Matt Bacon

The spare part has arrived from Squires: I suspect the delay is more down to Royal Mail deliveries round here than any issue at their end. And here it is -- the forward support for the rear spring. Amazing that such a small piece can put such a big dent in progress. I have spent the time until this morning's post brought a very small envelope working on the image textures for the base. But this afternoon I was able to move rapidly along. This is the earlier version of the suspension,. The 1935 German GP-winning car had a quarter elliptic spring fixed at one end only, and a single shock absorber rather than the paired setup here. The hinges sitting above the central pin is correct, which took a little while to figure out from the drawings in the instructions. The underside is simplified. That long sump is going to be a pain when it comes to making the usual perspex stand to carry the weight of the model. The Y-shaped twin prop-shaft/double differential arrangement was to allow the driver to sit lower, between the shafts, rather than astride a hump in the floor with a central shaft and diff. In real life, the dual drive and gear box appear through the floor of the cockpit between the driver's feet.... but not in this model. Test fit of the body, which fitted after some filing back of the tab you can just see above behind the centre of the rear axle. This is ultimately glued to the body for additional strength when the body and chassis are finally fixed together. It's only when you bring them together like this that you realise how big the wheels actually are. Just mocked up for the moment. The race numbers are all painted in place using stencils derived from Roy's original painted "12" on the radiator using a bit of Photoshop trickery and a sharp knife. Once everything is set and dried overnight, it'll be time to start gluing the main assemblies together. And I couldn't resist trying this view, which is pretty close to the angle of the original cover artwork... best, M.

I think it was this I was remembering… http://www.bburago.com/ferrari/exclusivelicense.html Whatever, we still seem to be missing any new tool kits of more recent Ferraris… whoever has licenses. best, M.

I think it was at the time when Ferrari did one of their periodic “We’re going to sell an exclusive license to <insert high end diecast maker of your choice here> for all model cars.” deals, which is why Tamiya hasn’t made a Ferrari since the FXX-K in 2016. Revell and Fujimi were happily knocking out 458 Italias, 599s in various flavours, and an F12, but I don’t think you can buy anything newer wearing a prancing horse from any mainstream manufacturer… best, M.

I just noticed on my build of the Airfix (Gunze) kit, which is replicating Nick Mason's car which I once saw and photographed up close in the metal, that it has three "gill" slots on each side, and the central one of the three front vents is there but with a closed PE door in place. IIRC the kit came with moulded plastic plugs that meant you could choose whether to have two or three gills, and PE doors for all three nose vents. I suspect the nose vent doors were open or closed depending on the particular race conditions (more or less cooling needed) although the side gills were factory cut. I wonder if Aurora just saw some pictures of cars running with the central "nostril" closed up and thought there were only 2... best, M.

Very odd. Maybe in later boxes they decided to stop paying licence fees on the Cavallino Rampante badge. I have two in the stash… the one with etched metal wheels and the blue and yellow car, and they both have decals. Does your box look like the red ones @Exotics_Builder posted above, or is it missing the Ferrari badge top right? best, M.

The Fujimi certainly _should_ have decals. They look like this: best, M.

Mostly been working on interesting painting challenges... The wheels are cast in deep relief, but only with the front layer of spokes delineated. There is a darn great brake drum right on the back, so the solid rear face is not a problem in itself. I've lined the upper edges, and painted the outer wall black to a greater depth. The trouble is the recesses aren't sharp at the bottom, so trying to apply a wash just ends up with puddles in the centres of the holes, not lines at the edges... As evidenced by the Ferrari 156, Mercedes and Vanwall, I've got nothing against swapping in 3D printed or cast aftermarket wheels, but nobody makes them in the sizes needed for these pre-war racers, except possibly Fernando Pinto at great expense... I don't know why Autokits decided to produce this car's wheels by casting rather than winding the spokes from wire like the others, but this is what I've got. This is what's taken most of the time... After a deal of research, the Flying Mantuan is dressed for action. I'd originally thought that he'd be mostly in white, thanks to a famous photo of him wearing a white overall and equally pale helmet. But looking for some images of the helmet led me to the Nuvolari Museum, where I discovered that for races rather than practice, he habitually wore a yellow shirt with monogram, azure blue trousers, white "English shoes" and leather helmets in buff, red or brown. I thought that would add a touch of colour, let's say. Since i didn't have a figure with a leather jerkin, which he also wore regularly (but not in every race), I decided that this race was one in which he chose not to. I know it's not what's shown in Roy Cross's painting, but then, neither is the car, exactly. The clothes are part of the Nuvolari legend, and the Museum actually has examples of all of them, so the lurid colours are taken from life. It certainly makes for a more colourful display! Still waiting, hopefully not for much longer, for the spares from Squires before I can begin assembling the suspension. best, M.

Didn't get any bench time over the weekend (though my daughter and I made a big batch of excellent marmalade...), so slow progress on M. Nuvolari. First, cut and pin the critical joints using flexible wire so he's a bit more "poseable." Those "clown shoes" are all part of trying to get him to sit in the seat and fit under the wheel, with the seat in the right place in the cockpit. Then get him aboard and flex the arms so that his hands reach the wheel. And finally, use microballoons and superglue to fill the joints enough to lock them in place, remove the wheel and the body shell to free him, and fill the gaps solidly with Milliput, then put it all back together so the Milliput can set hard overnight. best, M.

The only 1/24 Merit racing car kits that ever get repopped are the Alfa 158/9 and the Talbot Lago. They were described as “Superkits” when they first came out, because they had engines, unlike the rest of the range. The rest have only ever been issued in Merit boxes. Merit is long-defunct, it’s heyday as a kit manufacturer was the late 50s/early 60s, though they were a generic toy maker as well… I had a Merit Chemistry Set in the early 70s. They made some 1/48 aircraft kits as well, which as Bill says have also been repopped by Smer. These include a Suoermarine Walrus, Bristol Bulldog and Tiger Moth. Quality wise think early Aurora. The Merit 1/24 cars include: Aston Martin DB3S, Jaguar D-Type, Maserati 250F and 4CLT, GP Connaught, Lancia-Ferrari D50, Gordini F2, Cooper-Climax F2, BRM, Vanwall, Mercedes W196, Lotus XI… I think that’s all, but I may have missed one or two… best, M.

Quite the bargain from eBay in the UK: An exquisite Western Models 1/43 Mercedes W154, only slightly started. The detail is lovely, and it's much more detailed than the 1/24 Auto Kits (although the 1/24 Finecast originals are a different story). The 1/24 Mercedes W129 and W154 white metal kits I've seen are beautiful too, but literally 10 times the £20 I paid for this one, when you can find them. Anyway, I thought it might be fun to do one of the Eagle cover vignettes using it -- half the size of the others, but it'll still be cool, I reckon... Just need to lay hands on a suitable 1937-vintage 1/43 driver... best, M.

A few more details sorted and Tazio is reunited with his head: It's been a bit two steps forward, one step back. My first attempt to fit the exhaust fouled the shock absorber mounting on the rear chassis arch, and the scabbed-on spring mounting under the cockpit on the left (the T shaped piece in this RHS image) was short shot, and my attempt to solder an extension on resulted in a mis-shapen blob of metal, so I've had to reach out to Squires spares service again ;-(. Lesson learned -- only use the low-temp soldering technique on larger pieces which can act as a heat sink and conduct the heat away from the join without getting too hot. And clearly he's still sitting too high to get the wheel in place naturally, so I'm going to have to lower the seat rather than amputate any more of his nethers... best, M.

You’re not kidding… though not weighing it down with pointless stainless steel cladding over the perfectly serviceable fibreglass body probably helped… Actually, being Alpine, just not weighing it down full stop. best, M.

The dashboard is done: Looks a bit crude at this size, but it's an inch across, and tucked away in the cockpit it'll be fine... Lets see: That's blurrier than I expected when I edited it! Had the little camera in the wrong mode... Better. I set up some new lights earlier today, so I thought I'd give it a try in the studio, but the point and shoot (or its operator) needs a bit more practice... best, M.

Joyce's 76 Pinto is the only other one that plays a really significant role, though Nancy's 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park would be a left field choice. There's a couple of "blink and you'll miss 'em" Bimmers belonging to main characters too... best, M.

The 1/24 Lambo Revuelto will be out in October, apparently, with this to come in November: I shall certainly have one of these, but not in boring Papaya Orange... best, M.

From what reference I can find, and preserved cars, the 1930s racing Alfa P3s were a rich red, but not the virtually Maroon colour that some Alfa's sported, nor the brighter Ferrari Rosso Corsa. So I've decided to use Tamiya Italian Red, but over Red Oxide Fine Surface Primer, rather than the white (or pink) version. Of course, it's really hard to photograph so you can see exactly how the color looks in daylight in my workshop, so for now let's just say the red is on and I can move ahead with assembly... best, M.

Master Box in 1/24… best, M.

A fair bit of activity with files and sanding pads later... Time for a test with the driver... Definitely sitting too high, so out with the razor saw... Better. I've taken off pretty much all I can without the figure looking really odd in the cockpit. Perhaps the body is a bit overscale, unlike the "60s driver" I used for the Graham Hill BRM, who was definitely a bit weedy. His head is definitely above the windscreen in the Roy Cross image, so I'm not going to worry about it too much... best, M.

Looks lovely. Really nice build and photos, and I love the little door opening vignette at the end. I think I'll have to get one of these stock versions. I shouldn't worry too much about handling the stainless steel dulling it -- you're just reproducing what happens with the real thing! (The "stainless" is rust proof, but far from easy to keep looking pristine, if you happen to own one.) I saw one on the road in front of me last Autumn, and it's surprising how small and low it is... best, M.

Body assembled and mocked up on the chassis, This is the result of a couple of hours of trimming, filing and flexing, but I think this is not bad, and some glue and clamping when I finally assemble the two main elements will do the final fine tuning of the fit. I used low temperature solder on the body again. You can see it on the outside on the scuttle panel, which doesn't have a seam between the top and sides, and from the inside where there need to be shut lines between the folding and opening bonnet panels. A couple of repairs using solder as well on the cockpit coaming,and replacing the sheared off front left pin that the springs fit to with some piano wire. That needs to be strong -- the weight of this car is all supported by 8 1.2 mm diameter white metal pins. (And yes, it will have the traditional perspex stand underneath...) And finally... The man himself... aren't those heads great sculpts? best, M.

Time to move on with the next one, this time more of a vintage classic: This one is going to have to use a bit of "artistic license." I'm pretty sure the "Kings of the Road picture above is the drive of Tazio Nuvolari's life, when he won the 1935 German Grand Prix in an out of date Alfa Romeo, holding off the pride of Nazi Germany: the six streamlined, state of the art Silver Arrows of Mercedes and Auto Union . The kit I have depicts the 1932 Alfa P3, which had a different front axle that didn't feature the independent suspension shown in the artwork. But it's close enough for tribute work... The main parts (there's no engine in any of these older Auto Kits). The chassis rail extensions need to be firmly fixed in place, and the tail end of the body needs to be joined and smoothed. For these two, because I want a strong joint and no filler, I've used the low temperature solder again. They are firmly fixed, so it's time to break out the files... There needs to be some careful fettling to make sure the body sits squarely on the chassis. The upside is the the white metal is can be "adjusted" with care; the downside is that parts may have _become_ adjusted in the box in the years since the kit was cast. The bonnet top helps set the inward angle of the sides, but that curve under the cockpit also has to match the curve of the chassis rails while the front end is sitting flat on the chassis. And the inner end of the rear spring mounts at the end of the curved chassis arms need to match up with those little projections at the bottom edge of the tail... It may take a while and a few steps to get there... But progress is being made. That's it for today, though... best, M.

Yes, I think there was an issue where they did that. Hopefully, it also came with clear instructions describing what has to be removed from which parts if you decide to do the low exhaust option, and two full sets of clearly marked exhaust pipes! best, M.

The set grows, with the addition of the Graham Hill 1961 BRM: best, M.

Managed to get outside to take some pictures of them all together... best, M.

@1959scudetto Oh yes… I’ve been prioritising the ones built from Classic British kits for display, but there are definitely more to be done. Genuine CBKs are the Auto Kits Alfa P3 and Lotus 25, the Western Models Mercedes W125, the Maserati 4CLT from Merit, and the Matchbox Auto Union Type D (in 1/32). But if I spread my net wider, I can do the 1963 Leader Card Watson Roadster from AMT, the 1930 Bentley and Talbot Lago from Heller, and the Healey 3000 from Revell… best, M.