klubman01

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Yes, the C2 class cars are less well known, but I was quite taken by the Ecosse in particular. Trevor

This is my recently completed model of the Ecosse C285 which appeared at the Le Mans test weekend in 1986. It is the Automany resin kit. The castings were a bit rough in some places, and perilously thin in others. I had to rebuild the upper parts of the doors and cut replacement windows from 10thou clear sheet. The air intakes above the cockpit were not cast into the body, so I made some from plastic card, and inserted them into the roof. The original plan was to build it as the number 79, Rover 4V V6 powered, C286 sister car that raced at Le Mans. Unfortunately, the decals for the stripes were quite thick and did not want to conform to the shape of the body. Application of Micro Set resulted in the decals curling up into balls, so the model was consigned to the shelf of doom for a short while. I later came across images of the Ford powered number 78 car at the test weekend. The kit decal sheet had the correct red numbers, so that's what I ended up with. Not as colourful, but at least I was able to finish the model. Another Le Mans contender added to the collection. Thanks for looking. Trevor

Indeed, 1/43 scale has its roots in model railways. It is the diversity and range of subjects that attracts me to this scale, and the space they occupy on the shelf. Sadly, a lot of the major manufacturers are now out of business. However, there are plenty of unmade kits, mostly resin these days, still available on auction sites. Trevor

Seen at Fiskerton Village Show (near Newark) yesterday. Trevor

Have to agree with those sentiments! Trevor

Nice cars! The VW looks like the weird offspring of a Porsche 911 and a VW Type 3. The sports car looks a bit like a Ginetta G4. Trevor

What a great car! A quintessentially British Le Mans contender - hopelessly under-financed, hugely powerful but massively heavy, and all born from a road going A-M DBS some five years earlier by Robin Hamilton. Brilliant! Not my scale (I have a 1/43 kit of this car in the stash) but I can think of one or two individuals on this forum who would do this kit justice. Trevor

Great workmanship, great modelling, and great engineering. Also, it has been educational following the build. 3D printing opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Trevor

Congratulations on a prize winning model. Trevor

Very nice indeed! The 333SP is a great looking machine. One of my earliest 1/43 models was the BBR kit of this car. Trust me, that wasn't exactly "shake and bake" either. Trevor

Thanks for the link to the Gordon Mini. The Bedford camper video played OK. Again, thanks for the link. Trevor

That looks really nice! Some serious engineering has gone into it, what with the hatchback, de-seaming, and conversion to a "shorty". It has the rare Innocenti doors with quarterlight windows, and the rubbing strip between the arches adds a classy touch, I think. And the paintwork looks top-notch. I hope that one of the specialist Mini magazines picks up on this, and does a full feature. Trevor

Spotted today on my way back to Lincolnshire from Kent. . A light blue and white Austin Cambridge (Pre-'63, judging by the plate), a Pageant Blue MG Midget on a trailer, an elderly Rolls-Royce (again pre-'63) which looked very nice indeed and, as a bonus when I drove past Duxford, the Catalina was doing some spirited circuits! Trevor PS I had a Sierra XR4x4 for many years. Loads of grunt, very reliable (apart from front discs!), and I covered over 140,000 miles with only breakdown. The only thing lacking was air conditioning.

Another cracking model. Bravo! Trevor

Spotted yesterday at The Lincolnshire Show. First, this very neat Mk1 Cooper S Historic Racer; And, at the opposite end of the size and agility scale, this Ford Galaxie 500 Skyliner. Trevor

Nice work with intake in the rear screen. Trevor

The Citroen looks lovely. Yesterday lunchtime, coming out of Tesco in Sleaford, a blue Renault Spyder and, later, on the A17, a yellow Caterham. Trevor

That all looks very nice indeed. Great job. A Howmet, you say? That would be a great choice. Trevor

Great job of applying the decals. Never easy over compound curves, scoops and intakes, etc. Love the wheels as well. Trevor

That has turned out nicely. great work, well done. Trevor

An interesting story of an interesting (if forgotten) Le Mans racer. You're making rapid progress, and I look forward to future updates. Great work so far, and the colour is just lovely. Trevor

Yes, it's still being published. I get the Le Mans special each year from GPM. Trevor

I have quite a few issues of Pit Road magazine. Another good source for reference material and "hints and tips". 1/43 does appear to be in the shadows, despite the huge variety of kits there were manufactured. A number of the smaller companies (and some of the larger ones) have dropped by the wayside, sad to say. Trevor

I agree, there are so few new kits these days but, much like Keith, I have more than enough to keep me occupied for quite some time. The printed FSW magazines were really good for the hints, tips, and build articles by Wayne Moyer. Lots of good stuff in them, and sadly missed. Trevor

That looks so much better than the plastic kit part. Nicely done! Trevor