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Raison D’Etre
If anything I have made brings pleasure and a degree of wonder, please do give God the glory and praise, for it is merely the talent He has given, that I am exercising. Amongst the F1 designs I have incorporated as wall tiles in my workspace, are two with the Bible texts John 3 v 16 and Romans 10 v 9 which help me keep my mind focussed on what really matters. Do give them a read. These models were built as one-off, hopefully unique cars of the 1970's mainly (some late 60's and fewer 90’s and later) which I am now prepared to sell from my personal collection, to the right special people. Over the years, I have been unable to accept commissions due to lack of time and an over indulgent approach. Each model is a museum-display exhibit and they are not in any sense 'working models'. Over many years, I have built 1/12 scale F1 models almost exclusively, each being in the order of 12-14" (30-36cm) long. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, my aim was to increase in a small way, the 1/12 scale representation of Grand Prix car entries to the F1 World Championship that were not available commercially, as kits to be built. Since 2010, Model Plus and Model Factory Hiro especially, have supplied more and more of these older subjects to model makers. The models shown here, perhaps represent my desire to own the the full-scale car, yet that is not feasible or practical (unless you are Bernie Ecclestone) and each of my models feels like the real thing to me, having often spent so much time with the actual car. The photographs of the original cars were taken with special permission. Out of respect to the owners of actual Grand Prix cars or race 'shop owners, these photos are not available for further distribution, nor are my own inexpert engineering drawings. The models are built with the idea of 'no effort spared' and to look as realistic as possible. I will go to eccentric and sometimes otherwise unreasonable lengths to replicate every detail of design and engineering in order to satisfy myself that I have something properly accurate. This includes the concept that all bodywork should be removable in the same way as on the full-size car though not actually with working miniature fasteners of course, but instead faithful visual representations of these important details. In this way, I am able to allow the model to reveal the engineering within. Additionally the underneath of the car is also modelled, for there is much to be enjoyed regarding 'how it all works' from seeing what is not normally visible. I have felt that in this way, these models may serve to educate interested folk as to what makes a Grand Prix car 'tick', for access to the real thing is rare and makes this aspect somewhat mysterious. I have shown some of those I consider the better models at shows, but do so relatively infrequently due to the effort and logistics of getting to often far-flung venues, not to mention the potential accelerated ageing effect on the models themselves, in transporting them. Inspiration comes from the great model makers such as Henri Baigent, Gerald Wingrove, also my friends involved in the same hobby and in particular folk like John Shinton here in the UK and especially Andy Matthews from America who produces 1990s 'gems', which are wonderful to study. Hopefully that covers everything; now all it remains is to enjoy! MRO, August 2010 (updated November 2023)
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Wingrove models
November 15, 2014I have been a long time admirer of Gerald Wingrove and his 1/15 scale classic car models, – www.wworkshop.net is well worth a look. Gerald has been England’s foremost model maker for the past four decades. The subjects of Gerald’s … Continue reading
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Jackie Stewart, Matra MS10, 1968
November 3, 2014I recently had the very real pleasure of meeting Sir Jackie Stewart OBE. The occasion gave opportunity to artist friend Anthony Dobson and I to meet Sir Jackie in relation to a painting depicting his epic drive at the Nurburgring … Continue reading
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1975 Hesketh 308 Video
November 3, 2014With recent publication of another photoboook, MRO F1 Engineering Volume 1: Hesketh 308 (1975), it’s an appropriate time to release a short four minute video I made of the car during restoration in June 1998 (308/2). I hope the limited … Continue reading
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Meeting John Surtees
October 25, 2014Having exchanged a few letters and e-mails over the past ten years with John relating to the Surtees TS9 that I have completed the monocoque for, it was with great pleasure I was able to meet him on July 1st … Continue reading
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Hesketh 308 Photobook, out now!
August 2, 2014After many months of research and work, Volume 1: Hesketh 308 (1975) is finished! Take a look at it here. This has taken longer than I hoped due to the vast amount of photos, documents and other material I have … Continue reading
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Videos – 1st one, ready to view!
June 23, 2014I have published the first MRO F1 Engineering video on YouTube (see below, or search Goodwood Festival of Speed 2002, Lotus 72D). Thank you to church friend Matthew Colclough for introducing me to video editing and his efforts over the … Continue reading
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Hesketh Photobook update
May 21, 2014Volume 1 of my Photobook series will cover the wonderfully charismatic Hesketh 308, specifically James Hunt’s chassis 308/2 raced in 1975 and the winner of the Dutch Grand Prix ahead of Niki Lauda’s Ferrari 312T. The book is about 90% … Continue reading
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F1 ‘Life on the Limit’ – film
April 16, 2014This film recently released on DVD, is to be given a cinematic viewing opportunity at 11am Sunday April 22nd at Dorking Hall (cinema), Reigate Road, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1SG (United Kingdom). Tickets are £10 each and applications for a ticket … Continue reading
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Photobook – Signed copies
November 11, 2013Signed copies of ‘MRO F1 Engineering – The First Twenty Years’ are now available! To purchase a copy from Photobox: These can be purchased direct from Photobox either at their current standard price or one can wait for their periodic … Continue reading
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McLaren 50th Anniversary
September 21, 2013I was privileged to be invited to one aspect of McLaren’s 50th year anniversary celebrations last week (September 11-12th). I felt very honoured when Neil Trundle (McLaren heritage) recommended me to Matthew Jeffreys (former McLaren chassis designer) and Richard West … Continue reading
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