MG-TC

[mrmike]

I am currently on a British motor vehicle kick and this kit was gifted to me by the Co-Treasurer of my Club since he knew of my fondness for British cars.  This is the Monogram MG-TC in 1/24 scale and the copyright on the kit is 1982, so it is an old kit.  I plan on building it box stock and in the same colors as the Tamiya Morgan 4/4 I built last year...Tamiya British Green with Model Master Dark Red seats.  I find this amazing especially since an MG-TC was restored on the TV series, For The Love Of Cars, hosted by Philip Glenister and Ant Anstead (pre-Wheeler Dealer days).  

More to come...

Edited July 26, 2019 by mrmike

[espo]

This should be an interesting build. I thin k the BRG color is perfect for this. 

[mrmike]

Thanks David!  They never offered many colors for the MG-TC, but British Green, Red and White stand out in my mind.  I decided to paint the MG the same color as the Morgan 4/4 I built last year.

[mrmike]

I determined which engine parts would need to be stripped and tossed them in a container with bleach.  The wheels were chrome plated and my research indicates the wheels were aluminium colored.  The wheels went into the bleach.

More to come...

[Dave Ambrose]

Looking forward to watching your progress.

The wheels would have been painted silver grey. Very rarely would they have been chromed due to hydrogen embrittlement. 

I think the engines were a specific red color (sorry, colour). If you need info, Moss Motors has parts catalogs online. 

[Anglia105E]

Michael..... is this a part diecast and part plastic kit? Certainly, I have one unbuilt in the original box, and I shall follow your build with interest. The metal body looks very accurate.

David

[mrmike]

2 hours ago, Dave Ambrose said:

Looking forward to watching your progress.

The wheels would have been painted silver grey. Very rarely would they have been chromed due to hydrogen embrittlement. 

I think the engines were a specific red color (sorry, colour). If you need info, Moss Motors has parts catalogs online. 

Dave, every picture I have seen of the MG-TC, the wheels were not chrome.  That is why I stripped them so I can repaint them the proper color or colour if you prefer.  The instructions say to paint the engine block olive green which isn't correct.  I have seen several shades of red from dark red to bright red.  I'll  research the engine color some more.  Thanks!

1 hour ago, Anglia105E said:

Michael..... is this a part diecast and part plastic kit? Certainly, I have one unbuilt in the original box, and I shall follow your build with interest. The metal body looks very accurate.

David

David, this is an all plastic kit, not to be confused with the metal and plastic kits which I believe are much older than my kit from 1982.

[iBorg]

The all plastic kit was a reissue of the old die cast and plastic kit. As for the wheels being chrome plated or not, Dave is 100% correct. They were painted but never chrome plated from the factory.

[GeeBee]

8 hours ago, mrmike said:

The instructions say to paint the engine block olive green which isn't correct.  I have seen several shades of red from dark red to bright red.  I'll  research the engine color some more.  

The engine should be MG engine maroon, I'm sure you'll find something that side of the pond, but rustoleum do a shade that's pretty spot on, don't forget that the front grille inserts need to be painted the same colour as the interior.

[dbostream]

I also love British cars (classic ones) and I will follow this build with great interest. I am looking to add this kit to my stash once I find a good deal.

[Foxer]

I love British cars too .. had a '67 TR4A when stationed at Ft. Devens in MA and drove it in snow there from Hartford with chains on.

 

I'll be watching for sure.

[Gramps46]

Please keep us posted on your progress.

[mrmike]

Thanks guys!  Keep tuned in, I'll have more...

[Eric Macleod]

I will be joining those who follow along.  I have built both the diecast metal anf the plastic versions.  The plastic is my preference only because the metal was so heavy it caused the axles to bend over time.  Good luck with this.

[Richard Bartrop]

I have one of those on my build pile.  Red always struck me as the natural colour for a TC, but that could just be from reading The Red Car at an impressionable age.

The comment about chroming wire wheels is interesting in light of how the classic car crowd seems bent on chroming every wire wheel in existence.

It looks like either a Humbrol or Model Master dark red would be a close match for the engine.

 

[mrmike]

Thanks Eric and Richard!  The wire wheels need to be a closer match to a real MG-TC and having them chrome plated doesn't match any of the pictures I have seen lately during my research.  At first, I wasn't going to strip the wheels, but upon further examination, the chrome had to go.  The engine block will be painted with Testors Dark Red or Fire Red in the spray can.

[mrmike]

One of the things that stands out on the MG-TC is the slats color on the grille.  The slats are painted the interior color, but how do I paint the slats?  A brush is out of the question as it'll leave brush marks.  I choose to mask the grille and expose the slats.  I covered the entire grille with a piece of painters tape and I burnished it down.  Using a sharp hobby knife, I traced and then cut out the tape over the grille slats.  Now, all I have to do is decide on the color to paint the slats with.

More to come...

[dbostream]

7 hours ago, mrmike said:

One of the things that stands out on the MG-TC is the slats color on the grille.  The slats are painted the interior color, but how do I paint the slats?

Never occurred to me that they are interior color. Looks a bit strange to be honest especially some color combinations.

[Anglia105E]

Not sure what you will make of this idea, Michael..... but here goes.... I would paint the entire grille in matt black, and then before the black paint is dry you can wipe away the black from the parts of the grille that you want chrome, leaving the slats matt black underneath. I am only suggesting this method because I was advised to use this technique when painting the floor of a Revell London Bus, which basically leaves the black bits showing after you have wiped away the excess paint that you don't want.... before it dries.

David

[GeeBee]

With the green you're going with for the body, the three main interior colours were red,beige or green, so the grille will need to be painted to match.

[mrmike]

Thanks Daniel, David and Geoff!

3 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

Not sure what you will make of this idea, Michael..... but here goes.... I would paint the entire grille in matt black, and then before the black paint is dry you can wipe away the black from the parts of the grille that you want chrome, leaving the slats matt black underneath. I am only suggesting this method because I was advised to use this technique when painting the floor of a Revell London Bus, which basically leaves the black bits showing after you have wiped away the excess paint that you don't want.... before it dries.

David

Thanks for the idea David!  Over the years I have used The Detailer and now Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color to add definition to various parts.  The MG-TC grille will be painted with the interior color and right now I am leaning towards dark red seats as I had painted my British Green Tamiya Morgan 4/4 I built last year.  This means the grille will be painted flat or semi gloss red.  The dark red looks really nice with the British Green body.

[mitchy]

An interesting project.

I was once involved with the MG club in the north of England, and regular trips and meetings introduced me to the vintage MG world.

There were many staunch purists, and each had his theories on factory colour schemes. So much so that a database was put together, so that the purists could finally agree to disagree.

There was one argument that all colour combinations were available, whilst others argued that certain combinations were not ‘allowed’.

Apparently, as it turns out, rarely or rather never, would one find a dark green TC with an originally red interior and grille. Black or beige paint with red, yes, but not green.

Green/green or green/beige were the only ‘officially agreed’ body/trim colour schemes.

There are obviously exceptions, as the production ran for a number of years with changes throughout, special orders and of course the US market with undoubtedly offered more options that the UK domestic. 

Green with red is indeed a fine choice! 

I would not usually comment on someone’s colour choices, but for the sake of originality I offer my 2pence’ worth.

With regards to engine colour, it would appear that early TCs had grey, grey-green, or even dark green blocks. From around #5000 the blocks were painted dark red or maroon.

Here is a link to some colour data:::

http://www.mg-tabc.org/special-files/mg-tc-colours-v2.1.pdf

I hope someone finds this of interest

 

Thanks

Edited August 2, 2019 by mitchy

[mitchy]

On 8/1/2019 at 10:40 AM, dbostream said:

Never occurred to me that they are interior color. Looks a bit strange to be honest especially some color combinations.

One must remember that these are schemes designed in the 1930-40s.

Interesting to note though, is that MG likely employed common colour theory, hence no contrasting or ‘complementary’ (opposite) colour schemes, such as the the green/red combination. At that time Green with red was a fairly well-established railway/ industrial/ commercial/ agricultural machinery colour scheme, therefore perhaps unsuitable to a contemporary sportscar.

Edited August 2, 2019 by mitchy

[mrmike]

Thanks Mitchy!  I really appreciate the link you posted and I will look it over shortly.  I choose the green/red color combination since it appealed to me when I watched an episode of For The Love Of Cars with hosts Philip Glenister and Ant Anstead (pre-Wheeler Dealer days).  Ant bought a red '69 Aston Martin DBS and he restored it with an olive green body and a dark red interior.  Last year I built a Tamiya Morgan 4/4 abd used the color combo of British Green body with dark red seats and it looks spectacular!  I decide to repeat that color combo  on this MG-TC.  Here's a picture of the Morgan 4/4.  

[mitchy]

Great looking Morgan- another of my British favourites.