1:24 Mini MPI Non AC Dash LHD (TransKIT)

The instrument panel in the right specification

The dashboard of the small British car is surprisingly variable. It differed according to the market, according to the equipment and according to whether the customer paid extra for air conditioning. This part is the left-hand-drive version without an air conditioning unit, that is the simpler and more widespread variant with a continuous surface under the windshield.

When it matters

Only someone who knows the real subject notices the difference – and it is exactly such viewers that collectors' models are about. Anyone building a car after surviving photographs of a particular example needs the matching interior as badly as the right shade of paint. The choice between the version with air conditioning and the one without meanwhile decides the whole look of the space under the windshield.

Make sure it is seen

An interior part makes sense where somebody looks into the cabin. A model with the doors open suggests itself, or with the roof folded back, or displayed so that the viewer can look in from the side. In a display case it helps to tilt the car on a low base and light it from above; in a scene a figure leaning on the door frame naturally directs attention into the cabin.

Painting

The panel looks best when you do not settle for a single black. A base in a dark gray tone, a deeper shadow into the recesses and a fine bringing out of the edges create a modeled texture. The dials of the instruments can be suggested with a fine brush and a drop of gloss lacquer imitating glass. Anyone who wants to make the work easier should spray the surface matte first and add the gloss only at the end: a matte base forgives small inaccuracies of brushwork far more readily.