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Here is the next model to cross my workbench. Or rather, here are the next models. One of the joys of returning to the hobby after a long absence is that I keep discovering cars I like that were produced in 1:24 kit form (which is my preferred scale). The Tamiya Fiat Abarth 695 "esse esse" was one such happy discovery last year and I should have known that there would also be a standard Fiat 500 kit out there; I found two of the Fiat kits for sale on eBay recently (you wait ages for a rare kit to turn up, etc. etc.). I knew the Abarth was complete, the Fiat was sold as complete but with some parts off the sprues, so my logic is that by building both kits together I can see what's missing (if anything, so far it does indeed seem to all be there). I love the Fiat 500 because it is so small yet well engineered and because it reminds me of holidays to Rome, where the classic 500 is still a common sight. Work has been underway for a couple of weeks as I'm priming and painting, particularly the bodywork, so here is the story so far: Obligatory box art photo. Unusually for me I'm sticking with the boxes for colour inspiration; on the Fiat I love the combination of blue bodywork with the red and white seats and I've found Fiat Capri blue, which I like even if it probably isn't 100% authentic. The Abarth is getting a coat of Ford Dove Grey, which is a light grey that doesn't seem a million miles away from the colour in the picture. This is the box for the Abarth, the differences between the two kits are in the black "B" sprue, the chrome sprues (I think), the tyres (wider) and the decals. The body is tiny. The good thing is that mould lines are very faint and easily sanded away. To cover its wide tyres the Abarth gets a set of wheel arch extensions. The instructions suggest attaching them after painting but it seemed more sensible to glue them on and spray them with the body as they are supposed to be one colour. This is the standard 500 after a coat of primer, checking for the fit of the engine cover and floor. Abarth at primer stage, the fit of the wheel arches isn't great (possibly my fault not the kit's), so a little filling is necessary. It's annoying that it's easier to see once primer is on, the black plastic tends to hide the gap next to the white plastic of the body. My solution was some automotive filler primer that came in a pen-type applicator with a fine nib; this was perfect for running a bead of filler around the join. First coat of paint on the Abarth. Annoyingly the can ran out so I'll have to buy some more. I'll give the body a rub down before applying the second coat; it is quite a tricky shape to sand, there's lots of raised edges to burn through if you're not careful. Looking a bit more purple under the lights, the standard 500 also has its first coat and needs rubbing down but I'll leave the paint a few days to harden first. As there's plenty of painted metal inside a real 500 I've painted the inside of the roof and pillars on both cars. Floor pan and rear bulkhead are common to both cars. The white area is where the part was held for priming, it won't be visible on the finished car as it is under the luggage compartment (which doesn't open). Note how Tamiya has different mounting holes for driver's and passenger's seats so you can't put the wrong seat in the wrong place, at least in theory). You can also see the spoon-shaped throttle pedal moulded into the floor. This is a bit disappointing but I doubt it will notice on the finished car. For the standard car I'll paint the floor Tamiya Nato black to represent the rubber floor mat. on the Abarth the floor will be body colour. Other side of the floor, plenty of crisp detail here. First part of the instructions is to assemble the twin-cylinder engine; here are the main engine parts painted flat aluminium. Fiat engine is on the left, the Abarth (on the right) has a bigger sump and different rocker cover. Painted engines next to one primed gearbox and one unprimed, the gearbox halves fit together so well it's practically a snap-fit. these parts are identical and interchangeable in kit form. You can also see the fan/dynamo drive pulley assembly; I thinned this slightly to reduce the thickness of the fan belt. Focus isn't great in this picture but you get the idea about the engines, standard on the left and Abarth on the right. The instructions suggest that the right-hand (as in this view) part of the standard engine should be in aluminium but all my research pictures have show the engine cowling painted black so that's what I've gone for. I'll add plug leads although it's annoying that there is no representation of the spark plugs or their holes in the moulding, it probably wasn't practical to incorporate that detail into the mould. The seats of the standard car are two-tone with white top panels and piping with the main part of the seat in red (my choice), tan or grey. To get the two-tone colour scheme I started painting the seats white; I'm going with gloss now and I'll tone it down with satin varnish later. Seats masked up, I then gave them another coat of white to seal the masking tape. Tomorrow I'll spray red primer followed by red paint. That's about it, but stay tuned for the next instalment.

My next one for 2017. Must be the third, I think. I handed it over to my daughter last night, and she was well pleased! The smile on her face said it all. (She's 20 by the way) So, here are the images: I like the 'arty' 'up-hill' look. Actually, it was me with the camera at a skew angle! On the whole, a very pleasant build. I had a few problems during the build. Some of them were my own (The clear-coating being the major one) and one was the kit (The wheels!). I have just noticed that on these pictures, the little 'sting' aerial is a bit off straight. I corrected that after the pictures were taken. Any comments, positive or negative are welcome. Thanks for looking, Alan.

Hi, One of my models completed in 2015. FIAT 500 New from FUJIMI in 1/24 scale. Additionally, photo-etching parts from Aber were used (24 026)