MG K3, TR3, MGB, AH Sprite. 4 Brit Classics

[rob Lyttle]

I've been intermittently having a go at the ancient Entex kit of the Triumph TR3, trying to make something more than a toy out of it. And I feel like I've got somewhere with it. This....

 

Then I was out and about yesterday and ended up coming home with this box...

So I'm finding myself drawn into the car zone. In fact I've just finished a challenge in the Golden Age of Transport Group Build,  the old Airfix MG K3 MAGNETTE kit which had several missing parts, namely the chassis, suspension and axles. Much scratch building and tinkering was involved before I ended up with this...

(Edit... this is not the K3  that now features in the updated title 😎)

 

So old brit Classics is the flavour of the day. 😍

I've always loved the little TR3, the era and style is just perfect for me, possibly only beaten by the TR2. The Entex kit has some serious toy-like features but the bodyshell moulding looks topclass to me. I'm seeing what I can do with the rest of it. I'll bring the build progress up to date shortly 😉 

The MGB by Aoshima is a better class of kit altogether and should be a breeze to build by comparison. 

Seems to make sense to put them in together for a WIP. Chances are that I'll be diverted onto aviation stuff at times but this will keep all the car stuff in one place as things progress 😎

Edited October 11 by rob Lyttle
Update

[lestwistle]

can't wait to see how the MGB turns out 

[Spiny]

The MGB is a nice little kit, and as you're doing the chrome bumper version you at least have the correct interior. Incidentally, if you don't want to go with 3 wipers you can correct that quite easily by keeping the driver's side in position, filling the remaining two holes in the scuttle then putting a new hole in positioned as below (that's 11mm distance by the way):

 

 

The only difficulty I had with mine (other than finding the patience to paint the Rostyle wheels, a problem you won't have) was that the body put up a surprisingly strong fight against being mated with the chassis. I'll look forward to seeing what comes from yours.

 

 

[rob Lyttle]

16 minutes ago, Spiny said:

if you don't want to go with 3 wipers

OK, thanks for the feedback @Spiny. That seems to be an issue for the later style of MGB and not this one. I noticed 3 wipers on the sprue but only 2 shown in the instructions and the shell is like this...

So, two it is 👍

What's your opinion on the ride height?? Pictures of complete models and indeed the illustrations on the instructions all look rather high to me. I like cars to look more loaded and bearing down on the suspension ,but any alterations would need to be done early 

[Neddy]

I shall be eager to see the TR3 kit, I built one way back when I were a lad and still have it in the display cabinet.  It's a rare one, for sure.

[Noel Smith]

I think I that Gunze made a TR3 also that may be a more readily obtainable alternative to the old Entex kit.

The Aoshima MGB has also seen the light of day in a Revell box too I believe.

[Brandy]

I'll follow along on this to see how the MGB turns out. I have the same kit and intend on doing it as my own car from the 1990's which was a 1972. Unfortunately that will mean a new interior and quite a few other changes but it will be great to see how it goes together.

 

Ian

[Heather Kay]

19 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

What's your opinion on the ride height?? Pictures of complete models and indeed the illustrations on the instructions all look rather high to me.

 

My understanding is the original MGB had a nice low ride height. Then US safety legislation came in, and the cars were modified with the plastic bumpers and the ride height was raised to bring the headlights into compliance with the US regulations.

 

Don't ask me why I know this. It's got a lot to do with watching classic car videos on YouTube!

[cmatthewbacon]

You can fix the ride height on the Aoshima MGB's easily enough by fitting the chassis so that it sits above rather than below the locating tab inside the body shell... that raises it the requisite mm or so.

best,

M.

[lestwistle]

the ride height on the chrome bumper "B"  should be low as Heather said and yep correct with the US legistaion rubber bumpers were BL's answer but to conform had to raise the ride height 

[Spiny]

23 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

OK, thanks for the feedback @Spiny. That seems to be an issue for the later style of MGB and not this one. I noticed 3 wipers on the sprue but only 2 shown in the instructions and the shell is like this...

So, two it is 👍

What's your opinion on the ride height?? Pictures of complete models and indeed the illustrations on the instructions all look rather high to me. I like cars to look more loaded and bearing down on the suspension ,but any alterations would need to be done early 

 

I got my original statement a bit wrong, there are only two holes on the body of the kit (they are the same whether you get the early or late model). But if you look on the back you'll see a recess near the grille for you to drill out the hole for the dreaded third wiper. The problem is that the left hand side hole is in the correct place for the triple wiper, but on the double wiper models the hole should be closer to the grille (I got the model dimension from scaling off a real world conversion from three back to two wipers). Of course, you'll be fine leaving the hole as it is because it's not like your model will drive any further than wherever you display it!

 

As for the ride height, I hope you'll forgive me for posting up an image of my build:

 

 

To me it's pretty close to the real ride height if you're building a rubber bumper version like I did, but far too high for the earlier models. Matt has beaten me to it, but just before I built mine someone on here did a very good representation of the earlier models by having the chassis inserted just above the recessed where you're meant to fit it into the body - I remember the comment from the time that it was almost as though it had been designed to be like that.

[rob Lyttle]

8 minutes ago, Spiny said:

but far too high for the earlier models.

A most welcome picture, confirmed my thoughts and the comments above. I'd have thought that the interior tub would be an obstacle to raising the whole chassis inside the shell but clearly not an issue by these accounts. Good to know. 

For the wipers, I'll leave well enough alone and do the two as supplied 

[triumphfan]

Nice choice of cars. Looking forward to seeing what happens with the old Entex TR3.

 

Lowering the MGB to a more realistic stance will also involve narrowing the axles, otherwise the tyres will foul the arches. You can narrow the front by chopping the A frames, the rear can be done by removing the end of the axle and grinding off the stub from the rear of the brake drum. You will have to install a suitable pin to locate the rear wheels but it is all pretty easy to work out with some thought.

 

Atb, Steve.

[rob Lyttle]

3 hours ago, triumphfan said:

seeing what happens with the old Entex TR3.

Well, I've been working on and off on the internals for a while and I'll bring that up to date shortly,  but currently focused on the bodywork shells.

I took some reference pictures that'll be useful for the Tr3--  just happened to be in the right place at the right time 🤩

But although it is a great looking green, I decided to go with red, and I'm liking it so far. 

Then when I got the MG box open, I was straight onto it with primer and my red can. 

 

So I've got a matching set on the go 🤩

I'm trying to get a decent, clean paint job with a bit of shine--  this is not a strong aspect in my modelling!

And I'm working on the chrome detailing on the 2 of them. This is strips of sticky back Ali foil tape which I tend to use on bare metal aircraft as required. 

The Triumph windscreen,  you'll notice, has a pair of brass wire upright posts inserted. The kit arrived with the screen frame intact and I've a picture that shows it. A fragile feature that had survived all these years,  and then I got it!!🫣

But I think I can make it good. The frame piece is still in the box but I thought something better than butt joined plastic will be required so hence the wires. 

And I'm thinking I need to invest in a Molitow chrome pen..😎

[Spiny]

I don't think there's many people around who always get a good shine straight out of the can or airbrush (granted there are some, but they are freaks i the nicest possibly way ). If you're after a shine and aren't brave enough to get out the micromesh, it's worth getting hold of some polishing compounds. Tamiya's are good, but not cheap. Better value is Novus 2, then 1 - a little more expensive than the Tamiya tubes but they last much longer. Just make sure you don't go too mad with the Novus 2 as it it possible to burn through with that.

[triumphfan]

Shells look nice, the chrome foiling is neat too. Using cans is always going to involve a bit of elbow grease to get rid of the orange peel effect. Like Spiny mentioned, the risk of burning through is ever present.

I almost always use Mr Color paints and clear coats now. Used very thin through the airbrush, it takes a while to build up the colour density but the surface is usually quite smooth when done. Makes polishing quicker and easier.

 

Atb, Steve.

[rob Lyttle]

Thanks for the guidance on getting a good finish on paintwork. It's a steep learning curve. I'm quietly pleased with these two so far, judged by my standards 🙂 and hoping not to mess things up as I proceed. 

Looking at the MG and the chassis parts, I think I have a way to lower the ride height for the front axle, but I may still have to shorten the track width to clear the wheel arches as pointed out above. 

The subframe attachment areas on the frame and on the chassis members have been "rebated" by I'd say 1mm each, at the arrows...

There's also a rib inside the unit that benefits from shaving to clear the engine sump. The location pins are gone of course but the rebates fit together in a pretty foolproof way...

That converts to about 2inches reduction in ride height and I'm going to have to test fit a few parts before any glue is committed, but that should at least contribute to the modification. If I can adjust the back axle to a similar degree, I should be able to fit the chassis to the bodywork as intended, apart from this track width issue of course. 

[Neddy]

Neat solution!

[rob Lyttle]

Turned my attention to the back axle to assess the situation and I found a couple of things that might help. The axle and springs come as one unit, but the mounting points would come apart with a saw cut. But first there's big blocks on the ends of the springs, esp the back ends. 

The front blocks are honed down already here and those rear ones are about to go. Holes are already drilled to take a location pin up into the chassis. 

(The blocks may represent MGs solution for raising the later cars... but I'm only guessing.)

If this doesn't give enough adjustment to the ride ,I'll cut the mounts and insert some spacers. If I've lost 1mm by honing the blocks away and insert 1mm stock plastic spacers, that'll give 2mm reduction in ride height and that matches what I've done up front. 

The rear brake drums come in 2 parts plus a plastic grommet and the assembled parts are strangely wide. It's caused by this protruding collar...

When that's sawn off flush, the grommet still fits and the brake drum fits together lovely,  and that reduces the track width by whatever I've cut off that collar. Looks like 1mm or so.

I'm going to do both sides and offer it up on the car, see if the tyres are clear of the arches. 

The chassis panel includes arch liner shapes that may need seeing to if they interfere with the height adjustment. 

One step at a time here....😎

Edited May 25 by rob Lyttle
Extra photo

[Toftdale]

17 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

One step at a time here

Definitely the best way forward,  however its looks like your already planning several steps ahead,  great work - Andy

[rob Lyttle]

I took a couple more photos of the back axle arrangements as I did the other one. Here's the brake drum assembly as supplied, and visible here also are the 1mm spacers inserted between the axle and the springs ...

...and here after the internal collar has been made flush...

The rubbery grommet is still accommodated inside, 

Can't say I love this method of attaching wheels to axles but I'm going along with it. 

As predicted, the wheel arch forms on the chassis piece interfere with the process of lowering. These things...

They've been made to follow the profile of the rear wheel arch instead of being wheel-shaped,,ie round. 

They got the hacksaw and a makeover with some 0.5mm styrene . Dry fitting of parts looked promising so i went for it. 

The exhaust pipe has to go in first and then the axle. 

And fitting the chassis into the bodywork, I got this...

 

 

The track width reduction by altering the brake drums brings the tyres inside the top of the wheel arches and I think I've got what I want. 😎

[Neddy]

Very neat, accurate work.  The ride height now looks just as it should.

[keefr22]

That looks really good - neat work!

 

Keith

[rob Lyttle]

11 hours ago, Neddy said:

The ride height now looks just as it should

Thanks for that @Neddy. ReassurIng to hear!👍

I noticed a few items that were overlooked during the process, the torsion bar up front and a pair of shock absorber things around the back suspension. They would have interfered with my altered ride anyway as supplied. They went in afterwards as separate pieces and look OK 

[triumphfan]

Well done Rob, the ride height looks far more realistic now. 

 

Atb, Steve.