Morgan Three Wheeler - finished

The Morgan three wheeler is now finished. The first image shows it on the scratch built display base, although I have still not glued it down - I am still not sure if I should.

The remaining two images show the completed Morgan Super Sports. The plastic construction kit was a gift for my birthday back in March and I knew at the time that there would be issues as there were parts missing from the box, but even so I think it has turned out very well and follows the Bonhams auction site images for CHP 68 as best as I could.

I'm not sure I would build another one, but might now look at plastic kits of old motor cars or similar just to see what I can achieve.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part twelve

The windscreen and exhausts have be de-chromed, painted and weathered. there was an issue with attaching the exhaust to the right hand body or engine and I have had to add some asbestos looking bandage to cover a 2mm gap. I think this is to do with the engine being attached slightly off-centre, but it is not obvious on the model. In addition the ends of the exhausts have been drilled out to make them look a little more realistic. Weathering of the exhaust followed the Bonhams auction site Moggy with various inks and washes being used to colour the heat-effected metal. The clear plastic 'glass' was glued in place with PVA glue.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part eleven

At this stage the body has been glued to the very flimsy chassis and the engine has been detailed with leads. I have not glued the front wheel in place yet as I think it will be better to have them removable while I work on the chrome exhaust and painted mud guards.

I have been surprised at just how delicate the chassis part are and don't expect this model will take any rough handling.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part ten

The spare wheel was test fitted into the rear before I added the modified boot rack. I wanted a wooden rack rather than the chrome one in the kit. The rear number plate has been modified to fit directly on to the wheel rather than having a decorative chrome wheel cover - I think this looks better.

The dash has been painted and the steering wheel has been fitted. I needed to search my decal store for dials as none were included with my kit. Once these were fitted, I gloss varnished over the dials rather than fit the clear parts which were included.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part nine

Following on from the earlier post I waited 24 hours for the Tamiya British Racing Green to fully dry before I airbrushed the whole model with Galleria matt varnish. I had seen that early Morgans were more likely to have a satin finish than a gloss one and the Galleria varnish gave the perfect finish I was looking for.

I used the Thayer & Chandler airbrush that I had picked up at the Malvern Flea Market - see this post for more details and it worked perfectly when applying the varnish.

The Morgan body shell was then weathered by adding subtle rust spots and some fading. I used acrylic paints for the rust and oil paint for the fading. In addition I have used watercolour pencils for the scratches seen in the Bonham's auction site images that I am using as reference.

I am well aware that some might think it sacrilege to weather such a rare model, but using the Bonham's auction site for Morgan CHP 68 has meant that I have a true representation of an original Morgan Super Sports to work from and I have enjoyed the challenge of trying to copy an original rather than a pristine model.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part eight

The bright red plastic body shell was first lightly sanded and cleaned before I applied Halfords grey automotive primer from a spray can. Prior to spraying the main colour of Tamiya British Racing Green, also from a spray can, I lightly buffed the primer with a paper coffee filter (a very mild abrasive), The British Racing Green was sprayed on on light coats to make sure there were no runs.

The chrome radiator was slightly weathered with acrylic paints before being glued in place with superglue. Throughout this spray painting period the model was held with a Mole grip on one of the plastic panels under the bonnet. This meant that the body could be sprayed and allowed to dry without handling.

Tony

Father's Day Grand Prix

Or the Father's Day Scalextric Challenge.

It's all set up for the Grandchildren (and adults) to race on.

I'll update later who won.....

Tony

Miniature Wargames issue 495

Issue 495 of Miniature Wargames - July 2024 has the second part of my two-part series showing how I first built and then painted a model based on one of the old Games Workshop card buildings - The Armoury.

For more information about the magazine contents, please see this link.

The remaining images show part of the process in painting this model, from grey basecoat to early weathering and

finally, varnishing and decorating the base.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part seven

I had said that my next post would be about the Morgan's red plastic body, but..... Instead I have spent the last couple of days building myself a base for the model. I have used a piece of clear perspex and cork to build the Tarmac road section and finished it off with real wood veneer trim. It's just big enough for the three wheel Morgan to sit upon.

The next post will be about the Morgan's body.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part six

I have painted both the floor and the leather seat with acrylic paints but have not glued them in place, I think it will make it easier to construct and paint the rest of the model with these two pieces still loose. The two front wheels are also loose and will be glued in place later.

 The next project will be the red plastic body.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part five

The seats were moulded in smooth shiny black plastic and looked very toy-like. I used my Dremel with a cutting disc, a scalpel and various sandpapers to 'age' the leather and give it a more distressed look. The leather seats were painted with various acrylic paints, then repeatedly drybrushed and washed to achieve the look I wanted. I don't have any work-in-progress shots, but here you can see the finished effect.

I think the seats look much better now and should give the interior a more lived-in look.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part four

The chrome plated plastic engine took some time to get right but following the Bonhams Auction site images, I managed to get something I was happy with. At this stage the front wheels are still just push fit, I will glue them in place later.

The pale grey engine housing, chrome cylinders and 'M' logo heads were copied from the earlier Bonhans site. So far everything has been brush painted.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part three

The front suspension was one of the most fiddly parts of construction so far, there were parts that were less than 1mm in section and lots of reaming out of holes to make things work.

In this final image I have loosely attached the two front wheels to give an idea of the stance of the model.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - part two

 

When I was first given the model kit I was told that there might be the odd piece missing and this has proven to be the case. The chain drive was missing so I built a replacement from bits in my spares box. I used some yellow gears and blue tape which was strengthened with superglue. In addition there was a small feature missing from the gear box, but this was easy to replace, I used a short section of knitting needle which was glued in place with more superglue.

The second image shows the rear wheel, gear box and the first parts of the frame. Up to this point all of the painting was brush painted with acrylic paints and Galleria matt varnish. I have used Tamiya thin and superglue to glue the parts so far.

Throughout the build I have been very impressed with the very fine detail of this old kit - parts of the frame are less than 1mm thick and easily damaged, as you can see by the missing part of the frame (lower edge and support cross member). I've kept this safe and will add it later in the build. I can also confirm that I have yet to glue any piece in place without some considerable cleaning up and de-flashing particularly on any chrome parts!

Tony

Silicone Workstation

Some time ago I saw a YouTube video giving details of a new silicone workstation or mat that the YouTube-er was using as a work mat for plastic kit modelling. The soft silicone mat is described as a silicone soldering mat and as expected has sections for holding circuit boards and screws (see below).

I thought it would be interesting to pick one up and ordered my via Amazon. My intention is to add a self healing cutting mat over the main work station (I have a spare cutting mat - which I will cut to size). The silicone mat will not allow glues or paint to stick to the surface, so should be OK as a base for painting BUT SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR CUTTING!

This image (taken from the internet) shows the size and design. I also chose the blue version, but I have seen different designs and colours are available.

I am very well aware that I have loads (I mean loads) of different tools, many of which I do never use. But I'm confident that this new addition will be useful.

Tony

Morgan Three Wheeler - ACADEMY model kit

Earlier this year I posted details of this 1/16th scale Morgan three wheeler Super Sports model kit from ACADEMY that I had been given as a birthday present. I thought it was about time I started to assemble it. For more details, see this post.

I have decided that I will finish and paint the model as a well used and slightly run-down Morgan as seen on a Bonham's action site for the Morgan three wheeler registration number CHP 68. The Morgan will be British racing green with Claret red wheels and trim

I started with the wheels which were dismantled, cleaned up and then glued together before I brush painting them in a Claret red colour. In this image you can see that I have fitted the soft vinyl tires and given the finished wheels a light rust wash.

I would hope to get some more work done on this beautiful model very soon.

Tony