Airfix Bullnose Morris Cowley ++ FINISHED ++

[CliffB]

Hi all - here's my place marker.

 

 

When I first started building Airfix kits in the mid-60s, I would only build planes. 

A few years later, I would only build military vehicles (inspired by various conversion articles in the Airfix Magazine).

 

Somewhere along the way, I ended building a Bullnose Morris Cowley.  I have no idea why, but I clearly remember it in all its redness. 

I think it may have been a present, or maybe even a promotional freebie.  Either way, it obviously made a lasting impression, as I immediately thought of it for this Group Build.

 

I've just bought this one off eBay and unfortunately it has a couple of pieces missing - the front axle and one wheel.  So nothing significant then .

I'm sure I'll be able to fabricate something resembling the axle and I'm hoping that I'll be able to cast an additional wheel.  I've only cast a copy component once before (it was a success), but the left-over chemicals are now well past their 'use by' dates.  Fingers crossed that won't matter, but I'd better experiment before committing one of my existing wheels to the pot.  I wouldn't want to end up being two wheels down!

 

Cheers

 

Cliff

 

 

[Dansk]

Good find on ebay and good luck with the build (And the wheel and axle!) Cliff, this one will be really different and exciting to see come to life.

[JOCKNEY]

Hi Cliff

 

Great find, and a real classic with it being a Red Striped Bagged Kit no less.

 

Disappointing to hear that you only have 3 wheels on your wagon, however all is not lost, you could use this as inspiration for a cheeky conversion

 

 

 

Alternatively, pinch the spare wheel off the running board and use that, you can always say it was getting a puncture repaired at the time !

 

Good luck

 

Cheers Pat

[modelling minion]

Now thats a bit different Cliff, didn't even know that kit existed!

[Hewy]

Yes another entry thats just a bit different,nice one cliff,  i look forward to seeing this on 4 wheels 😋

[CliffB]

10 hours ago, Dansk said:

Good find on ebay and good luck with the build (And the wheel and axle!) Cliff

 

9 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Disappointing to hear that you only have 3 wheels on your wagon, however all is not lost, you could use this as inspiration for a cheeky conversion

 

 

8 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Now thats a bit different Cliff, didn't even know that kit existed!

 

6 hours ago, Hewy said:

Yes another entry thats just a bit different,nice one cliff,  i look forward to seeing this on 4 wheels 😋

 

Thanks for the welcome guys and thanks too Pat, for suggesting a classic Childrens' Favourites theme tune for the build (although possibly somewhat racist, by current standards!).

Here's a link to the tune (with a nice video track ).  Unfortunately YouTube won't let me embed it.

 

Cheers

 

[stevej60]

I knew you'd bring something a bit different Cliff! Sounds like we modelled along the same lines and time frame,I remember building the 1911 Rolls

Royce in that blue plastic and the E-type in red,also the Mercedes sports car and buying a tin of the then revolutionary metallic paints(green I seem

to recall).

[CliffB]

20 hours ago, stevej60 said:

I knew you'd bring something a bit different Cliff! Sounds like we modelled along the same lines and time frame,I remember building the 1911 Rolls

Royce in that blue plastic and the E-type in red,also the Mercedes sports car and buying a tin of the then revolutionary metallic paints(green I seem

to recall).

Thanks Steve.  When you look into it, Airfix actually produced quite a few car kits, many of which I don't remember at all.  I think I must have missed some of the more recent releases, like the Maxi and the Marina.  These are also the hardest (and most expensive), to find second-hand.  I fear another addiction coming on!

 

Cheers

[stevej60]

3 hours ago, CliffB said:

When you look into it, Airfix actually produced quite a few car kits,

I can't recall ever seeing the Maxi or Marina on the shelves either Cliff,also the Capri or Victor estate (the latter  two fetch three figures nowadays).

 

[stevej60]

My case in point Cliff,there's a Capri been up for £250 since I joined in September.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Airfix-Vauxhall-Victor-2000-Estate-1-32-Scale-Plastic-Model-Kit-unmade-in-Box/114022610109?hash=item1a8c46f4bd:g:NBMAAOSwPP5d-6Ug

[nimrod54]

That's great pick up Cliff, I kook forward to seeing your build progress.

[CliffB]

1 hour ago, stevej60 said:

My case in point Cliff,there's a Capri been up for £250 since I joined in September.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Airfix-Vauxhall-Victor-2000-Estate-1-32-Scale-Plastic-Model-Kit-unmade-in-Box/114022610109?hash=item1a8c46f4bd:g:NBMAAOSwPP5d-6Ug

 

53 minutes ago, nimrod54 said:

That's great pick up Cliff, I kook forward to seeing your build progress.

 

At £15 my Cowley didn't seem too bad (even with its missing bits)!

The really expensive kits don't seem to sell (I don't know if they'd ever be worth the asking price to the right collector?), but kits under £100 seem to go OK. 

At the moment for me though, there's plenty to go at in the £10-20 range.  I wonder if the Capri guy is open to offers? 

 

Cheers

[John]

Some of these vintage cars were absolutely exquisite. I didn't have this one though, but I did have a Corgi diecast, or "toy", as they were called back then. It was painted yellow, I think. 

John 

[CliffB]

3 hours ago, John said:

Some of these vintage cars were absolutely exquisite.

Hi John. I agree with you.  Airfix's vintage cars seemed to look better than their modern ones (like their Mini).

I don't know whether it's intrinsically more difficult to get modern car body shapes right in 3D, or whether we just know the subjects better and so can spot the inaccuracies?

 

Cheers

[CliffB]

Hi again. 

Well I may not have stuck any plastic together yet, but I haven't been totally idle!  I've managed to nab this on eBay.

 

 

It's a 'spares or repair' Airfix Morris Cowley - just not the 1926 version that I'm building!

It turns out that Airfix also released a 1923 version - here's the artwork, copied from Scalemates

 

 

Now I don't remember this kit at all, but I reckoned that it might possibly share the same wheels as mine.  So I took a punt.

As it turns out, not only are the wheels the same, but the two kits actually share an identical floor pan and running gear (although much of this is broken or missing on my latest acquisition).  By chance though, one bit that is still there is its front axle - so it's a double result for me .

 

 

The '23 kit appears to be much rarer (and hence more expensive), that my original '26.  So in due course, I'll probably remove the bodywork from the tatty '23 and transplant it onto fresh running gear from another '26 kit (if I can find a cheap one).

 

It makes a change for one of my gambles to pay off! 

 

Cheers

[Jinxman]

Nice find - I wonder how many layers of paint are on there to remove?

[John]

Nice one. I think Airfix also produced a couple of versions of the Model T Ford?

John 

[modelling minion]

Excellent result Cliff, its great when plans actually work out, a very rare occurrence for me!

[CliffB]

13 hours ago, Jinxman said:

Nice find - I wonder how many layers of paint are on there to remove?

Thankfully, I think just the one .  However, I also bought this Airfix Lotus Cortina body shell (yes, I did pay money for it!). 

Yesterday, I did a test with oven cleaner on its roof.  After an hour, the old paint just washed off.  By my reckoning there are six layers . The plan is to complete the Cortina as best I can, using parts from a Mk.1 Escort kit. 

 

12 hours ago, John said:

Nice one. I think Airfix also produced a couple of versions of the Model T Ford?

John 

Thanks John, particularly for the info on the Model T.  I'd completely missed that!  I have the 1912 version, so will have to keep my eyes open for the 1910....

 

12 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Excellent result Cliff, its great when plans actually work out, a very rare occurrence for me!

Thanks Craig.  Better still, the parts just pulled apart.  I think it was stuck together using UHU - seriously.  I'll have to do something about that number plate though!

 

 

Cheers

[stevej60]

Have I tuned into an episode of car SOS? Great find Cliff I remember "clagging" the Cortina together when they were still loads on the road,If only

I'd known how valuable they'd become later on

[TonyW]

Household bleach will remove enamel paint without effort. Soak the parts overnight and scrub the paint away in the morning. Cheap as chips as well.

[Hewy]

I remembered where I'd seen your  austin bullnose before,or i thought i did , but alas its only similar not a bullnose, it was john pertwee as  ,dr who and his little yellow car called bessie , a remarkable similarity, although i read the actual film car was a kit car called an edwardian, go on cliff paint it yellow 🤗

 

[Jinxman]

13 hours ago, Hewy said:

I remembered where I'd seen your  austin bullnose before,or i thought i did , but alas its only similar not a bullnose, it was john pertwee as  ,dr who and his little yellow car called bessie , a remarkable similarity, although i read the actual film car was a kit car called an edwardian, go on cliff paint it yellow 🤗

That's cruel - the worst covering paint colour known! I like it - 😀

[CliffB]

 

On 5/3/2020 at 1:45 PM, stevej60 said:

Have I tuned into an episode of car SOS?

 

Yes Steve and expect plenty of tears at the end too 😂

 

22 hours ago, TonyW said:

Household bleach will remove enamel paint without effort. Soak the parts overnight and scrub the paint away in the morning. Cheap as chips as well.

My favourite tipple is Lakelands 'Oven Mate' cleaning gel (which is 30% potassium hydroxide).  In comes in 500ml bottles, so my wife doesn't even notice when I pinch a bit .

Leave it for about 30 minutes and then simply rinse away with water.  It's also great for stripping 'chromed parts', but I don't know if it works with acrylics - I must have a go!

 

22 hours ago, Hewy said:

go on cliff paint it yellow 🤗

 

9 hours ago, Jinxman said:

That's cruel - the worst covering paint colour known! I like it - 😀

Funnily enough gents, I was already considering yellow .  There's one in the background of the kit's artwork and there's also a nice set of photos of a restored one on the net (part of the sales particulars from an auction).

Between us, it looks like we've made the decision!

 

 

Here's where I'm currently at with the Bullnose.

 

 

Unfortunately, while trying to remove some glue remnants, I managed to snap my hard-won front axle in two .  An easy repair though and I also added some microstrip splints as reinforcement.

The build was pretty straightforward, with just mould seams and ejector pin marks to sort out, plus making sure the everything sits square.  Quite a relaxing couple of hours .

 

Cheers

[PeterB]

Hi Cliff,

 

If you paint it yellow you could perhaps call it "Brum"- at least that's what I think the little yellow car on the kids TV prog was many years back when my pair were small.

 

Cheers

 

Pete