triumphfan Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I have always loved the Britax Mini but never had the chance to build one due to the lack of decals. Since these have now been made available to me (thanks again Rich) I have started this project using the Tamiya Morris Cooper kit. The Britax Mini was a MkII Austin Cooper so a few changes are required. A pair of rear lights have been sourced and the housings made from plastic card. A Fujimi MkIV (?) Mini gave up it's grille for the front end changes. I have decided to leave the back window alone although, to be 100% accurate, it should be larger. I don't believe this will be so obvious on the finished model so decided against the complex surgery to achieve it. I managed to find a pic of the actual race car back in the day. There are no interior shots but it looks to me as though the back seat was in place and no sign of a roll cage. Good, that means very few changes on the inside. I am also building this as a curbside (bonnet glued shut) to lessen the work required on the grille. So far, I have made little visual progress but a fair bit of work has gone in to the initial prep. Steve. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiliqn007 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Just a tip from experience. Do NOT! use Revell glue on the rims,unless u get the rims right and everything is okay. I melted the plastic on the inside of my rims and i was improvising on how to put them. My Mini will in a way look like a HotRod now. Or like Hammond's Opel Kadett. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphfan Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Thanks for the tip. I very rarely use Revell tube glue but I do like the bottles of thin styrene glue they produce. It has a metal nozzle and this makes it easy to apply tiny amounts. I will be modifying the hubs on this Mini to get it a little bit lower. Good luck with getting your wheels on. If they are damaged you could try using a blanking disc on the inside of the wheel and making up a new spindle to mount it on. This will also alleviate the uneven sit you mentioned. Cheers, Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike100 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Oh man I shall be following this build for sure ! I built the tamiya Mini Cooper racing (finished about a month ago) but when i started it I wanted to do it as a Britax one but couldn't fine decals anywhere !! So carried on as a a Cooper car co one . Don't get me wrong it turned out nice and I'm very pleased with the result . But I do love the look of the Britax Coopers . Do u mind me asking where can I get the Decals Steve so I could do a Britax one myself in the future ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richellis Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Oh, I need a set of those decals! I'm watching! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptcruiser Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 So two sets? Any more? I drew them up and printed them for Steve on my Alps. I'm very much at the bottom of the learning curve for the Alps but I've had a couple of successes (also see Steve's Piper T70 ) Time IS limited before SMW though. Rich 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richellis Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 How much? Ill be at SMW sat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptcruiser Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I'm pants at this pricing malarky! How about a trade? A sheet of Expert Choice Clear Decal for LASERS (as sold by Little Cars) in return? Rich 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Séan Pádraig Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 This will be a nice change from the more usual Tartan Red Coopers... great start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphfan Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thanks for the positive comments on this one guys, initial progress will be slowish as I still have 3 Seafires (yes, I did just type 3) on the bench. I wanted an FR46, FR47 and XVII so decided to build them all at the same time - mental ! Thanks for jumping in with the decal info Rich, I didn't want to speak for you on availability. More progress tomorrow after a bit of overtime in the morning All good for the Telford fund raising. Steve. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffsrw Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 looking forward to seeing this. i know how keen you are to do this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 This is an interesting sceme trhat brings back memories from regular visits to Thruxton etc. Will follow with interest Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiliqn007 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 (edited) Hey guys? Can anyone tell me how I have to put the side mirrors? Ive made...somewhat of hole on both sides,but..sticking them on like that seems pretty impossible without the glue ruining the paint as i get it in place. Altho...I bought some Top Coat today which I can't put right now. If i put the top coat and then put the side mirrors over the top coat,will it protect the paint from the glue ( Revell) Edited October 26, 2014 by stiliqn007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphfan Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 Where ever possible, I try to drill a small hole in the mirror stem and the body and use a short length of wire to join the mirrors on with superglue. If this seems a bit daunting to you at the moment, you could try making a placement jig. I use plastecine for this as it holds it's shape well and does not stick to the part. Once you have created the jig, simply apply a small amount of superglue or gators grip (which does not fog) and carefully place the mirror on the body. After an hour or so, remove the jig and your mirror should be fixed. These parts break off easily which is another reason I use a wire. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptcruiser Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Hi Folks Further to the thread above I have a number of Brittax decals printed off. Those above who wanted one, I will be on or near the IPMS Car & Motorcycle SIG tables most weekend so come and find me there. Cheers Rich Middleton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphfan Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Paint is on but I do wish that Tamiya would do a run of this kit in white plastic, it is annoying trying to get coverage over coloured plastic without getting to much paint on. OK, gripe over, a little tip. When masking the drip rail on the roof use something like BMF as I have found even Tamiya masking tape is not thin or flexible enough to make a decent job. I have managed to rectify the bleeding more or less but it hasn't turned out as sharp as I had hoped. The bare metal foil is now going on and is about 50% complete. Really looking forward to getting the decals on. Race number will be 12, could be anything really but 12 is my favourite number so, there you go ! Trial fit of the rear lamps looks acceptable so this is going mostly to plan so far. My camera has washed the yellow out a bit, it is Halfords Fiat Broom Yellow which looks about right to my eye. I am going to do the Cooper Car Co Mini next but wish I had done the two projects the other way around in terms of learning curve. Progress pics. Onwards and (hopefully) upwards. Thanks for looking in. Steve. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike100 Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 It's looking Great Steve . I had my concerns about masking the roof gutter on the Cooper I did , I must confess I ended up Airbrushing the roof white first and then hand brushing the green on the gutter after which came out ok . Loving the bare metal foil I've wanted to try that for myself but have never had the guts to do it it always looks very hard to do . Can't wait to see this one complete great stuff . Mike . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Awesome choice. . woo hoo great start 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphfan Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 Couldn't resist posting a quick progress pic. BMF is done and half the decals are on. Rich, if you look in, the decals worked well with clean (fairly hot) water and a bit of gentle use of the hair drier. Really pleased with how this looks. The sponsor decals were cobbled together from the spares box and a couple of after market sheets. Steve. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 That's looking very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike100 Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 That's looking great Steve ! Can't wait to see it complete . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 That really looks the dogs do da's A stunning sceme that brings back memories! Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphfan Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Thanks for the feedback guys. I have wanted to do this for ages but never had the decals. Now that I have the werewithal to complete the project, I will be taking my time to try and get the best result possible. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphfan Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 Making some progress on the Britax Cooper. The interior is about done. The belts are from Scale Production and nice and easy to use, I added Britax decals of course! The side windows are replaced with recycled plastic packaging as the kit parts are rather thick. Final assembly soon but for the moment I am working out how to make the MkII Cooper badges. Luckily they are fairly simple in outline, just need to make them look something like the real thing. Probably going to do plastic card base with wire surround and scratch the wording through black paint. Thanks for looking, Steve. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Looking lovely Steve, good work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now