Minty fresh Polo [Finished project no.1]

I've loved rallying since I was a kid. Growing up in the with the sights and sounds of Colin McRae throwing that blue and yellow Impreza massively sideways down a narrow forest track at ridiculous speed left a permanent mark.  I built most of Tamiya's off road racers in the early 2000s, but a lack of new kits meant interest waned. Fast forward ten years, as a Vee Dub owner it didn't take much temptation for me to leave the model shop with a box full of Polo. So much for an innocent browse on the way home from work...

I decided this was to be more than the dust gathering shelf sitters I'd built previously; there'd be upgrades and alterations from what Belkits intended along with a little bit of scenery to frame the finished car. The kit is essentially built out of the box, but I have added:

- Lots and lots (and lots) of Scale Motorsport carbon fibre decals

- Beautiful bonnet catch pins from Hobby Design

- Colorado Decals Rally Deutschland numbers and sponsors

- Reji sponsor correction decals in the correct VW typeface

- Homemade decals for the classic German WOB VW registration

- Paper seatbelt straps replacing the chunky textured fabric included

All this is set off by a scenic base featuring a distinctive Hinkelstein anti tank block, as seen on the Baumholder military range stages of Rally Deutschland and feared by the rally crews!

Several photos of Seb Ogier's car in Germany showed it running with the mean looking bumper lights, so these were given the carbon fibre decal treatment and installed. The antennae on the roof are all made from stretched sprue and filler as each is a different shape and there are less of them than on the car used on the French rally. Proof that pictures of your prototype are crucial!

A large amount of decal softener was needed to get the rather thick kit decals to bed down on the car's curves and creases, particularly the bonnet and roof stripes. I found it helped to apply the Micro-Set and Micro-Sol under the decal as the front surface seemed impenetrable to them. The Colorado and home made decals responded to the softening solutions much more easily. 

Paint is Volkswagen Candy White from a Halfords spray can applied over a white primer. This gave a nice glossy finish and is the correct shade used on these machines, being a very slightly off white. This was topped with Alcad II clear lacquer before a mild polish with T-Cut and automotive polish. These materials may be a bit crude for some, but they worked well for me to give a finish I'm really happy with.

Rally Deutschland's distinctive hinkelsteins are something I couldn’t resist having a go at modelling. These concrete anti tank blocks line the roads of the Baumholder military ranges and many rally cars have come off second best to one. Constructed from plastic sheet and strip using dimensions approximated from photos online, Plastikote suede effect paint adds a nice gritty texture, with a top coat of beiges and greys to add colour. Washes and streaks from AK Interactive were added, before mosses from dark grey paint and some Woodland Scenics Fine Turf glued on top for the fluffier green build up. Hanging basket liner and Woodland Scenics Fine Leaf Foliage provide a base to bed the tank (and car!) buster in.

A closer view of the five antennae on the roof, three less than the Rally France version the kit intends you to build. The centre trio of aerials are all stretched sprue using the kit bases, blended together with filler. The varying proportions of these was important for me to replicate as it is so noticeable on the real car.

The inset pictures show a close up of the carbon fibre decaling on the front end and the bonnet pins from Hobby Design. These are a work of art, being a model in themselves, folding the parts and locating the pin in the hole. Definitely a very worthwhile upgrade on the flat etched part Belkits provide.

Finally a picture of the finished item, cased up and ready to take pride of place on the shelf. This project has definitely been a milestone for me, rekindling my interest in plastic kits and allowing me to have fun going the extra mile to add extra detail that I can't in the smaller scales I usually work in. I don't know what's next, but there are a few iconic cars waiting to be built, some smaller bits and pieces and some strange items from a galaxy far, far away...

Oxford Diecast 1/148 Trucks [Flashback Friday no.1]

Flashback Friday gives me a chance to post up some older projects that I completed somewhere back in the mists of time. Most will be in finished condition, but a few should include some in progress pictures.

To start the series with something simple, here's a pair of Oxford Diecast trucks from their 1/148 (UK N Scale) range that have seen a fresh coat of paint and a few minor tweaks. If I were selling them, I guess the diecast world would call them Code 3s.

Retailing at around a tenner, these models provide a great place to start if you're new to repainting and detailing models, their low cost removing a large percentage of the trepidation! The main thing to beware of is the fact that the mouldings are clear plastic, which means you need to look after the window areas whilst painting. It does give a nice flush glazed look, but don't forget to mask the inside of the glazing too!

Both models started out with curtainside trailers, the Mercedes had a straight swap with another model, whilst the Scania had a new body built for the existing chassis. Before and after:

The Mercedes is a straight repaint, though the trailer sides have been clad in plastic sheet and had the top sheet remade in tissue paper. On the other hand, the Scania has gained new side skirts between the front and rear wheels as well as exhaust pipes made up from brass tube, these additions both requiring a lot of grinding and filing of the metal chassis. Both models benefit from spotlights from FKS Modellbau, too.

The trailer behind the Scania uses the chassis from an Oxford curtainside, with the raised mouldings ground off. A scratchbuilt plastic deck is added, before the bogies from a Dapol Mk3 carriage are added as a load. The straps are Tamiya masking tape, cut into strips with the ends superglued down. The trailer still needs a bit more work, so I'll cover this here when I do.

Home made waterslide decals were used on both vehicles, the design being aided by the white base to the liveries. The Scania was easy enough to produce, the cab side logos and front branding in black but the Mercedes needed test prints of various blues to get a match to the paint I used. As well as this, a couple of hours in Photoshop were spent redrawing the livery elements, tracing photos to provide the correct typefaces and the fantastic Wiltshire flag on the trailer. Time put in here really pays dividends, simply resizing a photo won't result in such a crisp finish. The simpler typeface on the cab could be reproduced more easily using a font that's a near match to simply type the text.

I could have gone for a simple fictitious livery like the Scania, but I chose M&N Transport livery as I have seen plenty of their trucks on the roads around here and I rather like the county flag proudly worn on the trailer.

A little trick with the front number plates on both models was to print them on decal paper, but cut out and glue them on with the backing still attached to give the look of a separate plate. 

That brings us to the end of this first Flashback Friday, hopefully seeing what can be done to personalise these pocket money wonders has encouraged you to pick up a paintbrush and have a go yourself. Simply painting the black plastic tyres with a dark grey or adding custom decals to a plain white van will get you started at making each model your own. Go on, give it a go and have some fun!