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Type AG London Taxi (35658) 1:35 ICM via Hannants Ltd. The Renault built Type AG Taxi de la Marne got its name after a fleet of these vehicles were pressed into service transporting French troops to the First Battle of the Marne in WWI. It was very popular as it was one of the first taxis to be able to automatically calculate the fare due to the inclusion of a meter in the interior. As well as service during the early war it was also popular in Paris and London in the early 1900s. Over 1100 were used in London at the time. The Kit This is downsizing of the 1/24 scale kit, and depicts a colourful rendition of the vehicle in civilian service. It arrives in ICM's standard top-opening box with a captive inner lid, and inside are two sprues in grey styrene, a single clear sprue, three flexible sprues with black tyres plus the spare, decal sheet and instruction manual. It is a full detail kit with 10hp engine and detailed underside plus crystal clear glazing panels for the enclosed passenger cab. Construction begins with the chassis rails with moulded-in rear leaf-springs and two cross-members that make up the chassis. The running boards and fenders are then fitted to this. The cab is then built up with the rear part being made up along with the frame from the front. This is then fitted to the chassis. Engine bearers are then added. The front axle is then made up and installed. The five part engine is assembled and along with the exhaust this is added in from the top. The transmission then goes in behind it followed then by the radiator and front wall. The hood is then paced over the engine. Moving back to the cab the doors are added along with the drivers, and passenger seats. The front partition is then added At the rear the double leaf spring is added along with the main part of the exhaust. The rear axle and drive shaft can now be put in. The wheels are all spoked and have separate flexible black plastic tyres that slip over the rims. Detail here is good with bolts, rivets and the air valve for these early pneumatic tyres all moulded into the hubs, while the tyres have a faint pattern moulded into them. The spare wheel is mounted on a rim on the right running board, and also has a flexible tyre provided in the box, Then it's a case of adding the steering wheel, horn, gear shift and the driver's folding awning that fixes to the front of the coachwork with a short frame inside that allows the real one to fold back if desired. The rear cabin is then enclosed The final items are the two lamps with clear three-sided lenses and the taxi's major innovation, the meter, complete with little flag-shaped arm. Markings A small decal sheet provides licence plates and meter signs. Conclusion The Type AG was quite an important advance in Taxis for the day with the innovative meter, plus the smoothing of the ride quality thanks to pneumatic tyres, which must have been a luxury back then. Its good to see this nice kit scaled down to 1/35. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Type AG London Taxi (24031) 1:24 ICM via Hannants Ltd. The Renault built Type AG Taxi de la Marne got its name after a fleet of these vehicles were pressed into service transporting French troops to the First Battle of the Marne in WWI. It was very popular as it was one of the first taxis to be able to automatically calculate the fare due to the inclusion of a meter in the interior. As well as service during the early war it was also popular in Paris and London in the early 1900s. Over 1100 were used in London at the time. The Kit This is a slight change to the original issue which we reviewed here. This in the predominant vehicle model scale from our friends at ICM, and depicts a colourful rendition of the vehicle in civilian service. It arrives in ICM's standard top-opening box with a captive inner lid, and inside are five sprues in grey styrene, a single clear sprue, two flexible sprues with black tyres plus the spare, decal sheet and instruction manual. It is a full detail kit with 10hp engine and detailed underside plus crystal clear glazing panels for the enclosed passenger cab. Construction begins with the chassis rails with moulded-in rear leaf-springs and two cross-members that are then added to the lower bodywork along with brackets for the running boards on both sides. The little engine is made up of six parts and its transmission from a further three, with both assemblies brought together on a sub-frame at which point the exhaust stub is fitted then it is inserted into the main chassis from below. Flipping it over the firewall and the pedals are slotted in between the front fenders, and this section is set aside while the coachwork is made up from individual panels, starting with the stepped floor. The divide between driver and passenger has two flat panes of glass to keep the weather out. The driver's floor, rear parcel area and the comfortable passenger seat are inserted, and the carriage-style roof is made up with a small rear window. The doors are each made up from two layers with the glass between them, and once fitted with handles they can be posed open or closed, hinging back in suicide door style. The driver has a more utilitarian bench seat with padded backrest attached to the bulkhead behind him, then the chassis and coachwork are joined, the rear suspension, exhaust and steering column are added from below. The London version does not have a weather cover for the driver, perhaps London cabbies are hardier? A sump guard and front axle are added later along with the driveshaft and rear axle while it is upside down, and once righted, the sloping bonnet and less-than-generous side rails that intended to prevent the driver from falling out are installed either side of his seat. There is also an elongated S-shaped "folding mechanism" attached to the side of the passenger hood, which still persists today in some American limousine and hearse designs as a purely cosmetic homage to the original coachwork. The wheels are all spoked and have separate flexible black plastic tyres that slip over the rims. Detail here is good with bolts, rivets and the air valve for these early pneumatic tyres all moulded into the hubs, while the tyres have a faint pattern moulded into them. The spare wheel is mounted on a rim on the right running board, and also has a flexible tyre provided in the box, then it's a case of adding the steering wheel, horn, gear shift and the driver's folding awning that fixes to the front of the coachwork with a short frame inside that allows the real one to fold back if desired. The final items are the two lamps with clear three-sided lenses and the taxi's major innovation, the meter, complete with little flag-shaped arm. Markings A small decal sheet provides licence plates and meter signs. Conclusion The Type AG was quite an important advance in Taxis for the day with the innovative meter, plus the smoothing of the ride quality thanks to pneumatic tyres, which must have been a luxury back then. Not my usual scale, but a nice model none-the-less. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Enjoy these 40 photos I took while I was visiting the Royal Air Force Museum of London. I visited Hannants too! Photos at RAF Museum Hendon https://imgur.com/a/8c8rM6j

Hi everyone I know that this kit has already been built and is not as such 'work in progress' but I thought it may be more useful in this section for those who may be constructing the same model. Hopefully it will convince others that it is possible to find a way to light this kit and improve on my attempt. Regards Kevin

hi and first i would like to welcome my self i have just finished the revell routemaster, have never done any modelling before so its not perfect but acceptable im currently making a 24th scale diarama and now the diorama got a little while to go before finished but getting there

Hi Everyone I have posted this previously but Flickr have been taken over and changed all of their sign in details and I cannot now access my pics. I am in the process of uploading them to a new Flickr account and this kit was the first one I did. As I have had so much interest from this build I thought it would be better to post this as a new topic rather than try to go through all of my posts to replace the pictures. The links to both albums can be found below along with a video of the working lights. The first link is the finished build and second link shows how I built the bus and shows most of the methods I used to do it. I have built the kit twice now, once out of the box and the second with the lighting, but I am seriously considering getting another one as I have new idea's and ways to do the lighting better. I will say that it is one of Revell's best kits as it fits together so well and there are so many possible modding opportunities for it and I some of it was hard work and very fiddly but the end result is worth it. I hope you enjoy this updated post and I hope it inspires others to 'have a go'. Finished Build HERE How-to Pics HERE Video HERE Regards Kevin

So with the 'courier only' postage for most paints now I'd like to stock up in person. Where do Londoners buy their non-Humbrol paints? I'm specifically after Tamiya and/or Mr Hobby, but other then the Ian Allen Book & Model Shop in Waterloo which stocks Vallejo (but not Model Air) I'm at a loss!

ModelZone, the UK’s largest model and hobby retailer have announced they will be opening a new store, located at 52-56 New Oxford Street, after recently having to close their flagship central London store in Holborn due to site redevelopment. The official launch event will kick off this Monday 3rd June at 9:30am. The first 30 customer’s through doors will receive a FREE goody bag worth over £75 filled with ModelZone goodies. All customers will have the opportunity to enter an exclusive free prize draw to win £500 of ModelZone vouchers during the day! Plus, a special F1 appearance outside the store on the morning of the launch, from the Marussia F1 team. It’s not every day you see an F1 car parked on New Oxford Street... The event will be highly secured by the likes of Darth Vader & the Stormtroopers from the 501st UK Garrison, so come along to have your photos taken! Or of if you can’t make the morning... Get involved in the action during lunch... Just in time for F1 Driver Rodolfo Gonzalez, who will be cutting the ribbon at 12:30pm. They can guarantee some perfect photo opportunities! For more information and updates on ModelZone New Oxford Street, please visit www.modelzone.co.uk, or follow them on Facebook & Twitter. Don't forget to mention you saw it on Britmodeller if you're chatting with anyone important

I have been wanting to visit the RAF Museum for a long time. Yesterday, despite the weather I convinced the wife to accompany me on a visit. I specifically wanted some close up picts of the Spitfire. I was so dissapointed. The lighting was terrible. It dull and gloomy. Never mind the poor conditions as far photography.