1968 Jaguar 420

[Anglia105E]

This is the Airfix 1:32 scale Jaguar 420 kit that was re-issued in 2021 . . . . The original ' red stripe ' kit by Airfix was first launched in 1968, and the kit was issued later in the 1970's by MPC . . . I decided to use Opalescent Silver Blue as the body paint colour, rather than go with the box art colour of gold, and for the undercoat I used Halfords White Enamel Primer. The Opalescent Silver Blue was mixed to order by a specialist auto paints company, using the 1968 Jaguar paint code as a reference.

The body shell in this kit is generally well produced, but as you can see from the first photo there is a nasty dimple at the front end, just above the headlamps. Once this unfortunate defect had been filled with Mr White Putty R, the white primer was applied, followed by the top coat metallic light blue.

There was just one part missing from the sprue in the factory sealed bag, which was half of the air cleaner assembly. I contacted Hornby customer service, and very quickly the Airfix Spares Team sent me a replacement part in the post, free of charge. This part never arrived in the post, as the British Royal Mail service is struggling with staff absences due to Covid . . . The Airfix Spares Team agreed to send me a second replacement part, which arrived within 5 days. By this time, the engine was fully assembled and painted, so just awaiting the air cleaner as the final component of the 4.2 litre straight-six engine.

The chassis and underfloor is nicely detailed and this was brush painted in Humbrol Steel enamel. This whole kit has a lot of detail, and in fact has a lot of parts. One unusual feature for a 1:32 scale kit, is the hinged opening bonnet panel (hood). Front and rear suspension have quite a few component parts for this small scale model.

For the interior seating I have used Vallejo Prussian Blue acrylic paint, and the driver figure is assembled from six separate parts. Once the engine bay and bulkhead were sprayed with the body colour, the battery and heater box were also painted.

Road wheels are painted in the body colour and hub caps have Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen applied. The realistic looking tyres have been sprayed with Halfords Rubberised Black . . . . There is the exhaust silencer system to assemble, which is painted Humbrol Steel enamel, and all the chrome parts are now ready. It is worth noting that the MPC version of this kit has chrome parts included, whereas this Airfix version does not have any chromed parts in the box.

David

[afx]

Nice work so far.  I always thought 1/32 scale should have become dominate for models with it's link to slot cars.

[Anglia105E]

10 hours ago, afx said:

Nice work so far.  I always thought 1/32 scale should have become dominate for models with it's link to slot cars.

Thanks for looking JC, and I agree that it is rather surprising that 1:32 scale model cars did not benefit from the link to slot car racing such as Scalextric.

Somehow, it seems that 1:35 scale became stronger, due to the military enthusiasts, I guess.

David

[slusher]

Real nice work!  I like your color choice!

[NOBLNG]

Looking really nice!👍

[Anglia105E]

Hi Carl and Greg . . . . The colour of the real 1:1 car is a favourite of many enthusiasts, and I really like the colour myself.

Here is a photo of the real Jaguar 420 and thanks for looking guys . . .

David

[beeRS]

Nice work. I never knew of the existence of this kit!  Airfix did make some nice subjects in 1/32. 

[Anglia105E]

12 hours ago, beeRS said:

Nice work. I never knew of the existence of this kit!  Airfix did make some nice subjects in 1/32. 

Thanks Sonny . . . .The Jaguar 420 is very often confused with the 420G, which is a larger car altogether, so more like the MK 10.

The other subjects for Airfix car kits in 1: 32 scale include the Ford Zodiac MK III, the Lotus Cortina MK I, Vauxhall Victor Estate, Triumph Herald, Ford Escort MK I and Austin Maxi, as well as several others. The Ford Zodiac kits in particular are extremely rare, and expensive too !

David

[Matt Bacon]

The TR4A is also relatively easy to get hold of, and up to the same standards, as is the Mercedes 280SL… though that one will cost you a fair bit more if you ever find one!

best,

M.

[Anglia105E]

1 hour ago, Matt Bacon said:

The TR4A is also relatively easy to get hold of, and up to the same standards, as is the Mercedes 280SL… though that one will cost you a fair bit more if you ever find one!

best,

M.

Oh yes, I remember the Triumph TR4A, Matt . . . . Also, there was the diminutive ' Frogeye ' Austin Healey Sprite MK 1

David

[Anglia105E]

Having received the replacement part for the air cleaner in the post, the air cleaner assembly is now mounted on top the engine.

The engine and transmission, propshaft, rear axle and differential, also rear suspension are all glued in place.

Road wheels and tyres have been mounted onto the axles. The windscreen was fitted from the outside of the body shell.

I have fitted the radiator grill and also the air intake louvres either side.

David

[64Comet404]

On 4/14/2022 at 1:38 PM, Anglia105E said:

The other subjects for Airfix car kits in 1: 32 scale include the Ford Zodiac MK III, the Lotus Cortina MK I, Vauxhall Victor Estate, Triumph Herald, Ford Escort MK I and Austin Maxi, as well as several others. The Ford Zodiac kits in particular are extremely rare, and expensive too !

Over the years, I have been able to get a full set of the Airfix 1:32 cars, and the asking prices are incredible! For the Ford Zodiac kit, the price was almost $100, which was painful to contemplate paying (especially since I remember buying these kits on close-out for 49 cents back in the mid-1980s!)

[Anglia105E]

28 minutes ago, 64Comet404 said:

Over the years, I have been able to get a full set of the Airfix 1:32 cars, and the asking prices are incredible! For the Ford Zodiac kit, the price was almost $100, which was painful to contemplate paying (especially since I remember buying these kits on close-out for 49 cents back in the mid-1980s!)

You are so right Ken, and recently there was a Ford Zodiac for sale on Ebay UK at £200.00, which is US$. 261 . . . . Crazy price !

You have done well to get hold of the full set of 1:32 Airfix cars.

David

[Matt Bacon]

Looks very sharp, David. I'm (sadly) glad that it's the kit that doesn't put the rear chassis-suspension location arms in the wrong place (ie they should actually join, rather than float), not just me!  At the risk og sounding picky, I'm not sure that the transverse reinforcement plate across the transmission tunnel in the right place:

[Anglia105E]

1 hour ago, Matt Bacon said:

Looks very sharp, David. I'm (sadly) glad that it's the kit that doesn't put the rear chassis-suspension location arms in the wrong place (ie they should actually join, rather than float), not just me!  At the risk og sounding picky, I'm not sure that the transverse reinforcement plate across the transmission tunnel in the right place:

Thanks Matt, and I did wonder about the transverse reinforcement plate, but that is where the instruction sheet shows it to be placed. I will double check this tomorrow, and I can include a photo.

Those rear chassis-suspension location arms are in the right place on my model, but they don't quite reach the axle assembly, so they do appear to be floating !  This is more likely to be my fault in not tilting the axle assembly far enough forward, rather than Airfix making the arms too short.

David

[Anglia105E]

Here are three photos that show the position of the transverse reinforcement plate, according to Airfix.

Good progress with this Jaguar 420 kit today, and I achieved quite a lot. The body shell was fitted to the rolling chassis (no glue), the front and rear bumpers are glued in place, and both front and rear registration number plates have been fitted. I cut the plates from the thin card and glued them to their locations, rather than use decals, because I feel that the thin card represents the thickness of the number plate.

The bonnet (hood) has the hinges clipped nicely into place, although the front end of the bonnet panel does not yet stay in the closed position.

At the moment, the front end of the car seems a little too high, and the rear end appears too low, to my eye. Perhaps the chassis is not lined up correctly somehow?  Also, the heater vent needs to be inserted further into it's housing.

David

[Matt Bacon]

Hi, David… looking good! Re the bonnet fit, I did a couple of things (both late in the build so they are probably still feasible. First I notched the corners of  the base of the radiator so the lower edge could drop down a millimetre or two between the chassis rails, and secondly I filed a vertical slot in the hinge piece at the front (making the slot L shaped) and let the dash ends float in their mountings so they are only trapped when the top is on.  The bonnet closes flush and stays up open, which is a win as far as I’m concerned. With the reinforcing plate I can see your interpretation…  I put mine a bit (one corrugation) further forward, so the plate’s over the prop shaft universal joint and the point is over the tail end of the gearbox…

best,

M.

[Anglia105E]

As the following photos show, the cross piece at the very front edge of the chassis seemed to be too wide, which was preventing the front end of the chassis from being inserted fully into the body shell. Having snipped off a small section at each end of the cross piece, the stance of this car now appears to be more correct. Also, the bonnet panel closes fully, without any force required.

The radiator does not obstruct the body in any way, so the body lowers over the front edge of the radiator as it should, and with the bonnet closed.

I have fitted the rear number plate lamp and plinth, as well as the base units for both rear lamps. The rear lamp lenses need to be coloured red and amber, using either a Sharpie or possibly paint, and this colouration will be applied from the inside of the lenses.

The four headlamp bowls, and also the two rear lamp base units have been coated with Liquid Chrome Pen, to provide a reflective surface.

David

[Anglia105E]

The four headlamp lenses are now in place, along with the front sidelamps, direction indicator lenses and rear lamp clusters also.

I am using Bare Metal Foil for the side and rear chrome mouldings around the windows, but the windscreen has not been successful with BMF.

Might need to try Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen for the windscreen surround.

David

[Anglia105E]

The windshield surround will shortly be sorted out, hopefully and then there are four door handles to be glued in place. The final part to be fitted for this build will be the leaping Jaguar bonnet mascot. Once these last few tasks have been accomplished this topic can be moved to the Under Glass section of the forum.

Thanks for your attention guys !

David

[Anglia105E]

The 1:32 Airfix Jaguar 420 build has taken 40 days to complete, and these are the last few WIP photos.

See ' Model Cars ' section for final photos.

Thanks for looking !

David

[peteski]

You did a really ice job on this kit David!  You inspired  me to find and buy that kit.  Even thought it was just released last year, it is hard to find in USA.  I got it through eBay from a hobby shop in Canada (few were also available from France, UK, and Italy but the shipping charges were too high).

I just got it couple of days ago.  The molding quality shows its vintage age.  Mine also has sink marks on the nose, and the detail around the headlamps is a bit soft.  But the worse part is the major distortion of the body. It appears that when the body was ejected from the mould, there was stress put on the gate attached to the side of the body and the plastic set in that shape.

 

Was the body in your kit also distorted?  I'm thinking of trying to use  hot water to fix that distortion, but I would rather have an undistorted body.  I wonder if Hornby would send a replacement body to USA?  I guess I should  contact them.

[Anglia105E]

3 hours ago, peteski said:

You did a really ice job on this kit David!  You inspired  me to find and buy that kit.  Even thought it was just released last year, it is hard to find in USA.  I got it through eBay from a hobby shop in Canada (few were also available from France, UK, and Italy but the shipping charges were too high).

I just got it couple of days ago.  The molding quality shows its vintage age.  Mine also has sink marks on the nose, and the detail around the headlamps is a bit soft.  But the worse part is the major distortion of the body. It appears that when the body was ejected from the mould, there was stress put on the gate attached to the side of the body and the plastic set in that shape.

 

Was the body in your kit also distorted?  I'm thinking of trying to use  hot water to fix that distortion, but I would rather have an undistorted body.  I wonder if Hornby would send a replacement body to USA?  I guess I should  contact them.

Well Peter . . . I am pleased to hear that my build of the Jaguar 420 inspired you to tackle this one. My kit did have issues, which included the front end sink marks and also one lower side edge ( sill ) was a bit messy ( left hand side or nearside as we say in England ). The distortion was not as bad as yours on my kit. I would recommend that you try contacting Hornby, because I found them to be very helpful . . . They call themselves ' Airfix Spares Team ', which comes under Hornby, and they were very quick to respond. In fact, they sent a missing part to me in the post, which never arrived due to our random postal service, and the Airfix people even sent me the part a second time and free of charge, which I did receive.

You could also try the hot water restoration maybe, while you are waiting for the replacement body shell to arrive in the post from England ?

THis is not an easy build Peter, but I would say it is quite rewarding when you eventually complete the build !

David

[David G.]

Nice work on this so far. The color you chose really reinforces the elegance of the car.

David G.

[peteski]

5 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

The distortion was not as bad as yours on my kit. I would recommend that you try contacting Hornby, because I found them to be very helpful . . . They call themselves ' Airfix Spares Team ', which comes under Hornby, and they were very quick to respond. In fact, they sent a missing part to me in the post, which never arrived due to our random postal service, and the Airfix people even sent me the part a second time and free of charge, which I did receive.

Thank you David. I'll give them a try.