Revell E-type Jag

[Matt Bacon]

Yep... this one, although it is in 1/25, was designed and tooled in the UK in the late 60s, so it qualifies as a "Revell Gem", and will be displayed on the Classic British Kits SIG table at Scale Model World this year.

Obligatory parts shot. This looks pretty nice and detailed - a bit flashy here and there, but generally good shape, and lots o' bits. The biggest headache is going to be figuring out how to build it up so that the upper and lower halves of the body and bonnet can be joined, filled, cleaned up and painted as single units.... I shall certainly be deviating from the instructions. You can see the bits I've "de-chromed" already...

The main assemblies are just trial-fitted, as part of the experiments to figure out how to build it so I can get rid of the worst seams before painting. The bonnet WILL "snap" into place, but I'll have to see about how much needs to be done at the back before closing it up. It looks as though the rear suspension can all go on after the body's joined, so it's just a question of how much of the interior WON'T fit through the hole in the top!

The engine's quite nicely detailed. Cam covers are BMF'd for that shiny look!

A lot of the interior is carpeted (including the backs of the seats!). This is NOT the final colour, but I'm using a new product called Plastikote "Velvet Touch" for the first time to texture the surface, and it only comes in red or green, and I thought that most colours would work better over the red...

I now need to figure out how to make the "sugar scoops" inside the headlight openings before closing up the bonnet. They don't exist in the kit, which means you can see sideways into the big gap in the extreme nose...

bestest,

M.

[sjordan2]

Looking good so far. Keep us posted (I don't understand about the missing sugar scoops. How odd). Did you see the other recent post about dealing with the seam?

Edited August 2, 2010 by sjordan2

[sjordan2]

One nice thing that Matt has done (that has not been successful in many other builds I've seen) is that the cylinder block is correctly gold, though a bit dark, and the air box is a satin silver. As for the seam part, here's what I was referring to:

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=33836&st=0

Just a note. I was 13 when my Dad took me to the Jaguar dealer to see the brand-new XK-E, a red one with a black interior and whitewall tires. I was far from a connoisseur of fine automobiles at the time, but I noticed the following: The seats, much like the Austin Healey 3000, were made of a thin frame material that guaranteed instant death in an accident; the metal interior pieces with shiny dots on aluminum plates on the dash and console were totally cheapo; the leatherette pieces on the instrument panel and elsewhere were already peeling away, and the paint, fit and other finish elements were not high quality. Over time, the mechanical aspects of the car proved it to be a total piece of junk.

A car, as described by Beyoncé, as a "Beautiful Nightmare."

Edited August 2, 2010 by sjordan2

[Agent G]

Good job so far, I love this car. My daughter built this a long time ago. I think it's why she stopped building!

For the sugar scoops have you thought of fake finger nails from a beauty shop?

They come in all sizes and may work if turned upside down and cut just right. I use them for headlight visors.

G

[ZIL 111V]

Nice start on one of kit the most beautiful British Sports Car ever.

...But this kit is the 1963 Revell US tool (1/25th: typical US scale), your version is in the Revell UK box...we didn't get here, this one is a very nice kit...better then competition(Aurora, Airfix) Engine, interior, body pr0portions are very nice for an early 60's kit, Revell did a great job back then, wheels are the minus but with black wash will look OK.

Made this one many moons ago: did glue the lower & upper body section to "fill & sand" joint as a "single" unit as you mention, will look be much better &... easier to paint. When I built mine all my inner door panels were seperated/painted & install after the body was painted, hood aligment & fitting the hood/bonnet maybe a bit tricky but with TLC will get there.

The kit was last available in '94 in Original 1963 box (SSP edition), & a bit later in the 90's... as the Austin Powers Union Jack painted "Shaguar"...Groovy! (Revell AG, Advent & CEJI did also few boxings).

...White Walls on XKE...Export US/Canada versions

PlastiKote Velvet not bad, nice looking finish & pretty cheap.

[Zoom Zoom]

Nice kit, nice work, I've always been bugged by it being 1/25 scale instead of the international industry standard 1/24 for subjects like this. Revell USA did a lot of that nonsense

[Matt Bacon]

Thanks for all the help, guys!

Without wanting to get into a fight about it, "Remembering Revell Model Kits" pegs the E-type as a model that was designed and tooled by the Revell UK team in Potters Bar for the mothership back in the US. They'd done some 1/32 car kits earlier (the 1/32 Healey is another "gem" being built by a friend of mine), but this was the first larger scale car kit originated in the UK...

Anyway, first up, many thanks to Agent G:

The "sugar scoops" are indeed made using false fingernails!

From most angles, including this one, the combination of the fingernails and "coke bottle" headlight lenses means that it looks OK - no big gap into the body, anyway... The lower bonnet is attached, and the duck tape is pulling in the sides of the upper part to meet it.

I guess you can see where I'm going with the colour now... the jar contains some homebrew (from Zero paints) "Opalescent Silver Blue" (the one on the box-lid). With that body, a '61-3 model E-type could have a grey or dark blue interior - so the excellent folks at XKE Data tell me!

(And a huge thank you to Harry P for that one - I've printed off SO many pictures from there...)

I'm going for the dark blue option. after a straw poll (of the people who have to live with it after I've built it)

The moulded wire wheels are undergoing the treatment... They'll be fine when I've done with them...

bestest,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

It's taken a while of filling, sanding, priming, filling again, sanding again.... etc. etc. But now it's painted, with a Zero paints homebrew based on Mica Silver with a drop or two of Blu Scozia, to get the Opalescent Silver Blue look... The bonnet is just clipped on for the clearcoat,, having basecoated the two separately to make sure the firewall and bonnet interior are body-coloured...

Now to let that cure good and solid...

bestest,

M.

[Monty]

I have this kit but I can't make myself build it because of the sheer number of ejector pin marks. They're everywhere - even on the springs - and I'm just compulsive enough to have to fix them all. I don't doubt that this kit may have been one of the contributing factors behind the decades-long wave of carpal tunnel cases.

That, and the fact that I can't figure out how to fix the horizontal seam behind the door that results from joining the upper and lower body halves together.

It's disappointing 'cuz the real XKEs are some of my all time favorites.

Looks like yours is shaping up nicely, though.

[Jim Gibbons]

I have to follow this, as I have this kit, too. Thank you for showing the false fingernail tip for the head light scoops, as I was pondering how to do it myself. I plan on building mine in the scheme Skip posted in the initial thread; the opalescent grey with red interior. This is mainly to match the 1/43 Tekno diecast I got as a birthday gift in the mid '60s. I still have that Tekno, but it's a bit rough.

[Matt Bacon]

Here we are, making some progress:

Picture's aren't the best, but... The bonnet and main body are just clipped together, and they more or less close of their own accord, which is a relief! I've added some chrome trim to the bonnet lines (after sanding them off, natch). The lower part is fuse wire, the upper part is some self-adhesive "chrome" vinyl I have - I wasn't convinced that BMF would be strong enough at this width, and they are raised in real life anyway... I printed a teeny-tiny Jag logo for the "scoop" splitter, and I think it adds a neat touch of colour.

The close-up does it no favours, but I'm pleased with the wheel! Again, I printed out a logo for the boss, for some additional colour. The rim is a "warm flesh" colour overcoated in Humbrol Clear Orange...

More tomorrow!

bestest,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

A bigger update today... things are coming together:

It took about four reads through the instructions to figure out how this rather nicely detailed axle goes together. In the end I built the axle, and glued the subframe together and painted them both, leaving them to dry overnight. Then I fixed the forks to the stub axles. I press-fitted the springs to the sub frame, and then flexed the subframe open while I popped the forks in place. Finally I flexed the springs into place and over the pins, then when it was all in position, used superglue to fix everything in place. This is another example of the high quality engineering and design of this old kit. Some bits leave a lot to be desired - like the chrome, but a lot of the most complex parts fit very well indeed...

Like these:

This is the front frame, which with care and some trial fits goes together really well, and is very solid when it's set. Note the "wash bottle" - a clear part pained with Tamiya Clear Blue.

This is the engine bay completed. You could do more with it, obviously (especially with all those detail photos at www.xkedata.com), but I think this is pretty good for "out of the box".

...and finally, this is where I am tonight. In case you're wondering, the big red sponge block is to stop the steering wheel being knocked off when I turn the car upside down! I'm now starting work on the chrome, lights and final details. The windscreen clear part will need some TLC!

bestest,

M.