models


V8 Bob's '40 Ford – one big kit

This hot rod club display is based around a neat idea. One partially built 1940 Ford has been set up to look like a kit, complete with modelling tools, paint and brushes, and the completed cars lined up before it. On a table in front of the display are a collection of 1:25th scale models built and painted to look like the club cars.

It makes a lot more sense when you see the pictures.

via Wired Gadget Blog

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Wigan Model Railway Show 2006, part 2

More photos from Sunday’s show. It sounds a bit strange, but the least interesting part of model railways for me are the actual trains. So you’ll see a bias in this gallery toward landscape, architecture, vehicles and vignettes. More photos to follow.

Pictures from 2005’s show can be seen here.

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Wigan Model Railway Show 2006

Rather than spending all week putting up all the photos from the Wigan Model Railway Show and then posting the gallery, I thought I’d do the job in chunks. So here’s my first batch of photos.

There were fewer modern image layouts this year than last, and those that were in evidence tended to display some quirky humour. There were also more foreign subjects, including a very nice French one and an American railroad town in HO with tongue in cheek names and notes.

The first batch of photos-

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Hornby buys Airfix

In a deal thet’s been rumoured for a while, Hornby has bought Airfix (and Humbrol, another report I read said). There’s no mention of the Heller held moulds, the non-release of which drove Airfix into bankruptcy in the first place. I’d like to see that resolved and more of their classic kits re-released.

At the moment neither airfix.co.uk or airfix.com are up, But Hornby’s site has an item about the acquisition.

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Jalopnik at SEMA

Car blog Jalopnik is at the SEMA motor show in Las Vegas at the moment, providing us with galleries of interesting reference material.

Honda’s many custom cars on display. Bizarre and overblown examples of the tuner car phenomenon.

Matte is the new black. High end customisers display their take on the rat-rod primer look.

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Traders from the Hazel Grove model railway show

I forgot to put these links in the last post.

Unit Models make lots of good looking buildings and lineside accessories in resin.

Express Models have lighting sets and digital controllers.

Karen Rush doesn’t have a website, but you can email her at karenrush {at} tiscali {dot} co {dot} uk (email address messed with to keep the spiders from finding it and spamming her. Photos of her work here and here.

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Little People street art project

I’ve got a box of toy soldiers that I bought on EBay with the intention of painting them up and leaving in little scenes all around town. However, as with so many projects, I never quite had the time to do it and they sit there still, awaiting release.

The person who runs the little people blog has managed to get around to painting and placing his guys all around London. They look to be model railway figures by Preiser or Faller, in 1:72nd or 1:87th scale, with clear bases where needed. I hope they’re being superglued in place so that more people can appreciate them.

Now then. I’ve got some aliens and marines somewhere just itching to have a fight in the park……

via BoingBoing

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Decay

Mostly, when modellers depict abandoned buildings they’re that way because of battle damage. However, there are corners of every town with buildings that have just been vacated, fair subjects for the railway layouts and non-military dioramas. So these pictures of a Russian ghost town, abandoned after the collapse of the Soviet Union, might be useful reference material for the effects of 20 years abandonment.

via BoingBoing

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Bye bye Airfix

Airfix has gone into administration. They’re blaming the closure on the collapse of Heller earlier this year and the French company’s refusal to hand over certain moulds.

It’s a damn shame. The company was going through something of a revival and had released, or planned to release, quite a few kits I was eager (if too poor) to buy. I did get their TSR-2, but I also wanted the classic cars collection and various of the smaller military models. Wonder what this is going to do to the price of their kits lying around in model shops?

As yet the official Airfix site has nothing to say on the subject.

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