1:24 Revell Jaguar E-Type

[Navy Bird]

It's not much yet, but I have actually started building this kit. The first assemblies I've worked on are the engine and the rear axle assembly. Here's the engine so far:

 

 

The colour call-outs from Revell seem to match photos I've found. The parts which were chrome plated in the kit had their plating stripped in a small vat of Super Clean (looks like purple water). It's an automotive degreaser that removes the chrome plating in about 30 seconds or so. And to think I used to use brake fluid or oven cleaner back in the day...much easier and less messy with this stuff.

 

Revell thoughtfully provide decals for the Jaguar logo on top of the left cam cover (breather cap?), for the cooling holes in the alternator and for the white text on the fan belt (which can be read with a magnifier - it's a Dayco belt part number something or other). I used Alclad Aluminum for the cam covers, the front of the engine block, and the oil pan. Bell housing is Dark Aluminum and the gearbox is Iron. The cylinder head on top of the engine is Brass. I have more detail painting work to do, and I'll try to add the plug wires. You can't see it in this photo, but the distributor is on the right hand side. The block is Flat Black and the exhaust header is Semi-gloss Black.

 

I'm in the process of painting the lower body and frame prior to adding the rear axle/disc brakes assembly. I'm used to building aircraft, and I can honestly say that I haven't done so much thinking in a long time about the correct process to accomplish all this painting. You know, which to paint first etc. And a lot of hand painting on this baby:

 

 

The paints used were all glossy, so I'll need to tone that down with a flat or semi-flat varnish. More detail painting is required here as well, as I'd like to highlight the u-joints somehow. I think the brake rotors are too thick but no one is really going to notice. I questioned Revell's colour of the differential housing, but photos seem to show this purple-red hue. One photo I found shows it as an orange-red colour. The new resin wire wheels from Ukrainian Scale Cars Production (USCP) are on their way and should arrive this week sometime. I'm really curious to see how these look.

 

I've chosen plain old Mr. Hobby H3 Red for the body colour. It's a bit darker than the bare plastic, and was sprayed with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner (about 70/30 in favour of thinner) - really laid down nice. A good portion of the underside will be painted a dark grey - maybe this is represent some kind of undercoating? Some suspension components upfront will not stay red - more brushwork!

 

 

As I said previously, I've had to deal with "real life" lately which has significantly reduced my modelling time. Hopefully that will be finished soon and I can get back to good old social distancing in my studio.     

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Not really a studio - more like a big broom closet.   🧹

[81-er]

Lovely painting there, Bill

 

James

[giemme]

Engine and rear axle looking the biz, Bill!   

Ciao

[Terry1954]

Beautiful paintwork there Bill. The engine looks like a work of art.

 

T.

[Fnick]

Very crisp looking engine! Top painting!

 

Nick

[Chief Cohiba]

On 4/21/2025 at 8:57 PM, Navy Bird said:

've had to deal with "real life" lately

Well, I guess we all know about something like that. One of the reasons I'm so grateful for your build is, I can throw in some wise words whole not even clipping a single part from the smallest sprue. 😊

 

As for the underfloor colours; I see most of the E-types painted in body colours from underneath as well. Floor protection and road grime turns that to the usual blackish grime, of course.

 

The IRS looks very good, some weathering, if you wish to do so, would blend it in with floor and such.

[Navy Bird]

In accordance with Revell's instructions, and fresh out of the undercoating shop:

 

 

The rest of the framework that surrounds the engine has been assembled and is headed for the paint shop. Oh, the 3-D printed wire wheels arrived from Kiev today and I can say they look very nice indeed. I'll get a picture posted soon. Whoever suggested those gets a beer next time we meet.

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. The tolerances are tight on this kit. In most cases, paint must be removed from the peg or tab, and sometimes the holes and slots too, in order for things to fit together. Kind of a pain, but nice to know the engineering and moulding was good.

[Navy Bird]

The coil over shocks/springs are moulded one-piece - much fun to paint (and to clean up the moulding seams!). I took this photo prior to finishing up the rear suspension, and I hope it shows well, it's a bit overexposed methinks.

 

 

I probably should have blown the dust off first! Dolt.    

 

I brushed a coat of clear gloss on the rotors and calipers; the rest of the differential and half-shafts were coated with a semi-gloss varnish. I don't know why, seemed like a good idea. I forgot to take a picture of the wire wheels - next time if I don't forget again. I ordered some MicroMesh polish as I suspect the body will need it in order to get a smoother finish. It will still be very shiny, but hopefully won't look like a painted model, if you know what I mean.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[RossFMJ]

Progress is looking very nice. Those "coil-overs" look like multi-piece jobs, not the one piece you have . The detail work looks great all round.

[giemme]

Some impressive detail painting there with shocks and springs, Bill!

 

All looking very neat!

 

Ciao

[keefr22]

8 hours ago, giemme said:

impressive detail painting there with socks

 

Socks? Where....?!  

 

Sorry G, couldn't resist 

 

Jaaaag is coming on very nicely Bill with your usual excellent detail painting.

 

Keith 

[Navy Bird]

As I promised, here are some shots of the 3-D printed wire wheels from Ukrainian Scale Car Production (USCP):

 

 

And to think I was going to scratch these from styrene rod and tubing. Ha!       It's really incredible what folks are doing with this technology.

 

Here are the hubs (I removed one for a test fit), axles, and spinners. Spinners are appropriately handed. These are designed so the wheels will rotate if you keep the glue from places where it shouldn't be.

 

 

Next up are some beautiful tyres. No raised lettering (licensing woes I suspect) but I don't think that matters. There is no moulding seam!

 

 

The tyres seem to have a more realistic tread and cross-sectional profile for the time period. The kit tyres look like some wide-track radial from later on:

 

 

Anyway, my plan is to use the USCP tyres.

 

I finished the rear suspension area, and I've noticed that my handling of the model has begun to "weather" some of it. I actually like how that looks, so I plan to handle the model more often.   

 

 

I decided to go off-sequence relative to the instructions and jump from step 8 to step 39, and paint some of the interior (console and floor). Again, using Revell's guidelines for colours. Man, Revell must get a kick-back from Tamiya sales of kabuki tape. It might not be obvious in these photos, but the console is semi-gloss black whilst the floor is a flat dark grey. Don't worry, I'll get back to step 9 sooner or later.

 

 

I decided to do this now since I think it would be easier to mask prior to the installation of the firewall and front framework. Maybe, maybe not, but it's done anyway. I then painted up the driveshaft and installed it along with the engine. The fit of the parts, so far, has been very good.

 

 

The front framework is ready to go, but I need to do some detail painting on the front of the firewall first. Then it's on to the front suspension and brakes - it looks like Revell have designed the kit so that the front wheels turn in unison (unlike some of the old cars I used to own). Combined with the USCP wheels that rotate, this can only mean one thing - I need to find a way to get down on my hands and knees and play with my grandsons. Getting down might not be too bad - it's the getting back up I'm concerned about.     

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. I've been using GSI Creos Mr. Cement for a lot of the gluing (the original orange bottle - love the smell).     🦨

[Blacque Jacque]

This is coming along very nicely.

[keefr22]

1 hour ago, Navy Bird said:

Getting down might not be too bad - it's the getting back up I'm concerned about.  

 

Ain't that a fact!

 

Some more really nice paintwork there Bill, she is indeed coming on really well.

 

Keith

[giemme]

Nice bit of painting there, Bill!  

Ciao

[81-er]

Lovely work there, Bill, and a great result on the self-weathering suspension

 

James

[Alan R]

17 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

Getting down might not be too bad - it's the getting back up I'm concerned about.

Been there! Suffered that!

 

Cheers,

Alan.

[Brandy]

Beautiful! 

But how can an E-Type be anything but? (Excluding series 3, obviously!)

 

Ian

 

[scautomoton]

7 minutes ago, Brandy said:

Beautiful! 

But how can an E-Type be anything but? (Excluding series 3, obviously!)

 

Ian

 

I can't say I'm particularly keen on the Series 2 if I'm honest. Those rear lights... (shiver)....

[Chief Cohiba]

16 hours ago, Brandy said:

Excluding series 3, obviously!)

Honestly, I'm making my peace with the Series 3. It's a totally different car, more than the similar shape would tell, but in a way it makes sense. A bit like a Panamera, when you compare it to a 911.

 

And it looks quite impressive in the flesh, when it sits right in front of you. 

 

(But given the need for a big GT, which Series 1-2 weren't, I'd rather go for an XJ-S. Or an Espada. Or a Jensen)

[Terry1954]

Beautiful work there Bill. Love the way the underside is looking.

 

The USCP spoked wheels do look the part. I'm also very impressed with their stuff, especially so when continuing to produce while the whole country is at war! I have some engine and engine bay sets for a couple of Hasegawa 1/24 BMW 2002's.

 

This Jag is going to be something very special.

 

T.

[Navy Bird]

Some progress eventually...

 

The front end is coming together. The firewall was detail painted and added first (the back of the firewall is black). Next, I painted up the wishbones, rotors, calipers, tie rod, etc. and captured them between the lower and upper framework. The black mud guard (on the left side only) protects the battery which will be located just behind it. It's a start, but there are a lot more greeblies, engine bits and so on, to add up front.

 

 

The issue I have is that the fit of the tie rod ends to the spindles is very loose - sure, the front wheels turn nicely. But - the tie rod will fall off if you turn the model upside down. I don't want to glue everything and fix their position, so I think I'll start adding coats of paint to the inside diameter of the tie rod ends until the fit is tight enough to prevent accidental separation but still allow turning.

 

I also painted up the exhausts, using Mr. Color Super Metallic 2 No. SM203 "Super Iron 2." Seriously, that's what the label says.

 

 

The exhaust pipe tips that protrude out the back end were painted with Mr. Color Super Metallic 2 No. SM206 "Super Chrome Silver 2." I drilled out the pipe tips a bit further to thin the walls down, followed by dropping in some back Future wash.

 

 

The picture doesn't do justice to the chrome. It's very shiny and metallic, even though I did not spray a gloss black first - I just shot it right over the iron colour. I'm going to compare this with Alclad Chrome to see which I want to use for the exterior chrome bits like the bumpers. Anyway, I think this will look OK for the smelly end of the exhausts.

 

The remaining engine components are next - carburettors, air filter, battery, steering rack, brake fluid reservoir, washer fluid, etc. Too much fun!    

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Wifey and I leave for a two week Mediterranean cruise on the 12th. We're flying in and out of Rome, so if they need me to cast the tie-breaker at the papal conclave I'll be ready.   

[Spottedlaurel]

5 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

The issue I have is that the fit of the tie rod ends to the spindles is very loose - sure, the front wheels turn nicely. But - the tie rod will fall off if you turn the model upside down. I don't want to glue everything and fix their position, so I think I'll start adding coats of paint to the inside diameter of the tie rod ends until the fit is tight enough to prevent accidental separation but still allow turning.

 

Excellent work so far.

 

On the tie rod ends, why not glue a small, flat circle on top of the spindles that's big enough to stop it dropping off? Or, as the spindle looks like a decent size, drill and fit pins?

[RossFMJ]

That really is starting to look the business , The exhaust is very nice, as is the "engine room".

I'm not sure about "Super Iron 2" as I haven't seen "Super Iron 1" yet 

 

Another option with the tie rod is to gently touch the pin with a flame heated screwdriver blade to mushroom over the top.

[paul-muc]

@tie rod:

I once used a small, round piece of thin plastic sheet as a stopper, the diameter just a bit more than the pin. The result seemed to be cleaner than that of a hot blade of a screwdriver. I think that is the Heller version.