1920 Vauxhall 30/98 E Type 'Sports Car' 1/24

[activexp]

This all metal kit from SE Finecast is presented in a very sturdy box reminiscent of expensive chocolates or a biscuit assortment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The instructions are basic but include a parts list and colour guide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assembly begins with the chassis rails which come in 2 parts that slot together. The quality of the castings is impressive with virtually zero flash and any cleaning up is easy as the alloy is similar to solder (tin and lead) and quite soft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used Gorilla Superglue Gel for the assembly which does the job admirably.

 

 

[Fastcat]

Good kit of a unique subject that none of the mainstream companies will ever kit. Lots of good colour schemes too and plenty of references.

Nice to see this very old kit being built. Following this with interest. 

 

Dave

[activexp]

Moving on with the chassis and fenders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 4.5L engine block

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some bending of the body side panels was required to get a good fit with the firewall.

 

 

 

 

 

[Fastcat]

Fenders! Fenders!!!! Come on, with such a venerable subject as this it has to be mudguards and running boards!  Enough of the Americanisms. That's what comes of building Gabriel kits.

 

Liking the way it's going so far. Always wondered what this was like to build. Looking great.

 

Can't believe some of these things raced at Brooklands.

 

Dave

Edited July 20, 2017 by Fastcat
Just for the sheer thrill of it.

[activexp]

You're so right.... it's mudguards and running boards, bonnets and boots from now on. I do blame it on being brainwashed by Gabriel and others too numerous to mention. 

 

The car was considered very fast at the time easily maintaining 85 MPH. Hate to think what the stopping distances were like with only rear drums and a transmission brake.

 

 

[activexp]

Moving onto the bonnet and radiator.

 

 

 

 

Seats, windscreen and headlights. There's a small piece of clear acetate supplied in the kit to make the windscreen glass and headlight lenses.

 

 

 

 

The spoked wheels are beautifully cast with zero flash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are no decals supplied in the kit. I would have expected dashboard and number plates at the very least. Not very happy with my attempt to detail the dash but it's the best I can do at this scale.

 

The front seats are a little too wide for the body and required some trimming to get them to fit.

 

 

 

 

[Fastcat]

^{Hi activexp,}

                     ^{Good progress with the 30/98. You can get instrument decals from Airscale. They're really nicely printed, come in a range of sizes and are very detailed. They're for aircraft really but if you choose carefully they look convincing enough in this scale. Alternatively there's loads of dedicated stuff for cars to be found on eBay. You'll probably find some registration letters too. Hiroboy sells some in 1/24 although they're quite dear.}

 

^{Seems a pity that a quite expensive model doesn't include a small decal sheet with numbers, instruments and badges. I think that they don't sell very many so it's maybe not viable to produce a set from scratch. I had the same when I built their Morgan. Kept searching through the box in case I'd missed it!}

 

^Dave

[activexp]

Thanks Dave. It is an expensive kit which makes me reluctant to spend more on third party extras. I'm not too concerned about the dash as basically I'm the only one who sees it. Actually it looks better to the naked eye than in the harsh flash photos so I can live with it 

[RichO]

Hey Steve,  I was just curious about how painting on white metal is different than painting plastic.  Same paint? different paint? Sanding? finishing?

 

I haven't seen you build a metal project before. I was interested in the differences from metal to plastic.

[activexp]

Hi Rich, when I built the Gabriel Packard metal kit which uses a very hard white metal alloy I found that standard primers used for plastics such as Tamiya etc didn't provide a secure bond, even on cleaned and polished surfaces using fine grade sandpaper. I discovered this a bit too late and consequently the paint finish is very delicate and easily chipped.

 

For this Finecast kit, I used automotive etch primer specifically designed for metals which is better but not perfect. I think this is due to the high lead/tin content of the alloy which is resisting the etching action of the paint.

 

Funnily enough I found that spirit based marker pens gave excellent results painted straight onto the bare metal and used a black marker for the seats. This suggests that old-fashioned spirit/oil based paints are a better option, possibly without the need for a primer. If I ever build another metal kit I'll have to give it a try.

 

Steve