1:24 Mini 40th Anniversary Limited (1999)

Forty years of one good idea

The British Mini first appeared in 1959 and its transverse engine with the gearbox in the oil sump changed the idea of how much room a small car has to take up. The concept barely changed by the end of the century, and in 1999 the maker marked the round anniversary with a special series with a different range of colors, different wheels and anniversary badges. It is precisely this form of the car that this release captures, that is the Mini at the very end of its immensely long career.

A small body, a shorter build

The extent of the work works out more favorably here than with larger coupes. The car is short, the finished model measures barely thirteen centimeters and there are correspondingly fewer parts. Two weekends are usually enough: the first for assembling and preparing the body, the second for the paint, the interior and the final assembly. For a modeler who is only coming to cars, this is a more sensible way in than an extensive racing project, where motivation easily drains away around the third week.

Details that show more than elsewhere

The small format has its treacherous side too. The chrome trim around the windows and the lights makes up a conspicuously large share of the area on a short body, so a brush stroke that does not come off well is more glaring here than on a long car. The recommended procedure is to lay down silver paint with a fine brush and wipe the surplus away with a cotton swab moistened with thinner before it dries. The anniversary badges are usually part of the decal sheet and belong on a smooth gloss surface.