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I have been a life long fan of MG's and have always wanted to make models of them but have never been happy with my creations. This model is an old kit from Matchbox that I had put aside until I felt able to complete it to my satisfaction. When we started racing and I acquired slot car wire wheels and a chassis with the right wheelbase I decided that it wouldn't matter how bad the finished model was after it had crashed a few times. |
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It was built straight from the box with modifications only being made to fit the cut down Scalextric Escort chassis (that was originally for the MGB). The rear body was built around, but not glued to, the floor pan, part15, which was removed when set. The body was glued to the chassis and wings, part 13, after most of the chassis had been cut away. The bonnet was then glued in place using the radiator (which was left loose to allow for painting) as a guide. The slab petrol tank was fitted and when dry its bottom and part of the rear body panel were cut away to allow room for the contrate. |
| The Escort chassis was then cut and trimmed to fit
into the kit body. A piece of plastic tube was glued
to the underside of the bonnet top to line up with
a production hole in the chassis through which a self
tapping screw is used to hold both parts together.
The top of the seats and rear parcel shelf were cut to fit over the mechanics and with the dashboard were fitted to the interior. A piece of thick paper was used to fill the remaining hole and cover the motor. The driver, an old Airfix figure, was cut to size and the steering wheel had an edge cut out to make it fit.. |
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The windscreen wasn't a good fit so
I fitted the raised hood to give strength and support.
Finally lights and spare wheel were fitted. The end
of the chassis part with the rear number plate was
glued to the spare wheel, as was the tip of the exhaust
pipe.
The kit wheels are reasonable representations of wires and come with rubber like tyres. They are in chrome finish but the "knock-on's" are in red plastic. |
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Not being able to get a good chrome paint is one of the many reasons I am not happy with car models. Anyway I made up two wheels without the "knock-on's" and after a little filing pushed them onto a Scalextric rear axle and had a test run. To my great surprise the car ran with no evidence of wheel slip. The remaining two wheels were then built and the ends of both axles polished to become the hubs. The lack of "knock-on" wings is not that noticeable. The car was sprayed in red (not quite the factory shade) and I am very pleased with the finish. If earlier attempts had been this good I would have been a car modeller rather than a figure painter (see Discworld in Miniature). The rest has been hand painted. The driver is in a reddish brown suit so that there isn't much contrast in the interior to draw attention to the necessary modifications. |
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Other than the front axle mounts being a little
too wide, the nose being a little high and a gap between
the chassis and the front wings, faults I can live
with, I am happy with this model. It appears to be
as fast as our other cars but it hasn't been fully
tested yet. I'm so pleased with it as a model that
I don't want to use and risk damaging it, particularly
as the wing mirror has already been lost during a
roll.
Another version of this kit has been built. It used the Pink-Kar wire wheels and has been built as a stripped down out and out T Type racer - so that it can be used! |