Morris Mini Cooper 1275s Mk.1 (Tamiya 1:24)

[wimbledon99]

Hi All,

 

I tend to stick with group builds (currently coming to the end of one before commencing another next weekend) but as I have some spare time at the moment and no GB to allocate this to, I thought I'd start a non-GB topic. I've stripped the 'chrome' parts with bleach and will use Alclad  instead; otherwise it's due to be an out of the box build! Any tips/ tricks / hints, either now or along the way, are most welcome.

 

Cheers

 

Nigel

 

 

 

[RadMax8]

No advice from me, but I’ll be following along. I fancy taking a shot myself at this kit sometime. Good luck!

[JeroenS]

That should make a nice little build! Stripping the chrome is a good start I think 🙂 ... Also, most car builders here start with painting the shell so you can let the various paint layers cure and harden while you work on the interior bits.

[triumphfan]

Nigel,

 

first of all, good choice of car and kit. There are literally thousands of colour combos you can choose from if you don't want to go with factory?

Remember also, not all Coopers came out of the Longbridge factory with a contrasting roof. If you do go with this option, the masking can be tricky to paint the roof edge in body colour. Make sure you really burnish the tape down into the edge. Either that or use liquid mask carefully.

Out of the box, the rear suspension set up brings the rear wheels very close to the sills. It isn't really a big problem and the wheels do fill the arches well. Could be worth sanding the rear edge of the swing arm slightly to allow a bit of rearward movement, It is difficult to do this with the wheels and hubs due to the design of the kit parts. We are only talking 1mm max here but it does stop the rear tyres rubbing on the sill finisher. The little round raised disc on the sill finisher was a rubber bung to fill the grease nipple access hole so paint it satin black.

The only other thing I can think of is, the oil cooler in front of the engine is glued in before the body and chassis are put together, this whole area is tight so be prepared for the cooler to get knocked off, unless you are very careful.

Great kit overall, even though it's a bit long in the tooth now. I'm sure you will have fun with it. That usually starts with picking the colour scheme. 😃

 

Atb, Steve.

[dbostream]

5 hours ago, triumphfan said:

Remember also, not all Coopers came out of the Longbridge factory with a contrasting roof. If you do go with this option, the masking can be tricky to paint the roof edge in body colour. Make sure you really burnish the tape down into the edge. Either that or use liquid mask carefully.

This is a very good tip. Masking the roof was a h*ll and after stripping and repainting the whole roof 5-6 times I finally gave up and left the edge of the roof the same color as the rest of the roof.

[wimbledon99]

5 hours ago, JeroenS said:

That should make a nice little build! Stripping the chrome is a good start I think 🙂 ... Also, most car builders here start with painting the shell so you can let the various paint layers cure and harden while you work on the interior bits.

Great tip!! Thank you, Jeroen 

5 hours ago, triumphfan said:

Nigel,

 

first of all, good choice of car and kit. There are literally thousands of colour combos you can choose from if you don't want to go with factory?

Remember also, not all Coopers came out of the Longbridge factory with a contrasting roof. If you do go with this option, the masking can be tricky to paint the roof edge in body colour. Make sure you really burnish the tape down into the edge. Either that or use liquid mask carefully.

Out of the box, the rear suspension set up brings the rear wheels very close to the sills. It isn't really a big problem and the wheels do fill the arches well. Could be worth sanding the rear edge of the swing arm slightly to allow a bit of rearward movement, It is difficult to do this with the wheels and hubs due to the design of the kit parts. We are only talking 1mm max here but it does stop the rear tyres rubbing on the sill finisher. The little round raised disc on the sill finisher was a rubber bung to fill the grease nipple access hole so paint it satin black.

The only other thing I can think of is, the oil cooler in front of the engine is glued in before the body and chassis are put together, this whole area is tight so be prepared for the cooler to get knocked off, unless you are very careful.

Great kit overall, even though it's a bit long in the tooth now. I'm sure you will have fun with it. That usually starts with picking the colour scheme. 😃

 

Atb, Steve.

Hi Steve,

 

Thanks for the advice; really appreciated.

 

There are two reasons for the build. The first is that I have an Ebbro Lotus (Type 49) in the cupboard and I need some shiny-paint practice before I do the bodywork the justice it deserves; I therefore have this Mini and a Revell London Cab to complete in the run up. The second is that my youngest wants a 'real' one of these in RED (so that's the colour sorted  ) and he's told me if I build it, he'll put it on a shelf in his room when he's back at Uni 

[Spec7]

I thought i bought this kit years ago but when i looked its a later version with fuel injection and i lost interest in it very quickly

[Paul H]

These are great little kits, and aside from the rear subframe breakdown, very prototypically correct.

14 hours ago, wimbledon99 said:

Any tips/ tricks / hints, either now or along the way, are most welcome.

One thing to watch for is that the wheel location is not especially positive, so the wheels tend to be a bit wobbly.  The next time I build one, I will be looking to see what I can do to tighten up the clearances in the wheel pin / polycap / polycap housing to centre the wheels better on their mounts & so fix this.

 

The method I used with the roof was to paint it the main colour, and then essentially dry brush (but with a bit more paint - can't think of a better way to describe it...) the outside of the gutter in the colour for the lower body, with the roof upside down and running the brush off the outside edge of the gutter, so that no paint went into the gutter itself.  I don't have the steadiest hand, but found that this created a neat finish when I built mine (no thread yet, but coming soon!).  Another method would be to pain the gutter in the lower colour first, and then just run a strip of masking tape around the outside of the gutter, as that is much easier to mask off than doing it the other way around.  Any overspray / paint that gets under the tape could be carefully flatted back for a clean edge.

[wimbledon99]

Thanks for the info Paul.

 

I have to admit that I'm going for the 'all-over' red. It's what my lad asked for and it looks like he's done me a favour 

[Spec7]

Wimbledon, Sorry about my earlier post i was confusing the 1/24 with their 1/12 which didn't have a the classic mini engine carburettor like the 1/24...:)

[HoolioPaulio]

I built this kit last year, it was my first non Gundam build, and what brought me back into the hobby properly.  I loved the build.  Don't really remember having any major issues that weren't beginner errors.  I can agree that the wheels are a bit loose, not a major issue but I would look at correcting that if I built another one.  And the intercooler is tight, I think I knocked mine off once.  I made a real hash of the body shell with the gloss top coat, first time I had tried it from an airbrush.

 

No WiP thread, but here is the RFI.

 

Its a decent build though, enjoy.

[wimbledon99]

Hi Paul - That's a very funky paint job!! Looks like a cracking build to me

 

Well, I've made a start on mine and here's what I have to date (I'm not ignoring the advice re. painting the body first; it's just than I'm waiting for the postman to bring the paint!!)

 

 

 

 

 

[wimbledon99]

Thought I'd post a picture of progress of the chroming and some painting (rear shelf still requires paint)  and in doing so I've just realised I've lost the bonnet badge

 

 

[Spiny]

Lovely job you're doing so far, those seats in particular look great.

[Anteater]

Nice. I must have built about eight of these first time around (nearly 30 years ago). I should probably dig some out and do one good rebuild using whatever parts I can viably liberate.

 

Your chromed parts look good and the wheels are nicely detailed. I recall the wing mirrors would never stay in place so you might want to drill some small locating holes to help them stay, before you paint the shell.   

[wimbledon99]

1 hour ago, Spiny said:

Lovely job you're doing so far, those seats in particular look great.

Many thanks. I thought the seats might have been a bit of a pain but the masking held out so I'll take the outcome

13 minutes ago, Anteater said:

Nice. I must have built about eight of these first time around (nearly 30 years ago). I should probably dig some out and do one good rebuild using whatever parts I can viably liberate.

 

Your chromed parts look good and the wheels are nicely detailed. I recall the wing mirrors would never stay in place so you might want to drill some small locating holes to help them stay, before you paint the shell.   

Eight?!?!

 

If you've any left over bonnet badges. let me know

 

Happy to cover expenses and postage!!

[wimbledon99]

Found it!!!!!!!!

 

 

[Anteater]

I'm sure I could have sorted you one out, but good that it's turned up.

[wimbledon99]

1 hour ago, Anteater said:

I'm sure I could have sorted you one out, but good that it's turned up.

 

That's very kind and much appreciated

 

Finding the badge gave me the motivation to go for the body spray. This is the first time I've used Tamiya lacquer paints (Italian Red in this case); it sprayed beautifully

 

 

 

[wimbledon99]

I've just treated myself to the Ultimate Models polishing system but I have a question (or 6)

1. Should I use it directly on the paint?
2. If so, how long should I wait before doing this?
3. If not 1, should I gloss next and use it on a gloss coat?
4. If so, how long should I wait before glossing?
5. If glossing, how long should I wait before using the polishing system
6. Should I do both 1 and 3?

I'm into new territory here (I usually just paint at 'Klear') hence seeking experienced guidance

 

 

[JeroenS]

I'm not an experienced "finisher" myself, but paint - clear - polish is a good sequence. Best to leave the body alone for at least a week before clear coating, as a good rule of thumb. Some paints may dry / cure faster but I'm not taking any chances after my last shiny paint job failed with cracks starting to appear after 5 months. Probably because the paint underneath the clear coat wasn't fully hardened.  

[wimbledon99]

2 hours ago, JeroenS said:

I'm not an experienced "finisher" myself, but paint - clear - polish is a good sequence. Best to leave the body alone for at least a week before clear coating, as a good rule of thumb. Some paints may dry / cure faster but I'm not taking any chances after my last shiny paint job failed with cracks starting to appear after 5 months. Probably because the paint underneath the clear coat wasn't fully hardened.  

 

Thank you, Jeroen!

 

I have enough small pieces to be cleaning and painting (as well as the Spit GB to complete and Child GB to start) so a week it is before the clear coat goes on!!

 

 

[Spiny]

I'd second everything Jeroen has said above (although I should state too that I am also nowhere near an expert). Polishing is only really needed on the clear coat, although it can be worth going lightly over the colour coat with a fine (say 1500-2000 grit) sandpaper to take out any lumps and bumps before the clear. Personally, I always try to leave at least two weeks between coats to be on the safe side, but I think one is generally ok if you're pushed for time. If you're not sure, put your nose to the model - if you can smell anything then the paint is probably still curing so best to leave it a while longer.

[wimbledon99]

2 hours ago, Spiny said:

I'd second everything Jeroen has said above (although I should state too that I am also nowhere near an expert). Polishing is only really needed on the clear coat, although it can be worth going lightly over the colour coat with a fine (say 1500-2000 grit) sandpaper to take out any lumps and bumps before the clear. Personally, I always try to leave at least two weeks between coats to be on the safe side, but I think one is generally ok if you're pushed for time. If you're not sure, put your nose to the model - if you can smell anything then the paint is probably still curing so best to leave it a while longer.

 

Thank Spiny. I'm sensing that patience is key here! That said, there is no longer any smell but I'll hold no matter. I'm wondering if these new lacquer paints cure quicker that the spray cans

[Spiny]

If I'm honest, I just went with two weeks because that's what it said on Halfords spray cans a few (too many!) years back when I was trying to keep the rust from old cars. I've just done some wheels with 3 days between coats (rush job!) and it seemed to be ok, so as long as the coat isn't too thick I can't see a week between being a problem. Two weeks is probably just me being overcautious - the current Halfords primer says 24 hours before flatting for the colour coat and the colour coat says two weeks to harden before polishing,