heller captures so well. Anyway, if you want a Coupe, the Heller is your only option. And with them all being re-issued, Heller is also the most easily available and affordable choice for the open top version as well. IMHO, anyway... bestest, M.

Harry... you need to empty your PM inbox! bestest, M.

If you prefer the wind in your hair (and the mud in your eyes)... http://www.arielmotor.co.uk/nomad/ https://youtu.be/Gpd_s8XOdLU bestest, M.

The Lindberg "Jolly Roger Pirate Ship" isn't a pirate ship at all, but a rather good model of a Napoleonic-era French frigate, captured and used by the English as well. If you're a fan of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, this is as close as you'll get to a plastic model of HMS Surprise... http://modelingmadness.com/review/misc/ships/ewaldpi.htm http://www.internetmodeler.com/scalemodels/flships/Lingberg-s-Jolly-Roger-Pirate-Ship.php All the best, Matt

...sadly not, I'm afraid. There are only two Airfix-originated 1/24 car kits: the James Bond DB5 and Toyota 2000GT Spider. All other 1/24 or 1/25 were bought in from elsewhere, often as bagged kits. A lot of them originated with Heller, and many of those are now being re-issued by the rejuvenated Heller (like the Bugatti T50, Delahaye 135, and E-type OTS and Coupe). The Bora, Silhouette and Pantera were, like a number of the others reboxed Japanese market kits from makers like Eidei. These were often originally motorised models, and the interiors and details are compromised to make room for the motor installation. The MGB is the rather good Aoshima kit (I have an AIrfix box and a couple of Aoshima's that I found in a charity shop. They also issued a few Gunze Sangyo kits, including (if you can find them) "Hi-tech" boxes of the E-Type convertible (which comes with white metal engine and a lot of pins to be cut up to join bits of metal frame together) and the 250GTO (which, sadly, is not the version with the engine, but DOES have some of the best etched wire wheels I've ever seen) For us car modellers, the best Kitstarter can offer would be a number of quite good 1/32 British cars of the 60s and 70s, and the occasional exotic (like the Maserati Indy, which is already being re-issued this year). bestest, M.

The difference between the Revell "wish list" ideas site, and the Airfix Kitstarter (which a lot of the people making requests in the Airfix forum don't seem to have grasped), is that Airfix are asking which existing tools from their back catalogue people would buy kits of. It's NOT a general "wish list". There's obviously no guarantee that any request will get enough support, but it's probably viable to load the tools onto an injection moulding machine for a few thousand kits. Revell have got to decide which kits have enough support to justify designing, tooling AND moulding a new kit, which tends to mean only the most popular, that will sell in regular model shops, will ever make it through the process. With the Airfix approach, if you can find another few thousand "1:1 scale wild bird" modellers to join you, you can have your choice of Tits... bestest, M.

I'd say the models are fantastic, and your photo tent and lights are doing a good job! All the best, Matt

I thought I'd heard that the newest RoG release was the Italeri reboxed, but it looks like I was wrong. Apologies if I got anyone's hopes up! bestest, M.

I think the main question is: how many people WANT an Aston Martin DB4 - DB6 series car who AREN'T going to know it well enough to know that it doesn't look quite right themselves? It you want a "James Bond" car, then the Doyusha one, with its bells and whistles, will certainly look the part, mostly BECAUSE of its bells and whistles. I've built two of the Doyusha kits now in one form or another, so I'm obviously not dismissing them out of hand. My problem is that I personally think that the DB4 series III or IV are the pinnacle of those cars' good looks, so I'm going to "go the extra mile" when I build mine to try and capture them a bit better. Back on the digressions, for the Aston and Maserati 3500GT I can understand people still buying the Aurora/Monogram kits, because they are the only game in town. But I can see NO reason at all for buying the "caricature" 250GTO or E-Type. The ancient Revell 1/25 E-type is not at all bad and re-issued again recently, and Heller is now selling its Coupe and OTS kits in 1/24 again. You're spoilt for choice with the 250GTO, with Revell boxing the pretty darn good Italeri kit at the moment, and Fujimi's outstanding kit also available at a bit of a higher price. I'll take a look at the Monogram DB4 engine in the next couple of days... bestest, M.