National Kit Car show

"No more kits" - the refrain that both my Dad and I chant every time we visit a show. There are more than enough projects in both of our maturing cupboards and yet we still feel the urge to cram another box in anyway.

The National Kit car show has been held 10 miles down the road from me for over a decade. I've seen the vehicles buzzing around and always wondered what it is like. It's not like I have the time or space to build a car but there is a bit of me that thinks it would be a fascinating project to take on. Never mind running a model locomotive that you've built yourself, how about driving a car that results from your own efforts.

You're right - I'd be terrified every time I hit the brakes in case my workmanship let me down...

Anyway, this year I decided I was going to take a look. Yes it's £15 to go in (railway modellers moaning about the price to go into a toy train show please note) but I only plan to do it once. Anyway, I'm not going to buy anything when I get inside am I?

Inside, there were car and lots of 'em. Cars of all sorts of shapes and sizes. Quite a lot of them were sports cars and many of those looked like the products of "real" manufacturers. The biggest difference to me seemed to be the price, and that the Italian supercars are based on Toyota underpinnings so they will probably start every morning and drink fuel at a rate you can afford to fund.

Two exhibition halls showcased manufacturers with par built and completed vehicles shining on the stands. The cattlesheds were home to a massive autojumble with new and old products up for grabs.

I did buy something in the end - a spray can of primer for a price that save about 1/3rd of my entry fee and some rubber strip that will work nicely on model boat stands to protect the hull paintwork from scratches.

I also spent a sunny spring day in the fresh air, took an awful lot of photos and enjoyed myself.

Do I still want to build a kit car? Possibly, a Dutton Surf amphibious car would be fun, as would a fake Ferrari but I think my heart would be more in tune with a VW based beach buggy, even if I don't look cool enough to drive it.

For the moment though, I'll keep saying, "No more kits. No more kits."

Photos on Flickr