Jaguar XJ220

[Spiny]

After a week away, today I got a start on the next project. Well, I say a start, but I've done the spraying of the body coloured bits and some of the bigger satin black parts over summer so technically I started this way back when we were all locked down. Although the kit is getting on a bit now, first impressions are that it's a good, well engineered and detailed kit (actually first impression is that the car is massive, which at least is realistic) with quite a bit to keep me occupied, despite being close to 30 years old now. I've only seen these cars in the flesh in two colours, dark metallic green which looked ok, and cliche silver which I felt really suited the car. So cliche silver it is, chosen not just beause I think the colour suits the car but also because the nearest I have in the display cabinet to silver is the light titanium Honda S600.

 

For what I presume are manufacturing reasons, the side panels are separate to the main body, so first job is to assemble the body before I do anything else.

 

 

Fortunately, Tamiya have used a good bit of design here and have used the side body moulding to help hide the join between the sides and the body with the sides having a tab which fits behind that moulding - once assembled it looks to me as though it's worked pretty well.

 

 

I forgot to take a picture of it in primer or in colour, so onto the body with the clear coat on. The instructions call for aluminium paint, but instead I chose to go with Tamiya's Silver Leaf. This looks stunning without clear, but does dull down a bit with the clear (TS-13). I also discovered that it's not the easiest paint to use - when I clear coated it, the clear coat brought out finger prints on the silver leaf which weren't visible before I cleared it (this is the most obvious example).

 

(EDIT: Just found a pic of it in Silver Leaf without the clear coat)

 

 

 

Well I wasn't having that, so the body got a second coat of Silver Leaf then clear and me being very careful not to touch the paint anywhere which will be silver on the end product. Much better now - no fingerprints

 

 

After that, it was time to do the panel lines, this time using Humbrol Dark Grey wash, which isn't as dark as the photo makes it look. As usual, I did the time-honoured technique of blocking off anywhere I didn't want the wash to go with blu-tak pushed in with a cocktail stick.

 

 

Once that had dried, it was time to remove the blu-tak, then run over the panel lines with a cotton bud dipped in IPA to give a smoother finish - much better once that had been done.

 

 

That's pretty much where the body sits now, it's in the middle of polishing up to get a decent shine but this gives the idea.

 

As for today, just before going away I got the two sides of the engine glued together and some aluminium paint on the belt assemblies and engine cover. Today I added aluminium paint to the engine block, mixed up the dull metallic brown and added some first details to the parts. As with most parts which need detail painting, this isn't a particularly quick process so this is where I am now, most parts still being a work in progress. The XJ200 lettering has been picked out in silver, but it doesn't stand out very much against the flat aluminium background.

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

[cmatthewbacon]

Great start... this is one of the most enjoyable Tamiya builds I’ve done. If you have the time and inclination, it’s worth busying up the engine bay...

best,

M.

[Andy J]

Nice start mate i think I'll come along for the ride 👍

[Windy37]

Good start . Just watched Top Gear and I think there’s a 220 in a future episode . 
Gary . 

[Fnick]

Great start! Thanks for the blue tac/wash tip. Will have to keep that one in mind.

Nick

[Spiny]

23 hours ago, cmatthewbacon said:

Great start... this is one of the most enjoyable Tamiya builds I’ve done. If you have the time and inclination, it’s worth busying up the engine bay...

best,

M.

Thanks, I think a part of this will also be patience. While at le Mans last year I managed to grab a snap of the engine bay which will give me something to go on other than Google, and it certainly wasn't as shiny as mine is turning out to be. I suspect at the very least I will be adding a bit of a wash (first time for me on an engine), and I may have a look at adding some of the bigger bits if they're obviously missing.

21 hours ago, Windy37 said:

Good start . Just watched Top Gear and I think there’s a 220 in a future episode . 
Gary . 

I think you're right - isn't that part of the same section where Paddy McGuinness crashed the Diablo in the Dales?

10 hours ago, Fnick said:

Great start! Thanks for the blue tac/wash tip. Will have to keep that one in mind.

Nick

If you do use blu-tak, something like cocktails sticks (very useful in this hobby I've found) is ideal to push the blu-tak into the panel lines. As you can see in the photos, you only need tiny pieces of blu-tak to create the necessary dam to stop the wash going everywhere. There's also quite a few people who would say that the whole wash thing is unnecessary, so go with what you feel looks best.

[dbostream]

Interesting build I like what you have done so far. Wish I could get my hands on one of these but I have only seen them for crazy money.

[Spiny]

I'm tending towards some additions to the engine bay (driven forward it must be said by a very helpful PM from Matt), but am now considering not going ahead with the weathering if I can get a decent shine on the body - after all I generally build as if the car is new, not 25 years old as in the photos I have of it.

 

I have to admit that I was lucky with this one to get hold of what I think the last one at Hiroboy when the production run had ended, so it was only £17.99 (receipt still in the box) - can't believe how much they sell for now. Trouble is, the argument of getting models while they're cheap leads to an ever expanding stash, and until I pulled this one out I'd run out of space...

[johnlambert]

3 minutes ago, Spiny said:

I'm tending towards some additions to the engine bay (driven forward it must be said by a very helpful PM from Matt), but am now considering not going ahead with the weathering if I can get a decent shine on the body - after all I generally build as if the car is new, not 25 years old as in the photos I have of it.

 

I have to admit that I was lucky with this one to get hold of what I think the last one at Hiroboy when the production run had ended, so it was only £17.99 (receipt still in the box) - can't believe how much they sell for now. Trouble is, the argument of getting models while they're cheap leads to an ever expanding stash, and until I pulled this one out I'd run out of space...

I can relate to getting stuff when it's cheap/available; especially as most of the kits I want were made some years ago.  Running out of space is definitely an issue.

[Spiny]

Well I'm at that stage where you do a load of detail painting and don't seem to move far forward (sometime's it feels as though I spend my whole modelling career at that stage!). So, having painted up the belt/pulley assemblies, I got most of the engine block built. Just need to add the other belt assembly on the front of this one and I'll have completed Stage 1 of the instructions

 

 

Not really a lot to describe here either, just finishing the brown on the engine block with a 5/0 brush, then out with the trusty 10/0 brush for the belts and pulleys. The other assembly is painted up, just need the last of the paint to dry so it'll get attached next time I'm on the bench.

 

Of course, that's not quite all I've done - I also got the body polished up with Tamiya's compounds, first Fine and then Finish. In the end, this is one of those paint jobs which I'm pleased with.... or at least it's come out better than I thought it was going to at one stage. Of course, there's all the body-colour pieces still to polish as well berfore I can say I've finished polishing, but at least this gives at idea of what it'll be like at the end.

 

 

And I'm afraid that's it for this week's update. Thanks for looking.

[Windy37]

That engine looks familiar to me ..... I’ve been painting up the Metro 6R4 Belkits engine today . 
Gary . 

[johnlambert]

1 hour ago, Spiny said:

Well I'm at that stage where you do a load of detail painting and don't seem to move far forward (sometime's it feels as though I spend my whole modelling career at that stage!).

 

That's an all too familiar feeling here as well.

1 hour ago, Spiny said:

And I'm afraid that's it for this week's update. Thanks for looking.

Engine and body are both looking good, thanks for the update.

[Spiny]

23 hours ago, Windy37 said:

That engine looks familiar to me ..... I’ve been painting up the Metro 6R4 Belkits engine today . 
Gary . 

Oddly enough, when I was assembling it the thought popped into my head that it would be good practice for when I get the 6R4. But it looks as though with that upcoming group build for next year I may need to get a Mustang for that space in the stash first...

[Spiny]

Finally got a little bit of modelling time this weekend. The end result is that I've made a little progress, but not much so I'll pad this post out with photos instead

 

First up was the easy job of finishing step 1 of the instructions, only one month into the build to get this far! Not much to do to reach there, just had to get the second belt assembly stuck on since that was completed a couple of weeks ago, just didn't have time for the paint to dry.

 

 

Next job was to get the turbos on and the engine base. Neither was a particular hardship, apart from some awkward mould lines on the turbos which need steel and alumnium paint - not the easiest difference to see in real life or in the photos. At first I thought the engine wasn't going on the base, but it turned out to be just a case of needing to take some paint off the ribs on the base.

 

 

Last job was to get on the intake plenums and driveshafts. The intake plenums are pretty easy and, as would be expected from Tamiya, a good fit with pins arranged so it can only go on the right way round. Similar story with the driveshafts which have different size  pins - unfortunately I managed to bend the thinner pin when removing from the sprue which made me concerned that further down the line I'd end up with a badly aligned rear wheel. Fortunately, checking the instructions it looks as though later in the build the ends of the driveshafts are secured in the correct position by a couple of other parts so this should (famous last words!) be ok.

 

 

Looking at this photo again, it seems I managed to get the one angle which hides the driveshaft (apart from a tiny black blur to the side of the right hand turbo) - trust me they are there!

 

Thanks for looking.

[Windy37]

The belts and pulleys on yours ,  make my 6R4 V64V engine look basic by comparison.  

 Gary . 

[Spiny]

All out of the box so far, someone (I'm pretty certain it was Matt) said that this is a great kit despite its age, and I would have to agree. Matt did send me some in-progress shots from his build (which I'll be pleased if I can get near the standard of) so I will have a look at adding a little bit to the engine bay, particularly with it being visible on this car. Shows how good Tamiya are that the engine compares favourably with a brand new kit.

[Spiny]

A little more progress over the weekend, with little once again being the operative word.

 

First job was the transmission frame (as Tamiya call it). I actually sprayed this up in Halfords Satin black over summer which saved a little time, so this weekend the only painting on it which needed doing was steel for the suspension arms. This is one bit of the build which looks at first glance as though it could easily end up in the wrong place, but once you start assembling it everythinggoes together correctly with little chance of error.

 

 

After that, it's just been little things. First of all, and encouraged by Matt in a very useful set of PMs, I had a go at adding a little detail, namely the throttle cable conduit (I think!) which stood out to me in both Matt's and my own photos. First up was some 0.8mm silver coated copper wire cut to length, then bent to be as close to the correct shape as I could manage (uninformative photo below is a couple of the pieces).

 

 

Then it was just a case of adding a small bit of CA to the intake plenums and hoping that the wire would stay in position long enough for the glue to dry (it did).

 

 

And that's where the engine is for now. Next step is the rear suspension, so I've spent a bit of time detailing up the dampers (which seem to take a while whatever I'm building). Almost there with the painting, just need to touch up the black in a couple of places and it'll be ready for fitting, something I'm not looking forward to but I'm sure I'll get it done.

 

 

Thanks for looking, more next week with a bit of luck.

[FunkyChiken]

Really clean and tidy build, loving the progress! 

[Spiny]

Sometimes it feels as if I spend far too long on prep work (i.e. sanding) to get things done. Still, I managed to get a few more parts onto the jag this weekend.

 

First up was to get those springs I mentioined last week fitted. Installing these definitely comes into the 'nerve-wracking' category - you need to bend the thin bit to get the part fitted around the transmission frame. Fortunately I got them in without any snapping, unlike last week where I managed to snap the end of one of the dampers while sanding the mould line off it. Luckily, I was able to get it glued back together at near enough the right angle to be able to fit it where it should go. Once the spings are in place the hub went on nice and easily - hopefully a good indication that I've got things lined up correctly.

 

 

After that it was onto the exhaust. To be honest, this is another part which I started last weekend in terms of gluing the two halves together and adding putty along the join. A week's drying time and I was able to sand it down to a reasonably decent join between the two halves. Again it seems to have gone into the right place so I hope it fits ok when the rest of the body goes on.

 

 

That's where I am for now, thanks for looking.

[Spiny]

Amazing how time flies when you're waiting for paint to dry. Yes, this has been one of those weekends where all I seemed to do was paint, and still didn't get very far at that.

 

First bit was the brake assembly. These always take time, and in this case there were three colours to get on. Of course it didn't help that I went a bit mad and painted all the nuts holding the hub and disk together before remembering that the style of the XJ220's wheels means you can't see anything there anyway. So this could have been a waste of time, but here they are fitted anyway:

 

 

The other bit I did this weekend was the tail-lights. The light frame (there must be a better way of saying that, but I can't think of it at the moment) isn't too bad - just silver paint then Molotow Chrome pen for the reflectors and sating black for the rest. As for the lenses themselves, first job was to get black on the front. There's a small channel between the lens colours on the outside so I painted them with a small brush, then once dry a moistened cocktail stick at an angle was rubbed along the lines to get a nice smooth edge. As for the lens colour, there's 3 layers of orange and the red is 2 layers of red, one layer of orange then 3 more layers of red. I still feel another layer of each colour (at least) is needed before I'll be happy enough to fit the lenses in place.

 

 

And that's all I have to show. Next week there's likely to be some larger parts as I begin to do more than just engine and drivetrain.

Thanks for looking,.

[Spiny]

OK, maybe saying there would be some larger parts attached this weekend was a bit optimistic. But on the bright side I have at least got the engine finished. Added a couple of bits of braided 1mm wire which fix onto the side of the engine bay when I get that installed to try to match the real thing, although at this point I'm going to chicken out of adding more detail, partly due to it not being that noticeable.

 

 

I showed the lenses last week, and this weekend I added another 3 coats of orange to the orange part, plus one coat orange and two coats red for the red bit. Then it was a case of putting a bit of the clear UV resin around the sides, fitting it into place and blasting with the UV torch (which is running low on battery I think so more wafting with the torch). Quite possible the best tail-lights I've done to date, shame about the blob of paint on the centre bit which came over the edge.

 

 

Now I did mentioin large parts, and I did at least make a start on them with the silver painted on the engine bay sides, and the wheel arches in their first coat (R) or finished (L). Just some details to go before putting the engine bay together. I also got the gunmetal paint onto the chassis - one of the bits I wasn't looking forward to as I expected the masking to be painful. It wasn't great as needed quite a few pieces of tape due to the curves of the diffuser, but not as bad as I feared and now I've removed the tape it looks ok.

 

 

Thanks for looking, just seen the date on the newspaper and it's taken me almost two months to do this engine. Proves I'm slow at this modelling lark!

[JeroenS]

Slow but steady Spiny, it's not a competition 🙂 

 

Lights look great. If you're worried about that little blob of paint you could just shave it off and repaint that bit couldn't you? You'd be set back about one month but it'd be worth it 😉 

[Windy37]

Everything on your photos are looking really good , except Michael Gove who just looks smug as always . 
Gary . 

[Spiny]

13 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Slow but steady Spiny, it's not a competition 🙂 

 

Lights look great. If you're worried about that little blob of paint you could just shave it off and repaint that bit couldn't you? You'd be set back about one month but it'd be worth it 😉 

 

It's annoying me now, but further down the line there's a grille to go across there so you shouldn't be able to see it. Unfortunately it also means that the lights won't be that visible either

 

1 hour ago, Windy37 said:

Everything on your photos are looking really good , except Michael Gove who just looks smug as always . 
Gary . 

 

One of the downsides of using the city section of the paper to protect the desk...

[Spiny]

Feels like I've spent most of the weekend waiting for paint to dry, especially the grey on the chassis 'fins' which will eventually be part of the interior - I think I may have overdone the thinner on that particular paint.

 

But the good news is that by this afternoon I was finally ready to get out the glue again. I decided it would be a good idea to use the chassis as a jog for the side parts for the engine compartment so set the engine in place, then glued the sides onto the engine making sure to get the pegs in the right place. I think it's worked, there may be about half a millimetre of distortion in either my build of the engine or the chassis but I think (hope!) it will be ok next week when I glue things in place.

 

 

With the engine bay reasonably solid, I removed it and added on the last bit of the rear of the chassis so it's ready for putting the engine into the chassis next week. The braided wires have been fixed to the side of the engine bay with the UK resin - they do seem to just end so I may add a dab of paint on the ends to try to make it look as though they're bolted in place.

 

 

For a weekend where I didn't feel like I'd done much things have moved on a lot visually and suddenly what looked like an engine looks like the back end of a car.

 

Thanks for looking.