This is a Tamiya kit, #24235. It is a 1/24 scale Austin Mini Cooper 1275S Mk.I. I absolutely fell in love with this car a short time ago. I just think it is adorable.
NOTES: It is a right had drive model only.
BUILDING TIP: Tamiya makes several version of the Mini Cooper, including the Austin, Morris, and Rover versions. As such a lot of parts are shared among the models. The body shell for this model is also used in the Morris Cooper model. You can tell because on the rear hatch of the shell the have molded "Morris Cooper" right where you need to put the "Austin Cooper S" metal transfer. I realized this after I had painted and had to shave it off and touch up the paint. It would have been better to shave it off prior to painting. Keep that in mind if you assemble this model or any other Tamiya Cooper kit. Check to see if the body shell has markings that are wrong for your kit.
PAINTS REQUIRED: I list Tamiya's Paint designation as well as the color name, so that you can get whatever manufacturers paint you want. TS = spray, X = Gloss, XF = Flat
| TS-7 | Racing White |
| TS-8 | Italian Red |
| TS-14 | Black |
| X-1 | Black |
| X-2 | White |
| X-4 | Blue |
| X-5 | Green |
| X-6 | Orange |
| X-7 | Red |
| X-8 | Lemon Yellow |
| X-10 | Gunmetal |
| X-11 | Chrome Silver |
| X-12 | Gold Leaf |
| X-18 | Semi-Gloss Black |
| X-26 | Clear Orange |
| X-27 | Clear Red |
| XF-1 | Flat Black |
| XF-2 | Flat White |
| XF-5 | Flat Green |
| XF-7 | Flat Red |
| XF-14 | Japanese Airforce Grey |
| XF-16 | Flat Aluminum |
| XF-19 | Sky Grey |
| XF-56 | Metallic Grey |
Tamiya includes painting direction for the three most popular colors, Tartan Red, Old English White, and Almond Green. For Tartan Red use TS-8 Italian Red for the body and XF-7 Flat red for the seats and carpet color. For Old English White use TS-7 Racing White for the body and XF-7 Flat Red for the seats and carpet color. For Almond Green mix 2 parts X-2 White,with 1 part X-4 Blue and 2 parts X-5 Green for the body, XF-14 Japanese Airforce Grey for the seats, and XF-19 Sky Grey for the carpet color.
I didn't go with a classic color. I painted mine Testors new Plum Crazy. This is a gorgeous transparent purple color with a hint of metallic in it. After the incident with the Jaguar I was a little nervous about using transparent colors again, but I took my time and it turned out real well. See the tips page for a hint on using transparent colors. Whatever color you chose, get both a bottle and the spray if you can. Some of the parts that need to be body colored are not really suitable for spraying so you will need to hand brush them. See the tips page for what to do if your color only comes in spray form.
PICTURES:
Here is a shot of the model next to one my Mini Cooper Hot Wheels.
For whatever reason, this Hot Wheels has a small switch on it that allows the body to come off easily. It's a neat feature and I hope to see more Hot Wheels do this in the future. Here you can see the model along side the chassis and the removed body of the Hot Wheels.
