Alan R

Quite right! Still the best. I remember my driving instructor telling me that I was to treat all other road users as homicidal maniacs out to kill me and drive appropriately. In nearly 50 years of driving, I have had few accidents, even though I did dive quickly. Cheers, Alan.

I have found that careful use of Mr Color levelling thinners will remove really set paint and more importantly not damage the plastic. Cheers, Alan.

As long as you know the limitations of the tool, you can still get decent circles with it. I used mine when I was adapting the Nissan Disc brakes for my Z1. I think that smallest diameter was just about as small as the cutters could go. I think I lost more to the carpet monster than bad cuts though... I found also that you need to clean up the edges as the blade tends to produce furrows with raised edges. Still a useful tool though. Cheers, Alan.

I have the same circle cutters, and when trying to cut small circles, they can bend and distort the resulting circle. Ian, I know what you mean.... Same question 'Ask me...' Cheers, Alan.

Neither am I too keen on them. If I was to do this again, I would just carefully paint the vents with matt-black. They look pretty rubbish to the naked eye as well. The dash is installed now, so I'm reluctant to muck about with them. We'll see later. Cheers, Alan.

Cabin and Floor: This section shows how far I have got with the cabin and the floor. The floor has had the gear-stick and hand-brake lever installed. There is a very small decal in the gear-knob. It was a bit of a bugger to apply and keep there. It probably needs some more Micro-Sol to make it settle further. The dash-board and floor are a very dark grey. The engine installed: Seats installed: So far, I am pleased with this. More views: I touched up the floor by the exhaust manifold, though I suspect It won't be visible. Transmission & underside: Differential and drive shafts. There are three different blacks (Matt, gloss and satin) here. Installed on the floor-pan. Next came the exhausts and rear suspension: Front suspension and brakes installed: These are the discs and callipers left over from the Nissan GTR Nismo Special. The kit supplies larger discs, so these remain left over. Just what I needed for this car. Finally, the wheels: I haven't fitted them yet, as I want the cement to cure on the discs. So far the fit of all the parts is very good. I am quite impressed. More to come soon, I hope. Thanks for looking. Cheers, Alan.

Good evening All, This weekend was a very profitable one for the Beemer. I polished up the bodywork using Halford's rubbing compound. I have had this for a long time and I am not sure if you can still buy it. This comes in an aerosol and produces a rapidly expanding foam. So here are the shined up body panels: The polish is good enough for me. Here are the seats attached to the backs: I I used epoxy resin to glue the backs to the seats. I think that the epoxy is a bit defective, or I didn't use enough hardener. The resin took ages to cure (over a day). I'll try more hardener next time. The dashboard: The vents are decals. They look a bit wonky and I'm not sure that they work very well. They are a bit shiny, so I tried to tone them down, apart from the instrument dials, with some satin varnish, It'll do... All the blue painted and clear-coated parts. Next section, floor pan and chassis. More to come, Cheers, Alan.

Link: http://rbmotion.com/rbmshop_3.0/index.php?route=product/category&path=107 Cheers, Alan.

You might try RBMotion. They have a number of machined from metal spark plugs that may fit the bill? Cheers, Alan.

I've had this problem with Zero Paints and plastic, but only a few cases (3 or 4?). I think that, as alluded to earlier, you have to carefully apply the base coat. I find that in all of the cases that I had, it was due to a mixture of impatience and over-enthusiasm, resulting in a heavy handed application of the base coat. If you allow too much a build-up of the paint, it seems to soften the primer and the attack the plastic. So, I found that a few thin layers applied with a few minutes (5 - 20,depending on the environmental temperature) gap before the next application seems to work for me. I found that using the 1K clear-coat has to be done in much the same way before applying the final 'wet-coat' It does have to be said that this is not unique to ZP. I found that you can get the same problem with Halford's spray cans as well. Cheers, Alan.

Hi Spiny, I found that those tubes of Poly cement (no specific brand) 'problematic'. I always find that they can by 'stringy' and if you are not careful, it will spoil the model as the string spills over the plastic. I stick with a liquid solvent or Revell contacta (I think Humbrol offer a similar product) for most work, and occasional epoxy for more 'difficult' bonds. Cheers, Alan.

Absolutely wonderful. These Belkits models do look the Bees Knees... Cheers, Alan.

Hi John, Heroic effort on this little car. I have an original boxing of this lit (Priced 9/6!). I think I bought it in about 1969. Seeing your build, I think I might break it out of the stash again. BTW. I found a way of diluting acrylic paints with water that prevents the 'pooling' that you got. I found, a long time ago, that if you put a small amount of washing up liquid in with the paint, that it flows much better and almost entirely stops the pooling. It's probably a good idea to use 'distilled' water rather than straight from the tap. I take water from the condenser tank on our tumble dryer, as that have been vaporised off the clothing, and any chemicals are left behind. Those little pots of acrylic paint aren't very good at all, but can be made useable with this trick. Cheers, Alan.

Oh, I so want that C1 models MGB GT transkit! I have been eyeing that up for some time. Cheers, Alan.

Evening all, Some more progress on this. As I said, the paint had rippled, so I sanded it back, but still had some primer left on it, so I carefully re-sprayed the silver on, but despite the thin layers the paint still 'rippled'! So, I sanded the paint back to the plastic on the roof and the nose as these were that affected areas. I then used some 600 grit to smooth it out, followed by 1220, 2500, Tamiya Lapping film, the buffing it with Halfords rubbing compound. The result was a polished finish, just like the original plastic. This was mid-sand. Here's the roof and nose sanded and polished back to the plastic. I then cracked out the silver again, and applied primer, let that cure for about 48 hours before spraying several very light coats of silver over the affected areas. This time it was successful. I polished it up a bit after it had cured, and it looks good. After all of that, I sprayed some gloss black (Tamiya X1) over the front and rear valances. I had previously performed some surgery to add some Hobby Design grilles to the valances. The last step was to paint the grills satin black: I then masked the undertray and sprayed various parts gloss black, thus: The glossy bits need a little buffing to get them fully glossy. I masked the side windows using the Tamiya Masks. A bit of a bugger to apply, but when applied, they fit perfectly. Masks removed: That's all the really difficult bits done, I think. There's some of the Hobby Design mesh bits to fit, but I think they should be OK. More later. Thanks for looking, Alan.

Evening all, I have been making some progress with this kit. Here are the wheels painted in ZP Aluminium: They don't look too bad, I think. Various engine gubbins and brakes: The brakes aren't quite finished and neither is the induction system at this point. The thing on the top left is the air inlet and plenum (I think) Here's the engine block: I sprayed the block with Zero Paints Semi-gloss black (Not dissimilar to Halford Semi-gloss black in shineyness). I then hand painted the bottom half with XF16 I think this represents the sump. I liked the idea of red disc callipers, so that's what I painted them. I also painted the edges of the discs metallic grey (XF56) to represent the raw iron of the disk. Here's the completed induction system ready to mount on the engine. The detail is not too bad, and the fit, so far, is very good. The engine and induction system together. Sorry, it's a bit fuzzy! From a different angle. There's a diddy decal on the induction system. Suitably softened and set with Micro-Set & Micro-Sol. From above. (Rather pleased with this little gem) The seats, I resprayed them with a home-brew mix of 2 parts Tamiya XF1 to 1 part Tamiya X1, thinned by 2 parts Mr Color Levelling thinners to 1 part paint. Even though it's thinned this much, you don't gen runs. You do get through quite a lot of thinners this way... I might try to put some shading in the crevasses to make them pop. I'm not sure what colour, bark grey probably. The underside, sprayed with the same XF1/X1 mix. I have been doing some clear-coating, a lot of clear coating. These are the seat backsL They just need a bit of buffing with polishing compound. They do look a bit orange-peely, but to the naked eye , they look fine. The body. I think that I have nearly cracked this clear-coating thing, apart from dropping bits that have newly been coated and are still wet! Baaahh! Again, this just needs a bit of a buffing. The rear valance, not looking bad. The doors. They needed a slight sanding back and re-coat as I had managed to get dust on them while still wet! Not pictured, but I have sprayed the interior and the dashboard with a very dark grey. The next stage is either the underside assembly or the cabin. Not sure what I will tackle first. Thanks for looking, Alan.

Hi Gary, I had a similar problem with an Accurate Miniatures Grumman BiPlane. I would try a steel rule, suitably de-greased and a very sharp scalpel blade. I use No 26 blades on a Swann-Moreton type 4 handle. Cuts through the decal paper like a hot knife through butter... Cheers, Alan.

Hi All, I have three bike kits on the go at the moment and two of them have fairings on them. In both cases, these have stalled because of the fairings! The Team Gallina RGB500 because of the decalling, the RC30 because of the transparent fairing. I'm panning to paint the fairing, but I always get problems painting clear plastic with zero-paints. Might try doing it with Tamiya acrylic white over white stynylres. Not that I have any white stynylres yet... Cheers, Alan.

I have seen this in the shops and often wondered over the years whether I should buy one! I am so tempted! They appear on the bay from time to time. Still, I have so many on the go, and many, many more in the stash waiting. One more may be one too many ... Cheers, Alan.

Ouch! Now I know I'm old...

That's a serious amount of Wonga...

It's not so much a particular kit, but the prospect of gloss-coating all the ones that have reached that stage! I have had trouble in the past getting a good smooth gloss finish, no matter what paints I use. I think I have about seven models awaiting gloss coating... However, I have just successfully managed to gloss-coat the BMW Z-1 body and a few other parts. Only the doors (?) gave me some problems, but that was due to not checking for dust particles already on them! (Doh!) If I have followed the recommended steps in the first place, I would have greater success, Anyway, this time i did: Ensure all is dust free (including doors!) Spray over the part a light dust coat, evenly. Leave for ten to twenty minutes (depending on the paint being sprayed) Repeat steps 2 & 3 a could of times Apply a much deeper 'wet' coat Finally, leave well alone for a long while. I think that. in the past, it was all down to impatience. I don't like this stage, so let's get it done quickly... This is my primary lesson, take your time and follow the right procedures. So, does this mean that I will approach more clear spraying with less trepidation? Probably not. Each session is a new start. Sorry for the rambling post... Cheers, Alan. P.S. The gloss finish on the doors is event and deep, just those b****y dust spots!

I really fancy the Minivan as my uncle had one in the late 60s. He used it to carry his gig equipment. The band even released a single. Got into the UK top 100 (just!) Cheers, Alan.

I have on the windowsill in out conservatory, a 1/35th Tamiya Quad Gun Tractor that I built in 1976 as a way of relaxing when doing my degree finals. It's still in one piece. Nothing has fallen off (45 yeas and many, many moves) and the paint finish (hairy sticked!) isn't too bad. That's almost all I have left from then... (Apart from my degree ...) Cheers, Alan.

I keep longingly looking at the MFH kits on HiroBoy, but always the price stops me in my tracks. One day .... maybe. Cheers, Alan. P.S. I have to get it past the family accountant ...