Bugatti Fan

A friend of mine has bought the Fisher kit of this aircraft and it is very accurate. The original Bugatti 100P has been restored for static display and is on show at Oshkosh Air Museum. it was discovered hidden in France after WW2 and shipped to the states. The engines were taken from it to be used in a couple of Bugatti car restorations. A flying replica is being built so it will be very interesting to see how the aircraft handles. The original never did get to fly, so how it would have performed is pure conjecture. There is a book about the Bugatti aircraft written by Japp Horst that has lots of technical details, photos and drawings that can be bought via his own website.

Excalibur's fake Merc SSK was kitted by Bandai back in the 70's in 1/12th scale.

Scott, You certainly got a real bargain getting that Merc for 30 bucks. Those Casadio kits were very expensive when they first came out. Metal kits throw up a few different challenges to plastics. Incidentally, Europe uses the ISO Metric system for threads and tapped holes. looks like you were having some problems with threads on the Bugatti kit. I expect that UNC and UNF threads are the norm in Canada and the USA. Try a dedicated engineers supplier rather than a hobby tool stockist for ISO Metric tools. In the UK try a company named Chronos Ltd who specialise in model engineering stuff, and will certainly stock metric as it is more common over here. They can probably do mail order. Alternatively, get hold of a local Mercedes, VW or Audi dealer dealership workshop manager and ask where they source metric stuff locally. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the feedback Mike. Appreciated! Afraid that I am a Luddite when it comes to facebook! I will have to look and see when they are coming back on stream. See that you are from the Berkshires in New England. I come from Berkshire over here in England, although I now live in another county in the UK. Visited the coastal area in your neck of the woods a few years back on a cruise up to Quebec in Canada out of Boston only 2 weeks after 9/11. Visited Bar Harbor, Portland and Kennebunkport on the way. Lovely countryside. I guess where you live is similar, even if inland. Boston is a nice city. When I visited, there was a hell of a lot of infrastructure work going on with tunnels and roads being built etc. I guess it may be finished now.

Depends on the kit, your skill, and how deep a wallet you have. There is a plastic kit by Trumpeter of the Ford GT40 and there will be a Multi Medium kit available from CMA (Creative Miniature Associates) both in 1/12th scale.

Hi John once again. Forgot to ask in my last two posts where you got the tyres from? Obviously they are not the Aifix/MPC items. Are they from another kit or proprietary items? Incidentally, there is a guy named Peter Buckingham over here in the UK who has also super detailed the Bentley Kit. Just go onto the internet and punch in his name followed by Bentley and it should throw up some pics. Reckon you might find them interesting! Kind regards Noel Smith

Keep getting a Forbidden access notice when I try to have a look at the Scalemotorcars website. Is it just me? Or is their server down?

Wonder if they will do the same with the de agostini part work kits bond aston martin db5 and the mustang they are curently advertising

Kate...nicd model build A friend mentioned to me recently that the new revell Bentley kit is a repop of the old heller one. Not sure about this. Perhaps someone can confirm?

Your Bugatti is really coming along fine and looking real good. I particularly like the way you are improving on the kit without resorting to after market parts. great work, and will be following the build with interest. I also picked up on an earlier post about Hornby. They are a UK based company who have bought out the rights to the Pocher brand name. They bought out the Rivarossi model railway company in line with their own main product line and Pocher was originally a Rivarossi company. Hornby also now owns Airfix and resurrected the Pocher name with the Aventador kit, using the expertise of the Airfix company. As far as I know they have no intentions of resurrecting any of the old Pocher classics, although ironically they have set up a showroom at their UK HQ with an example of all the old Pochers beautifully displayed in dedicated display units. Kit manufacture has come on a long way since the old Pochers were in production in the 1980's, so the Aventador naturally should be much, much better than the Pochers of old. I wish that they had made a Bugatti Veyron kit instead!

A number of years ago when this kit was first issued, a guy named Matt Irvine here in the UK did a diorama using this kit and a 'Back to the Future' De Lorean. I think he has a website. Possible there will be a pic or 2 on there. Matt used to make special effects sci fi models for the BBC, a number of which have been used in older series of Dr Who and I believe that the Liberator from Blakes7 was one of his creations.

Tamiya's Aston Martin British Car done in LH Drive!!!! Could do with a RH Drive Dash. But then I live in the UK! Why oh why don't kit manufacturers offer both dash options and windscreen wiper positions in their kits.....Especially if Kerbside models. Also, cannot understand why Airfix still keep making 1/32nd scale car kits instead of 1/24th scale. Seem to be out of sync with everyone else.

I can remember building one of these Pyro Speedsters way back in the 70's (no plated parts as I remember). The kit was a bit basic. Shame this subject was never used by Italaeri, Heller, or Revell/Monogram more recently in one of their classics ranges. Who knows? Maybe we will see one kitted with up to date tooling sometime. Classics seem to be the poor relation to F1, Rally, Nascars and Italian exotica.....But I guess that is where the market is! Pyro had quite a range of sailing ship kits as well as the cars. Didn't they make a Triumph GT6 Coupe kit? I also remember them issuing an excellent small range of inter wars biplane kits (ex GB Impact Kits) in 1/48th scale when they bought the moulds. Wonder what happened to these and indeed all the Pyro tooling?

The Airfix T50 is one and the same Heller kit. It was marketed under the Airfix name when both companies were owned by Borden Holdings who also had Humbrol under their wing. The Heller Bugatti EB110 was also re popped under the Airfix banner.

Some time ago I visited the Donington Race Circuit's Classic Cars Museum hoping to see the replica Royale that the late Tom Wheatcroft commissioned to have built. The car was not to be seen. An earlier reply to this thread is showing the replica on display in what looks like a museum or private collection. Does any body have any idea if the car is in the UK and actually where it now resides?

I saw a picture of Belkits box art for a Mark 1 Escort Rally Car from the 60's somewhere. Nice to see them dipping their toes in the water with a classic rally car instead of all the new stuff. If it sells well maybe we will see other classic race/rally cars as well like a Mark One Lotus Cortina or a Metro 6R4.

A number of years ago I had a 1/8th Jaguar E Type kit that was very well detailed made by I think Bandai in the 80's. Not aware of anyone else making kits from this set of tooling. Regret selling it on and not building it as I have never seen one since. Before I get a shed load of replies this kit is not a re pop of the old Monogram (now Revell) kit that was tooled up in the 60's. Actually, the E type is such an Iconic car that a new tool in 1/12th or 1/16th would be nice with options to build it in RHD or LHD versions. Either of these would be a nice scale to super detail and not be too big.

Bob....Congratulations on your Hubley Duesenberg build, preceding my IPMS van build in the magazine. Your article is so interesting that I read it a number of times over. It is by far the very best built model Dusie from a Hubley kit that I have ever seen. Fantastic! I built one of the SJ kits about 5 years ago and re spoked the wheels, opened up the hood etc. and added some other extra details. But yours far surpasses the model that I made both in finesse and detailing (especially all the incredibly fine detailing of your model's engine/clutch assembly). Making yours with the roof up and detailing it on the inside was also a really nice touch. Your choice of colours for your model really suits the car. Mine is finished in a two tone blue and there may possibly still be a couple of pictures of it in the gallery of the Scale Motorcars website from ages ago. I certainly picked up some very useful tips from your article, as it is always interesting to see a fellow modeller's approach.

The Misko models are indeed superb, as are similarly the Amalgam Models range. But to put it into perspective, they are produced by groups of highly skilled specialists in a small industrial envirinment, where various skills are pulled together to make the components for a finished model, and they both work in large scales as well. Wingrove's models are to a much smaller scale and he did everyting from the initial research and drawings to making everyting himself in the early days, and later when he re married, his second wife Phyllis took an active part in the model making process. They have now retired to Spain. There are other well known solo professional builders of model cars worth looking at who are on a par with Gerald Wingrove. Look at the models of Manuel Olive Sans, Rex Hays, Henri Baigent, Michele Conti, Guiseppe da Corte and Carlo Brianza who's models have become highly valuable over the years. More recently hobbyist and retired Kodak USA Engineer Tom Kirn has taken the Wingrove route and made some superb 1/15th scale models, and also Francisco Pulido in Spain. There is also a superb professional car modeller in the UK named David Hayward who works mainly in wood. All of whom are individual model makers. If you have not heard of any of these artisans, a trawl on the internet should pull up some info and pictures of their work.

Just recently I noticed that Airfix have announced a pre painted snap together kit aimed at youngsters of the Bugatti Veyron. No scale given but I guess maybe 1/32nd in line with most of their other car kits? Price here in the UK about £12 ($16?US). Given this aside....Airfix are part of the Hornby group who have resurrected the POCHER brand. Looks as though they may be the only mainstream kit manufacturer to have licences from VW.....So who knows? A 1/8th scale Pocher Bugatti Veyron would be brilliant under this label. Really surprised that this car has not been kitted before in 1/24th scale by Revell Germany or by one of the Jap outfits.

Thanks for the encouragement Ira. Skip, I hope you received your magazine by the time you read this. If any of you guys out there have any ideas about how my Bugatti article could have been improved, by all means please let me have your suggestions. I hope that I did not skimp on anything too much.

Didn't know that a Raceabout kit existed in either 1/12th or 1/8th. The most similar car that Pocher did in 1/8th was their Fiat. There was a superb Bandai kit in 1/16th scale produced in the 80's and I think that there was also one by Aurora? in 1/16th scale along with a Stutz Bearcat.

Now that the November magazine has been in circulation for a while , I hope that many readers have enjoyed my Bugatti T59 scratch building article.

Being a Bugatti Fan I would love to get a hold of one of the old Renwal Revival Exner Bugatti Kits. Has any body got one that has been badly built years ago and gathering dust or knocked about that I could restore even? The Bugatti Trust has a lovely little museum next to their hill climb course over here in the UK. It would be nice to build up a model of the Exner Bugatti to put on permanent display there.

Pocher made a T50 I believe in 1/8th scale a number of years ago. Could not afford at the time. Now........Silly money on Ebay!.......Still cannot afford one! Bandai made a nice little T55 in 1/20th scale a number of years ago. Their Type 41 Royale in 1/16th scale was a nice kit to build.