Alan R

Yesterday, I was passing through Castle Coombe. There is a Steam Rally at Castle Coombe circuit, shortly after passing though there I came across three traction engines driving there under their own steam (literally), another one on the back of a low-loader. An old (MF?) tractor towing a trailer with another old tractor on it. A '60s MF tractor. A 40's era Bedford droop-side lorry, and an orange 'hockey stick' Capri. Not a bad haul for a Friday afternoon on the way home. Cheers, Alan.

Hi All, Just a minor update on the R35. I have primed the floor-pan so that I can top coat it before installing the engine. So here we are:# Not a lot more to report. Thanks for looking. Cheers, Alan.

Hi All, Some updates on this one. The engine cover is a complex multi-part affair, and I was worried that the fit would be not very good. However, It fitted very well indeed. A bit of a gap to fill, but otherwise no problems. So, after applying some Mr White Filler and letting it set for about 24 hours, I sanded it back, and re-painted the flying buttresses. So, here are the pictures: If you look closely, you can just see the shoulder belts of the seat belts. I had to cut some thin strips of paper, and paint it dark-grey, but Fujimi provide the buckles. Moe soon. Thanks for looking, Cheers, Alan.

Hi All, Another 'new' one. This was bought a very long time ago, and started a long time ago, and now resurrected in an attempt to get it done as well. So, the box art: I'm not sure if it ever raced outside Japan, but these single seat sports cars are fun to build. I have quite a few in my stash. And what with Tamiya releasing the Gazoo Toyota hybrid, and re-releasing the Mazda 767, well I feel my bank balance lightening as I type.... This one had a 4 cylinder turbo engine, and that's where I have got up to. Assembling the engine: I decided long ago to wire up the ignition, and this is the result. Don't look too closely at the distributor, trying to fit 8 itty-bitty teeny-weeny wires to something about 4mm across was, shall we say, challenging... It's a four cylinder engine, but with two plugs per cylinder. As I don't seem to get on with CA glue very will, I tried using a high-tack PVA glue. It sets a bit slower, but doesn't prefer (on the whole) to stick to me... Thanks for looking. More to come soon, Cheers, Alan.

Hi All, Just a brief update on this. I have finally completed the engine. It's a little gem, a model kit in itself. So, only two pictures: I made a visual comparison with the V-12 in the Tamiya XJR-9, and they are very similar. From that. I assume that they are accurate representations... (or they could both be very wong it the same way!) The floor pan is primed, but before I can install the engine, I need to put the colour coat on... More soon, Cheers, Alan.

Hi All, A belated update on this one. There are a whole load of others to update as well, but I'll get to them. The biggest hurdle I always face is the spraying of the other (usually larger) parts. The engine is usually a breeze. This is main reason that a lot of my projects stall... One of the main problems is making time to set up the kit in the garage. Sometimes, it's the weather - Too Cold!!!, sometimes it's the fact that the conservatory has to be used for other activities, and the fumes become a problem. Still, on the whole, we manage. However, progress has been made: I primed the floor pan, the sprayed it in Zero Paints Semi-Gloss Black, thus: Doesn't look too bad, does it. The paint comes up in a very nice satin sheen. However, when I looked a bit more closely, I noticed a number of dust particles embedded in the paint. No problem, I thought, I'll carefully rub it back with fine wet n dry, the polish it up again. Unfortunately, rubbing down the dust spots just made the primer come visible in little dust spot shapes! Then I decided that I needed to fit the lower wishbones at the back to make sure that they fitted flush with the floor pan. They did, but not perfectly. So, I sanded it down, thus: Here's a closer look: You can also see the grey bits where the dust-bunnies had been removed. This now needs another prime prior to coating with the black again... I have also made progress on the engine/rear suspension sub-assembly. You do have to be very careful with the rear-suspension. It is very easy to break off the springs .. How do I know that …. After re-attaching the spring, very carefully, I was able to build up the rear suspension sub-assembly and attach it to the transmission. This is a very tight fit, due to Tamiya precision, but manageable with care. I also managed to get the rear-bulk-head painted, but not fully assembled: Well, that's all for this post, more soon... Thanks for looking. Cheers, Alan.

On the way in this morning on the M4, a reasonably tidy original FIAT Panda. Going at a reasonable clip as well... Cheers, Alan.

Spotted on the M4 yesterday afternoon, A rather odd looking Lamborghini SUV thing... Very incongruous... Cheers, Alan.

Hi Andy, I have that one as well. Shame it's the US spec version though. Cheers, Alan.

Spotted on Saturday near Bristol, A Jaguar C-type followed by a Cobra, both replicas I suspect. As it was sunny (but cool day) tey both had tops down. Cheers, Alan.

My Dad had the Mk3 1.6 GT with the sporty Pinto engine (90 BHP!!!). I was lucky enough to drive it when at home, it was a pretty quick motor! Suffered from the common Pinto cam-shaft oil-feed issue... Cheers, Alan.

Many years ago (probably about 30) someone drove a Ferrari 246 Dino into our quiet little cul-se-sac, even at tick-over it was loud! I believe that the engine in the Stratos was basically the same unit, without even the minimal silencing that the Dino had! Still, it was an awesome noise... Cheers, Alan.

Spotted on the M4 this morning. One of those US "Streamline" caravans. Incongruously, being towed by a Transit van, not some huge US behemoth pick-up...

Too true! Great to see a military subject being given the 'civvy' treatment. Great work! Cheers, Alan.

The Revell one is probably the ESCI/Italeri version re-popped. Cheers, Alan