The 2023 Diecast Expo was held at Tabcorp Park, Melton, just west of Melbourne on November 4th and 5th. As it is only a 45 minute drive from SMS HQ, we headed down to check it out and also launch a new colour range that we have been developing with Bruce Hay at Drake Collectibles out of Brisbane.   The new SMS Truck Colours range was officially released at the Diecast Expo, exclusively available through Drake Collectibles. At the time of writing, retailers will be able to order these sets through Drake alongside their super detailed, diecast trucks.  Above : The colours that are included in the new sets The range launches with 3 main sets, Membrey, Doolan and Mack Bicentennial. All colours are matched to the actual colours used on the real trucks and heavy haulage equipment - making them perfect for painting custom diecast and plastic models with. ...

I'm in Brisbane this weekend (September 30th and October 1st 2023) for GhMX at the Brisbane Showgrounds Exhibition Building, so I took the opportunity to jump in the hire car (the Mazda BT-50 drives amazing!) and head out to see our good friends at Diecast Distributors Australia. DDA is located in Yatala, about 45km from the Brisbane Airport down the M1. Once I got through the traffic of everyone heading off for the long weekend, I was greeted by John Marios and his son Jesse, both who helm the DDA company together.  After a quick tour of the showroom, we sat down and chatted about what has been happening with the HQ and HJ Holden model kits. We discussed a lot about the feedback that has been received in regards to these releases and some of the changes that will be implemented for future releases.  One of the big ones...

We are often asked about what sets our Premium Acrylic Lacquers apart from other, similar type hobby paints on the market and it comes down to the ingredients we use to create a strong bonding, rich pigmented paint. So, without giving too much away (trade secrets and all), here’s a run down of some of the things that we do to create our Premium Acrylic Lacquer range. The choice of solvents and binding resins is what ultimately makes or breaks a paint. The ability for the paint to adhere to plastic without damaging it (damaging by way of excessive “hot” solvents) is key for a high quality hobby paint like ours. Since we launched our range in 2016, we have continually adjusted and specifically formulated the base paint to be safe on all types of modelling plastics, resins and metals. Our choice of solvent load combined with the top shelf...

We regularly get asked about whether it is safe to use a solvent based paint like our Premium Acrylic Lacquers in conjunction with other paint types like oil based enamels or water based acrylics.  The answer to this is yes, provided that you take adequate steps in ensuring that the other paint is dry before applying the next type over it. I personally have used enamels and water based paint both under and over our solvent based Acrylic Lacquers and have never come across an issue ever.  The team at FineScale Modeler recently uploaded a video doing a number of test examples using our Acrylic Lacquers with Humbrol enamels and Vallejo water based acrylics and their tests further prove that a lot of the 'rules' of using paint that you may see online are just myths. Watch their video below to see for yourself, and remember, keep on modelling!  - Scott...