Looking back over the models that have crossed my bench this year, you might be tempted to draw all sorts of incorrect conclusions. Three Chevys? Two Pontiacs? Has he turned GM fanboy on us? Only two Mopars, and one a DeSoto at that? Two Toyotas, one a rather mundane sedan? Only ONE Skyline? A sixties Aston Martin that’s not the Bond car? What gives? Is he feeling okay?
This has been a year for finishing up a lot of stalled projects, as well as building some kits I’d meant to tackle for a while now. Turns out there’s nothing like saying you’re going to write an article about something to focus the mind on it. That explains the two Grand Prixes (or whatever the plural is – Grandes Prix? Doesn’t look right). Then there was the odd occasion when I just saw something interesting in the shop and thought I’d give it a whirl.
Let’s start with a classic.
1934 Duesenberg SJ Torpedo Phaeton
I started building this Duesenberg last year, for a Japanese model magazine group’s Monogram build-off. An assortment of tiny unfamiliar-looking detail parts led to it being sidelined until I had more patience. Patience is indeed a virtue, around here.
1947 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan
This is a Galaxie Limited kit (a small US company, now defunct) from about fifteen years ago. The box labels it a ’48, but it contains grilles for 1946 and 47 as well. I hear the tooling has been picked up by Moebius, which is great news, as their kits are top notch. I used some Tamiya military paints to give it a real early-postwar vibe.
1951 Chevrolet Convertible
This is an AMT kit which had its origins in the mid-seventies. It’s a bit basic and has some assembly foibles which just wouldn’t cut it these days, like the rather approximate fit of the underhood panels and vent tubes. Ideally I ought to narrow the bumpers slightly; the edges are a scale 3” out from the body.
1959 Chevrolet El Camino
I’ve built a few of these in stock form, but decided to build a mildly modified car – just lowered a bit, with classic sixties style mags. And metallic purple paint. Engine’s a triple-carb 348.
1960 DeSoto Adventurer
We had a feature on a lovely one of these during the year, and I had the kit in my stash, so I recreated as close as I could get to the feature car. It’s not the first time I’ve done that, but this is my only ‘CC build’ for this year.
1960 Ford Galaxie Starliner
I’d just started building this when someone in an online modelling group (who hadn’t seen mine yet) started one in the same colour. I changed tack a bit, adding a (very) pale pink roof as a second colour, and recoloured the interior.
1963 Ford F100 ‘Unibody’
A kit I came across when shopping one day. The box art showed a custom version with the camper top, but I went for a stock version, figuring you wouldn’t take a truck with custom bodywork offroad. Or take a ‘unibody’ pickup offroad at all, from what I’ve read since. This medium metallic blue wasn’t available from Ford (shh, it’s a Chevy colour!), but suits it well.
1965 Pontiac Grand Prix
This one was in my stash for years. I just had to include it in my story on Personal Luxury Coupes. Exploring online suggested a very dark green with a black roof would look suitably prestigious, but I went my own way with a light interior.
1969 Pontiac Grand Prix
This Grand Prix was an annual kit from 1969 that I picked up about fifteen years ago. Updated to a ’70, ’71 then ’72, it ended up as a rather overblown seventies custom. Never reissued. It’d be nice restored to original if they still had the tooling, but I’m not holding my breath.
1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
There’s quite a story here. This is an AMT kit, modified from a 1969 MPC Charger annual kit which was nothing to write home about when new, then reissued as a Dukes of Hazzard car. It was very popular – an understatement if ever there was one! The mould was pretty much shot afterwards, but AMT turned it into a Daytona and put it back into production anyway. The new parts are a very poor fit. Revell’s Daytona is a much better kit. But since I had it, I built this anyway. Sometimes I like challenging myself to make the most of a poor kit. Only sometimes.
Ferrari 275GTB-4
Way outside my usual subject matter. This is an old Italeri kit, reissued through Revell of Germany about thirty years ago. Great detail, and extremely complex, but it goes together well and captures the look. Say the words “Old Ferrari” to me and this is the sort of car that comes to mind.
1975 Toyota Celica
One of those fiendishly-complicated Hasegawa kits. It goes together well, but has an overabundance of tiny parts which you really don’t want to drop: ask me how I know! This is a revision of their Celica coupe kit from a few years back.
1977 Toyota Cressida
A recent Fujimi kit, this one was the subject of my build story from earlier this year, as well as being my entry for the OMSG summer holiday build-off on Facebook.
Daihatsu Mira
I needed another mini-car for my last story, so I built this. The white model on the box looked boring; I really can’t have that, so orange it is.
Nissan Skyline ‘Calsonic’
This one was left over from a few years back. Being a race car, there were so many decals to apply! At some point I’d just had enough and put it back in the box. Only took half an hour to finish, but they sure were fiddly.
2007 Subaru WRX Sti
Maybe the last good-looking Subaru? I’ve done two tuner versions, but had the stock kit as well, so went for a stock build in ‘classic’ Subaru blue. If I hadn’t bought an ’05 Mazda 3 I might have been driving one of these.
2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X ‘C West’
This time I built the stock version first. I started this one some years back, and finished it after tackling the Subaru. That front end just looks so mean, along with the dark wheels and spoiler.
Nissan Laurel C33 (1989-93)
This car’s a platform-mate to the Skyline, so it’s a RWD turbo six. The Aoshima model had an interesting bodykit, but I went my own way with the paint and wheels, while keeping to a factory-ish colour scheme for the interior.
I’ll finish up with a not-exactly-automotive build.
Lanz Bulldog D8500
As a fan of old machinery, I just had to have this! The Lanz is an ultra-detailed kit from the Ukrainian company Miniart, better known for their 1/35 scale military kits. Three versions are available in 1/24, one with a roof, and one with road tyres and lights. I just wanted a typical farm tractor, and applied some mud, dust and rust.
So, I haven’t been as prolific as past years but I’m still keeping myself busy with the garden and my reading and writing! As I write this there are four cars on the bench in various stages of completion: an Aston Martin DB4 (fiddly), a 1966 VW Beetle (taking my time), a ’65 Chevelle wagon built up in the style of a sixties custom (needs decals and polish), and a Toyoda AA (needs fine decals). I hope to get them completed by the end of the year. It’s theoretically possible.
My plans for ’26 include finishing off some more stalled projects, including a couple of ’65-’66 Chevys, and some ’68-9 Corvairs. We might see another 1951 Chevy, with a decidedly non-factory body style (if I can get it finished). And a classic BMW E9. Better do another Skyline too…
Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!
OMG! How did I miss this? You just opened my eyes to a culture of which I was totally unaware!
And so, I’ll offer some unwarranted criticism: the wrong red is on the Ferrari and the Daytona recessed headlights need a “crack” to show that they’re not sealed by paint (maybe a Xacto knife slice around the recess?)
Obviously, I’m envious of your skills and patience. Thank you.
MIke, one of the blessings of CC is the way we learn about things unexpected, and discover new areas of interest through the writings of others. We all bring many things from our life’s background. Until we share them, others will often be totally unaware. Often it’s the quieter people around us who can be the most interesting and surprising when you get to know them, if they will let you. Ignore the noisies, the influencers, the celebrities of this transient age. Seek out the little people, the silent ones. We all have stories to tell, full of surprises. 🙂
On the Daytona’s lights, I was just so pleased to finally get the thing done that I didn’t go back and highlight those headlight covers. Or many other things I’d usually add – side mirrors, extra underhood details, and such.
THANK YOU for taking us along your journeys .
I have no idea where you get the little back ground bits and bobs but they’re really good .
-Nate
Thanks Nate. I can tell you exactly where they came from!
The two-post lift and some of the background details and most of the people are from AMT’s diorama series (3 sets), as do the signs on the wall. Some of the stuff is from Fujimi’s garage accessory series which includes some nice workshop display cases, while the guy in the blue coat striding through the workshop like he owns the place – he’s from Tamiya’s Campus Friends set (six students and a scooter). The forklift is a Fujimi Toyota Geneo in 1/32, but it’s standing in as a smaller machine here. 🙂
The tractor is an outstanding build. Looking forward to the Aston Martin.
Thanks! I had fun doing that. The kit was well detailed to start with; I just followed the painting instructions and added ‘just enough’ weathering. I wanted a well-used look rather than a total wreck.
The Aston won’t be so great, I’m afraid. It’s a kit from the early sixties, and while the shape seems right (barring maybe the front of the roof being a bit low?), the fit of some parts is very awkward – underhood and in the rear suspension in particular.
Happy Holidays, Mr. Wilding; best wishes to you and yours. And thank you for your very entertaining posts.
And thank you for the kind comments.
Another wonderful tour through your amazing workshop. The Ferrari is delicious. And the Lanz is superb. I assume that the outer smooth rear steel wheel is added for driving on the road and removed for actual field work.
As heavy as it would be, I imagine it would settle to the tip-toe wheel in soft ground.
Thanks Paul.
The Lanz is an amazing kit, but the I would expect nothing less from a company that majors on smaller-scale military kits. The kit even came with some extra bolt heads to be added to the wheels, but at a bit over 1mm across I decided not to go there!
Those are some great builds!
I’d be less surprised to see the AMT ’69 GP return than I would 5 years ago, the ’61 “unibody” Ford pickup along with the ’60, ’63 Nova wagon and forthcoming ’60 Chevy wagon are all similar tooling restorations and have been good sellers.
Thanks nlpnt!
Well yes, after years in the doldrums AMT is bringing out some interesting older kits. Adding new tooling for the missing bits must be a lot easier for them than tooling a whole new kit. One of these days I’ll get that ’60 pickup; I remember having a small toy one when I was a kid.
Thanks for the tour!
That ’75 Hasegawa Celica may have had an abundance of tiny parts, but it looks like hassling with those parts was worth it. That’s a great-looking model!
I like the camper-top F-100 too.
I agree that the WRX was one of the last good-looking Subarus, though I actually think the Crosstrek is pretty desirable as well. Though it’s quite possible I think that way largely because the Crosstrek is one of the few cars that I see in actually attractive colors.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and once again, thanks for sharing so much of your work this past year!
Thanks Eric.
As is common with recent Hasegawa kits, they give you a choice between decal badges or separate plated parts – which look great but can be really awkward to cut out cleanly, being so small. I have no set choice here; which badges I use often depends how I’m feeling at the time. Then there are things like separate door handles, lock buttons, retracted radio aerials, and the like. They have a lot of great kits, but these tiny details, while nice to have, do make assembly tricky.
I agree with you on the Crosstrek colours. I think it’s just sold as the XV in my country, but when I see one it’s the colour that draws my attention.
Always glad to share!
Great to see all these models. I burned my models with lighter fluid and blew them up with firecracker in my youth. I may build models again, now in my 60’s. Cheaper than the real cars
I’ve heard that story many times, Mike. Some of my early ones got stripped down for parts or cut up for customs that never got finished. Model cars were (and are?) something of a fringe hobby here.
Cheaper than real cars for sure, but don’t expect the prices you remember from your younger years.
Say, are there model kits of Australian cars available? And if so do you ever build them? Asking for a friend. Keep up the great work my guy…
Yes there are now. In the last few years DDA models has come out with some in 1/24. They started with an HQ Holden sedan and van, and have added an LC/LJ Torana, and LH/LX Torana and an XW/XY Falcon – all from the glory days of the late sixties-mid seventies. There may be others by now, I haven’t been shopping for a while.
I haven’t bought any. I have enough to build as it is! While the basic proportions are right, some of the details on some I have seen look a bit off, just enough to annoy me, and make me think twice.
The (non-factory color) red Ferrari and the Celica are awesome, as is the tractor. A close favorite is the Toyota fork truck in the background.
I used to be a pretty prolific model builder in my younger days. I have tried to restart the hobby a few times, but life keeps getting in the way.
BTW, I sold a few of my unfinished models on eBay in the early 2Ks, including a Mazda Luce Coupe (RX-4) that I ended up shipping to your fine country!
Ha! That Toyota Geneo fork lift has been in the backgound on my bench for the past five years or so. It’s actually 1/32 scale, to fit with a series of 1/32 flatbed trucks Fujimi has (No I haven’t built any). Hitoshi uses it to shift heavy/awkward things around the workshop – when I’m not looking, of course.
My model-building really went into hyperdrive when I had to retire early due to ill-health – you could say life got out of the way.
That Luce coupe sounds cool – I did an RX-5, but never saw the kit of the RX-4 to buy.
Here’s a better shot of it.
I don’t think I’ve heard Church Slavonic since my dad’s funeral almost 40 years ago … can I ask the context for choosing that holiday music?
Like Mike Johnson who commented above, I also destroyed every model I built in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s with lighter fluid or firecrackers. Or both. I didn’t realize it was a thing. My favorite here is the workshop with the Beetle and Aston Martin. Happy Holidays to all!
Dman, I remembered there was somebody here who had alluded to their Slavic background before. My daughter is into languages and early music, and has got me following that youtube channel, which seems to be the best of its sort. They usually do arrangements of ancient songs translated into different early languages. This week uploaded they this hymn, and the sound got stuck in my head for days. Mind you, they have also sung an arrangement of Agni Parthene in Gothic, which is quite haunting.
I’m glad you like the workshop pic. I moved some clutter off the bench to stage that one specially! The Beetle and the Aston have since been joined by an attempt at a second-gen Corvair wagon (not a catalog style!), and a Honda S2000. 🙂
Thanks for the explanation – I was wondering about that as well. Neat YouTube channel; I’ll be exploring that quite a bit this weekend.
Just doing my bit to expand our musical horizons! 🙂 As you’ll have noticed, I like coming out with the unexpected. And their vocal arrangements are captivating; the music speaks to something deep within me.
These are all so cool! I like the sub-theme of stalled projects seen through to completion. Sometimes we can start something and the motivation or vision gets lost until we can find it again. I love the ’60 DeSoto Adventurer and ’75 Toyota Celica Liftback in particular. I also like seeing the dabs of paint and glue and other details from where the magic happens at your work desk.
Thanks Joseph. That mat has become quite paint-spattered over the years. Earlier today I was looking at an old photo where it’s clean. I hadn’t realised I was that messy. I’ve only had it three years.
I had a birthday this week (68), and a friend described it as “one more victory lap around the sun”. I like that. But as the neuropathy worsens I’ve come to realise these stalled projects need finishing whilst I still can, and that sooner rather than later. While most of my stalled builds get finished within five years or so, there are exceptions.
Every now and then one of the online model groups I’m in will have a ‘show your longest stalled project’ day. I’ll show my Heller Citroen DS (stalled since 1982), complete with ‘barn find’ dust! That’s very much the exception though.
Happy birthday, Peter! And (something you probably already know) – give yourself grace to allocate your time (or not allocate your time) to whatever you see fit. I’m that person that, left to my own devices, would wish there were more than 24 hours in a day to get done everything I want to get done in a day. Sure, you have unfinished projects and may want to finish what you start, but ultimately, you chose at some point that something else needed you attention more than your model. So you and I will then continue to work on what’s most important *right now* as we see fit.
Thanks Joseph. Knowing something and actually doing it can be two different things! This year I’ve been spending more time in the garden (more weeds, less flexibility and stamina) and less at the bench. But with the onset of summer it’ll likely be too hot outside, and the weeds will hopefully die off anyway. Other stuff seems to…
The Lanz Winz! Absolutely captivating. (Do wish you’d do one of those large-bodied Heckflosse Binz Mercedes, you know, for Big Benz Binz Fins Winz, but I digress).
Really taken by the color you used on the Ferrari, at least as photographed. It looks somehow expensive, and only suitable on a posh old chrome-detailed car like the Fazz.
Like many, I think the Celica is wonderfully done.
Actually, they’re all wonderful. Long may you stick to it (not literally, of course, as I would, and did).
Good wishes and thoughts to you for the impending season of over-eating and over-heating shortly to befall us.
Enjoy this piece of Christmas silliness from Terry Wogan
(click on the watch on youtube)
Ha! I know the Benz Binz you have in mind; a friend had a Matchbox Binz ambulance as a kid, and I used to stir him that the siren went “Benz Binz Benz Binz…”
I felt the Ferrari called for something ‘better’ than the usual Ferrari Red, but an image search didn’t turn up anything that said ‘Me!’, so I brewed up that mixture: gold base, metallic red, topped off with a red-tinted clear. The sort of thing I’d do on a fifties custom, but then these Ferraris were so rare as to be virtually custom bodied, so it’s kind of appropriate….
Over-eating and over-heating, hmm: you never know what you’re going to get on the big day – we’re had just shy of 50C once, and the next year we had to light the fire for Christmas. Australia!
Couldn’t help thinking of that first workshop image today, whist working on my veeDub.
Life imitating some of your rather wonderful art….
Nice K-G Huey; I don’t think I’ve seen one that colour before. Nothing like a nice uncluttered workspace…
My KG thanks you for the compliment Peter! The color is L63K Weiden gruen, or Willow Green, used in the early ’70s, btw. As it is a daily driven vehicle, it is a real boon to be able to work in our company workshops. The rule is “leave as you find”, so i try to be organized, but it often looks a bit more cluttered than this. The 2 post lift is a real game changer, as so much on an old VW can be accessed from below and it was a boon to be able to check the underside, touch in any flaking areas of underseal and spray wax on the underside.
Important as we have the winter here in Boston and much salt and brine is used on the roads. The little guy is rust free and i intend things to stay that way.
The picture was taken last weekend, where I was installing a new throttle cable as a preventative measure after having fitted a new fan and dual 40mm carbs a couple of weekends ago – a far more involved process!
As i spend my days at a desk sketching or Photoshopping vehicles I find it is theraputic to do some manual work – also helps visualize how mechanical bits fit in the vehicles we are designing – you can see one of them in the background with the FedEx logos on the side.
I don’t think we got Karmann-Ghias in my country as late as yours, which explains why I haven’t seen one this colour before, and I don’t think it was on VW Australia’s colour chart. The closest I have is this one, but yours has more yellow in it, and is all the nicer for it.
Another wonderful assortment Peter as always – I so admire your skill and patience! That Lanz is just beautiful, but the C33 Laurel!! I’ve been hanging out for that since you mentioned it earlier in the year, and it was very much worth the wait 😀
Thanks Scott. I remembered you were waiting on this. I wasn’t sure what you’d think of my Laurel, but it couldn’t be built completely stock anyway, and one thing sort of led to another.
I think the Lanz is my favourite this year.