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Aside from the rare (and I'd imagine rather expensive) Aurora kit and the Monogram kit (which might be the Aurora, and also a bit tough to find and not exactly chump change,) has anyone made a Jaguar XK-E in (preferably) 1/24 scale more recently? I need 1/24 to go with something else.

Little project I have in mind....

Charlie Larkin

Edited by charlie8575
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Hi, Charlie -- I wouldn't say a LOT more recently, but there is a Heller E-Type Coupe in 1/24 (which seems to have a very similar parts layout to the 1/25 Revell kit), which also occasionally turns up in Airfix boxes. There is also a Gunze Sangyo kit of the convertible, which also occasionally turns up in Airfix "Hi-Tech" boxes. This kit is quite a challenge, though, because the body shell is about the only part moulded in plastic -- the rest is white metal castings, wire to fabricate some steel tube parts from, and photoetch steel for parts like the underbonnet structure. It does have great wire wheels, though...

bestest,

M.

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In addition to Matt:

The Heller kit is available as FHC and DHC (Fixed Head Coupe and Drop Head Coupe)

The Gunze kit is available as a simple curbside kit or the mentioned High-Tech series. Where the first has only plastic and rubber parts, the high-tech is barely plastic.

The Gunze High-tech is also reboxed by Airfix and Testors.

Monogram/Revell has a FHC and a DHC kit, I believe the FHC was the old Aurora kit and the DHC is a bit newer and recently reissued by ROG

Airfix also issued a FHC that ressembles a lightweight version

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Aurora did two E-type kits, the coupe and a roadster, back in the 60's. The coupes are fairly plentiful, considering that Monogram bought the tooling back about 1978-79, and reissued it, but the Aurora roadster hasn't been seen since forever.

Revell (USA) did an XK-E roadster back in the middle 1960's, in 1/25 scale, been repopped only once I believe, and that was in the late 70's under their "ADVENT" brand.

Art

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Isn't the Revell Austin Powers "Shaguar" reissued not that long ago the old Aurora kit...the wheels and tires surely looks like the old Aurora stuff...not that good
I also have seen a Revell Germany issue of the XKE Roadster from the late 80's wich is the same as the "Shaguar".

Edited by Force
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Isn't the Revell Austin Powers "Shaguar" reissued not that long ago the old Aurora kit...the wheels and tires surely looks like the old Aurora stuff...not that good

I also have seen a Revell Germany issue of the XKE Roadster from the late 80's wich is the same as the "Shaguar".

Nope. That's the E-Type roadster that Revell Inc. introduced in the 1960's. The Aurora XKE roadster kit hasn't been produced since about 1964-65 or thereabouts, IIRC.

Art

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The mid-60s Revell E-Type (also boxed as an XK-E) was tooled in England, by the Revell (UK) operation in Potters Bar (previously they'd done several of the "modern" 1/32 cars for Revell -- a Healey and a Sprite, at least, which have also been re-released as Advent kits). It is still available, and is the plastic that has recently re-appeared in a Revell Germany box with artwork of a black car wearing a black factory hard-top on the front, which could easily confuse you into thinking that it was a coupe, at a cursory glance. That'd be the easiest E-Type to obtain, if you don't care that it's 1/25 instead of 1/24.

The Heller convertible is probably quite rare -- I think I've only ever seen one in all the years I've been trawling second hand car kits at shows. The coupe has been reboxed much more often, I suspect, and certainly on this side of the pond the Airfix boxings turn up very regularly on eBay for reasonable prices...

The Airfix FHC "which resembles a lightweight version" is just the same Heller coupe, but with Dunlop steel racing wheels instead of wires, some stripes in the decals, and box art that leaves off the bumpers... I _THINK_ the best starting point for a real lightweight would be to begin with the convertible with factory hardtop, rather than a full coupe. There's much more room to create the "haunches" of the lightweights around the hardtop than starting with a full couple, which would have to be cut away, I reckon...

There's also an even older Airfix 1/24 E-Type, about the same vintage as the original James Bond DB5, which was motorised. I have no idea what its origins are (Airfix tooling or bought in), but it's a rarity that goes for £80 plus on the rare occasions it shows up on eBay. Plus there's a Frog 1/16th version of similar vintage:

8cda27d0-c6fe-012c-8a7a-0050569439b1.jpg

which is even more expensive...

bestest,

M.

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@Matt: you're right. The best base for a lightweight would be to start with a convertible, since all factory lightweights were based on the convertible. Some used a hardtop or even molded the hardtop into the body.

There are a few exceptions, one of 'm is the Lindner/Nöcker XKE, which was a factory convertible, then wrecked and from the wreck it was made to look like a FHC again, but with some differences.

And now you've brought a different scale into play; One kit to rule them all:

H3082-L22010255.jpg

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There's also the distinction between "Lightweights" and "Low drag". The lightweights have major structural parts and the engine block in aluminium instead of steel. This is a lightweight in action:

jag%20racer-X2.jpg

As you can see the nose is a bit different for better breathing, and some have wider rear ends, but they look essentially like an E-type with a hard top.

Then there's the low drag version (also a lightweight, but not all lightweights are low drag):

lightweight%20etype-X2.jpg

The windscreen is more raked, and the roof is very different from a coupe. From above it has a tear drop shape, almost coming to a point at the tail, giving much wider haunches -- which were often even bigger to take wider tyres as well. I think the mods are all doable with Milliput, and the recent well-documented restoration of the Lindner Nocker low drag lightweight to racing form means that there's plenty of reference material to hand...

bestest,

M.

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Aurora issued coupe and roadster kits in the early Sixties. Only the coupe has ever been reissued, whether by Aurora (with WWII military style decals) or by Monogram (and later, Revell). Revell's 1/25 scale kit was never issued as a coupe, only a roadster with a separate top. It was reissued in the early Seventies, again in 1979 (Advent; possibly with no chrome plating), and sporadically in the ensuing years. It was in a three-car set (Car & Driver, or Road & Track, can't remember which). It was issued once in SSP in the original style packaging, and again as the Austin Powers car. There are probably other issues too. But with Revell having two XK-E tools, we will probably never see the ex-Aurora kit offered as a roadster again.

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