Triumph TR3A
Triumph ran a factory team of TR3As in the 1958 Alpine Rally ( and other rallies ) as per this pic.
There's also a good film of the Alpine Rally on Youtube, showing this and other cars from the factory team, including VRW 223, that I'm going to model.
The core kit I'm using is the simple yellow Lindberg one. To the left is an Aurora version, a 'glue bomb' that I'm going to scavenge for detail parts; the Lindberg is low on detail, but has a one-part shell which should be stronger.
The chassis is an MRRC one for their Cobra, the earlier version with a front-mounted motor. Also in the background is an MRRC front steering unit, which I'll be patching on to the chassis.
The wheels are Cartrix BRM ones with Classic tyres, but I'll be appliqueing the hubs from the Lindberg kit to these, for correctness of detail.
As said, the chassis is an MRRC Cobra one, the earlier model with the forward-mounted motor ( this setup chosen to free up space to build a full interior for the car ). The width of the chassis is fine, and the rear has been trimmed to suit the TR3A body, and drilled with a hole to take a rear chassis-mounting screw.
The Front of the chassis was cut off vertically right down the front engine mount, and a vertical sheet of black plastic card glued on and reinforced. The motor is a standard Mabuchi one. I didn;t have a 2mm nylon bearing to hold the prop shaft, so I salvaged a brass/bronze one from one end of an old Johnson motor, and used that instead. Sprocket, pinion, rear axle and bronze axle bearings are standard Scalextric-type ones, Note also that I've added an exhaust tailpipe, made from aluminium tubing.
I added a second vertical sheet of plastic card to the front of the chassis, pivoting it on a section of plastic tube set in to the rear vertical plate, and secured with a clip made from brass wire; this pivoting allows the front wheels to move up and down on a beam axle basis, which allows the car to settle naturally on the track, obviating the need jig the chassis to ensure all four wheels are on the ground, and compensating for any wheel/tyre irregularities ( no tyre truing needed ) as well as any lumps / bumps / twists on the track. There are bump stops to limit the pivoting to a couple of mm.
An MRRC Ackerman steering unit has been mounted on the the front pivoting plate. Wheels fitted to the MRRC unit turn on a screw through a brass collet, but this means the screw head is visible on the outside of the wheel; I've hidden the screw by slitting the front wheel vertically and putting the screw in to the inside half, with both the inside half and the the outside half held together by the tyre - job done ! As regards hub detail, I've cut down the Lindberg kit wheels to just the centre bit, then flattened off the Cartrix wheels on the outside, and glued on the Lindberg bits. I've also detailed up the wheel hubs, taking off the hubcaps and adding a centre with an axle stub and wheel bolts.
I've also had to 'reverse' the dashboard, that is, move the steering wheel over to the other (British) side and - of course - do the same with the glovebox. Note also that I've added a passenger 'grab handle' above the glovebox.
Crew and interior finished off in various matt enamels and acrylics; dashboard dials from a Patto's Place decal sheet; also added a notepad for the navigator. Wheels have been painted off in silver enamel, with details picked out in dark grey, and grey also used on exhaust pipe.
To make an interior, I've cut down the yellow kit floorpan, and added a boxed-in section at the front, to hide away the back of the motor. I've attached the Aurora donor dashboard and steering wheel to the box. The transmission tunnel has been increased in size to give some clearance for the prop shaft ( I used a section of plastic ballpoint pen case for this). The seats are Lindberg, but it was necessary to jack them up by 2-3 mm, as they were originally too low.
The crew are made up from assorted MRRC driver and 1/32-1/35 military figure bits.
OK, a lot of work done here!
Around the nose, headlight apertures have been drilled out, as have sidelights, the holes in the radiator grille are for spotlights to peg in to, and the badge has been replaced with one from the Aurora donor kit.
The seal strips between the front wings and the body have been done with stretched sprue.
The Lindberg windscreen has had some curvature added to the top bar, and has been set on to the body at the correct angle.
Sidescreens have been made up from 30 thou plastic card.
To the right, a hardtop has been made up using a chunk of Airfix Mini roof, laminated up with some plastic card, and shaped; rain guttering, window frame and roof spotlight mount added.
Steering wheel is from the Aurora donor.
The front bumper comes from the Aurora donor (better than the Lindberg one), and has had a number plate mount added.
The glazing at the front is done from 20 and 40 thou clear sheet, and note tax disc in windscreen!
The blob of Blutak has on it (from front to back) headlights from a cheap diecast embedded in rims made from small-scale military tank wheels and chrome-foiled, then chrome spots with black quilted protective covers, then sidelights from the Aurora, then a roof light cobbled up from a Scalextric 'classic' Mini one, then rear indicators and rear lights made up from red and orange clear sprue, and finally a rear-view mirror.
The rear of the body has been plated in, with an extra block of plastic card inside to provide purchase for the single screw. There's also a load of lead hidden inside there, to balance up the weight of the front- mounted motor. There's a block of laminated-up plastic card just behind each front wheel arch, to take the other two screws to hold the chassis on.
And I've also added interior door detail, pockets, door pulls and sidescreen mounting brackets. And I've also patched in the rear seat from the Aurora donor.
I sprayed off the shell and roof with Humbrol grey primer.
This allowed me to see any imperfections / scratches etc., which I then repaired.
Finally the shell and roof were given a couple of diluted coats of light grey acrylic ( darker grey original Humbrol primer remains on the windscreen surround and sidescreens )
Finished!
Shell painted off in a custom mix acrylic 'Lichfield Green', and the roof in a custom mix 'Apple Green', then shine applied using several coats of Klear acrylic floor polish.
Chrome done with Bare-metal Foil, with smaller details like 'triumph' lettering on bonnet picked out in silver paint.
Number and rally plates run up on the computer, and printed off in plain paper and decal paper ( number plates I do on paper, then cover this with clear sellotape, cut out and PVA on ); Big white '403's on sides and bootlid done with Colorado decals, suitably adapted.
Note also spotlight protective covers done in matt black, and sidelights done in a light grey - and also Triumph badge on bonnet picked out with red and black. And the rear lights and indicators have been done using Tamiya and humbrol clear orange and red paints.
