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Topic starter
04/12/2018 10:01 pm
Resin surprised me too
As I posted on Facebook Barry Lester was famous for white metal kits. I wondered if the resin was an early experiment but carved from wood sounds more likely. Quite a few of the artisan producers started with that and many carried on using wood to make masters too.
I envy you having met Barry Lester I loved his small 1:87/76ish models... I guess Adrian Swain might know more as they worked together in the early days of WM model production.
05/12/2018 3:37 am
Great feedback, guys. I'll ask Patrick to comment.
05/12/2018 3:48 am
Barry Lester and resin
From memory ,before Barry Lester produced the Autoreplicas range in wmetal , he produced models in balsa wood , covering various subjects ,photos were featured in Model Cars magazine ,I have the mags in storage ,I think they were made on comission .I have no knowledge of him doing models in resin .Brian Jewel models I have 2 gto's ,when Mikansue had the shop in Windsor I visited and they were selling a GT40 which Jewel had produced , I regret not buying , instead I bought 2 Matchbox prototypes in wood which I still have
05/12/2018 4:52 am
Patrick has many resin kits and he says the ...
... weight and feel to it is resin. Also, Rampini in his Alfa Romeo book lists it as Lester/BKM and RS = resin. I think BKM is a typo that should be BKL Developments, his company name (Barry K Lester).
have you heard of BKM?
Barry Lester is quoted:
"At around this time also, Peter Atkinson (Acorn Models) in Swansea, and myself started to work together with vacuum-formed 1/43rd. kits which developed from our range of vac.-formed bodies for slot cars. After a while, we started to produce plastic / white metal kits such as a 3-wheeler Morgan." http://www.1-43.net/auto-replicas/
05/12/2018 4:53 am
Also see John Roberts comment below.
05/12/2018 8:43 am
I'm virtually certain Barry Lester didn't use resin...
The Acorn models, of which I made a number, were clear vac form bodies and simple chassis and used Dinky Toy wheels and tyres. The first was a Morgan Plus 4 and others included HRG Aerodynamic, Ferrari P5 and the 3 wheeler Morgan which may have had a white metal engine. This was back in the late 60s. Barry later revisited some of these subjects in white metal such as the Morgan Plus 4 and HRG. His wooden models were featured regularly in Model Maker and Model Cars magazines, usually being made of obeche and hand carved. He would sometimes make more than one of each model, his Brescia Bugatti being the best known. He also made a beautiful Bugatti Atlantic which I saw at his house. Barry always favoured Italian and French subjects in model and full size forms. Cars he owned I remember included Fiat 127 and 128 3P Coupe, Citroen GS and Citroen AX.
05/12/2018 1:03 pm
Underside pic - fullsize
05/12/2018 8:36 pm
Barry Lester and resin
Again from memory Barry produced some kits in the Autoreplicas range vac formed like the Acorn range , an early beetle and a HRG ( I think I have one ),again I need to look at Model Cars magazine
05/12/2018 11:16 pm
That's right. The Beetle was a modified Dinky casting...
as was the Morris Series Z van which he made.
05/12/2018 11:18 pm
Definitely wood! Dinky tyres and axles, scratch-built clear wheels with etched spokes
06/12/2018 1:53 am
Speaking of wood, I am scratch building a model consisting of wood, brass,aluminum and plastic. The wood used is primarily bass wood. Before spray priming the wood (I'm using enamel paint), is there something that can be applied to the wood to prevent the wood texture from showing through? I want the surface to have the appearance of smooth metal or plastic. Thanks.
06/12/2018 4:00 am
There's no shortcut Ken. You could try high build primer..
which will help clog up the grain but it will then need sanding...and sanding...and sanding! With coats of paint in between. In addition you'll need to give the primer time to sink. What will appear a good finish will regress if you apply your paint too early and you'll find the wood grain coming through again. Pics attached of a wood model I made once - hope this helps. I'm sure others will have more suggestions for you also.photo no longer available
photo no longer available
06/12/2018 5:05 am
Pics attached to the above posting - forgot to say!
06/12/2018 5:08 am
Thanks John. Just to explain, I am building this model (pic) a 1903 Rambler .I am building it in 1/8 scale (about 12 inches long). I have the Aurora 1/16 unbuilt model and I am scaling the parts to 1/8 (doubling the original plastic model size).I have already finished the engine,flywheels,pulleys, floorboard and frame and getting ready for paint. The engine and flywheel parts are very delicate and intricate and may not hold up to aggressive sanding.I obtained 3" spoked wheels which work perfectly. I plan to complete the build in 6 months to a year, just working on it when I'm in the mood. The springs,axles will be made of brass and aluminum and painted as indicated. Fenders will be shaped from aluminum.I already have the Frankin Mint Quadricycle and Duryea in similar scale and hope that this build will compliment them.
photo no longer available
06/12/2018 9:54 am
Great admiration for your work Ken - would love to see the build as you progress