I have started work on an old Revell XKE. I'm building it as curbside since I was not too sure how the front hinged hood would look closed. The kit body is split in the middle. Up to this point most of the body would has been filling sink marks and hiding the joints on either side of the doors. The joints on the front and rear clips are covered by the bumpers. The wheels are narrowed Fujimi wires mounted on carved tires. The kit tires were far to narrow to fit the Fujimi wheels. I was not to sure about the ride height, but it isa scale 8" which seems about right. Below is the mockup in primer.

Comments?
Russ


https://gallery3.kitmaker.net/showphoto.php/photo/467464/ppuser/56345

Hi Russ.

I dropped the correct link in your post show the image shows up there. Your build looks great so far, those wire wheels are very impressive and the stance works well.

Looking forward to more progress.

Cheers, D

Hi D,

Thanks for the help with the image. I do not post that often so I always forget the correct procedure to get the image to show up. Can you tell what I should have done to display the image inline.

As to the wires. I used Detail Masters wire wheels once in the past but it looks like they are no longer available. Even if I could find them they require too wide a tire to be correct on 60's sports cars.

Russ

No problem Russ.

If you open the image in your gallery, at the bottom of the page is a box labelled "Linked Thumbnail".
To the right of that address is a small brown box. Click on the brown box and 2 more addresses will open up below it.
The first is labelled "HTML Code". Copy and paste that code string into your post and you will have the image there.

Hope this helps, if not, let me know.

Cheers, D

Russ, looking good. Classic Jaguar bodywork has fascinated me always! As D. said: nice stance.

Gabriel

Russ,
Looking forward to following your XKE build. I do fondly remember being a passenger in my friend father's XKE. The body shape to this day still turns heads. It's timeless for sure.

Joel

Which car did Enzo Ferrari himself very publicly exclaim to be the most beautiful car ever made ? You got it. - E Type Jaguar ! Also mass produced , very competitive and a fraction of the cost of Enzo's product !

Richard,
How true. But back in the 1960s it was still way out of nearly all of our pocket books. Still, just the thought I driving around town in my own XKE to this day is mind boggling. Naturally, it would have been BRG and a black interior. I never much cared for the beige leather.

Joel

It has been awhile since I posted an update. After getting the body seams cleaned up and the wire wheels taken care of I had thought I was over the major hump on this build. Just waiting for a few dry days to avoid airbrush problems spraying in an unheated garage.

I was sure wrong and I guess that is the challenge of working with a really old kit. The headlights had no interior buckets which I formed out of thin brass. Which means more primer. The highlights themselves were just chrome disks and needed clear parts out of the old parts drawer. The kit does not include the chrome part on the top of the doors. I formed this again out of thin brass. The rear view mirror is wrong. Most early XKEs had the rear view mirror mounted to a rod running up just behind the windshield. I also realized the XKE has a very thin chrome strip running down the front fenders. I'm hoping that fine solder wire will conform to the shape of the fenders once the body is painted and will have enough shine to look like chrome.

Both the chrome and clear parts have needed a lot of clean up. I'm hoping Alclad chrome will do the trick to cover the bare plastic. I still have no good idea what to do about the Jaguar script on the trunk. It is not raised very much and I'd hate to wreck the paint trying to dry brush chrome on it.

Any comments our ideas would be appreciated. I wonder if old kits are worth the challenge sometimes. In the case of the XKE there aren't any alternatives. It is just going to take a lot of hours.

Russ

Russ,
Sure sounds like you're conquering each and every problem as you encounter it. As for the really old kits, rarely do they come anywhere close to what we've become accustomed to with today's kits, and we "bitch" at anything less then perfect.

I'm not sure if you were referring to brushing Alcad Chrome on by hand, which you can't, as Alcad needs a base/primer to stick to.

As for the Jaguar insignia on the truck, I'd try a artist caliber super fine silver marker. I've got two of them, and they each cost about $10, so they're not cheap, but they will do the job. Just use the side at an angle rather then the tip, and you'll be fine.

Joel

Joel,

Thanks for the tip about the marker pen. What brand do you use? I experimented with a silver pencil but did not like the results. On the chrome I was going to use Alclad black primer before spraying chrome, but do I need to strip the part completely before spraying?

Russ

Russ,
The two brands that I use are DecoColor for the Silver and Faber Castell for the Black. Just go into a Michaels, AC Moore, or a even a local Art supply store and ask them what they recommend. Just be sure that the tips are super extra fine. I've tried Sharpie's and they just don't work well enough. The DecoColor actually has a mixing steel ball you can hear when you shake it up.

I long ago threw out my Alcad Gloss Black. It's enamel bases, and takes days to weeks to really dry. The two best gloss and semi gloss blacks I've found to date are still Tamiya's and Mr. Color.

Joel

Slow progress on the XKE, I keep running into issues that need to be solved, so I take a break and work on a more reasonable i.e. Tamiya or Eduard kit. Latest challenge is dealing with the clear parts. The kit supplied clear parts for the covered headlights look like semi clear jelly beans. I thought about just leaving the covers off but XKEs without covered headlights had different chrome trim around the headlights. I made new lenses from an old screen projector. The picture show the new headlights and covers installed. The paint still needs a final buff.

Next challenge is the windshield. It is thick and does not really fit the frame. I did get it installed in the frame, but in doing so there are glue marks in the corners. I have tired Novus plastic polish but I have not had much luck is getting the corners really clear. Also at this point I'm sure if it worth dipping it in future frame and all.

Russ

Hi, Russ!

I had very similar issues with the windows in my last build (Chrysler 300C).
Joseph posted a very interesting link on how to make new windshields which worth a look at.

Nice so far.

Gabriel

I'm finally getting close to being done with my XKE build. What still needs to be done:
Continue to polish the paint
Install the exhaust system
Install the door handles
Install rearview mirror
Install windshield wiper blades.
Install the chrome strips running down the tops of the front fenders.

On the still puzzling what to do list:
The convertible top cover is way too tall.
Making sure all the chrome pieces are aligned correctly.

The chrome strips on the fenders (not included in the kit) will either be soft wire or very fine solder. Either will be glued with Crafters Pick. Crafters Pick is similar to white glue in that it dries clear but I find that it makes a much stronger bond. Also the excess can be removed like rubber cement.

Here is the current state of the build. Not a contest model by any means but from 10,000 feet I think it does look like an XKE.

Russ

Russ, from 9999 feet still looks like a Jag!
I dare say that with all the problems you have encountered, this build was a Blitz!

Looking for the final detailing and, of course, the "Beauty Queen" pictures.

Gabriel

Hi Russ.

Definitely has a very XKE look about it to me mate!

You've done a great job considering the list of issues you have encountered.

With the canopy cover, some surgery is definitely in order. My route would be to carefully cut out the top in one piece, then trim the sides to the height that you are happy with, then pack out the edges on the top to fit into the slightly larger space. You can shape the packing material with needle files of sandpaper to match the top contours.

Looking forward to more finishing touches.

Cheers, D

Russ,
Your Jag looks tremendous for sure. The Chrome strips on top of each fender will really make a difference. And from what I can see the paint looks super smooth and shiny.

The issue is the leather boot to cover the convertible top when it's down. I have zero idea of where Revell came up with that shape as it's not even close as the leather kind of just laid on the folded down top. If nothing else, I'd try to lower it and soften the edges if there is enough plastic.

Joel

Ok, I have a plan to fix the boot cover. I have ruled out cutting the kit part for fear that will not come out any better and I have only one shot at it. What I'm trying is something I had good luck with about 20 years ago on a Porsche 911 convertible.

Rather than work with the plastic I'm going to work with something closer to the real thing. If you have ever used a real sheep skin shamie when washing and drying your car you realize when they get really old they dry very stiff. Also when wet you car stretch them until they get very thin. Cutting a relatively small piece, then soaking and stretching it I formed it over the plastic part. Pulled it tight and clamped it to conform the correct shape.

The sheep skin has a surface texture that is definitely more realistic than the plastic. Now I'm waiting for it to completely dry so it will hold the correct sharpe. Then I can cut it down and see if can get the correct look. The XKE images on the internet are not really shot at the right angle to judge how tall the cover needs to be.

If all goes well I'll post a picture before painting and installing it.

Russ

Yikes, looking at this image, they didn't even come close !



I'm thinking this might be a job for wire frame, tissue paper and diluted white glue.

Cheers, D

Looks good Russ. Will be interesting to see the result with the sheepskin.
If it does not pan out, I think Damians suggested method, is the way to move forward.

Russ,
I do like your idea about using a Shamie. I have a few and indeed they do dry hard as a rock.

Joel

Today's progress. I added the chrome strips to the tops of the fenders. I used fine solder glued with Crafter's Pick glue. Once you pull the solder to make it straight it takes very little glue to get it to conform to the fender and painting is not required. There are no guidelines for the strips so they were installed eyeballing it.

The shamie top cover dried enough to take it off the kit part. I included a photo comparing the kit part and shamie part before I did any trimming. The photos show the XKE with the kit part and trimmed replacement part. I have not painted or glued the shamie part down, as I'm still looking at references to see how it should fit. I know its an improvement as it is but is there more that could be done. I'm also not sure if I want to prime the cover before doing the final paint. The beauty of the shamie part is I can always make another.

Thanks for stopping by
Russ

Russ,
Nice job on the chrome strips. the cover looks a lot better IMHO.

Joel

I have reached the end of the line on my XKE build for now. In the future I may give the top cover another go. I'm not completely satisfied with the current top. Also the camera showed up a few spots in the paint that I might try rubbing out a little more.

Bottomline is the to me it looks a like an early XKE not perfect, but also not one you would mistake for anything else.

Thanks for checking in
Russ