Bugatti Fan

Nursery Rhyme Hey diddle diddle the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon. The little boy laughed to see such fun, and the dish ran away with the spoon! Was the writer of this on LSD of something?

Nursery Rhyme. Little Miss Muffet day on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey, when along came a spider who sat down beside her. So she trod on it!

I always thought the Wrath of Khan was a Star Trek Movie. Many outer London motorists will disagree due to ULEZ.

That old Studebaker had lovely bodywork and very European in style at the time on the chrome and find era. A lovely model with innovative use of two tone scheme.

Interesting subject build taking shape here. Being a Lancia made me think about the brand name not being sold in the UK for quite a number of yearx. One particular model of theirs got incredibly bad press as basically it had rust issues so bad that it was quoted in the motoring press as being like a vampire doused in holy water! Lancia I believe pulled out of UK sales because of the bar press it got. Since then I am sure that Lancia have upped their game and quality is as good as any other car today. I read somewhere that it did make it to the UK under the guise of being a Chrysler Ypsolon small car. Only few seemed to be sold though. Maybe someone could verify this?

This has the makings of being very impressive finished model. 1/12th is a nice scale to work in. What colour have you in mind to finish it in?

Proficiency in 3D CAD (computer aided design) is a must for projects like this as basically it is designing your own plastic kit, and the CNC (computer numerically controlled) 3D printing machine making them for you. 3D printing allows for hollows and undercuts to be made that are Impossible by normal methods to be done in one go. The drawback is the learning curve one has to go through to get proficient with any 3D CAD program. Naturally those who use it full time on industry have a flying start having got proficient and their company covering their initial training costs Strength will probably be a real trade off compared to an engineered scratch built model made by more traditional machining and hand skills in metal and wood etc.I Either method can produce really lovely models however. Just different skills needed!

Taking shape nicely!

Don't recollect seeing this TVR in the Airfix catalogue here in the UK. Maybe it is not and marketed under the Hornby brand name in the USA.

Was unaware until later in the this thread that the model is both 1/8th scale and drawn up in 3D CAD and then 3D Printed. Must have access to quite a large printer to make the chassis and seat etc. Interesting project and subject. 3D CAD and printing have revolutionised the model making process for many these days whether private individuals or a cottage industry. In the case of the cottage industry, no more master and mould making, mixing of resin and limited to when the moulds give up. No more wastage when parts come out with blow holes or distortion etc. To a certain extent for the private individual or industry you are designing and producing your own kit or parts that can be repeated ad infinitum with consistency.

Airbrushes are like anything else. You only get what you pay for unfortunately. However, there are some good air brushes that are inexpensive (relatively) from trusted makes like Paasche and Badger. Take a really cold hard look at what you want the airbrush to do for you first, and buy the best that you can afford to suit is the only advice that I can offer. Consider second hand quality ones as another option. They come onto the market normally in very good condition when owners sell on to upgrade.

Quite a departure going from your usual very highly detailed 1/12th scale models right down to 1/43rd scale Mark. This will be an interesting build to follow. I have an SMTS Jaguar E Type in 1/24th scale to build that looks a nice kit. They have a good reputation with their white metal kits. Still going strong and have a website with a nice range of 1/43rd scale kits on offer.

Never heard of Micron Art kits Pete. Fascinating little model you posted. Your post actually jogged my memory about some exquisite little plastic kits by a company named Jordan Miniatures. As it was a fire engine it made me think about many years ago that I had their Mack Ladder Chief and an Ahrens Fox Pumper. I wish I had not sold them on now. I think the kits were American in origin and I believe that Jordan had a nice range of those miniature kits. Not sure if they were N gauge or HO/OO gauge as they looked like they were made to place on railway model layouts as well as being lovely little models in their own right. Either yourself Pete or other readers might know more about Jordan Miniatures and Micron Art kits.

Veteran cars have been very under represented in kit form over the years. The only ones I can think of were made by Airfix, Revell and Gowland way back when in 1/32nd scale mainly. Aurora did a few in 1/16th scale plus one of two other kits of Japanese origin who I cannot remember. The very latest kit is of a vintage Mercedes in 1/24th scale by ICM that has photo etched wire wheels that I can think of. Not much market for them I guess. However, it is a refreshing change to see a scratch build of this Sears car taking shape. Nice thing about most veteran cars is that the chassis and bodywork are mostly quite angular. The wheels present the biggest challenge on tnem.

Jason What a brilliant job you have made of this kit that certainly captures the neglected look of a barn find. It would have been easy to have overdone it, but you have got the subtlety spot on. A model to be proud of for sure!

Might have to make a compromise on what to use if you cannot find the perfect material Francois.

Not really into F1 cars but it I were to choose one, it would have to be in that striking John Player Special livery. A splendid model taking place here in Chris's build that I am sure will be a real centre of attention when displayed.

Matt's idea looks the most feasable to attain that really subtle texture by using Halfords grey primer and not sanding it. Over in Canada there will probably be a very similar automotive grey primer that will offer you the same properties. Like Matt says, Tamiya primer will probably be too fine, and I guess that other dedicated model making primers may be similar. After the primer, airbrushing a semi gloss black should give you the finish you are trying to achieve.

Francois, I understand what you mean by trying to simulate a Rexine covering not having any perceptible grain. You may have to simply resort to spray painting it if all else fails.

Chassis taking shape well Hanjo! Will be following the rest of this build. Those museum pictures of the real car you shared really show what a lovely looking classic it is.

Francois, Black ladies glove leather may be the thing to use for the body covering as the latex balloon material is a no no. It would probably look pretty much to scale to simulate the black rexine covering on those limited edition blowers. I have used it on seats in 1/16th and 1/12th scale to good effect. It has good stretch and give qualities being so thin to be able to work around curvatures. Suggest you try contacting a glove manufacturer to see if you can buy some off cuts. A company named Pittards in the UK sold bundles of assorted off cuts for crafters to buy. I bought a bundle some years ago now, and they may still do so. Alternatively there must be leather glove manufacturers in the States of Canada you could contact. Or maybe contacting amateur craft leather workers might yield some other suppliers. HTH.

Thanks for the feedback Les. I live in Mid Beds (complete with absentee MP) not that far North of London, so no chance of seeing the aurora down here at all! Maybe I will get to do a Far North winter trip some day.

A nice eclectic variety of vehicles at the show Les. The pickup that had the Vanden Plas grille fitted was a bit novel. Did it come from a VP 1100 or a 4litre R I wonder? Living up in the Orkneys I guess you get to see the Northern Lights regularly. It is one of those things I would really like to see!

A thought about all those who have albums of pictures of those old kit builds from the 50's 60's and 70's. It may be worth having the pictures scanned and sent to the International Model Car Builders Museum for posterity.

Well I guess some of you guys will have to fly to Belgium for the Jabbeke show now that the GSL shows are no more.