1:16 Scale 1962 Ford Consul Cortina by FROG kits

[Anglia105E]

This excellent vintage kit by Frog was manufactured in 1962, so it is 60 years old . . . These kits rarely appear on Ebay, and when they do come up they fetch high prices. Rightly so, because there can't be many left out there. Luckily, I was able to win the recent Ebay auction, despite finding myself up against several determined bidders who were clearly going to bid high. The price shot up during the final 60 seconds and I somehow came out on top.

The kit according the listing on the large instruction sheet has 81 parts plus a small decal sheet. Following my careful inventory of the actual parts in the box, I counted 80 parts in total, so only one part missing which is a front side light. The kit box was in poor condition, and the previous owner of the kit had part built the model by assembling the rolling chassis, including the electric motor and steering. I was aware that this model can be motorised, but I shall not be making use of this feature.

My Dad, who passed away back in 2005, used to own a 1963 Ford Consul Cortina MK 1 deluxe, which was a 4-door car and finished in Ford Light Blue . . .  During 1970 my Dad taught me how to drive in this Cortina, as I had reached 17 years of age. I passed my driving test at the third attempt and the Cortina was a joy to drive. This is why the following build is very important to me, because I have fond memories of my Dad's car.

You may have seen my previous topic in another section ' Rust-oleum Issues? ', which explains why I was so concerned about which paints to use for this rare vintage kit, and having some considerable trepidation regarding the possibility of modern paint products attacking the 60 year old expensive plastic. Thanks to many fellow MCM Forum members offering sound advice and words of encouragement, based on their years of experience, I have decided to go with Tamiya lacquer aerosol cans, rather than the alternatives which included Rust-oleum products, automotive cellulose paints in custom mixed cans and Zero Paints products intended for airbrush use.

The method of assembly for this kit is somewhat unorthodox, in the sense that the body parts have to be assembled separately, rather than having a one piece ready made body shell . . . Consequently, the filling of the joints, sanding, primer and paint application will have to be done after the body parts are glued together, and not before adding other parts such as chassis and interior to the body shell. This will be my first time building in this way, and also my first time using Tamiya paint products. I shall be using Mr White Putty 'R' as my preferred filler, and also Tamiya Polishing Compounds, Coarse, Fine and Finish grades.

Here are the first batch of photos to show what we have on the workbench . . .

I hope this turns out to be an interesting build !

David

[Anglia105E]

Here is the second batch of photos as the build continues . . .

Halfords grey primer has been applied to some parts, and the panel lines have been scribed on the side panels. The registration number plates have been printed and mounted on the license plates, while the petrol filler cap has had the chrome plating removed, as this part needs to be the body colour.

David

[Anglia105E]

Here we have the third batch of photos, which is all about the mock up, and for me to understand how this kit fits together . . .

David

[Anglia105E]

This is the fourth batch of WIP photos, that shows the difference in colour between the Rust-oleum Spa Blue on the left, and the Tamiya TS-10 French Blue on the right . . . The French Blue is very close to the actual color that I remember for my Dad's car, albeit 53 years ago now !

The chosen paint colour for the interior upholstery is Vallejo Prussian Blue acrylic, with some Humbrol Silver 11 enamel for the ancillary engine parts, and Humbrol Matt Black 33 enamel for the engine, battery and radiator.

David

[stitchdup]

Cool, if these kits were 1/24 i would have been bidding against you,lol

[Anglia105E]

1 minute ago, stitchdup said:

Cool, if these kits were 1/24 i would have been bidding against you,lol

Thank goodness this one is 1:16 then Les . . . I forgot to mention in the introduction to this topic, that although the box art for this FROG kit clearly shows the two-door version of the Cortina, the body inside the box is actually for the 4-door version of the car. This is precisely what I needed, as my Dad's car was a 4-door Cortina . . . All the 1:24 scale Ford Cortina MK 1's and the 1:32 scale models are the 2-door Lotus version.

David

[cobraman]

Interesting kit. Good luck with it !

[Anglia105E]

7 hours ago, cobraman said:

Interesting kit. Good luck with it !

Thanks Ray . . . This is one of the most interesting kits that I have had the pleasure to build, and I intend to make the most of every day building the model.

David

[beeRS]

Well done on winning the auction for this rare kit David. I have never found one in all my years, and if had seen it come up on eBay I might have bid against you. 
I love your back story on your father’s 4-door. Everyone always has a soft spot for the car they learned driving in.
I own a 1:1 of these, so I’m intimately familiar with the shape, and I can say the proportions of the Frog kit look pretty good. it certainly seems more accurate than most of the 1/24 resin kits I’ve seen. Interesting that Frog chose to do a 4-door and show a 2-door on the box art. 
Good luck with the build. I’ll be watching this come together with interest.  

[Anglia105E]

5 hours ago, beeRS said:

Well done on winning the auction for this rare kit David. I have never found one in all my years, and if had seen it come up on eBay I might have bid against you. 
I love your back story on your father’s 4-door. Everyone always has a soft spot for the car they learned driving in.
I own a 1:1 of these, so I’m intimately familiar with the shape, and I can say the proportions of the Frog kit look pretty good. it certainly seems more accurate than most of the 1/24 resin kits I’ve seen. Interesting that Frog chose to do a 4-door and show a 2-door on the box art. 
Good luck with the build. I’ll be watching this come together with interest.  

Many thanks Sonny . . . There were only two of these kits on Ebay when I decided to bid for this one, and the other one has now sold. The Buy it Now kit went for £149.99 and I got mine for £123.00 . . . You are right in saying that Frog have got the proportions of the Ford Consul Cortina body accurate, which is most important to model builders such as you and I.

I do not understand why the box art shows the two door car, but I was really pleased to find that the contents are actually for the four door car, as there is no other 4-door version on the market, in any scale . . . Initially I was looking for a 1:24 scale model of the Cortina, but they are all based on the Lotus, which is great if you like the Lotus Cortina and what a great car that was. 

As it turns out, I am enjoying working in the larger 1:16 scale and I don't intend to have the model motorised. Although the method of assembly is rather unorthodox, which makes the painting process more challenging, I am confident that I can put this together by applying some logical thinking.

David

[mrm]

This is something different on here for sure. And very cool to see. Few things puzzle me in your comments and maybe I am not understanding/missing something. First, what is the problem with assembling the body and making it one whole part, just like in any other kit. And if that is your intention, why would that create any issues with painting it? The other part involves the paints you are contemplating using. I would take Tamiya paint over Rust-Oleum any given day, any time. The only reason I would ever use Rust-Oleum paint is if it gives me a given color readily available. It seems you are going with the Tamiya color, as you say it suits your better. Than why in the blue heavens would you not go with Tamiya Primer. The Tamiya grey primer comes second to none in the hobby. It is amazing stuff, which especially in your project size, you can shoot straight from the can with amazing results. Most of the time it would hold up to most automotive paint, but that is irrelevant, as you are using Tamiya paint. Now having said that, I am talking about their grey primer, not the "fine" white one, which I hate with a passion. 

   Anyway, great project and a very cool back story. I wish I could build a model of the car my dad thought me no and I drove on the day I got my license. But nobody makes a kit of an Opel Ascona.

[Anglia105E]

33 minutes ago, mrm said:

This is something different on here for sure. And very cool to see. Few things puzzle me in your comments and maybe I am not understanding/missing something. First, what is the problem with assembling the body and making it one whole part, just like in any other kit. And if that is your intention, why would that create any issues with painting it? The other part involves the paints you are contemplating using. I would take Tamiya paint over Rust-Oleum any given day, any time. The only reason I would ever use Rust-Oleum paint is if it gives me a given color readily available. It seems you are going with the Tamiya color, as you say it suits your better. Than why in the blue heavens would you not go with Tamiya Primer. The Tamiya grey primer comes second to none in the hobby. It is amazing stuff, which especially in your project size, you can shoot straight from the can with amazing results. Most of the time it would hold up to most automotive paint, but that is irrelevant, as you are using Tamiya paint. Now having said that, I am talking about their grey primer, not the "fine" white one, which I hate with a passion. 

   Anyway, great project and a very cool back story. I wish I could build a model of the car my dad thought me no and I drove on the day I got my license. But nobody makes a kit of an Opel Ascona.

Thank you Michael for your comments, and also your questions . . . In order to assemble the body, the two side panels have to be glued to the edges of the floor and chassis assembly, then the front panel and engine bay have to be glued to the side panels . . . The engine bay includes the front outer wings, and then the roof that includes the window frames must be glued in place. Only this way can you line everything up correctly and squarely. At that point, the gaps where the body panels join together have to be filled and sanded before painting can begin. This would mean that the window glass part would not have been glued inside the roof.

As regards the primer Michael, I was only going to use Halfords grey primer with cellulose automotive paint, and only Rust-oleum primer for Rust-oleum paint, so in this case I am using the Tamiya Fine Surface Primer White, which a professional model builder who lives locally tells me is the best primer in the world. The topcoats will be Tamiya TS-10 French Blue, so I am keeping to paints from the same brand for both primer and topcoat.

How about this kit for the Opel Ascona  https://www.scalemates.com/kits/belkits-bel-020-opel-ascona-400--1170892

David

[Ulf]

Cool, I had a Russian-made one that was unfortunately not built thirty years ago.
The box was made of paper as porous as egg cartons, more like a paper bag...
The problem with mine was that the pressing on the body side lacked its crispness, today when I am a little more experienced I could probably fix it. Really fun to follow.
We deserve a new 1/24 kit !

[bill-e-boy]

Were Ford UK experimenting with Hybrid vehicles back in the sixties - would explain the flat floor pan and - hehe!!!!

I remember Ford having an off white colour and every year was different - the car painters went crazy trying to match colours 

[mrm]

3 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

Thank you Michael for your comments, and also your questions . . . In order to assemble the body, the two side panels have to be glued to the edges of the floor and chassis assembly, then the front panel and engine bay have to be glued to the side panels . . . The engine bay includes the front outer wings, and then the roof that includes the window frames must be glued in place. Only this way can you line everything up correctly and squarely. At that point, the gaps where the body panels join together have to be filled and sanded before painting can begin. This would mean that the window glass part would not have been glued inside the roof.

As regards the primer Michael, I was only going to use Halfords grey primer with cellulose automotive paint, and only Rust-oleum primer for Rust-oleum paint, so in this case I am using the Tamiya Fine Surface Primer White, which a professional model builder who lives locally tells me is the best primer in the world. The topcoats will be Tamiya TS-10 French Blue, so I am keeping to paints from the same brand for both primer and topcoat.

How about this kit for the Opel Ascona  https://www.scalemates.com/kits/belkits-bel-020-opel-ascona-400--1170892

David

In your particular case, you would be doing yourself a huge favor by using the grey Tamiya primer. Trust me on that one. Dries completely different, hardens differently, sand differently and seals completely differently. If I was using yellow Tamiya paint, then I would spray a thin coat of white primer ON TOP of the grey one, just to make the color pop. But in your case it is unnecessary. 

Thank you for the Ascona recommendation. Never even heard of any kit of any Ascona ever been made. Ours was a four door and I believe the next generation after the one you sent a link to, so no go. But still, thank you for looking it up. 

And "a professional model builder told me..." always makes me chuckle. A very well known "professional model builder", who made a small fortune painting model bodies for few different crowds, once publicly claimed that you can't use 2K clear on plastic models or over acrilics because it would eat them. And everyone who has ever used 2K clear knows that's not true. I spend 5 years making a living building replicas of rich people's 1:1 exotic car collections. I still could never bring myself saying that I was a professional model builder without laughing. No. I just found a way to make money from my hobby for a while. And then I got burned out and didn't want to see a model for quite a while. But anyway...

I understand the challenges this model poses and now I am even more curious to see how it will turn out. Sounds like a lot of precision masking would need to be involved. 

[Anglia105E]

1 hour ago, Ulf said:

Cool, I had a Russian-made one that was unfortunately not built thirty years ago.
The box was made of paper as porous as egg cartons, more like a paper bag...
The problem with mine was that the pressing on the body side lacked its crispness, today when I am a little more experienced I could probably fix it. Really fun to follow.
We deserve a new 1/24 kit !

Yes Ulf, I think the Russian made Frog car model kits are by Novo . . . The NOVO company was British, but they had the products made in Russia, using old FROG tooling moulds . . . We do need a good 1:24 scale Fod Cortina, maybe Ford Escort and others.

David

[Anglia105E]

1 hour ago, bill-e-boy said:

Were Ford UK experimenting with Hybrid vehicles back in the sixties - would explain the flat floor pan and - hehe!!!!

I remember Ford having an off white colour and every year was different - the car painters went crazy trying to match colours 

I don't know about ' Hybrid ' vehicles Bill, but I remember well the Ford Anglia, Ford Cortina, Ford Corsair, Ford Escort, Ford Consul, Zephyr and Zodiac, also the Ford Consul Classic and Capri . . . Happy days  !

David

[Anglia105E]

41 minutes ago, mrm said:

In your particular case, you would be doing yourself a huge favor by using the grey Tamiya primer. Trust me on that one. Dries completely different, hardens differently, sand differently and seals completely differently. If I was using yellow Tamiya paint, then I would spray a thin coat of white primer ON TOP of the grey one, just to make the color pop. But in your case it is unnecessary. 

Thank you for the Ascona recommendation. Never even heard of any kit of any Ascona ever been made. Ours was a four door and I believe the next generation after the one you sent a link to, so no go. But still, thank you for looking it up. 

And "a professional model builder told me..." always makes me chuckle. A very well known "professional model builder", who made a small fortune painting model bodies for few different crowds, once publicly claimed that you can't use 2K clear on plastic models or over acrilics because it would eat them. And everyone who has ever used 2K clear knows that's not true. I spend 5 years making a living building replicas of rich people's 1:1 exotic car collections. I still could never bring myself saying that I was a professional model builder without laughing. No. I just found a way to make money from my hobby for a while. And then I got burned out and didn't want to see a model for quite a while. But anyway...

I understand the challenges this model poses and now I am even more curious to see how it will turn out. Sounds like a lot of precision masking would need to be involved. 

I shall give the Tamiya grey primer some thought and consideration, based upon your ' professional model builder ' advice !!!

I was led to believe that 2K paint products are dangerous, and require wearing a mask that has an oxygen supply ?

You are right about the masking Michael, because I shall need to glue the window glass in place, inside the roof part, and then carefully mask off the windows while I am spraying on the Tamiya primer and top coat. The wheels and tyres will need to be covered with paper, particularly at the front end while paint is applied.

Sounds like you have enjoyed an interesting working life making money from your hobby, which is something I could not do successfully.

David

[absmiami]

Never seen a 16th scale Froggie ….  ive got a couple of 24th scale Frogs - an Alfa and … something else - all mastered at least 50? Years ago - nice to see that this is scale accurate - their 24th scale kits were kinda vague … you’ll like T’s paints …

[Nazz]

Looks like an interesting project David.

 

Jerry

[bill-e-boy]

5 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

don't know about ' Hybrid ' vehicles Bill, but I remember well the Ford Anglia, Ford Cortina, Ford Corsair, Ford Escort, Ford Consul, Zephyr and Zodiac, also the Ford Consul Classic and Capri

Yup we had our fair share of these models in New Zealand where they were assembled from CKD (completely knocked down) kits. We had quite severe import restrictions at the time - after WWII until these were lifted in the 80's so there was up to 25-40% local product used in the locally assembled vehicles. We used to refer to them as "Pom Bombs" as the reliability was not up to that of the (few) American or more common Ozzy vehicles that were available down here

The hybrid remark was based on the electric motor under the back seat!!

[Anglia105E]

7 hours ago, bill-e-boy said:

Yup we had our fair share of these models in New Zealand where they were assembled from CKD (completely knocked down) kits. We had quite severe import restrictions at the time - after WWII until these were lifted in the 80's so there was up to 25-40% local product used in the locally assembled vehicles. We used to refer to them as "Pom Bombs" as the reliability was not up to that of the (few) American or more common Ozzy vehicles that were available down here

The hybrid remark was based on the electric motor under the back seat!!

Oh I see what you mean Bill . . . The electric motor under the back seat of the Frog model does make it a Hybrid I guess !

Even though the motor is working on my build project, it seems to go in reverse only, and powers one wheel only. This car will not be motorised.

David

[Anglia105E]

8 hours ago, Nazz said:

Looks like an interesting project David.

 

Jerry

Thanks Jerry, and I hope you find the work in progress interesting as it moves forward.

David

[Anglia105E]

11 hours ago, absmiami said:

Never seen a 16th scale Froggie ….  ive got a couple of 24th scale Frogs - an Alfa and … something else - all mastered at least 50? Years ago - nice to see that this is scale accurate - their 24th scale kits were kinda vague … you’ll like T’s paints …

Thanks Andrew . . . There were five kits produced in 1:16 scale by FROG, and these were the Ford Consul Cortina, the Jaguar E-Type, the Morris 1100, the Dennis AV Ambulance and the Vauxhall Victor Estate Car . . . All these kits are now 60 years old, and hard to find. The Dennis AV Ambulance is almost impossible to find.

David

[dodgefever]

Can you not assemble the body around the bulkhead (using the chassis as a fixture if necessary), then fit the windows, dash and floorpan/interior after painting?   That's the way I'd tackle it.