Alan R

I can understand the Ford thing. Just think of the sporting heritage and how Form made some great competition cars out of very humble underpinnings. My dad had a succession of Fords over the decades from 1963 - to his death in 2017, starting with a side-valve (1172cc?) Ford Thames van (1956 model) link: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Ford_thames_300E_van86jtj.JPG/1920px-Ford_thames_300E_van86jtj.JPG (By Geni - Photo by user:geni, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51673872) through a 105E Anglia, Zephyr 4 and many Cortinas, Modeos and finally a Fiesta. Cheers, Alan.

Yup! That looks like 90 degrees! Obviously an optical illusion brought on by extreme age! As I said before, beautifully crafted engine! Thanks for the picture. Alan.

No need to be sorry. I quite understand. I can't explain why Porsches have this particular grip on me. I suspect that it's partly that I love the 'boxer-six growl' that they emit. Having said that, the newer four-pot boxers sound pretty cool, bit like a cross between an Alfasud and a scooby. I loved the sound of my Alfasud on full chat at about 6500 RPM (or there abouts). I had a ride in a 1972 911 2.7 that a colleague owned for a while, That was a great experience. Another friend has owned a Boxter and Cayman. He preferred the Boxter as the wind in his hair told him when he was going too fast! Cheers, Alan.

Thanks. It's a nice kit with only a few gotchas... Cheers, Alan.

Yup! I am a serial starter. Every now and then, I move a couple on. I'm trying to clear the decks a bit. I have completed two last month, just haven't posted them in the RFI yet, as I don't have a photogenic spot to pose them in... Cheers, Alan

Hi All, Just a minor update. All the interior parts primed. More to come... Cheers, Alan.

Hi All, Just a couple of update photos: The chassis and bulkhead primed ready for the colour. The body shell primed. The steering wheel and some anonymous electronics cabinet More to come soon, I hope. Cheers, Alan.

That engine looks really nice. Subtly weathered. Just an observation. I always assumed that all US V8 blocks had a 90 degree angle as this seems the best for smooth running. This one seems to have a 120 degree Vee. Is this an optical illusion? Cheers, Alan.

This has been exercising my thought processes recently. (What few brain cells I have left...) We all have our preferences, when it comes to preferred marque of car. Some of us are Ferrari fans, and just love having replicas of these cars on their shelves. I have at least six 1/24 Ferraris in my built section and a couple more waiting to be built. For me, it's Porsche. They aren't the prettiest cars on the road, and some of the engineering (especially on 911s) does rather go back a long way. (Souped up Beetles, maybe... ) I prefer Porsches over Ferraris. The Ferraris are prettier, often and possibly more dynamic on the road. However, to me, the Porsche just pips the Ferrari at the post. When my son asked me what would I get if I won the lottery (fat chance as I don't buy lottery tickets!), I answered 'Porsche Cayman'. He was surprised, thinking that I would say Ferrari or Lamborghini, or Aston. , From the original 356 way back in the 50s (late 40s?) to the latest 911, Caymans and Boxters and the lovely 928, they just look so good to my eye. Even their SUV's look different to other SUVs. Don't forget the hugely impressive racing Porsches. The 936, 917 and 934 & 935 beasts. There is Porsche DNA in them all... I am about to embark on a project, subject to getting some of my current models finished, where I am going to build a number of Porsche models. This is what set me pondering. What marque does it for you? Please feel free to say what you think (subject to decency rules! ). I just hope I haven't stirred a hornet's nest... Cheers, Alan.

A couple more recently delivered by the postie: This is to complement the Jägermeister version, that I bought recently. This is getting quite hard to find as Revell don't list it on their web-site any more. This was a lucky strike after some web-trawling... If I buy the Martini Version. I'll have the set. (Maybe next year...) This represents a much later version of the 911. The suspension at the rear, for example, is quite different from earlier versions. I do have a soft spot for Porsches. I fancy the 959 as well, plus a few more of the better 'Enthusiast' series Fujimi porkers... Cheers, Alan.

I have been looking at these amazing devices myself, but haven't pushed the button, yet. Cheers, Alan.

Hi All, I cannot believe that a year has passed since I last posted anything on this build! Some decent progress has been made, so here are a few more images. The plenum chamber. I primed this in thinned Tamiya XF19 (Light Grey) and the brush painted it in my own home-brew semi-gloss black (3 parts XF1, 2 parts Gloss black, 10 parts Mr. Color Levelling thinners) With care you get a very smooth finish with no brush marks. Here we have the cockpit in a a semi-finished state. I picked out the bolts on the plenum with a cocktail stick with silver (X11). The dash-board here is painted in XF63, as per the instructions, air-brushed on. I got a great smooth finish. The I managed to spill some X-10 on a spot of in a very visible place. I ran it under the tap and it seemed to remove the paint without damaging the sprayed finish. However, the next day, I noticed that the X=10 had burned through the dark grey. I didn't want to crack out the air-brush again, just for the visible scar. Neither did I want to brush paint it and I was expecting to get a visible brush mark... In the end, I solved it by dipping a cotton bud in the pre-thinned dark grey and carefully applied it to the damaged section on the dash-board. Problem solved! Another technique added to my arsenal. The dashboard, pre-X-10 blunder The seat: I I used the Tamiya provided decal for the seat-belts. I tried to use the bits provided in the Hobby-Design etch set, but I cut the belt material wrong and couldn't get the buckes to fit. I was too tired, so I used the decals instead. Once it's in the cockpit and hidden by the windows, I don't think it'll look too bad. The floor-pan, primed. I 'leaned' the 'hobby-stick trick' by watching a video by 'Scaled Down Customs' on YouTube. I lave discovered a number of tricks watching the guy doing his builds. Simple things like, decal tweezers and cotton but to position decals. I have used this trick a few times now and can say that it's a lot easier to place decals in the right place. The wheels, primed. The next stage was to paint them gloss-black, followed by gun-metal (X-10, the source of my previous blunder!) That's the cock-pit complete, apart from the dash-board. That comes later. Here are the wheels, finished. I am really pleased with they way the came out. (Primed, coated in gloss-black and then gun metal) Well, that's where I am with this one. More soon. Thanks for looking. Cheers,. Alan.

Hi All, Just a minor update on this one. I started prepping the interior parts, but before that, here is a picture of where the floor-pan has got to. Not much different from before, but the sharper eyed of you may notice I have put the exhaust tips on. One is a bit wonky, but I hope that it won't show when the body in on... I have prepped the interior by sticking on the panels to wooden craft sticks ready for primer. These have all been primed with Zero Paints Grey Primer, thinned with Mr. Color Levelling thinners. I think that I thinned it too much, as it gave a superb smooth finish, but failed to fill the recesses. So, later I 'un-thinned' the primer (I added more primer to the mix) and gave a quick mist coat. That solved the problem after a couple of coats. I think that the ideal ratio is 50:50, I suspect is was more like 30:70 paint/thinners. I'll post up the primered picture later. Thanks for looking. Cheers, Alan.

In a lot of videos I've seen posted on YouTube, they often sand-back using 3000 or higher to eliminate the few dust bunnies that get through, they then polish it to a high sheen with polishing compounds. I haven't seen further top coats added after that, I agree about the danger of too thick gloss coat. It becomes 'toy-like' and you seem to lose a lot of the more delicate details under this unrealistically thick layer of glass. Cheers, Alan.

Lovely!

Not as bad as the guy asking for £450 for an Airfix Vauxhall Victor estate!

Lovely job! Despite the struggles, the outcome is really good. Worth the effort put in. Cheers, Alan.

This is really inspiring! I have recently been on the lookout for this on EBay, but none to be found. I did see a couple of the Tamiya long-tailed version, but at silly money, and from Australia. (Postage is phenomenal, not surprisingly). I'll keep looking. Excellent work. Cheers, Alan.

An awful lot of American Iron there! I thought that I had a large stash (ish), but very few duplications. I don't think that I will ever build all that I have, if I live to be 110... Cheers, Alan.

That's looking really good. I was dreading masking up that dash-board and door-cards, but after what I see here, I'll probably start work on this tonight. (Assuming I can get the man cave warm enough!) Cheers, Alan.

Hi Olivier, I find that when spraying Tamiya Acrylics thinned with Mr Color Levelling Thinners, I often use a ratio of 1 part paint, two parts thinner (33/66). It still really works well. Reduces "Orange Peel" appearance as well. Cheers, Alan.

They found it by accident, pre-spice era?

Hi All, Another update on the XJ-S. I have built up the front suspension and steering: I was a bit worried that it all looked a bit fragile and I was sure that I would break the steering rack trying to push the ends on to the axles. In the end, it all just popped together without drama. Here are some of the bits that make up the underside (No suspension here though) All the suspension bits. I had decided to paint the car a gun-metally colour, so I needed to spray the front wings on the floor pan body colour. I used Mr Color 'Burnt Iron' (60) thinned with Mr Levelling Thinners. This is the result: A very smooth finish. Front suspension installed. Exhaust system installed. This just clicked into place. Rear suspension installed. Not without issues! I followed the instructions that have you install the springs onto the rear suspension arms, then attach the combined assembly to the frames. It was a right bugger, getting the springs to match up with the holes and lock the swing arms into the locating points on the frames. If I were to build another one, I would put the springs into the floor-pan and then put the swing arms in and then attach the springs to the swing arms. Never mind, I got there in the end. The whole shebang together. More to come soon. Next is the cabin. Thanks for looking. Cheers., Alan.

Evening all. Some more progress on the Ford GT. I installed the front and rear sub-frames on the floor pan: They just 'click' into place, but a small application of cement fixes them into place. The seats, all brush painted (I couldn't be bothered to crack out the air-brush...) The completed dash-board: The cock-pit assembles: This thing almost falls together. One thing I have learned (Why it's taken me so long, I haven't a clue), is to be more patient, Give all the paints and glues time to cure. I am finding that I am enjoying the process much more. Instead of ploughing on and mucking things up. If a stage needs time to cure, then stop working on it and come back tomorrow. The results are much better, I think. Philosophical moment over! Bit blurry this one. Need to use the tripod... Ditto... Cock-pit installed on the floor pan: The top of the engine: A lot blurry! More engine bits. Not much to the engine, rally, just the top. That's it! All the engine bits: Assembled: The wheels look quite smart: Getting near the end now. The body and floor-pan united. I had one minor fit issue that I resolved by gluing the body, just before the doors with epoxy resin. That solved the problem. The paper tissue is acting as a barrier to prevent the clamps from damaging the paint work. The door mirrors, assembled: All the clamps removed: Looking pretty good, I think. Very nearly there. Just the door mirrors and licence plate to add. The licence plate. Thanks for looking. Cheers, Alan.

Hi All, This is the final update for this WIP. I considered adding a full roll-cage, but decided against it, so it came out like this: I built it up before adding it to the floor pan. What I should have done is build it up in-situ without cementing the cage in. However. things worked out OK. The floor pan, with undercarriage: That all fitted quite well. The assembled dashboard: It looks a bit smudged here. I think I tidied it up a bit. The instrument panel received a coat of X22 clear to hint at a glass covering. The cockpit: The fuel tank was hand painted, very slowly and carefully. Still needed to touch up afterwards... Body on: Notice the spoilers have yet to be put on. It may not be obvious from the pictures. but I tried to mask the body to paint the window border. However, I had to pull the tape of, it took the lacquer coat right off. At this point, I should have stripped it back, bit just couldn't be bothered. I patched it up as best I could. I just wanted to get this blighter done! The spoilers installed. I used a high-strength acrylic glue for this, as I don't trust CA glue much. The mirrors just need installing... Done! Just need to clean it up a bit before posting in the RFI section. Thanks for looking, Cheers, Alan.