Spiny

I certainly can't claim to be an expert on such matters, but if I can make one suggestion it would be to try to get outside in the fresh air if you need lifting a bit, espcially if you have some nature you can reconnect with nearby as well. The tasks including modelling can wait (unless absolutely essential!), getting back on an even keel is more important. And it really is pleasantly surprising how just going out for a walk and taking note of your surrounds, listening to the birds etc. can help reset your brain.

Once again, apologies for the dashcam quality but this is probably rarer now than the DIno of last week. Although I saw about 5 Fiat Unos last year on holiday in Switzerland and Italy, over here where we put salt on the roads in winter I don't think I've seen one in the wild for at least 20 years. Looked in very good nick too, although looking back at the records it looks as though it's better to describe it as heavily restored I think.

Got to agree that three days to create this isn't lazy in the slightest, especially give the quality of the work. I look at what I've created this weekend in comparison, and think the lazy epithet is more appropriate to myself than all that you've created.

Not a lot of visible progress this weekend, but even so it suddenly feels as though this one is speeding towards the finish line. So I hope you'll settle for this shot of the front half of the body with all the non-glass bits fitted: You may also remember the shots of the replacement mirrors I started on last week. With everything dried, this week'd job was to get them looking more like mirrors and less like two bits of plastic card stuck together with a wire in the middle. First job was to try to sand them down to shape, unfortunately on one the Extra Thin oozed between the tweezers and the plastic leaving an impression which, even with filler, is still there. That mirror will go on the right hand side as it will be less visible there. But here they are sanded to shape. And having foiled one side, then painted the rest satin black this is how they've ended up. One advantage of using wire for the stalks is that I can adjust the angle as needed once they are fitted in place. You will need to forgive the apparently poor finish here which the camera has really exaggerated - please bear in mind those are centimetre squares behind them and they look much better in real life. Other than that, it's all been polishing this weekend, both the rear clamshell and the windscreen which had some glue around the edge. I had to sand that off, then polish back to something of a shine. At the moment, it's down to 12,000 grit Micromesh so with a few polishing compounds it should look about ok next weekend. Thanks for looking.

This shows the value of trusting your instincts - usually if you have a vision of how something will look and stick to it you'll end up satisfied (at least) with the results as you are here. You shoudl be pleased with the end result. Of the 20 models I've done, there's only one where I look back and wish I'd done a different scheme. And that wasn't an outlandish colour scheme, but my decision to use a Volvo dark grey on a Porsche 959. Hopefully next time you decide to try something you're not sure about, you'll be able to look at this one for encouragement.

You're braver than me drilling into an almost built model, but (as we've pretty much come to expect by now) you've made it work very well.

Got to agree there, excellent choice of colour.

I get the impression this may be an Aoshima thing back in the 80s/90s as the Silvia I've recently sprayed the body of also came with a choice of opaque or clear bonnet. And also came with no engine either, I can only guess that at the time Aoshima either offered, or were considering offering, alternative engines to put in there if you wanted.

Now do you think Racing Spirit made a mistake with their spelling of '"Layton House" on the box, or were just trying to avoid paying royalties? Looking forward to seeing how these come together, there's something about the oh-so 80s shape of the Skyline 31 that just appeals to me.

Not just the photos, I like the model as well. I imagine it takes up quite a bit of real estate though.

Just goes to show how small the first locomotive was when you see it here, still looking small despite being 1/35. This is definitely something unlike almost everything else built here, so it will be interesting to see how it goes together, even if trains aren't really my area of interest.

Superb work on that engine, at this scale I can't believe how exact you've been with the painting.

OK, this isn't a car spot today (unless you count it being on dashcam). But I hope you'll all agree that a T-rex running down the cycle path isn't something you see every day.

Love the concept, and really hope it does well as there are other 'bog standard' cars I'd love to see kitted as well.

I wouldn't worry about hand painting the rear bumper, it's perfectly viable as a process and once you've cleared the brushlines will virtually disappear (not that I can see any in the photos). Looks like you've made a good start. Incidentally, if you have a similar situation in future of trying to cover a strong coloured plastic for a light colour car, you can help by doing a grey primer, then a silver layer before the white primer which should mean fewer layers needed.