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Airfix Austin Healey Sprite Mk1 1/32


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While I wait for the paint to dry on the Mini I thought I would start working on this.

 

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I bought this kit last year and to my surprise the box contained almost two kits. First thing to do is make copies of the parts that are missing from one of the kits. I will use Blue stuff and Milliput. Luckily the parts that would be the most challenging to copy are not missing. But I expect the seat backs will give me some trouble. The photo below shows the parts I need to copy. Please excuse my terrible photo skills.

 

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I decided to start with the front part of the body. A frame was 3d-printed to help make the two-part molds.

 

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My experience using Blue stuff and Milliput is pretty limited but even with some imperfections I am pleased with the result. There is some flash but most of it was easy to remove using just my fingers; the rest will be cleaned up later.

 

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And finally a quick test fit. The original part is not a perfect fit either but I think I can work with this.

 

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I am going to have to use a file/knife and remove some material on the right side where the grille sits. As you can see Blue stuff did not have perfect contact with the part there. Before reusing the mold I think I will make another copy, good to have spares just in case. 😊

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9 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

What a treat to find nearly two kits in the box.  That's great.

Like the moulding with Milliput.  Cracking work.

Chris

 

Yes parts missing is a lot more common. 😊 Here is everything I got in the box. I forgot that I need to make a copy of the gear stick too.

 

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I have now made two new molds. First copies turned out ok but I will make a new copies and try to get rid of the imperfections not caused by the molds. And no, I am not sponsored by Green Stuff World.

 

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Also I tested the grille and it all seems to fit pretty well.

 

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2 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Wow, cracking work on the resin bits,  love that last photo of a happy looking Frog.

Chris

Who wouldn't be happy to have the lower lip back? :)

 

Soon the seats are done too.

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Second copy of the dashboard turned out better. Fits well without glue too.

 

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Also first seat is done. It doesn't recline as much as the original though but I think I can live with that. Will fix the imperfections later. Turns out it is difficult to get the Milliput to get perfect contact with the Blue stuff everywhere resulting in small cavities. Adding water helps but at the same time the Milliput gets very slippery causing new problems.

 

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Some very clever work with the Miliput, I have used a similiar technique to make some propeller spinners for a Mach2 kit. 

The Sprite brings back memories. My much older cousin bought me one and some paints at Christmas when I was about ten or eleven. I remember getting into trouble as despite covering the dining table, I still manged to get paint on the table top! 

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Yep, been there as well as chairs and the carpet!!!!    Progress on the Healey is looking good and extremely impressed with 

the making of the parts.  The dashboard and seats are great.  Looking forward to your next progress

Chris

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3 hours ago, dbostream said:

 

Also first seat is done. It doesn't recline as much as the original though but I think I can live with that. Will fix the imperfections later. Turns out it is difficult to get the Milliput to get perfect contact with the Blue stuff everywhere resulting in small cavities. Adding water helps but at the same time the Milliput gets very slippery causing new problems.

 

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Nice work making the missing parts, well done.

I think that the different reclined angles of the seats adds a certain character to the build.

Trevor

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10 minutes ago, klubman01 said:

Nice work making the missing parts, well done.

I think that the different reclined angles of the seats adds a certain character to the build.

Trevor

I agree. I have to make another seat let's see if it will look more like the other copy or the original.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Made some more parts since the last update. I decided to make a new mold for the seats these turned out better. Some of these parts need to be cleaned up more but I did a quick test fit and they seem alright. Also I need to buy some more drills because the ones I have are the wrong sizes (seems like that is always the case).

 

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I think it is great the detail this Blue stuff can capture.

 

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Only parts left to do now are the front license plate holder, gear stick, rear bumpers and the chrome part that goes above the rear license plate don't know what it is.

Edited by dbostream
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Now I think I have all the parts I need. I made new molds for the dashboard and transmission tunnel (?) and they turned out better. Next thing to do is clean up all the parts properly and fix the worst imperfections.

 

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Very nice! I have to do a new gearbox cover/transmission tunnel for the SS100. I hope it looks half as good!

 

Ian

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