This model is the first in a new line of high quality kits of sports-prototype
racecars published in print by PROTOTYP. This is an Online-shop at
www.prototyp.org, owned by the designer Ryan Hicks. The represented car is
available in 3 versions: a red-green Castrol-livery and 2 in purple Jaguar-Castrol-livery.
One of the last versions was chosen is the review kit. I used a pre-publishing
test version, but no major changes were made to the final sets. All are in scale
1/24.
The Kit: The package comes wtih 5 A4-sheets of superb high-quality prints on 3 kinds of paper: 1 cover sheet (with 'exploded' views on the back) on appr. 160gr/m2 normal paper, 2 sheets with the bodyparts on appr. 90 gr/m2 high-glosspaper, 2 sheets with the chassis and wheels on appr. 80gr/m2 matt paper. There are no written instructions, only exploded views. On the Prototyp-site are extensive How-to-Construct pages available.
About the paper: At first look the paper seems rather thin and flimsy. I especially exepected to run into trouble with the chassisparts . I remember my first remark to the designer was:"do you realy expect me to build a solid model from this thin stuff?" he encouraged me to go on, having built all testmodels with this paper. Finally, I had to go back on almost all of my doubts; the final construction becomes solid enough. It is important that the builder takes the time to get used to it with some scrap. Scoring especially needs a different kind of feel&touch.; Once used to it it works fine in most parts. The glossy paper appeared not sensitive to fingerprints and is easy to handle with clean dry hands. It is very tacky to the solvent-based glue I used, so there's a little time-frame ('potlife') to do adjustments. On the other hand, this makes speedy building possible! When testing with 2 kinds of water-based, no problems occured with sparing use of glue.
Construction:
the overall construction consists of 4 segments:
1- the bottom plate with rear suspension
2- the chassis-tub with the 'steerable' front suspension
3- the body of the car
4- the wheels
Bottom plate:
The bottom plate is built up from 2 main parts and 5 detail parts. Part A-4 is fairly simple to build: fold the front and glue backsides together, leaving the 2 glue-tabs free and upward. At the rear the same is done with the rear fenders inside. At the beginning of the diffusors' venturi (where the bottom starts bending upward) are 4 little triangles that have to be bent upwards as well.
More difficult is the diffusor itself (parts A-1 through A-6). First, cut
out the red-indicated slots and the slits for the suspension. The last of these
are only indicated on the outside! Through these come the tabs of parts A-5
and 6, the rear lights. Next is to fold the part as indicated in the exploded
views.
The final glueing is to be done in a certain order: first the center section, next the inside of the outer parts of the venturi. Glue the outer, double-folded parts on both after this. Last is to double-fold the rear light area and glue in place. This will cover the tabs of the rear lights and the venturi-sides. Now the double-folds in the center section can be put in place. They also cover some tabs. Last is the boxed part of the rear suspension.
This method of covering glue tabs is not common in cardmodelling and one reason for the thin paper. My description may appear difficult to understand but with the actual part it becomes clear and easily done. Look at the pictures above and you can see where I went wrong. After putting the 2 mainparts together it will look like the picture. Excellent fit and don't try to do al tabs at the same time. Part C-9, the gearbox, can be done now. Make shure the slots line-up with those in the venturi-sides! Part C-25 can be done later, even last.
Chassis tub:
Finally both the bottomplate and chassistub can be glued together. It is best
to first put parts A5 & 6 on their place and align the chassis tub. Last
are the 2 steerable suspension parts. Finally it should look like the pictures
to the left.
Car-bodywork:
I started on building the detail parts like the exhaust boxes and the NACA-ducts.
First of all, after scoring, cut out the square for the exhausts. Same goes
for the ducts in the sides. Next glue the exhaustboxes in place. Then cut out
the squares at the rear and score and fold the lower square upward, outside.
In contrary to the views, I decided at this point to put C-11 & 12 on their
places. Parts D-6 & 7 can be glued followed by D-8.
Now fold the rear part carefully and fix it together with parts D-4/12. Don't cut the wheel area yet. Below the grey square area I put a reinforcement using a straight piece of paperclip. Make this long enough to keep the fenders straight as well. The grey part covers the glue-tabs of D-8 and the paperclip. Finally, attach part C-10. After drying, cut out the wheel-areas.
The nose is built as easily as indicated in the views. I found it better to cut the top glue-tabs of C-19 & 22 after attaching them to C-1. Extra attention appeared to be needed for part D-9; in the printing 2 NACA-ducts got lost. Designer Ryan Hicks will send you a template or improve the design. The later buyers will probably get no problem in this, like I did. As with the rear, I reinforced the nose under the in-folded dark grey part.
To complete the body the nose- and rear-segments have to be attached. First, start with the tabs around the windshield. Some adjustments are possibly needed; it is best to start with glueing the top-tabs only, then one-by-one do the rest, interleaving between left and right.
The body and chassis can best be joined starting in the middle at the bulkhead. Do some dry-fits first. I didn't get a good fit right away and had to cut the curved center and bend it forward. There should be no problem in the final issue. When the center is placed correctly, attach the front and rear. I did the sides last. I fixed the bottom parts between 2 strips to keep them straight and set them apart to dry.
Wheels:
In making the wheels I used a different method than the the designer; I hate cutting many glue-tabs and suspected the glue & tab connection to be to visible. I therefore glued all parts together with the edge-to-edge (butt) method. Ommitting the tabs on the tires make them nice and round. Special attention is needed when cutting the parts; cut precisely on the edge and ceratainly not on the colored areas. The fit is very exact and every mis-cut will cause a gap.
Last but not the least are the 'tidbits' such as the rear wing, mirrors and air scoops. Build each part and cover the gluetabs, especially at the scoops, with the black interiors. If wanted, cut these interiors and affix as seperate parts inside. Together, with the wheels, these are then attached to the body/chassis. To get the car standing horizontal on 4 'feet', I placed the bottom on some 2.5 mm cardboard strips, glue on the fixing points, and set the wheels on a flat surface and align them while the glue was still wet, then left to dry.
This kit is fairly easy to build for the avarage builder, although he/she has to get used to some uncommon constructions and the thin and flimsy paper. Overall production is at high level and the printing is next to perfect! The glossy paper requires clean labor, but resists fingerprints. Not difficult in handling. The fit is very tight and precise, also the cutting has to be as well. There's little room for adjusting to cover mistakes. When done, one ends up with a fine detailed model of a nice car that looks like the real thing.
Summary:
| Model: | Jaguar XJR-11 "Purple" Easy Version |
| Kit: | Prototyp |
| Designers: | Ryan Hicks |
| Availability: | Online shop at: www.prototyp.org |
| Scale: | 1/24 |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
| Instructions: | Construction pages on website |
| Diagrams: | Exploded view |
| Fit: | Excellent |
| Coloring and Artwork: | Excellent |
| Printing: | Excellent |
| Resources: | Prototyp website |
