I had a conundrum. What to choose for a lede photo for today?
There is no obvious theme to this grouping. And you’ve seen many of them before. What has a classic sixties Alfa coupe have in common with a five-ton British truck? A big-block Corvette with a nineties Japanese turbo AWD wagon? Give up? I couldn’t think of anything either. But let’s have a look anyway.
First up is the Alfa Junior, which appeared in my first CC-in-scale story last August. I do have a 2000GTV which I really ought to have finished by now (I’ve only had the kit for twenty-odd years), but – no. So we’ll move on.
Here’s a ’65 Corvette. This was an American Monogram 1/24 scale kit; then Monogram got taken over by Revell, a renowned US maker of 1/25 scale kits. Shortly thereafter, Revell released a ’67 Corvette in 1/25 scale. Now it’s not unknown for 1/24 scale kits to appear in boxes mis-marked 1/25, and vice-versa. Some guys in the hobby really arc up about this sort of thing, Not me. These ones aren’t the same kit though, as a comparison of parts sizes will clearly show – but I have to wonder how they got that past accounting.
What’s the difference in size, you ask?
Worth bothering about? To some guys, yes; in the hobby they’re sometimes disparagingly referred to as ‘scale bigots’, but not by me. I’ll build any scale. I have one friend who regularly cuts down 1/24 scale kits to make them 1/25 scale, but his eyes are better than mine. Yes, he’s retired too. And his workmanship is awesome.
Another model we’ve seen before is this blue/green Edsel. This is one of my favourite colour schemes, there’s something about the pairing of body colours, coupled with the two-tone green interior that just resonates with me, and says “You got it right.” So here it is again.
But since writing that Edsel story back in March I’ve finished two more Edsels. This purple one…
And a two-tone pink and grey one, with skirts and a Continental kit. I got the colours from a Taschen art book on fifties American car advertisements. So these colours may never have made it to the production line, but they were in vogue at the time and the illustrators thought they looked good.
Now a brief trip to Japan. The Isuzu 117 is a lovely car that I might well choose as one of my ten favourite designs of all time. Both Fujimi and Hasegawa make kits of this, and I think they both make all three series. This is Fujimi’s kit of the early ‘handmade’ (it says so on the box) car.
The Hasegawa one would be the more accurate, to judge by their other recent offerings, but the Fujimi was the only one available at the time, and I never thought anybody else would be making a kit one. There’s nothing wrong with the Fujimi one to my eyes, and I really can’t justify buying another kit to sit on the shelf. (Don’t ask how I justify nine Edsels then – I don’t!)
I mentioned a five-ton British truck. We’ve seen the tip truck before.
But early this year I finished a second of these, the tow truck version we saw earlier.
I’m very pleased with how this turned out. I used a semi-gloss off-white to represent the old chalky faded look (thanks Nic for the suggestion!), and had great fun graining the wood on the toolbox at the front of the bed, and dirtying up the works area with dirt grease and rust. I actually enjoy doing that stuff.
And of course there’s that famous Bedford six. A Stovebolt Chevy with full-pressure oiling, as I’m sure Bryce was about to say.
Two more Bedford kits to go. A LWB flatbed and a tanker. Not this year…..
Back to Japan again. This is a Toyota Crown Majesta from the S140 generation (1991-5), wearing a K-Break body kit. And bright candy red paint, because me.
Without that body kit, and in a more believable colour, it would look like this.
Then we have the Nissan Stagea. Prof. Tatra has gone into these in depth at CC before. Think of it as a reskinned Skyline in wagon form with most of the goodies. This is the earlier WC34 generation (1996-7).
This one is just a ‘regular’ 25t X Four – 2.5 litre RB six with a single turbo and four-wheel drive. The 260 RS variant (which I don’t have – yet!) had the 2.6 twin-turbo. This one’s in a nineties Ford colour, as the Nissan choices left me cold, and it is era-appropriate.
For our last entry today we return to a Classic, by pretty much anyone’s definition. Plenty has been written here about the Jaguar Mark II. I’ll just say it was very highly regarded back in my childhood, and was much more common than the larger Mark 10. Our family doctor had one, and one of Dad’s engineer friends had one; I think John’s may have been a metallic grey. This Tamiya kit was only available for a few years (as opposed to some that stay in the catalog for much longer), and I did this one in the closest I had to Old English White.
And of course we have to see that engine!
That finishes our tour for today. You’ve now seen all of my inside display areas; next time we’ll go back to random themes. Plenty more to see. Wagons? Hardtops? Classics? Another decade or year pictorial? That ‘Festival of the Unexceptional’ I hinted at? We’ll see.
I find all of this work to be fascinating and impressive, but what always draws me in and really dazzles me is the “patinating” you do on some projects, like the tow truck featured here. The realism this brings is amazing, and in each example of it that I’ve seen it’s just impressively spot-on. Kudos.
Thanks. The patinating is a fairly new thing with me, I only really got into it in the last five years or so. Before then it was an occasional thing. It’s funny – just before I read your comment I was looking at that Jaguar and thinking how unrealistically clean that engine compartment looked…
On my TMY 195, I washed out a matt black paintbrush on the red seats – they came out more oxblood and patinated, which is how I remember them looking.
It worked quire well.
Cannot reproduce that wonderful old Jaguar interior smell, though!
I’d not worry about the engine bay – the kit was from a time when old bangers were horribly over-restored anyway!
Ah, that smell! When I worked at the hospital I’d sometimes catch a lift in with our family doctor who drove one of these. I remember looking around the interior and thinking “This is wood done right!”. It put me in a more gracious frame of mind and was a marvellous start to my day,
As a lifelong modeler, and an avid Corvette fan, I have been in the 1:24 vs 1:25 discussion many times. The “it doesn’t matter, it is only 4% difference” crowd just didn’t seem right but I never bothered to research why 4% made such an obvious difference.
However, now that we have artificial intelligence readily available, I let ChatGPT solve the mystery. The key is that model cars are not one dimensional, they are a 3 dimensional solid. So, skipping all the math, here is the answer about why I would never allow 1:24 scale Corvette models in my “one of every year” 1:25 Corvette display – as calculated by “Chatty” –
“So, the overall length of the 1:24 scale model is approximately 4.11% longer than that of the 1:25 scale model.” Per the ‘one dimensional’ argument.
However – “So, the 1:24 scale volume is approximately 14.48% larger than the 1:25 scale volume.” Bingo!!
And that is why the 1:24 Corvette models looked offensively large in a 1:25 scale collection!
Yeah. At first I never realised there was a difference – probably because American cars are relatively uncommon here, and the ones I did see were all relatively large. Gradually I came to notice the difference between Monogram and the others.
I think you (or Chatty) have hit the nail on the head with that comment about volume. Volume is what the eye perceives, rather then just length or width.
In my comparative photo, that sure looks like more than a 4% difference in length, but maybe not that full 14.48%? I could measure them, but that yellow body’s put away at the moment. I reckon there’s some artistic ‘fudge factor’ going on here to make sure the end result looks like a Corvette ‘ought to’ look. I’ve read they did stuff like that.
Not sure the AI maths is quite correct as the scale difference is 4.16666(etc.) % and when you cube that it comes to tiny bit over 13%. It would certainly show if you had two identical cars, but with a 1:24 Austin A30 next to a 1:25 Cadillac DeVille it would be hard to spot the scale difference.
Appreciate your comment – Chatty fumbles occasionally (the history of radio controlled cars, for instance) but does numbers very well. If you want to see all the math, I have posted it here:
https://palmeter.com/scale-comparison-125-124/
I just love love love the Bedford tow truck!! The wear and tear on the diamond plate (?) rear bed platform looks so real. One question though for the Brits or Anglophiles out there, would a tow truck of that era have both AA and RAC logo’s? I thought there or road services were mutually exclusive? Or was that not the case for private garage tow companies? And do both road services still exist?
Thanks dman. I looked at old trucks and tried to replicate the wear patterns I found.
You raise a good point about the AA and RAC markings. I wondered that myself, and nearly left one off. Here in Australia we only have one road service per state or territory. But in the UK I can see where it would make sense for a small independent operator possibly in a remote area to be affiliated with both – but does/did this happen? I await further comments with interest.
AA and RAC still exist, but in both cases the breakdown services have been sold off. It seem that garages could provide breakdown recovery servies for both. See this picture:
https://st-neots.ccan.co.uk/content/catalogue_item/berkeley-street-garage-eynesbury
Fun way to start my day. Great stuff, as always, sir. And the dove grey/pink Edsel is gorgeous.
Thank you.
And yeah, that grey/pink Edsel is one of my favourites.
These are all just great. I see a Peter Wilding post, and I know I’m about to escape into some amazing, miniturized fantasy garage of make-believe.
I’m glad you referenced the 1/24 – 1/25 scale thing and showed the difference side-by-side, because I’ve always been curious had had no idea the difference in the two sizes was that pronounced.
That lead Alfa Junior is such a classic, timeless shape to me. I do also like the two-tone of the first Edsel model you featured, which seems like such a period combo.
Great work and post, Peter!
Thanks Joseph. This post crept up on me. I’ve kind of lost track of time this week. and I was surprised to see this. Then I saw what day it is, and went “Of course!” 🙂
The scale difference – it surprised me too. I didn’t expect that much difference in length between the two; by rights there shouldn’t be that much, but David’s comment about it being volume-related makes sense.
As regards a fantasy garage, I’m thinking this winter (that’s now) I’ll finally bite the bullet and build a garage diorama. I have all the equipment and people to fill it, just have to do the structure.
But the actual fantasy garage contents – at the moment my ‘bench garage’ contains a Nissan Gloria 330, a McLaren F1GTR, a tuner Toyota Altezza (Lexus IS), a Subaru Sambar 4WD kei van, and a ’48 Hudson. You never know what’ll take my fancy!
Wow great work and detail with the models. I tried to get back into model building about 10 years ago. Boy, I had no patients, and the instructions were poorly written. Painting was another area I was bad at. Nice to see someone who makes the models look life like.
Thank you Mike. I’ve always tried to go for as life-like an appearance as I can do.
Instructions, yeah, I sympathize with you there. If you’re not familiar with the car in question, it can be tricky. I often find myself resorting to Google to find out just where something goes. But then, the cars you find online aren’t necessarily right either. Sometimes I wind up saying to myself “Who’s going to see this anyway?”.
Patience – well, what you see here is the result of about 55 years of experience. Yet even now I’ll sometimes have a paint flaw or a glue spot that needs fixing. Nobody’s perfect, we can only do the best we can. There will always be people who can do it better, but equaliy there will always be others not as good as yourself.
Another nice slection, Peter. Must admit to liking those old Bedfords. There was one in Leytonstone (not far from where I lived then) with a dropside body that was used regularly well into the 1990s. It was kept very clean so it probably did shows too.
Thanks Bernard. Yes, Emhar really did a great job with those Bedford kits, and they seemed very popular in the magazines years ago. The next one I tackle will be the long wheelbase dropside. I remember seeing these more usually as a flatbed without the dropsides, with the loads roped on. The local hardware shop ran a Bedford J type for gas bottle deliveries until about five years ago, when piped gas reached us, so they can run forever with care.
I look at all these cars and wonder he must have a ton of these built already. That must mean he has a lot of time I’m thinking to myself. Ah, he is retired so that explains the time. I’m not sure I’ll retire anytime soon even though 70. So time for my models is pretty much zero as they compete with camera repair as the other at home hobby.
Your work reminds me of a fellow volunteer on the Hornet who builds models from scratch and has done some for Hollywood. Mainly space oriented. His scratch model of the Apollo 11 Saturn V, Command module, and the entire gantry, at around 30″ ( oops 76.3 cm) is something to see.
Keep it up Peter! Your model building skill is amazing.
Thanks. Oh I’ll keep it up, never fear. I have another three kits coming from Japan at the moment, and I’m not short of things to build in the meantime. And if I don’t feel like modelling, there’s always the garden, or the poultry, or the books, or my writing, or I can always write another CC-in-scale – there’s an idea!
Unlike some guys I never stopped building models, just slowed down, and being rather a reclusive type I’ve spent more time on hobbies than most. And then having to retire early for health reasons gave more time.
Some great models here Peter, what a perfect color combination on the Jaguar.
But I love that tow truck, very realistic,
I have a thing for vintage tow trucks for some reason, probably because most tow trucks, in Australia at least, now look like flat beds, and I fondly remember the V8 powered Fords and Dodges that ruled back in the 60s and 70s, the hot rods of the truck world.
I remember a few of those Bedfords (not tow trucks) still running around Swan Hill back in the 60s, most used to have the engine side covers removed, like this one that was featured in the Aussie film “The Cars that Ate Paris.
Thanks Jonco. The Jaguar’s pretty much a factory colour combo; well, as close to it as I could get with the paints I had at hand. Sometimes I’ll mix up something special, but these were just out of the can.
Looking back it seems odd that Chevy trucks weren’t sold here through the sixties, while Fords seemed to be everywhere, along with those local odd Dodges. Odd Dodges? We skipped several generations, and used the International cab instead of the Exner-era sixties design. I’m sure there’s a lot more to it than that, but I’ve never dived into that rabbit-hole.
I’d had the tow-truck kit for years but took it on as part of an NZ-based group challenge to build something for the summer holidays. It’s funny; some online group challenges can be like “Build this kit in 28 days”, others are more free and easy. But I had great fun building it. Once I decided to go with the ‘patinated’ look at Nic’s urging, the weathering of the bed came naturally – after a lot of thought and looking at wear patterns on old trucks like this.
I remember old British trucks and cars, (and flathead Fords) running without the engine side covers in hot weather, even in Melbourne. Probably because the cooling was marginal in our weather, being designed for a cooler climate.
Peter I always love your Edsels, I can see why you get hooked on them. The Jag is fantastic as well, great color choice.
I don’t think you build hot rods. I think there are some down your way, but I could be wrong. Just finished up this nailhead powered A.
That’s a very pretty car, Dave. Nice work.
Thanks Dave. When I first saw a photo of an Edsel I thought “Man that is ugly!”, but now I look past the front and the rest of it’s not so bad. For me it’s a matter of the shape and flow of colour.
We sure do have hot rods down here, and I built my share in my younger days, but now I tend more toward fifties and newer designs. That’s another theme I could share, one I hadn’t thought of; thanks. While a rod like yours would be illegal here (no fenders for starters…), I can appreciate the style.
I’m with you on 1950s and the hot rods I have built try to emulate the style of that era. California seems to have been very lax on the fender requirement and other states at that time required cycle fenders at least.
In the present time I see 4×4 trucks with tires extending well beyond the fenders and wonder how they get away with that.
Very NICE! The Edsels really resonated with me, as my very first car model was a ’58 Edsel droptop AMT 3-in-1 kit I bought in Fall (?) ’57 at the Wolff Kubly and Hersig Dept. store on the square in Madison, Wisc. The next Sat I was back and bought a ’58 Ford Fairlane 500 convert 3-in-1 kit. I still have the Ford, packed in a box with other old “KUSTOM” car models in the basement. However, it is so radically “customized”, one needs to have a good knowledge of the cars of that era to ID it now! Yup, everybody is a “designer”………oh wait…..I became one, but never of cars in Detroit!! 🙂
Your car models look far better than most of my old ones, excellent work! 🙂 DFO
Thanks Dennis. Yeah, those fifties cars just begged to be tidied up, lowered, relieved of the overburden of chrome. Later Detroit seemed to get the message and tidied up their act. I think that’s why sixties cars look so weird when customized with fifties design tropes – not that I haven’t done that myself…..