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Inspector Morse Jaguar MkII (a few build photos)


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Here are the (very) few photos I took when I built Inspector Morse Jaguar MkII last year. They are basically just showing the modifications. @Moa, I hope they can be of some use to you. I'm sorry to say that a proper WIP didn't happen at the time. The base kit is of course Tamiya's excellent 1/24 scale MkII 3,8 kit.

 

It is worth noting that details on the actual car changed around a bit during the years the series was filmed. It can be seen for example regarding the emblems on the boot lid and the rear license plate. Research pays, and confuses.

 

The Tamiya engine is the big 3,8 litre, while Morse is driving the smaller 2,4 litre version. I modified the Tamiya engine roughly according to photos to make it look a little more like a 2,4. The carbs where made from resin Weber carbs I cut to pieces.

 

Morse1.jpg

 

The air cleaner was built from scratch material and a piece of the kit part.

 

Morse2.jpg

 

The double exhaust system of the 3,8 was rebuilt into the single pipe 2,4 version using pictures from a spare parts catalogue. Scratch built silencer.

 

Morse3.jpg

 

The wing mirrors on Morse car are I believe some British made aftermarket parts. I have seen them fitted to various cars, even down to the tiny Peel P.50. I think I used the kit mirror parts B1 as the base, sanded to shape and fitted with a knob attaching the metal arm to. A small scrap box piece formed the wing mount. The antenna was later cut down to retracted position.

 

Morse4.jpg

 

The steel wheels with separate hub caps were 3D-modelled for me by my friend Johan Brusefält. They fit the Tamiya chassis and tyres. You can find them here: https://www.shapeways.com/product/VEZFVR2FA/jaguar-mk2-steel-wheels?optionId=111176023&li=shops

Here is the first look after I had the first printings prepared and painted.

 

Morse5.jpg

 

The beadings for the vinyl roof where made from stretched sprue, with the two top seams sanded slightly flat. After the body was primed and ready for paint, it was masked off and the roof sprayed with rather thick primer and low airflow, to produce a suitable surface pattern. The roof was then masked to save the pattern while the red, a home brewed lacquer mix that simply looked right to my eyes, was sprayed. Then the body was masked and a suitable semi flat black sprayed on the roof.

 

Morse6.jpg

 

The interior was built straight from the box.

 

Morse7.jpg

 

Morse8.jpg

 

And here is the finished model. I drew and printed the decals for the license plates and the AA-badge. The license plates were printed black on clear decal film and placed on top of Bare Metal aluminium foil, and the base for the AA-badge was cut and shaped from thin aluminium. The tax disc in the windscreen corner is from the kit decals. Also note the small lock under the boot lid which was added from scratch.

 

So that's a very quick journey to Inspector Morse famous 248 RPA. A great pleasure to build, just as watching the TV-show still is.

 

Morse9.jpg

 

Morse10.jpg

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That looks fantastic, and great attention to detail!  Whilst I won't be building mine into a replica of Morse's car, I am really tempted to buy a set of those steels as I much prefer them (I have an intense dislike of wire wheels from having to clean some regularly as a child...), and from what I can make out, most Mk2s left the factory with steel wheels anyway.

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Beautiful, and so much better on steel wheels. Given a suitable backdrop it could easily pass for the real thing. I love the rear three quarter shot in particular, really shows off the vinyl roof.

 

Surely this is a kit that deserves re-issue? I never see them listed as being in stock in the usual shops.

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On 03/04/2020 at 01:44, Moa said:

The 3D-printed wheels hubs and caps from the source you recommended have arrived!

Thanks again for the tip.

I guess the hour for taking the kit out of storage is near... 🙂

That's nice, it will be great to see your excursion into 1/24 and your interpretation of Morse drive. I'm sure it will be as lovely as usual and looking forward to it.

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Great, Jörgen! I started building Morse's Jaguar myself some years ago, but didn't come very far. This is an inspiration to start it up again.

 

Nils

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