MG K3 Magnette 1933, Auto Kit/SE Finecast 1/24

[Matt Bacon]

Since I have a spare Tazio Nuvolari driver figure and a white metal Auto Kit MG K3 Magnette, it seems almost rude not to build the man and his machine... Particularly since reference is not at all hard to find:

https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/29334/lot/140/1933-mg-magnette-k3-supercharged-sports-racing-two-seater-chassis-no-k3003-see-text-engine-no-r772-ac/

So, what do you get in a typical Auto Kit originated kit, now sold by SE Finecast?

I think this must be one of the later ones, because it has more fine detail parts (see the "tree" with half a dozen bits on above the front axle and the cast dashboard with holes for all the instruments) than the others I've done. There's a fair bit of straightening out to do, but this one has all the parts, and they are all intact, which is a blessing. Although the body is multipart, the tabs that lock it all together are well engineered and precise and will put everything where it should be. And if I make the main joins with low temperature solder, they will remain tough and a bit flexible to allow fettling. The most important things are to clean up the parts really thoroughly, and test fit and adapt repeatedly until the parts stay together of their own accord before doing any soldering or gluing.

The wire spokes for the wheels will need winding, but I have a plan for that of which more later.

So, we begin:

The floor, firewall and chassis rails are separate parts (the previous owner had stuck the front cowl in place ahead of time -- I don't know why). There's no glue in this picture -- note the neat interlocking tabs at the bottom corners of the firewall and the rear corners of the floor. The journey of a thousand miles, etc...

best,

M.

Edited May 17 by Matt Bacon

[stavanzer]

Wow! Another Masterpiece in the making!

I will be eagerly watching.

Good Show.

Alan

[Dave B]

Ah Matt, looking forward to this, always love your white metal builds.

Dave B

[absmiami]

Nuvolari drove an MG too ??

 

[Matt Bacon]

3 hours ago, absmiami said:

Nuvolari drove an MG too ??

 

This very one:

https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/29334/lot/140/1933-mg-magnette-k3-supercharged-sports-racing-two-seater-chassis-no-k3003-see-text-engine-no-r772-ac/

best,

M.

[1959scudetto]

This will be interesting to watch, Matt. I never knew that Nuvolari also drove an MG.

[Matt Bacon]

Made some progress today, though the fact that I've mislaid my 90-second cure epoxy slowed me down! It must be in the workshop somewhere, but can I find it..?

A dry fit demonstrated that the parts are pretty accurately-shaped and lock together very positively. A good omen...

I think this one is mastered, and possibly designed, by someone different from the Alfa and Delage. I thought to start with that "pigtail" on the radiator cap was a molding artifact, but looking at the Bonhams' pictures it's actually a not bad attempt at the spring clip on the real thing.  The cap also has hinge and lock detail, the strap around the bonnet is very nicely detailed and that cut-out in the bottom frame of the radiator takes a corrugated air feed from the blower under the cowl which is molded as a separate part. In fact, there are a couple of "trees" of small add-on parts as well as the more typical separate shocks and lights.

The assembly sequence is very well thought through as well. You are working towards having a body assembled so it can be painted body color all in one go -- green in my case. This includes things like attaching the wings and headlights. The body is now all glued, except for the scuttle which you unclip to fit the  instrument panel and steering wheel, and give easy access to the cockpit floor to add the transmission, gear shift seats etc.The front fenders had lost their long braces somewhere along the line, so I've pressed some brass rod into service.

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

Getting there with gluing together all the bits that are going to be basically green:

This one fits together really well, as well as being nicely detailed. I haven't had to "flex" any of the parts significantly to get them to fit into their locations.

Test fit of the seats and woollen covers, which looks reasonable. The seats are a grey-green leather, and will be painted separately.

The transmission and shift mechanism is nicely detailed as well... Note the separate lever below the main gear stick, and the bolt heads where it attaches to the gearbox. This is also bodywork green, at least in the one in the Bonhams photos, hence putting it in place now.

The dash is a step up from the flat panel with raised discs for instruments in the earlier Auto Kits, featuring bezels and relief detail, and gauges printed on the instruction sheet. I might tart these up a bit based on the reference, but they aren't bad at all.

best,

M.

[PatW]

Superb looking kit. I would see these each year at the Silverstone Circuit (just 5 miles away) for the Classic Car race meetings (better than the F1 GP) as a race and airfield marshall for over 20 years!

Edited Wednesday at 09:16 PM by PatW

[Matt Bacon]

A couple of cycles of prime, fill, sand, prime and here we are:

A little bit of cleanup and detailing required, but the main body is ready to paint, I reckon...

Started on painting the detail, mostly to see if i was happy with the main body color. Which I am. It's old-school Humbrol enamel, mostly gloss H3 "Brunswick Green" with 10% (ish) matt Lemon Yellow (M99) to brighten it up a bit. Takes a long time to dry, so I'm looking into some chemical "drier" to speed it up a bit....

best,

M.