1931 Model 'A' Ford 2-Door Sedan Tudor

Brand: Minicraft Model Kits
Title: 1931 Model 'A' 2-Door Sedan
Number: 11238
Scale: 1:16
Type: Full Kit
Released: 200# New Box (1990's?)
Topic: Ford Model A (1928 - 1931) >> Cars (Vehicles)

Decal sheet from the kit. If you want and/or need a copy of this sheet, simply:

• On a PC, right-click on the image and select Save Image As... from the context specific menu (pop-up). Then select a location to save the file.
• On a Mac, Control-click and select the option to save the image.
• On a cellphone long tap and select Download from the menu.

Open the image in a photo editor and to keep the proper scale, the image should be: 60mm x 49mm, with a resolution of 300px x 300px.

These are the engine parts for assembly steps 1 & 2.

The left side of the engine block, head, oil pan and water pump.

Right side of the engine block, head, oil pan and water pump.

A hole needs to be drilled to fit a bracket, at least in this kit. The hole position can be seen, therefore, all I had to do was run a #61 (0.039") drill into the water pump housing.

I broke the dip stick while cleaning flash from it. I then made another one using 20 AWG (American Wire Gauge) soft drawn plated wire.

The frame consists of a multiple of pieces and must be assembled. The instructions state to glue the 'cross members' to one side of the frame and then glue the other side of the frame to the 'cross members'. That didn't make sense to me. How could you assure the frame would be square and not racked? Therefore, I inserted the front and mid 'cross members' and a 'coupling rod', then used a pair of clamps to hold everthing together and square while I applied some Tamiya liquid quick setting glue to the joints.

Before this photo, the rear frame cross member was installed as I told about in my YouTube video part 02.

This photo is of the front bumper supports glued and clamped until the glue dries.

All the engine parts are ready for primer.

Shown is an example of the wheels after having the paint stripped from them. I had them primed; however, the primer on some of the wheels did not seem to adhere well. I use acrylic, water based paint; therefore, I put the wheels in a bath of 95% IPA and the paint lifted off almost immediately. I then took an acid brush and lightly brushed all the paint from between the spokes.

The kit allows for one of two different left fenders; a plain fender, shown in this picture, and/or one with a well for a spare tire. I decided to use the fender without the well for a spare tire. This fender does not fill well and needs some work to make it fit properly.

The fender with the spare tire well is in worse shape than the one without. It is slightly warped and would need a lot of rework. This is not why I'm not using it. I simply prefer the look of the car without the spare tire on the side fender.

The head liner of the cab had two large injector pin marks that were deep pockets, too deep to sand out. I used Tamiya putty to fill-in the injector pin pockets and will then sand everything smooth.

I decided I want to do the body in two tone blue with the sides a light blue and the top a darker blue. I also decided that I didn't want to do the fenders in black, like most Model 'A's' seem to be. I decided I want to do the fenders in a very deep, dark purple/violet. This photo shows the colors I'm fairly sure I'll be using. They are a special mix as outlined below by number on the photo:

1. This blue will be used for the center portion of the body. It consists of: 1-part Tamiya X-4 Blue 3-parts Tamiya X-2 White
   
   
2. This is close to the fender color I'll be using. It may look black in this photo; however, it is a deep dark purple and consists of: 3-parts Tamiya X-16 Purple 3-parts Tamiya X-3 Royal blue 1-part Tamiya X-1 black 1-part Tamiya X-4 blue I will be tweaking this color a-bit.
   
   
3. The top of the body will be: 2-parts Tamiya X-16 Purple 3-parts Tamiya X-3 Royal Blue

The reason I'm showing the exhaust manifold is because I started by thinking I would paint it with Vallejo 77.723 Exhaust Manifold, which I did. However, I didn't like the look of it against the Olive Green engine. Therefore, I covered it with a 1:1 mix of Tamiya X-9 Brown and Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow. This makes it look close to the color that I've seen on actual Model 'A' exhaust manifolds.

MORE COMING SOON