Jaguar XK-E Cabriolet

The Build
My latest project and the return of McNally, Boston PI. The story is called "A Touch of English". This is the Heller Jaguar Type E Cabriolet aka the Jag XK-E Roadster. I have never built a Heller kit before so this will be a first for me. Revell of Germany is releasing the Jaguar XK-E Coupe sometime in October and I hope to get my hands on one of those kits when they come out. I have heard of issues involving the Heller body halves lining up and not fitting well on this kit. I will be very cognizant of that. My body paint will be Tamiya TS-86 Pure Red with a tan interior and black seats.



The Story
A British gentleman by the name of Bartholomew Richard Francis Atkinson III is driving his Jaguar XK-E Cabriolet into Charlestown for an appointment with McNally, Boston PI. He is driving the Jag with the top down on this sunny late May day and he is enjoying the top down experience! He stops the Jag in front of McNally's home at 157 Dardenvale St. and he removes his black leather drving gloves and adjusts his tweed driving cap before getting out of his car. On the front porch of McNally's home he rings the doorbell and McNally opens the door and welcomes him into the house. They go into his office and sit to discuss the reason Ritchie wants to hire McNally, he had a breakin at his home in Concord, MA and his coin collection was stolen.
The coin collection was worth almost $3,000,000 with many rare coins in the collection. Ritchie, who is almost 75 years old, has been collecting these coins since he was a 6 year old child in England. He wants the collection returned to him with no questions asked. A coin collection may be hard to find especially if the collection was broken up. McNally takes on the case for Ritchie after citing his pay and what to expect from this investigation. Ritchie thanks McNally for taking on the case and if he needs anymore information, he is available for any questions McNally may have.
McNally will return...

Looking forward to both the next installments

Thanks kpnuts!  I will have more soon!

The Story
McNally stops at Boston Police Headquarters and goes up to his old haunt, Burglary/Robbery Division and he talks to Lt. Rueben Ferris. He inquires about old coin shops and he finds out that Concord Police had asked BPD for assistance due to the value of Ritchie's Coin Collection. He gets a list of coin collectors and old coin shops that may deal with old coin collections and some that does business "under the counter". McNally thanks Lt. Det. Ferris for his time and he leaves the Burglary/Robbbery Division to go and talk to these people.

The Build
One of the first things to go was the distributor when I was going to add plug wires. I looked around for it, but it has disappeared into thin air, so I made one from a piece of part sprue. I added a black wash to the wire wheels and installed the tires. The 3.8 Ltr. engine is in progress.



McNally will return...

The Story
McNally stops and talks to the various pawn shop, coin collectors, and even some back room sellers that he knows. No one has seen any coin collections come by them. Not even individual coins from Ritchie's collection. Some have said that they heard of the break-in and theft, but they haven't seen anything come up for sale from it. He will have to look closer towards Ritchie's home for clues and to check out his alarm system.

The Build
My attempt at creating a distributor for the Jaguar 3.8 Ltr. engine failed, so I dove into my parts box and and found an 8 cylinder distributor. I sanded off the nubs, drilled it out and added my plugs wires and let the glue dry for a day. This morning, I routed the wires to the cylinder head.



McNally will return...

Very enjoyable story with the bonus of a model build to go along

Thanks nightflier! i do try to make the story interesting to follow along with.

The Story
McNally drives out to Ritchie's home in Concord, MA and Ritchie invites him in. He asks Ritchie for a tour of the house and grounds ending back in the foyer of the huge house. McNally asks him about the alarm system and Ritchie says he changes the password for the alarm every two weeks. But, he changes only one number and it is in consecutive order. McNally makes him change his password to a completely different name and number since changing just a number in consecutive order makes the system easy to hack.
Everytime he changes his password, it has to be something completely different and Ritchie finally understands why. And, all it took was a $3,000,000 theft from his home to make him understand.

The Build
I washed the body parts yesterday and let them air-dry overnight. This morning I assembled the engine frame on the chassis and based on my research, this will be painted all one color...Tamiya TS-86 Pure Red. The interior will be a mix of different blacks and I might add some embossing powder for carpet.



McNally will return...

It's looking good Mike. Neat job on the HT leads.

Good kit, nice to see the semi spaceframe/monocoque detail.

Thanks Al and dublin boy!

The Story
As McNally drives back into Boston, his cellphone rings and he answers the call. The caller is Alexander Cannon and he would like McNally to stop by his house in Brookline, MA for a quick chat and the Boston PI heads to the Cannon Residence. He s escorted to the study where Cannon is talking on his telephone and McNally is greeted by Lila Stenna, Cannon's executive assistant. They talk for a few minutes until Cannon ends his phone call and turns towards McNally and Lila and he motions him to his large wooden desk. He points to a chair next to his desk and they start to talk.
Cannon tells McNally about a phone call he got a call from a former associate who is still in the shady business of Boston's Underground. He wanted to know if Cannon could move a valuable coin collection and Cannon told him he doesn't do that sort of thing any longer. The associate who name is Johnny Wilson, wants to know why Cannon is not interested and he tells Johnny he has turned a new leaf and his in no longer interested in Boston's Underground. Johnny tells Cannon he'll look elsewhere and Cannon tells him good luck. Then, he called McNally since he heard he was searching to the coin collection.

The Build
I painted and assembled the rear suspension and the underhood structure. The hood is ready for primer and paint.



McNally will return...

Great stuff. Cant wait to see paint on this.

Paint is coming soon!

The Story
McNally discovers that Johnny Wilson hangs out at a dive bar called Rott Gutt. He goes into the bar and orders a cold beer and the bartender puts a luke warm can of beer on the bartop and opens it as if the Boston PI was disturbing his very busy day. He asks about Johnny Wilson and the bartender lights his cigarette and points to Johnny sitting in a booth near the front window. McNally goes over to Johnny and introduces himself and says he's looking for the coin collection and Johnny says he doesn't know anything about a coin collection. McNally pushes the table into Johnny's stomach spilling Johnny's beer and says that if Johnny doesn't start telling him about the coins, he will do much worse to him.
Johnny says he is a go-between for the collection and the seller. McNally asks what does the seller wants for the coins and Johnny says $1,000,000. McNally says he has the money and where and when does the seller want the cash. Johnny says to meet him in the alleyway in Jamica Plain off of Camber St. at 11:00 AM. McNally says no funny business or somebody is going to die and it won't be himself.

The Build
I was looking at my laptop background which happens to be of a '61 Jaguar XK-E and I noticed something about the headlights. Something was missing and I looked at the instructions for the missing parts and the instructions show nothing! Zip, zilch, zero, nada! No tunnel buckets for the headlights! I don't know the actual name, but the tunnel buckets run from the headlights along the bottom of the headlight tunnel under the plexiglass. What to do, what to do? I have some 11/32 tubing and I will try to cut and shape a piece to fill in that open space in the hood.



McNally will return...

"I was looking at my laptop background which happens to be of a '61 Jaguar"

Just happens to be?......... right.   Inspiration perhaps???

Hmmm, that's glaring error on heller's behalf but it looks like you have it covered Mike.

Seems like a good fix Mike.

The Story
McNally stops at Boston Police Headquarters to find out more about Johnny Wilson. Lt. Det. Troy prints out Johnny's rep sheet from McNally and he reads about all of Johnny's arrests and prison time. That afternoon, McNally gets a call from Johnny telling him to meet him in the alley behind Camber St. in Jamica Plain, a neighborhood of Boston. McNally arrives at the alley and he walks up the alley with his SIG Sauer P227 drawn and ready. He approaches a slight bend in the alley and he finds a body on the ground. Johnny Wilson and he is dead.
McNally calls the Police and he waits for them to arrive. Several cops and the Coroner doing their jobs and the Det. Steven Darvell arrives. Right away, he accuses McNally of killing Johnny. McNally tells Darvell to either arrest him and talk to his lawyer, Charlotte Rothmann or investigate what actually happened at the scene. Darvell snorts and walks over to the body and the Coroner.
A cop walks by McNally and says, "He's a jerk!" McNally agrees with him.

The Build

Al. wrote:"I was looking at my laptop background which happens to be of a '61 Jaguar"

Just happens to be?......... right.   Inspiration perhaps???

Hmmm, that's glaring error on heller's behalf but it looks like you have it covered Mike.

Thanks Al and nightflier! I like to gather pictures of the 1:1 and use them for my background and screensaver on my laptop. I was staring at my background picture and noticed the headlight tunnels on a 1:1 Jaguar and I didn't see any on the Heller Jag. Using some 11/32 styrene tubing, I cut out and shaped a couple of "tunnels" for my model. I got the basic shape and now to cut them down further.



McNally will return...

Great fix on the headlamps, would not have looked correct without it.

Thanks nightflier! I guess most people wouldn't look beyond the headlight covers to notice the lack of the headlight tunnels under the covers. Not sure what they are called, but headlight tunnels works for me!

The Story
McNally drives out to Concord, MA to talk to Ritchie and he sees red and blue flashing lights at Ritchie's house. He parks his car out of the way of the ambulance and patrol cars in front of the house and he goes up to the cop standing outside and he shows his ID and asks what happened. Ritchie apparently suffered a heart attack when his aide, Charles Dennett found him lying on the floor. Set up with an IV and O2 mask, the ambulance attendants load Ritchie into the ambulance and drive him to Emerson Hospital. McNally walks up to Dennett and he asks what had happened and Dennett waves him off and runs out of the house, most likely heading to the Hospital to be with Ritchie.

The Build
I got the body pieces into a couple of coats of Tamiya TS-86 Pure Red, the headlight tunnels into a coat of Tamiya TS-30 Silver Leaf and the rear deck into a coat of Tamiya TS-29 Semi-Gloss Black.



McNally will return...

Looking good!

They're called Nacelles for what it's worth.

https://xks.com/i-7083680-jaguar-e-type-right-headlamp-nacelle-bd35645.html

Thanks dublin boy! I really didn't know what else to call them. They're not exactly a "tunnel", but that is what I decided to call them at the time.

The Story
Lt. Det. Adam Troy is sitting in his office doing paperwork when he hears a knock on his door. He sees attorney Charlotte Rothmann standing outside the door and he waves her into his office. She asks if there is a need for her to intervene since McNally was harrassed at a crime scene by Det. Steven Darvell. This is news to Lt. Troy and he says that it is a situation that will be handled "in-house" by him. The detective will be spoken to and offered an ultimatum if he wants to keep his job.
Charlie replies that if Det. Darvell stops his harrassment, she will not intervene. Otherwise, she will bring up charges against Det. Darvell with the Internal Affairs Bureau. She also says that enough is enough!

The Build
I have been adding more bits and pieces to the chassis of the Jag XK-E including the front suspension. I also did a mockup with the engine to check the fit. I added the headlight reflectors to the hood.



More Jaguar to come...

Beginning to look like an E-type Mike. Great narrative

Nice job all round Mike and as Gary says, it's looking like a ptoper E-Type now. 

Thanks Gary and Al! So far, I am liking this build and the challenges that this kit presents. I hope that the Revell Jag XK-E Coupe is a better build.

The Story
McNally is down stairs at the Check In Desk turning his Visitors Pass and he is approached by Det. Steven Darvell. He wants to apologize for his rude behavior yesterday at the crime scene. McNally tells Darvell that he accepts his apology. He tells Darvell that he understands that they will not be friends, although they could be if they really tried. Darvell says he will think about it.

The Build
I finished the dash and mounted it to the center console. I did some more detail work on the chassis.



More Jaguar to come...

The Story
Adam was observing from the other side of the lobby and he walks over to McNally and asks what had just happened. McNally says that Darvell just apologized to him and McNally offered to be friends. Darvell wants to think about it first. McNally says that friendship with Darvell isn't likely going to happen.

The Build
Flocked the floor with black embossing powder. I painted the dash panel black and the paint ran under my tape. Dang it!!! I added the headlight nacelles.



More Jaguar to come...

The Story
McNally is on a stakeout of Charles Dennett's house. He decides to talk to him when Dennett comes home and he goes up to the front door. Dennett opens the door and McNally identifies himself and Dennett remembers him at Richie's house, but he had to rush out. McNally notices Dennett carrying a Smith & Wesson Model 39 in a holster on his hip and he asks him about it. Dennett pulls the gun for McNally's inspection and he notices the heavy smell of oil in the gun as it was recently cleaned.

The Build
I taped the body and chassis together. Then I added the hood assembly.



More Jaguar to come...

Nice work, its starting to look like a Jag now. I love the nose on that car

Thanks Dirk! I appreciate it! As I am assembling the Jag, I am noticing that the nose could use another coat of paint to match the body. And, the more I handle it, the more the finish is going south on me. I'm starting to hate this damn thing!

The Story
McNally returns to Dennett's house the following morning and searches his house and he finds Dennett's Smith & Wesson Model 5906 packed away in it's wooden box. The box was in Dennett's desk and McNally takes the box with him and he leaves the house for BPD Forensics to check the gun for fingerprints and a bullet comparision. After the Forensic checks, he'll return the gun and box to it's original location in Dennett's desk.

The Build
A mockup of the convertible top since I had removed the side windows.  It fits!  I painted the hood again to darken the color and I ended up with some sort of contamination on it for a bunch of fish eyes.  I may strip the paint and start over.



More Jaguar to come...

That's a shame. i feel your pain

Well, it's just another thing I will have to fix...

It's looking great mike.

Thanks kpnuts! I should have this looking better when I get to repainting the hood.

The Story
The following day, McNally stops at Emerson Hospital to checl on his client, Ritchie Atkinson. Ritchie is resting comfortably and he is scheduled for a series of tests later that day. Ritchie tells McNally that he had received a phone call demanding $20,000,000 for the coin collection and then he suffered chest pains followed by the heart attack. McNally says he'll check the phone for a call back number and anything else he cane find.

The Build
I finally got around to repainting the hood again. Looks much better!



McNally will return...

The Story
With Charlie inquiring about legal action against Det. Darvell, McNally has a conversation with Lt. Troy about him. He doesn't really want to go down this road with Darvell, but if he has to, he will. Darvell's method of investigating is not good for finding results of any kind for anyone. McNally understands why Adam wants to keep this "in-house" and not inolve the Internal Affairs Bureau. Adam will do his best to "fix" this situation or else, Darvell will be out of a job.

The Build
I took the hood inner structure apart and I figured out why the hood wasn't fitting against the cowl like is should. I mounted the inner structure too far back and not flush up front like it should. Another repaint is in order...top and bottom!



McNally will return...

It's looking good Mike. Sorry to hear about the issues with the hood.

An added detail you can add with very little effort, is to paint the very top of each of the cars black, to represent the plastic dashpot top up point.

I like that, even though I added a touch of Molotow Liquid Chrome to those spots. I may change that to black. Thanks!

The Story
McNally thinks that Charles may have had something to do with the theft of Richie's coin collection and the murder of Johnny Wilson.  The bullets from Dennett's gun match the slugs found in Wilson's body.  The coin collection must be in Dennett's hand somewhere.  He will have to search Dennett's house for the collection before Dennett can sell it.

The Build
I assembled the hood to the chassis with the lower valance and taped it until the glue dries. 



McNally will return...

The Story
McNally decides to "break in" to Charles Dennett's house and look around. He searches Charles desk and he finds the box with his Smith & Wesson and a partial box of bullets. He takes the gun and a few bullets and he goes back to Boston Police Headquarters to have the gun tested by Forensics. He takes the gun back to Charles' house and he places in back in the draw with the few remaining bullets and he locks the desk and he leaves the house. The gun may have been used to kill Johnny Wilson.

The Build
Somehow the steering shaft broke and I figured out a way to re-secure it. I used 2 pieces of 3/32 tubing cut to equal lengths and inserted the shaft into the tubing and glued them in place and then I painted them.



McNally will return...

Looking good so far, but those tires are looking beat....

I tried using a sanding stick and a cordless drill and there's something about those tires that the sanding stick didn't agree with. I've been trying to clean them up as I go along, but those tires...

The Story
Darvell walks back into Homicide and he throws his coat over the back of his chair and he plops his fat body down in his chair with the springs protesting very loudly.  Lt. Det. Troy sees him and he calls him into his office.  Lt. Troy wants to know about the investigation of Johnny Wilson.  Darvell tells Lt. Troy that he gathered very little evidence at the scene and that he had question McNally about the shooting.  Lt. Troy wants to know why McNally was accused of the murder.  Darvell says he was trying to shake loose any information out of the Boston PI.  "You accused him of murder when he actually found the body.  He didn't file a complaint, but he mentioned it to me.  You will stop accusing him of every murder you investigate or I will turn this over to the Internal Affairs Bureau!  Now, get out of my office and get back to work!" 

The Build
I glued the front spindles to the upper A arms so they wouldn't fall out.  The upper A arms are so weak they might break on me.  I added the windshield and painted the side wings Tamiya Silver on the doors.



McNally will return...

The Story
McNally walks back down to the front desk at Boston Police Headquarters to turn in his badge.  Det. Darvell approaches him before he turns the badge in and asks if he could talk to him.  They walk over to a far corner of the lobby and Darvell says he is just doing his job and he is trying to shake any and all information out of whoever he talks to.  McNally says that Darvell needs to relearn how to talk to suspects and people in general.  All he is doing is getting people mad at him and not doing his cases any good.  He tells Darvell that he needs to relearn investigative techniques and to start over again. 
Darvell listens to McNally and he says he is sorry for the trouble he has caused.  He turns and walks away and McNally suspects that Darvell will not bother relearning anything and continue on irritating anybody he talks to.

The Build
I started final assembly of the Jaguar XK-E Cabriolet by adding the front bumpers and grille.  I work on the rear of the Jag later and then do a polishing of the body which has a lot of fingerprints, especially on the hood.



McNally, Boston PI will return

The Story
The Forensic report shows that the gun that McNally found was used to kill Johnny Wilson. Since no one else knows the pass code to Richie's house besides him and Charles Dennett, Dennett was to one that had taken the coin collection while Richie was out. Dennett is arrested for murder and grand theft of the coin collection. Richie accompanies McNally to BPD Headquarters and he examines the coin collection and he says that it is his. The coin collection will be photographed and returned to Richie after the court trial.

The Build
I have completed my Jaguar XK-E and it is posted in Completed Models. Thanks for looking!