Neddy

Welcome onboard! Whilst not being an aircraft modeller since my teens (more than half a century ago) I can still appreciate well built models. I especially like the P47 - and the Defiant, a much maligned but nonetheless bloody awful aircraft not often mentioned these days. Great models.

(Shudder)

Good luck! At least you'll have the benefit of a full trial run and will know in advance the weak spots and potential points of failure. I admire your perseverance but agree that the project is too good potentially to abandon now. You're a braver man than I am!

My sympathies on the mishap. The work-round though sounds ingenious, I do hope it works out.

Sorry, my mistake - I misread the original post. Still remarkable though in 1:25 scale! Yes, they have changed hugely. The sheer quality of the builds displayed here was one heck of a surprise to me when I joined earlier this year but it's given me something to pitch at and my skills have benefited a lot from it already. I do miss the creativity of the 1:1 scale custom car builders of the likes of George Barris and Ed Roth and the inspiration they provided which spurred the spotty teenager I was then to create custom designs of my own.

Congratulations on a finely crafted model. Hot rods are too thin on the ground here, it's great to see a slightly unusual bodystyle too. The finish and detail you achieved in 1:32 scale is quite something. Hotrodding is something I was heavily into about half a century ago and I still admire a well built and original 'rod. I'll have to dig out one or two I built back in the day and see if they're good enough to post here. Well done!

Nice springs? Nice engine, rocket launchers, wheels.... which part of OOB did you fail to register? It's amazing to see what you're making of a poor quality kit. Modelling at this level is always a treat to watch and admire, I can't wait to see the finished article.

Progress and a confession - you may laugh, it is permitted! Having posted the previous pic it occurred to me that the colours had come out darker than expected. I then realised I'd made a rookie error. Prior to painting I'd stirred both colours thoroughly but what I SHOULD have done is shaken the bottles vigorously instead. Having done so I repainted the engine and the colours are totally different, much more as I intended them to be. So remember folks, if you're using Tamiya acrylic paints, think 007 - shaken, not stirred...

Interesting point, thanks! I'll bear that in mind when I get to that stage of the build and compare it's stance with online pictures. Adjusting the ground clearance won't be a trivial operation but worth it to get the look right.

Indeed! Having checked many images and found a bewildering array of different colours used I decided to go my own way having come to the conclusion that there won't be a 260 or 289 small-block still surviving that hasn't been rebuilt at least once and that engine builders tend to use their own choice of colours anyway. This is Tamiya X-13 Metallic Blue acrylic which I settled on simply because it looks good on a short engine. The transmission colour is again a Tamiya acrylic, X-10 metallic gunmetal, as I think silver is a bit too bright to give a realistic look to a large hunk of dirty oily metal.

Partially painted prior to continuing engine assembly...

Enjoy your family time!

I'm watching this thread from behind the sofa, you're far braver than I am. I had to chuckle at your mention of deviating from the instructions though - so far any resemblance to the instructions is purely coincidental! I'm just a basic modeller and I find your skills and inventiveness amazing to follow.

Well, the longest journey starts with a single step and I've just bitten the bullet and commenced the build. First job was to re-bag it in clear bags to make finding parts easier as quite a few are loose having become detached from the sprues. I was pleased to note that the PVC tubing supplied for ignition wiring and radiator hoses is much nearer the correct scale diameters than the previous AMT 1:16th scale (Ford Thunderbird) build which had to be discarded in favour of garden tying wire. Also pleased to note the old-fashioned instructions are much more comprehensive than more recent evolutions in that they have quite verbose and detailed written descriptions of each stage in addition to the excellent diagrams - a rarity it seems these days. Basic engine assembly... ...I'm going for the custom engine build, hence the twin carb option on the intake manifold.

Thanks a lot for checking it out. As you have seen it's the original, not the clear version. I am extremely tempted but dare not commit to an open-ended and probably quite substantial carriage charge without knowing even vaguely what the cost would be.

The Heinkel was my first "car" and I have very fond memories of it but never knew there was a kit ever produced of it, so I was delighted to read this. I've just had a quick search for this one and located one in Japan. I would have bought it despite it's 20,000 yen pricetag (about £121.00 sterling) apart from the fact that they will not give any indication of shipping costs until AFTER the order is placed! NOT a way to do business IMHO.

clearly and succinctly put Sir Cumference! That's precisely what I had in mind.

The poor OP must be thoroughly confused by now - this reads a bit like explaining the rules of cricket to a non-UK resident!

Me too. The build story and pics are fascinating, the attention to detail, quality, skill and creativity shown is to an amazing standard.

Wot they said! A truly amazing model of a beautiful car. Oooh, that engine bay...!

No worries, the Mods have sorted it out, bless 'em. There are many members here, the pool of knowledge is vast and help is always forthcoming. Speaking personally I'm only too glad to help in whatever small way I can in return for the mass of helpful tips and information I've gleaned from this site during the short time I've been a member. I feel sure others feel the same way too.

So do Humbrol - no. 130.

I can only add my admiration to the rest, that is one stunning model. I'm lucky enough to have actually driven one years ago and the interior of your model is so accurate I could imagine I was sitting in it again.

Thanks people, thoughts and advice appreciated as always.

Thanks for the interesting information regarding the kit's history - and the reassurance! I find it impossible to keep track of all the takeovers, mergers and buyouts that occurred in the kit manufacturing world during the last half of the 20th century to the point where I haven't a clue who owns what, who built which, where or what the heck happened to them.