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1959 Triumph TR3A - 49 years since my last build!


Harpo

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I'm recently retired, and haven't built a car model since I was 14 years old.  I decided to try my hand again, here is the result.  It's a Gunze 1:24 kit, modified to left hand drive so it would match the real one I owned in 1974 (shown in last pic).   Great fun, and I look forward to building more cars!   

TR3A1.jpg.03092d3301abc77ebf69bc2536e62aab.jpg  TR3A2.jpg.9a3397b3a59d30d6508c087364c48226.jpgTR3A3.jpg.cc0a5cc53fc5952806b029bf6a8e9ebe.jpg1959TR3A.jpg.7ad7268e704e442d36db0bfeface6385.jpg

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Welcome back to the hobby. Your going to enjoy it now even more than before. From the looks of your model you haven't lost any skills. I never owned a TR but I had friends that owned them and they would always take me for a ride and see if the could scare the you know what out of me. These were remarkable performers and was like driving a two seat Go Cart.

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Nice looking build there Garry, and like you, I started building scale model cars again at the age of 63 when I had not built one since I was 13 years of age ( 50 years ).

There is a Minicraft Triumph TR3A, also 1:24 scale but more basic than the Gunze Sangyo version. ( I thought the Gunze Sangyo was a TR2 ? )

David

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Chris: Great license plates, and I hate to be fussy but can you do those in black with no sticker?  That would be correct for my car!

Peter: Thank you for the tip on the wheels, I was hoping discs were available.

John:  I'm in Ankeny IA, just North of Des Moines.

David J:  Gunze makes a TR2, TR3, and TR3A!  I also have the Minicraft version of the TR3A, I'll be making a slot car out of it for my home track. 

To all:  Thank you very much for the kind words, I'm having lots of fun!

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50 minutes ago, Harpo said:

Chris: Great license plates, and I hate to be fussy but can you do those in black with no sticker?  That would be correct for my car!

Garry, three numbers/three letters would be blue plates in CA; three letters/three numbers would be black (I lived in SoCal for 32 years and had many of each!:)) I removed the sticker. Your car probably got those plates around the time you bought it judging by the letter combo; it might have had out-of-state plates before that because black plates (issued '63-'70) weren't usually replaced unless lost or stolen.

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15 minutes ago, ChrisBcritter said:

Garry, three numbers/three letters would be blue plates in CA; three letters/three numbers would be black (I lived in SoCal for 32 years and had many of each!:)) I removed the sticker. Your car probably got those plates around the time you bought it judging by the letter combo; it might have had out-of-state plates before that because black plates (issued '63-'70) weren't usually replaced unless lost or stolen.

My apologies, you are absolutely correct!  I knew one of my cars from that era was black-plate CA, and I thought it was the Triumph.  I dug out my old pics and found the right one - my 1952 Nash Rambler Country Club.  Wish they made a kit for that!5a77bcc61ef2f_1952Nash.jpg.0b213d36f137912144e3f6cd73d66802.jpg

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I lived in Ankeny for about a year then moved to Des Moines. Moved here in '98 & would love to move back to Des Moines.

The Nash is so cool! Modlhaus made a resin kit. They are out of business now, but you may find one on Ebay or by posting a Want ad on this forum. There may be other resin casters out there making them, too.

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Nice job on the TR3 ... you never lose it, building that is. :)

I took a long break at 16 and started up again after 30 odd years. The cool part is there are kits pretty close to all the cars I owned in that time and it has been fun trying to build them all. Notable here is a TR4A that uses the TR3 as a base for the resin body. Here's a link to the build (not finished yet) if you're interested.

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  • 1 month later...

While I was in England with the USAF I had a friend who bought a TR-3. He let me drive it once (which was enough for me). It drove like a truck, heavy steering and rough riding. At the time I had a Bug Eyed Sprite which handled much lighter. I also had the chance to drive a Austin Healy sports car (can't remember the model) but it was an early one. It was a pleasure to drive.

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Excellent job on the Triumph. I have wondered what the Gunze kits were like. I have seen the Minicraft, et al kit and as mentioned, it is pretty basic, The Gunze kit looks nice. Does this kit have the soft rubber seats, etc? You have done some great work on this kit. Welcome back to the hobby.

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