Paul Builds Because...
Dutchman Paul Spek is a special character. In his spare time he’s usually hidden in the attic, blinds closed, with his model cars. No, not to play with them, he says. He collects model cars, restores them, builds kits and likes to make his own conversions. And he likes to show them on Facebook. One of his favorite makes of plastic car kits is of course Airfix.
In his daily life nothing indicates that Paul (56) is a handyman. Because he isn’t. He works in the office and no one has ever seen him wielding a hammer or a saw. Nor does he do any gardening or sports. No, in his free time Paul builds cars, model cars, that is. His passion for cars started because his father used to work for the Dutch British Leyland importers and took Paul and his brother on many a Saturday to have a look at and climb in and underneath the cars in the big showroom at work. So Paul’s love of cars started early. As did his passion for model cars, as his parents gave many model cars as a gift when he was a good boy – which he usually was and is.
“I have quite a big collection now”, Paul says. “The last few years my attention switched from diecasts to plastic kits. Not the big ones, but 1/43rd, 1/32nd and some 1/35th. Not the most obvious scales. When I moved and set out to live on my own for the first time, some kits I had built as a schoolboy suffered and I threw them away. A shame, because now I see the challenge in rebuilding and converting model cars. And that is what I do most nowadays.
“I remember my older brother buying a white metal kit and I thought ‘Hey, that’s nice!’. But those kits were really way too expensive for me. But then plastic kits started to appeal to me just as well. I can’t remember exactly, but the oldest car kits I built and still have, are a now derelict Jaguar E-type Roadster and a very basic TR8, both 1/24th scale.”
But those aren’t Airfix kits.
“No, the oldest Airfix kit I have in my collection is the vintage Bentley Blower, still unbuilt in its plastic bag. When I got that, it was already very old. I leave that as it is, as a curiosity”, says Paul. “A few years ago I built a re-issue of this fantastic car. Many old kits get re-issued from time to time, fortunately, and I look forward to the re-issues of the Jaguar 420, the Maserati Indy, and the beach buggy. They’re not available in the Netherlands yet, unfortunately – however, I still have hundreds of plastic car kits to build”, he says as he shrugs…
That many?
“Yes, terrible isn’t it? I could start my own shop, but I won’t, of course. Some thirty years ago I discovered the fun of building the plastic 1/43rd scale kits from the French make Heller. There are only thirty or forty of those and I have made nearly all of them. And I still enjoyed them, so I decided to make my own versions and kept buying more. I made all sorts of alternatives, roadsters, station wagons, pick-ups, coupés, longer and shorter versions, you name it. Last count: more than 200. And I’m still inspired to make more, so I keep a stock of the small French kits. By the way, you can see my creations on Facebook: Amateur Heller kit Automobile 1/43.
“Funny thing is: last summer I built the MG K3 Magnette and the Austin-Healey Sprite and it says on the boxes that they were manufactured by Heller, but that was quite a few years ago. I discovered the same on the Triumph box. And I have a few 1/43rd scale model car kits with the Airfix logo that are originally Hellers. Great connection! I also like the slightly bigger 1/32nd scale very much. And they don’t take as much room as 1/24th and 1/18th scale models. I’m not a super detailing fan, the small scale kits aren’t meant to be, I think. But I do like the fact that they are so easy to handle. I usually paint them with brushes and the size of the parts is well suited for that. But I also use aerosols when temperature allows – I spray my creations in the shed, so I need outside temperatures of over 15 oC. So usually I do more at a time if I can.”
We understand you have more plans. Can you tell us more about them?
“A friend recently gave me an old Ford Cortina, which I will restore to its former glory. And I still have many unbuilt 1/32nd scale model cars to build. I made the Jaguar E-type with the roof up many years ago. I gave it a fancy paint job and I recently wondered why I put the roof on. Well, because there is no alternative; there is no folded roof included in the kit. So I decided to make a folded roof myself. That’s very easy really: two layers of Evergreen plastic card, an evening’s work filing and sanding – a folded roof doesn’t’ really need to be flawless.”
I plan to do the same with the Triumph and the Aston Martin. But there already are several roof options in the Triumph kit and of the Aston, I could also make a so called shooting brake conversion. And why shouldn’t I make a VW Convertible? But as I said earlier: I still have many other kits and ideas for conversions. I have to live to be at least 137 to realise every project I have in mind. So… many more evenings in the attic to come.”
Maybe Paul can also find some time to make a Facebook page about his 1/32 scale car kits. But of course building those is first priority...
Paul's Workbench
What is your favourite Airfix model car?
"That’s no easy question to answer. I enjoyed nearly every kit I made and that’s why I keep buying them. The very old Darracq, ‘Genevieve’ from the film of the same name, was very simple, as were the instructions, but it brought me back to my youth. The MG K3 Magnette was very enjoyable to build. It’s more complicated and when I first bought it some thirty years ago, I started right away, got diverted and it nearly got lost for decades in the stockpile of projects. The Frogeye Sprite is so cute I would enjoy it even without any instructions. But I also love the VW, the paint worked out brilliantly.
At the moment the kit I most enjoyed building is Monty’s Humber. That one I built as a youth and got thrown away later. It is silly really, but I love it for the balloon tyres that only just fit the arches. I do not like the military, but this car kept popping up in my memory. So when I recently bought a re-issue of the kit, I built it right away. And again I enjoyed it very, very much.”
Which was to you the most challenging Airfix kit?
“Well, none really. In 1/32nd scale building a car is not difficult – I really don’t understand why not many more people collect kits of model cars in this scale. When I tell them I do, mostly they react a little surprised. Even you people at Airfix. But they are so much fun, to paint, to build, to see and to talk about.”
Paul's Gallery
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