brooker

My father was a Halton Apprentice prior to WW2 - he's been dead for at least 15 years now. In WW2, apparently, he ran a group of mechanics who went out and salvaged parts from downed aircraft to keep the rest in the air. One day he was called into the base and told to line up with other LAC's of his rank - then a Navy Officer said he was looking for volunteers to be on aircraft carriers on the convoys to Russia, because there had been a lot of shipping losses due to submarine and aircraft attacks. He walked down the line and pointed to various men, including my father and said, you men "step forward", which my father and the other men did - and then he said, you have all volunteered get your baggage and on the bus.........behind me. My father was posted to HMS Tracker, a hunter killer aircraft carrier and did two trips to and from Russia, after which the carrier was decommissioned and returned to America under the Lend Lease Program, also at the end of the war. He was later given a gold medal, which I have, from the Russian's for his bravery during that time, apparently the Russian's treated the crews of the ships which supplied them, as heroes. I have some pix which I will try to post here, at some stage, from that period of his life. He was onboard in the aircraft hanger, when an aircraft misjudged its approach and the top bit with the engine was on the runway and the back bit with the burning aircraft fuel cascaded into the hanger where he was, along with the aircraft's pilot, who was ensconced in a sea of flame - crying out "help me" - apparently an NCO came down and shot him, to put him out of his mysery. Life then was cheap. The aircraft carrier went to "Don Lifejackets" prior to "Abandoning Ship" which would have been death for all of them, because in the Arctic seas they would only survive for a few minutes and the other ships could not stop to pick them up, because of the possibility of submarine attack - however the crew were able to save the aircraft carrier and they continued on to Russia. My father ended up in Australia, after HMS Tracker was decommissioned - in charge of a group of men who would go in with the first wave of troops and put in runways for the fighters to land on - onJapaneseoccupied Isands - like the American BeeGee's or GeeBees - I think - but the war ended before he had to do that. More later, if interested. Richard

I collected thousands of aircraft plans from ex Communist Block modellers magazines up to the end of the time the walls came down. These are plans of the actual aircraft they represent - not for any interest, but they came in the magazines which had plans of ships and warships, which I was interested in - so I collected them too and also some plans from Engineering Magazines, just after WW1, where UK inspectors inspected German aircraft and reported their findings in the above magazines in interesting detail. Card kits are available from Russia and Poland in 1/33 scale of most aircraft, especially some WW1 and lots of WW2 and later - the kits come in book form, flat and you have to cut out and assemble the parts according to the diagrams which are provided, although, if you are familiar with plastic or some other building medium, there is no reason why you could not use the parts as patterns, to build in that, instead - however, storage space might eventually be a problem. I believe that if a card model is constructed strongly enough, it is possible to power it with an electric motor and fly the model - I have, or had, 2 volumes of card aircraft models printed in England, which sold some years ago for really high prices, as memory recalls, somewhere? and they could also be powered by electric motors and fly. I don't mind looking through my directories of paper aircraft plans and sorting something out with those of you with an interest in specific aircraft which I might have - for modelling use. Richard

I've set myself a task in making photo's of my 1/8 Pocher car collection and I will add pix of my warships to that, as I find the time OK. At the moment, I'm running around like a hairy goat or a headless chicken, so once I get past the raft of issues presently, I'll get into it. In 1984, I was married, unemployed and had been for a year or so and I needed something to do to bring back my confidence and propel me into getting a job, in a shortage of work period in West Australia , by increasing my belief in myself and my capabilities and the model ships club I belonged to, well its members, looked down on me and my circumstances and eventually one wit suggested I made my ship models from cardboard, which I eventually did using plans I had researched and collected from the archives of a main library here - real fascinating ships plans - so I made large R/C models of ships that no one had seen before - and when there was a public display, all of the shoppers came to admire my models which cost me relatively nothing to build and ignored all of the r/c plastic kit models which the other members had spent thousands of A$ on and my models were especially as good as, if not better than, their top and best modeller could produce. lol. From rags to riches. At the time, I had arranged for the club and the modellers to get TV and newspaper coverage, without having been able to let them know, whilst, at the same time, they had an extraordinary meeting, to which I was not invited and got me booted out of their model ship club - a lifetime ban - for making models which cheapened their hobby - so when I rang up to cancel Newspaper and TV appearances for the club - and told my story, I got my models and all of the live TV and Newspaper press coverage instead which went down like a lead balloon - the model ship club declined to comment. Building models in card and paper can come at a price. OK, if you are wealthy enough to be able to build in plastic, keep with it, just to stay in with the like modellers who grace these pages - if you want to be a firebrand and be different, then by all means follow my lead, at least your money will remain in your bank for longer and you will be able to spend it on other things or the missus and your hobby costs, with cardboard, would be negligible - almost laughable - and for my money how hobbies should be........£20 to build anything, in whatever scale you want, but the bigger the better and which no one else has or will ever get - that's me. Since then, up until, well about 14 years ago, all I ever built was warships, however, I moved from plans into Polish and Russian card kits, which are prepared digitally and which come with all parts flat - you have to construct them into the shapes that they are meant to be and they go together very accurately - unlike some plastic kits - however, the Polish and Russian card kits are made of thin card and the detail is printed on the kit in 2D, so when I assembled a kit, naturally it had to be much more robust, and in 3D, not only because of our climate which bends thin card like a banana, but also because each ship must have detail which stands out when i painted it and that it would retain its shape and be capable of putting in the water and chugging around via electric motors and R/C without taking on water, or sinking or becoming destroyed by the water on it or in it. Now I've come full circle and I'm starting to build in plastic, for the first time in my life since I was a kid 60 years ago (69 now) because I no longer have the ability to complete any ship model i might start - I take time off and can't drag myself back to completing a ship model which is a great shame - probably the anti depressant tablets I take - which is a greater shame. Yes, I have huge paper collections of ships, warships, submarines, aircraft, tanks, armoured cars, cars, racing cars (well not so many) armoured trains, buildings and most other things and I've moved from paper to digital now, so storage is no longer a problem, with hard drives. I guess I am a hoarder and as luck would have it, so is my present partner, except she is far worse than me - she even has a container full of (junk) stuff she one day hopes to have here - some hopes, at this rate. Richard

I purchased a completed model of the 1/8 James Bond Aston Martin which was distributed to the UK, Portugal and New Zealand, I think, but not Aussie - one of these in parts magazine specials - it arrived recently with a busted left hand front suspension, which I have since repaired with new spares and I've got one more part to arrive to complete it back to how it should have been on arrival. I saw a similar 1/8 Aston Martin sold at Bonhams recently for £6,000. There will always be a lively market for completed 1/8 models in good nick, even for me, some years hence. Richard

I once wrote a book on how to build in card, for strong big R/C models or static - I wrote it years ago when I was thoroughly overjoyed with building ships in card but I've lost that feeling, probably due to anti depressants these past 15 years or so - talk about an addiction. I wrote it on a Commodore 64 Computer about 30 years ago - I have it on file somewhere - and if there is sufficient interest in model shipbuilders to try something different, than small and expensive plastic kits, I am happy for it to be a free sticky for anyone to download and use here, for free. Whilst my shipbuilding skills have gone out the window - I can field any queries - because my mind remains relatively sharp, if blunted, from medication. I have the means to provide plans of ships from just about any period of shipbuilding, both civil and war, sail or steam or a combination of both, for my photocopy and postage costs and how to enlarge those plans with a photocopier, if necessary. Give or take, roughly £5 would easily cover it, per A3 or A4 set, which includes my travelling costs to the nearest A4 photocopier......etc, payable into my PayPal Account - I can provide details later, if necessary. The cost of a 3ft to 6 foot model, from plans to built model, either for static or radio control with electric motors (I used to use 12 volt windscreen wiper motors for power, from wrecked cars and a speed controller made from an electric wire wound fire, powered by 12 volt rechargeable motorcycle batteries) is no more than £20 and all you need are a hobby knife, ideally the one which you hold like a pen - not a Stanley Trimmer - a black biro and a metal MAUN Safety Ruler, PVA glue which is cheaper the bigger sized bottle you buy, varnish, prior to painting parts and water based paint and paint brushes....... and somewhere to cut without doing the table significant harm - I used to use 1/4" card sheet to cut on - what £15 worth, reusable, all up? The quality of any model is the detail which you build in and the time it takes you - so if you want a quick model, stick with plastic - if you want a card model, then any scale is pretty much possible, if you devote the time and learn as you go. Which is not plastic. Richard

There are always card kits or plans - I think I have a large scale set of the Essex, but I'm not really sure - build in card and it all comes in really cheap at around £20 all up for a 6 foot model. Richard

I have always had a liking for ships, warships and submarines and I have a private collection of roughly 5,000 paper plans, all catalogued, from some of the more recent Russian Warships of the 1990's in 1/100 scale, back to WW2 including a 1/100 set of SMS Bismark (19 pages in Polish) and to the first records of ships and ships plans, these plans collected from ex Communist Block magazines A4 and A3 - and - historic shipbuilding magazines, The Engineer, Engineering and others from about 1850 up to around 1920 in A3 sizes, when plans ceased to be printed in them, cataloguing the improvement and changes to ships and shipping over that period of time and before and quite a large collection of lithographs from these, above shipbuilding magazines - prior to the invention and use of the camera. One of my favourites was a Roller ship, which I once built a large model of, and the Bessemer, which was a real cracker, but again, a failure - an English Channel Steamer, of I think, the 1880's, however, most of the plans I have collected, are as rare as the ships which they illustrate and which have been forgotten, in the main, by the passage of time. I have also built a few large detail scale warship models, roughly 2 feet to 6 feet in length out of card and paper for R/C, although I've not bothered playing with them, beyond the build of each and I have them in my home, as I write this note. The plans which I have, probably no longer exist, in many cases and the ships, especially over the period from the changeover from sail to steam, are in many cases most unusual and of course during the US Civil War, I have many of those, my favourite being the "Spyuten Dyuvil - 1865" which was a spar torpedo boat and which I once made a model of. Richard

Graf Zeppelin was a German Aircraft Carrier. I have large scale plans of her and also a digital card kit, probably around 1/200 or 1/300 scale - although the aircraft carrier was built, it was not launched prior to the end of WW2 and I have no idea what happened to it. Then there was the airship (I think) and I have digital plans and a digital paper kit for her too. Richard

I have a digital card kit of a St Chamond, probably in 1/25 scale. I seem to recall the card kit was produced by a Russian company years ago and I have probably all of the other WW1 tanks as well, including the German two - which would look great if built to 1/15 scale or 1/16 scale and fitted on existing Heng Long or Tamiya R/C lower hulls for roughly £1 in card costs from the get go, to finish. Probably got nice paper plans too. Richard

Um, well I have lots and lots (thousands) of Tank and AFV plans in paper format - they mainly, came from modellers magazines from the ex Russian Communist Block and from magazines which have long since ceased to exist, probably along with the printers, of same, too. I've probably got digital plans too, but I don't know if I have that many and armoured trains too - which I particularly like. I collect 1/25 or smaller scales, Tank & AFV card kits, but only in digital format, because card kits are just too heavy and bulky to store and I have no idea how many I've catalogued, or I've got now, but, dare I say it, lots and lots. And large scale tanks - if you use the running gear of your existing Tamiya and Heng Long tanks, you can build new upper tank hulls from 1/25 card kits, enlarged to fit and have completely new and different R/C tanks to what is available in the shops or eBay, ever - probably one off's - and the kits come with the painted final paint scheme, which is accurate. If you build upper tank hulls in card - I've explained how, in one of the other threads on this forum - then you are looking at an overall building and finishing cost, from the get go of about £1 - tops, to compete with the plastic kits and prices mentioned in these pages. lol. lol. lol. I have a Tamiya 1/15 King Tiger and an M4 Sherman and all of the Heng Long tanks, with the exception of the latest Chinese one and one or two plastic static tanks, with the option, later on of putting in R/C, if I were ever inclined to do so, which I'm not. Richard

Cost wise - a 6ft long card warship built, after varnishing and painting costs about £20 tops all done - a tank upper hull, would be perhaps £1 in material. lol. Richard

I'm surprised that none of you have considered 1/25 Polish and Russian card kits of Tanks and AFV's. The kits come mainly in 1/25 scale (although there are some smaller kit sizes) and all parts are in book form, flat, so you have to cut out, bend and assemble parts in whatever material you decide to build in and at whatever scale, or by photocopy or photographic reduction or enlargement. To begin with, make 5 complete sets of plans (if by photographic enlargement) for each model hull you are about to build. Name one set "your master set" and put this aside, just in case you use up your 4 building sheets, so that you can photocopy more sets from it. Never use your master set to build with, because a photocopy enlargement is never the same the second time around, from scratch. I collect Tank and AFV card kits now, but only in digital format, as card kits in book form, take up too much space. For Tanks and AFV's not made into kits, I have a large library of paper plans, filed away in lever arch files. At one stage I was going to use the existing R/C lower hulls of the R/C 1/15 Tamiya and Heng Long model tanks I've got and just build and replace the upper hull armour, to something completely different which has the same, or similar wheels configuration and track layouts - as many different tanks do - it is easy enough to build robustly in card - just make the outer skin in thin white card, then PVA glue 1/8" thicker card inside, an internal framework is not necessary if the hull is built strongly enough and varnished inside and out prior to painting - when the varnish is dry the card becomes as rigid as plastic, but get the assembly right as you go, because you cannot sand card, it becomes fluffy - cut and mount external fittings out of solid pieces of card, of various thicknesses, glued in place on the outside skin in the appropriate places and apply rivets with a hypo syringe filled with PVA glue, when clear, the glue has dried - then when you paint the outside hull, all of the detail stands out and it is easy enough to cut out slots or slits in the hull where the crew could look out, whilst the part is flat - I used to use water based household paints and I could get the colour dead right from the kit, by taking the printed kit down to the local paint store, where they had a computerised paint matching service and I'd buy sample pots of water based paint, of my colours, for next to nothing and the paint would last for several models of other warships, if need be. The gun is easy enough to construct with any sort of round hollow plastic, or metal length and if tapered, build up the external taper with PVA wetted paper, finally glueing the thin card kit template around it, for fine detailing, prior to varnishing and painting. After lifting off the upper hull of an intended hull change, tank, I was going to keep the plastic upper hull, so I could change the lower hull, back to that model tank, if I ever wanted to. Simply put, I don't have enough time left to do all of the things I had intended to, so I've simplified my life as much as possible and cut back on what I can comfortably achieve in the time left to me - and Tanks and AFV's are not it - 69 and retired, now. Water based paints are easy enough to keep brushes or the paint splash clean up, afterwards, simple and the final painted finish was as hard and enduring as oil based paints - which were a lot harder to clean up afterwards, with. My cardboard constructed warship hulls, usually 3 to 6 feet long and for R/C if ever I wanted to, using this method of construction, were strong enough for me to stand on, without collapsing and I weighed 18.5 stone then (prior to diabetes Type 2). It is easy enough to build a rotating turret. Start off with a nylon cotton bud shaft, which when you cut it, you will find is hollow. Measure the thickness of the shaft on which the turret spins and cut thin card to this width in long strips with a hobby knife and a ruler - the thicker the card, the harder it is to shape and finish - you can buy a metal MAUN safety ruler from hobby and craft shops - then glue one side of your thin card with PVA glue, just wet enough to the same consistency as you would have on the back of a postage stamp, then stick the begining of the card length to the cotton bud shaft and tightly wrap the length of thin card, around and around, laying the growing wheel on either side from time to time for conformity and to make sure everything is assembling cleanly and flat, until you eventually get your final shaft thickness, then set aside to dry. Once dry, put in a wire length, in the hollow cotton bud shaft and spin - if you did it right, there should be no wobble and your wheel should spin easily. With gearing, or even connected directly to a servo, within the tank hull, you should be able to turn your turret by R/C - this building method (my technique) is great for turrets on warships and of course wheels on cars, if you decide you want to build in card and paper or some other medium, with which you are familiar. The advantage of card is that it has no grain so will bend in any direction, (thicker card, once wetted) or around a form, held in place with pins, until the glue dries. Richard

Hi, Does anyone build from enlarged paper kits or from plans? I used to, until I got on the internet and try as I might, I just can't get my motivation back to build and complete a ship model I might start. I collect plans and kits in a digital format now, but I have a good sized collection of plans, in various scales, on paper. Richard

Duh, the Soliel Royal was an Elizabethan warship if my memory serves me correctly and I think I have plans of her somewhere - what put me off ships of that period was the rigging and the detail involved there, to get it right. Richard

Is the Soliel Royal the pix of the paddle steamer you have on a shelf and if so is that scratch built, from a plastic kit or what and what scale? I love ships and warships and I have a private collection of over 5,000 plans of them in various scales, although I prefer the change over from sail to steam, than modern ships. Plans of cars too. Richard

Hi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocher- is a great place to go and see all about the Pocher models made and Pocher's model car history. What an impressive Ferrari Testarossa re-build. The time taken to rebuild your model so spectacularly is quite amazing to me, as I used to make large scale detailed warships (roughly about 3 to 6 feet long) in paper and card, made every part and for radio control over up to 2,000 hours of detailed work ( I have some of them here in my home), but I've lost the patience and skill, thanks to falling in love with the internet and I just don't have those skills anymore, so when I sit down to do repair work on my Pocher cars, I don't seem to have the drive I once had - what you do is amazing.....and I've never built in plastic previously..... I've seen a few of these Ferrari Testarossa's and one painted bright Yellow, has always appealed to me, with any contrasting colour sure to make the completed model stand out - although you could also try a 2 tone, which would be different. I have a good selection of cars built and other Pocher cars, a 1/8 Monogram Corvette & a 1/8 Revell Jaguar and 2 x Italeri 1/12 Fiat racing cars kits to build - my Pocher built models would look much more attractive with a repaint and like you, I don't find white very appealing - or black, for that matter - my father used to say "Richard, Black is for Birth's, Death's and Wedding's" and that put me off black for life - I won't even wear black anything. I have a Pocher K54 Ferrari Testarossa Spider Sportster, which was assembled by someone in Europe, which I purchased some years ago. It has a rather interesting paint scheme and has been prepared as a sports car, with racing stickers all over it and is quite spectacular, I will provide pix for you in due course - you can copy mine if you like - I really don't mind - but it's a bright purplish colour, quite unusual, which is why I bought it. Temperatures here have been quite chilly the last few days, around 26C - we are in our late Summer, early Autumn and a few weeks ago we had temperatures of 40C plus for 3 days (been hiding inside with the aircon on 16C) and should have a few more hot days before Autumn and Winter sets in - I've been wearing my track suit to keep warm with the aircon off, the wind was really quite cold outside - but then, I'm in Western Australia and it never snows or gets frozen here - one main reason for moving here, some 36 years ago. lol. I will follow your blurb with much interest - perhaps I can kick my idle butt into gear and get on with my Pocher Rolls Royce Torpedo rebuild - it arrived damaged (front axle and front side mudguards) - and has been sitting idle for the past 2 years (1st lady friend went into a home and her replacement I met and she moved in 6 months later and I've been enjoying the settling in period, these past 18 months - I'm 69, so's she) - about time I started getting on with my Pocher's again. I have purchased a Dremell power tool and a load of attachments, all to come from China, so once it all arrives, I have some Pocher model polishing to do (these cars make great dust collectors) with plastic polish I bought online from America, to start with, on top of the rebuilds and repairs still outstanding. Richard

Hi, I should have a Pocher construction manual for that car as a free PDF attachment if you want it. Richard

Deleted - I don't think members require an eBay pitch and how to use instructions.

The MMC site in the States? - more information please - me - blank - blank? That's a funny looking car in your Icon - what is it - never seen anything like it before? Richard

Hi Obsessed Member, Looks like, in you, I have a friend indeed. Delighted you collect Pocher's like me. I did a comparison check with other 1/8 scale cars of a similar vintage and prices for them started at roughly A$3,000 up to A$35,000 and that was 2 years ago, so Pocher models are really cheap and as the kits and models become more rare, so the prices will go up on them, bearing in mind the Pocher factory caught fire about 25 years ago, when all production ceased - I have seen Pocher model prices increase, although that is probably governed by the exchange rate presently here in Aussie. A good time to buy models from Aussie presently, because £1 = A$2 (approximately), so anything purchased from Aussie should be roughly 50% of what you might pay for it locally including your postage costs - although do consider the airmail postage costs before making a purchase. I stripped my Pocher 1 x K95 Mercedes Benz Rumble Seat 540K Maroon (To Assemble), thinking I could use the parts to complete some of my other Mercedes Pocher models, to discover none of the parts fitted, afterwards, because this was the last Mercedes created by Pocher, in a completely different construction method to all of the others, so now I have to rebuild it, sometime, sigh!! Sods Law. Richard

Hi Roger, lol. I was between " live in partners", when I decided to buy my Pocher collection, so there was no one around to be able to control my spending. Add to that, I bought upwards of another 136 diecast cars in 1/8 - 1/24 scale from Exoto, Minichamps, Autoart and Franklin Mint and some other expensive brand names and 4 x 1/12 Franklin Mint Pewter cars and 3 x large wood and glass cabinets to store them in....so I had my Pocher cars on display around my rather large home, with just me and my 2 dogs in it. I "met" my latest lady friend on line and she moved in about 18 months ago and my Pocher cars got moved into other rooms where she would not see them as often as I had previously. She has her income and assets and I have mine - money in the bank is no joy (but security), when a thing of beauty, to me, is a joy forever, to be looked at and enjoyed - and as a long term investment - although with me at 69, I'm not too sure how long my piece of string is (life), before I fall off my perch - anyway, we can't take material possessions with us when we go, so "shrug", tough titty. I recently did up my second (20th) hand? 1988 Volvo 740 Turbo Station Waggon (which cost A$70,000 in 1988) when I was trying to buy my first home for A$20,000, with 2 mortgages then and that sits in my garage now and is great fun to drive with a performance which leaves "most" modern cars for dead, from the traffic lights - after a speedy outing, I often arrive home elated and with my hands shaking from the excitement of it - when the new turbo kicks in - the takeoff and the new engine sound, is awesome - while I probably look like some doddery old fool - to the people in cars around me - much laughter. I recently bought a 1/8 James Bond Aston Martin, built, but it arrived with a damaged left hand front wheel suspension, which I have since repaired with new parts and I have one last part to arrive, to complete the job - however, in the de-construction, I damaged the two front "headlight bulbs" and have not been able to replace them - cheapest cost was £84 (A$170 in the exchange rate - shudder) - which was daft for two bulbs which probably cost no more than 10NP - so when I turn on the lights, the front lights won't work - shrug. My lady friend has suggested that if I predecease her, I sell my collection online sometime in the future, so that she does not have to, but I don't see that happening - that would be like me cutting my heart out and serving it up to her on a plate - not happening - lol. So far, she has been supportive of my hobby and collecting, but it does not matter either way, I have control of my finances and she hers, so if I spend for something I want, she has no say in the matter and I have no say in what she buys for herself. An arrangement made in heaven. "If" anyone finds themselves alone and wants to bring in a partner, but does not want to have their home and possessions up for grabs, (6 months here and they are entitled to 50% otherwise) when the arrangement collapses, charge them £5 minimal weekly rent plus expenses and then they have no legal right to anything you own (legal advice).....I've willed my home and total assets to this woman, if I predecease her, so it is her best interests to keep me happy, which she does. Pix of my Pochers, sure, I will get on it - how do I post them here? Richard

I am pleased to be part of the few brave people, who are finding the time to build Pocher model cars - I am also in the process of rebuilding a K75 Rolls Royce Torpedo which arrived damaged, having previously worked through a number of other Pocher models, restoring them to as new, completed. In my Built collection I have: 1 x K54 Ferrari Testarossa Spider Sporster (Super Detailed) 1 x K55 Ferrari F40 (Red) 1 x K71 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza 1931 (Red) 1 x K73 Alfa Spider Touring Gran Sport 1932 (Brown & Cream) 1 x K74 Mercedes 500 K-AK Cabriolet 1935 (Black) 1 x K76 Bugatti Type 50T 1933 (Yellow & Black) 1 x K77 Fiat F-2 130HP Racer 1907 (Red) 1 x K78 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza Muletto (White) 1 x K82 Mercedes Benz 540K Cabriolet Special 1936 (White) 1 x K86 Bugatti 50T Surprofile 1932 1 x K89 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Coupe Elegant 1932 (White & black) 1 x K92 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Dinner Jacket 1932 (Black) Pocher Cars To Repair/Build and complete: 2 x K72 Rolls Royce Phantom II Drop Head Sedanca Coupe (To Build) 1 x K73 Alfa Spider Touring Gran Sport 1932 (Almost Complete) (Blue & White) 1 x K75 Rolls Royce Torpedo Cabriolet Phantom II (To Complete) (Yellow & Silver) 1 x K88 Fiat F-2 130HP Racer 1907 (To Rebuild & Paint Yellow with White Tyres) 1 x K95 Mercedes Benz Rumble Seat 540K Maroon (To Assemble) Being retired, my motivation has not been very strong in completing some of my outstanding Pocher projects and perhaps I will be more motivated now that I can be part of this group. I previously read about Pocher cars some years ago and when I was in a finacially sound position, some years ago, (and the exchange rate was in my favour) I thought, why not buy some completed models and some to build, since few people own more than one or two of these cars and I could buy as many as I wanted from Europe, mainly, in eBay Auctions - so I did. The only Pocher I regret not buying from Italy, was a Rolls Royce Ambassador (Green) - from the pix, it looked like it had been dropped on its front end and the front would require extensive repairs, so the price was not consistent with what I thought repairs would cost and I did not end up buying it (someone else did). I have some free PDF Pocher "construction manuals" for some of the above cars and can provide them as an attachment if anyone wants a specific car. Richard