Tamiya Mini Cooper Mk. 1

[northendmetalallstar]

So I was at the local hobby shop today and this kit caught my eye. I had to have it. I'm going to do it up like Mr. Bean's car. I know his was a Mk. 2 Mini but this kit was the only one they had. I'll have to shave off the door hinges to make it look like a Mk. 2

After sanding some mold lines off;

Mk. 1 door hinges... gotta go!

bye bye hinges... hello Mk. 2!

I'll keep updates as I go.

Edited February 18, 2012 by northendmetalallstar

[Dr. Cranky]

I want to see more of where this one is headed. This kit is a wonderful kit. I have one but it's not finished. Maybe yours will inspire me to finish mine.

[diymirage]

you should build it without the steering wheel, like when he parts it

[northendmetalallstar]

you should build it without the steering wheel, like when he parts it

I was thinking about not glueing the steering wheel on so it can come on and off. I'm also makeing a little padlock for the driver's door. And if I get REALLY ambitious I might add the armchair that goes on the roof.

[Erik Smith]

Very cool idea.

You can get the correct wheels for Mr. Bean's car in the Austin Mini kit.

[Kombi]

Actually, and I ended up having to look this up, Mr. Bean's Mini as it is commonly know was a 1976 Mk.3. His first mini was an Orange 1969 Mk.2 that was wrecked off screen after the first series. This is trivia I did not know until now.

As a basic guideline to spotting the differences, Mk.2's still had the sliding windows; small, rounded taillights; and external door hinges from the earlier Mk.1 design. From Mk.3 on the windows were rollups; you had larger, rectangular taillights; the grill design is different (although the metalwork behind will support the earlier grills); and the hinges were concealed.

The previous owner of my Mini was aiming for that look when he painted the hood semi-gloss black even though Mr. Bean's Mini was technically yellow. This was a look I wanted to change immediately when I first bought it, but one that I'm now growing quite fond of.

And thus we conclude with my pedantic input.

[Darren B]

I want to see more of where this one is headed. This kit is a wonderful kit. I have one but it's not finished. Maybe yours will inspire me to finish mine.

Ditto!!!

[Jim Gibbons]

Looking forward to following this. I love this kit; I've built both stock and rallye versions for friends. I wish more model manufacturers would mold the grilles open like Tamiya did on this.

[hOLMS]

This will be fun...good luck!!

[northendmetalallstar]

Hey folks. I got some more work done. I managed to get the body primed. I'm in the process of sanding it now.

I masked the gas caps, door handle holes and the INCREDIBLY small raised lettering on the trunk before I primed it. I'm going to try the technique where you use the bare metal foil then paint over it and gently sand off the paint exposing the BMF lettering.

While the primer was drying I started painting and assembling the engine. What an odd little motor.

Very cool idea.

You can get the correct wheels for Mr. Bean's car in the Austin Mini kit.

I wish I had seen that kit before I bought this one. I don't want to buy another kit just for the wheels

Edited February 18, 2012 by northendmetalallstar

[Erik Smith]

Looking good. I like the Mini engine - such a cool little package. These cars were really great - roomy, sporty, and, to me, great looking. I saw an MK 1 at my girls' school a few weeks ago and they thought it was awesome - my second grader is as tall as the roof!

Watch where you mount the coil on the generator - a little too far forward and it will hit on the body when you mate the two sub assemblies.

Edited May 16, 2011 by Coyotehybrids

[LAone]

haha, im liking this. i use to watch mr bean. he was oddly funny.

keep up the good work.

[GeeBee]

Very cool idea.

You can get the correct wheels for Mr. Bean's car in the Austin Mini kit.

The wheels in the Austin Cooper kit are the 9 hole wheels that were fitted to the Coopers only, some shots of Mr Beans Mini shows it to have the wheel embellisher's fitted, other shots show it without,

I have had these basic BMC wheels cast in white metal for a Mini I was building sometime ago, now I need to find someone to cast them in resin for me.

The MK2/3 Mini's also features a larger rear screen, and larger lights than those fitted to the Mk1

Good luck with the build, it's looking good so far ...

[VW Dave]

Watch where you mount the coil on the generator - a little too far forward and it will hit on the body when you mate the two sub assemblies.

The same can be said for the distributor if you decide to add plug wires. If you do wire it, break the dizzy free of the engine before the body goes on, and re-glue it after.

I'm also looking forward to updates on this one, as I'm a fan of Mr. Bean and I have a Mini kit looking for inspiration too.

Edited May 16, 2011 by VW Dave

[northendmetalallstar]

So I got some more work done.

I forgot to cut the mold lines off the tires They're gonna be hard to do now

I did the floor with this surgical tape I found. I painted it flat black after I laid it out. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

The thing with this close up photography is I can see how much more practice I need at modeling and painting

...and the mock up.

Edited February 18, 2012 by northendmetalallstar

[Erik Smith]

Looking good.

You should be able to slide the wheels off and sand that mold line on the tire.

I like the tape idea on the interior.

[Jim Gibbons]

I had another of my pain related insomniac nights yesterday, and found Mr. Bean on Netflix. One of my favorite episodes is the New Year's Party one, which also features him driving his Mini with the easy chair on the roof. Had a good laugh over it.

[northendmetalallstar]

So I haven't posted in awhile, didn't get any modeling done over the summer. I finished this model a few months ago. I still need to add the little padlock on the driver's door.

Edited February 18, 2012 by northendmetalallstar

[W-409]

Great looking Mini! Paintjob looks very good to me, and overall it is really clean build. Only two things caught my eye. Those headlights are looking like frozen. Water based glue is good for gluing clear parts, because it dries invisible. And other thing is, that next time try drilling little hole for that exhaust tip, it makes that part looking much more realistic. Otherwise really clean build, and just giving some advice, how to make next one looking even better. So don't take it too hard.

[Romell R]

Cute

[northendmetalallstar]

Great looking Mini! Paintjob looks very good to me, and overall it is really clean build. Only two things caught my eye. Those headlights are looking like frozen. Water based glue is good for gluing clear parts, because it dries invisible. And other thing is, that next time try drilling little hole for that exhaust tip, it makes that part looking much more realistic. Otherwise really clean build, and just giving some advice, how to make next one looking even better. So don't take it too hard.

Constructive criticizism is always welcome! I did mess up the headlights, I was useing regular model glue then. I've since been using Micro Kristal Klear for windows and headlights and the difference is amazing! Good call on the exhaust as well. My next purchase is a pin vise and set of bits.