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Well, this is a strange feeling... a WIP no less. It seems I haven't been involved in a WIP for forever, or even maybe a bit longer. Over the last few months I've been heavily involved in 3D printing various bit of Wessi for parishioners of this parish. That took up pretty much most of my time and what little time was left, well, the mojo seemed to have gone on vacation. I'm not sure if it's returned or not, but what better way to find out where it's hiding than to start a build. Then being as dense as I am, not just one build, but a triad of builds. Surely nothing can go wrong there then? You may or may not know but aside from the venerable Wessex, I've always had a thing for the Aston Martin DB5, and in particular, Mr. Bond's DB5. (actually that car and 2CV6's, but that's another story). I knew there was an ancient Airfix kit of 007's car but ebay prices were a bit over the top - generally going for over $300. Way out of my league. However, there was an alternate route when I spotted that Aurora back in the day released a "Super Spy Car" which was an unlicensed version of the Bond car. The Aurora kit was a bit cheaper and one of my first build threads on BM was the rebuild of a glue bomb obtained from the bay for the princely sum of $19 iirc. Fast forward a bunch of years and I managed to obtain one of the old Airfix DB5's or rather, some of it. In my modeling innocence I thought I could repair/scratch build whatever to build the kit, but when it arrived and I had a good look, well, let's say it's been in the stash for coming up on 10 years now. More recently, Revell released a snap together kit of the DB5 and of course, I had to get one. Then, just to add insanity to the madness, at some point in the intervening years I had obtained one of the old Corgi 261's. I've even gone as far as dismantling most of it with the intent of refurbishing it. The only thing preventing that action was a cracked windscreen, and putting the ejection seat roof panel in a safe place, never to be seen again. Back to trolling auction sites and I managed to obtain another fairly decent Corgi recently for just over $7. Bargain. I now find myself in the position of having 3 different DB5's and thought, well, if I'm building one, is building 3 any more difficult? Of course it is dummkopf! One is a snap together kit, one is a nearly 60 year old Airfix kit, and the other is a (revolutionary for the time,) die-cast model. But what the heck... in for a penny and all that. What are we dealing with here then? Well, both kits are 1/24, and the diecast per standard is 1/43. Here's the two bodyshells. See if you can guess which is which Followed by the complete line up of combatants for this endeavor. Please note that I do not intend to make these super accurate. I just want to have 3 completed DB5's at the end of the day, and am quite happy for each version to show it's heritage, and it's age. How accurate are the kit's? I have no idea to be honest. They look like DB5's but I have no access to data that would tell me one is more correct in any aspect than the other. I would assume the Revell kit being more modern, is more accurate. Perhaps Airfix had access to the Aston engineers and their kit is more accurate. Who knows? Lets start with the bodyshells. At first glance they are very similar, but taking a closer look: Look at the difference in the windscreen apertures - significantly different, aren't they? Other obvious differences are the shape of the bonnet's, especially the front edge - more or less a straight edge on the Revell, but generously curved on the Airfix kit. The bonnet scoop is different as is the width and curvature of the front wings. The difference in the front wings can be seen to more effect in this shot. (I just know those Airfix headlamps are going to give me problems). There are issues with the Revell kit also. For one it's designed as a snap-together, so I know there's going to be gaps and lots of filling in my future. There's also a load of flow lines present on the kit and I just don't know how they are going to present themselves under paint. Flow lines anyone? I think one of the first jobs on the Revell kit will be to spill primer over it to highlight seams, sinks, and any other potential pitfalls. At least I know I have a full kit. The Airfix kit on the other hand. Some bits I have, and many other bits I do not. The engine is completely missing along with various other probably important bits. James himself is missing though I have his arms (? ) and the bad guy. I thought I had two seats until I looked closely and realized that they are both passenger seats. While I managed to dismantle most of the kit, there were some bits that just wouldn't come apart despite all efforts, such as Bond's weapons tray on the rear parcel shelf. Oh this should be a fun ride. Snap-together... did someone mention gaps? Before I even start any kind of assembly on this I have to figure a bunch of things out first. On the Revell kit, the interior tub and chassis are meant to be assembled as a unit then slid into the bodyshell, with the front valance being attached afterwards. That means there's going to be a horrible join line to deal with and I'd like to get the bodyshell completed and painted before the interior are shoved into it. But... There's no way the chassis will pop in once the valance is fitted. I need to check my solutions book and see if there's a chapter dealing with that in there. On to the Corgi. Initial disassembly was easy - just drill out the single rivet holding the chassis to the body - then photograph it so I have a chance of remembering how it goes back together. Sheesh, that looks complicated. It looks even more complicated now A quick test shows that parts may clean up quite well. How long they stay that clean is an open question. This is another thing I have to consider going forward. Will a simple clear coat keep them in shiny condition? or do I need to consider something else? Interestingly, as I discovered when breaking these apart, Corgi seems to have modified or changed the molds over the course of production. These are both the Corgi 261 originals. Both windscreens are different, as is some of the geometry inside the bodyshell. More significantly though is the vent on the front wing. Note how the version on the left doesn't have the "chrome" divider present while the version on the right does. Also, the version on the right seems to sit just a tad lower than his still painted kin on the left. Ehrr, not much progress for a WIP I'm afraid but at least I've put my stake in the ground. Now I just need to figure out what the landscape looks like. I think there will be a lot more destruction before there's any actual construction, not to mention and decent amount of chaos. The next post will be interesting, maybe. P.S. I have no idea where I'm going with all of this.

First things first... this will not be a quick build. I am posting this to kind of force myself into finishing my Dalek build over on the Sci-Fi forum ( http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234945056-scratch-build-16-scale-dalek-an-eye-for-an-eye-and-some-painkillers-please/?p=1382230 ), and then commencing with this. Posting this will hopefully force me into finishing one and getting on with the other. I've always had a thing about the Aston Martin DB5, especially the Bond version. I'm lucky enough to own a Danbury Mint version of the Bond DB5, and recently I acquired several more versions. The first one I managed to lay my grubby mitts on was the old Aurora version. Of course, it wasn't officially licensed, so it was sold under the completely different guise of "Aston Martin - Super Spy Car" Good versions of these seem (like the original Airfix version) to go for stupid money. So, me being tight and looking for a challenge found this beast up for grabs on evil bay. What on earth am I getting myself into? These are the original photo's from the listing and you can see just what kind of state it is in. The box itself wasn't too bad considering it's about 50 years old. But as for the kit.... maybe just a tad too much glue methinks! Where do you even begin on something like this? Well, obviously, it has to be taken apart to see what we have got. Fortunately, it's almost complete. There are a few parts broken, but should be able to be scratched without too much difficulty. I also broke a couple of pieces taking the thing apart - no surprise there. I tried the soak in water, then leave in freezer method, but to no avail - there was just too much glue. I eventually discovered that the glue bonds were actually quite brittle, so, some judicious coercing and some downright forcefulness arrived at this collection of parts. As you can see I have already primed a few parts - I needed a break from my Dalek build when it wasn't going too well. At this stage I think I can rescue 95% of the parts. A few others can be scratched, but my biggest areas of concern are around the windows. I just don't know if these will be salvageable at all. The side windows aren't really a problem but the front and rear windshield may be beyond repair and I may have to try molding new ones myself. - That's a ways off yet! I have invested may hours scraping off decades old glue, with some limited success. To give you some idea of just how bad this is... here's a wheel hub and here's what's left of the ejection seat and occupant Okay, intro over, now back to my regularly scheduled Dalek build and I shall return here in a few weeks (probably!) perhaps I should also mention that since winning this on ebay, I also managed to obtain a copy of the Airfix Bond DB5 - in a slightly better state but with some parts missing - that shall also become a WIP in due course.

Just had a look at my Fujimi 1/24 Dino 246 which I plan to build as Danny Wilde's (Tony Curtis) from the TV-show 'The Persuaders'. However I have not been able to find a kit for the 1970 Aston Martin DBS driven by Lord Brett Sinclair (Roger Moore). Was a kit never made? And how about the Bonds cars of the 80'es (V8 Vantage Volante Series II) and 00'es (V12 Vanquish)? Were they made in 1/24? (Haven't forgotten the 90'es, but didnt't Bond just drive BMW's? ) Cheers - and just wondering Hans J

I built this a few years ago. When I got it out of its storage box today I found it was damaged so as I did the repairs I touched up some painted areas and then took new better photos of it The colour is supposed to be a 'burnt orange' . The colour and registration of an Aston Martin that was once owned by one of my motor-club members I added a bit of detail in the engine bay Headlamps and tail-lights were from 'Little-cars'

I fancied something that might be a quick build and also wanted to see what a modern AIrfix car kit was like. I also wanted a few 1:32 companions for my Airfix E-type, I've got a DB5 in my stash but didn't fancy attacking lots of flash and poor quality mouldings. I'm not looking forward to tackling the decals, which is something that always puts me off racing car kits. Despite being a simple kit the box seems to be packed tight with pieces. Perhaps packed a little too tight, there's a bit of distortion to the windscreen pillar. Some good, clear instructions including a colourful paint and decal guide. Nice mouldings although it's a pity the kit doesn't run to rubber tyres. Colour choice, this Ford light blue looks like a reasonable match, good enough for me anyway. A few ejector pin marks to clean although a coat of black paint will hide a multitude of sins. Windscreen pillar straightened up, but there's also a mould line to smooth. Some smaller parts that also need body colour, including the centre part of the tail lights. First primer coat showed that my cleanup wasn't quite good enough. I also sprayed primer on a spoon, just to see how the paint would go before painting the car.

A recent build on here of the reboxed Doyusha 1:24 Aston Matin DB5 got me thinking about which Bond cars are available as model kits: The aforementioned Airfix / Doyusha DB5 A recent Fujimi Lotus Esprit S1 in both regular and submersible guise Tamiya's BMW Z3 (although with the wrong wheels) Tamiya also did the Aston Martin DBS specifically as the one from Casino Royale. For fans of the original David Niven / Peter Sellers Casino Royale, there is Heller's Bentley Le Mans tourer, also reboxed by Revell (incidently, the Bentley in the books was a different bodystyle). Revell's BMW Z8 For fans of OHMSS, there is the Air Trax resin DBS. AMT have recently released a '71 Mustang as the one from Diamonds Are Forever as a Bond tie-in AMT's Sunbeam Tiger could be tweaked into the earlier Alpine, to represent the car from Dr No. Wasn't there also a mooted but never launched Revell full detail Aston Martin DB5? However, the notable missing one seems to be the Aston Martin V8 Vantage from the The Living Daylights. As a child of the '80s, this was the first Bond film that I saw, and also saw Bond return to a Q Branch edition Aston Martin for the first time since Thunderball (the DBS in OHMSS didn't appear to have any of the special features and played only a very minor role). Oh well - I guess we can only dream...!!

The Aston martin DBR9 debuted in sports car racing in 2005 and achieved success at Sebring with a win in the LMGT1 category and a third place in that category at Le Mans that year. The model here is the Le Mans entry as depicted in the 1/24 scale Model Factory Hiro multimedia (resin,metal and photoetch) kit. As with all Model Factory Hiro kits the design and detail are well executed but trial fitting is imperative and a little fettling is required. The kit builds up into a great replica, particularly highlighted by the Aston Martin green metallic paintwork and extensive carbon fibre decalling finish. Hope you enjoy. Steve Hansford Melbourne,

I've not built a model for quite some time, and had this Airfix kit lying around, so I thought I'll use it to get back into things. It came with paints, and I think it was a gift. It's a pretty rough looking model though, but it'll do for some practice. I'm not expecting great results, but it's lockdown on a Sunday afternoon, so needs must.

Hi All Not posted for a while as my time has been taken up with non-model making stuff. I have finally managed to finish something. Photos are further down.

I got this because I like the modern coupes, it was one of the newest things MA Scale Models offers and I was curious about this manufacturer. It took a good amount of effort to get this result. The resin castings are OK. They suffer from pinhole bubbles because they appear to have been cast at atmospheric pressure. Otherwise they are clean and with some work provide a good result. The metal parts are about half&half. Half I used, modified to one extent or another, the other half I tossed and replaced with scratchbuilt items. Example...the rear wing here is entirely mine. As are the front aero appendages. Both made from plastic sheet. Clear vacform parts can be made to work. Getting them trimmed out correctly proved extra challenging because my sample appeared to not quite be a complete pull when formed. Decals where well printed, in register with good, bright, opaque color. They where also the thinnest decals I've EVER encountered and it made working with them a CHALLENGE. The end result with them was, IMO, excellent.

Hello all, This is my first time posting in here, so please do point it out if there are any mistakes. Approximately 2 and a half years ago, I started working on this build. Up until now, it still hasn't been finished, but major progress is made. This is only my 4th model, so there is still room for improvement. Besides, I don't plan to do anything additional, such as add flocking or anything, so it'd be appreciated if you could be easy on me, considering unlike the masterpieces that you guys post here, it isn't perfect at all. Anyway, here are the pics: The brakes: The seats, painted and with decals applied: The dashboard (unfinished): A dry fit of the interior: Various small bits (namely the steering wheel and headlight housings): A dry fit of the engine bay (somehow the engine bay won't fit into the front suspension very well. Maybe it requires some sanding): The rear suspension, including the differential (masking tape not yet removed): (Sorry for the smartphone-taken pictures. I will use a proper DSLR when there is major progress made.) Anyway, I'm actually here to ask a few questions: How do you increase the adhesion of decals? Do you use something like Micro Sol? Is Tamiya's Mark Fit something similar to that? Is it possible to make a decal adhere to the surface again after it has fallen off using extra thin cement? Thanks for viewing.

A few things you don't see every day, from a great day out at the Donington Historic Festival: Sunbeam Tiger LM Coupe Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato Mercedes W125 continuation Jaguar XJR-15 Facel Vega 2 My garage... ;-P DBR1, DB3S and DP212 (I think...) Lancia Aurelia ERA and Alfa wheel to wheel Not the best picture, but the unique ERA GP1 in action... Senna's Lotus 97T in which he won his first GP, before it went out on the track... In the car park... I just liked the colour! I guess if you can afford to run a classic racecar, the odd supercar is pocket change... Lots more, including some detail shots of some modelling use here: http://cmatthewbacon.smugmug.com/Cars/Donington-Classics-2013/29286583_Knvk5R bestest, M.

Aston Martin DBS upgrade sets 1:24 sets from FG Model The Aston Martin DBS is the high performance version of the DB9, surely one of the prettiest cars ever made, powered by a 5.9l V12 engine powering the rear wheels via a 6 speed gearbox. The Aston Martin DBS was produced between 2007, and 2012 when it found fame in the hands of James Bond in CasinoRoyale and Quantum of Solace Tamiya produce a 1:24 DBS model kit in 1:24 scale, and is recommended as a base for these two sets from FG Models. FG has produced an etched sheet to up-grade the Tamiya model. The Tamiya kit includes a small etch sheet and this is designed to work along with that to detail your model. The biggest part of the sheet is the etched bars to replace the plastic grill on the nose of the car. It is made up from interlocking horizontal and vertical bars, as the sheet is a shiny chrome finish it will not require painting. A set of metal brake discs are also found on the sheet with dimples on the surface to simulate the drilled vent holes on the discs. A wash of black will deepen these for a more realistic finish. Still on the outside are some number plates as used on the film Casino Royale. Also on the sheet is a plate with the BBCs Top Gear logo so you could add a scale Stig! Inside the car is also covered on the sheet with an etched dashboard dial surround and some DBS logos for the seats. FG Models have also created a nice set of Volante light weight resin wheels for your 1:24 Aston Martin. As expected from FG they are cast in Gray resin, with very fine detail and no flaws on the resin. They are very fine and they capture the 3 dimensional shapes in the wheels very well. The centre hub is cast separately and carries the expected high level of detail. Conclusion A couple of very nice sets, the etch will add allot of detail to the kit, and carries on from the etch supplied in the kit. The option to build Bonds car is a bonus, as are the inclusion of the Top Gear plates. Now we need a scale Stig, Clarkson, Hammond and Captain Slow! The wheels are a piece of resin art, capturing the shapes and curves of the real wheels, it will give your build a different look. Highly recommended! FG models have asked me to point you towards there E-bay site but asked me to mention their parts can be brought through other avenues such as Hobbyeasy.com, hlj.com, Mediamixhobby.com.sg. Please mention Britmodeller when buying through FG models E-bay shopReview sample from