Monogram Maserati 3500 GT + V8

[Spottedlaurel]

WIP thread here:

Started half of my lifetime ago, since then I've moved house four times, got married, had a couple of children and yet still never quite found the time or motivation to get this thing finished off. Until this year!

Worth seeing the box art from my 1991 issue of the kit to see what it should look like:

1:24 Monogram Maserati 3500 GT kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

And now:

1:25 Monogram Maserati 3500 GT kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:25 Monogram Maserati 3500 GT kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:25 Monogram Maserati 3500 GT kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:25 Monogram Maserati 3500 GT kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:25 Monogram Maserati 3500 GT kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:25 Monogram Maserati 3500 GT kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

I'm showing these last two shots for the sake of completeness, not to show off any level of detail......

1:25 Monogram Maserati 3500 GT kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:25 Monogram Maserati 3500 GT kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Thoughts about it after 25-odd years? The majority of the kit went together remarkably well for what I believe was originally a 1960s Aurora tooling. The separate panels fit the bodyshell very well, but the hinging mechanism could be improved. The suspension and chassis are fairly well-detailed, I can't comment about the original engine as it's still in pieces (might get used on a future project). Fitting the V8 was straightforward, I think Maserati did it themselves later in the model's life so there's plenty of room. A standard carb and intake set-up would easily have fitted under the bonnet, I just wanted to do something a bit silly.

The glass was the worst-fitting aspect, neither the front or screens are quite tall enough and they don't have much overlap at the sides, so attaching them was a tricky exercise - PVA and patience did the trick.

In terms of what I've done to it, the colour is Ford Hawaiian/Gemini Blue with some smoothing of the bodywork, the V8 is still of unknown origin and various ancilliaries on it are from the parts box.

Wheels are from the Monogram Corvette America. They're a bit larger diameter than the originals and somewhat wider, hence the arches being radiused. Now I'd work on getting it to sit a bit lower, but I just built the standard suspension and stuck the wheels on. Remember I started it in pre-internet days, I just had my imagination and inspiration from magazines and books to go on.

Even if I'd wanted o use the original wheels and tyres I couldn't have done - the wheels were nice enough, but the tyres (intended to have whitewall inserts) had started to go sticky and I had to chuck them away.

Although my backstory for the car sets it in 1970s America, I've used the British registration plates. I realised they would have been issued in the nighbouring county of Suffolk, which is where I lived until the late '90s and first started building this kit, so it seemed appropriate to use them. Let's say the American owner got posted to one of the USAF bases here in East Anglia and brought it across with them.

It's odd seeing it complete after so long, I think it matches up to what I was originally planning - most of the mod's were done when I started it and when I started it again this year I could only work with what I'd got.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Spottedlaurel

[DonW]

I really like that. The imagined 1:1 would be a great car to drive, and the model is one to catch your eye, to pick up and appreciate.  

[Hard_2_Handle_454]

I've been wanting to get one, but don't have the money.  Kinda expensive to get one.

[dbostream]

I sold my kit a year ago thinking I will never build it anyway. Seeing your build I am starting to think I made a mistake. Looks fantastic in blue and that engine is something I wouldn't have thought of but I like it a lot.

[slusher]

Beautiful model!!

[PappyD340]

Looks great, well done!

[Spottedlaurel]

22 hours ago, DonW said:

I really like that. The imagined 1:1 would be a great car to drive, and the model is one to catch your eye, to pick up and appreciate.  

Thanks Don, it did work out nicely. Hopefully the engineering on the real thing would be a bit more thorough than my conversion which concentrates on style over substance ?

21 hours ago, Hard_2_Handle_454 said:

I've been wanting to get one, but don't have the money.  Kinda expensive to get one.

I haven't got a clue what they sell for now, luckily mine was bought in a local model shop back in the early '90s.

10 hours ago, dbostream said:

I sold my kit a year ago thinking I will never build it anyway. Seeing your build I am starting to think I made a mistake. Looks fantastic in blue and that engine is something I wouldn't have thought of but I like it a lot.

Ha ha, I think we've all had kits go through our hands like that.

7 hours ago, slusher said:

Beautiful model!!

 

7 hours ago, PappyD340 said:

Looks great, well done!

Thanks Carl and Larry. It's great to see it finished in the cabinet after all these years.

[cobraman]

Pretty cool, I like it !