Last summer I received a gift in the mail from one of my D.A.M.N.* friends. It was a 1/43 Ferrari 121 BBR kit. A very expensive and gorgeous kit. A few days later, I get an e-mail from my D.A.M.N. friend asking if I had gotten a box with the kit in it. Shortly thereafter, another of my D.A.M.N. friends told me he got one of these kits. Once all of my D.A.M.N friends got their kits we were told he was never going to build all of the Ferrari 121s kits he has but wanted to see them finished. All of these D.A.M.N. guys are award winning 1/43 builders, so what a better way to get them built than a building challenge. They are all due by the 2025 Old Dominion Open. So far, two have been finished, the the last two are almost done. One of the D.A.M.N. guys passed away, so we are now 1 short of a club entry, sadly. Still, these are amazing kits and we will love to see the expression on some of the guys to see not 1 but at least 4 of the beauties on the table at the same time.

The Ferrari 121 was their Sports Car /LeMans entry in the mid-1950’s. Contemporary of the C & D-Type Jaguars and Mercedes 300SLR. Fastest of the 3, but the Jag had better Tech and Mercedes had better drivers.

I still need to add the final details: Windshields, Racing, Brake, and Marker lights, various straps and lock pins, and other details. I polished the paint with Tamiya Polishing compounds using my Proxxon and cloth buffing wheels. Panel lines with Tamiya Black wash. The completed model will be revealed at the O.D.O. along with the other 3.

Mark Tutton
Starfighter Decals/Marks Models & Toys
starfighter-decals.com

*D.A.M.N.= Distinguished and Accomplished Modelers of Note

-Mark

My latest model builds. Special thanks to Chris King for picking up the MPC triple axle gravel trailer kit for me. I thought a cabover tractor would be cool to build for the trailer. You don’t see many cabover tractors hauling stone and gravel. Definitely old school idea.

The trailer is box stock. The chrome spider wheels were painted as there are never chrome spider wheels on trucks. I decided to paint the dump bed and Metallic deep blue, something different than the silver beds everyone does. I used shaved Styrofoam roughed up and airbrushed semi-gloss black for the load of coal in the trailer. Looks quite realistic.

The AMT GMC Astro 95 is a good kit and it goes together quite well. I changed the wheels from spider wheels to 2 hole Bud wheels made by fellow club member K.J. Humphreys. Each wheel has a set of lug nuts that are glued into individual holes on the wheels. The front wheels are from Chad Kennedy. I used only one fuel tank and added a storage box on the passenger side. Airlines were added and hook up to the gravel trailer. It’s going to the NOVA IPMS Spring show and contest.  Cheers 🍻

-Scott

I finally finished my 1/24 Build of the Tamiya Mercedes CLK GTR GT1 on New Years Day. I doubt I will ever try one of these again- not to this level that is for sure. These were great cars from this time: Porsche GT1 and GT1 EVOs; McLaren GT1; Nissan GT390s; Saleen S7r; and so on. Having to cover every part of the chassis and interior in Carbon Fiber Decals without any detailed photos or masks was more tedious than I want to do again. If I can’t find the Studio 27 Carbon Fiber set for the car, not going to bother.

Enjoy the photos. I may take it to Richmond IPMS show as I have a BTSK entry I have to take & enter for that show. Photos of that soon.

-Mark

Gents,

Here is a 1/35 SeaRAM-like a CIWS system on US Navy ships.  Instead of a chain gun the SeaRAM uses surface to air missiles to increase the close in defense range from 1.5 miles (or so) to 10 miles.
The RAM component is pretty much done (less decals) and the tophat is still to go.  The tophat is the fire control radar system that is mounted atop the missile housing.

The kit was okay but I have to say it is frustrating when a vendor uses photo etch for some part when a sprue/plastic part would have been just as good.
I made the deck from stryrene and added non skid around where the SeaRAM system would be mounted.  The black base was also made from styrene.

-Chris

The chassis of the 904 is coming along nicely. Most of the difficulties I’m encountering are due to the kit itself, which is NOT well engineered. The interior tub and dashboard fit is likely going to be a problem when I mount the body. The stance and ride height with the larger wheels came out better than I had hoped, so there is that!

This car is considered by many to be Ferry Porsches most beautiful design. This was the only Porsche ever made with a glass fiber body (made with the assistance of the folks at Heinkel, yes the airplane people). Despite its modest power it was highly competitive in its day, capable of 180 mph on the Mulsanne Straight!

-Ross

Hey buddy, your engine is upside down!  My latest effort is a vintage Monogram Porsche 904 Carrera GTS racer which I have augmented with the 3.2l flat six engine from a later 911. The engine and transaxle actually fit with only minimal modification to the chassis pan. The rear suspension also fit around the vastly larger engine without a lot of drama. The brake backing plates and hubs needed substantial work to accept the 15” Fuchs alloy wheels intended for the 911. The 911 also uses a staggered wheel sizing whereas the 904 used four laughably small 13” wheels.

It was while taking this picture of the engine and rear suspension glued into chassis that I realized I was supposed to PAINT the chassis before assembly!  Yikes!  One epic masking job later, the car is now Graphite Grey. This old Monogram kit is best described as “challenging” so I will see what adventures await as I begin final assembly. More photos to come

-Ross

Finished this up a few weeks ago but haven’t had much time to indulge in stuff like this. Enjoy!

-Mark