Rolls Royce Silver Ghost walkaround?

[cmatthewbacon]

Does anyone happen to have any pictures of the original Silver Ghost? I think it's been at Beaulieu in its time, and is now owned by Bentley, I believe (oddly.... ;-p) I've found some great pictures of Silver Dawn in an old Octane, but that's even more blinged up than the Ghost, I think...

best,

M.

 

[rs2man]

It's not odd at all that AX201 is owned by Bentley . Until we were sold down the river by Rolls Royce Aero Engines, the company at Crewe was Rolls Royce and Bentley Motor Cars . Since Rolls Royce Ltd was bankrupted by the development costs of the RB211 in 1971 and the company was split up , the use of the Rolls Royce name on cars has been used under licence from Derby even though the same cars were being made by the same people in the same factory as before . When VW bought the business , Rolls Royce Derby sold the rights to the Rolls Royce name to BMW , but that was all BMW bought . Anything relating to Rolls Royce cars prior to 2003 is still at Crewe , including the Heritage Fleet and parts supply , though anything you buy for a Rolls Royce will come in a box printed with Crewe Made Parts .

As regards a walk around, I'm afraid you asked 4 weeks too late as I took voluntary redundancy at the end of October so am no longer in a position to ask . 

[Codger]

Any help Matt?

http://www.autoconcept-reviews.com/cars_reviews/rolls-royce/rolls-royce-silver-ghost/cars_reviews-rolls-royce-silver-ghost.html

[cmatthewbacon]

8 minutes ago, Codger said:

Any help Matt?

http://www.autoconcept-reviews.com/cars_reviews/rolls-royce/rolls-royce-silver-ghost/cars_reviews-rolls-royce-silver-ghost.html

Thanks @Codger... that’s definitely helpful. Looks like the silver is very smooth rather than obviously metallic, and, unlike the Silver Dawn I don’t need to worry about coach-lining all the panels... phew! I’m going to have to develop a good “chrome-plated” look, though, aren’t I? I wonder if I can polish the white metal to look like that... And @rs2man thanks for the explanation: I suspected it was something like that!

best,

M.

[Paul H]

1 hour ago, rs2man said:

It's not odd at all that AX201 is owned by Bentley . Until we were sold down the river by Rolls Royce Aero Engines, the company at Crewe was Rolls Royce and Bentley Motor Cars . Since Rolls Royce Ltd was bankrupted by the development costs of the RB211 in 1971 and the company was split up , the use of the Rolls Royce name on cars has been used under licence from Derby even though the same cars were being made by the same people in the same factory as before . When VW bought the business , Rolls Royce Derby sold the rights to the Rolls Royce name to BMW , but that was all BMW bought . Anything relating to Rolls Royce cars prior to 2003 is still at Crewe , including the Heritage Fleet and parts supply , though anything you buy for a Rolls Royce will come in a box printed with Crewe Made Parts .

 

Indeed.  To add to the above, I recall that at the time, RR Aero Engines' preferred buyer for the car divisions was BMW, due to the working relationship that already existed between the two companies, as by that stage the British owned RR & Bentley cars had quite a lot of BMW parts under the skin - in the case of the Silver Seraph, that included a BMW derived engine.  However, the share holders chose to sell to VW instead (possibly a higher price offered??), hence the strange break up into the two companies as they exist now.

[Codger]

Polishing porous white metal in small scales will be difficult. Possibly testing sprayed Molotow would suffice.

[Paul H]

12 minutes ago, cmatthewbacon said:

Thanks @Codger... that’s definitely helpful. Looks like the silver is very smooth rather than obviously metallic, and, unlike the Silver Dawn I don’t need to worry about coach-lining all the panels... phew! I’m going to have to develop a good “chrome-plated” look, though, aren’t I? I wonder if I can polish the white metal to look like that... And @rs2man thanks for the explanation: I suspected it was something like that!

best,

M.

Is this the Wills Finecast kit?  I've often been tempted by some of their subject matter but given the cost, have been wary of taking the plunge as I haven't found any info on how well they go together.

[cmatthewbacon]

56 minutes ago, Paul H said:

Is this the Wills Finecast kit?  I've often been tempted by some of their subject matter but given the cost, have been wary of taking the plunge as I haven't found any info on how well they go together.

It is... bought cheap on eBay as “possibly incomplete” but a careful inventory revealed only three missing parts: one bonnet panel, half an exhaust and a door handle. I figured all were scratchable, but... the nice folks at SE Finecast who now have the kit found me the parts and let me just buy them as spares. So I figure I owe it to them to build it sooner rather than later. And it’ll be very different from my usual fare!

best,

M.

[johnlambert]

I fancy an SE Finecast kit but would also like to see how one goes together, so I look forward to your build.

[Jo NZ]

Don't forget to put a couple of supports under the chassis. The white metal axles are not very strong, and with all the weight on them tend to bend....

[Schwarz-Brot]

I successfully polished white metal wargame miniatures in the past with a brass wire brush on a Dremel. The rough and matte surface became very smooth and shiny. Not sure if this is good enough for your required surface, but probably worth a try on an unseen piece.

[bentwaters81tfw]

Not the original, but a 1910 build.

[cmatthewbacon]

Certainly doesn't look like it'll be hard to hide a couple of perspex pillars under the body!

Thanks very much @bentwaters81tfw

best,

M.

[Codger]

52 minutes ago, cmatthewbacon said:

Certainly doesn't look like it'll be hard to hide a couple of perspex pillars under the body!

Thanks very much @bentwaters81tfw

best,

M.

Or between the axle tops and frame bottoms - nothing below the car then.

Edited December 1, 2020 by Codger

[Noel Smith]

Matt, I have come on to this thread a bit late. I have the South Eastern Finecast ( ex Wills Finecast ) Bugatti Type 59 that looks an excellent kit with good engine detail. The wire wheels are a compromise due to moulding limitations, so I will be looking to get a set of Le Mans Miniatures photo etched replacements. I would imagine that the Ghost will be on a par with the Bugatti moulding wise. And having artillery style wheels will not need to be replaced.

Also, I believe that South Eastern Finecast can supply replacement parts, so it might be worth getting in touch with them about your missing RR bits.

Worth noting is that their Finecast Range are more detailed than their Auto Kits range that are mainly kerbside models. Auto Kits had a shop in Holborn, London in the 60's. I visited it once before they closed it and Wills took on the Auto Kits range.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Noel Smith

[Noel Smith]

Forgot to mention in my last post that white metal buffs up very well. I use a cocktail stick and have got very good results. In fact I think that buffed up white metal looks more realistic than chromed plastic.

Someone mentioned white metal porosity. I have used aerosol car primer many times on white metal and it works very well.