A hobby shop - a Jaguar kit - and a basement …

[absmiami]

There is a living breathing hobby shop in Charlestown, WV …. Called - The Hobbies Shop …. 

[absmiami]

Spending holiday time w relatives in Virginia - The Hobbies Shop is just a short drive west on the Charlestown Pike …. Good selection of kits - great selection btw of puzzles - very wide selection of hobby paints - including Tamiya - so i thought - why not …

[absmiami]

Said relation has an unfinished basement - one end of the basement sits unused and uncluttered - i really really miss basements - having grown up in Pa - where everyone had ‘em  - then choosing to live in Florida - where sadly - basements have been outlawed - so i made myself a holiday workshop - and dont worry - i found some additional light - 

[absmiami]

The Revell of Germany XKE kit is a curious beast - hi parts count - very good replication of the stampings on the chassis - and sink marks - lots and lots of ‘em … and the plastic for the body and chassis is - famously - bright red … thanks, Revell …

[absmiami]

Red - really really really … red ….   By the way - if any other forum members have this kit - or the convertible kit - on their Wbench - please feel free to post pix on this thread - it would be interesting to see other listers solutions to the curveballs that these kits throw at you …

[absmiami]

I had only limited time here in Virginia - but i did some initial parts prep - and since i bought a Tam scriber - i decided to open the coupe hatch - 

[absmiami]

Thankfully - not all the parts trees are red …

Edited December 26, 2024 by absmiami
Im a lousy speller

[absmiami]

Do not adjust your monitor - this is the engine cyl head  -    in magnificent eye bulging chrome - fr one of the kits two chrome parts trees - and yes - the cam covers are cast as one to the top of the head - some Revell engineer actually thought this was a good idea - on a kit with over 140 parts …

[absmiami]

The remainder of the engine is a little better - a little - the part combining the pulleys and the generator is poor - at best - and the  bolt detail on the cyl head is disappointing - the exhaust manifold is ok - the chrome carb / manifold is - ok - the engine is really not an improvement on the forty year old Heller XKE engine - the 25 year old Jag engine in the Tamiya Mark II kit is also much better - and yes - the starter is molded as part of the block - because - everybody else does it ??

[absmiami]

I’m eyeballing a 3D printed XKE engine kit selling on Etsy - its pricey - but - it does look pretty good - we’ll see …

[Pierre Rivard]

Happy holidays Andrew. I have built this one. Not a bad kit but certainly not a Tamiya. I chose to do a racing car without bumpers so that brought it's own challenges. I made plenty of mistakes and would love a do over now that I know (starting with better wheels & tires). For sure you'll take this kit much  farther than I did but still here's a link to my WIP. Perhaps it will help spot areas of concern.

 

[Pierre Rivard]

...and the engine is not so bad. If I can do this with it with a bit of scratch building  no doubt with your skills you can take it to a much higher level.

 

[absmiami]

Right - recalling - did you use a set of LeMans Decals ??  In that same race was the team Cunningham white w blue striped E - with fuel injection - which might be my destination - that particular E type resides - unrestored - in the Rev’s Collection - in Naples  …

[kensar]

Definitely replace the wheels.  The under hood area can be made to look decent with a little scratching.

I overcame the red plastic with lots of Tamiya  white primer!

 

[Pierre Rivard]

1 hour ago, absmiami said:

Right - recalling - did you use a set of LeMans Decals ??  In that same race was the team Cunningham white w blue striped E - with fuel injection - which might be my destination - that particular E type resides - unrestored - in the Rev’s Collection - in Naples  …

Decals were just from spares (racing number & not much else for this one). Great choice going with the Cunningham entry. Dunlop racing wheels, fuel cell with roof filler, fuel injection, dry sump system and so much more. Now we have a project!

Edited December 26, 2024 by Pierre Rivard

[AmericanMuscleFan]

You are a real Andrew, a real enthusiast, even finding space and time to start a new hobby shop and a build during a visit to your relatives.  There is nothing that can stop an artist from creating! 👍  Despite its high parts count, I'm sure you'll take this kit to the next level like you always do!

[jaymcminn]

 

I took the opportunity to use a set of RMCoM Dunlop wheels on mine. This kit is incredibly frustrating as there's so much about it to like but the execution is lacking in several areas. The bonnet to body fit on mine was terrible and took a lot of tweaking to get halfway decent. In the end it looks like an E-Type and all four wheels touch so I'm happy! 

 

[absmiami]

[absmiami]

Nice paint JayC - i’ll probably use a set of Norman Veber’s Dunlop wheels too …

[absmiami]

I shot these at Rev’s in Jun 22 …

[absmiami]

The engine bay on the 10 Cunningham car was actually more D Type than E Type - Cunningham ran the D type engines in his earlier LeMans entries - so he was familiar with them - you can see here the D type exhausts and oil tank - and the fuel injection is the same set up that he had in his long nose D Type in ‘57 and ‘58 - 

[absmiami]

4 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

You are a real Andrew, a real enthusiast, even finding space and time to start a new hobby shop and a build during a visit to your relatives.  There is nothing that can stop an artist from creating! 👍  Despite its high parts count, I'm sure you'll take this kit to the next level like you always do!

Well - i was faced w a decision - hang out with mom-in-law, sister-in-law, and wife watching the Hallmark channel and old family videos - or sneak downstairs and build a model - actually - i was sent downstairs - banished - the basement has everything i needed - except a fridge - mite fix that on my next trip North …

[iBorg]

15 hours ago, absmiami said:

There is a living breathing hobby shop in Charlestown, WV …. Called - The Hobbies Shop …. 

Not to be a rivet counter but the shop is in Charles Town not Charleston. Strange as it is there's both a Charles Town and a Charleston in the state. Charles Town is almost at the Maryland-Virginia border while Charleston is the state capital nearer the Kentucky-Ohio border. I point this out to save visitors in their travels.

[absmiami]

Gracias I borg - i post on my eye phone - and the stupid phone thought i meant Charleston -  remember - its ALWAYS the phone’s fault ….

[Phildaupho]

Great project. Looking forward to more.