MikeA

Here are the finished model of the Wingnut Wings DH.9a Ninak.

I went with the boxart version. This would have me change a few things I haven't tried before - like moving the stitching and using the PE version + making the cutout for the observer.
This was also the first 2 seat biplane I have built.

Apart from a few mistakes, Im very happy with it   😄

Thank you all for the motivation along the way!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

I thought it was about time I dragged this out of storage and did a bit...
 
 
I spent an evening over the weekend installing the gear and flaps for good - first I had to cobble together the oil tanks in the forward pat of the gear bays. I raided the spares box and found something suitable, before tarting them up a little with some extra details and installing them just behind the firewalls:
 
 
The gear then slotted over some pre-made and installed metal pins in the spars, using Araldite Epoxy glue for a very strong join. The model isn't particularly heavy, but the gear being so gangly meant a strong union between airframe and gear is essential!
 
The flaps were then added to their runners, again using Epoxy, and set in a jig to harden off and voila, everything is now rock solid and nicely in situ:
 
 
 
I've been procrastinating with this project because the only major construction work left is the cockpit interior, which I absolute hate making. It seems I'm going to have to make a start and get on with it, especially as my aim is to get this finished in time for this year's Telford show, so I think I'm just going to have to dive on in there...
 
Until next time,
Tom

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

Beautiful job very realistic finish
I have a 1/16 DS19 somewhere in my stash I have not been brave enough to start😄
 
cheers Michael
 

After finishing the Ferrari GTO 250 a couple of years ago I was intending to work on a Pocher Aventador. However the opportunity came up to purchase a Heller Traction, which has been on my radar since the late 1970's. To hard to resist.
 
The kit is well known and not without its challenges. Over 1000 pieces, which is not a count of screws etc as you get with Pocher kits, and almost no concession is made from the real thing to scale size. It is a kit engineering marvel and extremely satisfying as a build - although sometimes equally frustrating as with many older Citroens.
 
Very few additions or changes to the kit were made. The small list includes:
the carpet, courtesy of dolls house self adhesive carpet, the upholstery, courtesy of MFH self adhesive cloth, some MFH machine screw heads around the window frames, a luggage net handmade from model ship rope, a scratch built windscreen opening mechanism, bolting the entire front end together rather than using glue, the replacement of most of the soft rubber pipes and wires with more suitable material such as solder wire, bicycle inner tube for the mudflaps, whisky bottle foil and masking tape for the cloth dust seal along the edge of the engine bay scuttle, aftermarket hose clamps, and the replacement of the bonnet hinge rubber with nitrile glove material.  
I chose to model a car built in mid to late 1950, which allows the combo of the early curved bumpers and hub caps, with a mid period dash board and upholstery. I tried to build it as a well maintained daily runner rather than a showroom car. The model is just over 600mm in length.
 
The main challenges were the interior headlining and the bonnet. The headlining is supplied as a very floppy 0.2mm thick vacform piece. I was determined to use it as the kit designers intended, which was fixed around the rear window and above the side windows, but suspended from the roof. It took a month of head scratching to work out a process and the actual fitting ended up taking 10 minutes. Double sided tape, flexible superglue and the use of two lengths of ribbon to act as extra hands whilst gradually working from the rear to the front is a summary of the process.
 
The bonnet issues were so frustrating that I set the almost finished model aside for nine months this year and glowered at it when walking past. A combination of warped pieces and a strange hinge arrangement based on a flexible rubber strip was the problem. It's still not perfect, but I can live with it.
 
On with the photos. The first few are of the engine before the front end body work was added. i have also included a photo of the underneath taken whilst fitting the wheels - the strange wheel angle is fortunately just a parallax issue.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The distraction from large scale planes will continue as I have some Pocher kits needing attention. Once I've got this one safely tucked away on stands and in a glass case, i will be starting on the beautiful monterey blue Aventador roadster with a Tommaso transkit and some scratch built extras. Compared to the Citroen, however, it should be relatively straightforward.
 
Hope you enjoy the pics. Comments and feedback welcome.
 
Cheers,
 
Mike

I missed this build, but just chiming in to say that this has got to be one of the most gorgeous looking Spitfire models I have seen. That combo of the low back, full wings and completely over the top front end just really pops. The conversion work is absolutely first rate where it is not possible to discern the chopping and different materials involved. Very very impressive!
 
Mike
 

I missed this build, but just chiming in to say that this has got to be one of the most gorgeous looking Spitfire models I have seen. That combo of the low back, full wings and completely over the top front end just really pops. The conversion work is absolutely first rate where it is not possible to discern the chopping and different materials involved. Very very impressive!
 
Mike
 

my latest built : 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 

I missed this build, but just chiming in to say that this has got to be one of the most gorgeous looking Spitfire models I have seen. That combo of the low back, full wings and completely over the top front end just really pops. The conversion work is absolutely first rate where it is not possible to discern the chopping and different materials involved. Very very impressive!
 
Mike
 

Hello all of you fine people of LSP.
 
May I share my new project with you please?
 
Although I have already built one of the Airfix 1/24th scale MkIX Spitfires I felt this model was the ideal basis for a tribute to Squadron Leader Mark Long who perished whilst at the controls of his aircraft earlier in 2024.
 
The aircraft was part of the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial flight and had been well known on the airshow circuit for many years. 
 
At the time of the fateful incident she was wearing the desert markings of No. 92 squadron (QJ-3) so that is how I will depict her. 
 
As a restored warbird this aircraft sports a number of elements not seen on period aircraft. I will mention the ones I spot as I go along. 
She will also be quite clean. The BBMF keep there aircraft in generally good condition with the exception of exhaust staining. 
Many reference photos online show plenty of exhaust staining for me to get my teeth into later. 
 
The model will be buttoned up. 
No open panels, canopy closed with possibly even a modern RBF tag on the pitot 
 
This means that I won't be spending alot of time or energy on things that won't be seen. 
Whereas I included the Airscale aftermarket set for the cockpit of my previous build I aim to largely use the kit parts this time around with only minimal extra detail added. 
 
Having said that, here are a couple of pics of the seat. 
 

 
I'm trying to give the impression of a contemporary parachute pack.
I've also replaced the flare holder with a scratch built one. 
 

 
This is quite an obvious feature even through the canopy so I wanted to improve it's look and shape. 
I started out thinking of simply drilling out the kit part but the plastic sidewall is so thick it was easier to fabricate a fresh one. 
 

 
I also re-shaped the seat backrest a little because pics online seem slimmer in appearance. 
 

 
So, we've begun our journey. 
As ever, any and all comments are welcome. 
If anyone can share images of MK356 or knowledge that may help along the way, please feel free to include it here. 
 
There are a couple of superb large scale Spitfire builds going on elsewhere so you can rest assured I will be following those like a hawk for all of the tips and tricks I can glean. 
 
Cheers,
Guy

The wingtip tanks are finally ready and..., check it out ''parked''. 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my last built , enjoy 
 






 

Wow! That is spectacular. I just cannot imagine how you managed to keep your sight intact doing that finish. Well done!
 

Thanks Michael, you're very kind. 
You also clearly have first hand knowledge of just how much effort is required for this kit. 
 
It's a wet day here so I hope to make some progress. 
 
First item on the agenda is the nose gear door. 
The Infinity item is a good representation of the Vampire gear door from what I can make out but the airframe that I'm recreating appears to have had a modified door made at some point. 
I snipped off much of the plastic door then glued a rectangle of aluminum from a pie tin to the remnant.
 

 

 
This technique retains the location points for the door but allows me to deform the surface like the real deal.