johnlambert Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 I was given this kit today by my team at work as an early birthday present. It was such a lovely and thoughtful gesture that, despite vowing not to start another build until I'd completed one that I'd already got in progress, I've decided to make it a project to get it built in the course of my week off next week. I'm sure the Airfix Jaguar E-type Open Two Seater needs no introduction. I built one of these in my adolescence and so I'm quite keen to go back and have another bash at it. It seems somehow appropriate that the bits come in a plastic bag, even if they are contained within a cardboard box. Limited set of decals but they look pretty nice. And the parts themselves, very much a case of "flash! Aaargh!" As recommended by the instructions, I've given the parts a wash in warm, soapy water. I'll leave them to dry overnight before attempting to start the build properly. I'm not quite sure how to tackle this build as you can't assemble the body without also assembling most of the interior and suspension. The various parts of the body don't seem to mate terribly well, so it's going to be a challenge to get it all together to paint. I'll probably use an airbrush rather than spray cans and I think I'll go for green, rather than the red finish that the box art suggests. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo NZ Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 The usual procedure with any E-type kit is to cut the sills off the floorpan and glue them to the body - it's the only way you'll get a decent looking joint. The same goes for the rear undertray and the nose, fix to body before paint. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 I wonder how many people buy these kits thinking that they will be a nice gentle introduction to model building? How many subsequently try a less stressful hobby - like juggling chainsaws - instead? Mould lines cleaned up on the body and panel lines gone over with a scriber. Ejector pin marks on the seats, that would be painful if you sat on it! Inner door panels with horrible ejector pin marks; Airfix moulded the door latch and window winder but not the chrome trim strips that are roughly 1/4 and 3/4 of the way up the door card. This will be sanded down and given a skim of filler. The iconic Jaguar independent rear suspension is together and ready for a coat of paint. It's probably easier to paint as one piece than trying to paint the parts then glue them together as the glue would only mess up the paint. One of many mock-ups to check for fit, at least the wheels seem to be positioned roughly right in relation to the body. Inspired by other builds on here, I've used plastic tube to add the headlamp bowls. I hope this improves the look of the front end when the build is finished. I didn't like the fact that you could see daylight between the interior and the wheel arch. That usually only happens on E-types when they rust out. I'm quite pleased with this structure, which mostly closes off the boot and interior. Blu Ttac was for the mock-up assembly. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmatthewbacon Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 As I was recently reminded, you ARE allowed a visible seam between the top and bottom of the rear clamshell parts, which is hidden behind the rear bumper spears... best, M. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbostream Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 (edited) You are probably right, kits like these will most likely scare away potential new builders rather than getting them into this hobby. The very first kit I built was the 1:32 Airfix Austin Healey Sprite I don't know if it is good or bad compared to this one but I am still building models and one car I really want to own one day in scale 1:1 is the Austin Healey Sprite. So maybe they work as a first build after all... Anyway you are doing a great job so far I look forward to seeing it painted. What color are you painting the interior? Edited July 4, 2020 by dbostream 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElectricLightAndy Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 Looking great, they really need to re-tool this kit, it can be built into an ok looking car with a bit of swearing! Andy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 12 hours ago, dbostream said: You are probably right, kits like these will most likely scare away potential new builders rather than getting them into this hobby. The very first kit I built was the 1:32 Airfix Austin Healey Sprite I don't know if it is good or bad compared to this one but I am still building models and one car I really want to own one day in scale 1:1 is the Austin Healey Sprite. So maybe they work as a first build after all... Anyway you are doing a great job so far I look forward to seeing it painted. What color are you painting the interior? I'm thinking of taking inspiration from the first E-type roadster, registered 77RW, which is dark green with a green interior very similar to BMC almond green. I think in Jaguar terms it might be called "Suede Green". The only problem with that is that it means mixing paint (and/or buying some) where I could take the easy option and paint the whole thing satin black, but that would be a bit boring. 6 hours ago, ElectricLightAndy said: Looking great, they really need to re-tool this kit, it can be built into an ok looking car with a bit of swearing! Andy. Oh yes, I've done plenty of swearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share Posted July 5, 2020 Yesterday morning I set to work on the Jaguar's front suspension. This is really fiddly, tiny parts, poor location, lots of flash to clean. You can see I've added a little extra in the engine bay. I'm not going for a full engine but I didn't want too much empty space visible when you look directly side-on through the wheel arch. If you were daft, you could probably work up the engine bay to a really high standard. Radiator added, although the instructions say to add the wheels I'll leave them off until I've given it a quick spray in black paint. Dashboard in comparison with a picture of the real thing. I couldn't remember whether there was a dial in the place of the ejector pin; there isn't and the bezels are pretty horrible so I'll sand it flat and just stick the decals directly to the flat dash panel. Some masking added, I've cut away the solid panel that separates the air intake from the radiator, so at least there will be a sense that the front air intake leads to the radiator matrix. Because of the shape and way the body goes together you need to get paint on the underside of the bonnet before assembly as I don't like having too much bare plastic visible. I'll live with any over spray that comes when I paint the body. The interior tub, I'll paint the carpet and transmission tunnel, then mask that up and spray the engine bay black. It would be easier to spray the whole thing black and go for a colour scheme with a black carpet but I find black interiors quite boring. I've also spotted that there is no provision for a hand brake, so I'll add one from some wire. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 5, 2020 Share Posted July 5, 2020 It's been a LONG time since I had a good look at an E-Type, but I don't think you should be able to see the engine through the wheel arch. The bonnet had panels on it to enclose the wheel arches and enclose the engine fully. I stand to be corrected though, memory is fading! Ian Memory was good! https://images.app.goo.gl/Dnm7S3PrEbKy4Xc16 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share Posted July 5, 2020 5 hours ago, Brandy said: It's been a LONG time since I had a good look at an E-Type, but I don't think you should be able to see the engine through the wheel arch. The bonnet had panels on it to enclose the wheel arches and enclose the engine fully. I stand to be corrected though, memory is fading! Ian Memory was good! https://images.app.goo.gl/Dnm7S3PrEbKy4Xc16 OK thanks for that, looks like I need to fabricate some inner wing panels. at least I can spray the inside of the bonnet body colour rather than black, so I won't have to worry about over spray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share Posted July 5, 2020 More hard work on the dreaded E-type. I've added some pieces to close off the inner wings both to the engine bay and under the bonnet. Paint was mixed to the specification of BMC almond green following the instructions from my Tamiya Austin Mini Cooper S but with all matt paint. It doesn't look too far off too far off to my eyes. It's a pain that the inner door panels can't be painted but the fit with the body will need some filling before I can paint them. I've added the metal trim using 0.4mm nickel silver wire and the plan is to rub off the paint from the wire to leave the trim visible. I'll also have to recreate the door handles and window winders somehow. The steering wheel originally had some nasty raised lumps to represent the drilled spokes. Being a bit mad at this point I decided to drill a few holes with my finest drill bit. A photo-etched wheel would probably be a better move but I'm not going to try and source one. A quick spray of Tamiya flat aluminium for the steering wheel, front brake disks and exhaust. The distinctive, twin-pipe exhaust system. I must remember to install this before the rear subframe. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted July 5, 2020 Share Posted July 5, 2020 Nice work John on what is obviously a difficult kit. I have a feeling you will gain a lot of satisfaction from the extra work your doing when the build is finished 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecov Posted July 5, 2020 Share Posted July 5, 2020 Good work so far, John. The Airfix E-Type was the first car model I made on my return to modelling in 2005 after an absence of 25 years. I thought it would be a nice way to get back into the swing of things.....wrong! Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share Posted July 5, 2020 OK, I think I'm suffering from some sort of madness, I've looked at the kit wheels and I just can't bear to use them so I've just ordered a set of slot-car wire wheels and tyres that should be about the right size. Ah-well, in for a penny... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 Quite a bit of work (and, I hope, progress) with the Jaguar today. One steering wheel painted. Inner door panels glued in and filler applied as they don't fit flush with the body. Masking is so that the interior colour can be sprayed. More spraying, I was doing the rear suspension and I thought I'd see how the wheels would look with a coat of paint. It's hard to tell, but the top of the transmission tunnel has a coat of silver from a Sharpie marker. The gear lever is a winning combination of ugly and fragile. Whilst pondering the fate of the gear lever I waved a Molotow chrome pen over the wheel spokes. Dashboard was sprayed Tamiya semi-gloss black, the centre section was then over-painted with the silver Sharpie, then the silver lightly rubbed away over the dials. Speedo and rev counter are decals from the supplied sheet I'm sure there were no decals in the kit I made 30 years ago. Ideally I should have added the choke lever and heater controls but I'm not going to. Gear lever cut off the gaiter and a hole drilled. The gaiter is also painted to match the interior colour. Bright trim on the door. Wire gear lever and hand brake added, a blob of black paint will probably do for the gear lever knob. Interior installed; pity about the gap at the top, hopefully that will be less obvious once the dash top is painted black. An error with the kit is that the gear lever is too far forward, there should be a centre console to link the centre of the dash with the transmission tunnel (something to attempt if I ever do another of these (never again). Top and bottom halves of the body joined, the halves don't mate particularly well. For some reason there are locating pins on one side only. The thing to remember is that the gaps at the bottom of the doors and bonnet are supposed to be there. A bit of filler to sand smooth and make good. Might need several goes. Other side, there's a nasty mark where the body attached to the sprue at the base of the driver's door. This was my backup plan for if I messed up the interior, a tonneau cover made from masking tape Interior masked off to keep dust out whilst sanding and paint out when spraying. I should probably have painted the radiator before gluing the underside in place, I'm sure I'll figure something out as if it were painted it would need masking before the body gets sprayed. Leaving the filler to fully cure overnight so I decided to turn my attention to the windscreen. It's not bad actually, pretty clear and distortion free. I'll chrome the surround using the chrome pen (I'll do it in two operations so I can hold it without damaging the finish). There are pegs on the base of the screen but no corresponding holes in the body! And we have 2/3 of a chromed windscreen frame. Time to get some sleep. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 I'm getting close to painting the E-type. I spotted a little dimple in the bonnet which was filled (as shown) and sanded. Trial fitting the bumpers before painting, I'm glad I did as the mounting holes front and rear needed a bit of opening. The bumpers themselves have been lightly sanded with fine sanding sticks to smooth them off. This isn't the final colour, it's Tamiya flat green, which I'm using as an undercoat and to highlight any areas that need correction. It seems to look better in this photo than in real life. The paint has gone on nice and smoothly, I'm glad I filled the join on the scuttle and rear wings, I'm also glad that I scribed the panel lines. The kit also featured the external bonnet catches that were a feature of early E-types (this is a "flat floor" example) but they were far too big so they were shaved off. For an early E-type the bonnet louvres should also be slightly inset as they were a separate panel braised in, rather than part of the main bonnet pressing. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbostream Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 (edited) Maybe you don't enjoy building it with all its faults but I enjoy watching the build progress. Edited July 7, 2020 by dbostream 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Nice work John especially the green undercoat. A suggestion if I may before you apply the top coat, give the undercoat a very light sanding with 5000-7000 grit wet and dry trust me you will be amazed what a difference 10 minutes or so will make. Be sure to only very lightly sand the surface that's all you need and steer clear of your louvres. You could of course leave it as is but remember the finish of your undercoat will be reflected through your top coat and that finish should be the best possible in my book 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 5 hours ago, dbostream said: Maybe you don't enjoy building it with all its faults but I enjoy watching the build progress. Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying the build. It isn't the most enjoyable build but it is quite satisfying to see it come together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 3 hours ago, Andy J said: Nice work John especially the green undercoat. A suggestion if I may before you apply the top coat, give the undercoat a very light sanding with 5000-7000 grit wet and dry trust me you will be amazed what a difference 10 minutes or so will make. Be sure to only very lightly sand the surface that's all you need and steer clear of your louvres. You could of course leave it as is but remember the finish of your undercoat will be reflected through your top coat and that finish should be the best possible in my book 🙂 Suggestions are always welcome and yours makes complete sense so I will do that. I'm leaving the Jaguar alone tonight so that the paint has a reasonable time dry thoroughly. Tomorrow I'll give it a light rub down as recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 9 minutes ago, johnlambert said: Suggestions are always welcome and yours makes complete sense so I will do that. I'm leaving the Jaguar alone tonight so that the paint has a reasonable time dry thoroughly. Tomorrow I'll give it a light rub down as recommended. Light is the key word John and dry sanding is the way to go. You need to tickle the paint John literally god I'm nervous as hell now should have kept my mouth shut 🙄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Here's the latest on the Jaguar. I ordered two pairs of wheels and a set of four tyres from Pendle Slot Racing (Mitoos Classic Wire Aluminium Wheels 16.5x6mm, M026 and Mitoos Classic Treaded Tyres 20x6mm, M073). They are a bit wider than the stock wheels and tyres, and the diameter might be slightly smaller; Mitoos also does a 21x6mm tyre. I would prefer a slightly shallower rim and a 20x5mm tyre on a 5mm rim might be better but I didn't see one (someone will no doubt find one now). Still the contrast is dramatic. Another mock-up, the slot-car wheels have quite a big locating boss on the inside so it's a choice between hacking away at the suspension or machining down the back of the wheel. I don't have the facilities to modify the wheels so the suspension will go under the knife. Still even with the body resting on the rear wheels and no suspension you can see the improvement. A bit of sanding on the flaws I spotted. While a second coat of paint was drying on the body I had a look at the rear suspension. Believe it or not the outer faces or both sets of wheels are the same distance apart, you can see the chunky mounting that is necessary for slot-car racing. Most of the drive shaft and a fair bit of lower suspension arm will have to go; it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make as I'd rather have a model that looks its best when it's the right way up. Although, to be fair, the rear suspension is probably the best bit of this kit (even if it is missing the radius arms that connect to the rear of the floorpan and brace the suspension against torque reaction). To give you an idea of what is removed. I'll either find some tube to go over the drive shafts or remove them and drill through the differential to use a metal rod. For this mock-up the back wheels are just attached to a cut down cocktail stick, blutacked to the body. The front suspension uprights have been cut out and a piece of bent, plastic-coated wire used to mount the wheels. I think the wheels will be fixed as I can't see a quick, easy way to make them rotate at this stage in the build (not really that important to me anyway) Ignore the garden wire, I have to say that I think it's looking pretty good. Tomorrow I'll give it a light rub down and gloss coat. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 18 minutes ago, Andy J said: Light is the key word John and dry sanding is the way to go. You need to tickle the paint John literally god I'm nervous as hell now should have kept my mouth shut 🙄 Don't worry. Before the second matt coat I gently rubbed the entire body with a very fine sanding stick and didn't rub through. Just you wait, I'll mess it up now 🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, johnlambert said: Don't worry. Before the second matt coat I gently rubbed the entire body with a very fine sanding stick and didn't rub through. Just you wait, I'll mess it up now 🤣 Don't you dare looks like a sleepless night now 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 What a great build, John. Lovely work! Funny enough I had one of these in my hand at the LMS a few days ago, in the bargain bin. In the end I picked up the Ford Fiesta rally car instead (also in the clearance bin!). That's a MUCH later product that I hoped would be an improvement on the 60s kits. And it was the Jag's wheels that clinched it for me. You have come up with an excellent alternative...... Something I've thought about but never had the bottle to try. Now I'm thinking I should plunge in with some slot car accessories ‼️ They're a massive improvement on the kit parts. Puts you on a slippery slope though - you know where this is going to end.... 🤩 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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