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1952 Jaguar XK120 +++Finished+++


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Hi all, my entry will be a 1/32 scale 1952 Jaguar XK120, using an "Autocraft" kit from 1954.  The kit was produced by a company called SMEC (which stood for Scale Model Equipment Company), who were based in Steyning in Sussex.

 

It's a multi-media kit, using a mix of plastic, metal and card pieces.

 

The one piece body shell is beautifully moulded in Old English White coloured plastic, which was intended not to require any painting.

The floor pan and seating are diecast metal.

 

P1130039.JPG

 

There's then a bag of mixed bits made from various materials.

 

P1130038.JPG

 

My secondhand example is missing a few small pieces (for example the steering column), but hopefully nothing that can't be easily replaced.  It also, unfortunately, lacks any of its original packaging.

 

This has been sitting in my stash for a while now, so it's great to have an excuse to build it :).

 

Cheers

 

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35 minutes ago, stevej60 said:

Great stuff Cliff, Where do yo find these unusual offering's?

 

Thanks Steve.  Unfortunately, I spend far too much time trawling the pages of eBay :hypnotised:

 

Cheers

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9 hours ago, CliffB said:

 

Thanks Steve.  Unfortunately, I spend far too much time trawling the pages of eBay :hypnotised:

 

Cheers

Guilty of that Cliff!

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  • 2 weeks later...
8 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said:

I once bought Mrs H a T-pot which came with no lid. 

 

Probably better than having no spout though.  Look on the bright side :winkgrin:

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  • 3 weeks later...
2 hours ago, Black Knight said:

How are you getting on with this?

 

Unfortunately there's a bit of a traffic jam at the moment, due to a stalled Evo VII.

Fingers crossed that we'll get moving again shortly ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've finally made a start on this one :).

 

The first job was to buff up the two major metal components and to glue them together.  The seat/transmission tunnel piece still has some surface roughness, so it may need a few shots of Mr. Surfacer.

 

P1130228.JPG

 

I then had a go at the wheels and axles.  There's no location marks for the axles, so it's a case of drilling some holes by eye.  I think/hope that I've got them in roughly the right place.

 

P1130227.JPG

 

With everything clipped together, the car starts to look quite smart :coolio:

 

P1130226.JPG

 

As I think I mentioned earlier, the bodywork is moulded in a very hard plastic which carries a nice, deep shine (a bit like a snooker ball).  I believe it was intended that the body be used un-painted.  I've decided to go down this route, mainly out of respect for the kit's heritage.  The one piece bodyshell carried a few fine mould lines, but I was able to polish these out easily enough.  The only other issue is a couple of slight shrinkage marks on top of the bonnet, which obviously I won't be able to fill if I leave the body unpainted.  You really have to hunt for them though (to see them), so no real problem as far as I'm concerned.


To demonstrate my model's 1952 credentials, it'll be based on  this real life example.

 

Cheers

 

 

 

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OK, there's been a slight change of plan!

 

One of my tasks was to drill holes in the body, in order to accept the machined-metal headlights.  The first one went OK, but during the second one I pressed too hard, the bit snagged the brittle plastic and there was a loud snap 😱.

 

P1130229.JPG

 

The damage is repaired now, but there's no way that I can still use the body unpainted.

 

P1130230.JPG

 

On a more positive note, I'm now free to choose any colour I want and I've selected this rather nice BRG example.

Every cloud.....:winkgrin:

 

Cheers

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May I suggest you go over the bodyshell with a real car painter's prep pad?

They are like pot scrubbers but better. 

I have several new ones plus some worn parts of pads. They are excellent for preparing the surface for taking paint and also for smoothing down in between coats of paint

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm pleased to say that this one has now come to the top of my build pile.

 

My first job, since last time, was to fill in the rear wheel arches.  As supplied, there is a gap at the front of these which gives highly visible 'see through' past the seat squab. Easily fixed though, with some plastic card.

 

P1130243.JPG

 

I've also had a go at fitting the tyres.  With age, their rubber had become very hard and getting them on to the wheel rims took real effort (plus the use of two small screwdrivers as tyre levers).  Thankfully, they didn't split.  Now they're on, I'm not taking them off again, so painting the wheels will now be a little trickier!

 

With the tyres on, I was able to better check the positions of the axle holes that I'd previously drilled.  As a result, I made a few adjustments with a needle file to get the wheels sitting nicely in their arches.  I also filed a couple of mm off the axles, as they looked too long to me.

 

P1130242.JPG

 

I fleetingly gave some thought to replacing the spoked wheels with aftermarket ones, but decided against this.

 

I did however 'borrow' a windscreen frame from an Aurora XK-120 kit, which with a little fettling should fit OK.  The Autocraft kit would have you cut the windscreen from acetate sheet (a template is provided), and then paint the frame on to it.  The template allows for a couple of tabs at the base of the screen, which then fit into the slots that you can see on the top of the body (now filled).

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

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Still moving forward...

 

I've now painted the interior and the wheels.  The dashboard is provided as a printed piece of card, which I scanned and reproduced as a decal.

 

P1130245.JPG

 

I've also added the few pieces of injection moulded plastic (the black bits).  The front bumper needed four more holes to be drilled in the body - thankfully without drama this time!  I've recently read that the body was made from a material called Diakon, which is an acrylic plastic.  This may explain its brittle nature.

 

P1130244.JPG

 

Cheers

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10 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Is Diakon anything like Bakelite

 

I think the two are chemically different Dennis, but it sounds like your ancient Bakelite was particularly challenging.  It hope it all turned out well :thumbsup2:

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A kit produced 10 years before I was born and sooooo nice!

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to watch such.

BRG is the one and only way to go for such a classy and classic car. Good choice.

 

Well done so far.

Cheers.

 

Pat

 

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On 8/4/2022 at 10:47 AM, Bandsaw Steve said:

Sooooooo cool….

 

On 8/4/2022 at 11:31 AM, PattheCat said:

sooooo nice!

 

Thanks both for your kind comments.  You're absolutely right, it is a beautiful car! :coolio:

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Time for another update.

 

P1130246.JPG

 

Most significantly, I've added the windscreen surround.  You'll recall that it's actually from an Aurora kit and as a result it had to be bent into place, supergluing as I went.  Normally I'd add the screen after painting the body, but I needed a good plastic-to-plastic bond in this case.  The frame is much heavier than on the original, but hopefully this only grates if you know your XK120s ;).

 

As you can see, I've also added a column and centre boss to the kit's metal steering wheel, plus I've made up a couple number plates.

 

On to the home straight now and time to start applying some BRG paint - Humbrol enamel of course! 🇬🇧

 

Cheers

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  • 5 weeks later...

The painting's largely finished now, although I'm going to wait a few more days (and the paint is odour-free), before masking for the chrome-work and other details.

It may be finished over the weekend 🤞🏼

 

P1130258.JPG

 

Cheers

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4 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Awesome job.  How did you achieve the nice leather fabric effect on the seats and cockpit coaming?

 

Thank you.  There's nothing clever about the leather, it's just a satin varnish top coat.  Maybe the skilful moulding of the seats helps with the illusion too?

 

Cheers

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