Chimpion

The build has been progressing slowly, uploading the photos even more slowly. I can now post the latest update. The engine is pretty much complete and mounted in the chassis. I might add wires to the spark plugs made from left over rigging from the Airfix Cutty Sark. The dashboard is done. I messed up one of the decals but it's barely visible and once inside the car it won't be noticeable. The decals are quite shiny, so I decided not to put a finishing clear coat on as they look like they're coated with glass. Inside the car the risk of them getting rubbed off is minimal. I tocuhed up a few spots after seeing this photo For the first time ever I used metal foil for the chrome around the windows. The first attempt wasn't too good, but the second window looked at least as good as it would have done had I painted it. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with it. I've now applied the first metal decals and gold pin-stripes to the engine cover. The pin-stripe decal broke up leaving an ugly gap. I tried using a gold fine liner pen to fill the gap but it was too wide. Fortunately the ink just wiped off. The next attempt involved coating the whole lot with clear gloss (Revell no. 1 enamel thinned to around 65%), application of masking tape leaving a very thin gap, then brush painting with an old tin of brass enamel from Precision Paints (it's great paint). The colour matched almost exactly, btu on peeling off the masking tape a further section of the pin-stripe came away in spite of the coat of clear varnish. This evening I carefully remasked and painted the missing section, and part of the previous paint came off with the tape.... Hopefully tomorrow I'll get it sorted. It's going to be tight getting this finished on time. Although there's ages left, I'll be away for three of the remaining weeks, on holiday in Croatia, then on business trips to California and Dresden. I'll do my best, but it's going to be close.

It was my first ever kit - my dad built it for me. Would love the chance to build one of my own, but there aren't many of them left.

Time for an update. I think I've succesfully rescued the bodywork. It's not far off being ready for the decals now and the lifeboat is reflecting in the roof again I've also made progress on the engine and chassis. Here's one of the front wheel assemblies : The camera has picked up on my poor paint job - to my ageing naked eye it looked fine! The next major challenge will be the metal surfaces - I bought myself a craft kit with silver foil for applying a metal finish to craft projects which I'm hoping will be suitable. I intend to practice on a sprue first.

Revell are a business. Faced with a choice of which of these to develop : 1) New tool of something they already make. 2) Me-too of what a competitor makes. 3) New subject. the second option often makes most sense to them. Option 2) has a proven demand and will win business from their competitors if they can make it cheaper or better. Option 1) cannibalizes their own business - only makes sense if the original kit has stopped selling because it's not good enough (hard to be certain it's not because interest in the subject has dwindled). Option 3) is risky and needs good market research.

Heller have a nice mix of French cars of all ages in 1/24. AMT and Monogram/Revell have the same for US cars. Between them the Japanese manufacturers provide a decent range of Japanese cars, especially from the 1970s on. Most German marques are also well represented, with Opel the obvious exception. Airfix is letting the British side down badly - apart from Minis and E-Types, there's not much out there. Who could resist a Morris Minor Traveller?

I've had a good look at the bodywork and decided to have a go at sanding it back (sorry Radleigh, I just got too impatient). It's not looking too bad now. I suspect, though, I may have misdiagnosed the problem. I washed the bodywork before the last coat and I suspect that even after a few hours it wasn't completely dry. I say this because the bonnet was almost totally unaffected by the problem, but all the hidden crannies were really bad - exactly where water would hide. Also I used the same mix on the engine cover, which I didn't wash, and that's fine. The good news is the damage is in the water traps, so if I can't fix it, I can try to disguise it as rust! Andy.

Time for some photos. First the good news - the engine and brake assemblies are coming along well. Still need another coat of paint in places. And now the saga of the paintwork. This is what I got using around 50% thinned gloss enamel combined with a major source of dust : Note that in spite of the clear variability in depth of colour and serious problems with dust particles the finish is very shiny - you can see the reflection of my almost finished Severn class lifeboat on the roof. Polishing it pretty much cured the dust problem to give this : which is smooth but not so shiny. OK, I thought, another coat of the same is called for. Big mistake. I think I had too much thinner in the mix and attacked the first coat : I think I just have to leave it to dry and see what I can do with it. Watch this space.

I decided I need to get braver with the bodywork and go for it. I thinned the gloss to around 40-50% and went for it with a brush. It's a thin coat, but it looks great. Pity I seem to have had a major source of dust in either the mixing pot, the brush or on the bodyshell. I'll take some photos when it's dry, but for me this is significant progress. On the dust-free areas it looks much better than I've managed with a rattle can.

Yes, that's my back-up, although I'm a bit concerned about having to spray inside - it's below freezing and damp outside most days, so even spraying inside and then opening the windows to let out the fumes isn't ideal. Also I'm worried I'll get too thin a clear coat and polish down to the decals. Brushing and polishing is actually producing a decent result on the engine cover, but I can't seem to avoid sanding the ridge back to the underlying white. It's a frustration I've encountered since rejoining the hobby - I'm much more interested in cars and vehicles than other subjects, but haven't yet got the skill set to get the result I'm hoping for.

I like Sleeperservice's point about the range of subjects. This could be a good way of keeping it under control. Issue a one month long call for subjects, say 18 months before the start date. Each call would be restricted to a category, obviously with the most calls for the most popular areas. The sequence could go something like : Military jet Armoured vehicle WW2 plane Ship Civilian plane Civilian vehicle Helicopter Tank Fighter aircraft ....and so on

That's exactly what I thought.

Apologies for the slow start to this one. I've opened the box and got going now. Here's what you get in the box : Everything is well moulded, and it's a much "crisper" plastic than, say, an Airfix kit. It feels almost brittle, yet strong, similar to the Heller cars I built last year. I think it's going to test my painting and polishing skiils. I feel it has to be done in JPS black, especially as pin-stripe gold decals are included. I've not yet managed to get a finish of the required standard, but I do now have a supply of micromesh. I don't have an airbrush (well, I do, but I don't have a compressor, but that's a story for another day). I've decided to use the engine cover as a test bed. I tried an acrylic paint without a primer and it wouldn't stick at all - huge surface tension problems. I've now but two coats of brushed matt black enamel and two coats of gloss, with a polish after the first. Tomorrow I'll find out how it's looking. I'm not at all confident about the final clear gloss over the decals - sanding over decals will be new to me andI'm worried how to know if I'm going to scratch off the decal underneath. I've also made a start on the engine and brake assemblies. Pictures of this when they're painted. Andy

There seems to be a typo in the forum name.

Yes, it's probably the only sports car that looks like a van when viewed side-on.

It'll be interesting to see this coming together. Nice subject.

I built one of these earlier this year. It's a nice kit for its age, with no major pitfalls.

I'd like to offer the following classic British motoring icon : I just hope I can do it justice. Andy

What an amazing set of models for the year. This is just the evidence we all need to rebut the anti-stash-building gambit "You'll never get them all built". As of this moment we can all buy 100 new models a year with a clear conscience. Seriously though, I'm staggered at your throughput - I'm still on the same one I started back in August.

I'm now convinced the part never existed. I've scratchbuilt a passable replacement from bits of sprue.

Thanks for the link - it's clear from the photos that there was only one part 30 next to the labelled tab I took mine from. I've been through the rest 4 or 5 times without success - maybe I've just overlooked it, it's only about 5mm long.

According to the instructions, there are two of these - one for the front and one for the back. I put the one on the back some time ago, but I can't find the second one anywhere on the sprues, nor any sign of where it might once have been. Can anyone tell me the sprue locations of the two part 30s?

Amazing for the first attempt after such a long gap. I started again a couple of years ago and still can't get close to a half-decent finish. These are truly impressive models.

Rats - I read this excited by the prospect of a rerelease of the Vauxhall Victor kit. Turns out it's only a plane.

There's an old Airfix kit on the German ebay site at the moment, but the price will make your eyes water.

It's insane of course, but I think this is much more a What-if than someone sticking decals from one air force onto a plane from another country. Top marks for imagination and execution!