Bugatti Fan

I have been following this build with interest. Splendid model Chris, and well up to your usual standard ! The only other kit I can think of for this car is the very old 1/24th scale Merit kit that was reissued by SMER for quite a while and now from someone else. There may be something in 1/43rd of course that I am not aware of..

Picking up part built kits or complete ones that someone has lost interest in is a good inexpensive way of acquiring various items.

Nice subject and a very attractive model taking shape here. We all get setbacks and good to know how they get overcome.

Looks like being a good one Matt! Quite enjoyable to see you building an older vintage classic !

Model making no matter what genre is good, not only from the relaxation point of view, but it is a great way of keeping your mind stimulated too. Started scratch building when I retired, having more time at my disposal and enjoy the challenges that form of model making brings, along with all the research etc.

Nice conversion. Did you do any extra under bonnet (hood) work ?

Sara, It would appear that your grandfather's collection might be very valuable judging by the Art Collection Bugatti alone. It is a superbly engineered model. The sort of thing that the Bugatti Trust's Museum here in the UK would love to display. It ready depends on what you want to do with the collection as a whole. Many contributors on here could probably simply identify them for you just by seeing any photos. If on the other hand it you are planning to dispose of the collection, I would suggest you get in touch with a reputable auction house like Bonhams, Christies or Sothebys who have specialist valuers/auctioneers. Send them photos and descriptions of the models. They have experts in this field who could certainly get the best return for you if you wish to sell the models on. EBay I would suggest is NOT the best place to sell a collection like this. Too many would make derisory bids to try and take advantage. You would also have the problem of listing them and pricing them individually, as well as packaging them to avoid damage and cost of posting. Hope this helps.

Bad lighting used to be an annoyance. Daylight LED bulbs in my anglepoise lamps are a great improvement to the old incandescent daylights and what I had to use before.

It would be possible to cut brass rod on a micro saw. Just make sure that the correct blade is fitted. it would be far more accurate to part off pieces of brass for on a mini lathe. For repetitive length pieces a stop can be mounted in a chuck set on the tail stock. The material can be pushed through the main machine chuck from the back, and leaving the parting tool in one position repetitive parts can be cut to the same length. Mini lathes are quite expensive when compared to micro table saws though.

That's a mean looking motor. Just the thing that a megalomaniac dictator or all round baddie would drive. Superb model !

I can remember the Gowland kits. They were all re popped a few years back but do not know who did them. Revell had a Highway Pioneers range way back. 1/32nd scale I think like the Gowland kits. The Gordon Brillie and Peugeot kits were ones I was completely unaware of, so thanks for placing the pics to see.

Thanks for the update Nobling. So the company was named Precisia who made the Cugnot Steam Tractor and Les Teuf Teuf was their kit series. The steam tractor is the only one I can remember. It would be interesting to find out what other kits were in their series.I I can remember the very first plastic car kit I ever built was the ancient 1/32nd scale Bentley Blower. Airfix continued to re release it from those tired old moulds for many years since. Looks really crude now but has potential.

The oldest plastic vehicle kit I can remember was a French kit of Cugnot's Steam Tractor. I think it was made by a small company named Les Teuf Teuf, but didn't appear to make any other kits afterwards. Scale may have been 1/32nd. Not seen one of those kits in over 50 years, so relying on distant psst memory.

Someone referred to the old Revell kit being undersize. If talking about their kit from way back in the sixties it was in 1/25th scale, not 1/24th. So yes, it would appear under scale compared to all the other kit offerings.

Seeing Mike's post about a satire on news casting reminded me of a similar British one named 'Drop the Dead Donkey' that aired some time ago now. Also looking at the last post about the Prisoner rehash made in 2009. Unfortunately not a patch on the original series from the sixties with Patrick McGoohan playing the main character. The original series was filmed at the Italianate Village at Portmerion in North Wales UK. The village is open to the public. I have visited it a couple of times and it is very impressive. There is a small Prisoner merchandise shop on site. A few changes have been made since the Prisoner was filmed there, mainly just to the garden landscaping.

More manufacturers using Facebook instead of their own websites ! Ah well ! Something has to pay for the gold fittings on Zuckerberg's yacht !

Indifferent model builders who inhabit FB and other Social Media who set themselves up as so called 'Experts' in order to gain worthless 'likes' to boost their own over inflated egos and for monetary gain should they get enough views to attract advertising.

Local TV tends to cover events when they are actually happening. Probably not much use to publicise a show beforehand as a show is just another news item to them. Having said that, show coverage on TV is good for for publicising the hobby generally.

JollySipper's Feb 21 st post. Was it the car from the movie 'Wraith' ? Looks like some prototype of concept car. Has it been made as a kit sometime in the past?

Schools generally over here in the UK tend to veer towards IT as well as the core subjects like Maths, English Language and Literature, Science, Geography and so on. Just before I retired I worked at a local high school with engineering as a specialism. My job there was an Engineering CAD CAM Technician / Teachers Assistant for my last four years of gainful employment. Really enjoyed the job working with the students on their projects. Sad to say very few schools take on engineering as a specialism which is ironic as the whole infrastructure of modern society depends on engineering in some form or other.

Lining out on a model like this is one of the most difficult painting jobs on a model. looks like you are pulling this job off really well Matt. Nice to see some vintage cars being built too !

Some conversions look great to my eyes, but others have me wondering, what was this guy thinking? On production cars the fake wood effect on the sides of a Country Squire and the faux spare wheel on the Cadillac both look tasteless and tacky to modern eyes. I guess back in the day, bling was the thing that American auto manufacturers thought would attract their main US customer base. American cars have become much more European both in styling and size so the bling has long gone!

Lovely looking car and very futuristic looking when it was announced. This should be a nice looking model when finished. Door drop and weak hinges can be a bit of a pain on models in this scale. Better hinges can be made and fitted, but I would probably take the lazy option and fit the doors permanently in the closed position.

It one wants to learn about miniature machining, Joe Martin has written a book about machining using the Sherline range of machines. Details of the book should be on Sherline Machines website. I have a copy and it is a very good introductory book about machining in miniature with many pictures of examples of different miniature engineering projects that are inspirational. A number of years ago Gerald Wingrove wrote a book named Unimat lathe projects that describes how to make useful tools for model making using the little Unimat lathe. Long out of print but worth tracking down as the projects could be done on other small machines like the Sherline range.

Seeing the video brought back many memories of my apprenticeship and the day job many years ago. This thread reminded me. There is a Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum at Carlsbad, California. It was set up by the CEO Joe Martin of Sherline who make miniature machinery for model makers. Some of the engineered model exhibits there are mind blowing. I can only admire from afar living in England.