Matt Bacon

Thanks for the positive comments, guys! Matija, Christian... the great thing about the Academy box is that it's in production now -- the only reason for eBay is to find a Korean seller. I haven't seen an Italeri-boxed version for sale ever, and the only RoG one I've spotted was ridiculously expensive. I wonder if there's some license that's expired between Italeri and Ferrari. I emailed their team a couple of years ago to see if they were planning to re-release any of these "classics", as they are doing with the Porsches, and they told me a firm "NO." There was also a strong rumour a couple of years back that RoG was going to re-release the Italeri 250 SWB, which is way better than the Esci/AMT abomination, and that came to nothing. (Though RoG DID do the 250 GTO recently). In theory, Italeri could release at least the 250 California, 250 SWB, 250 GTO, 275 GTB and NART Spider, Daytona... Christian... I do have a few Rosso Corsa Ferraris, but I also have 'em in blue, black, silver, yellow and now "Aubergine". There's a lot of scope for interesting colours in the more "GT" rather than "Sports" end of the range... Helmut -- those are the wheels and tyres in the box. I don't think they are too bad -- put them next to a set of Renaissance Borranis or the etched wires that come in the Gunze 250s and they look a bit clunky, but I could buy two boxes of the entire kit for the price of one set of Renaissance wheels... Thanks again, all! bestest, M.

Yeah... by comparison to the Jaguar E-Type Coupe and the 250 GTO, the DB4 and Maserati 3500 GT are actually pretty good! Hard to believe that there's still no accurate state of the art E-Type** in 1/24*... bestest, M. *(OR 1/25) **nor a 1/24 or 1/25 F-102 either, for your diorama scene... I guess you could do it with a 1/48 model and a couple of 1/72 versions and call it "forced perspective..."

...and with her build partner: it's much quicker to go curbside! bestest, M.

A hard to find kit in an Italeri box, but it turns out that it's been reboxed for the domestic Korean market by Academy, as "European Classic Car". No mention of the maker, nor any Cavallino Rampantes on the box art or decal sheet. However, all the bits are there, and it can be had for a bit less than £20 delivered from eBay. Some detailing under the bonnet to fill the empty space, with a fair few bits and pieces liberated from the spares box or scratch-built. Otherwise it's pretty much OOB. Colour is a home-brew "Vinaccia" (so much nicer than "Aubergine") made with Zero paints components, and the interior is Ferrari "Tobacco" aka Vallejo Tanned Flesh with a dash of yellow added... bestest, M

Thanks, all... my work here is done. Full photo set in Under Glass... bestest, M.

All true, but a lot of that can be improved with some careful sanding -- the body shell is reasonably thick! The hood scoop is a case of check your references -- there are at least two different styles I've seen, so your car might have either. The biggy is that side window/windscreen issue, which is going to mean new glazing... If I get a minute, to dig them out, I'll line up the bodies of the Airfix James Bond Aston, the Monogram DB4 and the Doyusha DB5, and we can do a straight compare and contrast... bestest, M.

My owner has had his upgraded to the competition set up... ...seriously -- I don't have a spare oval air cleaner, and this was supposed to be an "empty the queue" build before I depart in an entirely different direction! so, more or less done now. A few fragile details (door handles, wipers) to add, and a good clean, and then she'll be ready for prime-time... bestest, M.

Well, Roy is a pretty good modeller, but it can be fought into submission: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234925603-simil-r-ford-gt40/ bestest, M.

The most obvious error, which throws the look of the car off, is the roofline over the side windows. You can't see the error easily on the box art of either release of the kit, but the line of the top of the windows should rise all the way to the A pillar. The Monogram kit has a "hump", highest about half way along the window. I haven't done the measurements yet to decide whether it needs fixing by filling in underneath, or cutting away at the front to flatten the line to the windshield... but something needs to be done! bestest, M.

Except this isn't a GT40... It's a Ford GT Le Mans from 2010. This is what the callipers really look like: The plastic ones look fine, as long as you realise that you're looking at them from the back, in the plane of the disc, not from the side... I'm still on the hunt for that SimilR kit, because it's a great starting point for a fantastic build... bestest, M.

Great looking build and finish, and I love the engine. One question -- how does the driver steer? As far as I can see, the front wheels will be scraping the inside of the fender any time the steering wheel is turned! bestest, M.

Lucked into the Accurate Miniatures Corvette Grand Sport on eBay UK for a very good price. I've heard tell that it's one of the nicest car kits out there, so I'm looking forward to seeing it in the flesh! bestest, M.

Thanks, guys! As promised... the inside is inside the outside. No great drama, thank goodness! The body's covered in greasy fingerprints, but there's no point in getting too antsy about cleaning it at this stage! I'm leaving the bonnet hinge to set thoroughly before I even think about opening it! bestest, M.

Thanks, guys... landman -- the "Tobacco" is a Vallejo "Tanned Flesh, with a drop or two of yellow to make it a bit less pink. And this is where I am tonight: I KNEW that would come in handy one day... My abortive _first_ return to modelling in 1990 or thereabouts was to attempt a wooden model boat kit. It didn't work out -- tool far too long to achieve anything. But at the time, I bought some self-adhesive copper strip for the anti-fouling covering of the bottom. 25 years later, it's come out of the bottom of the toolkit, and made that little bit of copper pipe in the middle of the radiator hose that much easier! The rest is some electric flex insulation over a solid wire core, and BMF for the jubilee clips... The brake master cylinder is pretty visible in the engine bay, and, unusually for a 60s Ferrari kit, in my experience, is not included. A stack of tubing fills the gap. The radiator hose doesn't connect to anything, of course -- not the first time I'll be grateful for that "roasting dish" on the top of the engine! I think the ducting looks the part. The wiring diagram I found online stopped me connecting the battery to anything stupid -- ground at one end, the fuse-box at the other, apparently! The twin coils brighten things up a bit. I'm glad I didn't have to fabricate those, mind you... Master cylinder cluttering things up nicely. No idea what most of these bits and tubes do, but they busy it up nicely. One of the sage green caps is sitting on top of the steering box, the other is angled off teh top of a additional square section "lump" at the front left corner of the bay, which will also anchor the fuel lines. It's completely "gizmology", but there's _something_ over there... So that's more or less done now. The fuel line to the carbs will be added once that gizmo in the corner is thoroughly set and anchored. Guitar string is a bit unforgiving... On the next episode... the inside goes inside the outside. bestest, M.

In all kinds of places under the bonnet of your race or exotic sports car, and many classics, you'll find flexible hoses, like these directing cooling air to the brakes of an Aston Martin DP214: I needed a large (4" or so in diameter) for an air duct on my 250 California. After looking for something to use for ages, it suddenly occurred to me that it might be easier to make one. And it is: Ge a piece of sprue the right diameter for your duct, some gardening wire (available in many thicknesses) and some slightly porous, paper-like (not plastic) medical sticky tape from the chemists. 1) Wrap wire around sprue, and distribute as bunched or spread as you like. 2) On the sprue, wrap over wire with sticky tape in as few layers as possible (mine was wide enough to do the whole length with one piece, so there is only one seam, on the bottom) 3) Spray with Tamiya Rubber Black Drybrush with appropriate metallic colour if needed, depending on whether the "coils" on your tube are visible or not. (probably best to leave it on the sprue for this, too) A couple of short stubs cut from the sprue mandrel can be glued in place as mounting points. Apologies if this is "old hat" but it seemed simple and easy to share! bestest, M.

With the chassis basically assembled, time to move on with some engine bay detailing. Plundering a few unused detail bits from the Dino, and some more of the 250SWB, I've at least got a radiator fan, battery, coils and a screen wash reservoir. (No idea what that was on the Dino, but it'll do the job here with a cap added and a repaint... There's a big air duct hose running from the right hand side of the bay into the back. After wracking my brains trying to figure out where to find one, I thought I'd just have a try at making one, and I'm pretty happy with the result. 1) Wind garden wire around a suitable diameter bit of sprue, 2) cover with porous-ish paper-ish medical tape, 3) Spray with Tamiya "Rubber Black". It's still very flexible, and works just like the real thing. A couple of short stubs of the sprue mandrel stuck to the bay walls in the right places will make mounting points. On with the tubes, pipes and cables! bestest, M.

Tamiya options seem to be TS-58: And TS-54: I quite like the look of the TS-54: it may not be a good match for a real Camaro colour, but it certainly looks like the colour in the photo! bestest, M

Thanks, guys... now for a more difficult problem. I can't find anywhere this side of the pond that carries Model Master auto colours. The UK importer has the FS range for aircraft, but no others. Any thoughts on a similar colour in Tamiya sprays, or Zero Paints? (Zero will match any colour I can find a paint code for in the Lechler database, but none of the codes from any of the links and charts you guys have found for me gives a "hit" in the database. I think I need something that looks the same or close to that's on a car from this century, from any manufacturer...) Edit: Zero does Cobra Guardsman Blue: http://www.hiroboy.com/Cobra_Guardsman_Blue_Paint_60ml--product--906.html which looks like a great colour, even if not exactly right! Also, a metallic blue like Tamiya X13 http://www.hiroboy.com/Metallic_Blue_Paint_Similar_to_Tamiya_X13_60ml--product--5226.html A Corvette Le mans Blue (Modern) http://www.hiroboy.com/Corvette_C5R__Le_Mans_Xenon_Blue_Paint_2003__60ml--product--4400.html bestest, M.

Can anyone tell me what colour this Camaro is? ...and ideally, either a match from a model paint range, or a paint code so I can order it to be made up by Zero Paints? Any help gratefully received and much appreciated! bestest, M.

If you have it in your stash, I'd get it out and have a good look inside -- it's not just the rims the tyres will eat! I'd make sure they're in a separate bag away from the other bits... bestest, M.

IIRC, at the Pebble beach event Skip's talking about, they got about a dozen of the 18 total there to mark Jaguar's 75th anniversary: There are companies that will turn a D-Type into an XKSS for you, and others that will build you a replica for a price: http://www.jaguarreplicas.com/xkss.html Personally, if I had £95K spare, I'd spend it on an Eagle-tuned E-type rather than an XKSS replica, but that's just me... bestest, M.

"Burnt Iron" Patina... Frazer Nash, ready to roll... ...getting down to the nitty-gritty of historic racing... bestest, M.

In close up... Look closely at "Mini Me" on the table! way cool, or what? Portrait of a legend Figaro! Figaro... Figaro... The corner of an Aston DP214 Fantastic colour... Devil is in the details Just the pits... The business of racing bestest, M.

Details, details... Escort Mexico engine bay Big Healey Lister opened up Mini Cooper Cooper T53 Frazer Nash (of which more later) bestest, M.

...action shots Renault digging deep Escort in country setting... Mini with attitude... Porsche rolls with it... Brabham BT11, the ultimate winner... Dicing... bestest, M.