Three little piglets…

Spark × Minichamps × Highspeed, from left to right.

With my new Pink Pig from Spark, I was able to do this small comparo. On the left you see the new Spark, and in the middle is my old Minichamps. And on the right is my daughter’s Highspeed model. She’s 11 and according to her, the Pink Pig is the coolest Porsche. Ever 😁.

Same order, from the rear.

The biggest difference between the Spark and the Minichamps is the black tape. During the race, car #23 had black tape around the door and engine cowl. I think Minichamps used the car as it sits at Porsche’s museum as the base for their model. In fact, I have the impression that most of their models are based on the cars as they look today. Spark, on the other hand, replicated the model as it was on race day. And for me, at least, that’s a BIG plus.

Spark on the left, Minichamps on the right and Highspeed at the bottom.

In terms of overall detail the Spark model has the edge, being it little more refined then the Minichamps. And as expected, the Highspeed version is much simpler. Nonetheless, it is NOT terrible – far from it, in fact. Therefore, it comes down to how much you want to spend and/or how important the Pink Pig is to your collection.

Books – Niki Lauda

“Niki Lauda: The Biography” – Maurice Hamilton

Since I’m a gearhead, of course I have some interest in F1. Yet, I’m not exactly a big fan. While that may be so, I do have more than a passing interest in the sport’s history. And a BIG part of that history in my eyes is occupied by Niki Lauda. To me, he was one of F1’s finest personalities, both in the cockpit of a F1 car and in the back scenes. And quite frankly, it is hard to find another driver with such colorful history.

I got this book on my Kindle, and it’s a bit poor on the photo content. Even so, it makes up with loads and loads of stories from Lauda’s carreer. And just as enticing, it gives a good idea of the inner workings of the F1 circus in the 70s and 80s. So I would say this is a must read to the Niki Lauda fan and a great book for the F1 fan.

Shop upgrade

All the dioramas I have so far I built there. Yes, it was really sad as far as a workshop goes.

When we built our new house almost 9 years ago, one thing that I wanted was a dedicated workspace for tools and crafts. A room to work on my hobbies, bikes and store my tools. And I got the space. However, as you can see in the shot above, it was kind of shabby in terms of a workspace. All right, let’s be honest: it was an utterly pathetic excuse for a tool shop 😣.

All manual tools are now at easy reach.

So in the last month, I started to work on it, transforming it into a proper workshop. And by “working on it” I mean buying what was needed. Of the highest priority was to have a work bench, and that was the first thing I bought. I also bought those wall panels to hang all my manual tools in the open, at easy reach.

Previously, I had to use the drill press over on my daughter’s drawer 🙄.

The yellow drawer was from my daughter’s old bedroom, which works perfectly as a space to store supplies and small stuff. The yellow chair (and yellow table under the workbench) were also from her bedroom. If you care to know, that small chair is perfect to wash my car’s wheels 😁. I also installed more power sockets, both in 110 and 220 v.

The small desk, in front of a window, is great for delicate jobs.

I had an old office desk that I didn’t use any more, and it fitted perfectly in that niche in the back wall. It’s a fantastic station for the delicate stuff, like working on models or making dioramas. The whole space came out as a true carnival of styles, furniture and parts. Yet, I for one dig the “repurposed look”. Can’t say why, though I think that mishmash style makes the tool shop look homely.

My battery drills and Dremel. I’m a confess Bosch and Makita fanboy.

Of course I’m not 100% done yet, with some things still missing. For instance, I desperately need a Nº 5 bench vise, as I need a bench grinder. And I would love to have a small belt sander… Nonetheless, I’ll eventually get there. Most important of all though, now I finally have a decent work space.
😊😊😊