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Being the glutton for punishment I appear to be I decided to start on my next project while I literally wait for paint to dry to complete my 1967 Mustang GTA convertible build. I picked up a Three Legends model set for a what I thought was a reasonable price for an early Jaguar XK-E, Datsun 240Z and a Porsche 356 Speedster. I absolutely love early Porsche air cooled cars, and especially 356s. When I was young my parents had a 1957 Porsche 356A coupe. As it turns out the Revell Porsche Speedster seems to have been originally released around 1962, and it shows it’s age. Multiple part body that has major issues. I have sense picked up an amazing Fujimi kit but for some reason I have decided to go ahead and try to make something of this really really not good kit. I will be doing a lot of fabrication, modification and scratch building on this one for sure. It will get the full LED treatment, headlights, taillights & gauge lights as well as possible steering. I assembled the body, drilled out the headlights, sanded bad seams, added reinforcements for the joined parts and added filler patches to correct the terrible rear wheel arches. I got a set of 3d printed early 356 rims, metal Porsche decals from ZoomOn, found a decent set of tires from my stash and created a template to fix the wheel arches and cut the doors more correctly. this is the box art of the set and the Porsche kit by itself. Look at how bad that looks, what was I thinking??? glued together the body cut out the headlights and checked the rear wheel arches. added the filler pieces and reinforcements. removed what I think was supposed to be wipers, they will be photo-etch later. trial fit to make sure the wheels will fit inside the fenders. I am sure the suspension will need work. This is what I am going to be going for. Scratch building the bumpers, etc. I will be going with Ivory over red interior.

Porsche 356 – a review of 1/24 diecasts A few months ago I said I would do a review of 1/24th scale diecast Porsche 356s. With the help of fellow board member Tim I have been able to complete my Porsche 356 diecast collection and so offer these for your consideration, but warn you there is some mystery involved. The Porsche 356 came in 4 series: A, B, C, and Super 90 with a wheelbase of 2100mm. However there were variations within each series making identification challenging. Porsche 356/1 – 1948 A prototype that differs from later 356s because of its engine location amidships. Both Maisto and Welly offer similar versions of the 356/1. Porsche 356A Speedster– 1957 a diecast made of brass was offered by Precision Classics, rare and expensive. Photo from eBay. Porsche 356A Speedster – 1955 Franklin Mint which is up to mint standards but the headlamps have pseudo wire covers which were not factory stock. Porsche 356B – 1961 BBurago, Motormax, and Welly have offered coupes and cabriolets in various colors with interiors of black or tan mixed with black rear seat. However they are large in size and bigger than the 1/24 scale as labeled. These all look very much alike but detail differences in the castings indicate they are not from the same molds. The chassis plates also differ between brands. BBurago Coupe Welly Cabriolet Welly Cabriolet Motormax Coupe Porsche 356C – 1963 Also available are Superior and Sunnyside versions with front vent windows which could make these 356C models. Porsche 356 Super 90 Cabriolet – 1962 Metro/Leo Models/ Hachette a true 1/24th scale. # Series Brand Wheel Base mm Scale Notes Engine Poseable Front Wheels 1 356/1 1948 Maisto/Welly 86.56 1/24.2 Silver Roadster Yes 2 356A Speedster 1955 Franklin Mint 87.77 1/23.9 Red Cabriolet Yes Yes 3 356A Speedster 1957 Precision Classics Unknown 1/24? Brass Yes 4 356B 1961 BBurago 92.41 1/22,7 Red Cabriolet Yes Yes 5 356B 1961 Motormax 95.06 1/22.1 Blue Coupe Yes 6 356B/C 1961 Superior/Sunnyside 90.70 1/23.1 Blue Coupe Yes 7 356B 1961 Welly 95.95 1/21.8 Red Cabriolet Yes No 8 356B 1961 Welly 95.95 1/21.8 Silver Cabriolet Yes No 9 Super 90 1962 Metro/Leo/Hachette 88.32 1/23.7 Red Cabriolet Yes No 2100mm/87.5 The mystery part? Why are the various 356Bs from multiple brands so big and why do the cabriolets and coupes have mixed color interiors? Why do some Superior and Sunnyside coupes have front vent windows which would make them C series yet are labeled as Bs? Comments, Corrections, and Additions (Snake Fu entries) are welcome. This review was focused upon the 1/24 diecast models and does not include the plastic kits which were produced by others.