Coors54

I watched that on YouTube the other day, I thought Ben Collins was a bit too keen to hear his own voice and opinions rather than Jody's. The whole thing was a puff for the Bonhams auction but he could have asked the why question. And don't get me going on the statement that the Ferrari 312T4 is beautiful car! Really? Anyway @Reini78, the Wolf looks lovely, I have one comment - no tyre logo's, I think they add character to models and the wheels look odd without them (to my eye). I have the 1/12 kit in the to do pile - 1977 British GP, it's number three in the queue. Dave

Amen to that. I passed (2nd try) in 1975 in my powder blue F reg (1967) Morris 1100 aka Maggie The Morris. My first car, Maggie was - ahem - a little perforated by the tin worm. In truth she was a death trap and despite my Dad's best efforts to keep her going (fibreglass front end and copious welding repairs) we sold her for £50 to another poor soul who got T-boned in a low speed accident within days and Maggie disintegrated into a million (rusty) pieces. Which paved the way for my H reg Brabham Viva.........happy days. Dave

Thanks Malc, I agree with you about the colour being subjective (isn't it always?) and I appreciate your input. I want to make Regazzoni's British GP car from '77 as the car expired during practise right by us at Abbey Curve (I think, - you could wander at will around the circuit in those days, even take your car around the outside track) and somewhere I have a poor black and white Instamatic picture of him on the bank by the marshals post. He was obviously upset by the car breaking down and subsequently DNQ but after a while was happy to chat (or shout due to noise and distance), he said the engine had gone tight. I remember the car being very dark but that's all. I wonder if @PatW was on duty that day? Be an amazing coincidence if that was his marshals post. Dave

Vesa's link to the old Scale Models magazine came up trumps and the copy arrived this morning, - what a blast from the past! The Ensign article was interesting and the plans are at least to scale but no mention of colours at all! Bummer.... Anyway I thought I would show you what I've done so far, it's all a bit rough at the moment but I'm reasonably happy with the basic shapes.

Where does it say they don't ship to the UK on the website? I read it that they ship internationally by USPS, I assume you will be liable for import duty charges but there's no reason why they can't deal with the UK otherwise. Have you tried to order and it won't accept it? Some nice looking stuff there. Dave

My wife and I have been making our way through Madam Secretary a US drama series showing on UKTV Play. It probably sends US right wingers into a conniption fit but it's reasonable lunchtime TV and Tea Leoni is easy on the eye. Anyway plastic modelling has made a couple of appearances, once when the main characters husband decided he wanted to complete a Renwall Visible V8 that he couldn't get to work when he built it as a boy and as a way of bonding with his son in a way he couldn't with his own father. This thread appeared in a couple of episodes, it was treated as a normal and sensible pastime and was successfully completed. The episode we watched yesterday lunchtime again featured building models as therapy, a stressed Chief of Staff to the president reveals he used to enjoy modelling in his youth, it appealed to his need to control things and quietly produce something that was in his mind onto his table. His favourite plane was an F4U Corsair. So despite him saying he was now an adult a little later we see him unpacking all new tools and cutting mat and there is a 1/48 Revell F4U model that he sets about making. My wife seemed quite impressed that my hobby was being treated seriously as a way for people to relax and I was impressed that the writers keep returning to it. Dave

I downloaded a set of plans from the internet and along with all the photos I can get have been using the Mark 1 eyeball. It’s not going to be accurate to the millimetre but it’s going to look the part. The bonus of the Garagista period is that teams copied designs and even seemed to share parts. The cockpit surround and one design of roll bar on the Ensign look suspiciously like Tyrrell parts. Thanks to Vesa for the magazine link a copy is on the way. Dave

Your memory does you credit @Flintstone, a Google search reveals that the May 1978 issue has plans for the N177. Typically there don't seem to be any copies for sale on the 'Bay or anywhere else at the moment. Another moment when you regret binning all those magazines........ Dave

A question for the Britmodeller hive mind, I'm building a 1/12 semi scratch Ensign N177 using an old Mclaren M23 tub as a basis and although I'm some way from applying any paint I wondered if anyone had any suggestions as to the colour used on Regazzoni's Tissot sponsored car? It's a very dark blue but not quite midnight blue. I know a lot of teams at that time used off the shelf automotive colours (Brabham using VW Mars Red on their BT45 for example) so wondered if cash strapped Ensign did the same thing? I reckon @Malc2 might know something! Dave

I'll take that red TR6, just the right of level of meanness and it looks as though it's meant to be driven and enjoyed. Great photos Matt.

Afternoon Steve, thank you for your comments, searching Grover-Williams on t'internet reveals lots of different variations of his life and several references to the post war mystery, here's one from an article in the Scotsman newspaper - "Yet there are many who believe that Grover survived. One rumour had a mysterious man signing autographs at race meetings as “Williams”, another insisted he lived on as a grocer in Surrey. Recently released government documents report that, in 1947, a man named Grover-Williams was relocated to the USA by MI6 officers in Berlin, which would fit with the testimony of SS officer Kurt Eccarius, who insisted that Grover-Williams was taken to Berlin in January 1945 and then to Rawicz prison camp in Poland just before it was overrun by the Red Army. Some historians have speculated that he was used by MI6 from 1945 to 1947, pointing to a photograph of Sachenhausen apparently annotated in his handwriting. MI6 says it knows what happened to him but refuses to provide any more detail. Beatrice van Lith, Robert Benoist’s granddaughter, is convinced that Grover-Williams survived. Her research revealed that, in 1948, a man named Georges Tambal – who shared Willy’s birthday, had a gift for mechanics and who bore marks of severe beatings on his head – moved in with Willy’s wife Yvonne at her Evreux home, where locals said they lived like man and wife. Tambal said he’d come from America via Uganda, two places where Willy had family ties (he picked up two giraffes on the way, which he sold to a local zoo). Finally, when the mayor of Evreux asked Tambal to sign the register at the town hall, as required by law, he got a visit from the Gendarmerie ordering him to waive the requirement. If Tambal was Willy, then his death would have been unusually poignant. Moving to Agen on Yvonne’s death in 1973, he died ten years later when he was knocked off his bike – by a German tourist driving a Mercedes." He was also the subject of a novel by Robert Ryan "Early One Morning" which does take a few liberties but threads the post war mystery in very well. All in all a fascinating story and even if he hadn't won Monaco in '29 he's worth celebrating. Dave

Following @triumphfan's cracking build of the same car, here is my effort. I really liked the kit, on the whole it went together well, rather too many screwed fixings but in the end it is a fairly robust structure. I added 3D printed body fixing bolts from Unobtanium, these are designed for the 1/12 Alfa Romeo so not quite correct, Decalgas introduced a correct set recently so when I do another I shall use those. I tried several methods of depicting the safety wiring but ended up colouring some fishing line and winding that around the bolt heads. Anyway here are a couple of pictures of the real thing and its remarkable driver, the winner of the first Monaco Grand Prix. Grover-Williams retired from racing in the early Thirties and went to live in rural France with his wife (herself the ex mistress of his one time employer!) to breed dogs. On the outbreak of war he returned to the UK and enlisted but as he spoke fluent French was soon recruited into SOE. Back in France he co ordinated Resistance groups but was betrayed and captured. He was tortured and finally sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp where he was reported to have died in early 1945. But there are stories that he survived and British Intelligence used him post war and in the mid Fifties his widow took up with a man that looked remarkably like Grover-Williams but was said to be her cousin. This man was knocked off his bike and killed in 1986. A strange and intriguing story. Anyway here is my model: Just noticed the tail of the two has gone missing....... Bodywork is finished in Halfords Brooklands green spray paint and polished. I didn't make my bonnet operable, it's possible as @triumphfan has shown but it's an act of faith to stretch the radiator to make the pins fit so I opted for a drop on section. I used some fine leather to make the straps and used solder to replace the kit supplied buckles. The grey blob on the seat is my attempt to show Grover-Williams' distinctive grey racing cap and goggles, no helmet for him. The base is a sample of engineered wood flooring with a hockey stick profile edging, I just need to order a custom case to fit it now. This isn't my normal period of interest and although old I never saw either the car or Grover-Williams race but the first race meeting I ever went to was a VSCC spring meeting at Silverstone in 1972 where there were loads of Bugatti's racing plus the mighty Itala, so the car just fits into my collection criteria. Hope you like it as much as I do. Dave

I did some research back in 2002 for a full size project for a TV program on the Dams raid and accessed the National Archive and the Barnes Wallis papers held by Imperial College (now with the Science Museum collection I believe) and one thing that stuck with me were the instructions on colour for the mines. They were quite specific that they were to be painted green with suitable standard explosive colour coding, - now that's not to say that some were in primer coat only after being rushed to Scampton. So I would say in the absence of many photographs it's your choice, they should have been green but probably not all were. Dave

I'm up to ep.3 Matt and Mrs Coors and I are both enjoying it. The story seems to be told as more of a Japanese power and intrigue tale with some Europeans involved rather than the "stranger in a strange land" aspect that the 1980's series (and to a lesser degree the book ) did. It's rollicking along and I agree that the Blackthorne character sounds very Richard Burton. I'm told it was all shot in Canada in front of a green screen (it does look damn cold a lot of the time). Mrs Coors doesn't like the CGI and the lighting much, and the naval scenes are NOT terribly convincing but I'm loving the costumes, particularly the Japanese soldiers. So far it's a solid 7.5 out of 10 from us. Dave

No, not far but I think I may delay a while as direct comparisons with yours will be a little embarrassing for me! I noted that in a comment you made on @kpnuts build thread so I took a different route and omitted the hinge pins and made the bonnet a complete unit that lifts off, my straps are strictly non functioning. Dave

You beat me to it @triumphfan! I've been building the exact same thing and I've got a few details to finish. Grover-Williams' story is both intriguing and inspiring, I think there's a Netflix series just waiting to be made about him. I agree with you, I think it's a very good kit with just a few design problems, the steering box being the main one but then I've always thought that the "working" features in car kits are a weakness and really pointless, the medium isn't strong enough, leave it to die casts. I like your solution to the body wiring, I've replaced the nuts on mine for 3D printed ones and wired it with fishing line. The pattern on #12 isn't so strange on cars of the period, the diagonal wiring seems to be a more modern affectation for its looks. Love the finish you've got on the bodywork, what colour did you use? Excellent work on the bonnet and spare wheel strapping, I struggled with mine, it's one of the fiddliest parts of the build so to make it all work is a triumph (see what I did there? 🤣) Great job. Dave

Initially I felt the same but on reflection I think this was deliberate to try and make the viewer feel something that friends and colleagues back at base would feel when a popular figure just "disappears" on a mission. What happened? Where did he go? Is he alive? I have warmed to the series as it's gone along, variable CGI and all, it's trying to tell a very big story in a way that general audiences can digest and some of Crosby's voice overs in Ep.6 & 7 have helped (although I thought that by March 1944 Overlord targets were the order of the day for the Eighth and Bomber Command rather than Berlin but it's something I know little about). Others have mentioned the the English Subaltern's appearance, I think she comes into again in the later episodes, she's got to be an SOE operative. Anyway Bel Powley is lovely, - try and catch A Small Light, she's great in it. Dave

Sounds like you and I have different kits @kpnuts! I'm in the middle of my build and I've been quite impressed with the level of detail and fit, - yes the nuts and bolts detail is a little soft but I always remove them and replace with aftermarket anyway. I didn't think it was any worse than the later Tamiya F1 kits. For Italeri it's a good one IMHO. I've just been assembling the brakes back plates and the moulded on bolt detail comes up fine with some careful painting and highlighting, the large adjuster bolts being particularly good (glad I didn't cut them off and replace). The brake cable attachments on the chassis frame as supplied are a bit agricultural but with some thought and scratch building can be improved - after all the real thing isn't exactly super finessed! I look forward to seeing what you do with the rest of the kit. Dave

Dale, Are they the trunnions that the suspension arms mount into? Dave

Good man @shalebing, a car from a time when you felt rally cars were (almost) like the one you were driving yourself. Shame my MKII repmobile was a 1300GL - miles from a BDA but I chased the RAC Rally around Wales as if it was! It's a good question, it might depend on the basic colour, as the photo on the box shows, the door shut at the front is quite visible on the white scheme. Maybe try a pin wash with a water soluble acrylic? Then if you make a Horlicks of it or don't like it you can wash it off? A very dark grey will work better than black, that's usually too stark. Games Workshop do a wash called Nuln Oil which I find very useful. Dave

Maybe the OP just wants a one stop detailing book? In which case the ADH How to by Brett Green might fit the bill - https://www.scalemates.com/books/tamiyas-1-32-p-51d-mustang-how-build-x-brett-green--110545 There's one on eBay at the mo' for a tenner. Dave

I knew there were some shortened tails!!! Good old PO, she was just about retired when I was there, and in oil dispersant flight colours. The Hangar 7 team made a huge effort to get seven Daks serviceable in order to do a mass flypast for the 2000 Coventry airshow. I managed to cadge a ride on one of the rehearsal flights and sat in the doorway of RA like Dick Winters, watching the other aircraft form up and bob about as we flew up the runway! I loved doing hangar tours and pleasure flying days, the looks of fear and happiness of passengers faces..... Dave

Although produced as C-47's when I worked there they were always referred to as the Dak or DC-3 (frequently "that bl@@dy thing as well!), probably to fit in with the companies DC-6's and each aircraft by the the last 2 of its registration All the manuals were for the C-47 and interesting reading they made, the IPC particularly with pages of part numbers for the military options and it was rare that a parts search on the ILS data base drew a blank, there was and probably still is, truck loads of spares around. The schemes you guys remember were way before my time, I hold my hand up to introducing the black belly/green stripe scheme to both the Dak and the DC-6, I thought they looked rather smart! Note full tail cone (I seem to remember that at least one a/c had the shortened glider tow type tail) and "speed" doors on the undercarriage. We did repaint G-AMPZ from the RAF Transport Command colours when she was sold to a German company for use as a pleasure flyer from Berlin Templehof, the customer specified a Mercedes silver for the colour. I'm just realising this was all over 20 years ago and how much I've forgotten about, really regret not taking more pictures, oh for a camera phone! Dave PS Good luck with the decal search.

I am a third of the way through The English Fuhrer, partly based on seeing @Whofan mention it here then Amazon offered it on Kindle for not very much. I can see why they did, I haven't read any other of the Tom Wilde series but any author who bases his story in late 1945 then introduces a USAF officer from a nearby USAF airbase and then refers to HER Majesties Government needs taking aside and given a good shaking! I shall persevere but I'm severely disappointed at the moment but I'm interested in others comments on the book. I have The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian (again) waiting for me next week while I'm sailing in the Adriatic, I shall try not to board any passing French yachts! Dave

The fin top beacon is a sixties (?) era item fitted to conform to later lighting standards (I think most Vietnam era C-47's had them) so wouldn't be used on wartime (WW2 era) airframes. None of the airframes I worked on at Atlantique had the fin top beacon, even in the early naughties. Dave