Le Mans Winners in 1/12 Scale
by Dale King

1956 D Type Jaguar

This model was based on the kit by Retrotoys. This was their first model in 1/12th and unfortunately was very crude. I spent well in excess of 400 hours correcting and refining the model before I even started painting it. The list of changes is quite extensive and I will only go into some of them. First off, the lower body was so bowed out that it left a gap of over 1/2 inch where it should meet the chassis. I made 2 long cuts below the centerline and between the wheel wells. I then taped all the pieces together pulling them inward toward the base plate. After epoxying them in place I used Evercoat bondo to fill and smooth it out.

All of the body panel lines were way too wide (equal to 1+ scale inch!) and had to be filled and recut. The body surface was not smooth and the rivets were uneven so the entire body was sanded out. Holes for the rivets were drilled, countersunk and later reinstalled. The louvers on the hood were clogged with resin (the mold had torn up apparently) and facing the wrong direction so they were removed and replaced with new ones made using Evergreen quarter round strips. The windshield and headlight covers were replaced with heavier material. The small chrome handles (3) at the side of the hood and the rear were replaced..

The tail light lenses in the kit were extremely crude white metal. Even polishing them up and painting them with Tamiya clear red didn't work. I created new ones out of solid Lucite (a type of relatively hard, clear Plastic) and used Tamiya clear red on them. The car was painted Ecurie Ecosse blue lacquer from Model Car World with several coats of clear over that. I also replace the ill fitting white metal 'wood' part of the steering wheel with real wood. Unfortunately I had to match the size of the photoetched center which I feel was too large. There were more revisions but I think you get the idea. I've always loved this car so for me it was worth the effort.