This official build will be a bit different. I have invited in James Hatch to conduct the build. James is one of the original, founding members of ModelSpace, and is also the originator of the very well known forums Model Ship World, Scale Plastic and Rail. and Large Scale Modeler. James has also been published in Tamiya Magazine, Scale Modeler International, and has published a volume dedicated to the Revell Spitfire Mk.I.

James will be using his tried and true format for builds, so the appearance and format will be different than previous official builds. Sit back, and enjoy official build of this quirky little car, and the just as odd caravan!


Launched in 1972, the 126 was an update on Fiat's popular 500 city/economy car. Powered by a small, rear-mounted twin-cylinder engine, it had similar dimensions to Britain's iconic Mini, and sold almost as well, reaching over 4.5 million before it was discontinued in 2000.

The Fiat 126 (Type 126) is a rear-engined, small economy or city car, introduced in October 1972 at the Turin Auto Show[1] as a replacement for the Fiat 500. The majority of 126s were produced in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, as the Polski Fiat 126p, where production continued until 2000. In many markets Fiat stopped sales of the 126 in 1993 in favour of their new front-engined Cinquecento. At a vehicle length of 3.05 metres, the Fiat 126 is almost exactly the same size as the original British Mini, and although it came to market 14 years later, production ended in the same year (2000), and its total sales of almost 4.7 million units were in close range of the Mini's 5.4 million. In Poland the car became a cultural icon and earned the nickname Maluch, meaning "The Little One" or "Toddler.

The 126 used much of the same mechanical underpinnings and layout as its Fiat 500 rear-engined predecessor with which it shared its wheelbase, but featured an all new, slightly larger bodyshell similar to the larger Fiat 127, which was designed by Sergio Sartorelli and improved safety and interior space.
The front footwells, suspension, battery and spare wheel left little room for luggage in the 126 front trunk.


The 126 never achieved the frenzied popularity of the 500 in Western Europe, partly due to the fact that rear-engined small cars were considered outdated by the time it arrived as the Mini had paved the way for front-engine, front-wheel drive small cars. Despite this, it still proved popular in Western Europe and remained in production for a long time, thus becoming one of the last and longest-living rear-engine small cars manufactured in Europe. In fact, it was only survived by the VW Beetle whose production lasted until 2003, although production in Europe ceased in 1978, making the 126 the last rear-engine small car to be manufactured in Europe.


In Poland, the car was produced under licence by Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych (FSM) (En: Small-Engined Car Factory) in Bielsko-Biała and Tychy under the brand Polski Fiat 126p (literally in English: Polish Fiat 126p) between 1973 and 2000.

Due to a relatively low price it was very popular in Poland and was arguably the most popular car there in the 1980s. Its very small size gave it the nickname maluch ("the small one", "small child", pronounced [ˈmalux]). The nickname became so popular that in 1997 it was accepted by the producer as the official name of the car.


The 126p was exported to many Eastern Bloc countries and for several years it was one of the most popular cars in Poland and in Hungary as well. It also found a minor market in Australia between 1989 and 1992, under the name FSM Niki. During that period it was Australia's cheapest car.[7] There was a convertible version developed for the Australian market.[citation needed] It was also successful in Cuba where it was one of the best-selling cars of its time and an estimated 10.000 still exist today.[8]

(Source: Wikipedia)