1:16 Gunze Sangyo 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sports Saloon

[Anglia105E]

Just now, Anglia105E said:

You are right there David . . . When the time comes to actually fit this door post assembly, I shall need three hands, numerous plastic clamps, pegs, probably lengths of tape, numerous wooden blocks and a huge amount of good luck . . . The test fitting was difficult enough, but the final assembly will require five or six main assemblies coming together at the same instance. This will be the one stage of the build that is not made at all clear in the Gunze Sangyo instruction sheet, as they seem to think that the one big assembly stage is broken down into separate smaller stages at different intervals . . . Myself, I can clearly see that such a method of assembly is simply not possible !

This is why I shall wait until after I return from my arranged holiday trip in May, before attempting the ' BIG ' one . . .

David

I forgot to answer your question regarding the bent door pillar . . . I assume this is due to the age of the kit, and certainly not an engineering feature !

David

[Anglia105E]

Today was all about reducing the depth of the upper suitcase of the two cases, to enable the boot lid to close fully . . . I fabricated two handles for these cases, by crimping the ends of a short piece of red rubber piping, and super glue was applied inside the end of each tube to keep the shape.

Then the top suitcase was cut down by 8 mm in depth, and glued back together as a box shape . . . both of the handles were glued to the each of the suitcases, and having checked that the cases fitted nicely into the luggage bay, the Humbrol Matt Brown 186 enamel paint was applied in a single coat.

Once the matt brown paint has been allowed to dry overnight, there will follow a coating of black enamel wash for the cases, and a final coating of Humbrol Satin Cote . . . The plan is to add a couple of brass hinges to each case, along with ' A. J. W. ' monograms hand painted in gold enamel, and possibly a destination label tag hanging from the handle on a string . . .

David

[Anglia105E]

Yesterday I produced four hand drawn hinges for the two suitcases. Initially, the intention was to paint the hinges with gold enamel, but then It was decided that gold Sharpie was a better option . . . Once the gold hinges (brass) had been cut from the thin card with a scalpel knife, these were mounted on the upper section of the cases, using super glue. 

Having cut out a luggage label from paper, 7 mm x 3 mm, the top corners were cut off at an angle and a black dot represents the hole for the string. White cotton will be used for the string . . .

Today, the black enamel wash was applied to both suitcases, and also the chrome slats area of the radiator grille . . . Using some pointed cotton buds the idea was to wipe the black enamel wash from the chrome slats that are open, leaving the black spaces in between the slats . . . Some reference photos show the Phantom III radiator grille fully closed, while others show half the slats open and half of them closed, and some show the slats fully open. The fully open aspect is the one that I prefer, so this model car has all the slats in the open position, with black spaces in between . . .

David

[David G.]

On 4/28/2024 at 9:29 AM, Anglia105E said:

I forgot to answer your question regarding the bent door pillar . . . I assume this is due to the age of the kit, and certainly not an engineering feature !

David

 !

[David G.]

The suitcases look great David. I'm always amazed at what can be done with a few bits of paper, some scraps of rubber and some paint.

Good work on the radiator shell too. I'd have done it the same way, more visually interesting.

David G.

[Anglia105E]

With the mock up of the body components still intact, I particularly wanted to have a close look at the orientation of the inner door post on the driver's side. This was done by attaching a short length of balse rod to the base of the door post, using double-sided tape . . . I was able to see clearly how the door post meets the roof, and also the floor. Then, allowing for the fact that the outer door pillar on the driver's side is bent outwards, I closed both the front and rear doors. Surprisingly, the doors are actually quite a good fit . . .

Returning to the suitcases and after applying Humbrol Satin Cote over the black wash, I applied dots of Liquid Chrome to the hinges using the pointed tip of a cocktail stick, so two on the top part of the hinge and four on the lower part. Moving on to the ' A.J.W. ' monogram, this was hand painted using the same pointed tip of a cocktail stick, and Vallejo Polished Gold acrylic paint . . . You can see from the photos below that the lower suitcase monogram has turned out better than the upper suitcase. 

The two luggage labels have been attached to the handles of the suitcases with white cotton thread, to represent the string . . . The suitcases are now completed . . .

David

[Anglia105E]

It was time to dismantle the mock up of the body components, so that I could work on the windscreen and the dashboard . . .

The windscreen glass was removed from the upper body, because one side had become detached anyway. The screen needs to be cut down by a small amount in order to fit between the dashboard and the roof . . . I managed to glue the dashboard in place, which was not a particularly good fit. The dashboard mirror stalk became detached while I was handling the dashboard, but this was no big deal because the mirror stalk is too short. 

David

[Dann Tier]

This just keeps looking better and better!

[Anglia105E]

2 hours ago, Dann Tier said:

This just keeps looking better and better!

Cheers, and thank you Dann . . . This Phantom III build is at a very interesting stage now, and the further I get, the more I am enjoying the process . . .

David

[David G.]

It's all coming along quite nicely!

David G.

[Anglia105E]

2 hours ago, David G. said:

It's all coming along quite nicely!

David G.

Thanks David . . . I do have a good feeling about this one !

David W.

[Anglia105E]

The luggage compartment bay was test fitted into the upper body today, and this is almost ready to be glued in place . . . The boot lid was fully closed, with the luggage bay taped inside with blue tape. Then the boot lid was carefully opened fully, to reveal the luggage bay and the two scratch built suitcases . . .

Turning my attention to the windscreen once more, this has been glued in place with Crystal Glue, after having a small notch cut out of the lower centre, which is to accommodate the interior dashboard mirror . . .

Before the luggage bay can be glued into the upper body, the two vanity mirrors need to be scratch built, painted and glued in place on the rear quarter pillars . . .

David

 

[David G.]

Fabulous work on this David!

It must be a great feeling to have everything coming together so well.

David G.

[Anglia105E]

2 hours ago, David G. said:

Fabulous work on this David!

It must be a great feeling to have everything coming together so well.

David G.

Glad to hear that you approve so far ! . . . I must be honest, there are some stages in this build still to address further down the line that concern me. One would be the ignition plug lead wiring, conduits and tubes, another would be the wiring of the lights, and the most scary one is the bringing together of the main sub-assemblies. These include the upper body, the lower body, the floor board, the division, the doors and door post assemblies, the luggage area, the firewall and bonnet panels, front and rear seats, and even the steering column . . . Each one of these separate sub-assemblies has to interlock perfectly on the day . . .

This is why I need a holiday, before even attempting that particular stage. There will be no work done on this build from 13th May to 19th May while I am away from the bench . . .

David

[Anglia105E]

Two of the following photos show the windscreen glass from the outside, and also the back of the dashboard, which will not be visible once the firewall is in place . . . Then moving on to the vanity mirrors and vanity roof lights. The mirrors were cut from thin white card, while for the roof lights I am using a pair of Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud headlamps that are from the 1:24 scale kit . . . Sprue cutters were used to remove the lugs on the back of the headlamps, and the chrome was scraped off with a scalpel knife. Pencil lines were drawn on the vanity mirrors to mark out the areas for painting . . .

The frames of the mirrors and also the bezels of the roof lights will be matt brown enamel, then polished gold acrylic will be used for the upper section of the mirror, and liquid chrome for the lower section. The roof light lenses will be white enamel with a small amount of yellow enamel added.

David

[Kenmojr]

Looks to be a beast of a kit! And I mean that as a compliment. Look forward to more of your adventures with this impressive car.

[Anglia105E]

10 hours ago, Kenmojr said:

Looks to be a beast of a kit! And I mean that as a compliment. Look forward to more of your adventures with this impressive car.

Thank you Ken . . . Certainly this is a beast of a kit indeed, and it is not something that you can take on lightly. This Phantom III is my first Gunze Sangyo kit, and only my second 1:16 scale model . . . So far, I am enjoying the project enormously and I do appreciate all of the encouraging comments on this forum.

David

[David G.]

It's nice being able to repurpose parts, it must be even nicer when those parts are from another Rolls kit.

I'm interested to see how the vanity mirrors turn out.

David G.

[Anglia105E]

Instead of using matt brown enamel paint for the roof light bezels and the vanity mirror frames, I chose to use a brown Sharpie . . . Then matt white enamel was mixed with a small amount of matt yellow enamel, and applied to the roof light lenses.

Both right handed and left handed vanity mirrors were mounted on the interior rear three quarter pillars, using PVA glue . . . The two roof lights were then mounted on the underside of the roof, using styrene glue . . .

This was done on Wednesday, but on the following day, Thursday, I realised that the liquid chrome as applied over the thin white card, was not shiny. This is not at all surprising, as the chrome must be applied over a high-gloss surface . . . Consequently, I have applied a single coat of Yacht Varnish to the lower panels of the vanity mirrors, directly over the liquid chrome that was applied 24 hours previously . . . Once the yacht varnish has been allowed a further 24 hours drying, I shall be able to apply the final coat of liquid chrome . . .

David

[David G.]

Everything about this build just continues to bring a smile to my face every time I see the photos. This whole build has had a very good feel right from the start, even the challenges seemed to come about for a reason. Having the opportunity to replace the window glass, for instance.

I know I keep saying this David, but thanks for taking the time to share this adventure with the rest of us.

It's become a real "moment of Zen" for me.

David G.

[Anglia105E]

1 hour ago, David G. said:

Everything about this build just continues to bring a smile to my face every time I see the photos. This whole build has had a very good feel right from the start, even the challenges seemed to come about for a reason. Having the opportunity to replace the window glass, for instance.

I know I keep saying this David, but thanks for taking the time to share this adventure with the rest of us.

It's become a real "moment of Zen" for me.

David G.

Your kind words are much appreciated David . . . During today and tomorrow, so Saturday and Sunday, there will be very little, if any work going on with my Phantom III build . . . This is entirely due to the fact that on Monday 13th May my annual holiday trip to Cornwall begins, which lasts until Sunday 19th May. Each year at this time I like to visit Falmouth on the south Cornwall coast, where I indulge myself by staying at a 4-star hotel, and relishing total relaxation . 

Of course, this means that there will be no work whatsoever going on with the 1:16 Rolls-Royce project, and consequently, you will not see any posts on this topic for a one week period . . . 

Down in Cornwall, and very close to Falmouth, I have a 19 foot sailing yacht called ' Relax ' and she is a Newbridge Navigator 4-berth trailer sailer built in 1983, originally from Falmouth . . . Sadly, I no longer have a vehicle, so I cannot launch and recover the boat myself, and in fact the trailer has deteriorated during the past 5 years, resulting in ' Relax ' not being on the water for at least 5 years . . . Previously, I did take her out to sea, and scared myself to death in the process ! . . . One photo appears below, showing my boat, with Mr Watson at the helm . . .

David

[David G.]

21 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

Your kind words are much appreciated David . . . During today and tomorrow, so Saturday and Sunday, there will be very little, if any work going on with my Phantom III build . . . This is entirely due to the fact that on Monday 13th May my annual holiday trip to Cornwall begins, which lasts until Sunday 19th May. Each year at this time I like to visit Falmouth on the south Cornwall coast, where I indulge myself by staying at a 4-star hotel, and relishing total relaxation . 

Of course, this means that there will be no work whatsoever going on with the 1:16 Rolls-Royce project, and consequently, you will not see any posts on this topic for a one week period . . . 

Down in Cornwall, and very close to Falmouth, I have a 19 foot sailing yacht called ' Relax ' and she is a Newbridge Navigator 4-berth trailer sailer built in 1983, originally from Falmouth . . . Sadly, I no longer have a vehicle, so I cannot launch and recover the boat myself, and in fact the trailer has deteriorated during the past 5 years, resulting in ' Relax ' not being on the water for at least 5 years . . . Previously, I did take her out to sea, and scared myself to death in the process ! . . . One photo appears below, showing my boat, with Mr Watson at the helm . . .

David

 

She's a beautiful ship, I hope some day you can get her back in the water again.

I have my own terrifying sailing experience aboard a double-hander dinghy.  We were out on Lake Erie when we were caught by a surprise summer storm. On that day, at the tender age of fourteen years, I was introduced to the consideration of my own mortality.

My primary thought at that time?     

"If I die out here, Mom's going to be pissed !"   

Enjoy your time off David and be safe.

David G.

[Anglia105E]

1 hour ago, David G. said:

 

She's a beautiful ship, I hope some day you can get her back in the water again.

I have my own terrifying sailing experience aboard a double-hander dinghy.  We were out on Lake Erie when we were caught by a surprise summer storm. On that day, at the tender age of fourteen years, I was introduced to the consideration of my own mortality.

My primary thought at that time?     

"If I die out here, Mom's going to be pissed !"   

Enjoy your time off David and be safe.

David G.

Nice to exchange interesting sailing stories !

Cheers and Au Revoir,

David

[Anglia105E]

Well, I just returned from my annual holiday trip, which extended to 10 days as things turned out . . . Within 24 hours I was back at the workbench, as progress resumed on the Rolls-Royce Phantom III . . . Like a dedicated model builder I was determined to press on.

Today was all about applying Tamiya Polishing Compound to the outer cream door panels. The inner door panels have not yet been glued in place, because I needed to grip the doors firmly in order to apply the polishing compound properly, and the chrome door handles would have been easily damaged. I used all three grades, so Coarse, Fine and Finish, and I can see a significant improvement . . .

With the doors polished, I set up a simple mock up of the passenger side doors with the upper and lower body. Also, test fitted the inner door panels on the driver's side.

David

[David G.]

Welcome back David, I imagine it feels good to be back at the bench.

Nicely done with the polishing.

I have yet to try Tamiya's polishing compounds. I can't seem to find all three grades at the same time at my LHS when it occurs to me to look for them and I don't want to try them keenly enough to place an order on line.

Ah, well.

It's good having you back Sir.

David G.