Hasegawa Jaguar XJ-S

[Spiny]

It's 10 months since I started this so quite a long winded build. But to start the new year I managed to finish this one. If you want to see the build thread it's the link below. All comments and constructive criticism are welcomed, I'm still on the learning path in many respects so always good to be aware of other ways I can improve.

 

 

This is the first Hasegawa kit I've built, and the design of it is impressive with lots of detail and everything fitting together well apart from one piece which got bent between the factory and me. If you like the Jag XJS then I would definitely recommend this one. The only issues I had with it were to do with the age of the kit which let to quite a few mould lines and flash on some of the sprues, in particular the chrome sprue which was a tad annoying. And the body in particular has more than its fair share of sink marks, almost certainly down to it having been used for the racing version too with patches in the boot and windscreen scuttle being especially prominent. The only other minor quibble was the attachment for the steering arm to the suspension was a bit loose and kept jumping off, but a small piece of cotton acting as a retainer sorted that out.

 

My build is in no way perfect (particularly at the back), but I hope you'll agree that it's one of my better efforts. Maybe next time I'll have learned a few extra bits and get one step closer to perfection, but overall I'm pleased with how this one turned out. It's only the second car I've used Bare Metal Foil on and there's quite a bit so it certainly gave me practice. For the colours, I followed the instructions for that lovely Jaguary creamy interior, but totally ignored the red or grey options in the instructions instead using Tamiya Deep Metallic Blue. Have to say that I really like this colour and there is another car in the stash which I've earmarked for the colour too.

 

But I'm sure you didn't open this thread for a wall of text, so onto the photos. Maybe too many photos, but the XJ-S is a surprisingly photogenic car

 

Starting with a fairly bland shot, the top down one. If nothing else, it shows how those bumpers which look so massive in the build look much more in proportion when it's built.

 

 

After that, time for the obligatory tour around the car:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up, a few detail shots. First of all the wheels, these were a lot more work than they look so I'm putting a pic in just for that. Also, the angle and colour combine to scream Jaguar (at least to me).

 

 

Next up the engine. The whole kit has been built straight out of the box (what you see here is what Hasegawa gives you) so it probably doesn't give the full viper's nest look of the real thing as I didn't fancy wiring it up.

 

 

And if you can see through all the dust which magically appeared, this was the best shot I got of the interior. If you're desperate to see the interior of a model of an XJ-S I do have better pics in the WIP thread!

 

 

Another plus of this colour is that it does look stunning when the sun hits it. This pic doesn't do that justice but I hope it gives an idea of what I mean.

 

 

After all that, I decided to have a play around with the camera for a few more 'artistic' shots. For the past few RFI threads I've tried angling the camera and this one is no exception.

 

 

 

And finally I decided to see what would happen if I went mad on the shutter time and (deliberately) severely overexposed it. The result is one of my favourite shots of the lot.

 

 

If you're made it this far, thanks for looking. And thanks also to everyone who liked and commented in the build thread - always encouraging.

 

 

 

 

[cmatthewbacon]

That looks brilliant -- great job. It's a lovely colour. I can't remember if mine came with silver as well as gold coachlining. The back end looks great to me; I was also surprised by how basic what they give you is (especially when you compare it to the way Tamiya engineers complicated light clusters these days for easy painting!) Interior looks great, and good job on the engine -- it's as neat and tidy as only the OOB can be. One to be very proud of, I'd say!

best,

M.

[keefr22]

That's a lovely build Spiny, enjoyed watching it come together in the build thread. Very nicely photographed too, some of the shots wouldn't have looked out of place in a Jaguar sales brochure! Really good choice of both interior and exterior colours to give a very classy combination.

 

Great work all round!

 

Keith

[Fnick]

Hi Spiny

 

To echo the others: stunning build. Great colours and your photography is as usual top notch. That third shot from the bottom is the one that stands out for me. Against a photo backdrop you'd struggle to know it was a model.

 

Nick

[Toftdale]

Having seen these photos you would never guess its only the second time you've used BMF for the chrome and I definitely can't see any flaws on the back end either.   We might have waited 10 months to she her finished, but it was definitely worth the wait and like everybody else have said I do like that colour Andy-

[78GT]

A stunning build of a very cool car.  Great finish and the colour combination suits the car perfectly.  👍

[ElectricLightAndy]

Wow, as a proud owner of a real one, I'm a little disappointed at your 'Surprisingly photogenic' quote (hehehe) 😀

 

Absolutely amazing job on this, I've been quietly lurking and rooting for you on this one! Great colour choices and a flawless build.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy 

 

 

[Kitkent]

It looks really nice, I love the colour too. An impressive Jag overall,always liked these cars. Chris.

[Anteater]

Wow, that's superb. It's rare to see a metallic where the flakes look anywhere near scale correct too. I'd be well happy with that. 

[JeroenS]

Well done Spiny, a good colour on this classic 🙂 

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

Very nice work indeed. Time to get a 1:1 scale next?

 

 

I'm not a car modeller by background but have long liked the machines. I was just given a Tamiya MX-5 (sorry, Eunos Roadster...) yesterday though and I have been watching your XJ-S work in progress thread and you have made me think maybe I should give it a go

[scalemodeller54]

A Stunning Looking XJ-S , I love The colour , Superb Work

[Alan R]

Hi Spiny,

That's fabulous!

 

I can only hope that my effort will be a tenth as good and I'll be happy.

 

Cheers,

Alan.

[Windy37]

All that hard work has turned out right in the end  ; great build of a classic . 
Gary .

[CrazyCrank]

TOP !

 

[Spiny]

Thanks to everyone who liked and commented, it's very pleasing to get such a positive reaction. It's been an enjoyable build, so I'm very glad you like it.

 

23 hours ago, cmatthewbacon said:

That looks brilliant -- great job. It's a lovely colour. I can't remember if mine came with silver as well as gold coachlining. The back end looks great to me; I was also surprised by how basic what they give you is (especially when you compare it to the way Tamiya engineers complicated light clusters these days for easy painting!) Interior looks great, and good job on the engine -- it's as neat and tidy as only the OOB can be. One to be very proud of, I'd say!

best,

M.

 

That's very nice to hear coming from you as your build was my benchmark. I always knew I'd never match yours for the engine bay, but if I've got close on the rest of it I'm very happy. Pride goeth before a fall as they say, but this is one I'm quite proud of.

 

23 hours ago, Fnick said:

Hi Spiny

 

To echo the others: stunning build. Great colours and your photography is as usual top notch. That third shot from the bottom is the one that stands out for me. Against a photo backdrop you'd struggle to know it was a model.

 

Nick

 

Thanks, even though I failed to follow instructions for the rear bit (I was obviously in numpty-mode that day) it's still one of my favourite pics of this model, probably would be my favourite but for that. In terms of the photography, it's not just the camera but also the lighting which has an effect too. To use the third pic as an example, initially I had key light on the left of shot and fill light to the right which gave this picture:

 

 

Nice enough shot, but lacking light on the front. So I moved the key light to front left of shot so the front was better highlighted which gives a (to me) more intresting image which was what I put in the original post:

 

 

That's where having two adjustable lights comes into play - sometimes it's not just the camera you need to play with to get that shot.

 

8 hours ago, Alan R said:

Hi Spiny,

That's fabulous!

 

I can only hope that my effort will be a tenth as good and I'll be happy.

 

Cheers,

Alan.

 

I'm sure it will be, you just need to crack on and get it built now  

 

12 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

Very nice work indeed. Time to get a 1:1 scale next?

...

I'm not a car modeller by background but have long liked the machines. I was just given a Tamiya MX-5 (sorry, Eunos Roadster...) yesterday though and I have been watching your XJ-S work in progress thread and you have made me think maybe I should give it a go

 

Yes, you should definitely give that MX-5 a go. I understand it's a curbside kit so should be a bit easier than the XJ-S.

 

As for getting a 1:1 scale XJ-S, must as I like the car I already have myself a fun car It might not be as fast as a new hot hatch, but sounds so much better than them and has much more character!

 

[Windy37]

Good choice of fun car there ! My brother had an orange one and the sound from that 5 cylinder engine was very Quattro esq !

 Gary . 

[CliffB]

Just catching up with this Spiny.  It's fantastic - a lovely build and beautiful photography, as others have said! 

What's next?

 

Cheers

[Spiny]

Thanks, it's a lovely kit to be fair and, other than a bit of clean up didn't really cause any problems. It's an easy kit to build a good model from (probably why, judging by the comments on here, I've managed it!).

 

Next up will be another British Classic - Aoshima's MGB going the full 1970s The WIP thread is up in the In Progress section.