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.

The kit comes with two right fenders, one with a the spare tire well, and one without the the spare tire well. I was torn as to which one to use, although I was leaning toward the one without the spare tire well. However, the final decision was made for me when I was dry fitting the pieces. The fender with the spare tire had a slight twist to it and did not fit well against the running board. When formed to fit the running board, the finder had a slight twist in it and did not match and line up with the left fender. Therefore, I'm using the fender without the tire well, which is the one I really wanted in the first place.

The mounting holes in the fan belt pulleys were too small to fit over the matching pin on the engine. It was an easy fix, simply drill open the holes in the pulleys.

At first look it wasn't obvious; however when dry fittng the oil filler pipe in the location on the engine it became very obvious. The part of the pipe that is exposed has an angled base to match the slope of the engine block. I only mention this for anyone who might want to build this kit that they pay attention to this detail so the pipe properly sets against the engine block.

The wheels on many Model A's are, by Ford's definition, the color 'Straw'. I mixed my own color using 1-part Tamiya X-8 Yellow and 3- parts Tamiya X-2 White. I primed the wheels using Valajo 74.601 Surface Primer Gray. I waited 24-hours and applied a coat of my mixed yellow. It just didn't seem to cover, and in spots, it looked like the surface was oily making the paint puddle. I placed the wheels in a bath of 91% IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) and stripped all the paint and primer. I then washed the wheels with warm water and some Dawn dishwasher soup, rinsed them and let them dry. I applied another coat of primer, waited 24-hours and repainted the yellow. Some wheels were okay and others not. This photo shows that I had to strip two of the wheels again, and actually, if you look at the ones that are yellow, there are still some spots that I'm not happy with.

So...I don't know if it's the plastic, or the paint, or maybe a chemical reaction between the Valajo primer and the Tamiya paint. The last is what I'm leaning toward. Valajo paints are fully water soluble. The Tamiya paints are alcohol based. It's possible that the alcohol in the Tamiya paint is lifting the water soluble Valajo paint?

There is some sort of bracket on the side of the engine. I tried to find out what it's for; however, I couldn't find any information on it at the time of this writing. The bracket has mounting alignment pins that match holes in the engine block. The lower hole, shown in this photo and already drilled, was not originally drilled. I measured the mounting pin and drilled the appropriate size hole. The upper hole was also too small, so I drilled that one open too. The next photo shows the bracket mounted.

The bracket shown in this photo was installed in the holes I previously drilled open. At the time of this writing, I'm not sure what this bracket is used for. I did some research and looked at some old service manuals and could not find a purpose for it. I will keep looking.

Carburetor is mounted. Since I took this picture and labeled it, I found that the filter should be either white or off-white. I'll brush paint the filter. I also plan to install the fuel lines, choke cable and throttle linkage.

I dry fitted the engine to the radiator to insure the fan would not hit the radiator. Well...initially it did. I had to move the fan back closer to the belt pulley and then trim the shaft to make it shorter.

This photo shows the front wheels re-clamped, after having to re-glue them, along with an insert of the instructions I was following to assemble the front wheels.

The instructions reference how to assemble the front wheels. As can be seen, the two wheel halves are placed on the tires and then glued together. There is than a rivet that goes through the wheel halves and press fits into the inner wheel disk, which I assume is where the brakes would be. The rivet is to act as an axle for the wheel and allow the wheel to rotate. When assembled, if the inner wheel disk is held stationary, the wheel and tire will rotate on the rivet.

I had my doubts about this step when I saw the image of that hammer tapping the rivet in place. I tend to not include any size or shape hammer into my model building. As I use to tell my students, do not be a hammer mechanic.

Anyway...I knew the rivet was press fit into the hole and collet of the inner wheel disk, so I thought maybe I could press them together. The first thing I noticed was that the hole in the wheel halves were too small to accept the rivet; therefore, I drilled the wheel hubs out with a #44 (0.086”) drill. That allowed the rivet to pass through the wheel halve with just a-bit of resistance, but allow the wheel to rotate. I then try to press the assembly together, but that did not work. So...and with great care, I used a 1-oz. ball peen hammer and a 0.25-inch wooden dow as a spacer between the head of the rivet and the hammer to gently tap the rivet into the rear disk. That also did not work and only caused the glue bond on the wheel halves to break. Thank goodness that is the only thing that broke. So, I had to re-glue the wheel halves together.

While the glue was drying I measured the diameter of the rivet and notice that there was no way that rivet was going to go into the hole collet of the inner wheel disk. Therefore, I drilled the inner wheel disk with a #46 (0.081”) drill which is still slightly smaller than the diameter of rivet allowing for a press fit.

When the glue on the wheel halves was set, I did the assemble again, this time pressing the pieces together and all seems to have worked fine.

The next several photos will show the purpose for this inner wheel disk.

This photo shows the front and back of the front wheels inner disk (brake drum). As stated in the previous photo description, the hole/collet on the back side of the inner disk was drilled out with a #46 (0.086") drill. The original hole was way too small for the axle to be press fitted. The top side has groves where two pieces are glued containing the upper and lower steering and suspension bearings. Refer to the inset photo to see these upper and lower bearings with the steering arm and the front suspension installed.

The front wheel inner wheel disk (brake drum) are installed. The photo shows a pair of the upper and lower steering bearings, the front suspension bar and leaf spring and the two inner wheel disks for the rear tires.

This photo shows the front suspension and steering rod installed in the steering bearings and the bearings mounted on the wheel.

These three photos show the finished front wheel assembly before being attached to the frame.

The engine is mounted in the frame. There is some detailing to do on the engine, but the firewall needs to be in place first.

Now that the engine is mounted, I started getting the front and rear suspension to be mounted.

The front suspension, steering rod,tires, leaf spring and stabilizing bars are installed.

The rear axle, differential, leaf spring, drive shaft, drum brakes and stabilizing bars are assembled and read to be mounted on the frame.

This photo and the next few photos are views of the frame with the front and rear suspension installed.

This photo and the next few photos are views of the frame with the front and rear suspension installed.

This photo and the previous few photos are views of the frame with the front and rear suspension installed.

This photo is the left side view of the completed chassis. That center rail is not purple, it is a reflection from that pink/purple thing hanging on the wall in the background. The rear center hubs are not on the wheels yet and the engine is not wired or piped yet. That has to wait until the firewall is in place.

This photo is a top view of the completed chassis. The engine is not wired or piped yet. That has to wait until the firewall is in place. The exhaust will also be dirtied a-bit.

This photo is a bottom view of the completed chassis. The engine is not wired or piped yet. That has to wait until the firewall is in place. The exhaust and engine will also be dirtied a-bit.

These are test spoons of the body colors I'll be using. All three are custom mixed. Following is the color and where it will be used:

1. Light Blue for the bottom portion of the body, the engine shroud (hood), bottom of the doors and the body portion of the firewall assembly. This color is a mix of:
   
   1-part Tamyia
   X-4 blue
   
   3-parts Tamyia X-2 White
   
   
2. Dark blue for the top portion of the body, excluding the the vinyl part of the roof. This color is a mix of:
   
   2-parts Tamiya X-16 Purple
   
   2-parts Tamiya X-3 Royal Blue
   
   
3. Dark purplish/blue, almost, but not quite black for the fenders. This color is a mix of:
   
   3-parts Tamyia X-16 Purple
   
   3-part Tamyia
   X-3 Royal Blue
   
   1-part Tamiya
   X-4 Blue
   
   1-part Tamiya
   X-1 Black

These are test spoons of the body colors to see how they'll complement the interior colors. Following is the color and where it will be used:

1. Possible dashboard color?
   
   Tamiya X-19
   Sky Gray
   
   Krylon clear coat
   
   
2. Light Blue for the bottom portion of the body, the engine shroud (hood), bottom of the doors and the body portion of the firewall assembly. This color is a mix of:
   
   1-part Tamyia
   X-4 blue
   
   3-parts Tamyia X-2 White
   
   
3. Interior seats and door panels.
   
   Tamiya X-19
   Sky Gray
   
   
4. Dark blue for the top portion of the body, excluding the the vinyl part of the roof. This color is a mix of:
   
   2-parts Tamiya X-16 Purple
   
   2-parts Tamiya X-3 Royal Blue
   
   
5. Interior floor mat.
   
   Mission
   MMRC-010
   RC Grey
   
   
6. Dark purplish/blue, almost, but not quite black for the fenders. This color is a mix of:
   
   3-parts Tamyia X-16 Purple
   
   3-part Tamyia
   X-3 Royal Blue
   
   1-part Tamiya
   X-4 Blue
   
   1-part Tamiya
   X-1 Black

The fenders are painted. This photo shows the first coat; however, it looks pretty good already, except that there is a chip on the rear fender, and I ran out of paint, right at the end, so the right side rear fender did not get a good first coat.

The body parts are masked for the application of the light blue color. Click the the following links to see a larger version of each photo panel.

The lower parts of the body, the body portion behind the firewall and the engine shroud are painted light blue color. Click the following links to see a larger version of each photo panel.

The radiator dress frame is re-chromed using Revell Chrome spray. It works really nice. I see in the photo there is a little something going on, on the bottom, but I'll check it out and fix if necessary.

This is the first time I've ever used the Revell Chrome spray, and I must say, I like it. I primed the piece in gloss black before spraying the chrome.

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