MG's Midget

[Migrant]

As in 'Mike Grant's Midget', the classic 1957 Daihatsu of course. It's almost that long ago since I built a car model so this should be interesting. It's an ARII 1/32 kit moulded predominantly in bilious green.

[JamesPerrin]

Looks like something you can well work you magic on Mike. Are you going to stick with the kit 'markings' or get creative?

[Migrant]

Thanks James, I quite like the kit's colour scheme although I've seen pics of an all-yellow one that looks quite nice.

[Migrant]

First off, here's one of the main sprues. Not only is it Kermit-green, the plastic is extremely hard and brittle. The moulding quality isn't bad, but virtually every piece needs a seam line and/or flash removing so it's going to be a bit of work.



Not sure why ARII supply four tyres for a three-wheeler vehicle, I'm guessing it's probably a common sprue with some of its other releases. Anyway, they're soft rubber and eliminating the attachment points is impossible.



I've actually made a start and glued a few bits together.

[splash]

Nice green I owned a TR7 in that colour.

[JohnRatzenberger]

Almost looks like a John Deere lawn tractor trailer ...

[Migrant]

It doesn't look like much but this represents some major progress considering how much time was spent cleaning up the parts


Various parts primed with gloss black enamel prior to shooting with Alclad Chrome, which I've subsequently done. First time I've used it and I'm impressed, it really does come out looking like the pre-chromed parts supplied in many kits.


The glowing green plastic still pulsates through the Tamiya white primer but I'm fairly confident that after a few coats of paint it'll cover OK. I'm leaving the canvas 'hood' off the back. The kit part looks way too big, much too thick to represent canvas, and doesn't fit well, plus I quite like the look of it open-backed. I'm resisting the urge to turn it into a 'Technical' with a machine-gun mounted on the bed.

[flakmonkey]

With the few car kits I've done, I've found that it never looks as if you have done much at the end of each session. You seem to collect various piles of cleaned up parts and finished sub assemblies and then suddenly it all goes together.

I'm resisting the urge to turn it into a 'Technical' with a machine-gun mounted on the bed.

Poll opportunity!

[splash]

I agree it needs a poll

[JamesPerrin]

Are you still waiting on the postman Mike?

[Migrant]

I am James, most of the bits are painted and ready for final assembly once I've polished the paint.

[Migrant]

The polishing compounds arrived yesterday and I dutifully got stuck in rubbing the stuff into my paintwork. A little too hard apparently, as it's taken the paint right off on the edges/raised detail. Sigh. I'll have to re-paint. Planes are much more fun.

[JamesPerrin]

At last! I'm sure you'll have more fun as this little curiosity comes together.

[Migrant]

Thanks James, and yes, it is beginning to come together, although in a 2-steps-forward-1-step-back kind of way. ;)

Main sub-assemblies have been painted and the chassis put together. There's some touching up to do on the front panel as well as some additional chrome bits to mask and paint. (It looks shinier in real life than in the pics, although it's not a super-hard mirror gloss like real car modellers achieve.)




In sawing off the windscreen from the sprue I managed to drag the blade right across it, leaving a deep scratch that I've now sanded and polished, and the screen has been dipped in Future and left to dry.

[JamesPerrin]

The colours are great, very utilitarian. Are you going to add a load?