1949 Jaguar XK120 Roadster
May 18, 2022 12:57:13 GMT -4
Post by BERNARD "HOT ROD" KRON on May 18, 2022 12:57:13 GMT -4
1949 Jaguar XK120 Roadster
(more photos below)
This is the old Monogram 1/24th kit first introduced in 1977. It’s my first project involving a die-cast body. Despite the big leap into the unknown of working in metal I actually took this on as a slump-bluster, my goal being to do as clean a build as I could and sticking to the basic kit to make a luxury sports roadster as the XK120 was first presented in 1949. The color is Duplicolor Venetian Gold which resembles the stock “Bronze” color of the early years of the XK120. I chose a light hued metallic to show off the voluptuous lines of this gorgeous ground-breaking car which simultaneously encapsulated the final design elements of late 1930s luxury and race cars with the emerging theme of relatively affordable performance. With its DOHC in-line 3.4 liter 6 cylinder motor, dual carbs and 150 HP when first introduced at the end of 1948, it was offered for less than $4,000 USD, or about the same price as a fully optioned Cadillac convertible. Manufactured in the hundreds from the outset, as opposed to the dozens at best for most immediate post-war European luxury sports cars, whose manufacturers struggled to rebuild and start up their factories, Jaguar was able to tap into the hard-currency treasure trove that was the USA import market, no doubt helped by the fact that it delivered the goods in both performance and style. Backed up by an aggressive and innovative competition program highlighted by world speed records and rally and endurance success, this made the Jaguar XK120 the choice of movie stars, sports figures, industrialists and the social elite at the dawn of the WWII recovery boom. It was this spirit that I tried to capture with this model.
Thanx for lookin,
B.
