Having just finished the Italeri Phantom II plastic kit, see other thread. I am gonna proceed with building a 1:16 scale 1937 Phantom III by Entex. The same kit was also produced by Revell, Anmark and Gunze Sangyo.

I have this kit lying around for almost 3 years now and I only assembled a part of the engine and then lost heart.


But as the Italeri build did me good, I am gonna unearth this kit and start cracking. Might take some time to finish it. This is quite a job.


The pictures below show the box, as bought, in a very derelict state, but the contents is okidoki.











The finished car should look like this (or any other colour)

I have made good progress with the chassis and engine assembly.


Engine, drivetrain and rear suspension now installed. The engine is not cemented yet, it will get further detailing first. I am now doing the front suspension (not an easy job). When that is installed the chassis will enter the spray booth.

Did some detailing on the engine and the chassis went through the spray booth.

that is another fine project Gerrit, looks good so far

More progress, we have a rolling chassis now, albeit the wheels are not fixed and far from finished. Consider it a mock up.


The front suspension, not an easy job, took many hours and lots of corrections, but patience won the day, it worked out well in the end. The petrol tank has been painted (an indication of the way the car is gonna look). Now what I will do next is finalize the exhaust system and get myself some tubing (see example) for the ignition system (not included in the kit).

When test fitting the lower body part on to the chassis, I found out that time has not been kind to this kit, as the rearwings were badly warped.


I corrected that by using a very small screw inside the rear wheel cavity and fixed to the leaf springs. Something that is obscured from the eye when the wheels are fitted and when the top coat is sprayed on.


Now the same to do on the other side, some further tweaking and on we go.

cant wait to see the finished project. Very nice attention to detail with the paint.

Tick wrote:
       

 


Thank you very much Tick for your kind appraisal. As this is not a simple snap together kit you might have to wait somewhat longer for the final result.


Not this kind of quality I hope:




Right now the lower body part is fitting quite snug on to the chassis, and the wheels are sitting just smack dab in the middle of their arches, which makes me happy.


Today I will proceed with test fitting all kinds of other parts and pre fabricating certain components like the radiator grille.


I will try to upholster the plastic seats with real leather. For that purpose my girlfriend donated one of her handbags, made of thin supple leather stuff. I am thinking of carpeting the floor. As well as putting wood pattern on the doors and facia. I have wood pattern paper in stock. Don't know if it is gonna work out well, but at least I will give it a try.

To be continued.

Got the engine firing on all 12 cylinders now by installing the  ignition cables. As the original V12 cylinder Phantom III engine was in fact a small sized Merlin (Spitfire) engine, it had double ignition, double pumps, double magneto, 24 spark plugs etc. etc.

I only did one outer bank of 6 plugs on each side and I am not sure whether the other inner 12 plugs will be done too.

There is too little room I fear. Must see.

Another (real) problem I have is the compartment floor. The gear box sticks out a bit too much, I am afraid I have to grind away a bit on the top of the transmission.

Having fixed the blue ignition leads I was not happy with the result after all.


The color, the thickness; it all made it look too hot rod-ish, not in keeping with a 1937 Rolls Royce motor car. So I changed the whole set up with a more vintage looking wiring set. More oldie looking now.

That certainly is so much better looking. Did you use electric wire cable?

RoutemasterNL wrote:
 


 


Yes Theo. As I am clearing out a lot of obsolete IT stuff at the office for recycling, I had a go at all kinds of computer cables.


Found some nice usable stuff. What I did is make some kind of spark plug cable (see example) with a bigger diameter for the plug, next putting the thinner cable inside.

It looks nothing short of stunning so far! I remember from my kit building days how the models were always 'inviting' to do some super-detailing like yours - all the tiny bolts and connections offer endless opportunities... only I never had the patience (or skills) to make something like this: normally I'd use a silver marker for the bolts and that was it.

Thanks Teebodk. This is rather a complicated kit from scratch and I seem to be daft enough to make it just that bit more complicated; often accompanied by much indecent language while working on it.  But it is fun (when it works) and it adds to the detail.


Instead of doing 2 or 3 diecasts cars a day, I am now working on a car that will be keep me busy for many weeks to come. Quite a cheap way of hobbying...........

Another day of paying some attention to my Entex Rolls Royce build.


I got the wiring on both sides down, the second half going a lot more smoother.


The lower body part got a first coat of its final color (true blue) and did some preparation of the interior. Like I said before, I am gonna try to upholster the seats with real leather and put carpeting on the floor, hoping to get that done this weekend.


The spare wheels, part of this mock up, have also been given a first coat. The lighter blue is the two tone color of the body. The lower part of the doors and bonnet will be finished like that. Progress? yes, but still a long, long way to go. With a kit like this you need to be part detective, part engineer, part inventor and completely nuts. The latter my best quality.





By the way a good friend of mine, we know each other for some 40 years, got a nice stash of plastic kits which he collected over many years. Mostly getting them from closed down businesses. He invited me to have a go at some of the Rolls Royce models, knowing I am reviving this kit building lunacy. Something to do during those lonely cold winter evenings...............