Minicraft Models Discontinued?

[Anglia105E]

Hi All.....

I am a new member of this forum, building 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce motor cars and based in England.

Currently building and modifying ( heavily ) a 1962 Silver Cloud series 11 which will be a 1957 Silver Cloud series 1. Having been in touch with Minicraft Models in Elgin, Illinois they were very good at sending me a replacement windscreen part, for the damaged item that was in the box on delivery to UK. However, now that I am asking if I can order several more kits directly from Minicraft, they are telling me that this particular model number 11209 is discontinued and they have none left. So far I have only been able to source this model through Amazon and Ebay. Does anyone know if there is a way of purchasing these kits, other than using Amazon or Ebay?

I have done a lot of research about Hubley, Entex, Academy and Minicraft recently, and there are no suppliers of these kits in the UK.

By using an Italeri 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom 11 donor kit, also 1:24 scale, I was able to build a straight-six engine for the Silver Cloud to replace the V8 engine supplied in the Minicraft kit. That has been very successful, if rather tricky to achieve ( much cutting away of the engine bay floor ! ).

Many thanks, especially to forum members in the United States

David

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Welcome to the forum! Looking forward to seeing some of your work. You may want to post your kit desire in the "wanted" section of the forum as I am sure you can source the kit or just parts that you need here. 

[The Creative Explorer]

David,

 

The model is discontinued, so it will be hard to find them in stores. However, the Rolls has been made under a lot of different brands, even Revell and you have more luck and lower prices in the 'used' market. There is plenty of stock available in Europe.

[stitchdup]

Try searching for hannants on google, they're in england and seem to stock them

[Anglia105E]

Thanks for all replies so far, and I had a good look through the Hannants website in UK, but could not find this kit listed. They do list the Minicraft TR3A and also the Italeri Phantom 11, but no Silver Clouds. I have emailed Hannants to enquire further.

When this build is complete I shall post some photos of it on this forum, and I am happy to receive comments, good and bad!

David

[Dave Van]

That kit has been sold as Entex, Revell and Minicraft....maybe others. I think it was a Hubley originally. 

I have gotten them off the auction website for less than a new retail kit sells for. I got this one a few months ago for $12 IIRC....

 

[Anglia105E]

Thanks Dave,

Your build looks very different to mine! My approach is to build an exact replica of an actual car, right down to the precise Rolls-Royce paint code. Your car does look very interesting, and sounds like you got one for a good price too.

David

[Anglia105E]

Try searching for hannants on google, they're in england and seem to stock them

Hannants were very good actually, and although they have no stock they suggested I try King Kit in Telford UK who have one Revell kit in stock. I don't mind using a pre-owned Revell kit of this Rolls-Royce as opposed to the Minicraft kit, because the only difference is the Minicraft is white plastic and the Revell is black plastic.

[Dave Van]

Thanks Dave,

Your build looks very different to mine! My approach is to build an exact replica of an actual car, right down to the precise Rolls-Royce paint code. Your car does look very interesting, and sounds like you got one for a good price too.

David

Mine is standing in for a Jag of the same era. It's Mad Max Fury road vehicle. I was just noting that they are still out there on the secondary market.  Post some pics of your builds.......I'd like to see. thx

[stitchdup]

Hannants were very good actually, and although they have no stock they suggested I try King Kit in Telford UK who have one Revell kit in stock. I don't mind using a pre-owned Revell kit of this Rolls-Royce as opposed to the Minicraft kit, because the only difference is the Minicraft is white plastic and the Revell is black plastic.

I actually bought from kingkit for the first time today, 2 jo-han plymouth cop cars for the price of 2 current kits cant be bad and the wagon is so ugly slamming it will improve the looks no end. Just wish I could fine a 1/24 or 1/25 allegro..., lol

[Anglia105E]

What a coincidence!

Not seen any 1:24 Allegros ( oh I see, you are only joking ) but I tried to find a 1:24 scale Ford Anglia 105E kit, and the only source in the world is Airtrax in Finland. It is bloody expensive at £72.00 plus shipping to UK and is not complete, needing a donor kit of the Tamiya Lotus 7 ( no longer produced I believe )

David

[stitchdup]

What a coincidence!

Not seen any 1:24 Allegros ( oh I see, you are only joking ) but I tried to find a 1:24 scale Ford Anglia 105E kit, and the only source in the world is Airtrax in Finland. It is bloody expensive at £72.00 plus shipping to UK and is not complete, needing a donor kit of the Tamiya Lotus 7 ( no longer produced I believe )

David

I'm not joking about wanting a kit of an allegro, the joke is someone wanting a kit of an allegro. I want to build a gasser from one, square steering wheel and all

[Mark]

With the Rolls-Royce, I'd try to get an earlier kit if possible.  A guy I know bought the last Minicraft issue (the one with the wood trim decal) because he wanted to build one with that decal, as shown on the box.  He did get the kit, but the body was really rough due to the tooling being worn out.  He wound up using a body from a previously built earlier issue that he already had, and just used other parts from the newer kit as needed.  I'd bet that the kit won't be issued again.

[Art Anderson]

If it will help, the kit you are talking about was first tooled and released by Hubley here in the US, WAY back about 1958-59.

Art

[Anglia105E]

Thanks very much to Mark and Art Anderson for your valued contribution. I have followed the various change of companies involved in the production of this kit, and I did find that Hubley were the first one in the US around 1959, then came Minicraft, Academy, Entex, Minicraft again and then Revell in Germany. The response that I got from Minicraft themselves was as follows (quote): 

Unfortunately we do not have any of those left as it was discontinued a few years ago. Not planning to reissue any time soon.

Thank you

I can't comment yet on the quality of the Revell version of the Silver Cloud kit as yet, as I am having one delivered at the end of this week, but I understand that the early Hubley models were more ' toy ' like, and the early Minicraft were also poorly crafted, whereas the later Minicraft are much improved. Now I think about it, you are quite right to point out that an earlier tooled moulding should be better. The worst part of the car seems to be the boot lid, which fits really well on my kit but there are gaps in places that need filler. Bonnet ( hood ) panels look to be problematic with some kits, the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot is way too big, 10 mm on the model translates to over 9 inches are the full size car, so needs to be around 4 mm, and the windows are a little on the thick side. I have made my windows from ginger beer bottle plastic and they come out really well.

David

[Rodent]

I have a "flat box" version in my stash, copyright 1998, that I will never build. My LHS has another one in a more traditional box on the shelf for $12 US in their NOS models department. Let me know if you don't find something closer. Unfortunately,  it would probably take $40 to ship them to you from California. 

[Anglia105E]

Thank you Rodent, and I shall keep that one in mind, US$ 12.00 is a good price. I have managed to locate three Minicraft #11209 kits in Canada, and I am waiting to hear about the cost of shipping by Canada Post Air, which will be similar to your California rates I would guess.

[Rodent]

Thank you Rodent, and I shall keep that one in mind, US$ 12.00 is a good price. I have managed to locate three Minicraft #11209 kits in Canada, and I am waiting to hear about the cost of shipping by Canada Post Air, which will be similar to your California rates I would guess.

Looks like $66.50 using the US Postal Service or $101.79 using FedEx.

[chas3840@yahoo.com]

I purchased a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud kit by Entex and I was pretty disappointed at the quality of some of the moldings.  The body had so many flow defects that it took much work to bring it up to standard.  I wanted to build an exact replica of the actual car.  I bought another one from Ebay, thinking it would be better than the first.  It was worse.  I also planned to build a 6 cylinder engine because the one piece V8 was just horrible.  I understand that the kit was marketed by many companies over the years.  I just wonder why one of those companies didn't try to improve the kit before putting it on the market again.  I know it would have cost money to make the improvements, but come on!  We, as modelers are hoping for high quality.  In this case the quality was obviously of secondary importance. Oh well. I learned my lesson.  I think in the future I'll stick to the brands that have never disappointed me.   I hope all your builds go well.  It really is a great hobby! 

[Anglia105E]

1 hour ago, chas3840@yahoo.com said:

I purchased a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud kit by Entex and I was pretty disappointed at the quality of some of the moldings.  The body had so many flow defects that it took much work to bring it up to standard.  I wanted to build an exact replica of the actual car.  I bought another one from Ebay, thinking it would be better than the first.  It was worse.  I also planned to build a 6 cylinder engine because the one piece V8 was just horrible.  I understand that the kit was marketed by many companies over the years.  I just wonder why one of those companies didn't try to improve the kit before putting it on the market again.  I know it would have cost money to make the improvements, but come on!  We, as modelers are hoping for high quality.  In this case the quality was obviously of secondary importance. Oh well. I learned my lesson.  I think in the future I'll stick to the brands that have never disappointed me.   I hope all your builds go well.  It really is a great hobby! 

Thanks for the message, Charles....... and I do have a great deal of experience with these Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud kits. The Hubley promo model in blue plastic was the first, then came the Minicraft kit of 26 parts, and to be fair to Minicraft, they did get the body right. The body does have some moulding issues, as you say, but in terms of accuracy and proportions it is good. Then you have the Entex and Revell versions of the Silver Cloud, and also the Masterkit version from Brazil, these three versions using the same tooling as the Minicraft version. The quality of these kits is almost ' toy ' like, and consequently you do have to go to considerable lengths to build a half decent model. All Silver Cloud kits were discontinued many years ago of course, and they are becoming less available worldwide. Oddly enough Charles, this is the only kit of the 'Best Car in the World' that has ever been produced........ I cannot imagine why?

I have also 3D printed a 6 cylinder inline engine in 1:24 scale, that I designed using FreeCAD software. The engine is still listed on the Shapeways of Holland site.

David

[chas3840@yahoo.com]

Thanks for the comments David.  I really appreciate hearing from you, as it appears that you have a lot more experience with these kits than I do.  I did build one complete kit from the two that I bought.  Then I thought maybe I should build the second kit.  I actually had all the parts except one.  In the second kit I bought, they gave me two of the same side bonnet!  If you look at the car head on, the piece I have sits on the right side.  So the one I'm missing is the passenger side bonnet.  The kit is left hand drive.  Unfortunately I have no idea at all as to where I would find another passenger side bonnet.  I guess I could try to fabricate one but it will be pretty difficult for me.  I've thought about using RTV rubber and making a mold of the proper side.  I have to think about any other way to fabricate the side I need.  We'll see. If you have any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your comments. 

[Anglia105E]

1 hour ago, chas3840@yahoo.com said:

Thanks for the comments David.  I really appreciate hearing from you, as it appears that you have a lot more experience with these kits than I do.  I did build one complete kit from the two that I bought.  Then I thought maybe I should build the second kit.  I actually had all the parts except one.  In the second kit I bought, they gave me two of the same side bonnet!  If you look at the car head on, the piece I have sits on the right side.  So the one I'm missing is the passenger side bonnet.  The kit is left hand drive.  Unfortunately I have no idea at all as to where I would find another passenger side bonnet.  I guess I could try to fabricate one but it will be pretty difficult for me.  I've thought about using RTV rubber and making a mold of the proper side.  I have to think about any other way to fabricate the side I need.  We'll see. If you have any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your comments. 

Well Charles, what perfect timing....... Following a period of 4 years, during which I have built many Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud's and lots of other model cars. I have just today decided to build another Silver Cloud...... How strange that I should receive your post on this forum !

In order to build this car I need to go through all the boxes in my loft / workshop, and dig out any Minicraft and Revell kits that contain all the parts needed. As well as the two bonnet panels that I shall be using, I am happy to send you one of these parts in the post, if this would help you out ? At the moment, I have a Silver Cloud bodyshell on my bench, as well as the chassis, and these are ready for spray primer. I just need to find the bonnet panels and the boot lid before the primer stage. Way back in 2017, there was a guy in Canada whose business is called Full Circle Hobbies, and he sent me a box of kits which included several Silver Cloud kits by Minicraft, and also several Phantom II kits by Italeri. The box arrived by sea, and took 2 months to reach England !

The reason that I feel the need to build another version of this wonderful motor car is that I did have one for each year of production, so 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959...... but I sold the 1957 model car to a gentleman who owns the real Silver Cloud, and in return he very kindly allowed me to drive his car. So the plan is, to build NDP 600 ( chassis number SDD 312 ), only this time I can do a much better job, thanks to 4 years experience of model building and painting. The car is finished in Sage Green over Velvet Green, and I am sure that I can produce a much higher quality paint finish this time around. 

Also very strange, is that the model company in Canada is called ' Full Circle Hobbies ' and in fact I have come ' Full Circle ' to build what was the first model car that I had built in 50 years ! From being being a boy of 13 years of age, until the ripe old age of 63, I did not build any model cars.

I see on the Full Circle website that the guy has no stock of either the Silver Cloud or the Phantom II kits, and here is the link for you....

https://www.fullcirclehobbies.com/products/minicraft-1-24-1962-rolls-royce-silver-cloud-2

So, before I ramble on any further....... if you can PM me your postal address, Charles, I can send off the bonnet part in the post by Royal Mail...... and I understand it is the right hand side panel as you look from the front of the model, which is the left-hand or nearside panel as we say in England...... most of my Silver Cloud models have been converted from LHD to RHD, apart from two cars that are LHD.

Photos attached as follows.

David

[chas3840@yahoo.com]

Hi David- I just spent some time looking over your diorama of the Hooper Coachworks.  I am completely blown away by the project as a whole and by the details.  What an amazing piece of work.  The building is beautiful, the street details and the cobblestone bordering the roadway, the London Bus and the taxi are all so authentic looking!  All I can say is WOW! I'm just getting back into this hobby and learning so much as I proceed.  It is really a privilege to view your work!  As I continue to look over the photos more details become apparent.  Thank you!!

[Anglia105E]

48 minutes ago, chas3840@yahoo.com said:

Hi David- I just spent some time looking over your diorama of the Hooper Coachworks.  I am completely blown away by the project as a whole and by the details.  What an amazing piece of work.  The building is beautiful, the street details and the cobblestone bordering the roadway, the London Bus and the taxi are all so authentic looking!  All I can say is WOW! I'm just getting back into this hobby and learning so much as I proceed.  It is really a privilege to view your work!  As I continue to look over the photos more details become apparent.  Thank you!!

Many thanks indeed, Charles !......... I am pleased that you find my project interesting, and it makes all the work over a 4 year period so worthwhile.

Usually, I would be exhibiting both the 1:24 scale Hooper & Co. diorama, and also the 1:43 scale Hooper & Co. diorama at the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club Annual Rally, which is held every year during three days in June but of course the 2021 event is cancelled due to the pandemic. There will be a one day event this year, which I am attending as a non Rolls-Royce owner, and there will be a full 3 day event in June 2022. The event organisers kindly invite me back every year since 2018, so it was unfortunate that COVID-19 got in the way.

There was a 1:43 scale version of the Hooper Coachworks building at 54 St James's Street, London that I built, but this diorama was sold to a gentleman from Paris, France at the 2019 RREC show. The 1:43 diorama as it stands now, has the Hooper factory, also a couple of Victorian terraced houses, a bus shelter, a greenhouse, a garage and a Little Chef restaurant building. My larger 1:24 scale diorama is entirely scratch built, and this showroom building closed at the end of 1959 for Hooper's, when coach built motor cars were no longer in fashion. The building has four floors, the bus model by Revell took me two months to build from 400 parts. There is a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud for each of the five years of production, so 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959...... At this moment I am building the 1957 car again, because the one for 1957 was sold to the owner of the real car.

Members of Model Cars Magazine forums are very friendly and helpful, and several members from both USA and Canada, and Australia have sent me small parts in the post, so this time it is nice for me to have been able to do the same for a member like yourself. I did order a resin body shell kit from a guy in South America, which was a 1968 Pontiac Bonneville, because at the time I was building the model of a Pontiac Parisienne that I used to own as a real car.

David