Alan R

That's outrageous! A thousand quid! My wife would really kill me...

I was once the proud owner of this car's predecessor, an Alfasud. Fantastic little car with the sweetest exhaust rasp you could ask for. Not as fruity as a Scooby, but more sporty I would say. I used to wind down the window when going through tunnels or under bridges then change down a gear or two, then flatten the throttle pedal ! The noise was superb! Childish but fun!!! Like all Italian cars, it did suffer from the dreaded tin-worm...

1/12th is big enough for me. 1/8th is way to big. I don't have the space and the wife would kill me

I'll be honest, masking is my least favourite part of model making. I admire those who do it so well....

As an inveterate kit starter-storer-restarter-storer .... well, you get the picture , I find that the simplest thing to do is to tick each part in the instructions as you attach it to the model, then when you get back to the model you at least have a small clue as to where you last left the project. I always mark it in pencil as well, so that in theory I can erase the ticks later. I also find that having the assembled parts ticked like this gives you a small idea of how much (or little) there is left to do. If you don't want to mark the instructions, make a photo-copy and mark that. Hope that is helpful. Cheers, Alan.

I'll have to talk to the Garage owner. The cars only appear on a Saturday or Sunday and not every weekend. Watch this space...

I saw an MG 1300 (or was it an 1100?) on a roundabout in Chippenham the other day. Haven't seen one of those for several years (decades?). Our local village garage has a Mk1 & Mk2 Escort Rally cars. Both powered by a race prepared Mondeo engine. Apparently it produces about 300 BHP... There's also an Audi R8 in the local Volvo garage in Chippenham around the corner from my office. Cheers, Alan.

So pretty! I want one...

The wheels are on the bus, and they go round and round.... Not a big update, very busy weekend at our church. Anyway, here they are. Not only did they fit and turn, but the whole chassis sits flat on all four wheels! I also high-lighted the raised detail on the engine in red. Doesn't show very well on these pictures, but it does seem to add a little business to an otherwise bland engine area. I think a bit of weathering might help as well. Regards, Alan.

Been a busy bee today... No assembly, but some preparation. I have started on the interior a bit... The floor is the correct colour according to the instructions... We all know what a mine-field that can be. However, I am happy with the look, so that'll do. Just need to apply the carpet stuff... Other parts, primed and nearly ready to go. The front seats need a bit of TLC where the back joins the front. Some Mr White putty is needed I think. I have primed them pink (Matt white and Matt Hull Red XF9 in equal measure) because they are finally going to be red, and it seemed like a good idea... All the best, Alan.

Changed !

Just looking at the box art, it seems that Tamiya got it right (more or less). It is a Jaguar Mark II... Alan.

I stand corrected! I never knew that. I always assumed that this model was the S-Type. As for 'Morse-ing' it, I believe that the Morse Jag was the 2.4 litre not the 3.4 and had a single exhaust pipe rather than the twin pipe. Also, the Morse Jag was a solid Maroon, rather than the metallic colour I have painted it. How accurate any of that is I don't know. I didn't know until yesterday that the older XF was developed from the 'retro' S-Type. What a different car! I rather fancy one of those. Especially the supercharged 5 litre V8 By the way, does anyone remember the 1/32nd Airfix Mk 10 (or was that the 340)? Cheers, Alan.

Another one that has sat on the shelf of doom for far too long. This really needs to be completed, along with... The Merc The 308 The Diablo The FIAT 500 and the Payhauler. They have not been completely forgotten. Anyway, having got that off my chest, here goes. The box top: It's a British classic. The body was primed using Halfords' red-oxide primer, then top coated with a mix of Tamiya gloss colours mixed as per the instructions. It gives a really good metallic maroon/red finish. I mixed up my own 'pink' primer for the interior as I have run out of the Halfords' primer a long time ago... The floor-pan. This kit has been a real pleasure to put together so far, more progress soon. All the best, Alan.

I discovered that there aren't many Diablo builds here, especially the Italeri version, so I though that even though the damn thing is nearly finished after 10 or more years on the shelf of doom. I recently got my mojo back after another hiatus of nearly a whole year. So here it is: First the box: A bit tatty, but it's been in the loft for a long while, so can be excused perhaps. This is I think, the original boxing. I think that Italeri have re-released this this year. It's gone together reasonably well, so far. But Italeri kits have a bit of a reputation as being a bit of a bugger in the fit department... The current state: The engine bay is really just the top and not complete. But after a bit of careful painting, I think that it looks quite good. I think that the plenum chambers (if that's what they are) need a bit of prettifying. The Lamborghini raised parts need to be another colour. I doubt that the real engine has this, but frankly I don't care! It's my Lambo, and that's what I would want! Body: Wheels and tyres: This is to be honest, is the weakest part of the kit. The tyres are that crappy vinyl stuff, that leaks an oily goo that eventually melts polystyrene. Fortunately all the wheels are fully painted, especially where the tyres touch the plastic, so this should protect it. Hope you like it. All the best, Alan.

More Merc Werke! The passenger cabin is coming along. More to do yet, but here we are: The seats are a fetching shade of satin black (My own concoction mixed up from GW Abaddon Black and Humbrol Gloss black, 5 - 1 ratio). The tub still needs a bit of work, as can be seen... The dashboard: I like the way the instrument panel came out, shame it will be almost invisible when installed in the body... There is still some touching up to be done on the centre console, don't look too carefully, but the air vents and stereo are a bit over-painted. I need to deal with that! The seats: The seatbelts are picked out in Matt Black (Can't really see it, but it shows on the actual seats) and the buckles are high-lighted using my trusty silver gel pen. More to come. Best regards, Alan.

Cute!

I really want this van, along with the Italeri Transit and the Tamiya Toyota HiAce van (Sadly out of production ... again!). Your Citroen looks superb, a real battle, but definitely worth it! All the best, Alan.

I recently saw one of these outside Bristol Temple Meads Railway station masquerading as a baguette and beer shop. Wish I had taken a picture, but was in a hurry to catch a train. I didn't realise just how big they actually are! Bigger than a Transit. Over the years I have seen quite a few of these on British roads, but never close up...

Thanks Alberto. As I said in my previous post, the lacquer coat looked like a dog's breakfast (i.e. Very Messy) It was full of pits and didn't look too good. I suspect that the lacquer had aged in the can and was drying as I was spraying it on and not allowing the lacquer to self-level. However, after much elbow grease and time (about 2-3 hours of vigorous sanding), starting with 600 grit wet-n-dry, followed by the absolutely amazing Tamiya lapping film, I got the paint work to look quite reasonable. It wouldn't win any prizes in an exhibition, but I am happy with it. So, here it is: The pictures do seem to make the finish look quite matte, but I suspect that is the lighting, as the finish is quite shiny. Well, that's the exterior, apart from the fiddly details done. On to the interior. More updates soon, Alan.

This is something that my 19 year old daughter wants in real life, but as I can't afford anything more, I came up with this: It's a pretty good representation of the car, with a few simplifications. The door handles are moulded on and not separate. I don't think it'll look too bad when finished. I might cheat and make them the body colour. So, progress. After some initial prep, like careful sanding with very fine went-n-dry, I primed the body and chassis with Zero Paints light grey primer using my trusty Badger 200 air-brush. This was the first time that I had used the Zero paints. I was really impressed with the finish of the primer. Really flat and smooth. My daughter wanted a mint-green car. Fortunately, Hiro-Boy had the right colour already in it's range (Fiat Smooth Mint). I am really impressed with these paints. I will definitely use them again. Next stage the lacquer coat. Hopefully in the next day or two. I hope you like it. All the best, Alan.

More progress! Finally I have the front and rear suspension installed: You can see the brakes here, not particularly well, I admit... This, I think is a bit clearer. You can't see it but all the springs are painted in semi-gloss black, then I high-lighted the spring coils with a silver high-ligher gel pen. This is the front-end: This is the back end: You can just see the coil springs below the swing-arms. I always like to drill out the ends of the exhast so that it looks a bit more realistic. I simply drill into the end (very carefully), then ream it out using a No. 26 scalpel blade. A touch of matt black finishes the job. May not be very noticable, but I know that it's there... I started on the glossing of the body, but at the moment it lokks a right dog's breakfast! Hopefully, a bit of elbow grease and various grades of abrasive, I can make it look as good as the bonnet (hood). When it looks better, I'll post pictures. Until then, all the best, Alan.

I have this in my stash, part started. Wish I had known about the Extra Tech photo-etch when I bought it....

Some progress! Not much though. The engine is in place: The exhaust is painted and ready to install: The rear end is being primed ready for painting (No pictures yet) More to come... All the best, Alan.

I recently took delivery of the Aoshima Sesto Elemento. Huge box for a 1/24 scale car. Absolutely crammed with sprues. Two body shells, one clear, one 'normal' if you can call a Lambo 'normal'... I'm lusting after the Tamiya NSX as well. When I get that, I'm going to build it alongside the older Tamiya NSX. I really, really want the Aventador now as well.... All the best, and keep up the amazing work. Alan.