Matt Bacon Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 If you want to build a lightweight low drag coupe, you're best starting from the convertible with the hard top. It's a bit hard to see in this picture (and this is not a real, in-period low drag coupe, but the shape's the same), but the cabin is basically a "teardrop" in plan view, coming more or less to a point in the middle of the boot. The factory hard top with a half-cone behind it is a lot closer to the shape than the coupe. For any lightweight I've ever seen, you'll also need to "flesh out" the rear wings, which always seem to be bulged to accommodate those big fat rear tyres. Lots of pictures of a real (albeit heavily restored) lightweight low drag coupe here: http://www.classic-motor-cars.co.uk/restorations/jaguar-e-type-lightweight-“lindner”/ bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 As for "wrong-hand drive", the Revell kit, bless 'em, provides two dashboards (probably because it was tooled in the UK) so you can take your pick. The Heller is drive on the left (unsurprisingly for a French kit) but so is the Gunze (more surprisingly). It's not a horrendous job to flip it, but you have to not only swap sections of the dash, but also the front wall of the footwells... bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 How does one differentiate between the "Good" Revell kits and the "bad" ? I know their first shot was a rerelease of the Monogram rereleas of the Aurora kits. First kit (Aurora) second, Monogram Revell's , and they even copy the Aurora box art Then the "New, even more improved" Revell kits, how does one identify these kits ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Now I'm really confused. Just found this thread ; http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/?showtopic=49669 administrators / moderators , please don't combine this thread with the one we are already on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 (edited) It's not so complex... the Aurora, Monogram and Revell-Monogram Coupe's are all the same badly proportioned kit. The Revell "XK-E" roadster is the one designed and tooled by Revell UK and first released in 1964. Whatever Revell or Revell Germany box it's in, if it's a roadster it's that kit. And I don't agree with Junkman's comments in the other thread: the Heller Coupe doesn't look too tall to me... Compare that with my profile picture. I think it's an illusion caused by not having the windscreen in place, so the side pillars make you think the screen is much more "upright" than it actually is.. If you were being REALLY picky, you could bring the roofline above the top front corner of the door down a little: the Heller roofline is at it's highest right by the windscreen, whereas the apex of the curve is actually more like the middle of the door, though it's pretty subtle. bestest, M. Edited June 2, 2015 by Matt Bacon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 As for "wrong-hand drive", the Revell kit, bless 'em, provides two dashboards (probably because it was tooled in the UK) so you can take your pick. The Heller is drive on the left (unsurprisingly for a French kit) but so is the Gunze (more surprisingly). It's not a horrendous job to flip it, but you have to not only swap sections of the dash, but also the front wall of the footwells... bestest, M. So, the Revell convertible is the one I need to find? Since both the Heller and Gunze kits can only be built with steering wheel on the right? And why would you be surprised Matt that the Gunze is done with the steering wheel on the right? Like the British, the Japanesse drive on the left too. And it's Gunze a Japanesse model company? There are several Japanesse kits I would buy if they offered a way to build them with the steering wheel on the left. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Good stuff here, thanks, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 The Gunze and Heller both have the steering wheel on the left... that should say "driveR on the left..." ;-P That's why I'm surprised at Gunze... bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurfalien Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I love this kit, albeit haven't personally laid eyes on it.http://www.profil24-models.com/model-kits-modeles-reduits/en/gamme-au-1-24e/77-jaguar-type-e-light-weight-le-mans-1964.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Zoom Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 (edited) I love this kit, albeit haven't personally laid eyes on it. http://www.profil24-models.com/model-kits-modeles-reduits/en/gamme-au-1-24e/77-jaguar-type-e-light-weight-le-mans-1964.html It's a great kit...very simple, I built this during the 24 hours of LeMans in '07: Edited February 3, 2016 by Zoom Zoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurfalien Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 It's a great kit...very simple, I built this during the 24 hours of LeMans in '07: WOW, what a looker!!! Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 (edited) How does one differentiate between the "Good" Revell kits and the "bad" ? I know their first shot was a rerelease of the Monogram rereleas of the Aurora kits. First kit (Aurora) second, Monogram Revell's , and they even copy the Aurora box art Then the "New, even more improved" Revell kits, how does one identify these kits ? It's easy. All three above are the Aurora crapp version, as is this roadster... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The GOOD Revell kit is in these boxes... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The reason I've dredged up this old thread is 'cause I just bought a Heller E-type as a base for a model of a client's car I just did a bunch of body mods on, and needed compare-contrast info. However, the real car is an S2, and these kits are mostly S1 cars. The main visual difference is the front lighting configuration and the size and shape of the mouth. The S2 and later cars also hang larger lights under the rear bumper. Edited September 28, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Then there's the Series III with the V12 - who's up for a scratchbuild?Not so hard to do in 1/24, actually.The SIII is longer through the doors (and tub, of course). The rear wheel-arches have added flared lips. The nose is the same as the SII, more or less, but with the addition of mild wheel-arch flared lips as well.The 1/24 Hasegawa XJS-V12 has a decent starting point for the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djflyer Posted September 28, 2017 Author Share Posted September 28, 2017 Not so hard to do in 1/24, actually.The SIII is longer through the doors (and tub, of course). The rear wheel-arches have added flared lips. The nose is the same as the SII, more or less, but with the addition of mild wheel-arch flared lips as well.The 1/24 Hasegawa XJS-V12 has a decent starting point for the engine.I was under the impression that the hood was also longer on the SIII. I know the more bulged out headlights is different then the S1 kits that have been produced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I was under the impression that the hood was also longer on the SIII. I know the more bulged out headlights is different then the S1 kits that have been produced. There is a lot of confusion regarding E-type bonnets. There are in fact THREE different designs just for the SI alone...not including the "lightweight" and "aero" versions. The SII positions the headlights higher relative to the sugar-scoop, with a larger opening in the bonnet skin, and an elaborate chrome surround. The opening for the radiator is also larger. If I remember correctly, the nominal distance from the rear edge of the bonnet to the center of the wheel arch is identical on all SI-SII-SIII cars. I say "nominal" because each bonnet is individually fitted to each car, so if you buy a replacement; either new or used, chances are very good you'll have a lot of critical fitting to do. The suggested fit time is around 40 hours (!). Variations in the shape of the center panel of the different series (the bonnet is made up of three major exterior panels and a lot of secondary ones) accounts for relatively minor dofferences in the length of the bonnets overall. I recently completed the design and fabrication of custom lighting for this car, an SII (now with low-mounted LED projectors in the lower lamp enclosures), custom headlight surrounds, and wire mesh covers. Even the sugarscoops are custom fiberglass fabrications, as are the parking lamp / projector enclosures, trim rings, and the retainer rings for the wire mesh. This is the only E-type like this on the planet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djflyer Posted September 28, 2017 Author Share Posted September 28, 2017 There is a lot of confusion regarding E-type bonnets. There are in fact THREE different designs just for the SI alone...not including the "lightweight" and "aero" versions. The SII positions the headlights higher relative to the sugar-scoop, with a larger opening in the bonnet skin, and an elaborate chrome surround. The opening for the radiator is also larger. If I remember correctly, the nominal distance from the rear edge of the bonnet to the center of the wheel arch is identical on all SI-SII-SIII cars. I say "nominal" because each bonnet is individually fitted to each car, so if you buy a replacement; either new or used, chances are very good you'll have a lot of critical fitting to do. The suggested fit time is around 40 hours (!). Variations in the shape of the center panel of the different series (the bonnet is made up of three major exterior panels and a lot of secondary ones) accounts for relatively minor dofferences in the length of the bonnets overall. I recently completed the design and fabrication of custom lighting for this car, an SII (now with low-mounted LED projectors in the lower lamp enclosures), custom headlight surrounds, and wire mesh covers. Even the sugarscoops are custom fiberglass fabrications, as are the parking lamp / projector enclosures, trim rings, and the retainer rings for the wire mesh. This is the only E-type like this on the planet. Excellent design, especially that E-types are among my favorites. Great mods that add some muscle without killing the beauty of the original design. Did you use the headlights with integrated turn signals? I have seen those on some TR-6's and it cleans up the front really well. Have you seen Bo Zolland's redo of the E-type? He has a special flair that I like in most of his work. Its my understanding this was put into limited production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 (edited) Excellent design, especially that E-types are among my favorites. Great mods that add some muscle without killing the beauty of the original design. Did you use the headlights with integrated turn signals? Thanks. I was also very careful to respect the car's originality. All the mods are designed to be relatively easily reversible, should the owner decide to sell it off if prices continue to rise...though I believe he'll keep it no matter how high they go. Nice thing about the guy...he drives his cars aggressively. The engine in this is uprated from two SU carbs to the earlier 3-carb configuration, with hotter cams and headers. The provenance of this Jag includes time as a European hillclimb / rally car, and it's definitely had a hard life at some point, though the chassis structure has been rebuilt recently, and the interior has been redone in a beautiful dark red leather. The park / turn lamps on this car, also hyper-bright LEDs, are now located in the outboard segment of the new custom lower light housings, behind custom Lexan lenses. I felt that, to be fully visible when the rest of the lamps were illuminated, this location would be best. The headlights themselves are very bright Euro H4 bulbs, shown illuminated here, as are the LED H1 projectors (visible inboard of the signal lamps). As you can see, it's still possible to see the turn signal quite distinctly. That's not always the case when the signals are incorporated into the headlights. And I've been an admirer of Bo Zolland's work for a long time. Edited September 28, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurfalien Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Hi,Dayam some hot cars up in this thread!Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 Bill... since you've been up close and personal with one recently...For the larger "mouth", does the whole nose of the bonnet flare a bit to form it, or is it just a larger hole in the same shaped nose? It also looks as though the lower lip drops more, with squarer corners, and the upper curve is closer to the S1 shape. Just wondering whether, if you wanted to do the conversion, you'd need to Milliput around the nose and build up a whole new interior and exterior contour, or is just a matter of expanding the hole and blending in the new edges? I somehow seem to have acquired a couple of scrap e-type coupe bodies, so the cut and shut for extra length is feasible...best,M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 ...For the larger "mouth", does the whole nose of the bonnet flare a bit to form it, or is it just a larger hole in the same shaped nose? It also looks as though the lower lip drops more, with squarer corners, and the upper curve is closer to the S1 shape. Just wondering whether, if you wanted to do the conversion, you'd need to Milliput around the nose and build up a whole new interior and exterior contour, or is just a matter of expanding the hole and blending in the new edges? I somehow seem to have acquired a couple of scrap e-type coupe bodies, so the cut and shut for extra length is feasible... Excellent questions, and I haven't ever really looked at it very carefully from that perspective. I'll be back in that shop next week, and should have measuring access to an S I, the black S II shown above, and a recent S III barn find. The shape of the cutouts for the headlights is also significantly different, and I'll post side-by-side pix on molds I made of the S I chrome rings next to shots of molds of my new S III black rings, with dimensions on everything I can think of. In the meantime, here's a shot of the S I nose from roughly the same angle as the black S II above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 Thanks, Bill.. at first glance from those photos, it looks as though the radius of the lip going into the intake is much tighter on the S2, so maybe from a "look" point of view, you could just sand the oval out to a larger size at the top, and do the same with slightly squared lower corners at the bottom...best,M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.