Bugatti Fan

Jurgen, why not put a post up with a complete set of pictures of your 'Convoy' trucks in it. Your Rubber Duck Mack featured here is a really nice model. A few years back a guy named Alistair McLaughlin over here in the UK was developing a multi medium transkit for the Duck's Mack to correct the Ertl kit. I saw his model made up at the UK Model Truck Show at Gaydon and looked good. He showed me the transkit he was developing at the time but not sure if he ever went into production with it or not.

To be honest Mozzi, of late I must be getting intolerant of the chore of decanting paint for airbrushing and cleaning it up thoroughly afterwards. Or maybe just getting lazy in my old age by using automotive acrylics straight from a rattle can on my models having found ones that that work for me. The airbrush only comes out of I do any custom paintwork now. I would heartedly agree with what you say about 'each to their own' about what works best for them. You might get a laugh out of this but I have to relate a modelling incident of mine many years ago when I decided on my infinite wisdom to airbrush a model with cellulose paint, and being inexperienced at the time was reduced to tears as my expensive model started to dissolve before my very eyes! That and all the other balls ups I have made down the years. Ah well. You win a few and you lose a few. That's life I guess !

Mozzi, please go back and read my post properly before wading in. Been there and got the Tee shirt so to speak intimates that I HAVE experimented with various products over the years. You missed the key word I used in it, 'eventually' about finding what works best for us. Believe me, I can reminisce about some horrible (and expensive) disasters with models I have built down the years by, you might have guessed it by now, experimenting with non compatible finishing products.

If anyone can get Rustoleum or any other DIY paint to work well on their models, then more power to their elbow ! But like many other spray paint aerosols one has to bear in mind that they are primarily aimed at the DIY market. Some may work ok on models. Others definitely not.

I think that eventually we all just settle for what works best for us by having been there and got the Tee shirt so to speak. Newcomers reading this thread might get a bit confused by the on going Rustoleum debate that keeps on simmering. My advice to them would be to use model dedicated products to start off with. You don't want your expensive kit dissolving like a vampire doused in holy water by using any make of inappropriate spray can product.

Much as we like to big up our passion, manufacturers with the exception of a small few generally historically announce their new products at Toy Fairs. Only enthusiasts like us aspire to build models to a high standard and bother to partake in forums like this. From a commercial point of view, manufacturers display at toy fairs to show their products to as many sales outlets as possible whether shop or on line retailers. The reality is that although manufacturers are improving the quality and accuracy of model kits all the time to satisfy model making nerds like us, the vast majority of kits sold just get stuck together and unpainted in many cases, parked on a shelf and probably dumped when layers in dust accrue on them and bits fall off as the passing interest fades.

Pierre, a company named Motobitz in the UK makes 3D printed wire wheels for the Revell E Type. They might now do a set for the DB5. Have a look at their website as they do lots of other interesting things too. Hope this helps. The Revell E Type model against the picture of the real car really does show that windscreen not looking right. Apparently the old Heller E Type has the body proportionally correct from what I have read, but I have read mixed reviews about it overall as a kit.

Rustoleum is probably not a bad paint provided you use it for what it's primary market is intended for, general domestic non modelling applications. You wouldn't use creosote or wood preservative on a scale model fence. So why try using DIY spray paint on a model? Horses for courses. Buy the right thing for the job and save yourself the frustration.

Revell's Jaguar E Type Coupe roof looks a bit odd to me around the windscreen area too, but their roadster however looks about right.

Brilliant model taking shape here Bill.

Great build Matt, and shows the potential of those old white metal Autokits. The observant may have noticed a clear acrylic support under Matt's model. That is because white metal kits are quite heavy overall and the suspension units tend to gradually sag under the weight of the main bodywork.

Nice development into a 'gentleman's' weekend racer. The roofline looks better having been fettled a bit. Good to know that the plastic is thick enough to shape the roof without having to resort to any building up and filling.

It's a sad thing when we hear about any well known cottage industry supplier like Bruce passing. A mixed bag of posts on here from straight sympathy for the family to those wondering if they will get their order or their money back. It looks as though his newly widowed wife is doing her best to fulfil outstanding orders considering the trauma of losing her husband recently and having to organise a funeral plus sorting his personal and decal business financial affairs out. She is having much more to contend with than those of us just buying a few bucks worth of decals. In the grand scheme of things, our model cars are really not all that important.

Like your second Dibnah Land Rover. Quite a contrast to your fire one. Hopefully they may get displayed somewhere by their new UK owner this side of the pond.

Thank you for the suggestions in your reply Les. I will look up MotoBitz about the wheels as possibly the best option of buying a set separately. The Tamiya Lotus 7 looks feasable, but a bit of an expensive option just t rob the wheels from it !

Auto Kits in Finsbury Pavement, London. Thanks for that correction Brian. I visited the store once and thought it was in Holborn trying to remember all those years back.

I guess the prices for using those packages reflects the many hours of development costs for each. I have heard of a 3D program named Freecad but have no idea if it is any good or not for developing stuff for 3D printing. There was a package named ProDesktop that schools all over the world used running on XP up to about 2009 promoted by the software company who developed Pro Engineer. They suddenly decided to stop supporting it and tried to push Pro Engineer Wildfire for schools. I think it was quite a complex program for kids to master and seems to have fallen by the wayside.

I hear what you said about film props being an illusion and not what they purport to be. I can imagine a truck chassis and innards being used and clad to look like something totally different like your model will portray. Ages ago I got to see the film prop spacecraft from Flight of the Navigator and the bikes from the Stallone Judge Dredd movies. I was surprised at how crudely finished they were but they looked good on screen. I like the way that you are running with this as though the vehicle was a real car built with all its relevant running gear on your model. Really makes the concept more beleivable. Took another look at Autodesk. Is Inventor a free to use program now as it has been around for some time and appears to have been replaced with Fusion?

Yessir! I agree with the arfificial. But as for intelligence ??????????? Some one is having a laugh ! And I thought the text 'corrector' that keeps changing words on my tablet when I know that I have typed them in correctly was bad enough !

Your model looks well finished and OK to me Allison. If it ain 't broke, don't try to fix it ! Better your time spent on something new perhaps in my humble opinion.

This is true craftsmanship model engineering at its very best. A combination of many skills, machining, panel beating, fabrication, soldering and brazing. printer. Doing it the Wingrove way I would call it. Traditional methods. A very different discipline to drawing up stuff in 3D Cad and letting a 3D printer make stuff for you.

It's coming off really well Matt. Just shows what can be done with those old 1960's vintage Autokits white metal car kits.

Looks a bit 'out of the box' right now, but a bit of subtle weathering will lift the model quite a bit. There are many books and on line tutorials about weathering if that side of modelling will be new to you. Also books for artists about painting buildings can yield a lot of information about the subtle colouring of various weathered buildings. So 6 out of 10 for the moment.

Alan, for future reference if you only use aerosols, try to look up specialist classic automotive paint suppliers. Many can make aerosols with the correct matching colour for you. Model colours have already been suggested in this thread that you are running with and the TS17 that Matt recommended already is a good bet to use.

Some machine tools really come into their own when attempting to either scratch build or do some serious conversion work. I have a couple of Emco Lathes, a Compact 8 like Jo has and a little Unimat 4 plus a small Clarke Metalworker Milling Machine and a small Toggle Press for forming louvers. All have proved to be a good investment. 3D printing is becoming very popular as a means of using computer aided design for downloading a program for making parts and there is nothing wrong with that approach if it works ok for the end user. The downside however is being limited to using just the one material that can be used for modelling by that method and generally overall strength is not an issue with any of the parts made. Using conventional machines does not limit one, so a variety of materials like metal, wood and plastics can all be machined and the modeller gets 'a feel' in working different materials on those machines.