A pre-painted Bulldog

 

Time for a simple kit. Last year, I finally sucumbed to a G scale Lanz Bulldog kit from Pola. An odd choice you might think, except that my first novel (still available) culminates with a tractor chase featuring one of these. Inspiration came from the tractor collection on the farm my model railway and boat club live on. When I found out this was the sport model, well, it had to be the hero vehicle. 

My collection now includes several models, but this will be the largest one so far, and a nice load for the garden railway. 

There are plenty of bits in the box, and a surprise. The kit is not only pre-painted, but pre-weathered too! OK, it's a basically a dirty wash, but the results look pretty effective. 

Most of the model is plastic, but the chunky, solid tyres are rubber, and it will have some weight when built because of this. 

This isn't going to be a serious project. Used outside, there's no point in wiring up the engine or adding too much fiddly detail, but I'm not in the mood for this. Anyway, there is a MiniArt kit in the stash for the same prototype that would be a better bet...

1/4 scale VW engine

 

I first spotted the Franzis range of working plastic kit engines at the London Toy fair in 2020. Sadly, I didn't take any photos at the time, but really liked the look of them. To me, they hark back to the Revell "Visible V8" I drooled over in the 1980s Model Maker magazines. That kit is still available, but over time, my tastes moved towards the VW Flat-four found in the back of my Beetle and Campervan. The V8, with all it's working part, still looks great fun, but this is fun, and useful. 

It's no surprise that the VW engine joined the range a few years ago. Let's face it, there are millions of these things out there, and they are now owner by people who aren't scared of a bit of tinkering, so will like a hands-on project for when it's too cold to get out in the garage. 

Anyway, a few weeks ago, this was my big Christmas present. I know I don't need any more kits, but I also don't need socks or other stuff people give as gifts, so I might as well go for something fun. 

The big shock is that I've started building - my first project of 2023!

Inside the very high-quality box, is a mass of individually bagged sprues, some metal rods, springs fitted to a cable tie to keep them under control, wires and even a small screwdriver that doesn't appear to be rubbish quality. 

Also not rubbish, is the A4 softback instruction book. 2/3rds of this is a pretty reasonable history of the VW Beetle, and the engine that powers it. Yes there is Hitler, but also a lot of stuff from the 70s and right up to the end of production in 2003 (I still wonder if I should have blown my savings to buy a last edition new car. I'll never have the chance to own a new Beetle again.). It's a booklet worth keeping in the future - how often do you say that about the instructions in a kit? 

By the end of the build, I should have an electricly powered model flat-four with all the main parts moving, and lights to show the spark. A proper desk accesory that will be fun, and educational, for the future. That's the idea anyway.

R279 Mock Georgian House - Part 1. What's in the box?

 

Regular readers will know I'm a fan of the Hornby Town & Country range of plastic kits produced in the 1990s, so when I chanced upon a pile of R279 Mock Georgian House, I snapped a couple up for a "stick it together for fun" session. Well, it makes a change from 3-wheel Japanese trucks! 

In the box, the plastic mouldings are all very nice and crisp. Self-coloured too, if you like that sort of thing. Windows are pretty good and will be augmented with printed glazing. 

The prototype is one of those identikit dwellings that proliferated in the later years of the last century. Nowadays, I notice a greater variety of designs on new estates, but I'm sure I've seen plenty like this. The designer did a good job. 

And who was that designer? Well, the Pola branding on this part tells us it wasn't someone from Margate. The range was bought in, but none the worse for it, and handily, you can still buy them fromn Gaugemaster.

Mazda K360 - Part 3: All finished

Here we go - the finished K360. It's not a bad model, but there are some niggles. 

The clear bits are best described as "interesting". Windcreen fit isn't wonderful, but Ok. The front lights though - they should be the same but one is twice the thickness of the other. Neither is a great fit in the front, but some serious work with a sanding stick at least fixes this. I could have reduced the depth of one of the lights too, but left it as the result would be opaque. 

Transfers are supplied with acres of excess film. I trimmed this back for the instruments, which is fiddly. The scripts are raised on the sides so I just painted them silver - far easier than applying decals. 

Overall, though, it's an attractive model of an interesting prototype. I'll admit I'm now pondering a cakebox size diorama to display this and the Diahatsu - but that will need suitable figures and I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to go and order some right now. Who knows what else I'll buy!

Finishing this model clean is interesting, and a handy test of the paint and lacquer, but a bit of dirt would bring it alive. Something to consider in the future. 

At 95mm long, I can really see the appeal of building a collection of these cars - there are several others in the range. Tackled with more than my "stick it together for fun" approach, and they each make an interesting project, but won't consume too much display space.

Mazda K360 - Part 2: Fleshing out the paint.

The Mazda K360 box art shows and attractive two-colour paint job, and as a change from the last two models which came out mucky, I thought I'd have a go at something pretty. 

First challenge, chose your colours. The top is white, but I remember from chosing the paint for my campervan years ago, a pure white looks odd. Pick an off-white (I used a Peugeot colour) and it looks nicer. On that basis, I opted for Humbrol 147, one of my regular go-to colours, in fact the one I use for white on other models. 

The darker colour looks to be a peach, but I don't have that in my collection. Setting out to buy some at Doncaster, the closest match, and it IS close, is Tamiya Flesh colour. 

Applying the 147 was difficult as my airbrush is still playing up. The Badger 200 is a bit brutal (great for large boat hulls though) although it did an OK job. 

As an experiment, I brushed the Tamiya in the load bed area - and after two coats, it looked really good. No brush marks, nice solid colour. No need to spray!

Drying time is quick too. Both coats were on in an evening. A little touch-up where the masking wasn't perfect, despite my best efforts, then a little silver, and things were looking good. 

A 1/32nd scale model needs a little shine if it's supposed to be clean, and so I was presented with another oportunity to experiment. 

There has been a couple of cans of Halford Satin lacquer on the shelf for a while, and I resoned I ought to try them out. If everything went wrong on this model, it wouldn't be the end of the world. 

As it was, everything went right. Three thin coats look pretty good. The paint sprays well and provides a pleasent shene to the body. It's pretty controlable too, not always the case with car paints. Maybe the results would be a bit thick for N gauge, but if the airbrush (currenlty being cleaned again) is out of action, a realistic alternative.

Mazda K360 - Part1: What's in the box?

OK, I promise, this is the last weird Japanese 3-wheeler, but if I can built it, I've completed all the models from the Plaza Japan order that arrived earlier this year. Nothing has found its way into the "maturing" pile - and if that pile is to shrink, stage one is to not let it get any bigger. 

The kit looks a bit like the Diahatsu model - but with even more flash. The main body is reasonably clean, but some of the other sprues are interesting. The steering wheel is surrounded by a thin sheet of plastic for example. 

On the plus side, the canvas tilt is a lovely fit, so I will be using it this time. 

According to Wikipedia, 280,000 of these things were made, which makes me wonder why I'm not more familair with them. 

If you'd like to know more about the prototype, there's an excellent article on the Adrian Flux website. 

And Sotheby's has an excellent set of photos. 

Seriously, these little trucks are cool - why isn't every classic car show infested with them?

Daihatsu Midget - Part 3: Job done, lessons learned

Finishing the Midget is pretty simple. Part fit is good, you just need to trim the odd bit of flash away, especially on the clear parts, and glue them in place. Deluxe Glue'n'glaze handled the windscreen and lights. Odd there is no glazing for the doors, did the prototype have it? 

Silver lines were applied by bow pen, much easier then trying to keep the brush on top of the raised area. Of course, this lagely vanished in the dirtying. As with the T2000, the transfers needed a lot of excess carrier film trimming away. I didn't bother with anything for the sides as I doubted it would have sat properly on the "dirt" and if applied before that, might have affected where the paint sat on the body.

Around the back, I've kep things simple. Probably should have painted the tail lights, but I'm not sure of the colours - presumbably just red as there's no sign of any indicators. A black dot will do the job as you often don't see the colour until the lights are illuminated. 

The canvas cover is going in the bin - it's a terrible fit, only just sitting in place. It could be glued on, but I think the model looks nice without it. One day (!) I'll make some stuff up to go in the back. The box art shows crates of fish, which looks nice. Maybe if I see some suitable mouldings, I'll pick them up and spend time with a paintbrush detailing the scales. 

At 10cm long and 4cm wide, this really does have diorama potential. One day. In the meantime, it was fun to build, which is the point.

Daihastsu Midget - Part 2: A lucky painting accident

  

Painting the Midget didn't start well. I chose some Humbrol satin grass green for the body colour, but my airbrush was playing up. In fact every airbrush I tried played up, until I dug out an Badger 200 which seemed happy to throw paint around. 

In the garage, the results looked OK. The next day, less so. Although there was good coverage, it was far from smooth, there was actually some texture. Paint or tool? I didn't know, but the die was cast, this model was going to get weathered. 

Another bit of web searching, and I failed to find a single photo showing a dirty Midget. Contemporary images all seemed to be taken of new vehicles. I was on my own...

On the shelf are a couple of Vallejo colours - brown and rust. I slapped a mix of both on the sides with a sponge, didn't much like the result so wet them with a brush and wiped the resulting mess away with a paper towel. 

Result - surprisingly good. Once dry, REALLY good. And so simple. 

Defintely a happy accident. The acrylic seems to cling to the rubbish enamel base coat in a way that looks realistic to me. Maybe there is skill in knowing how much to wipe away, but I'm not claiming that this is all down to me. 

Around the doors, I have fiddled with some MiG weathering pencils, but the results don't wow me at the moment and I can't work out if they are just another toy, or something that will make a big difference to my modelling. I've watched a few videos, but aren't convinced yet. More research needed.

Daihatsu Midget - Part 1: Look in the box

 

Moving on the second wierd Japanese 3-wheeler kit in the pile I bought, I'm looking at the Daihatsu Midget. A quick web search shows that this truck has been through several facelifts, the most recent of which sees the spare tyre pearched on the nose in a way I can't decide is hideous, or quite appealing. 

Anyway, this model is of the 1958 version, which I suspect is the classic Midget. By this point it looked like someone had designed it for a start, and that curvy nose is really attractive. 

Inside the box, there's a one-piece moulding for the body, which has some pretty bad flash, in some anoying places - along curved edges beside the windscreen which won't be easy to clean up without taking off detail. 

The first thing that struck me was how much smaller it is than the Mazda T2000, under half the overall length for a start. It is undenably cute and would make (in real life) a lovely vehicle to potter around on short journeys in. 

As ever, the plan is to stick this thing together with no pretentions to super-detail. 

Rubber tyres are a nice feature of the kit, although I'm tempted to argue for plastic ones. These could have better tread detail, and would be easier to flatten at the bottom in a realistic way, but I said I wasn't going to get all finescale. 

One thing I found out by accident was that twisting and pulling the tyres from the runner gives a better result than cutting with a knife. This tends to put a flat in the tyre, whereas the twist'n'pull doesn't. I wonder why?

Mazda T2000 kit - Part 2: Build the chassis and start painting.

 

First impressions - this is a whopper of a kit. It might be 1/32nd, but the chassis measures 17cm long and seems really chunky. OK, the prototype can carry two-tons, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. 

Working out exacly how the parts go together is made tougher by the tiny diagrams in the instructions, but I think I managed to work it out. The fuel filler comes in at a a funny angle, the end hanging on the corner of the fuel tank, but most of the rest is easily guessable. 

Despite my best intentions, I did drill out the end of the tailpipe, but otherwise the bits have just been stuck together with Contacta cement and washes of Mek-Pak. 

A blast of Halfords black paint was followed by a dry-brush with dark grey and rust. This is a fairly basically detailed model, but this just brings is alive a little. 

I really did stick to my plan to brush paint the body. A fresh pot of Humbrol 144 - Intermediate Blue - an excellent colour for jeans on model figures by the way - was stired and coats the main parts. For some reason though, it didn't seem to want to stick to the cab. Does this complex mouding need mould release to get it out of the machine perhaps? 

Anyway, after wiping the paint off again, I shot it with the airbrush which worked well. I'm obviously too finescale and picky nowadays!

Mazda T2000 kit - Part 1: Look inside the box

 

Time for another kit from the Plaza Japan pile - this time the one that started my spending splurge, the Arii Owners Club Mazda T2000. 

If you aren't familair with this vehicle, and they are pretty rare outside Japan, read this article on Ptrolicious which descibes it.  The thing that piqued my interest originally is that this is a three-wheel truck, with a two-ton load capacity. In the UK, when you say something has a wheel less then normal, we think Reliant Robin or Bond Bug, nothing with a serious load capactiy. 

The T2000 exists for the same reason that the UK three-wheelers proved popular, tax benefits. But the Brits decided that loads needed more rubber on the tarmc, not so the Japanese. 

Inside the box is well filled with bright blue plastic parts along with some green "canvas" bits to cover the load. There is flash visible, but then that's what a kit costing under a fiver is likely to show. Not much, but to anyone used to modern injection moulding, it will be a shock. The cab is a seperate single-piece moulding not in the box. Presumably it is produced on a different machine. I'd expect it to need a higer presure to mould then the flat sprues.

Rubber tyres and a sheet of transfers are also in the box. And instructions. One side of A4. With tichy, tiny diagrams to peer at. 

My plan is just to stick this thing together. Brush paint it, and weather to cover up the brush marks. This is not going to be a serious modeling project, I'm just doing it for fun, and to get my modelling mojo back...

Cooper Craft AEC Monarch

 

For a change, the latest kit didn't go into the stash awaiting building. Instead, over the festive period, I built it up like a proper modeller. 

There's not much to say about the build, I wrote a bit more 7 years ago, but it all went together perfectly well. A bit of Contacta plastic cement and some Mek-Pak from my acient Humbrol bottle. It's important to build sub-assemblies for easier painting. Unless you like dodging around the chassis with a paintbrush that is. 

I ignore the supplied glazing in favour of Deluxe Glue'n'Glaze, the results are nice and flush, but it's important to let the windows dry reasonably horizontal to avoid the bottom being thicker then the top. 

The finished model looks suitably old. It's not been weathered yet as I'm not sure where it will end up. A little dry-brushing on the black bits with Humbrol 69 looks fine, but there will be powders once I have a use for it. 

Lettering is by mapping pen and ink, and it looks better in real life. There's something nice (I think) about hand lettering, although transfers do look more professional. This is a fun project and fiddling with tiny letters on the side of the bed would stop it being enjoyable!

Fabulous FAB 1

OK, so as a first project of the year, FAB 1 wasn't too challenging. Basically, it's a painting job. Toughest thing is not to rush the build - let the paint dry fully before slotting the bits together. 

The figures being on a black plastic sprue made life a little more interesting, but priming it first allowed me to see the detail, and saved having to build up half and inch of skin colour to cover the black. After that, it was small brush time and off we go. Keen train nerds will note that Lady Penelope wears a coat of ancient (but still usable) Humbrol Deltic blue. 

 

The finished model is really cute. 95mm long and 42mm wide means it doesn't need a big space of display cabinet. And the wheels go round, so it can be broomed along the floor. 

All this for less than a fiver. I notice the range includes the other Thunderbird craft and even The Mole...

Airfix Beach Buggy - ready for the surf

 In odd minutes over the last week, I've finished the Airfix Beach Buggy kit. I know the project has jumped some steps, but I'm sure you don't need all of them. 

Anyway, the body is stuck to the chassis, seats and figures added and the clear parts fitted with Glue'n'Glaze. Told you it wasn't exciting.

There were a few interesting wrinkles. The roll bar is on the clear sprue, and is glazed. Not sure why this is as you wouldn't have a honking great window behind the seats, it would act like an air-brake for a start. carefully opening this up with a razor saw looks better, and makes it easier to paint. On balance, I should have replaced it with something thinner, but it's OK. 

 

Both figures are nicely sculpted, but a little laid back. They looked odd until I painted their eyes in (I don't normally bother with eyes on 4mm figures and sometimes not on 7mm, but these definitely needed them doing) and she is still staring at the sky rather than forward. I'm out of practise on skin tones too and think I could have done a better job - but every project is a learning exercise. 

Overall, I'm pleased to have had the chance to revisit the kit and enjoyed the build. Aside from a few issues, the model goes together well. 

 

If you want to do a really top-notch job, I'd recommend buying two kits and building the first to get a feel for the model, then making the second the exhibition job. There's plenty of scope for customisation too - the nerf bars on the front could be changed, and the rear cage is a bit basic too. That fan belt cover would be nice in mesh with visible pulleys too. 

But then that's the joy of plastic kits - so adaptable, and so much fun to adapt.

Yellow shocks

 

It's been a busy week, so progress on the beach buggy had been limited. I have managed to fit the  engine into the chassis and add the suspension. 

At the back end, like the exhaust, there's a bit of gluing things and having them hang in mid-air. If you have four very small hands, you'll be in a better position than those of us with only two large ones. The trouble is, you can't line anything up and hope it's right. Worse, until the wheels go on, you have no idea if they will all touch the ground. 

The observant will notice the shock absorbers are bright yellow. Airfix didn't specify this, it's a tribute to the time I decided to replace those on my bug with gas filled ones rather than the "boring" oil filled version. 

The result was a somewhat bouncy ride as they react faster than the standard items. A ride, I didn't really like, but had to put up with as the car was my daily driver. A lesson learned that you shouldn't believe what people in Volksworld tell you is cool - it might be, but they lower their cars and endure a terrible ride as a result. 

Adding the wheels and I think I've got away with things. There is a bit of slop so they all touch the ground. The back ones even rotate, but the fronts defeated me. Mind you, I didn't put up much of a fight as this isn't something I worry about much. It makes photography easier as the model stays put anyway. 

Really sharp eyed people will notice rubber parts (tyres, gaiters) are painted Revell Anthracite black , while metal bits are Humbrol black. No, of course, no-one cares, but it's my model and I'll have some fun!

"Hood" ready to sail

 

And there it is done. A fun little project which apart from a little hole cleaning, went together perfectly. 

The finished ship is 16cm long and 9cm tall plus base. Big enough to see the detail, but small enough to fit in a display cabinet. Too small for radio control though sadly. I'd quite enjoy sailing a version twice the size. 

Meng's designer has done a cracking job to produce an identifiable, but caricatured model. I'm sure that's a lot harder then making an accurate one. I wonder if they would like to do some trains...

One part I have left off is the name "Hood" for the base. Knowing the history of the real ship, and her fate, I'm a little uncomfortable with a caricature version, so have decided that this is a model of HMS Troutbridge instead if anyone asks.