Got the red on…a few touch ups needed but not too shabby at least…

There’s a first time for everything and for me it has been ordering a kit twice…I’ve just ordered another of these and in the new year will hopefully pair a French police version of it with this DioDump cafe…now I need a figure with a pipe and hat…😊👍

Reasonably happy with the white…next up the Insignia Red…it’s very red indeed…😎👍

I probably have far too many bits and pieces for dioramas but this one has the whiff of Maigret about it I reckon…

Next up…

Equally as good as the first episode…this was once again marvellous…be warned it will make you shed a happy tear I am sure of it…this is worth the license fee for sure 👍😊

The lower half is pretty much done. Next up will be the upper body sections and wheels…

This novella (160 pages) in paperback for £4 seems a bargain to quietly read on Christmas Day if/when it all gets a bit much…😊👍

Airbrushing tiny parts off the sprue after cleaning them up is a lot easier than painting them on the sprue and then having to tidy them up and repaint them…sticking them to upturned masking tape for airbrushing really helps…👍

This was great and the review in The Guardian has it about right… www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Well this is very good so far. I read his first novel & liked it. This is his third so I need to go back & fill in the gap. His story telling reminds me enormously of the earlier novels by Magnus Mills…The Restraint of Beasts & All Quiet On the Orient Express for example…both brilliant reads imho…😊🥃

We just watched (for probably the 6th time) the 2nd episode of this version of Maigret & although it’s set in the 1950s which is 20 years later than the books I believe…it did have a version of one of these in it as a police van…so I may have to get another of these kits…🤦‍♂️🙄

This isn’t all glued yet but I like the way the different ‘blocks’ of colour look and this is just the underneath so won’t really be seen…although there is some satisfaction to be gained from trying to put the right colours on nicely…

What happened to Alclad…the best metallic paints I’ve used but apparently no longer available 🤔? It seems that the brand was maybe bought by Ammo/MIG & some form of it is now sold as A-Stand but if that’s the case what‘s this ‘original’ Alclad II metal also sold by MIG/Ammo but only into the EU…🤯?

I have tried a few stainless steel paints and am yet to find one that out does Alclad…it goes down really easily and looks nice enough too…

There is a weird thing over on X where some scale modellers continually build kits that seemingly express their political views…it is quite disturbing…they are always of a ‘ahem’ far right view…my lips are sealed beyond this but it does give me the ick 🤔🙄

Appreciate that there are current examples of this…but it seems that the concept of convicts being given their ‘freedom’ if they agree to fight in an army of some sort isn’t remotely modern…do any history people know if there are books about the history of this in general?

Well this looks interesting and a little different…I am sure I’ve walked ‘coffin roads’ in the SW of England (in Cornwall perhaps) but not in Scotland…🤷‍♂️

WIP (on the underside) & lots of colour very early in the build…a nice kit so far but lots of clean up needed…which is definitely a ‘thing’ with the AK kits I have tackled thus far…grey plastic nibs everywhere…😊👍

One to watch or record next week… www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Not a car modeller and not a military modeller…I do sometimes feel a little adrift or perhaps untethered in the scale modelling world…🤔🙄🤷‍♂️

Made a start on this…the wheels remind me of MiniArt wheels…quite complex but OK. The main body is very nice and I think I’ll do this relatively early version…🤔😊

Thoughts on the ‘paint pens’ from AK. I don’t feel they replace an airbrush in any way at all as the evenness of coverage can’t compete. OK for some ‘details’ but the nibs are a bit large (for 1/35) and they also break down quite quickly in my hands at least. So far maybe 6/10 🤷‍♂️

A couple more factory pics...

Here the raw steel shell and in red the Duroplast panels (here an early production car scheme with flat grill, later changed to pressed metal).

I’m going to start this next as I‘ll now park the Trabant build until I get the missing decals for it which could easily be another week or so…

Still a WIP…a lot of tidying up needed and still waiting on the decals…may have to park this soon…

I’m a big fan of Copper State Models and these both look interesting little kits…

WIP…the exhaust is erm…delicate…🫣

The tyres on the AK Trabant are rubber but they are very nice I have to say…good detailing and they look OK I reckon…🤷‍♂️

Finished Low Life…brilliant, hilarious, depressing & uplifting all in one…but definitely recommended. Light relief next I hope…

Added some Archer instrument decals to replace the ones missing from the kit…they are mostly black & white which seems to be about right for most Trabant dashboards. They look OK from 3 cm away and therefore will do…🙄😊

Apologies for posting a reply from ahem…’that place’ but this was in response to my query about if there were any visible metal parts on the Trabant that may rust…it’s quite fascinating and makes sense structurally too…

Trabant materials…the box art has a suggestion of rust on that front bumper and even the grille surround perhaps. I know most of the panels were Duroplast hung on a steel frame but were any of the visible bits steel and therefore potentially rusty? 🤔

Some first doses of colour on the AK Trabant…needs a little sanding and respraying in places…

Pretty convinced that, yet again, this will be the best ‘watch’ over Christmas…it’s an absolute marvel…

On the eve of the Ashes…this, from the MCG about 20 years ago…

This is worth a look for those interested in this sort of thing… www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Do all scale modellers tie themselves in knots over colours? There are so many to chose from when you aren’t painting everything shades of OD…I think I’m going to go with SMS Light Admirality Grey for the Trabant…I want ‘dull’ but not ‘grim’…🤔🤷‍♂️

These look superb…not cheap but quality just isn’t is it…wow…💥 www.insidethearmour.com/product-page...

The AK Trabant build is underway…

No decals or PE in the box (🙄) so email sent. However, the PE is only needed for the police versions and I can photo print the number plates if needed…so I will press on anyway…👍😊

Well the more I read of it the more like a ‘guilty pleasure’ this book becomes…the writing is wonderful but many of the views are at best ‘dated’ (🤷‍♂️) but jeez it can be hilarious…🥃😊

The Trabant is tiny but it looks nice and I have some left over gas cylinders for colour…

It’s been a month since I had a new pinned post so here’s one that’s fresh off the production line…

Next build for me will be this tiny new Trabant from AK…

This is as finished as it’s going to be this year…I might tweak it at some point but not for a while…no title. Perhaps I’ll copy Graham Greene and call it…An Entertainment…

About 25% of the way through this now and jeez…it is both hilarious and quite depressing all at once…a Soho based world mostly gone now I guess…but an eye-opener for sure…🫣😊😳!

Next up…and a bit 🫣, I suspect…

Also…nearly done now…😊👍