TonyW

One of Monograms finest car kits, it's good to see one being built. I built one back in the seventies, finishing it in dark green Humbrol enamel. No pictures survive, just fond memories. Tony.

Monogram had things covered pretty well in the early sixties with a ton of build options in some of their kits. The 1.24 scale they finalized at seems a bit big against the 1.25 AMT and Revell picked and some of their models have a somewhat chunky look about them. When they got it right though, Bingo!

Thank you. I have a few car related builds lined up for the Baby Boomer GB and I can't wait to get stuck in. Tony.

T Buckets you say? Have another Little T shot then. This time sat alongside a boxed one and a few accessories. The paints are maybe a bit late for an early sixties kit but I thought they looked nice. So there. ... and here's the Big T again. Also sat alongside an unbuilt boxed kit. I found the kit at Telford one year. I spotted it across the hall as I first walked in. I vaulted over the heads of the crowd between us and emptied my wallet in exchange for it. It's one of the nicest kits in my collection.

Thanks Matt, here's a few more from the vaults. Monograms Little T with a home brew dealer display base. This one must be 25 years old now, which makes me feel very old indeed. Moving up a gear, here's a built Big T this time. And to finish with another colour bomb, here's most of the Monogram motorized kits. Monogram have a bit of a hold on me... Those three are old pictures. I'll be taking a few new ones over the next few weeks. I'll add anything suitable to the thread. Tony.

Not the most detailed of posts, but I've been sorting out some early Monogram Hot Rod builds and boxes. The urge to pose three of them together with the original boxes was too much to resist. One picture captures the feel of the trio without going overboard. I can see a few more like this appearing as the sort out progresses. Tony.

Only a few days before the kickoff, there's been a bit of prep going at this end. Four definite builds are ready and waiting. Over the course of the GB I'm pretty confident they will get done, although I make similar rash predictions at the start of every GB I've taken part in. There are a few other contenders that might get a look in, we shall see. Reading the Airfile Operation Torch reference threw up a few interesting ideas. The French used pretty much the same kit against the Germans early in the war, and then against the good guys in '42! I have a few builds that didn't get started during the Heller GB a while back. I'll dig them out and see what's possible. Probably a bit much to achieve, but a Breguet 693, crashed in France, with Germans checking out the wreck and another of the same type with Brits or US personnel checking things out would have an almost surreal feel about them if sat side by side. I do tend to get overexcited at the start of a GB though. French technicolor finished DB7's vs USAAF drab A20's would also be a different take on things. Plenty to think about, some of it might even happen.

That look really good. Printed wheels and tyres look to be the way forward with model cars. They seem to look so much better than even the best kit provided version. Thanks for the print offer, it's very much appreciated. I'll pass for now though as I have far too many other projects to clear up before I can even think about this one. Have you seen this sports roof Mustang with printed rolling stock? https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/185691-revell-1971-ford-mustang-sportsroof/#comment-2790468 Tony.

The new year is looking promising already.

I'll be trying to push some part finished cars to completion. I have a habit of going great guns at the start of a project, then getting side tracked. Three Fujimi GT40s are very nearly done. They were started at the beginning of last year. I've built them as the famous 1-2-3 finish cars. Paintwork and major assembly's are all in place leaving all the little details to go. Three Mopar Challengers need a shove as well. Two 340 T/A cars and what I intend to be a Hemi powered one. The 340 hood opening seems to be the same size at the shaker option for the Hemi version. I'll take a mold from the Monogram Hemi Cuda shaker parts and run from there. There's also the possibility of adding the S/E small back window option to the car to add a bit of a difference at the rear end. That lot will do for starters. There are plenty more screaming for attention behind them! Tony.

Nice work on a classic shape. I'll be following along. Tony.

My builds this year were a bit thin on the ground for a variety of reasons. Acquisitions were another matter, with a steady flow of four wheeled goodness turning up here. @Mjwomack put me on to an auction not far from us both. We both came away with a healthy number of kits! It's a bit of a show off, but this lot are my keepers. End the year with a bang! I bought a few others to move on, with the intention of going some way to pay for the keepers. I live in hope. Here we go then... A Revell Hot Rod series Revellution funny car. A bit of wear to the blue areas of the box top, the rest is as it left the factory. Gene Snows Funny car, a first issue kit this time. A couple of awkward bits are missing. The tires and decals! Something will turn up at some point. Threee(!) Jo-Hann period Funny Car kits. Rare as rocking horse droppings and a very welcome addition to the collection. The Javelin is started and I'll probably finish it at some point. I've read of this one, but never seen one in the flesh. It bombed on introduction, and is also in the rocking horse droppings category. I'm still in a bit of a daze now having a copy. I present the early sixties Monogram Futurista three wheeler show car, in all its mint glory. Reliant, eat your heart out. And to finish a rather self indulgent posting, a riot of Monogram sixties color. All near mint and complete. Bought to upgrade kits already here. Once I've sorted out what I've got, I'll move on the remains. What a way to end the year! Happy New Year to one and all, Tony.

Gordon Stevens must be smiling down on you for that build. A beautiful model.

I just went a bit weak at the knee's looking at the pictures. Superb work! Top notch presentation as well. Tony.

That would mean my vanity project won't cut it. Ho Hum. A Joe Nitti Roadster or maybe a Doane Spencer one instead then. Or a Grey Baskerville one, or a Robert Williams one, pre hippy paintjob though. Thoughts of a box stock build of Monograms beauty are never far away, but which one, red full fendered or yellow hiboy? Help! https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Joe_Nitti's_1932_Ford https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Doane_Spencer's_1932_Ford https://uk.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrkNP13r4ZlQhUTjhZ3Bwx.;_ylc=X1MDMjExNDcxNzU1OQRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1oaWRkZW4tZXBpYwRmcjIDc2ItdG9wBGdwcmlkA1ZwdXFCOElJUVF1YVFZbXdDYTEuaUEEbl9yc2x0AzAEbl9zdWdnAzQEb3JpZ2luA3VrLnNlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzAEcHFzdHIDBHBxc3RybAMwBHFzdHJsAzI1BHF1ZXJ5A0dyZXklMjBCYXNrZXJ2aWxsZSUyMHJvYWRzdGVyBHRfc3RtcAMxNzAzMzI1NTY5?p=Grey+Baskerville+roadster&fr2=sb-top&hspart=hidden&hsimp=yhs-epic Enzo will have an answer to the dilemma. All I'll need is about thirty 1.8 scale Monogram kits and a Henry Ford style production line. Hmmm...

I might do the Big I Am and build a copy of my full size '32 Ford Roadster using a Monogram 1.8 Roadster kit. A Baby Boomers dream ride if ever there was one. It was a very long time in the making. If it doesn't quite fit with the criteria there are a ton of other early'32's that will fit perfectly. One way or another, a '32 will be built. Here it is at Pendine Beach with my better half driving. She had never driven it before. I threw her the key, told her that reverse is first, first is second and second is third, with third being where fourth is usually located. Being German, it all made sense and she didn't break it. Had she not inadvertently let up after the first timing mark she would have run faster than me.

A page or two back, I mentioned adding a Vac Form B36 to the thread. It might still happen but I'm having thoughts on the whole Baby Boomer thing. I'm a BB myself yet I have no connection at all to the B36 other than its years of service coinciding with some of mine. A much better bet would be to build something closer to the heart, and that something is Hot Rod shaped. Returning WW2 US service personnel lost no time at all making up for lost time and getting on with building some of the most inventive and beautiful cars, Racers, street driven Hot Rods and Custom Cars. Those cars had a huge impact on me and I couldn't get enough of them. My GB builds are going to reflect that passion. Tony.

Yup. In between pulls on the oxygen mask. What could possibly go wrong?

With the GB opening now within sight, I thought a shed sort out might be in order. Impatient, me? Never! The sort out turned up another possible entry in the shape of a part started Airfix B26 Marauder. Not one of my favorite shapes I have to admit, hence its part started status. A quick internet image search turned up a brightly polished factory fresh picture that got me looking at the plane with different eyes though. Third picture down in the link... https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/flying-and-fighting-in-the-b-26-marauder/ The slick lines of the plane, pre Tampa Bay immersion test, look rather fetching. I'll put this one in the maybe pile.

That is one beautiful model.

Blimey, my calendar is starting to fill up for 2025 and it's not ever 2024 yet! It must be ten years or more that I last did a railway model. I made a copy of the boxtop of a very early Airfix Giftset, trying to preproduce the lovely warm colours of the box. Here's the model part done. The finished model didn't survive an unplanned fall from my loft while moving out of my old place. I feel the need to have another go at completing the project. Parts accumulation can get off to a lazy start now. By the time the GB rolls around I should have enough to get cracking again.

Time for another thread top up, it's been a while... A few pages back in the thread I mentioned that although the Airfix Heracles biplane airliner was a fine kit, it would have been a better bet in 1.72 scale rather than the 1.144 used. I didn't appreciate what a size it would have been though. Check out the Airfix kit alongside a 1.72 scale Contrail version. The Contrail model turned up here earlier in the year but I've only just got around to adding it to the thread. Sat alongside another 1.72 vac form kit, this time a Contrail Britannia airliner, you can see that 1.144 made more sense with these things. FROG used 1.96 for their airliners and although the scale never really took off, so to speak, size wise things were a bit more manageable The late sixties issue of the RAF Hercules kit was probably about as big as Airfix were happy to go. The B29 could be included here as well, along with the 1.24 scale Superkits. Contrail weren't afraid of having a go at the big stuff, as seen by this enormous B36 they produced, not long before Monogram upper the stakes with an injection kit of the same subject.

My gob is well and truly smacked! Well done that man. Tony.

What a good idea for a GB. Add my name please. No shortage of choices at this end, a Heller BOAC 707 needs building but waiting until 2025 might be a bit much. I'll be more definite a bit nearer the day. Tony.

If the GB makes the cut I'll have no option but to build the BEA Rotodyne I've been wanting to do for years. Add me to the list please. Tony.