This review covers the final pack (pack 12) of the Agora Models Jaguar build. Please see parts 1 through 4 of this review for the first 11 packs and more information about the kit.

At long last, we have reached the final pack of this build, and it’s a doozy. Aside from having a fair number of new pieces to add to the model, we will also be bringing together all the various sub-assemblies that are currently littering our workspace or residing in containers nearby. Speaking of workspace, you will want to make sure you have plenty of it. I had to rearrange and tidy up the space I had before embarking on this final pack, and I could have used slightly more space.

We begin Pack 12 by installing the inner door trim to the body and then installing the doors that we built way back in Pack 2. Once the doors are installed, you may want to consider taping them shut; this will make handling the body much easier for the rest of the build. Taping the trunk shut might also be helpful.

Next, we attach the front subframe assembly to the body. This is a bit tricky, mainly due to the weight of the front subframe, but everything lines up nicely and actually stays in place pretty well while the first couple of screws go in. The dashboard assembly follows, and again, it goes in without much drama. The two things to watch out for here are getting the steering column pieces lined up and connected, and making sure the wire from the dashboard is correctly routed.

At this point, I would like to point out that most of the rest of the assembly process involves having the body lying upside down on your workbench, putting most of the weight on the windshield frame. The instructions recommend having some sort of support to rest the body on. I didn’t do this, but in retrospect I would highly recommend it. Something like a couple of blocks of florist foam to support the front and back ends of the car would work well. You might also be able to use the foam blocks that the body was shipped in. This would take the weight off the windshield frame and also keep the body from rocking back and forth like a teeter totter.

The next stage involves attaching wires to the printed circuit board and installing the board on the underside of the interior floor. This is not difficult, but you need to be careful not to put too much pressure on the connectors as you plug the wires into them; you don’t want to accidentally knock them off the board. Also, note that the connectors are keyed so that the wires will only fit in one orientation.

With the circuit board installed, it is time to install the interior assembly into the body. It is a tight fit, and as the instructions point out, you will need to flex the interior a bit to get it in. One thing that didn’t “click” at first for me is that the two screw holes at the back of the floor assembly do not fit over the tall posts protruding from the body but must instead slide slightly forward of those posts to line up with screw holes that are set much lower in the body. Once I finally got everything lined up properly, the multitude of screws that hold the interior in place went in without much drama.

The cover for the convertible top (or “tarpaulin”, as the instructions call it) is installed next, again with very little drama. With the tarpaulin installed, it is time to flip the car back upside-down to install the rear lights and the “prop shaft” (driveshaft). There is one small red lens that needs to be fitted into each taillight; I recommend a drop of white glue to secure it in place.

The next step is to fit the hood and fenders onto the front of the car. The trick here is to make sure the wiring from the headlights gets routed through the front subframe as instructed. Since the hood and fenders are hinged as a single unit, attaching them to the subframe is a pretty straightforward operation. As with the doors and trunk lid, you may want to consider taping the hood closed to make handling the body easier.

It is now time to complete the electrical wiring. This starts by connecting several more wires to the circuit board. I personally think this would have been much easier to do before the board was connected to the interior floor, but it isn’t an impossible task. Light bulbs are installed into the taillights, and then all the wires from the circuit board are connected to their mating wires from various other locations in the car. It is then time to make sure the wires are routed properly to prevent them from interfering with the rest of the assembly. There are a number of small pegs on the underside of the interior floor to indicate routing channels for the wires, and Agora provides some pieces of tape to hold the wires in place. Cut the pieces of tape in half before using them so you will have enough to go around. All the wires from the front of the car will need to run through the driveshaft tunnel, and placing a piece of tape across that area will help keep them in place as well.

The fuel tank goes in next. Take a good look at all the lovely detail that you installed on the top of half of the tank back in Pack 9, because this is the last time you’ll be able to see any of it.

At this point they recommend that you test the electricals. What they fail to mention is what type of batteries to use or how to install them. This information is all found at the end of the instructions for this pack, but they don’t tell you that either. For the record, it requires 3 LR44 batteries, which are installed inside the oil pan. To remove the oil pan, you must remove the filter hose from the side of the pan, then lift the front of each torsion bar out of its mounting hole, and then lift the oil pan and torsion bars off the engine. Once the batteries are in, you can test all the lights. I’m happy to say that mine all worked on the first try.

It's now time again to flip the car back upside down to install the front bumpers and the grill bar from Pack 3. The first step is to line up the bumpers and grill bar in their correct positions relative to each. Then the grill bar must be attached to each bumper using a very tiny screw. You also need to make sure the grill bar is right side up; I had to use the camera on my phone to magnify the “growler” badge large enough to tell which way it had to go. Once those pieces are connected, they can be attached to the underpanel, and then the underpanel is attached to the underside of the hood. This is a press-fit assembly, so using a little white glue for insurance would not be a bad idea.

It is now time to install the rear subframe assembly. The first step is to put the assembly in place and make sure all the screw holes line up. This may require making some adjustments to the routing of some of the wires if they are interfering. There are 10 screws that hold this assembly in place, but I was only able to get 8 of them installed. Even with everything else lined up, there were two screws (both on the same side of the body) that I could not get lined up with their holes. In the end, I decided that 8 screws would be enough to hold it together and declared victory.

The next step is to install the rear bumpers and rear end panel. It was almost my undoing. It starts out simply enough by attaching (with a dab of white glue) the lens to the backup light, and then attaching that to the end panel. Then the fuel pump and license plate went on, followed by the license plate lights (again with a dab of glue) and the rear bumpers. The spare tire was supposed to be installed next, but the instructions said you could leave it out until the end of this stage because it could make it more difficult to attach the end panel, so I left it off for now. I then put the end panel into place on the body and attempted to screw it in, but I could only get one of the two screws to grab onto its mating hole. These screws both set deep into recesses, and you can’t see to line them up, you just have to feel your way. After 45 minutes of trying and failing, I finally repositioned myself to get a better view of where the panel met the body and saw that there was a gap there. So, I pressed harder on one side of the panel, and it finally went into place with a loud snap. At that point the screw went in quite happily. Then I flipped the car right side up, opened the trunk, and attempted to put the spare tire in. I would not fit through the opening in the trunk floor. So, I had to flip the car back over again, remove the end panel, install the spare tire, and then reinstall the end panel. And yes, it was more difficult to install, but it wasn’t horrible. I noticed that there was a lip on the forward edge of the panel and another lip on the back edge of the subframe, and the panel lip had to go over the subframe lip to fit in place correctly. Once again, I installed the screws and turned the car right side up to inspect my work. At which point I realized that I had installed the rear bumpers on the wrong sides, so they were upside down. So, I flipped the car back over, removed the end panel, removed the bumpers and installed them correctly, reinstalled the spare tire which had come loose during this process, and then reinstalled the end panel. After finally confirming that everything was, indeed, correct, I installed the screw covers into the end panel to hide the two screws that had caused me so much pain.

Which brings us at last to the final stage of the assembly, which was installing the exhaust pipes. First up was installing the exhaust pipes from the mufflers back, which was a simple two-piece assembly that required a couple of screws. Then came the two pipes from the engine to the mufflers. These were both press-fit affairs, and so a small amount of glue was added to make sure they wouldn’t come off.

And with that, the build was complete! The result is every bit as beautiful as Agora’s promotional photos promised, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Pack 12 took me a whopping 6 hours and 45 minutes spread over 3 sessions to complete, for a grand total 37.5 hours of build time. This is significantly less than Agora’s advertised 60 hours, but they may be using a “generic” number to cover all their kits, and others may take longer.

What are my takeaways from this build? Well, the first lesson I learned was that if parts aren’t fitting together correctly, it’s my fault and not the kit’s fault. The instructions (which are excellent overall) might not always explain things perfectly, but the kit is well-engineered, and everything fits together the way it should. The second thing I learned was to glue all the press-fit parts. While many of them fit quite snugly, some of them didn’t. And my life experience has taught me that anything that isn’t glued will come apart eventually (and be almost impossible to get back into place). And the third thing I learned was that, despite being fumble fingered, I am capable of assembling something as intricate as the wire wheels on this kit if I take my time, follow the instructions, and remain patient with both myself and the kit.

Is this kit perfect? Well, no. While the end result is beautiful, it is also a bit sterile. The plastic and vinyl bits look like plastic and vinyl bits. The textured plastic on the floor of the interior and trunk does not pass for carpeting at this scale, and the vinyl seats do not pass for leather. While the woodgrain painting on the steering wheel looks great to me, I know there are builders out there that would not be happy with it. So, if you like to add extra detail to your kits, there is room here to make this one even better if you have the skills and materials needed. And I personally would have appreciated if the printed instructions had been sent with the kit. I can understand the reasons Agora would want to provide them electronically, but it made things more difficult on my end.

Would I recommend this kit to my fellow builders? Absolutely yes! If any of Agora’s kits appeal to you, and you have the time and money to invest in it, I don’t think you will be disappointed. I really enjoyed building this one, and it will be on prominent display in my home for years to come.

Finally, I need to extend a huge thank you to the folks at Agora Models for providing the IPMS with the opportunity to review this kit.