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1961 Aston Martin DB4 - 1965 Aurora Kit/1991 Monogram Reissue


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Hi,

 

Considering that this Aurora kit is almost 50 years old it is not that poor IMO.

Since I built the Monogram reissue more than 20 years ago my memories have more or less faded but I still remember three major problems:

  • In those early days kits with opening doors, bonnets and even boot lids were rather popular even if their usually poor fit spoilt the appearance of the model when closed. This applies to the Aurora kit, too. Making equal gaps and gluing these movable parts shut flush with the rest of the body was rather laborious.

  • The optically extremely distorting glass parts for the windscreen and the side windows were unusable and had to be replaced by clear sheet. The rear window was still just acceptable but today I wish I had replaced it, too.

  • The kit had massive „wire“ wheels, similar to those of Tamiya's Morgan and Jaguar Mk II, but rather clumsy by comparison. As usual I made a set of real wire wheels. Since the (whitewall) tyres of the kit were very crude I replaced them by better ones from my spares box.

 

I mixed a green metallic that was obviously popular on restored vintage Aston Martins because green metallic was (and still is?) Aston Martin's racing colour.

 

Overall the kit was certainly far from being perfect, that may be the resaon why you don't see it finished very often.

Nevertheless with some effort it can make a nice model.

 

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As an Aston Martin DB4 fan from way back, I'm happy to give that a very big TICK. There my be some proportional issues with it, but maybe thats a little distortion in the images but I absolutely cannot fault your finish, either in quality or detail, it is superb. :thumbsup:

Steve.

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Absolutely gorgeous - that colour really compliments the car and the finish you've achieved is just exceptional.

Love those wire wheels also.

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Thanks for the recent replies!

 

For those not familiar with the old Aurora kits it might be interesting that besides the DB4 shown above there were at least five more kits of European sports cars.

 

  • Maserati 3500 GT: similar quality as the DB4, i. e. a usable kit that reqires some work; reissued by Monogram

  • Porsche 904: quality supposedly slightly poorer (?); reissued by Monogram

  • Jaguar E-Type OTS, Jaguar E-Type FHC, Ferrari GTO: ill-proportioned, therefore not recommendable; to my knowledge only FHC & GTO reissued by Monogram

 

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It looks fantastic, Jurgen. Definitely my favorite Aston Martin, and you've made your usual first-class job of a kit which I know is a little less than shake and bake! I have one awaiting attention, probably in a sage green, though the latest "Classic Cars" has a stunning primrose yellow one on the cover, which would certainly be something a little different! I always love your wheels, and then pass on thinking I'm not in that league... mine will get replacements from a spare Tamiya Jaguar set. I thought the Maserati was a good base to work with, and the 904 also awaits in the stash, but I fully agree with you on E-types and GTO: not worth bothering with.

 

Beautiful... and inspiring.

 

best,

M.

 

 

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