1958 Vanwall, Merit, 1/24, Roy Cross Tribute

[Matt Bacon]

On with the next installment of my Roy Cross (Illustrator and Airfix box artist ) tribute builds following his passing earlier this year aged 100. This one is the 1958 Vanwall, based on this Eagle comic cover from January 1963:

Since I was building display bases already for the Delage, I decided to get this one done early...

Which means now I have to build a car... this is the starting point:

Merit kits are pretty simple, but the shapes are generally good. The wheels need help, though, since they are solid with a transparent front onto which you are meant to apply a decal printed with the spokes. The bag at the left of the picture are some of the spare etch and white metal wheels and tires I've accumulated over the years...

After a fair bit of rummaging around and test fitting, I think we are sorted. Vanwall experimented with cast alloy wheels instead of wires in 1958. They tried complete replacement, but it turned out that the steering and front-end grip were better with the more flexible wire wheels than the stiffer cast alternatives. For the Italian Grand Prix depicted on the cover, Tony Brooks drove with wires at the front and cast wheels at the back. As you can also see on the cover picture, there was a small scoop intake for the oil cooler on top of the nose...

I carved a master from balsa based on some decades old plans from the UK's contemporary Model Maker and Model Cars Magazine .

I've plunge molded a few copies to make sure there's scope for errors while cutting, prepping and fitting!

 

best,

M.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Most excellent.  

[Dave B]

Looking good Matt, you might want to have it moved it to WIP?

Dave B

 

[Dave Van]

I like this!!

[Bainford]

Another cool subject. Looking good so far. Nice shape. 

[stavanzer]

Very Cool!

[Pierre Rivard]

Taking a simple vintage git and working it into a great replica of a historic car. I love that and again will be following with great interest.

Have you considered printed wire wheels?

[1959scudetto]

Matt, this is another one to follow - I'm sure this is going to be a great model - in spite of its simplicity.

[Matt Bacon]

1 hour ago, Pierre Rivard said:

Have you considered printed wire wheels?

I've had a look, Pierre, but I don't have any that are suitable. I've got a bunch of printed wheels, but they are all 15" and reasonably wide. The fronts on the Vanwall are 16" x 5.5" , and I'm loath to break the Fernando Pinto full set I just "discovered" because there's an Alfa P3 or Maserati 4CLT still to come that they might work on...

These etched ones aren't ideal, but they are the right size, and will hopefully will just be one detail in a "bigger picture" (literally!)

best,

M.

 

[Matt Bacon]

Progress is a bit glacial -- I'm feeling under the weather at the moment with a painful lurgy... but I have got back to the bench.

As I suspected, it took several of those scoops I moulded to get a good one that I didn't mess up cutting out, but I got there in the end. I'm not completely convinced it shouldn't be open at the back, but it's not shown that way on any drawings I have, and I can't find a picture of the rear of the scoop at all. It didn't last long on the real thing, and the only pictures I can find of the car with it fitted are naturally, action shots from the front. None of the surviving cars have still got it. So if anyone was hard evidence, I've still got time to open it up...

Time to start getting Tony knocked into shape, so this is the first of many trial fits. I've scribed the panel lines, too... my drawings say 1/10" panel gaps, so they are visible on the real thing (though don't worry, the horizontal seam is just the two halves sitting one atop the other...)

best,

M.

 

[Matt Bacon]

So here's Roy, eyes on the road and hands upon the wheel... and the scoop opened up.

The top half and wheel will also lift off out of his hands without disturbing anything. Time for some Milliput and shaping around the shoulders...

best,

M.

 

[Matt Bacon]

Reasonable progress off-screen. First, the dash:

Primed with white, Tamiya semi-gloss black for the dials, AK matt black for the "crackle" dash, white markings scratched through the dials to the white primer, finished with Citadel 'ardcoat gloss varnish for the glass. The wheel rim is red-brown primer overcoated with Citadel contrast paint "Wyldwood" brown and varnished with Tamiya Clear Orange.. Body colour is Tamiya TS-9 "British Green."

A-Stand "White Aluminum" for the cast magnesium rear wheels and Humbrol Metalcote Polished Aluminium for the front wires.

Tony Brooks in his seat. Colors are based on the only color picture I can find of Tony in a Vanwall, possibly the previous year. The helmet is some kind of moulded leather or bakelite, I think. His goggles are not as dark as they look in this!

So, he can hold the wheel (which is not glued, to give a bit more wiggle room when we have to fit all the parts together)

And I've started the green for the body. The horizontal seam is mostly there as a panel line on the real thing. I've masked the rear shell, which doesn't have a seam, so I can glue it then clean up the seam and reprime and paint the rear shell separately from the rest of the car.

best,

M.

[Pierre Rivard]

Tony looks very very good. I love how you have achieved realistic finishes for the clothes and helmet. Wonderful.

[Phildaupho]

Delightful project progressing extremely well.

[Matt Bacon]

Thanks, all.... a quick mockup to settle the seat and dash in place... and to see how it looks!

I went for Tamiya Camel Yellow instead of a brighter chrome yellow, as a nod to the orange in Roy Cross's original painting. The British Green is actually green, but you can see why it looks black in some period photos. Now to leave the paint for a few days to harden fully before joining the body permanently and masking to paint the rear shell, so the tape doesn't leave marks. Then it'll be time for a polish.

best,

M.

[Sonorandog]

Coming together very nicely.  What a fun project.

[Straightliner59]

Very nice work on a very cool project! I love old, off-the-beaten-path kits. You're doing this one proud. Nice paintwork on the driver!

[MarkJ]

It amazes me how you guys find these really cool kits to build and how you transform them into something you would never have thought would come from the kit. Driver looks like he had been doing some honey-dos at home and forgot he had a race to run so he dropped everything and ran to the track just in time to start the race. Great job on the detail on that driver even the look on his face is one of enjoyment. Can't wait for the finished product.

[Matt Bacon]

The exhaust on the '58 car is different from the earlier models. The kit part has a fan of four pipes coming out from the cowl and merging into a single straight pipe. Roy Cross's picture has three pipes. But what actually happens is that four serpentine exhaust headers merge into two under the hood, and the second pipe joins the first out in the open, then they go into a thicker chromed and insulated single exhaust running alongside the driver. Like this:

This is all plastic rod and tube, with SMS Hyperchrome for the brightwork section.

I've also glued the cockpit screen in place. Dipped in Mr Gauzy Agent Glass Coat, the kit part actually came up pretty well. Cleaning up the seam and painting the rear section has also been completed. Tomorrow, the wheels go on permanently.

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

Right, that's the build of this one finished. Time for a bit of a clean and final polish here and there, and off for beauty shots for Under Glass at the weekend...

The numbers are Fantasy Printshop precut vinyl "Pit lane numbers" intended for R/C cars, and the Vanwall titles are from Patto's Place to replace the pretty shot  60-year-old kit decals.

best,

M.

Edited September 18, 2024 by Matt Bacon