Russell C Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 (edited) Saw it recently on ebay for less than $4, it looks like a 1:32 scale, no kit maker's markings on it anywhere, don't know a thing about it other than the seller said it was "built in the late 1950's or early 1960's". The inspiration for getting this is the late Albuquerque Model Car Club builder Rick Wright's old polished plastic box-stock beauties. This model's blemish-free plastic color just seems to beg for a really good shine-up, and a much better build execution. (photos by the ebay seller of it assembled) A Google image search of these helped me figure out why the seats looked weird, whoever built this put them in backwards. They have a single backrest and two seat cushions. With the dash, I've discovered the black paint quickly dissolves with 409 cleaner, but the white.... not so much. Haven't tried removing the silver paint yet. Unless someone convinces me to do otherwise, I'll put in a couple of corrections, one for the too-long wheelbase (shortening the space behind the doors) and the height of the grille (removing some of the bottom edge of the fenders to bring that inter-fender pan up and removing a horizontal section of the lower grille). A few more refinements such as headlights with reflectors & lenses, clear red taillights, new windshield, and a nice tan interior along with some other bits ought to turn this into a nice little gem. Looks like the kit maker got the grille too tall and the front fenders' inner curves to the frame too vertical, so this model ends up looking more like the earlier MG TC at the front. Can't fix the fenders without a ton of work, though, but I can probably get away with just the shorter grille. Reduced it to its elements here, the whitewall paint on the tires chipped off very easily. Really brittle glue, it all came apart without major difficulty. Edited April 29, 2020 by Russell C fixed busted photo links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I wonder if this might be the Highway Pioneers kit? Great little project you have here. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyboy Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Gotta love it when they come apart easily! I have this same car as a gluebomb.......it came with a 1/38 1950's Ferrari America that I bought off of Ebay. Two cars for $8! couldn't go wrong. I'll be interested to see what you do with this project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Cool little car. I bought one of these little buggers not too long ago, really cheap and in much the same condition, thinking it looked so sad it would likely otherwise end up in the someone's trash. So far I haven't taken the time to do anything with it other than re-attaching the parts that were broken off. Nice to see you putting some real effort into saving one of these. It looks like you'll end up with a very nice model of something not often seen in scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Goschke Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 That's the Aurora MG-TD. It's a somewhat oddly-proportioned copy of the better Revell (Gowland & Gowland) Highways Pioneers kit. That's a pretty clean old build! Look forward to following your restoration! Here are some of the boxes this kit appeared in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell C Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 So far, the silver on the radiator/headlights and the black on the convertible top cover soften up overnight soaked in 409 cleaner, and scrub right off with a toothbrush. A quick Google image search for Gowland & Gowland MG TD confirms this is not one of those, while a UK site I found does seem to confirm what John says above about this being an Aurora kit (we have to ignore the box art, the model is a right-hand drive...... unless there were British and American versions). But what that site says about the thing having real rubber tires is I believe an error. While the tires are a tad softer than the red plastic, they also have die punch marks on the backs, so I'm thinking they are vinyl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) Needs a Flat Head Ford 60 V-8 Edited February 22, 2014 by Greg Myers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Goschke Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 (edited) Russell, as I recall from this and the other Aurora sports car kits I've had, the tires are polyethylene, the softer plastic used for toys, household accessories, plastic bags and a bazillion other products from the late '50s to today. It was also used by AMT and Johan for kit tires in their earliest kits before switching to vinyl in 1961 (for AMT; Johan used it a bit longer.) Edited February 23, 2014 by John Goschke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelmartin Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Three-wheeler? Sorry. Could not resist. Actually I really like 1/32 kits. I hope you finish restoring it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell C Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 (edited) On 2/22/2014 at 7:44 PM, Modelmartin said: Three-wheeler? Sorry. Could not resist. Actually I really like 1/32 kits. I hope you finish restoring it. Evil Andy knows I'm a slave to temptation regarding the running joke I have for the GSL contest's "Group" category. Could be done, should they choose this model, in a hokey tractor-like manner. On 2/22/2014 at 9:56 AM, Greg Myers said: Needs a Flat Head Ford 60 V-8 Wish I'd saved a photo from an ebay listing I saw a couple of years ago where somebody did up a nice 1:1 kit car dragster version. Found a different 1:1 with just the standard Chevy V8: http://www.britishv8.org/MG/EdLaBrush-MG-TD.htm Edited April 29, 2020 by Russell C fixed busted photo link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell C Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) When being "back in the red" is a good thing. 409 cleaner made the silver & black paint brush-offable overnight but didn't make a dent in the white paint. Since my really old Easy-Off had evaporated to powder from years of neglect, I had to try a new yellow spray can version. It reduced the white to almost nothing in ten minutes or so. Friction-fit together here just for laughs. Next up will be how I fix the steering wheel, assuming that turns out ok. Edited April 29, 2020 by Russell C fixed busted links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Watching with interest, Russell. I've always loved those old MGs. Craved a TD when I was younger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I had no idea 409 removed paint... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I might try the 409, too. This'll be nice to see back together. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duntov Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 This is really neat --- glad to see this orphan getting a new lease on life!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell C Posted April 2, 2014 Author Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) When it comes to paint removal, it turns out this is more of a hit-or-miss for me with 409 cleaner and spray-on Easy Off. The 409 reduced the flat black & silver on this old model to the point where it was easily and completely removable with an old toothbrush. The Easy Off loosened up the white the same way. But neither worked all that well on a couple of old flat and gloss black scrap parts I had in my own scrap parts box, while the Easy Off did loosen up a gloss orange part I had and the 409 finished that off. Chemists will have to explain how such degreasers work on various kinds of paint….. Meanwhile, I solved some of the steering wheel problem. By the eyeball engineering standards I'll be applying to this rebuild, it looks like the steering wheel is the right diameter, but the rim is way too thick. My dad is an expert machinist with his own lathe, and for many years I've been using the elemental lathe-turning concept on my hand-held motor tool. So, I cut the wheel off the shaft and chucked it in my motor tool (not a Dremel, but an old JC Penny version with a speed dial built into the end), and used a small file and x-acto blade to knock down the thickness of the rim and make the horn button more round and defined. For photo purposes only, I put the motor tool in a vice and held the file or blade near it to give you-all an idea of what it looks like from my perspective when I hold the motor tool in my left and and the 'cutting tools' in my right hand. If you guys haven't tried this before, you can lathe-turn little parts on Dremels and such quite nicely, it just takes a bit of practice….. but as all the lawyers and concerned parents would say, wear safety glasses and BE CAREFUL! I'm most of the way there with the wheel now, but it will probably get a bit thinner still before I declare it to be good. My dad gave me a miniature lathe a long time ago, but sometimes it's easier to bash something out using this method, especially when super precision is not all that important. I'll probably make the front fender running lights using this method, too, out of thick aluminum wire rod. It's a handy method to turn small pieces into really crisp circles. For example, the silver door lock buttons on the door handles of my Porsche woodie wagon are not mere imprecise dots of silver paint, they are perfectly circular bits of polished aluminum wire that really sharpens up that little detail while also acting as an anchor securing the handles to the body. Same method for the itty-bitty circular parts and wheels/tires for my 1:160 Ford tank truck. Edited April 29, 2020 by Russell C fixed busted photo links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Very elegant solution to the steering wheel problem, Russ. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell C Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Some progress, temporarily taped together for 'yall's viewing pleasure…. The basic problem with this model is that Aurora made it too chunky overall. Overweight, considering how delicate the full size car is. So, I put it on a diet, whacking out a significant amount of material from the bottom edges of the fender openings and bottom running board edges, reducing the length of the seat cushions, and most important, shortening the whole model right behind the vertical door edges by about an 8th inch. The too-tall radiator wasn't lowered at its top edge, I sliced off about a 16th inch of its bottom edge, removed material from the bottom of the inner fender edges in front of the radiator, and raised that 'pan'/front axle piece up into the fenders. The model was sitting too high overall anyway. Another 'weight' removal is the loss of the way-too-thick panel ridges at the back of the hood edges and where the back of the front fenders meets the front on the running boards. Finally the too-tall convertible top cover was reduced in height, along with that whole body area above the rear fenders. Along with those removals, I also removed the headlights from the grille, erased the molded on parking lights on the front fenders, erased the taillights, and filed down the bar ridges on the fuel tank. Perhaps the Gowland & Gowland (a.k.a. Highway Pioneers) little kit might have had more accurate proportions to deal with, but I still really like the rich red color of the Aurora kit's plastic, which shines up very nice. Edited April 29, 2020 by Russell C fixed busted photo links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Goschke Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Definitely an improvement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Really nice. Love seeing somebody take time and effort to save a nice old model rather than just tossing it. Looking great. (I have one too, just for a diversion). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell C Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 For those following along, I haven't forgotten about this project. What was stumping me were the wheels. As most car guys know, the wheels can sometimes make or break the look of the car. While the Aurora tires seem to be about the right height, the wheels were just nowhere close to looking like the 1:1 MG wheels, so I thought I might be able to find some toy in a similar scale which I could steal the wheels from. No luck, though. Another more laborious option would have been to lathe-turn some plastic into dome shapes and then index drill 15 holes into each. I was thinking that the Gowland & Gowland kit (a.k.a. Revell version) wheels / tires that were too tall, but I just got one really cheap from ebay today, and I think I can lathe-turn the inner part of the wheels smaller and into more of a correct dome shape. But at least all the holes are already in these, and the separate hubcaps look quite accurate. The other bonus here is now I have a left-hand drive dashboard and a windshield frame, which was missing from the Aurora glue bomb. The one reason why I still prefer to go ahead with using my cut-up Aurora body is the deep color of the plastic. It sure shines up nice, and it looks like super smooth glossy paint. I've gotten really lazy in my old age about paint, when old polished plastic is a viable option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Goschke Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 The Revell/G&G wheels will go a long to improving the Aurora kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell C Posted June 15, 2019 Author Share Posted June 15, 2019 Time to get back to this relatively simple, but still neglected project. What stumped me was the proportions of the kit to begin with, and how it still didn't look right after my last bit of reshaping. The radiator was still too tall, closer rsembling the height of a TC model than a TD. So, it may be a little hard to see in the first photo below of the resized driver's side vs not-yet-resized passenger side, but I removed more from the top and bottom edges of the door panels, then sawed the hood side panels off from the top panels, and then reduced the blank area above the louvers to nearly half the height, and removed more from the bottom edges of the hood sides. Top & bottom, this second resizing amounts to nearly an eighth of an inch. Who knows how many inches that would be in 1:1 scale. And, I also leaned the fuel tank several degrees further into the back of the body. I'm happier now with the taped-together mock up here. Subtle to see, but better proportions now from this additional resizing for my personal tastes. The Gowland & Gowland kit version is still far more accurately proportioned overall, wider and flatter. But there's no way I can polish that kind of plastic to a good shine, and I've gotten way to lazy in my old age to put a killer paint job on such a small model, so I'll be plunging ahead on this build. There's entertainment value for me to see what kind of gem can be ultimately polished out of such a roughly designed simple kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelbuilder Mark Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 cool project, not sure how I missed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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