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Little model is a BIG pain!


Harry P.

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So I'm building a 1904 Wolseley. Cute little car, pretty obscure... but that's why I like it! This is the kit I'm dealing with:

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It's roughly on a par with the old Aurora kits I've posted before (Buick "Buggyabout," Stutz Bearcat, Rambler) as far as detail level, number of parts, etc. It's a curbside, but includes fully functional steering through the steering wheel... kind of an unexpected feature. Seems like a slam-dunk as I look over the parts...

Bot nooooooooo! This thing has given me more trouble than a Pocher! I've had to tear apart the assembled rear axle/suspension because after following the instructions (in Chinese, with some very questionable English translations), problems cropped up along the way regarding parts alignment later in the assembly process. And the fenders don't line up correctly with the step plates (again, found that out too late!). And I also created my own headache by trying to be cute and replacing the molded plastic up-top with a scratchbuilt top that is more realistic, but created all sorts of fit/alignment problems.

After breezing through that three-kit kitbash of the Stutz Bearcat, I figured this kit would be a total no-brainer. Boy, was I wrong!

Further updates as they become available... :D

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Old kit originaly made by Japanese "MIDORI" in their 1/16 "antique" series of the late 60's....

Remember buying the reboxed kit in the later edition UNION box (with picture of kit) back in 1985...

at least you got the web now....back in '85 finding infos on this brass was tough!

Former motorized kit, not the best fit of parts indeed :unsure:, but with patience makes a very nice display piece.

Were are these MIDORI 1/16th molds, today? :huh:

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Beautiful work Harry- your collection is going to look like the Long Island Automobile Museum from back in the 60's. this is a rare model and the appeal is the smaller size compared to say- a Stutz. a similar size car from the era would be the Hispano Suiza Alfonso by Entex.

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I decided to replace the kit's molded plastic top with something a little more realistic, so I scratchbuilt a top. The kit top was used to make templates, then the templates transferred to pieces of newspaper to create three separate top sections–the back side, the rear top piece, and the front top piece. The three pieces of newspaper were first painted with a mixture of water, white glue, and Future... to make the paper a little stronger and thicker. The top bows were made by bending brass rod to shape, and the pivot ends are styrene tube glued to the ends of the three top bows. Then I began attaching the paper pieces to the bows, starting with the back of the top to the rear bow... then the back edge of the rear top piece to the back side, the front edge of the rear section to the middle bow, the back edge of the front piece glued to the front of the rear section with about a 1/16" overlap, and finally the front edge of the front section wrapped around the front bow. Once the top was assembled, I painted it acrylic black inside and out. It doesn't really operate (the paper is too stiff to allow for that), but it looks like it could.

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I cut the kit seat apart, saving the sides and throwing out the rest. New seat and seatback cushions were made per my usual method, and everything got painted acrylic black. Once the side pieces were upholstered, I found that things were too tight when I tried to assemble all the pieces into the seat's outer shell... so I had to trim a little off the back edges of the side pieces. No problem, though... those trimmed edges will be hidden by the seatback cushion.

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