modelbautony

Thank you Malc. Hmm, exhausts a little better but not completely resolved. Just posted a load of progress photos in Vehicle Work in progress. Look forward to your honest appraisal.

Here's my first WIP. I say in progress, it's only taken approx 2 years to get to this stage, and probably 2 more to actually finish it, so don't wait with baited breath... In all honesty - it's been a bitch. The tyres/wheels aren't correct. The cockpit is not quite right (particularly where the roll hoop emerges). The engine is most certainly 'under' molded. The Heller kit decals... don't get me started (I used BestBalsaKits). The parts, not connected Re-made windshield from thin acetate sheet, sprayed with Tamiya TS smoke All riveting has been replaced, mostly with PLUSmodels. Brake reservoirs and slave cylinders are scratched. Seat, according to my research, appears to be loosely covered in a cloth material which is 'baggy' in areas. I make my seatbelts out of inkjet printed paper through a 'Photoshop' like software and, in this instance, Replicas & Miniatures Company of Maryland hardware. Quite a lot of work here I'm still not sure it's worth spending a whole load on after market accessories on this model so the gorgeous and true wheel sets for this car from www.iconautomotiveminiatures.com will have to wait, maybe for the Protar/Italeri Alfa 179 I'm fully aware that the Heller wheels are considered to be incorrect (wrong sizes?) and they are plastic (!!!) but I found they were quite easy to 'weather' with pick up and wear. Where to start? I used an EJan Ford DFV multi media detail set on the DFV. The exhaust pipes proved particularly challenging. At some point I cut them at the point they meet at the outlet and, as you can see, they haven't yet gone back to their final position... YET! Loosely put together

Hello Malc. I think we have spoken before on F1M website regarding the JS11, you sent me a load of reference material which was very good of you. I'm just preparing some photos of my JS11, so far, and will post shortly in a WIP. Tony

Ha, brilliant Keith. Ok, you win with a 36 year build.

Thanks again Spiny, Keith and Chris. I've got a 1/12 Heller Ligier JS11 which I admit I've put an extra lot of work in but that must have been on the go for 3 years or so, a 1/12 Tamiya Honda RA273 - 5 years (?) and a 1/9 Protar Ducati Senna which has a price tag on it in pounds shillings and pence (only kidding). I'm good at starting them...

Thank you Homer

I enjoy all vehicle and motorsport subjects. I aim not to do the usual. No matter how much I might determine to do a quick and 'out of the box' model every now and again I get involved with research and then find a decal isn't the correct size or is not quite the right typeface or the shaping for a particular race hasn't been taken in to account... a year later and I'm still 'adjusting'. I must be the least prolific model maker, it's not like the end result is perfect by any means but there is considerable satisfaction in having 'struggled' with a tiny element of a model that may not even be visible on completion.

I didn't know either Chris until I received the MFH decal sheet and noticed it's strange texture on that roundel for the right hand side. In my research: from Wikipedia (?) on the 1970 Le Mans 24 hours race - "Night-time, when headlights had to be used, was defined as between 21:00 & 04:30 and luminous car numbers were introduced." and from 'Surelight' a lighting effects co. on more recent events: "With the Le Mans race running at night, organizers needed a way of being able to see the cars numbers at night. Electroluminescent Panels were used to attach to the side of the car in a way of lighting up the teams number. In time these panels have become more advanced and much safer. There are many problems with these panels such as the start up of the car over powering the invertor. This then causes the panel to melt and possibly catch fire. Advances in invertors and the panels themselves have come on so quickly they are now mandatory to have them."

It's museum quality. I can only strive for and hope to learn.

Just wanted to evidence the luminous decal from MFH - I'm surprised myself that I've been able to capture this:

Great photos Spiny

Great encouraging comments from Kitkent and Spiny. I'd be interested to try the MFH version of this model at some time as a comparison, it must be considerably longer/wider than this LMM version to accommodate the decals.

I'm with you Spiny on the camera 'dust' app. I'm meticulous about removing dust before any photos - but it still appears although not to the naked eye. Thank goodness for photoshop is all I can say. And yes, the cost of an XJ220, Tamiya, Italeri, whichever, IF you can get hold of one, is quite ridiculous.

thank you Keith

Many thanks Old John

Thank you Trevor and Pete in Lincs. Hmm, not sure I tamed the decals, they're still not fully responding to my 'get down shep'.

I really don't know where to start with my admiration for your skills and the end result. I'm new to Britmodeller and joined as a result of somewhere to showcase the models I produce but this work is way out of my league, especially at this scale. I'm finding I have to go to increasingly larger scales to just be able to SEE what I'm doing let alone manipulate fiddly bits with arthritic fingers. Seriously, I'm very impressed and hope to learn a great deal from following you and your future projects.

This is a Le Mans Miniatures resin with a small amount of photoetch - Soft line version. It came to me through an Etsy seller and the body was actually pre-painted and partly assembled (I have not been able to confirm if this occurred at the factory or with the seller). The body colour was poorly applied and as uneven as icing on a poor wedding cake. I wasn't convinced that the blue/purple colour was correct either so stripped it and started again with Zero's 917 'hippy' 'blurple', which I'm still not sure is absolutely right, reference material is not very forthcoming. Also, again in my opinion, the colour of the LMM green 'hippy' squiggle decals was a bit too... green, I opted for the Model Factory Hiro decals which, however, were a completely different length so there was a lot of cutting and reshaping with decal solution. The car number roundels were an absolute nightmare trying to get them to sit down on compound curves in both directions, splitting was inevitable. With the MFH decals the car number right (pitside) roundel decal is realistically luminous so with my obsession with truth to realism it HAD to be used. It's a good job I had determined to 'weather' this subject as all the badly laid decals are covered with various AK Interactive filters. They say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger - I'm in for Mr Universe next time!

Thanks Kodiopa, dal 42 and Natter/Dave - I agree about the the grey Martini, it appears it's iconic even when you take away its characteristic colours, proof of a well designed logo. I hadn't appreciated when I bought the 1/24 Revell that it had decals in that variation. Having planned to make an entire collection of ALL Martini sponsored vehicles, until I came across a display at IPMS Scale Modelworld at Telford, UK, a couple of years ago, that had the same idea and changed my plan to attempt Martini vehicles with a difference such as the Porsche 917 'hippy' car (although finding reference material beyond that starts to get a little thin on the ground). A big thank you too to Pete in Lincs, the ultimate accolade (?), yes, as I mentioned, the model is 1/24 Revell which I have to say these recent releases of 'supercars' are really quite impressive for their molding and fit. Revell appear to have hugely improved their quality in production over the last few years (although I'm really not sure about their recent Porsche 934 RSR, their product shots make it look to me like they've given it a bit of a 4 x 4 make over). I've just completed a McLaren 517S as a commission and that was a similar pleasure to put together, the engine bays and cockpits in both are impressive in detail and easy to add a little detailing.

Wow. Thanks Keith, much appreciated.

I hope these photos display ok this time - using Hobby Photo Host:

Thanks again Jeff - yes I did a trial post and asked the same question. I'm sure I'll get a response soon. Thank you too Jon that sounds ideal, a dedicated button is always useful. Tony

Thanks M. Hmm, I need to have a good look through the FAQ.

Hi Jon and Jeff. The politics or the toilet humour? The humour is always welcome, the other might as well be given over to a bunch of kids, oh, hang on... I'm struggling with posting photos. I thought I'd linked a photo from Dropbox but it just comes up with the 'http' link/code? Any suggestions?

Can any one tell me if this is an acceptable way of posting photos? Does the link work? I'd hoped the photo would be displayed in the dialogue box without having to click on the link.