Summertime doldrums

Summer is slow in the northern hemisphere model-making world, as long evenings encourage one to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. It'll be cold and dark soon enough, at which point it will be time to come inside and get back to the hobby. (A recent bout of cool, wet weather encouraged me to sit inside and complete the Alpine, which mainly needed glass, lights and final assembly. Shown here with the Stratos).

That doesn't mean there is no news. I have kept an eye on various web sites and the local wholesaler, and have picked up a couple of oddball kits for those cold winter nights.

The local wholesaler, located in a rabbit's warren of interconnected shops spread over two floors on the edge of an expressway in the west end of town, had a single remaining copy of the reissue of Pete Brock's BRE Datsun 510 racer by Revell. A nice reissue with detailed pushrod 4-cylinder, worth picking up if you can find it. Brock was previously involved in the gorgeous Cobra Daytona Coupe, so it is no surprise the 510 did well in the Trans Am 2.5 litre class, driven by John Morton.

The wholesaler also had a Triumph GT6+ by Lindberg which looks to be a bear to build, with the roof separate from the door frames, and the big bonnet hinged at the front -- the potential for disaster when it comes time to line it all up during final assembly is high. The lovely little 2-litre 6 appears to be well done, however. The key find, though, was a Citroen 15 CV, the 6-cylinder version of the famous 11 CV. A Heller model, this will also be a bit of a bear to build with lots of things having to line up just so towards the end of the build. Worth it, though, for this pioneer of front-wheel drive technology.

Moving to on-line sources, Model Roundup (http://www.modelroundup.com/) provided a Lancia Stratos. Unlike the Tamiya version, this one (a NOS kit from Revell) includes detail of the 2.4-litre Ferrari engine, but minimal decals. Lots of flash and flaws in the body; some work is needed here. The Alitalia colours appear correct but all the details around drivers, specific races, etc. are missing, probably due to copyright issues. The kit appears to have been unopened since the 1980's; the yellowed instructions are copyright 1979, the box has suffered some crush damage, and the kit includes an invitation for the Model Club Of The Month dated 1977. I'll probably build it for the street, skipping the decals and rally lights. I seem to recall the street version was available in a particularly lurid shade of lime green which would be appropriate.

Model Roundup now also offers a series of mid-50's Bedford 5 tonne trucks, including a tow truck, dumper and tanker, from a company I had never heard of before. I got the LWB flatbed which will look good as a car carrier for the Le Mans-winning 1959 Aston Martin DBR1 from Profil 24 which I will admit I have not started.

Speaking of Profil 24, they are based in Le Mans and the owners posted a series of neat photos of the Classic Le Mans, featuring everything from Type 35s to fire-breathing Porsche turbos. Worth a look at http://www.profil24-models.com/model-kits-modeles-reduits/modules/psblog/content.php?id=65, even if you don't feel like ponying up the money for one of their super detailed resin kits. (Prices for shipping outside the EU are reduced by the amount of the VAT, meaning that gorgeous Maserati 450S is only 167 euros plus shipping).

So the stash of unbuilt kits has grown by 5. I've probably got enough here to keep me busy for several years. Not that this will prevent me from acquiring any further oddball stuff I may stumble across ...

Originally posted 15 August 2014