Airfix 1:43 Jaguar E-Type Coupe (New Tool)

[dr_gn]

So here we go again. Another Airfix kit started, to join the two stalled builds. This model was released last year, and is a starter set:



It's a very simple kerbside model with few parts and limited mechanical detail, although it would be unfair to expect more for under £15:





The interior is OK, again fine for the price.

The wheels are a focal point of most car models, and the kit items are pretty crude. I got some aftermarket items from the Telford show:



The body shape looks excellent - far better than the rather odd box-art profile would imply. I am a bit of an E-Type aficianado, and to me this is one of the few scale models of the E-Type that captures the shape well:



It has the same old error that afflicts many E-Type models, in that it's badged as a 4.2 litre, but has 3.8 litre seats. (anyone wanting to model a 3.8 could simply cut off the "4.2 Litre" and "E-Type" bits of the decal.) The decals are OK, but it's a shame the four centre instruments aren't included, and a chequered horn-push button. Surely it wouldn't have broken the bank?



I believe the speedometer and tachometer decals are shown placed the wrong way around in the instructions too. Which brings us to the dashboard. Why Airfix decided to use a left-hand drive dashboard on a model of the undisputed king of classic British sports cars is beyond me. Presumably it's some attempt to appeal to the American market, but...come on.

Not a problem these days though: I took orthographic photographs of the kit dashboard, and imported them into Fusion 360 to get the interface features. I imported some canvases of the actual dashboard, and re-modelled it including modifications such as a more realistically contoured crash pad, better switch details, a heated rear screen switch & lamp, and radio speakers either side of the centre console. Here's the CAD WiP:



Here it is with supports added (and other DfM considerations taken into account) as it was straight off the printer:



Here it is with the supports removed, and primed, compared with the original:



This slots nicely into place, and just needs the original pedals adding, and the steering wheel. I might also CAD up an indicator stalk and housing at some point:







Since I want to model a 1964 4.2 litre car, I'll need to CAD up some replacement seats. I'll also make some door furniture and a more refined gear lever.

[Ozzie Dave]

Having seen the trolly you created in Fusion 360, the dashboard and such like, and realising that its many hours of cad programing to get those results I get the feeling that with all the issues you have seen with the last models the printing has become the sensible solution to get a result. The dash has so much more detail and a cleaner appearance. Once the printer volumes become larger will we see the death of kits? Will they simply produce a complete STL file to allow them to be built.

[dr_gn]

Ozzie Dave said:

Having seen the trolly you created in Fusion 360, the dashboard and such like, and realising that its many hours of cad programing to get those results I get the feeling that with all the issues you have seen with the last models the printing has become the sensible solution to get a result. The dash has so much more detail and a cleaner appearance. Once the printer volumes become larger will we see the death of kits? Will they simply produce a complete STL file to allow them to be built.

The problem for manufacturers selling .stl files is that once the file is out there, it's open to copy. With injection-moulding, it's not an issue.

For me, if a 3D printed part that I want is available, I'd buy it (like I did with the E-Type wheels). If it's not, I'll model it myself.

I think for 'serious' modellers, 3D modelling, with the associated skills needed to do the necessary design for manufacture for 3D printing will become an essential part of the hobby. Resolution will get better and better, printers will become cheaper, and it will take modelling to a new level. I like CAD modelling almost as much as traditional modelling, I love technical detail, and I'm willing to spend whatever time it takes to get a result, so...I'm happy!

[Langweilig]

dr_gn said:

So here we go again. Another Airfix kit started, to join the two stalled builds. This model was released last year, and is a starter set:



It's a very simple kerbside model with few parts and limited mechanical detail, although it would be unfair to expect more for under £15:





The interior is OK, again fine for the price.

The wheels are a focal point of most car models, and the kit items are pretty crude. I got some aftermarket items from the Telford show:



The body shape looks excellent - far better than the rather odd box-art profile would imply. I am a bit of an E-Type aficianado, and to me this is one of the few scale models of the E-Type that captures the shape well:



It has the same old error that afflicts many E-Type models, in that it's badged as a 4.2 litre, but has 3.8 litre seats. (anyone wanting to model a 3.8 could simply cut off the "4.2 Litre" and "E-Type" bits of the decal.) The decals are OK, but it's a shame the four centre instruments aren't included, and a chequered horn-push button. Surely it wouldn't have broken the bank?



I believe the speedometer and tachometer decals are shown placed the wrong way around in the instructions too. Which brings us to the dashboard. Why Airfix decided to use a left-hand drive dashboard on a model of the undisputed king of classic British sports cars is beyond me. Presumably it's some attempt to appeal to the American market, but...come on.

Not a problem these days though: I took orthographic photographs of the kit dashboard, and imported them into Fusion 360 to get the interface features. I imported some canvases of the actual dashboard, and re-modelled it including modifications such as a more realistically contoured crash pad, better switch details, a heated rear screen switch & lamp, and radio speakers either side of the centre console. Here's the CAD WiP:



Here it is with supports added (and other DfM considerations taken into account) as it was straight off the printer:



Here it is with the supports removed, and primed, compared with the original:



This slots nicely into place, and just needs the original pedals adding, and the steering wheel. I might also CAD up an indicator stalk and housing at some point:







Since I want to model a 1964 4.2 litre car, I'll need to CAD up some replacement seats. I'll also make some door furniture and a more refined gear lever.

I'm amazed that Airfix have gone for a 1/43 scale E-Type. Later this year, they're releasing an Aston Martin DB5 in the same scale. They could've produced new-tooled 1/32 versions of the E-Type and DB5.

Edited by Langweilig on Sunday 29th January 12:11

[dr_gn]

Langweilig said:

I'm amazed that Airfix have gone for a 1/43 scale E-Type. later this year, they're releasing an Aston Martin DB5 in the same scale. They could've produced new-tooled 1/32 versions of the E-Type and DB5.

They could have produced them in any scale, it's not like they're modifying existing moulds.

Is 1:35 very popular for car collectors? I guess 1:43 is smaller, so not as much detail needs to be included, which makes them simpler and cheaper, plus it's probably a more popular scale for modellers?

[tangerine_sedge]

dr_gn said:

Langweilig said:

I'm amazed that Airfix have gone for a 1/43 scale E-Type. later this year, they're releasing an Aston Martin DB5 in the same scale. They could've produced new-tooled 1/32 versions of the E-Type and DB5.

They could have produced them in any scale, it's not like they're modifying existing moulds.

Is 1:35 very popular for car collectors? I guess 1:43 is smaller, so not as much detail needs to be included, which makes them simpler and cheaper, plus it's probably a more popular scale for modellers?

1/32 - Airfix produced lots of cars in this scale back in the 60's/70's. I think this is the same scale as Scalextric, and was tied into the slot racing sets that Airfix produced back then.

1/43 - This was the scale that Heller pushed, I don't know if other manufacturers used this scale back in the day too? This has become more popular over time and it looks like Airfix has rejoined the scale (they did have some Heller moulds in their catalogue when they were owned by Heller in the 80's).
Because this was 'Heller scale' there's loads of old moulds of esoteric 70's french cars available After seeing the detail of the printed wire wheels and dashboard of that Jaaaag, there's potential for this scale to really take off. I'd buy reasonably priced printed kits of unusual subjects in this scale.

1/24 - This is the most common scale, with a vast range of manufacturers.

1/25 - Mostly a US scale, so check carefully when buying kits of US subjects!

1/35 - Some kits becoming available but mostly of subjects that can be used by military diorama modellers.

[dr_gn]

tangerine_sedge said:

dr_gn said:

Langweilig said:

I'm amazed that Airfix have gone for a 1/43 scale E-Type. later this year, they're releasing an Aston Martin DB5 in the same scale. They could've produced new-tooled 1/32 versions of the E-Type and DB5.

They could have produced them in any scale, it's not like they're modifying existing moulds.

Is 1:35 very popular for car collectors? I guess 1:43 is smaller, so not as much detail needs to be included, which makes them simpler and cheaper, plus it's probably a more popular scale for modellers?

1/32 - Airfix produced lots of cars in this scale back in the 60's/70's. I think this is the same scale as Scalextric, and was tied into the slot racing sets that Airfix produced back then.

1/43 - This was the scale that Heller pushed, I don't know if other manufacturers used this scale back in the day too? This has become more popular over time and it looks like Airfix has rejoined the scale (they did have some Heller moulds in their catalogue when they were owned by Heller in the 80's).
Because this was 'Heller scale' there's loads of old moulds of esoteric 70's french cars available After seeing the detail of the printed wire wheels and dashboard of that Jaaaag, there's potential for this scale to really take off. I'd buy reasonably priced printed kits of unusual subjects in this scale.

1/24 - This is the most common scale, with a vast range of manufacturers.

1/25 - Mostly a US scale, so check carefully when buying kits of US subjects!

1/35 - Some kits becoming available but mostly of subjects that can be used by military diorama modellers.

Tamiya's smaller F1 cars are all 1:20, which is a bit odd considering their WEC stuff (and road cars) are 1:24.

[72twink]

tangerine_sedge said:

1/43 - This was the scale that Heller pushed, I don't know if other manufacturers used this scale back in the day too? This has become more popular over time and it looks like Airfix has rejoined the scale (they did have some Heller moulds in their catalogue when they were owned by Heller in the 80's).
Because this was 'Heller scale' there's loads of old moulds of esoteric 70's french cars available After seeing the detail of the printed wire wheels and dashboard of that Jaaaag, there's potential for this scale to really take off. I'd buy reasonably priced printed kits of unusual subjects in this scale.

1/43 is the same as the train scale of O so 1/43 was chosen to drop in alongside as accessory vehicles in the 50's, it's since become huge. I can only guess Heller and now Airfix are hoping to drop their models on the shelves of the diecast collectors. I remember my brother showing me a resin Delta S4 kit he'd bought, it looked familiar and I grabbed an unpainted Heller S4 off the shelf - the resin kit by one of the better known French manufacturers was a direct lift of the heller kit, albiet with better glazing. The glazing is where plastic 1/43 kits fall down, it's always clunky next to the vac-formed parts in any 1/43 resin or white metal car kit.

[dr_gn]

Airfix have partially addressed the glazing issue by not providing any door glasses.

[RichB]

dr_gn said:

<clip> The wheels are a focal point of most car models, and the kit items are pretty crude. I got some aftermarket items from the Telford show:

Nice Michelin XVS tyres too as opposed to the Avon Super Safteys that Airfix appear to have fitted