Jim R's 1/32 Airfix 1904 Darracq - Genevieve

[papa 695]

Loving the work going into this Jim, your well and truly lifting this kit to a higher level.

[Jon Heptonstall]

Looking great Jim.
There are quite a few civilian figures in 1/32 or 54mm.Model railway companies do loads.

[yak face]

Fantastic start jim , loving this. Theres nothing better than seeing an old dodgy kit get whipped into shape. The modifications and general clean up is superb , looking forward to the next progress , cheers tony

[Mini Me]

Just found this one Jim, you're turning this old gal into a sweet rendition....keep it going Sir! :thumb2:

[BattleshipBob]

Good god the kits older than me Jim!! Lovely start of a very interesting build Jim

[The Smythe Meister]

Missed this until now Jim :sad:
... Now that I've caught up mind I'd have to say that I love the look of it, :smiling3:....
... Remember the plaçcy bag kits very fondly, (especially the Soviet MiG jet kits back in my early days!!),
That's a cracking looking Charabanc you've got yourself there Mate, excellent stuff

[Jim R]

Thanks gentlemen for such kind comments. They do encourage me.
Neil - those figures look great. Where did they come from please?

You can see that the horn loops around from the side of the driver's seat to above the front mudguard.


This is what the kit provides :sad:


It is also very flattened.


I pressed the kit part into a lump of Plasticine, to get the shape, and attempted to scratch something better. The horn itself is stretched tube and the tube between the bulb and the horn is thin wire wrapped around a wire. The white tubes will be cut down later to make short, joining pieces. It may work :thinking:


Exhaust done and a rudimentary prop shaft added. I doubt it will be seen.


The two spare tyres on the back were just circles. I found a couple of ref. picture that showed spare tyres of that period wrapped in some kind of tape so rather than attempt to clean up the tyres and keep them round I just wrapped them in masking tape. I also scratched a couple of straps and buckles.


This is a where I'm at - mostly dry fit.


Thanks again for tagging along :thumb2:

[David Lovell]

Absolutely brilliant Jim ,fantastic work bringing it in to the modern world ,the kit with header card brought back some memories ,woolworths ,wooden floors and counters ,if I had half a crown and was prepared to walk it I could buy a kit and tube of cement then I had the choice of catching the local flyer home or get a bag of hot salted peanuts for 2d ah thoes were the days ,keep it coming Jim. Dave

[Mark1]

Some great additions Jim nice work.

[Tim Marlow]

Lovely scratch work Jim. You are really bringing this old timer up to snuff.

[Guest]

Great improvements to the kit, if you ask me. Wrapping the tyres in masking tape is a genius solution

[Neil Merryweather]

This is a real tour de force Jim!

[papa 695]

Great work so far Jim. Loving the build.

[Jim R]

Thanks guys.
The last major issue that I'm going to try to correct is the rear mudguard and the side steps. It's clear from this still from the film that they are separate. The step is on a bracket fixed to the chassis and sits just above and to the front of the end of the mudguard


The kit has the step attached to the mudguard. Makes things simpler I suppose. I cut off the step.


That meant that the mudguard now needed a new attachment to fix it to the chassis.




Two new side steps and brackets. The mesh is flooded with CA so hopefully will look a bit like chequer plate when painted..


Only a few parts left. The wheels will need a fair bit of clean up.

[yak face]

Outstanding scratchery going on here jim ! Love the steps and the spare tyres . Reminds me of the german car in the film ‘Monte carlo or bust !’ it had ( at least ) four spare tyres stacked on the rear deck all wrapped up like this , driven by the wonderful Gert Frobe .
keep up the superb work , i love to see an old kit get a proper makeover ! Cheers tony