Anglia105E

That is exactly the idea that I was trying to remember Greg . . . I have a pencil that has an eraser on one end of it, just like in the old school days, so it is a hard pink eraser. This might well be my best option, so thank you . . . Certainly I will try the technique on the ' Cortina ' script first, and if successful then apply the liquid chrome to the ' deluxe ' script. David

Here is a question for the experienced model builders on here . . . This has probably been covered previously on MCM forums, but I don't remember the answer, if there is one . . . Before starting this Cortina build I considered the idea of using BMF on the scripts that are on the rear of the boot lid, before moving on to the primer painting and topcoat painting . . . But foolishly I didn't do that. Now of course I have fully painted this model car, and applied polish on some panels, including the boot lid. My question is how can I apply chrome to these two scripts, having got to this advanced stage? I don't feel confident to use my Molotow Liquid Chrome pen, which has a 1 mm tip, and I don't fancy my chances using a very fine brush to apply the liquid chrome from the refill which I have. Could I still use BMF in this situation? ( probably not ). The two scripts shown in the following photos are ' Cortina ' and ' deluxe ' . . . This is a schoolboy error I know, and I should know better ! David

Now that has me puzzled Mike . . . There was only one person inside the car, or so I thought, but there must have been a gentleman driver on the left hand side, out of sight. Well spotted Mike ! David

Thank you Steve . . . Okay, so I don't know my facts when it comes to the lengths of American and Canadian cars. Guilty as charged . . . Sorry guys ! That is a nice Electra you have there Steve, and you must be proud to have the car in your family since 1974. David

Thanks Donato . . . Certainly, this FROG kit is quite unorthodox compared to modern day kits, but well made nevertheless. David

Thank you Robert . . . and I stand corrected ! . . . My 1968 Pontiac Parisienne 4-door that I owned back in 1977 was 19 feet in length if I remember correctly. David

Having ordered a pack of rubber o-rings from Ebay, I found an o-ring that was just the right size to go round the petrol cap as a seal. There are 13 parts remaining to be assembled, which will be added after the polishing has been done. One part still has to be made from scratch which is the front side light that was missing from the kit. This afternoon I happened to glance out of the upstairs window of my house, and there in the standing queue of traffic was a huge 1950's American car. My first thought was a pink Cadillac, but it was actually a 1956 Lincoln Premiere in perfect condition, and being driven by a blonde lady. The Lincoln was a 2-door car, and 21 feet in length I think. Two of the following photos show this car. David

Sure Jim . . . Even for American cars of the 1950's . . . this is BIG ! ( 21 feet long I think ) David

I saw this 1956 Lincoln Premiere passing by on the road outside my house today . . . David in Derbyshire, England, UK

Your clear and concise information is much appreciated . . . Plenty for me to think about and I feel more confident about the procedure. David

Okay Chad . . . and I agree completely with you. Why during the past 7 years of building and painting scale model cars I haven't once looked at trying Tamiya paint products, I do not know . . . I am already aware how good the Tamiya kits are, having built the Morgan and the Jaguar MK 2, so I really should have tried out Tamiya paints long before now. Anyway, I do like them and within a day or so I shall be using Tamiya Polishing Compound on the Cortina. I shall have to go gently with the Coarse grade of the compounds, because I don't want to go down to primer on this car. I have only applied two coats of the French Blue, and quite thin coats at that. I did use Coarse, then Fine, and then Finish on my Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, but I did see the underlying primer coat appear during the application of the Coarse grade, which forced me to start the paint procedure from scratch. That was two applications of each grade of compound. David

Thanks Chad . . . So, at the risk of sounding stupid . . . Would the Tamiya paint products such as Tamiya TS-10 French Blue be ' Lacquer ', or alternatively would they be ' Acrylic Laquer ' ? ( and does it matter? ). Having applied the Tamiya paints to my 60 year old Frog model car kit styrene, I haven't noticed any unpleasant or alarming chemical reactions going on . . . What a relief ! David

Thanks Nigel . . . I am sure this will be worth the extra effort when the model is completed. I would like this one to be a bit special . . . for my Dad. David

The bonnet panel and the boot lid seem to fit quite nicely on their hinges. Moving onto the next task . . . This was to align and glue into place the roof section, which locates along two narrow ledges, one on each body side panel. The right hand side of the roof fitted well, but over on the left hand side the roof would not easily press down inside the edge of the side panel. To allow this to locate properly before applying glue, I removed the bonnet, boot lid and engine bay panels . . . Then, by prising the side panel away slightly, the edge of the roof section dropped into place. A couple of rubber bands are holding the rear of the car together overnight and a couple more rubber bands are holding the front of the car together. This coming week is all about polishing the paintwork, and also dealing with chrome work. David

Thanks Bob . . . We are getting there . . . Slow and steady ! David

The front end components have been test fitted, including the radiator grille, front bumper, front number plate, and the headlamp reflectors and lenses. Using Crystal Clear glue, the window glass section has been fixed inside the roof, and the drop down driver's door window was measured, cut to size and glued in place. This window is in the ' lowered ' position and the glass is edged with green Sharpie. Both the boot lid and bonnet now have a pair of hinges, ready to set in place on the car body. Both are working parts. Fitting the roof section to the body will be somewhat tricky, but it should turn out okay hopefully ! David

Thank you Nigel . . . I haven't been able to find many articles or photos of previous Frog Cortina builds, and yet there must have been large numbers of these kits produced at the time. Over the past seven years I have been concentrating on 1:24 scale builds, also collecting 1:43 scale diecasts, and building the odd 1:12 scale model, as well as being heavily into 3Dprinting until my printer exploded. The diorama work in both 1:24 scale and 1:43 scale has kept me very busy, so the 1:16 scale has largely gone unnoticed until now. As you mentioned, the early MK 1 Ford Consul Cortina's were prone to rusting away, as were the Ford Anglia 105E's, but surprisingly there are many still on the road even today, This is largely thanks to the Cortina Owners Club and also dedicated enthusiasts who take their cars to the shows. Mostly they tend to be Lotus Ford Cortina MK 1's, and Cortina GT's, usually having full restorations and modifications, not always original ! Any kits that you can find, as well as the diecasts in different scales, plus a few resin cast models of the Cortina MK 1 are always the 2-door version, so the 4-door version is much harder to find. I considered myself very fortunate to win the Ebay auction on this kit, and it is not widely known that the box art of the Frog kit shows a 2-door car, while inside the box there hides the sought after 4-door body. David

Thanks David . . . I would say the photos (my camera) tend to show the colour as being too rich a blue really, although I do like it. I shall be happy if the paintwork looks polished, but not necessarily the ' showroom ' look. Probably just after my Dad has washed and polished his car on a Sunday afternoon . . . David W.

I really like your 1958 Aston Martin DB3S, Gary, and the photo of the car leaving the pits in the rain is just perfect ! Those Merit kits are quite interesting, and your Premier Products version is even more interesting. Here is a link to a built one on Ebay . . . https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402954157657?hash=item5dd1f07e59:g:C7gAAOSwnN9j5qel&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8KTXFEqcFeFahFizb6TRy4x2nojm4coa0GGvQGk71MZwDIXhUbWENVqq%2FfHc2YCMuMRdxTOXV3Ov13WNnjQ5CsDrvJw5Ft2KboUqZPj81%2FzByoj52Hk0vxxTsCXNVQ%2FzKicge3LrQkAVDcpQjhmHfiEVABGO6w2PR4Au2IQLnmdSGDhXL2q6Oy%2BQZfRZ05eYV8IfuvXSViTjrIzN9oBEq0RI88X%2BVAmbL15zvCi1sx9oSzKfh%2FXmu5fhHmK1pyVoU%2Fiqbsbwl9cq5clAucJ4DAbvsrDcJO2GxvvZgCgQRmq%2F3%2FzEASzxwgAQhVjFcg%2Btng%3D%3D|tkp%3ABFBM5NDFwKFi David

Once the the paint finish has been allowed 4 to 5 days to cure, I shall apply the three grades of Tamiya Polishing Compound, Coarse, Fine and Finish. For this Cortina build I am keeping to Tamiya products, right through from primer to polish, with lacquer in between. David

Thank you kindly, Ray . . . Happy days at the workbench ! David

Having attempted, and failed, to print a 1:16 scale road tax disc for the windscreen (road fund license), I decided to cut out the one from the decal sheet and glue it on the inside of the screen, using Crystal Clear glue. These decals are 60 years old, so I didn't want to risk the water slide decal not working. My HP printer cannot print anything as small as a 4.7 mm diameter paper disc. All the external body parts have been given two coats of Tamiya TS-10 French Blue over white primer, and allowed to dry for 24 hours. Today I removed all of the masking material to reveal the paint surface. The following photos show the Cortina with the roof, bonnet and boot lid resting in place, so nothing glued yet. I am generally happy with the result, and I do like the colour. There is quite a lot of work to do yet, which is mostly chrome work and further detailing, including bumpers, number plates, lights, wipers, bonnet and boot hinges and window glass. The sliding driver's door window will be in the lowered position. David

Thank you Mike . . . The whole concept of carefully assembling and painting a precise scale model of an actual car, only to release the model into oblivion by actuating it's electric motor, sending it into reverse at high speed, as it launches itself off the end of the table is beyond my comprehension . . . Now Radio Control would be a very different matter . . . but a simple battery operated electric motor with a couple of plastic gears . . . No control ! David

Yes Noel, the five Frog car kit moulds went to Novo, and the kits that they produced were nowhere near as good as the Frog kits for quality. There were only five car kits . . . one was the E-Type Jaguar, one was the Morris 1100, one was the Dennis AV Ambulance, one was the Vauxhall Victor Estate, and then the Ford Consul Cortina . . . By far the most rare of these is the Dennis Ambulance, and if you still had that one it would be worth a lot of money today ! Occasionally, and not very often, the odd Frog car kit does appear on Ebay and the prices are always high. The Vauxhall is almost as rare as the Dennis and will fetch a big price at auction. Working on this Cortina kit, I have discovered that I really like 1:16 scale, even more than 1:24 scale ! David

This Heller Delahaye 135 is certainly fighting back and giving you a hard time Pat . . . I seem to remember the build of this model proving to be problematic on a daily basis, and I was relieved to get it finished at the time. The whole kit feels alarmingly fragile, so not one you would handle much after completing. I do hope it doesn't give you too much grief, now that you have reached this advanced stage ! David