The “original” Mini was produced from 1959 to 2000 by the British Motor Corporation and its successors, British Leyland and the Rover Group, designed by Alec Issigonis and marketed under the Austin and Morris badges. The Mini Cooper was the “Sports” option that was developed by legendary race car maker John Cooper. The key here is that not all Minis are Coopers although most Americans know the Mini line of cars as “Mini Coopers”.

Another awesome kit from Plus Models is a milling machine which would fit in many dioramas such as an auto or machine shop. The kit is a true multimedia kit with 29 resin parts, a photo etch fret, a length of wire and decals to make a duplicate of a LeBlond No. 3 Plain Milling Machine. The parts are perfectly cast and the photoetch is nicely engraved. The decals represent the metallic plates on the machine and are excellent also.

Construction involves removing a lot of casting gates. This is true for all parts except the sprue that have the handles. Once the gates are removed, I added the motor and main arm to the base. I also added the controls and electrical boxes and the main arms and the end guard. I left off tray and adjustment guide as they can be added later. The main drive belt guard was also added. I also made the mistake of adding the tiny handles to all of the arms. More on that later. I also assembled the parts for the tray and adjustment guides.

I’ve heard some modelers say they can’t have too many Mustangs. For those who believe that, there is a decal company that seems to believe it too. A.M.D.G. Decals is a new company from Poland that is off to a great start…releasing four P-51 decal sets titled YANKEE MERLIN ROARS!!! (Parts I – IV), and they provide everything needed in each set to decal four different a/c. When I say everything, I do mean everything. The decal sheet included in each set is packed with about as much as anyone could hope for. Check out the photo below to verify that.