This review covers packs 7, 8, and 9 of the Agora Models Jaguar build. Please see parts 1 and 2 of this review for the first 6 packs and more information about the kit.

Pack 7 starts off easy by assembling the two halves of the mufflers (or “silencers” per the instructions) and installing them onto the floor assembly from pack 6. The rest of pack 7 is devoted to building the left front and right rear wheels and then inserting the left front wheel into the tire and installing it onto the front subframe.

I am finally getting the hang of putting these wire wheels together. My biggest frustration with installing the first two sets of spokes on each wheel has been getting each spoke pointed in the correct direction to seat properly on the rim. I have found that it is easiest to turn the spoke while it is only about halfway inserted. Once it is turned, it is pretty easy to pull it the rest of the way through and get it into place without disturbing the other spokes.

For the second two sets of spokes on each wheel, my biggest problem has been getting them hooked over the rim after they have all been inserted through the hub. Now that I know that the “kitchen paper” mentioned in the instructions is actually a paper towel, I took a sheet down to my worktable and rolled a small strip into a cylinder just large enough to fit into the hub. I also cut it fairly short so that my fingers can hold it and also touch the hub. The paper towel prevents the spokes from sliding back into the hub when I turn the wheel over to hook them over the outer rim. With this worked out, I was able to successfully get all the spokes hooked over the rim without playing whack-a-mole and without using superglue to keep them in place. I used this method successfully on both of the wheels in this pack.

Pack 8 starts with the insertion of the right rear wheel into its tire and then installing that onto the rear suspension. I am happy to report that, contrary to what I said in the previous part of the review, the rear wheels do turn. Apparently, the rotating mechanism is in the wheel itself, not in the suspension assembly.

The focus of Pack 8 then shifts to the interior. It starts by installing a microswitch in the floor on the driver’s side. Then the center console is assembled and installed into the interior floor. This includes some photoetched wire mesh pieces for the speaker grills as well as a radio with a well-detailed dial. I didn’t realize they had AM/FM radios in 1961! The floor pedals are also attached to the floor at this point. There is another microswitch that sets in a hole behind the brake pedal which I believe illuminates the brake lights. As the instructions pointed out, I had to leave the screws that held this switch in place slightly loose to allow the switch to work properly.

At this point I also build the second seat, just like I did for the first seat way back in Pack 2. I then attach both seats to the floor panel.

Pack 8 finishes up by building the dashboard. The gauge faces are printed on stickers, and while I had some misgivings about my ability to get the stickers lined up properly, they worked out perfectly. Make sure you pay attention to proper orientation of the gauges: the “minor” gauges in particular are oriented the opposite of how I assumed they would be at first glance. The rest of the dashboard goes together quite easily. Another microswitch gets attached here, probably to turn the headlights on and off. Like earlier, I had to leave the attaching screws a little bit loose to allow the switch to work.

The steering column comes next, with a four-piece assembly. The thing to watch out for here is to make sure the control stalk is sitting properly in its recess before attempting to mate the two halves of the column case. Mine wasn’t at first, and it caused a gap to form between the column halves. Once I corrected the stalk’s positioning, it went together snugly. Once the column is together, you get to mount the steering wheel from way back in Pack 1 onto the column. We then finish up this pack by attaching the completed steering column to the dashboard.

Pack 9 begins by finishing up the dashboard, adding the glove compartment, a grab handle, and the dashboard top to the assembly from the previous pack. We then turn our attention back to the interior floor, where we add the rear floor section. This is followed by assembly of the fuel tank. There are two halves to the fuel tank, plus some bits and pieces. While the bits and pieces are attached to the fuel tank top at this point, the two halves are left unjoined. We then return to the rear floor assembly and add the wheel arch covers to it.

The instructions next take us to the front of the car. We start by assembling the headlights. A dab of white glue (I used Model Master Clear Parts Cement) is required to attach the headlight lenses to the chrome reflectors, and then those assemblies are inserted into the headlight scoops from the front, while a headlight mount is attached to the reflectors from the rear with screws. This was a rather fiddly thing to get assembled. There are two very small tabs on the reflectors that fit into slots on the scoops to ensure the correct orientation of the headlights, but the tabs are not quite large enough to keep the reflectors from moving around while you’re trying to attach the mounts to the back. In the end I got everything to work out alright, but slightly more robust tabs on the reflectors would have made the process much easier. It’s important to note here that there are small standoffs on the mounts that force a small space to be left between the mounts and the backs of the scoops. This will be important in the next step.

With the headlights assembled, we move on to the front fenders (or “wings”). We begin with the right fender, where we install the side marker lights. The right headlight is then set in place on the right side of the hood, which we received way back in Pack 3. That slot that was left between the scoop and the headlight mount sandwiches a bracket on the hood to keep the headlight in the correct position. The Jaguar E-type is rather unique in that the entire front end, including the hood, fenders, grill, and bumper are hinged as a single piece at the front of the car to provide access to the engine; so, the next step is to attach the right fender to the hood. Again, a C-shaped bracket on the fender fits into that same slot in the headlight assembly to help position it. Several screws then lock all of this into place. The headlights and side marker lights also have tiny LED bulbs that get inserted at this time. We then finish up this pack by repeating the above process for the left fender and lights.

A couple of assembly notes are in order at this point. There are several small pieces in the interior assembly that are “press-fit” into place. While they fit quite snugly in their places, they can also be removed without too much trouble. I opted to add a tiny dab of white glue to all of these to make sure the pieces wouldn’t fall out on their own. This included the steering wheel on the steering column. Also, if you haven’t done it before, you will want to put a soft cloth down on your working surface. The hood and fenders are large, heavy pieces of metal with a very nice paint job; having a soft cloth to set them on will prevent them from getting scratched as you are working with them.

Timewise, I spent about 8 hours in total on these 3 packs. A little over half of that was spent building the wheels. That puts me at about 25.5 hours total, and I’m75% of the way through the kit. Looking ahead, I know I have one more wheel to build (2 hours), and then a whole lot of detail work and heavy lifting to prepare the body and bring all the assemblies I’ve built so far (front subframe, hood, interior floor, rear end, and dashboard) together into the final product. My guess is that I’ve got 10 to 15 hours of work ahead of me yet. Watch for the next installment of this review to see how it goes.