Fastcat

Yes, you can see it on their website. The resin body was mastered by Etienne Dhont of Renaissance. It's not in production at the moment. Dave

Weight is a factor but not the only one. Starter never made many F1 cars and the spindly suspension and attachment points of modern F1 cars would be very difficult to reproduce. That said, Renaissance do some very nice GP cars in resin. I've got a 1/24th. Alfa 308 from Profil24 and everything, as far as possible, is made in resin, even the suspension. But that's down to the maker's preference - I can't help but think it would be better with metal suspension. For instance - Tameo historically rarely uses anything other than metal, as does SMTS. Renaissance relies on resin, BBR uses resin, Profil uses resin, K&R used to use resin but now use white metal, SRC invariably used white metal, Meri used white metal and MFH seem to use a mixture of the two. SEF and Autokits, given SEF's model train origins, unsurprisingly rely on metal. In some ways, I prefer metal as the edges need less work to thin and as an engineer I can use solder but I like the crispness of resin. The Morgan above is from an Autokit "Beetleback" kit. Dave

The problem with die cast bodies is that they are very hard and consequently are not easy to set or clean up with a file or abrasive. SMTS use a white metal which uses a different casting method and is much easier to work. Interestingly, I had one of the original K&R Jaguar C Types and they used a cast resin body, mated with white metal running gear which I think was standard throughout the range. Later versions used a much thinner white metal casting for the body. I think that was a retrograde step as the resin was superb and held detail well. Also, when SMTS did the Lindner lightweight E Type in 1/24th., they too used a resin body paired with white metal running gear. I may be wrong, but I think the Chinese also use resin for their bodies on ready-builts. Resin doesn't take too kindly to the exposed suspension of F1 or GP cars. Also, white metal and resin are better for shorter production runs. Dave

SMTS also did a range of all-metal motorbike kits. I think they were about 1/18 scale and were originally made as builts for someone like Franklin Mint. They were very good castings and covered some good subjects. I think they did (and still do in the case of the Indian) an Indian, a Norton Commando and a BSA Gold Star amongst others. I have the Goldie and it's a good kit. Dave

Hi Trevor and many thanks to both you and Roger for the kind comments. I like Michael Portaro's (Indycals) but preferred the Cartograf decals supplied with the kit. They were easy to use and thin without being transparent plus the carrier film didn't need trimming on the many decals used on the kit. I'm sure Cartograf's stuff is a little thinner than Indycals or it was when I built the kit some 10 years back but some modellers don't like Cartograf and I'm not sure why. I've always found them to be excellent. I wouldn't hesitate to use Indycals, in fact I also bought a set to make the Provimi Veal car in case the decals in the kit were unusable and they enable much more choice with the AMT or Monogram kits. Dave

Some time ago I had a brief flirtation with the mobile billboards that run at colossal speeds at Indianapolis. Tameo, in the interests of something different produced a small series of Indycars and because I liked the colour of Bobby Rahal's car, I got one. The kits are quite poor by their current standards as is only to be expected for a kit of this age. I'm pretty sure that Tameo used models from the AMT or Monogram ranges which are themselves generic so that producing a specific racecar becomes even more difficult. It was common to use a completely different body for road circuits to ovals not to mention alterations to the wings, both front and back. The Lola is in oval speedway form as I liked the more rakish look. Thus you were left with a model of a model, perhaps not an ideal starting point. I remade the front wings from metal, scratch-built the interior and much of the engine, thinned out the bodywork and rear wing, remade the wing supports and hollowed out the intakes. Radiators and fasteners were added and the suspension re-modelled, only using refined kit parts where necessary. One glaring error was that the drive train was far too long and was shortened accordingly. I bought a set of decals from Indycals in the States as Tameo's outlining of the major sponsors was too dark and Indycal's was judged correct being a paler blue but in the event, didn't use them as they were a bit thick and required cutting up separately. I don't think the discrepancy is too noticeable in this scale. Incidentally, the original decals (Cartograf) performed beautifully although at the time, they were over 25 years old. Would I recommend the kit? Only to a hardened masochist. Dave

Hi Mark, Folks tend to have their own method which always works for them. I use self-coloured paper from a magazine, cut to width, buckles from p/e meant for horse harness or rifle straps and the whole assembly sprayed with a clear matt finish. The edges of the straps can be a bit stark but they can be dulled down with a felt tipped pen. Buckles can also be made from thin wire if p/e isn't suitable, Both the models shown were "strapped" using these methods. Straps are held in place with non-fogging super-glue but a less risky method is to use white glue or canopy glue. The Mercedes is 1/43 but the Jag is 1/24. Dave

Thanks Trevor But I think these are now promised. Thank you all the same. Dave

Hi, I've just put a small number of Pit Road magazines to get rid of in the "Free to a Good Home" section for anyone interested. Seems a shame to just recycle 'em if someone finds them of interest. Most likely any interest would come from this area. Dave

Hi guy from quebec, I have been unable to find the source of the photo either and it's possible that it dates from when work was still in progress on the cars. It's almost certainly one of the new Blowers because all the engine and chassis parts are pristine, something rarely seen on a 90 year old car and also the parts seem to match those in a more complete stage of construction. If you haven't already found them, here are some useful sites although many have similar pictures. link link1 link2 link3 It's an interesting project - just not as straightforward as it should be. Dave

Hi J ö r g e n, I'm not sure who these are credited to as there is no name on the photos. The text on the photos is in German and the film used is Agfa in a Leitz camera so it's unlikely to be George Monkhouse. The link is a Klemantaski shot, again a Merc, from the Swiss GP. Dave

Hi Bengalensis, Although the subject is an Auto-Union, I am certain that the Mercedes 154s used red race numbers on silver bodywork as proven by rare Agfa Colourfilm of their race cars at the Reims Grand Prix, also of colour photos of them before a race. I'm sure these aren't coloured images as they have photographic details on them. Different team but most likely to safely assume similar colours. Also it's known that Auto Union used red numbers in the same GP. Dave

Hi Keith, The flexible bits are OK if you treat them pretty much as you'd treat ordinary plastic parts. They can be painted with enamels ( I dry-brushed them as the real car I was modelling had black upholstery). I think I stuck them in place with 5 min. epoxy. Mine were a good fit but they're very easily persuaded to fit well. Altering them or trimming is an entirely different matter though. They don't respond to abrasives like a harder plastic. You just need to be a bit more careful with them but why Gunze thought it was a good idea to use a flexible material in the first place................................ Dave PS Mine was finished in an awful sandy-brown colour. Not entirely convinced that that was a good idea either.

Hi Spiny, I've built the Elan some time ago for a client ( I used to build kits for people who couldn't make their own!) - it's a nice kit. I had to make a roll cage and belts for it but otherwise, it was from the box. Even Gunze's silly flexible parts looked OK. Only problem I had was with the paint and only on the bonnet - I used a full-size car spray can as usual. Maybe it was a fault with the plastic or a problem with the paint. In the end I just kept rubbing it down and respraying until it was OK. Otherwise, a nice, straightforward kit. Dave

Hi PhilX and thank you. I hope you enjoy your build. The resin tyres from Paul Fisher in the States (sadly no longer available following Fisher's loss due to the California fires) make a real difference over those in the kit. There are more spokes in the wire wheels than the kit p/e parts too. Perhaps there are now better 3D printed items available or better alternatives from Profil24, Renaissance or MFH. More expense but a real improvement in my opinion. Dave