Matt Bacon Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted November 9, 2014 Author Share Posted November 9, 2014 (edited) One of the sleekest supercars ever designed. And don't believe all you read about how the car was compromised by replacing the V12 of the concept with "the engine from a Metro". Not exactly... the engine is a custom version of the TWR racing engine that powered the Jaguar XJR-11 Le Mans car, so its racing heritage is strong (it also powered the Metro 6R4 bonkers rally car, which is where the Metro jibe originated). Interestingly, the output of the engine in the XJ220 is almost exactly the same (540-odd BHP) as that of the V8 that powers today's XKR-S and F-Type R coupe. The engine is where most of the extra work on this kit went in, since the Tamiya original lacks most of the "plumbing" that is shoehorned into the engine bay. A wide range of wire, solder, jewellery elastic and even cigarette packet foil served to "busy up" this important part of the car. There's also a fully wired distributor in there, but you can't see it! (For anyone building the kit, the small cylinder at the rear end of the cam cover of the left hand bank of cylinders is the distributor, and it should be painted red!) Otherwise, the kit is great in terms of shape, fit and detail. The cabin responds really well to simple detail painting (though I did add some seat-belts, which are kinda obvious in that pale interior). The working headlight covers do work, somewhat surprisingly... It is possible, as you can see, to make the rear engine bay cover open. I ground out the slots on the body into which the hinge pins moulded on the clear part fit so that they were deeper and bigger from front to back than moulded. This allows the the cover to slip backwards as you lift it, so the front edge can clear the roof in front of it. When it shuts again, it slides forward and drops into place as gravity does its thing. The fit of the chassis into body is easy enough, but it's lacking positive locations, so you really do have to glue it in place at the front end and at the sides of the rear diffuser. All the pictures were done in exactly the same lighting. The difference is the tone of the card background -- the "brighter" shots later were taken on dark grey card, the earlier ones on a more neutral grey. It helps explain why pictures of a "Brooklands Green" XJ220 can look like anything from almost British Racing Green to zingy turquoise (check out "DK Engineering XJ220" to see the inspiration for this build...) Thanks for watching! bestest, M. Edited November 9, 2014 by Matt Bacon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbowser Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Wow, great looking model. The extra work in the engine bay paid off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan 191 Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 This RULES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ1971 Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 (edited) Once again Matt... Fantastic build of a much understated & rare Supercar! Extremely well detailed & all your time/efforts have paid off perfectly! The descriptive word, outstanding, gets tossed around quite lightly these days, but I have yet to see a build from you that didn't deserve the word "outstanding" describe any one of them ? Cheers Cliff ? PS: The photos are perfect! ? Edited November 9, 2014 by CJ1971 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby 427 1965 Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 I've got mine on the bench right now, just needs sprayed. I can only hope it turns out half as good as this one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Another impeccable piece of work from you, Matt. A great job on one of the coolest-looking cars ever made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmathew1us Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 bringing home the bacon, again. great work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris White Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 now that's nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedfreak Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Nice looking build Matt, that engine bay looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o-man Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Matt, another awesome build from you sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Very sharp model.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Great colour and build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helix Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Very impressive Matt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Thanks for the kind comments, everyone. It may not be a "state of the art" Tamiya kit, but it's still a fantastic canvas to build on. As ever, reference is key, and I found a great book at a very reasonable price. I could have spent even longer in the engine bay, but life's too short... and there are too many other goodies in the stash. What's up next? Decisions, decisions... Thanks again, all! bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathgoblin Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Very nice build. I love that design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominik Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 yes, its done - now i must have one of this Jag. Good Job on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peekay Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Fantastic looking model, beautiful paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Beautiful work in every respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertw Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Fabulous supercar and an excellent build but why couldn't Jaguar have designed a set of more attractive wheels. Have the kit in my stash, you're build may inspire me to take a close look at mine. rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
om617 Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Turned out really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Couldn't resist adding some new pictures: ..that last one is a bit quirky, I know, but I really like the composition, somehow... bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Absolutely spectacular. One of the most beautiful pieces of automotive design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drunknmunky Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Car looks great. Love the color. Most are silver it seems. Such an under appreciated car. Kinda gets left out of most super car talks but really are incredible. Great work man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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