A pair of Coventry cats

[keefr22]

Really like the sit of the model on those wheels John, looks really good!

 

I agree it looks good without the knock off spinners - but the wheels look bolt on anyway, so wouldn't have them?

 

Keith

[johnlambert]

13 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

Really like the sit of the model on those wheels John, looks really good!

 

I agree it looks good without the knock off spinners - but the wheels look bolt on anyway, so wouldn't have them?

 

Keith

I can see why you'd think that, but the Dunlop wheel was designed to fit a splined hub and the bolts attach the splined centre to the rest of the wheel.

 

This page might give you a better idea.

 

I don't actually like the knock-off spinners that come with the wheels as they look too chunky, so I might have to find alternative spinners.  I'm sure there are probably firms that do bolt-on replica Dunlop wheels too, so I might just leave them as they are.

[keefr22]

Thanks John, I've learnt something new today - I know very little about cars of this era! 

 

38 minutes ago, johnlambert said:

I'm sure there are probably firms that do bolt-on replica Dunlop wheels too, so I might just leave them as they are.

 

These look pretty similar on the page you linked too - they apparently sell dummy spinners for them too!

 

https://www.scparts.co.uk/sc_en/british-cars/jaguar/jaguar-e-type-series-1-and-2-1961-1970/competition-parts-and-accessories/alloy-wheels/alloy-wheel-26504.html

 

Keith

[johnlambert]

Today I've been working on the blue Jaguar and dealing with the wheel trims.

 

As supplied in the kit the trims are fully chromed, which is correct for later XK120s, but earlier cars had colour-keyed trims that match the body colour.  So, the original chrome was stripped, then the trims were primed and painted.  The final step was to apply some Bare Metal Foil to replace the missing chrome.  The close-up photo makes them look really rough, to the Mk1 eyeball they look OK.

 

I've decided to go with whitewalls for this car, partly because I'm not sure I could get a black to match the vinyl tyres.  The white is actually white primer, I decided it was just the finish I wanted.

 

Finally, it's not a complete set of parts, ready for assembly, but I quite liked this arrangement so I thought it was worth a photo.

[Toftdale]

Great work on the foil, I can only just begin to imagine how tricky that was to apply - Andy 

[johnlambert]

9 minutes ago, Toftdale said:

Great work on the foil, I can only just begin to imagine how tricky that was to apply - Andy 

It's not so much the applying as the trimming and removal of the foil you don't want 😆

[Spiny]

That's so true, not sure I would fancy having to try to cut out circles like that - I have enough trouble with straight edges.

 

Nice idea with the colour coordination - should help differentiate it from the green one once they're on the shelf.

[Kitkent]

You're very brave with the foil,but it's a good result there after all! Chris.

[bigbadbadge]

They are looking good, the wheels look great and will be very strong on those brass rod axles. Hope the blue repair goes well.

Chris

[johnlambert]

The wheels are on the blue car.

 

I started by just fitting the wheels, without the hub caps as I didn't want to risk the foil as I pressed the wheels onto the axles.  The wheels snap on to the axles and are (just) free to rotate.  And I couldn't resist test fitting the body.

 

Annoyingly the interior doesn't quite fit the body and you can see that the boot lid still isn't quite right.

 

Wheel trims in place; these don't have a positive location on the wheels, so some care is required to get them central.  I'll let the glue dry before re-fitting the body as I think the rear spats could disturb the hub caps.

 

I'm just not sure what to do with the body?

[Spiny]

I'm assuming that the body was done with the same can and it was just different timing? My best guess is that the paint has settled a bit unevenly in the can although that seems to affect metallics more than solids (see bonnet of my Jag in progress at the moment). Unfortunately, I don't know a way around this other than giving the whole thing another coat even though this is a PITA.

[johnlambert]

Thanks for the comments, I have a feeling this is moving inevitably towards another coat of paint on the blue car.

 

It's ab bit of a shame as it doesn't look that bad.

 

So, let's look at the green one instead.  The leather roll around the interior needs painting which meant masking up the body.

 

The main leather colour is Ford Tuscan Beige.

 

A close-up of the engine with the fan and belts added.  Just to remind you, as supplied the fan is chrome which wouldn't do.  The chrome was stripped in oven cleaner and repainted Valjeo steel.

 

And, because I can't resist, here are some side-by-side mock-ups.

 

I'm glad I built both versions as I like the different colour schemes and styles.  I'm also glad that I built both together as I don't think I'd have the same enthusiasm to build another XK120 after I'm done with these.

[keefr22]

Shame about the bootlid John, as they are both beautiful looking models. I really do like the sit of the green one on those wheels!

 

Keith

[johnlambert]

A few minor bits on the green Jaguar.

 

I gave up on my attempts to make a custom exhaust and decided to stick with the standard exhaust.  I've also wired up the spark plugs, which is fiddly but as they are so prominent it needs to be done.

 

The engine is installed and my thoughts turned to the rest of the exhaust system.  I had a look at a full-size XK120 today (I was doing my volunteer job at the British Motor Museum) and it had an exhaust that exited under the rear valance rather than the nearside rear wing as the kit supplies.  So I've cut off the angled part of the exhaust and grafted on some plastic tube (the centre of an old cotton bud).  You can see where it was marked to cut to the right length.  There is a piece of stiff gardening wire to beef up the join.

 

There was a minor mishap with the pedals, I think there was an air bubble or crack in the clutch pedal and it fell off to be gobbled up by the carpet monster.  But Revell moulds pedals for LHD or RHD and the builder cuts off whichever set isn't required, so I had a spare set of pedals (this is why we seldom throw anything away).

 

Some filing and cutting later, it might not be good as new, but it's good enough to do.  Still needs painting.

[s.e.charles]

nice to see scale size ignition wiring.

[Vince1159]

Nice work,don't normally look through WIP's but the title caught my eye...

[Noel Smith]

Both models coming along well.

The lines of those old pre E Type Jaguars are really nice.

 

[PhilX]

Very nice built ... 😍

[johnlambert]

Thanks for the encouraging comments.

 

Today's progress can be described as three steps forward, two steps back.

 

I had the engine installed, and the side panels (inner wing and inner doors) in place, but test fitting revealed that the engine was too high.  

 

It's all been torn apart and the engine mountings were shaved down, which meant reducing the height of the radiator too.  It was also a good opportunity to get the floor fitting better.  It's very poor the way the floor and side panels attach as there are no real pegs or other mechanical fixings to assist with locating everything.

 

One lesson I remembered from building the blue Jaguar was that the steering column (the part sticking up) is a pig to fit if you follow the sequence of the instructions.  This time I've attached it to the bulkhead before painting and the column will slot under the carbs (I've tested).

 

Finally, something pretty, the dashboard has been decaled (yes the speedo does look a bit wonky).  The steering wheel has been in the wars, it was cracked on the sprue and I've managed to tread on it once.  But it's together now.

[keefr22]

That's a lovely looking dashboard John! 👍

 

Keith

[johnlambert]

I forgot to add that I've somehow lost one set of clear parts for the two kits.  This isn't too much of a disaster as the blue car was going to get the full windscreen and the green car was going to use the aero-screens and both parts are on the same sprue.  I will have to find an alternative for the headlamp lenses, but they are just clear circles so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.  It's more annoying that despite my best attempts at keeping things together, one set of parts has wandered off on its own...

[johnlambert]

Time to resume work on the Jaguars.

 

One of the tail lamps had gone missing so I used some Araldite and blutac to cast a pair of tail lamps from the one pair I had.  They are a bit crude and blobby but could have been a lot worse.

 

Another challenge is trying to attach the body and chassis.  There is no mechanical fixing to clip the two parts together and there don't seem to be many points where the two halves actually touch to apply any sort of adhesive.  Fingers crossed that it holds together.

 

Tail lamps in place, I don't think they'll win any awards but they're better than nothing.

 

Headlamp bezels are glued in place.

 

This feels like a kit that is fighting all the way to the end, so I'd really like to get at least one of them finished soon.  At the moment I think the green one is nearly there.  It won't win any awards but it'll do.

[Spiny]

Keep fighting it - it looks as though you've almost beaten it into submission now and it's looking good.

 

Although you do realise don't you that now you're fitted the tail lights you're into the prime time window for finding the originals...

[Kitkent]

Looking very good John,love the dashboard and steering wheel. Chris 

[Toftdale]

Hi John,  nice to see you back on this and that looks far better than it'll do - Andy