von Race

Nice touch! That should take some of the jitters out of cutting into a new kit. Looking good!

Is it my imagination or do the new hybrid rally cars seemingly catch on fire more often?

Kris Meeke at Rally Portugal? This should be interesting. As much as I would like to see Ford make a strong showing in 2023, I have my fingers crossed for Evans. (Not holding my breath though.)

Thank you Chris! I am looking forward to finishing it. On page one of this thread Toftdale suggested; I said; Guess someone beat me to it! I know, a little off topic, but I couldn't help but laugh! Cheers

You guys are making me blush now! Honestly IMO, I think my talent lies in covering my mistakes well! 🤣 Many thanks for the kind words.

Thank you malpaso. Like you, I spent a lot of up close and personal time with my Cortina mk2, due to my often times, questionable judgment!

I would like to thank all of you that have followed along, especially Keith and Trevor for their valued contributions to this build. Everyone's comments have been positive and supportive, I thank you. This is about where Part 1 of this conversion is going to end. I have some commitments coming up this spring that will be taking up most of my time. Quality bench time will be scarce. So this being my first WIP, what do I do? Just drop it and create a Part 2? Or, do I just drag it up from the archives when the time comes to proceed? Maybe you guys can point me in the right direction here. While I know this Clubman isn't 3D perfect, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. And, if this conversion seamed to go off without a hitch to you, rest assured, I had many "Oh no, what have I done" moments. 😩😟😳 A few times, the trash bin looked like the best way forward! I don't consider myself an especially gifted modeler, but I do enjoy this kind of challenge. It's the fun part of modeling for me. Painting and detailing is actually something I have to work at. I'm happy to have been able to leave some tips and tricks for you to try. (As I have learned many from this forum as well!) One thing about this hobby, there is always something new to learn. When I pick this build up again, I'm sure I'll have a tonne of questions. As I had said previously, I have never actually seen a Clubman "in the flesh", and I don't know a whole lot about them, I just have a very specific build in mind. And, if you know anything about me, "it's gunna have some numbers on the doors"! But we'll get to that later.

I think it's amazing they're still there! Truly enjoying your build(s).

Your color choices look great! Looking forward to seeing this one done. 👍

Thank you all again for your encouragement and kind words. I should preface this update by first explaining a process I have been using, (and trying to get better at) when making or redoing panel accent lines or, body lines if you will. (This, in regards to the 2 panel lines or scallops, on the bonnet of the Clubman.) Especially when trying to make them identical, left to right. This process can be used with masking paper, such as Tamiya's Mask or just simply masking tape. The process goes like this..... 1. Cut mask roughly to the size you will be needing. 2. Peal the backing off and fold the mask back onto itself, using light pressure. Adhesive side to adhesive side. 3. Trim design or desired shape 4. Gently and carefully separate the 2 pieces. It will take careful and precise knife work to get the two started, but does get easier with bit of practice. I use a #11 blade to get them started. When using mask, I like the Tamiya paper as it separates relatively easily and retains enough adhesive to adhere to your piece. Apply patterns to desired locations Cover the whole mess with the filler of your choice. . (I needed to add a little extra around the park lamps also.) Shape and sand smooth until the mask paper just breaks through. (380 or 400 dry) Remove mask and voilà, instant scallops.. Add a little primer. (Admittedly this is a bad photo, and I got some lint in the primer, right in the apex of the left scallop, of all places. So a little wet sand with 600 is in order.) The same process can be used with masking tape except you need to use 4 layers instead of 2. Tape does not release well when the adhesive sides are stuck together. ( hardly news to anyone here, right!) Layer 1 and 4 become your mask, while 2 and 3 are scrap. I like using this masking tape method when painting and want to insure pattern is the same from side to side. If you have been doing this already, my hats off to you! It took me forever to figure this one out. And while I don't use this process often, it's a nice little trick to fall back on when you need it.

Nice choice Neddy. My dad had the restyled 1960 version. Very similar mechanically. And a nice riding car at the time. He made the mistake of letting the 16 year old me drive it to school one day, with predictable results. He forbade me to drive again until I fixed it. Such was my introduction to panel beating! Looking forward to your build.

Now THAT looks like some fun!!! What a unique and imaginative build Pat. What's cool about this hobby is you never know where the inspiration for your next build is coming from. Like you, I run across photos (of cars mostly) that just scream "BUILD ME"! I may be the only one that hears it, and they don't always get built, but sometimes the search is half the fun. I too, like the red on gray and if I squint hard enough, I can make out a couple of snow boards on the roof! 👍

It occurred to me a little while back that I never really explained why this grill has been a thorn in my side. For one, it's the only one I have, and if I break it ..... well .... that would be unfortunate. 🤬 Secondly, it's really lacking any three dimension, definition. It has some, but I'm not really happy with it. The outer chrome trim that surrounds the entire grill is not there, nor does it have any headlight definition. The very thin structure makes it very fragile. There is also an issue with the slight curvature of the 1:1 grill, while the 3D part is completely flat, So my first objective will be to preserve what I have and make a mold of the existing grill. After the silicone cured, I found out there was a reaction between the 3D part and the silicone I used. It caused the mold to be ill defined in some areas around the horizontal openings. Not the best way to start! (resin residue from the print process I suspect and/or I did not give it a proper cleaning) in the mold box sorry looking mold As you can see. the area around the headlight is extremely thin and doesn't leave much to work with. Next I tried to recreate the outer grill "chrome" trim. This was achieved by wrapping the circumference of the grill with a strip of .25 x 3mm plastic. I knew my first attempt wouldn't be a success, so I was a little cavalier about how it went together. Unfortunately, I only took one photo of this trial and error process. (I know, you wanted to see them all, right?) After 5 attempts, a more successful one is at the top of the photo below. Happy with the results, I made another mold. Again, not a great mold but at least I can save the work that has been put into it so far. The problem with molding a part like this is, the area behind the horizontal openings are a little undercut, so the silicone wants to rip apart rather than just separate. Now it was on to the headlights. As you all can see in my "massacre" photo, (last post) I took a few different approaches, (the whole bucket? or just a trim ring?) and a few attempts at each, to get this right. Once I decided how to attach them, it was just a matter of getting them to fit correctly into the grill. I tried hard to keep the look of the chrome trim as close to "factory spec" as possible. Orange and green circles. Remember we're working with wall thicknesses of less than .25mm on the "trim". A few wayward strokes of the file and your starting over,... Again. 😩 And then a little test fitting..................... A little fine tuning still to go, I lost the "point" on the leading edge of the bonnet and need to put the scallops into it also. I hope this update hasn't been to boring or redundant. This grill has been, by far, the most tedious part of the conversion so far. And I still have the other style grill to go! 🙄 Again, thank you all for your support and encouragement!

I'm inspired! Where do I sign up? That looks like so much fun. Just a quick note to let all of you know I haven't abandon the thread. We had a small break with our snow storms and I had to do some damage control. Mostly downed trees and whatnot. There was one sad incident that took place in my house........... we'll just call it "The Clubman Grill Massacre". Details to follow!

Very nice, looks like a pretty straight forward build so far. 👍

Thanks guys, I hope it will be as useful to you, as it has for me! I first "discovered" these when, my then wife, brought one home from work to work on some dress patterns she had designed. I don't recall if that particular ruler ever made it back to work with her..... My new one was purchased at a local drafting supply business. They had never heard of them either and were just as surprised as I was to find one hanging on the wall. I think mine was around $7.00 U.S. also. Cheers!

Thanks to all that have been following along. And for all the "likes". I hope it's as enjoyable following along as it is to build! While the primer is drying, (again), I thought I would take this opportunity to work on the front bumper Originally, I was thinking I would start with the Hasegawa Mini front bumper and reconfigure it. However, after looking at it for a while, I thought it best to just start from scratch. Using strips of Evergreen plastic, 2mm x 2mm and 2mm half round, (the .5mm x 2mm, center, did not get used) cut approx.. 65mm long and glued 2mm face to 2mm face, I created a rod, 2x3mm with a half round side. At one end, and at 90' to the face, I added a few small pieces of 2x2 and half round plastic. After filing one end into the shape I was after, I can now (using my fancy-pants ruler) measure where to cut the other end, as well as where to file the cutouts for the park lamps. (Given the width needed for the front bumper, I divided that number in half, measured in from the shaped side, and used that mark as my center point. I know there are other ways to do it, this is just how I did this one. And, how this ruler is most effectively used.) Additionally, I measured where to place the mounting posts on the back side and where to place the under riders off the lower portion. This all proved rather tricky as once the bumper was placed unto position, not all these protrusions aligned in the direction they were supposed to! Finally got it on my 3ed attempt. Although it still needs a little fine tuning, and of course, primer, I'm happy with the results. Now it's time to move on to that pesky grill and grill opening! Thanks again for following along!

Not much of an update for today. Giving stroke by stroke coverage of sandpaper duty doesn't make for a very good post IMO. So I'm going to just give you the highlights of the last few days. Firstly. the grill opening on the Clubman had never really been measured and need a little bit of "sizing". During this process however, the outer edges of the grill opening became very inconsistent in their wall thickness, along with the overall size of the opening. I also lost a little bit of length in the wing due to all the cutting and filing. My answer, was to cover the entire opening with .5mm flat stock and start over. I roughly outlined the new edges of the opening in pencil. Thank you very much again Trevor for providing me with those front end measurements, from your gorgeous Clubman! 😍 The ridge across the front of the bonnet is my attempt to create the scallops along that leading edge. This ultimately failed for 2 reasons. 1. I didn't leave myself enough depth to fit them. 2. One side of the bonnet/wing leading edge was low and needed to be built up.(filled) I will make another attempt at those character lines towards the end of the primer/sanding phase, The green filler is a very fine polyester auto body filler. The brown stuff is very fine automotive spot putty. Often when I get to this point and there is a mish-mash of fillers, putties and exposer plastic, I apply my first coat of primer. Visually it just allows you to see your panel surfaces again. Also, I needed to reduce the radius along the edge/side of the wing. (The Nissan Sunny wing being just a bit too crisp.) The top photo is a rough, first sanding. The lower photo is after 2nd prime and sand episode. Still about 2 more away from finish.

I've had this kit on my radar for quite some time but haven't made the purchase yet. I will be following your build! Yes, super glue. Use the "gap filling" kind if your not used to using it. The thin stuff is hard to manage and gets everywhere. (have ruined many a model with it) You can also use "5 Minute Epoxy".

Those kinds of discoveries are always fun! 👍

I did not know this kit even existed! It's an early Palmer kit, So from a modeling perspective, it's a bit of rubbish. But from a historical / antique perspective it's gold! (in my eyes anyway) Why in the world they put a Corvette on the box top is anybody's guess. Those black lumps on the left hand side of the first picture, look to represent a V-something engine. 8? 6? Makes you wonder if Palmer ever actually looked at a real MG-A. OOPS.... they call it a 1960 MG, my mistake! Found a Sunbeam. A little more on the pricy side than I wanted, but I'll probably never see a complete one in such good shape again. Poor guy in the Cortina! Lastly, anybody remember the Fiat X-19? Don't know exactly what I'm going to do with this, but "I got one"! Maybe a little, Star Wars-ish race car. 🙄

What a cool build! 👍

Thank you for clarification. Are you sure? You double checked, right? 😉 😄 Keith, I did. But naturally, the grill I have is not the one I want for the final build anyway. Not quite sure what I'm going to do about that.☹️ The reason I said that this part of the conversion is the part that keeps me up at night, is because I'm going into this without any real game plan. Everything up to this point has been pretty well thought through. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect when I got to this point. So, like most other things in life, I'll just put my head down, take one step at a time and move forward. (and hopefully not muck it up) Way back at the beginning of this build I cut off a small section of the lower front panel on the Mini body. This was a bad decision on my part. ( I know, I know, I just said it was well thought through, but......stuff happens) Now I have to glue it back in the correct place. It affects how the lower panel with the three slots fits and how the "belly pan" fits into the Hasagawa model. I thought I would show all of you a tool that I find invaluable when measuring for cuts like this. (upper right, without having to move your ruler million times) Its called a centering ruler and is primarily used for drafting and architectural design work. It's also handy for quickly finding the center of a piece you already have. I use quite regularly. A few of the other "structural" pieces I needed to cut. After making a few minor cuts to the existing plastic, it was time to glue the new panel in place. As you can see, there remained some rather large gaps to fill There is no easy fix for the gap issue short of just gluing it full of small bits of styrene, which is what I did. Then it was down to shaping it with a fairly aggressive, rasping file and sandpaper. (120 grit) This process proved rather cumbersome on such a small area and is easier said than done. Add into that, I still need to "shape in" two small "flats" below the bumper for the park/turn signals. If you notice, I am also trying to save the two holes just below the grill opening, and the two on the lower panel. The top two will make good attachment points for the new bumper and won't be seen once it's attached. The lower two are just part of the Mini body style. ( I'm sure they're there for a reason, but I don't know exactly what) Looks like it's time to "start slingin' mud"!

" That is coming together really nicely! Worth noting that the badge on the grille is a later style, and is not correct for the 1275GT, but I'm sure you know that!" TBH Trevor, I did not know that. I was just so excited I found one I didn't check to see if it was the correct one. I'll have to investigate. Thank you for the heads up. Anteater, I spend ridiculous amounts of time on ebay. Perhaps a little OCD as my kids tell me But I do find all kinds of crazy stuff, and occasionally even buy it. The grill was in a lot of leftover 3D printed parts. The seller apparently makes all kinds of 3D printed models and whatever is left over, he sells in, (what you would call) a job lot. (I think) There are 3D files of the Clubman you can buy online from various venders. So anyone with the abilities and a printer can print one. But since I don't have the brain power to figure out that process, I rely on others. And lucky finds! IDK if it's the same on ebay in the U.K., but here, if you go to; Toys and Hobbies > Model kits > Automotive, then type "junkyard" in the search box, there are all kinds of bits and bobs, partial kits, bluebombs, and random stuff for sale. Some of my most interesting finds have been from this category. I apologize if you gentleman already know this, but some don't. I don't want to bore you to tears. I am working on the next installment of the build, but this recent snow storm that is rolling through the western U.S. is just wreaking havoc with power outages, internet connection, phones, etc. Hopefully I'll have it ready and posted by Sunday night. Again, thank you all for your interest, and information. I really appreciate your support.

Well...... seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel maybe.....😳 I'm sure they're getting fewer and fewer. I've actually never seen one "in the flesh". TBH In order to get the Sunny front end to sit lower on the Mini, I cut the bottom portion off, allowing it to "drop" into place. ("Drop", being a relative term here. 😆 ) I cant stress enough, constant checking and rechecking and making small incremental changes to the body are key to good fitment. It took a good 3 to 4 hours of fitting, sanding, fitting, sanding, to get it to sit where I was happy with it. Not looking to bad on the left side, however the right side is a little different. Remember that old saying, "Measure twice, cut once"? Well..... that all goes out the window! Mistakes happen, But you just have to cover them up, err..., fix them, and keep pushing forward. I filled the gap with a bit of Evergreen flat stock. You will also notice, I am trying my very best to not damage that small bit of "trim" on the arch. Although you can't tell in this overhead photo, I did in fact have to split the front end apart again. This was due in part, to the fact that the grill opening looked a little too large in my eyes. Both in width and height. I took about 1mm of the height out of the opening, by making a horizontal cut across the face of it. I didn't get a photo of that unfortunately. Getting closer to where I want it, it's time to glue it in place. But first, it needs to be checked for accuracy. Another reason for leaving that little 3mm runout on the bonnet is the center crown, or center crease, that it is a dedicated reference point. Aligning the two points on the bonnet pretty much puts me in the ballpark of where I want to be. Also of note, the center crown aligns with the center post (radiator support) of the Mini body. (Green circle) This was another reason I don't want to completely cut the front end off of the Mini. After cross checking the measurements from the scuttle/wing/bonnet intersection on the Mini, to the outermost point on the wings, it's time to drowned it in CA glue. One of the other factors in doing this conversion was something I found on the internet. Occasionally, one of the many rabbit holes I go down, prove to be worthwhile. Such is the case with this 3D printed, 1/24 Clubman grill I found. While not perfect, it's something to work with and really helps with the visualization! Next, will be the portion below the grill. The part that's been keeping me up at night!!!