Bugatti Fan

Your model with the new number plate UU5872 looks really good, and is very nicely finished. Really like the cord grip detailing on the steering wheel and the real leather bonnet (hood) straps. I have built one of the older kits with the number plate UR6571 on it. Why Airfix only re tooled the number plate on this last release is a bit of a mystery to me. The most glaring thing wrong with the kit is the position of the Winged B badge on the radiator shell that has never been sorted out, despite a number of re releases over the years. It is far too low on the kit item. Look at pictures on the web to see what I mean, as the car is now owned by Ralph Lauren. Airfix had full access to the original car when it was owned by Neil Corner, before it went to Tony Bamford, the boss of JCB. As the part is plated, many model makers are unable to correct it unfortunately.

Bob Downie mentioned that this kit could be converted easily into a Triumph Spitfire. Body wise the basics are there for a Spitfire Coupe but I think that the Spitfire did not have the power bulge on the bonnet (hood). A bit more work would be required to make it into a two seater open sports car however. Also, bear in mind that if converting it to a Spitfire the engine would have to be modified to an in line 4 Cylinder. The GT6 as far as I know was only built as a coupe and had a 6 Cylinder in line engine hence the GT6 tag. Both the Spitfire and the GT6 were built on chassis that were common to the Triumph Herald 4 cylinder and the Triumph Vitesse 6 cylinder cars. They were the last volume production cars to be built on separate chassis in the UK. Spitfires and Heralds were a very common sight on UK roads in the 60's and early 70's whereas the GT6 and Vitesse less so. Airfix released a Triumph Herald in 1/32nd scale quite a while ago that could be converted to a Vitesse. It is such a long time ago since I looked at one of these kits that I cannot remember if the chassis was separate on it as on the real car. If so there may be possibilities if there are any slot racing bodies available of the Spitfire or GT6. I think that Airfix have re released the old Herald a few times over the years, so locating one should not be difficult.

Sean W's idea about using spectacle hinges is good. Another source is Dolls house suppliers. You can source miniature door and piano hinges from them.

What actually is it? Looks like a cross between a Lone Star and a Civvy Hummer. Tasteless and tacky like stretched limmos for weddings and high school grads. Can't beat hiring a Roller to make to make the ultimate classy car impression!

Hi Guys Just a heads up. There is a company named Motobitz making after market resin chassis and parts to convert the Transit Van into a tilt pick up truck. They also market alternative sets of decals for the Heller or Ebbro Citroen H Van kits.

Really nice model Jurgen. It just shows what can be done with an elderly kit. This particular 'bug' is a lovely looking car. As far as I know only Pocher has kitted the same subject but in the huge eighth scale. The work you have done on this little Heller model is superb. Incidentally, the very same kit was marketed also under the Airfix name when Heller and Airfix were joint owned by a holding company.

Looks like a nice resin kit. Looks as though it was cast off original kit parts. Nice to see it around again albeit in resin. I remember building one when it first came out way back in the sixties I think. Still have the box top photo in a folder as well as some pages of articles about detailing the kit and modifying it from an old copy of Model Car & Science published from way back when.

Thanks for the heads up Wayne. I remember Dale King writing a section about scratch building in Robert Scleicher's car modelling book. I do not have the book any more, but think that his scratch build essay was an open 2 seater Fiat sports car as well as another section about building the big Tamiya Porsche. If Schleicher's model car racing is about slot cars and is well established then Slot Cars Magazine will have to fight on its hands for a slice of this market. I am retired, and like you have seen many old model making friends and acquaintences pass on over the years. Such is life I'm afraid. I keep telling my grown up kids to ensure that the grandkids know that life is not a rehearsal.

Any body remember this little line? 'Who's Rich Morgan. 'Who cares? You might!' about a guy named Rich Morgan from the old Auto World model catalogues? Not heard about him for many, many years. Another guy named Robert Schleicher wrote a book on car modelling way back in the 80,s. His book featured the work of modellers Dale King and Tony Lorette amongst others. Anyone remember him also? Are any or all these guys still active in the hobby?

Art, I was not aware that Radio Shack had gone. We used to have Tandy stores all over the place here in the UK that had Radio Shack items as regular stock. They have also long gone.. I guess that maybe Tandy was the same company as Radio Shack trading in the UK.

Mike, my apologies if my post may have seemed to appear to be going a bit political. That was not my intention. I was merely trying to express my thoughts as a concerned human being who's condolences and deepest sympathy probably like yours go out to all those folks caught up in the horror of such events.

Expressing sympathy seems not enough when these things happen. Over here in the UK one used to be able to own guns provided you were a gun club member. The police would regularly check that owners had a locked gun cabinet and the ammo locked away somewhere separate. One guy went on a rampage in Hungerford, a small country town with an AK47 and a ownership of automatic weapons was banned. The same happened afew years later to handguns when a man walked into a village school in Dunblane with a couple of handguns and shot a number of junior school kids and their teacher. From what I can gather from news coverage the hotel shooter in Vegas amassed a large arsenal of legally bought firearms. American computer technology is probably the best in the world, but there appears to be no link to flag up mass gun buying by an individual from different gun dealers. I appreciate that licensed gun ownership is very different in the USA, but some checks need to be put into place at time of attempted purchase, so that the police have some intelligence about any individual mass gun buying.

Hi Amy Further to my last post there is an auto museum that is located at Dearborn Michigan, that may be gographicallhy close enough. It is the Henry Ford Museum. Perhaps if you made an approach to them they may be interested in having the entire collection for permanent display of the car models. As another thought maybe there are museums in Detroit,home of the American car industry that may be interested. Perhaps the other models could be displayed in a Chicago museum or exhibition centre.. I saw amongst the photos a gold and white Deusenberg that may be of interest to the Cord Auburn Duesenberg Museum in Indiana.

Hi Amy, Maybe this has been suggested already but perhaps the International Model Car Builders Museum in Salt Lake City may be interested in your late dad's model if you have any left over to donate to them.

Seek out a store like Maplins in the UK or Radio Shack in the US and see if you can obtain very thin diameters of screened cable. Strip off the outer insulation to expose the metal screening. Basically this is what modellers are buying as scale braided hoses.

Not tried this myself yet but would suggest experimenting on a small piece of plastic card to see what works. Another alternative would be chrome bare metal foil over painted with translucent acrylic if the lamps are part of the main body moulding. Whilst on the subject of lights, I have used bm foil stuck to the rear of transparent plastic lamps for its reflective qualities and used the translucent red or orange on rear lamps and on the front headlamps a coat of clear. As the lamps have foil backing either a spot of epoxy adhesive or something like Humbrol Clearfix will do the job.

We all get like this at times when the enthusiasm wanes. How I got over this was to model something different and completely out of my comfort zone, a sailing ship. Try something different, a figure, aircraft, ship, science fiction or whatever needing to learn a completely different skill set in the process. Sometimes what we do becomes all too familiar, so sometimes a change could be as good as a rest.

Have read all the posts on this thread, so have a chuckle at these. Managers and marketeers are driven by emotion. Engineers work by logic. The pessimist says the wine glass is half empty. The optimist says the wine glass is half full. The engineer says the wine glass is twice the size that it needs to be. A graduate with an engineering degree is still an engineering graduate. A graduate with an engineering degree and a number years experience is an engineer. The mathematician said "I can calculate the answer to the problem!' The scientist said "I can experiment to arrive at the answer!' THE ENGINEER SAID I WILL LOOK IT UP ON MY CHART!

Fantastic model Thomas. It looks very realistic. You may be interested to have a look at British modeller Peter Buckingham's Fiat that was also finished in black. It should be on the IPMS UK website.

I wish you luck Landsman. That's a very old kit you are restoring that has been around since the 1960's I think. The Heller one has been around for a long time also. 1980's I think and a Gunze Sanyo one. I have a white metal mark one E Type kit to build by SMTS in 24th scale that is an unusual scale for them. They did a Cobra in this scale as well, but most of their stuff is 1/43rd. A retooled E type is long overdue considering how iconic this vehicle is. Revell have been reissuing their tired old E type for years but could now make a fantastic job of it with a complete new retool.

Do they make this model in right hand drive as well?

Skip Stephen Pombo has a website. Pomboworks.com. Hope this helps.

Had a feeling that Airfix produced a 1/32nd scale kerbside kit of this back in the 80's. Not aware of it ever being repopped since.

Hello Amy, My condolences to you and your family over the sad loss of Harry, your dad. I never met him in person living over here in the UK. My contact with him was as a contributor to Model Cars Magazine. He will be sadly missed by the auto modelling community. With regard to disposal of his finished models, you have had a number of suggestions already, and it would be fitting if they could be placed on permanent display somewhere. The Bugatti Trust has a small museum dedicated to the marque over here in the UK. Dads Pocher Bugatti T50 would make a wonderful display piece for them and would make a lovely tribute for UK Auto Modellers to be able to see an example of his work over here. Regarding unbuilt kits EBay is probably the best bet for disposal, but do find a local modeller friend who could sensibly value them for you. Harry was a true gentleman I am pleased to have known. My deepest sympathy and kind regards. Noel Smith

Very saddened to hear about Harry P's recent death. A true gentleman who always responded to my emails. He will be sorely missed in the Auto Modelling Community, both for his excellent magazine layout work and of course the imaginative design and layout of the books in collaboration with Virgil Suarez (Dr. Cranky). His builds on the forum were always very interesting. I was following his Pocher Bugatti build and the extra scratch built detailing work he was putting in to it. Perhaps his actual work may be placed on permanent display somewhere as his builds were up to museum standard. The Bugatti would make a superb display item in the Bugatti Trust's little museum here in the UK and would be a fitting tribute to him. His own book 'The Evolution of the Automobile in Scale' I see is being featured in the magazine in parts, and in itself will bid a fond farewell to him. My deepest condolences go out to his family at this saddest of times. Cancer is a terrible disease and to hear about not only Harry, but many citizens of the USA having to battle to get payments for treatment from their insurers beggars belief. It intrigues me that the USA is the richest nation on earth, and still does not have a proper health service available to everyone rich or poor at point of need. Isn't that what Obama Care was supposed to be? Cannot understand why Trump is looking to scrap it. Private health insurance is very expensive in the UK, so thank goodness that we in the UK have a National Health Service available to all. Harry, you will be missed.