[MOC] Jaguar D-Type 1956

[JamesJT]

This is my 1:8 scale model of the famous Jaguar D-type customer race car. It won Le Mans in 1956 and in 2016 became the most expensive British car to sell at auction (about $20million). 

I used scale drawings and tried to be as accurate as possible, even with suspension points etc.

The front clam shell and boot (with spare wheel) open but I couldn't get the (tiny) doors to open and keep the right side profile.

To be exactly the same scale my Stratos should be 3% bigger but they look nice parked together.

 

There was also a factory race car with a closed cockpit and a road car called XKSS. I will be making both of these too.

 

 

Edited August 12, 2017 by JamesJT
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[JDL1967]

Looking good, nice build. Maybe you can change the wheelcap disks in to chrome ones, for a really "touch of old" for the rest great car...

[Alex Ilea]

Looks good! May I request a pic of your blue collection :) ?

[1gor]

...and how could it bee with original British Racing Green color?

If I remember correctly D-Type uses 6 X 16 wheels, so wheels that you chose are IMHO closest in proportions for this moc. 

This is one of really good remake of classis car and you resprcted creators work and did not make "pimped" classis. It is a plesant surprize that we have such model on our forum. Very good work 

[Aventador2004]

Excellent! Another great model from you. Your pro tag shows it all.

[Leonardo da Bricki]

I am amazed at what you manage to do using only blue parts... I didn't think this was even possible!  Excellent model, I really like the accurate suspension.

[TechnicRCRacer]

Everything about this model is amazing! I like the shaping of the body and the complex rear suspension.

[Jeroen Ottens]

Nice replica. I don't know the original very well, but what is the purpose of the grey axles pointing upwards? I assume it is the windscreen, wouldn't that look better with some styles at the front?
Also the original looks to be even more curvy than your version, but given the partsavailability in blue I wouldn't know how to do it better without resorting to a lot of (very expensive) blue flexaxles.
How does it look if you use 6L dishes iso 8L dishes on the wheels? I guess the best diameter would be 7L, but that's not available. For me the grey dishes are a bit too pronounced.

Still, a very nice model again. It is amazing how many different blue cars you can make without making them all look alike

[JamesJT]

On 8/12/2017 at 1:58 PM, IA creations said:

Looks good! May I request a pic of your blue collection :) ?

You're looking at almost all of it. I had to buy 2 extra 18944 panels.

On 8/12/2017 at 2:03 PM, LvdH said:

I am still speechless how you manage to build such beautiful cars in blue. 

It is the only colour I can build this in, until 42070 black panels are freely available.

On 8/12/2017 at 7:07 PM, Jeroen Ottens said:

Nice replica. I don't know the original very well, but what is the purpose of the grey axles pointing upwards? I assume it is the windscreen, wouldn't that look better with some styles at the front?
Also the original looks to be even more curvy than your version, but given the partsavailability in blue I wouldn't know how to do it better without resorting to a lot of (very expensive) blue flexaxles.
How does it look if you use 6L dishes iso 8L dishes on the wheels? I guess the best diameter would be 7L, but that's not available. For me the grey dishes are a bit too pronounced.

Still, a very nice model again. It is amazing how many different blue cars you can make without making them all look alike

The windscreen is just a bent piece of plastic, it doesn't even have a frame (or styles). Those axles were the least I could do to imply a windscreen is there.

I don't think there is a straight line on the real car, I tried to make it curvier but it went outside the scale dimensions. My model does looks curvier in real life.

The wheels (without tyres) scale at exactly 7 studs. The 8 stud dishes are a good compromise but flatter would have been better.

You say they don't look the same but I started work on the XKSS and it looks a lot like my corvette from the rear.

I also made the factory race car. I may do an RC version of this as the gearbox and steering wheel are impossible to use.

I wasn't going to do instructions for this, I can't imagine anybody else having 23 blue 18944 or 36 blue 24116 panels

Edited August 19, 2017 by JamesJT
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[Jeroen Ottens]

Just now, JamesJT said:

 The windscreen is just a bent piece of plastic, it doesn't even have a frame (or styles). Those axles were the least I could do to imply a windscreen is there.

I don't think there is a straight line on the real car, I tried to make it curvier but it went outside the scale dimensions. My model does looks curvier in real life.

The wheels (without tyres) scale at exactly 7 studs. The 8 stud dishes are a good compromise but flatter would have been better.

 

Time for 3D-photos. I also have this 'issue' that my model is flattened when photographed. Maybe some of the photograph experts on this forum have some tips for this?
There is this piece (and even available in LBG):

 

[Didumos69]

44 minutes ago, Jeroen Ottens said:

Time for 3D-photos. I also have this 'issue' that my model is flattened when photographed.

My experience is that when you make photos with too much distance and need to zoom in (or crop later on) to make the car fit the image properly, you loose a lot of perspective (depth) in your photos. When you would make a photo of a real car you usually don't take more distance than the length of the car you're capturing. With LEGO builds this would mean you need to get really close to the model to get the same perspective.

Great looking build btw !

Edited August 12, 2017 by Didumos69

[JamesJT]

40 minutes ago, Jeroen Ottens said:

Time for 3D-photos. I also have this 'issue' that my model is flattened when photographed. Maybe some of the photograph experts on this forum have some tips for this?
There is this piece (and even available in LBG):

 

Is that part 6177 (often used in Millennium Falcon)? It would be perfect if it had an axle hole through the centre.

Just now, Didumos69 said:

Great looking build btw !

.Cheers

[TechnicRCRacer]

I don't think it has an axle hole or a pin hole through it at all, just checked my Millenium Falcon. 

[Jeroen Ottens]

34 minutes ago, JamesJT said:

Is that part 6177 (often used in Millennium Falcon)? It would be perfect if it had an axle hole through the centre.

.Cheers

Yes that is the one. And it indeed does not have an axlehole.

[roadstermatt]

that's amazing how you have caught the likeness of such a curvy car in bricks

 

the stratos is very nice too

[drakmin]

I like your model. I like the overall curves. I think the window could benefit from one more grey axle in the dead center or even fully grey frame against the car body. (hope you dont mind my photoshopping)

 

20 hours ago, Jeroen Ottens said:

Time for 3D-photos. I also have this 'issue' that my model is flattened when photographed. Maybe some of the photograph experts on this forum have some tips for this?
 

 

From my experience if you want to pronounce curves you need to shoot closer and because of shorter distance use wider lense. This exaggerates distances, also the distances of curved surfaces. In addition the point of view affects the outcome more the wider the lense. Its quite common for example in fashion photography to shoot the models below waist height to exaggerate their legs. (torso seems smaller this way in the 2d image surface)

In addition to shooting distance and field of view the light matters a lot. Flat light is good for neutral photos like these. If you want to pronounce shapes you could try more dramatic light. Imagine only thin ray of light "scanning" through the car body like a laser beam. In real car photos shapes are easier to see since most cars are a lot more reflective than Lego and the reflections help to communicate the shapes to human eye.

 

Some random example photos from google image search:

This seems to be actually a drawing but the shape of the car is really pronounced with the white reflection or light on wheel and roof curves. You can guide any light similarly. Frame the light source with aluminum foil etc. to get sharper beams.

And in here even more pronounced effect. This photo has not enought light to communicate the shapes. Instead the shapes are "drawn" probably using long exposure and moving a light source on top of the car. Infact it is really close to actually drawing the shape of the car by your hand.

[Meatman]

Nice moc. To be honest, I don't think the curved 3 x 11 panels angled over the wheels looks right on this moc. It's giving it an unnatural appearance.

Edited August 13, 2017 by Meatman

[JamesJT]

21 hours ago, drakmin said:

I like your model. I like the overall curves. I think the window could benefit from one more grey axle in the dead center or even fully grey frame against the car body. (hope you dont mind my photoshopping)

You're right but the answer was to remove them altogether. The bodywork scales at 9L at that point so adding a stud to the height with the piping was a mistake, it made the middle too tall and spoiled the curves I had managed to make. The new version is much better IMO.

Jaguar XKSS V2 WIP 4 by James Tillson, on Flickr

I'm doing what Jaguar did when they converted the last D type race car in to XKSS road car. The rear light mounting points are now for the bumpers and the lights are higher up. There's a heat shield for the exhaust and a proper windscreen. Not sure how I'm going to make the folding roof...

Jaguar XKSS V2 WIP 1 by James Tillson, on Flickr

Jaguar XKSS V2 WIP 5 by James Tillson, on Flickr

[Boulderer]

Yet another stunning creation.  I love the attention to detail and, the fact that your models all have similar brick palettes just makes them all the more impressive.  I wish I had a fraction of your skill and creativity!

[JamesJT]

^Thank you.

I wasn't going to make a video for this until I remembered that the engine and gearbox just lift out (if the dash is removed). The space was perfect for a PF RC transplant. Skip to 45 seconds to see RC version in action.

 

Edited August 19, 2017 by JamesJT
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[Alex Ilea]

Transplant...........

[lambrook]

Highly commendable chassis - really first rate piece of work.  The body needs work though - not an easy task with such a curvaceous car.  To get it right, I think you're going to have to break away from using just 'blue' pieces because it limits your scope of all the available panel pieces on offer.  For example parts 24119, 62531, and 11954 are far more suited for the side paneling, since the car's shape is basically elliptical.  The headlight lenses are wrong too.  Part 98102 or 87752 resembles the shape more.   Its far better to get the shape right, rather than matching the colours.  This is a lesson learned by the designer of the Chitty Bang car on Lego Ideas.  Once he got the body work right, he then sprayed the body work with the correct chrome and gold etc.  In your case it would be British Racing Green, available at Halfords.