Pocher models aren’t toys, they’re a lifestyle

We supply aftermarket Pocher parts of unsurpassed quality, so you can pursue your passion at a larger scale

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Welcome to Model Motorcars

The world's premier aftermarket Pocher online store

Created more than 40 years ago with amazing detail, Pocher Classic models have become coveted collectibles for modelers and automobile lovers all over the world. At Model Motorcars, we understand your drive to improve your Pocher experience, bringing you the best catalog of proprietary parts and materials for over 25 years. From all imaginable parts to books, CDs and tools to help you build and customize the car of your dreams, we have you covered. We pride ourselves in providing the best researched, manufactured and finished parts the world over.

Need parts, tools, tires or reference materials?

Click on the icons below to begin your journey...


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First Time in 35 Years!

A Sale...

We found a supplier with a great price on Sprue Cutters...
and, decided to pass the savings to our customers!

Our regular price was $15.00...now just $6.00!

Part No.T080 $6.00 each

Click here to purchase.

A Special Announcement!

Due to the Coronavirus, some of our overseas suppliers are closed. We will continue selling those imported parts until they’re gone.

Hopefully, this crisis will be over soon, and we will be able to re-stock.

Stay home, be safe, enjoy our wonderful hobby!!!

Marvin, Jorge and Frank

Jigs, Patterns, Fixtures and Other Dance Steps

In the course of building Pocher models, there will come a time when additional construction techniques will become all too apparent by their absence. We are all familiar with the frustration of trying to un-do a bolt without the aid of a correctly sized wrench, or trying to achieve a smooth surface with the incorrect file. At some point, ambitious builders inevitably encounter tasks for which simple hand tools are inadequate. The result can be frustration and irritation. A few power tools, a drill press here, a sanding disc there, even the occasional lathe or mill may seem to be inadequate to some tasks. ‘How can this be?’, one might ask, in a high-pitched wail of despair. A room full of tools, and still stuff can’t be done. The answer may be not in the music itself, but in the dance steps.

Too often in trying to build something for our beloved Pochers, we lose sight of the fact that the doohickey we are trying to build is not the real challenge. The challenge is to duplicate the doohickey. We have all had the experience of gaining speed and accuracy as we work through assembling duplicate parts—wire wheels, seats, brakes. Sometimes there is a considerable difference between the first item built and the last. For some of us, this is the reason we build more than one Pocher. After having struggled to learn how to assemble one, we are anxious to take advantage of our newfound skills. Our friends at Pocher were aware of this phenomenon, and the wire wheels are proof of their concern: we are provided with a jig to assure that we get the assembly correct. With any luck at all, the jig allows us to get a consistent and attractive result with a minimum of frustration. This principle can be widely applied.

The trick is to shift our focus from the doohickey we need to the design of a jig to assure an accurate result. The more time spent on the jig, the less time will be spent on building the part. An added benefit is that the jig will be reusable and may serve in future projects. Jigs, like the box step in dancing, are a basic requirement of the Pocher dance. Simple engine details, dashboard accessories and chassis components are good candidates. Unfortunately, the builder is often confronted with a construction project for which building a jig will take more time than the effort to build a simple pair of components. For six or eight components, the jigs the thing.

Patterns, the seamstress’s friend, are another matter altogether. Patterns are ideal for one-off items. Using paper to establish the shape of a headliner or the shape of a window is a sensible way to establish dimensions without relying on the trickiness of measuring devices or the risk of wasting material. Furthermore, cutting paper is much more easily done than cutting styrene, brass or leather. Patterns may be less sexy than a jig, but they are a treasure nonetheless, especially when it comes to one-off projects with complex shapes.

Jigs and patterns are old friends for most of us, but closely related are the rarely seen fixtures. Ah, now here is something we can sink our teeth into. A fixture is for those times when several elements need to be coordinated for proper fabrication. A fixture can hold different pieces together in preparation for soldering. A fixture can guarantee that dimensions will be identical, or nearly so, and a fixture can guarantee that pieces will fit together. Fixtures are a Pocher builder’s friend. Well, perhaps not a ‘friend’ but surely a ‘helpful acquaintance’ in the way that learning the Lindy can be helpful to a dancer. Not often called for, but when it is, it is essential. Like the Lindy, the effort to create a fixture has to balanced against the effort to construct it. The juice may not justify the squeeze, but when accuracy is paramount, fixtures are essential.

Finally, the pinnacle of thingamabobs and whatnots, we come to the Proof of Concept, or the ballet in our pantheon of dance steps. This is the idea that some things are so important that we must construct a ‘prototype’, complete with working components and precise dimensions. If it succeeds, we will build it ‘for real’ out of actual materials and install it in our Pocher. Things like spare wheel brackets, dashboards, hood louvers, seats, and windshields are all complex and visible, the twin challenges of scratch-building. Screw up one of these projects, and the model can be compromised. When there is no room for error, failure is not an option. In these cases, there is no alternative but to construct a proof of concept that will allow the testing of not only various aesthetics, but of the very techniques of construction. Yikes. Sounds like fun. Big fun.

As is so often the case, reading about something runs the risk of sucking away all of the joy, so this treatise will end on a high note, a pirouette as it were. What follows is a series of photos that show a catalogue of thingamajiggers and doohickies that have served Model Motorcars through the years. The point is not to torment the unsuspecting Pocher builder, nor to turn model building into hard work. The idea here is to suggest another way to enhance and to refine our wonderful Pocher adventure. Sometimes it is important to remind ourselves of what goes on behind the scenes. Like dancing, model building is all about making things look easy.

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Alfa Leaf Springs

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Rolls-Royce Axle

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Rolls-Royce Headlights

Finally!
The Mercedes Benz 300 SLR Has Arrived!!!

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After more than eight years of anticipation and disappointment, the LeGrand 1/8 Collection Mercedes Benz 300 SLR has finally arrived in our warehouse and are being shipped!

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The body is die-cast metal and pre-painted. Real metal wire wheels are constructed from individual spokes and include two spares in the trunk. The kit contains more than 900 precision parts made of metal, rubber, textiles and pre-colored high-quality plastic. Most assembly is with screws, minimal glue required. Steering and suspension are functional, doors and all body panels open. Can be built as the car was first produced, or with later hood modifications as shown in the bottom photo. Kit includes a compartmentalized screw box and magnetic screwdriver.

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The kit contains over 900 parts. The finished model’s dimensions are 540 mm x 200 mm x 150 mm (21" long x 8" wide x 6" high) and weighs 8 kg (18 lbs.)

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LeGrand has posted step-by-step assembly videos for the model and they can be viewed here on YouTube.

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Part No. LE102 $1300.00, plus shipping from New Hampshire.

Click here to purchase.


AN IMPORTANT NOTICE TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS:

Shipments of new orders may experience temporary delays. You may continue to browse and place orders on our site, but please be advised that it may take longer than usual to ship your order. We sincerely appreciate your patience. Thank you for continuing to support our small business in these challenging times!

March's Feature Exhibit

Jon Evans's

Alfa Romeo Monza

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The great thing about Model Motorcars is the fact that we get to meet such dandy people and to see what they are getting up to. This month we have the pleasure of revealing an Alfa 8c 2300 Monza which can serve as inspiration to us all, and Jon Evans has told his own story with his thorough photographic record.

Most of us are well aware of the Pocher Alfa Romeo in its grand prix form, and many of us have

tried our hand building one version or another. After thirty years, the kits have managed to build up quite a reputation, so there is no reason rehash the challenges and shortcomings. Instead, we are pleased and delighted to introduce the following photographs into the record as proof that at least one of these Pocher Alfa kits has been the launch pad for a positively wonderful result.

It should be noted that part of the success of this model is the photographic presentation. Just the idea of using monochromatic images should be cause for celebration, and should inspire us all to give it a try. Details like an aluminum shifter gate, the floor and pedals, and the firewall mounts which would be informative in color are positively magical in black and white. Of course, discerning some fine details are enhanced by color, but few color photos can so successfully evoke a period photograph. Combine that with a scale back drop (whose great idea was that?) and the result is sure to be a success.

Whether or not there is a prototype for the sky blue (Ford Bermuda Blue, we are told) paint, it is clear that the paint works beautifully in either color or in black and white, where it appears white, as if by a conjuring trick. Very clever, whether intentional or accidental. The images of the rear of the instrument panel are memorable and impressive, and the idea of hiding data behind the seat back support borders on the obsessive, which, of course, is fine with us.

As remarkable as this Alfa is, we at Model Motorcars want to stress that the great lesson here is that taking pictures of our models is a vibrant and inspiring component of our hobby, not least because it is through images that we can share our passion for miniature cars. Digital images can transform a completed model from a completion to a beginning, from a personal accomplishment to a compelling invitation. A good thing, to be sure, but even better, digital images can transform our models into what we had dreamt in the first place.

Click here for more photos.

An Update!

Shel Urlik's1/8" Scale 1933 Bugatti 50T Engine in Aluminum
Shel has added some photos and new text...wonderful!

Click here to Read and See!

We have now opened the Scale Hardware Model Museum. Featuring all scales and subjects!

Click here to begin your tour.


You may have noticed the addition of several videos to the Museum.
It's very easy with all the new devices and certainly adds
to the presentation of your beautiful models.

Keep them coming!

Visit our Museum

If you have photo or videos posted and
they need corrections, please contact us!


These helpful hints have made our modeling experience more fun over the years…

We hope they do the same for you!

See Useful Information

We are proud to partner with industry leaders

Who share the same love for perfection and detail that we do

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