Bugatti Fan

Charlie . Thanks for coming back about the Argentinian's concept artwork that explains the T number. It's always interesting to see concept cars based on classics of the past. Lindbergh did a plastic kit of the Chrysler Atlantic concept car that had old Bugatti styling influences. Your model is well on the way to completion and it has made very interesting reading following your build. Model engineering in its truest form, and really looking forward to seeing it when completed.

Tim, your build article that you linked brought back memories of building that kit when it was first released. Don't know what colour you sprayed it, but it looks very similar to the AMT lacquer thaI I did mine in all those years ago. I'm sure that I have another build article for it in a folder taken from the old Model Car Science when the kit was current. Will have to look it out as I think it might be one of Don Emmons articles from way back.

Very satisfying work restoring old builds.

Lashing out 550 bucks is crazy just for an old Monogram plastic kit. Having built it first time around many years ago I don't really have the desire to build another. But it is a very good thing that someone has developed 3D printing files for it, as I appreciate that there are many modellers out there who would like to build a model of Steve Scott's old show car. The 3D printed parts that Zippi produced look really good, and probably better defined than the original Monogram kit. The wire wheels in particular. A few years ago there was also a resin kit that someone in Australia produced. Not sure who did it or if still available. I believe that the original full size car has been found after many years of neglect in storage, and is now being restored to go on to the show for circuit again.

Polystyrene plastic goes brittle due to deterioration when it gets old. Guess that's the problem you have. Sometimes, depending on the model, it can be rescued with a bit of scratch building of some parts where it is possible to do so. You may have to bite the bullet and call it a day if you find that are flogging a dead horse with this one ! Some of the older kits also had rubber tyres rather than vinyl that might perish after a number of years.

Like Les (Stitchup) I tend to use automotive acrylics. I have airbrushes that I can use competently but tend there days to go for auto acrylics used straight from an aerosol. Get good results from them plus auto paint suppliers can make up specific auto colour mixes in aerosols for most car types that are long gone. I guess I am just getting a bit too lazy to fiddle about with air brushes for overall spraying !

Sanding around individual rivets on this scale is virtually nigh on impossible if it is already an integral part of a built up old model that you are trying to restore. If there is a way of removing the rivet detailed item from the model I would suggest that immersing the removed part in a paint stripper that will not affect plastic may be the best route to follow to get the thing back to bare plastic without damaging the rivet detailing itself.

A scratch build of the finest order using traditional model engineering techniques. A bit intrigued with the Bugatti T41 assignment though as Bugatti's Royale was their Type 41 ?

Another nice classic taking shape in Matt's collection. That Magnette the is a nice looking motor. If one is into building 1/24th scale Classic MG's the Autokits white metal series would serve MG enthusiasts quite well.

Ok Greg. I misinterpreted what you were attempting to do with the torch. Hope others might find my tip useful as a result.

Nice model T photos Les. I particularly liked Pie Bob's pick up with the wire wheels.

Not sure that Cooper would have had much to do with this one. Lol. Not exactly a Mini any more, but what a concept machine ! Should whet a few model builder's appetites !

Greg. A setup that might work well for you is what works for me. I would suggest that you get two angle poise lamps and mount one on each side of your bench with bright daylight (cold light) led bulbs equivalent to 60w fitted. Gives good overall light and each can be pulled into position for more directional light where you need it. To avoid glare into my eyes I wear an old baseball cap with a long peak. Hope this suggestion helps.

Any good concentrated detergent washing up liquid should work using an old toothbrush or paintbrush to give the parts a thorough going over, then rinsed off with water and left to dry.

A really superb build. Those wheels make all the difference. Just shows what can be done with those quite elderly kits. Airfix made a little Bugatti 35B to compliment the Alfa that was also a nice kit from that time.

Nice to see a vintage classic car for a change. Lovely build !

A title of one of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns just about sums up social media generally in very few words. THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY.

This flight of fantasy is really going places now!

You might know more about what happened to it Guido as you were a moderator on that site. Incidentally, out of curiosity who set up and owns the Scalemotorcars site? Any contact details?

Was it the Beastie Boys who hung VW badges around their necks and inadvertently caused a spate of VW badge thefts from cars all over the place?

Lovely model.Matt. Certainly captures the glitz of luxury American care of that era .

The car's 5 year mission, to seek out new model makers in new civilisations To boldly go where no model car has gone before ? Nice themed build !

To Facebook or not to Facebook ? That is the question ! Like most open unmoderated social media outlets, there is a lot of good stuff to look at on there but there is also an awful lot of dross too ! I have chosen not to use FB. You tube can be a media outlet that also suffers as I get the impression that there are a great many so called experts who are self opinionated mediocre model makers striving to get their viewing numbers up to a point that attracts commercial advertisers and therefore becomes a cash incentive for them to keep churning out average builds. Good stuff can unfortunately get lost in amongst the quagmire of average output. But at least with YouTube one does not have to sign up to look at anything on it like FB.I Quite happy using forums like this one !

Thanks for that link Les. I was not aware of the site you suggested. Looks really interesting. It shows much more of what went into Roger Zimmerman's Lincoln build than in the gallery of the site I mentioned. It's the sort of build feature that the old Scalemotorcars site was renowned for. Sadly missed !

It packed up about two years ago I think. The site was having some real problems. Very slow to access and use and just became irritating in the end. The whole thing just got screwed up in the end. It was a real shame it went as there were many good scratch build model makers contributions on it usually in larger scales and that was its strength as I used it as a complimentary site to this one. A good example is a Swiss scratch builder Roger Zimmerman'x Lincoln Continental build feature. If you have a look in the Model Motorcars Ltd website there are photos of Roger's build on their gallery on it along with with loads of other large scale stuff. The site is a commercial one and sells upgrade parts for the Pocher car kit ranges.