1934 Hispano Suiza J12 Fernandez & Darrin

[Hoffman]

The idea with this project was to disassemble the model and repaint everything to better match some of the few full size examples still in the world. The Fernandez & Darrin cabriolet body appeared both on the J12 cars and K6 as well. Hope you enjoy the photos of the updated model and some prototypical Hispano Suiza's I looked at for inspiration.

• Exterior- Dark blue shade is original Danbury Mint color. Light blue is Tamiya Color for Aircraft, #AS19 Intermediate Blue, followed by Testors #1834 Wet Look Clear lacquer. Panel lines on the trunk and vent doors on the hood were done with Indian ink in a Koh-I-Noor pen. Chrome trim added to the beltline is a combination of Bare Metal Foil and Molotow chrome pen. The Sedanca style canvas top was brush painted a custom mixed tan color in water based acrylics, then sprayed over that with Krylon chalk clear coat. Added a combination spot light and rear view mirror from a Mercedes 500K, which is a match for what I’d seen on one of the full size Hispano Suizas. The license plate is a photo reduced copy of an actual vintage California plate.

• Wheels and Tires- Monogram classic series tires (Duesenberg, Packard, etc). Wheel back halves are modified Monogram Packard, front halves are modified Monogram Rolls Royce. Hubcaps are cut down Hispano Suiza caps from Danbury Mint. Tire walls painted with Liquitex water-based black acrylic. Treads are a mixture of gray/brown Liquitex.
• Interior- Monogram Rolls Royce Henley Roadster bench seat in place of stock buckets. Floor and door panels painted with water based acrylics first, then door panels painted with artist oils over that to give them the look of leather. Oils used to wood-grain the door tops and dashboard, then clear enamel for gloss over that.

• Engine Compartment- Model originally had a shiny chrome plated firewall. Experimented with Krylon clear Chalk over that chrome to make it look more like the aluminum firewall on full size HS J12's. Also, the model originally had large, square gaps in the engine compartment flooring around the exhaust pipes. Not correct. Added material to complete the flooring like a full size HS J12, covered that in chrome mylar tape, again over sprayed with chalk clear to make it look like aluminum. Detail painted the valve covers gloss black, mixed up a blue/gray/black color for the exhaust manifolds, painted the engine block a warm kind of cast aluminum color, painted the hood sides, added the fabric weather strips common on 1930's cars around the edge of the firewall and radiator.