fodenway

The Ford D series does appear to be slightly larger than the TK, so possibly 1/42 (the old Tri-Ang Spot On scale), but the Leyland is definitely too small at 1/50. How many otherwise marvellous 'O' gauge layouts are spoiled with shiny "out of the box" (usually Corgi) 1/50 buses and lorries?

Here are a few Dinky conversions done by a friend of mine. The later Ford D Series roadsweeper gave up its cab for the brewers dray, but not before the front grille panel had been sawn off, thinned down and re-attached. The Bedford TK behind it has the Dinky cab fitted to a modern IXO chassis and van body ,(ex-Berliet GAK), and the Leyland Ergomatic tanker has the re-wheeled cab and chassis from the tipper, mated to a tank body from a cheap plastic toy found at a toyfair for 50p. The AEC artic tractor unit is also a good candidate for upgrading and detailing. No healthy Dinkies were harmed in the making of these models, they were all damaged toys bought very cheaply at toyfairs.

A pair of mongrels in 1/76 scale! The American Ford H tractor unit was made from parts of two Matchbox Toys, the top half of the cab being from the recent Ford C series truck, and the grille from the late 1960s "Ford Wrecker" (N series), with scratchbuilt bumper and lower wheelarch panels. Mounted on a modified chassis from an old KeilKraft/Amerang Kenworth kit, with the fuel tanks from the Matchbox C series added. The wheels came from a long-forgotten resin military kit. The trailer is a much modified Kibri kit, with a few small parts from the Airfix Scammell Tank Transporter in the mix. The rusty REO Speedwagon, (rescued for preservation) on the back started life as a Swedish coach in the Atlas "Buses of the World" range. Only the bonnet, wings and wheels were used, mated to the cab from a Hasegawa military GMC truck, and mounted on an Airfix Austin K6 chassis from their 'Emergency Set' kit. Other detail parts came from various sources, usually left-over parts from other kits or 'toys'.

On top of the shed, keeping out of the way of the squirrel on the dustbin?

Just in case anyone is not aware, the old Mi-Kits/Motorway Models Ford D Series tractor and van or flat trailers are still available from KW Trams, along with many other former ABS (and predecessors) road vehicle kits. Check out their website.

Were they the "Modelcraft" ones, printed on card? There was a flatbed six-wheeler in a livery approximating Blue Circle Cement. Modelcraft published a large range of 4mm scale road vehicle plans in the late forties, later joined by a smaller selection of pre-coloured printed card kits. A copy (of a copy) of the Sentinel is shown here.

All of the foregoing confirms my belief that the time is coming when, either unintentionally or maliciously, the computer says "NO", and all manner of gadgets and devices will cease to function. - Including the 22-year old computer upon which this post was written.............. Comfortingly, my old car and motorbike will still work, at least until the petrol runs out - hopefully I can then find a garage still with manual pumps!

Aren't Promod kits 1/50 scale?

This is Eli, my beautiful full-tail Manx. Sadly, he died eight years ago, just three days short of his second birthday, a victim of poisoning. His place was taken by little Sally, seen previously.

Sally again, about the same age, she thought a career as an opera singer might be good.

Sally at three months old, playing at "ignoring the teddy bear". She eventually killed it by pushing it off the wall, beheading it on the concrete below.

I think the car was referred to as the Bond 875 - the van was the Bond Ranger. A mate of mine had the van. He bought it from someone whose mother insisted he got rid of it "before he killed himself" - it had been fitted with a highly tuned and overbored engine from a Sunbeam Stiletto, it could easily lift the front wheel in second gear. A damp November night on a road covered in wet leaves was its undoing, spun round and hit a dry stone wall, fortunately at quite a low speed, no injuries but a big repair bill. The steering head got bent on hitting the kerb, and the front end bodywork cracked wide open. He moved it on as soon as it had been repaired - probably explains why he's still alive today.

Dettol disinfectant, crazy as it sounds, will fetch paint or inks off metal or plastic without damaging the surface. Leave the model to soak overnight. You can safely put it on babies - so how it works on paint must be witchcraft, but it does work - and you can usually re-use the liquid afterwards.

......when you can clearly remember happenings from the 1950s, but you're not sure what you had for breakfast this morning. Or simple mental arithmetic becomes a very confusing calculation. You can't bring to mind familiar words, or names. Sometimes they come back quickly, sometimes not.

I remember a few years back when there were literally hundreds of well-used Ladas parked up at Carnaby airfield near Bridlington. Apparently they were worth far more "back home" than here, and so were being shipped back by some enterprising Eastern European chap.

A nice find, and the Fiat 850 coupe is indeed unusual - any clue as to the maker? If it helps make up your mind as to the fate of the Rivarossi 124, there's one on ebay right now for £73.03, item 384859067220.

Just checked the model against full-size dimensions, and found that the Fiat 124 had a wheelbase of 95.25", overall length 158". Using a 4mm scale rule, the model comes out at 100" WB and 164" OA, so slightly larger. The HA Viva, for comparison, was only a quarter of an inch shorter in real life.

Does your Lada have any markings underneath? I have a red one just like it but made by Rivarossi of Italy. (the wheels on mine were missing and have been replaced by some from my spares supply). The base is marked "FIAT 124 MADE IN ITALY. I think your Lada may either be one of these, or a copy of it. Rivarossi also made a Fiat tractor unit, supposedly"HO", but actually 1/76. Both turn up occasionally at very high prices, but always worth trawling through the oddments boxes at toyfairs and model railway shows, I had two Fiat trucks, with trailers, for a pound each a few years ago. One of them got modified somewhat to a typical Italian drawbar outfit of the period.

....I was just about to say that!

Letter it up for a steel carrying company, add a few timber battens and some rolled up load straps. It's returning empty from a delivery.

Anyone out there in 3D Printland fancy taking these on in 4mm scale? The Honda 50 Cub is an iconic little bike suitable for layouts from the early sixties onwards - they were everywhere - and the blue ST50 was a cult bike introduced in 1969, still popular today - Honda have just released a modernised version of it to the UK market. ( The blue one is mine, and could be scanned if necessary, or I could send more photos/measurements to anyone seriously interested in producing them).

Sally cat watches from the signal box steps as her friend Cyril Squirrel performs handstands.

Bad news about the dissolving filler - For years I've used Squadron Green putty with no issues, although now that it's unobtainable I tried Deluxe brand filler - it's the first time I've used it, and I normally wet-sand the final finish prior to painting, which was a big mistake this time - almost all the filler turned back to paste and washed out, a few hours of shaping and finishing ruined. To be fair, it works fine when dry-sanded, something I'll have to remember when using it in future. No problems with Milliput, another old favourite of mine, however.

Although they were larger than the average British car of the period, they were classed as "compact" in America, around two feet shorter than a full-size Impala or Galaxie. My Rambler Classic sedan had the 3.2 litre six-cylinder engine and 3-speed auto, and could easily return around 27-28mpg overall when driven 'sensibly', matching or bettering contemporary Cresta or Zephyr figures.

The Tomicas are quite hard to find, especially at a reasonable price. Has anyone who has any checked the dimensions to see whether they actually are the scale they're said to be?