Bugatti Fan

Pete. Yes it was the Alclad Candy Colours I was referring to as Translucent Colours. Come to think of it I think that the UK company probably referred to them as Candy Colours too. Joe. Thanks for the feedback about Polks. Looks like they were a big outfit back in the day. Your SfanGoch avatar intrigues me as it sounds a bit like a Welsh language name, but I probably got that totally wrong!

I did a build article that appeared in the magazine a few years back that might help if you can get a back issue. The model was built some years before the article was printed and I used the kit wheels on the front steering that I subsequently found to be incorrect.

Nice restoration Matt. I can remember building one of these way back. Those old Merit car kits are well worth restoring or building with up to date accessories and materials. A range of 1950's racers in the main as I remember. All the Merit car kit moulds save 2 were sold on to a toy company in Italy back in the 70's. Their Alfetta and Talbot Lago kits have been made available via SMER and Atlantis since. They were the only two with engine details that I can remember apart from the little Cooper.

Ray, you may be able to restore the chrome finish in the places where worn using C1 Polishing Powder. It has the consistency of graphite powder and is simply applied and buffed up to a shine. Look it up on C1 Models website.

This thread makes interesting reading with many differing viewpoints about paints. I mentioned Zero Paints from Hiroboy in the UK, but forgot to mention Alclad's translucent custom colours to go over metallic base costs of silver, gold, copper or brass effect paints. The UK Alclad Company (as was before the name was copyrighted as a trademark by the US company) used to take demo pieces around to the model shows that looked really good for custom car modellers. I don't know if the US company carries those translucent colours of not. What comes across from many comments is how this or that paint performs. But one has to bear in mind that art and craft acrylics are designed for a completely different market altogether. It is not that their quality is inferior in any way to dedicated modelling paints, it is just that they are formulated to do a different job. But having said that, experimenting with them can yield some surprisingly good results depending on what end result you are looking for. Have a look at what masterpieces figure modellers turn out painted in artists acrylics and oil paints. Oils take forever to dry out but that quality enables much subtle shading and blending to be achieved. Horses for courses as far as paint selection goes. I go along with the rule that everything has to be prepped and primed. The basics need to be adhered to. Any paint job depends on this whether on a model, a full size vehicle or a household decorating job. You simply cannot skimp on this. Joe in NYC mentioned the demise of model shops there. I seem to remember a model shop named Polks who advertised extensively in many modelling magazines being NY based. Maybe I got that wrong, but Joe probably might know.

Zero paints available from Hiroboy UK. Best I have used. Airbrush. They go on flat. Have to clear gloss afterwards. Have matching car colours available like Vaillant Green for example specifically aimed at car modellers. Look at the range on their website. There must be a USA distributor also I would imagine.

This nice build might just encourage me to get my kit down from the shelf where it has been languishing for years since I first bought it.

A very nice fun project where the imagination lets rip! Look forward to seeing it finished soon enough.

That is going to be one impressive model Ray. We all lose our mojo now and again. Just don't depart with all your model making stuff if you pack it in. You may come to regret it if you decide to come back to it.

Sudden realisation gets to us all eventually! Too many kits. Too little life left to build them! Been there, done that and got the tee shirt so to speak. Had a massive clear out some time ago and know what? I don't even remember half of what I got rid of. Must have been impulse buys in the past that were just sitting in the loft gathering dust. I'm down to about just 20 kits that I intend to build and resisting buying more. A bit of a more manageable situation as the remaining kits are what really interests me, so have a good chance of being built.

Forever flash fettling and filing is a thing I can remember with those old Hubley hybrid die cast and plastic kits! But with a bit of work can produce nice models like this restoration project has shown.

Is the revamp of the magazine due to it being under new ownership?

Joe's suggestion about using an Exacto of similar chisel blade would give good control being handle mounted using a Photo Etch Bending clamp tool. A single edged razor blade might also be used an alternative on the clamp tool and as it has a solid steel back edge can also be tapped with a small hammer using the alternative method that Steve described in his post.

You really get lucky if a previously built model comes apart without a bit of superficial damage to repair. Par for the course taking old models apart. All the suggestions posted previously are good ones and it is a matter of suck it and see to a certain extent what works best depending on the model being worked on.

Sorry Pete, Joe and Brian I meant 1/43rd scale and not 1/64th in my post so you were all quite right in picking me up on it. I have inserted a correction in it to straighten out what I meant. Freudian slip. Senior moment. Call it what you will guys! Should have known that having built 1/43rd scale models in the past. What a pillock!

The Pocher 1/8th scale Bugatti T50 kit. They now go for silly money on Ebay. Even a started kit or restorable model would suffice if nothing is missing from it. So yes, cost and availability does make this a 'Holy Grail' kit.

I always thought that 1/32nd was the 'traditional' slot racing scale. Over here in the UK 1/64th scale is the equivalent of 'O' Gauge model railways. It was originally I believe introduced by the Hornby Company with their Dinky Toys range. Correcton. Since posting this my error was picked up by some of you guys. 1/64th should have read 1/43rd. My mistake entirely and I stand corrected.

Strange that 1/18th scale has really taken off over the years as the go to larger scale in ready built die cast model cars, from the cheaper Buragos up to the highly detailed CMC offerings, but the kit industry has shown little or no interest in that scale.

Reports have just come in that a car has collided with a London bus carrying 68 Japanese tourists. The Metropolitan Police have announced that there were no injuries reported and have 2157 pictures of the incident.

Quite right Pete! I did not elaborate enough about what paints that white spirit is most suitable for. You have explained about this quite eloquently in your last post. I keep some white spirit and Tamiya acrylic thinners both to hand on the work bench.

From large to little! Very nice little model having followed your big Lola build too Mark.

This is a very nice build of what looks to be a very good kit. Airfix have made some really nice 1/32nd scale car kits in recent years. Not sure why they stick with this scale though whilst 1/24th is so much more popular. And now they are beginning to go into 1/43rd scale too.

I suggested Tamiya thinners earlier to make the paint more fluid. Having said that I personally use a black acrylic like Revell Aquacolour or an Artists acrylic like Liquitex or Winsor and Newton thinned to an almost watery consistency and use a mapping pen that is an old fashioned dip pen with a fine nib to follow the gap lines. Much easier than a brush once you get the hang of it. Scoring the lines a bit deeper on the kit before priming and painting will assist capillary action to make the thinner paint flow along gap lines I have found. It sticking with the Tamiya try thinning it as much as possible and use the dip pen method as you will probably be able to lift just the more fluid element of the paint when dipping the nib. Besides art suppliers, you may be able to obtain a fine nibbed calligraphy dip pen at a good stationers.

Looking at threads on this forum that appear interesting to find the pictures cannot be viewed! Annoying!

Nice little mildly customised pickup with the Minilites and the chrome grille. I worked for a company back in the 70's and got to drive their Mini Pickup quite a bit. It was a bog standard grey vehicle and very basic. No interior door panels but just a large pocket on each door. The windows were designed with a slidng motion to open and close and a hanging cord across the door to pull open the door catch. Could not be more basic! Restored versions now are very valuable simply due to their scarcity, and a number that have survived have been mildly customised in a similar fashion to Chuck's excellent model.