Austin Healey bugeye Sprite

[cruz]

http://images14.fotki.com/v384/photos/0/1307210/11504714/Bugeyeproject1010-vi.jpg

[cruz]

http://images14.fotki.com/v384/photos/0/1307210/11504714/Bugeyeproject1010-vi.jpg

[cruz]

Sorry fellas, I will post more WIP pictures later, can't do this well at all from my mobile...

[cruz]

Thanks for the help anyway Derick, like I said, I will be updating this here soon.

[Paul H]

Wheels look good - is that BMF or Alclad to the rim edge? Also, this is the Gunze kit isn't it? If so, it's very nice but there is an accuracy issue with the interior side panels, which the HiTech version only partially corrected with its additional photo etched parts, and which has always bugged me

The door interior panels should be body colour as they are actually the door frame, except for the raised door pockets, which are the interior colour. However, the kit supplies just a single piece for the entire door interior per side, which is missing the cut-out area above the pocket trim panel, and the instructions call out the whole panel except the pocket to be painted in body colour, which looks wrong compared to the original. Much of the area above the pocket should actually be open & the back of the pocket is a piece of trim (in the interior colour) glued directly to the rear of the door skin. Below are a few pics that show how it should look:

(this one not only has the original & correct factory moulded rubber floor mats, but also the back of the door skins behind the pockets are covered in the same textured rubber material)

this view shows the depth of the pockets well, however note that the painted surround at base of the gearlever should be body colour.

All these views also show the correct treatment for the capping rail above the dash, which should be vinyl trimmed in the interior colour, whereas the kit has all the cappings as chrome (they are in fact polished aluminium), and no paint call-out for the one above the dash.

Apologies for the length of this, but if you need any other reference info, please don't hesitate to ask, as I know these cars well, and am (very) slowly converting one of these kits into a fully detailed version. Looking forward to seeing more of your build!

Edited February 11, 2013 by Paul H

[cruz]

Thanks for the info Paul, I appreciate that very much. This is a model I am putting together for a client so I am not going too crazy with accuracy or anything like that even though I will try to make it as accurate as possible, also, the guy will not pay for the extra details so it's being built right out of the box.

So far I have already painted, wetsanded and polished the body and also added clear. The paint is Tamiya Racing Green with 5 coats of Testor's Wet Look clear. The dash is also completed and added to the body. I am still working with the suspension and other small details so I will share a little later.

http://www.fotki.com'>Hosted on Fotki

http://www.fotki.com'>Hosted on Fotki

http://www.fotki.com'>Hosted on Fotki

The wheels were actually polished and waxed since they are metal, once I saw how nice the metal looked when I finished buffing it, I didn't waste my time trying to paint them.

http://www.fotki.com'>Hosted on Fotki

[MrObsessive]

Ahhhh Cruz! You're killing me as this reminds me very much of my MG Midget (nee Sprite), I owned back in the mid '80's. Mine was red though with the wire wheels and the "round" rear wheelwells (a '72).

Yours is gonna come out great, and I hope the fellow you're building this for is going to make it worth your while!

[Paul H]

Thanks for the info Paul, I appreciate that very much. This is a model I am putting together for a client so I am not going too crazy with accuracy or anything like that even though I will try to make it as accurate as possible, also, the guy will not pay for the extra details so it's being built right out of the box.

The wheels were actually polished and waxed since they are metal, once I saw how nice the metal looked when I finished buffing it, I didn't waste my time trying to paint them.

Ah - you have the Hi-Tech version, so the doors look much better than the regular all plastic release. Looking forward to seeing more of this project, as I've only ever seen the regular version built before, and the Hi-Tech has some very nice upgrades, especially the grille & bumper irons.

Very interesting to see how the metal wheels turned out. I was going to use the plastic wheels with the separate chrome hubcaps (from the regular kit) for mine, as I didn't like the look of how the hubcaps were cast together with the wheel in the Hi-Tech, but seeing yours has changed my mind, as those look great. Really didn't expect them to polish up so well, but your before & after pic says it all!

[vintagedragfan]

that is some beautiful work Mr. Cruz, paint looks flawless!

[rmvw guy]

Looks good and worth waiting for, I will keep checking back for updates. The paint and wheels look fantastic.

[John Goschke]

Cool subject! Beautiful work on the paint and the graining on the steering wheel.

[Alyn]

Nice reminder of how good you are at this game.

Beautiful paint.

Super nice dash.

You never let us down.

[meaneyme]

I tried putting that kit together once and gave up, a little too challenging for my abilities. You on the other hand are making this one look easy. Love the look of the dash and the steering wheel, that interior color really compliments the shell color. I only wish you were building it for me. Can't wait to see the completion of this one.