Six97s

Looks good so far. . I got to about the same stage with one 30 years ago, then found the doors didn't fit and it's been sitting in the box ever since.

Followed a V-reg Porsche 924 Turbo for a while today. Driven by an older gentleman who nearly came to grief twice entering roundabouts - he either wasn't looking, or believed traffic on the roundabout should give way to him. Despite his driving, the car appeared to be in decent condition.

I received a package from Canada today that was posted in January. Still waiting for something from the US that was posted three weeks ago.

Langley is Royal Mail's international mail hub near Heathrow.

There is no £15 threshold, that was abolished on the 1st of January.

MPC 1968 or 1969 Dodge Coronet R/T AMT 1963 Pontiac Bonneville hardtop Jo-Han 1970 Plymouth Road Runner or GTX Monogram '34 Ford original '60s issue or '70s 'Early Iron' coupe Any of the Revell parts pack "double kits" from the '60s

This thread prompted me to dig out my unfinished Fujimi Speciale. It was nearer completion than I remembered. I'm not sure if I wasn't aware at the time this was a one-off, or I just preferred black interiors. You'll notice in the chassis photo that the wheels are about .040" too wide, leaving a lip on the inside, so that will need correcting before I can finish it.

Especially as it's a Japanese product... but yeah, obviously Brexit.

Replica, IIRC. I have the Fujimi Daytona Speciale. I started it around 1990 but never finished it... the engine and chassis detail is excellent and the wheels and tyres are much better than the ones in the Italeri 275 (the only comparable Ferrari kit I have). I think my build stalled because the roof didn't fit properly and I seem to recall some problems with locating the body positively on the chassis. I had similar problems with Fujimi's Countach - engine and chassis was great, but the doors didn't fit. It was a long time ago though and I wasn't very experienced; probably better to listen to someone who's built one more recently. :)

That was originally a Monogram Snap-Tite kit. I had a couple of the others (KW Aerodyne conventional and Chevy Bison) when they were first out in the late '70s - they were aimed at kids, so somewhat simplified. IIRC, the AMT snap kits were a bit better, with more accurate wheels & tyres, and a fifth wheel with a hole for the kingpin instead of the giant peg the Monogram kits have.

Good work all round. You nailed the chalky oxidised red paint. I was going to ask about the dually wheels and tyres, since I've not seen many kit parts that would be usable other than the AMT 1/25 snap kit ones.

Those wheels and tyres are beautifully done. I think that PE grille would have me reaching for something stronger than a beer though. Looks like a sophisticated machine for its time, I'm interested to see this progress.

Two candidates: RFM Firefly and an Asuka M4A1 with hedgerow cutter. I might feel like starting one or both sooner, but plenty of time to acquire more...

Id try stripping it and then clean it with isopropyl alcohol at least once. I'd also give it a coat of automotive primer after that, since it's cheap and will show up any problems before you get to the finish coats. Spraying anything over silicone won't seal it, the silicone will prevent it from adhering. Re the chassis, lots of people pick out the chassis rails in black, but they are integral with the body structure. The K member and the trans mount were separate parts and those were painted black from the factory. Movie or restored car (or model!) - anything goes, but you'd do as well just to paint it all black.

Looks like a Bedford O series cab and grille. The wings will come to me in a minute... Not my cup of tea.

This Dutch guy has a lot of old brochures: https://public.fotki.com/modeltrucks25thscale/truck_brochures/bedford/bedford-s/ There's a view of an S type chassis and the back page has metric dimensions.

Thanks for the comments. I am enjoying it really! Maybe my tone is a bit dry,.. Fitting those vent ribs was a trial though. On the upside, no multipiece photoetch rings on the idlers and no Zimmerit to worry about, so I have it comparatively easy.

I'm not sure why the edges of the hatches look furry, they don't IRL. Assembled the hull MG too, although most of it will be hidden. As above, it looks better in person than in this brutal close up.

Spent a few enjoyable hours attempting to glue PE vent ribs edge-on into the openings. Some small slots on the underside in which to locate these would have made all the difference, Miniart... God knows what they'll look like when I get some paint on it. Also assembled the wheels, bar the bearing caps (assume that's what they are?). Did the first one (leftmost in the image), but they're fiddly and there's no positive location to centre them on the wheels, so I'll come back to those when I'm fresh.

Interesting project. You'd think by now someone would have made a Holmes setup in 1/25... looking forward to seeing how you tackle that. The MPC kit was just a repop of the old annual version, so they reused the simplified wrecker bed from that.

I'm enjoying dabbling with t*nks. Still haven't finished one mind, but the contrast with car kits is mind bending.

Our Hermes lady is pretty good, but like the Royal Mail, she delivers to the address, not the person named. I had one go to a house five doors away because the vendor got the first digit wrong. I have to say, if you want useless, it's hard to beat UPS - phantom "attempted" deliveries, creeping up to the house and sneaking a "we missed you" slip through the letterbox instead of ringing the doorbell, multiple missed pickups, rescheduled deliveries - they make Hermes look like the gold standard.

I'm not familiar with those particular Heller kits, but the simplest check would be to find the dimensions of the full size vehicles and divide by 24. Some of the older Heller racing car kits had accurately proportioned bodies, but the engines and undersides were subject to a lot of artistic licence. Regarding the difference between 1/24 and 1/25, assuming the subjects are properly scaled, the it's definitely noticeable when you mix them. Since you mention 1/25. I assume you're referring to American kits? Those can be a mixed bag, but most will be dimensioned correctly, even if there are other errors. There are a few AMT and Revell kits with odd mistakes in body proportions or lines, so maybe best to ask for opinions here if you have a specific kit in mind. Wheels can be a bit of a minefield, at least with US kits. Most 1/25 AMT kits from the '60s to the '80s (and reissues thereof) had a common wheel size, whether it was meant to represent a 14" or a 15" wheel. Revell 1/25 wheels were always larger than AMT's, comparable with Monogram's smaller 1/24 wheels (presumably intended to be 14"). After the Revell-Monogram merger, the 1/24 Monogram tyres started showing up in 1/25 Revell kits. I've no idea about Japanese kits, so perhaps someone else will comment on those.

My filing system is better than I thought. No interior photos, but the ladder bars are shown. I doubt you want to pull it apart now, but it had a beefier '57 Pontiac rear end and he used a slant pan Hydro to begin with, then a TH400.

Nice job. I think I have a copy of HRM with a feature on this car, with some of the mod parts laid out. I'll have a look.