Warehouse Wednesday: SCATS

 

A proper blast from the past - picked up from the same pile Ramsey bus station was in, the classic Bilt Eezi SCATS warehouse. 

Aside from being a really attractive model, it takes me back many, many years to a very early model railway built along one wall in my bedroom. There was a set of shelves that projected a little over one end, and I built this very kit, modifying it to fit around the supports. 

Except not this, but the free version supplied in Scale Trains magazine. This was printed on normal magazine paper, so I had to stick it to some thicker card, but other than that, it was the same. As I recall (it was a very long time ago), I recessed the walls for a more realistic appearance, as suggested by my Dad. 

So, adding this to the pile for a very tiny amount of money was a no-brainer. I think it's now available from Squire Tools, and yes I could have bought it from there, but we all love a lucky find and a bargain. 

One point - this shows that attractive and well designed kits have always been around. They aren't a new invention, although there are some real old horrors out there that the likes of scalemodelscenery and Scalescenes have saved us from. 

Incidentally, there is one of these kits in the V&A musem collection, along with a LOT of others!

Free card kits from Canon

Picked up from a model boat forum, is seems Canon want to encourage us to use a lot of printer ink - and to do this, they have provided a massive library of free to download kits.

Head to Canon Creative Park

There are boats, trains and cars plus loads of other stuff. Some for begineers, some that will require more modelling skill. All very impressive. There are a few I'd like to have a go at!

 

Building the Hornby rocket

 

No, not the Stephenson's one. A space rocket. 

When the press release came through on Friday, telling us that the Hornby Playtrains portal had been expended with a range of free Print and Stick models, I had to take a look. 

And then I had to have a go. My choice is this red rocket. It stands 11cm tall and will look lovely with a Battlespace Turbo Car. 

 The instructions tell you to print the PDF file on paper and stick them to card. That seemed like hard work, I just printed the file on some thin card, which seemed to work. 

A little cutting and scoring while watching Battlestar Galactica (1970s version) and some Roket (appropriately) card glue, and the job was done. 

OK, these models are aimed at kids, but that doesn't mean I can't have a go does it?

Fun, free, card kits

We all love free stuff don't we?

Well, if you have a printer and some card that can be run through it, the people at Confused.com have produced a rather nifty model of the star of their latest adverts, Brian the Robot.

I passed the bits over to my Dad, also called Brian, who had them assembled in double quick time. He reports that the model is easy to put together and therefore probably suitable for children to cut their teeth on.

At 14cm tall, it's not big enough to be a storage problem but large enough for play value. They even suggest a way to make the arms move.

Quite who thought up the idea, I'm not sure. It's a bit of a laugh though.

Download Brian the Robot in kit form here.

Less easy, which is why you don't see a finished model here, are the Koolwheelz ShowRodz from Dave's Card Creations.



I did download the drag racing VeeDub but all the curved parts defeated me - and that's only a medium skill kit!

 

The Locomotive is based on the Monagram "Honest Engine" kit, another I now wish to add to my collection if I can find one at a price I can afford.

 

Anyway, there is loads of good stuff over at the excellent Dave's Card Creations.