Agora Models have just released their 1:8 scale Shelby Cobra, and I have received the first of 12 packs. Agora have not done much, but I do like their attitude. They are distributing the Hachette T-800 and Battleship Bismark, and have their own Shelby Super Snake model out already, with more releases to come. I like their commitment, they promise not to stop a model part way through - so once you have the first pack the only way you won't end up with a model is if you are the one that cancels.

Anyway, here is my build thread of the Cobra.



This is how the pack arrives. Plain cardboard on the outside, Agora blue inside, parts have plenty of room so are not squashed together but are well enough protected to have suffered no damage.

Agora do not issue a magazine with the build, a fact that is somewhat of a disappointment to me. I would have liked to have had something which gave me the history of the car, so I ended up buying a copy of the Haynes manual for it. All the instructions are found online in their "Download Centre", and as I have a reasonably large TV, I can display them larger than they would have been on a page, so am not worried about that.



Stage one. The first stage is your typical 'attraction' stage, although I don't know why as I don't believe it's going to be in any shops, just on Agora's website. But it's nice to start with a decent size of paintwork to get a good idea of the quality, so we start with the bonnet. This is the iconic Shelby Guardsman Blue, with the twin Le mans White stripes up the middle.



The first task is to take two small, sponge rubber self-adhesive strips (shown here on top of the bonnet) and place them along the top of the underside as cushioning and to provide a little resistance for the catches when the bonnet is closed.



There are no defined places for these strips, but it seems correct to add them somewhere around here. I wanted them to be close to where the bonnet catches will be installed, and the instructions show them here.



The next item to be installed is the air scoop on the top of the bonnet. As this sits nice and central, it's mainly the white of the stripes, with a single blue stripe in the centre.



With the scoop held on, the bonnet is turned over and the scoop is screwed on from underneath. I like the fact that the scoop is blue on the underside, fitting in with the underside of the bonnet. Although I should mention that the paint on the underside of the bonnet is not up to the standard of the coat on the top surface, I can understand why this is.



We now turn to the bonnet catches. These are handed, so make sure that you have the correct one for the side that you are working on, and don't forget that the sides are referenced as if you are sat in the driver's seat looking forward. I will work on one at a time, then repeating the steps for the other one. The parts are designed so that each is a mirror of the other, and when assembled correctly the catches sit under the handles. With the handles sideways the bonnet is unclamped and can be opened. With them at the back, the clamps secure the bonnet in place.



With one clamp inserted through the bonnet, the clamp plate is added to the stem of the clamp. The stem is of the 'D' section design, and the plate has a corresponding 'D' shaped hole. I found the hole on the plate to be slightly larger than the stem, so some movement was still possible, but the movement is limited.



A spring is then added to the stem. There is a small circular plate and a screw to secure the assembly together. Agora supply 3 of these plates and screws, in case one set gets lost. It is advised to put the screw through the plate first, then attach this to the stem to minimise the risk of the plate being bounced into the air by the spring if things don't go well.



When this is finished, the completed bonnet catch should look like this. This process is then repeated on the other side.







So at the end of the first stage, we have the bonnet, and a badge to be kept safe for later. I placed mine back in the original packaging. The bonnet does not entirely fit due to the increased height of the scoop and catches, but it should afford decent protection for the paint, and keeps the badge safe at the same time.

Stage two. Front Left wheel



This will assemble the front left wheel and brake disc.



These are the outermost section of the wheel and the centre section.



Once they have been screwed together like this, the inner half of the wheel can be added and screwed to them.





I like the effect this has with the wheels, the chrome rim contrasts well with the matt centre section.



Then, with the usual help of hot water, the tyre is softened so that the wheel can be forced through the centre and adjusted to give a nice fit. The centre section has the tyre valve cast into it, and I may end up just painting this black to help it stand out from the wheel itself more.



These two components are used to make the centre of the wheel, again there is a nice contrast between the rotor and the cap.



With the cap pushed in, it's a nice tight fit so no need for glue, the rotor is complete. It has a magnetic attachment that will keep it on the wheel, which I think is a nice touch.



The brake disc and suspension component. The brake disc will have a positive connection to the wheel, so it will rotate with the wheel, and will be trapped by the brake calliper.



The suspension unit is pushed through the brake disc like this from the plain side.





The calliper is secured to the suspension piece with a single screw. The brake disc is now able to float, rotating freely but limited in moving along the shaft by the calliper component.



The brake disc is now aligned so that the tabs will fit into their locations in the wheel centre, and this is screwed in from the outside of the wheel.





The rotor is then placed into the centre of the wheel over the screw and is held in place by the magnet.

As this is a road wheel, I have given the treads a light sanding to simulate the wear a tyre gets when it has been used.

Stage three.



Stage three is a bit of a mixed bag. Still one of what I call the "Attractor" stages, designed to pull in interest whilst shops have the publication on Sale or Return, but not much to work on.



Take the badge, and insert it into the centre of the steering wheel. The badge has two posts, one larger than the other. This means that you can't accidentally get the badge upside down as it won't go that way without modification. It's an easy fit that will stay without glue. The steering wheel is nicely detailed, replicating a metal wheel with wood facings front and back of the wheel and metal 'rivets' holding the facings on. Although I can't see the detail on the back of the wheel, the front wood section does have a woodgrain effect.



Take the exhaust tip, and push it into the end of the exhaust nearest the fixing. The ends of these two components are keyed so you shouldn't be able to have the tip facing the wrong way.



And that's it for this stage. You end up with the steering wheel, part of one exhaust, part of the hoop that sits behind the driver as a roll cage, and the base of one of the seats. The seat is of a good construction, padded, and covered in what I believe to be real leather.

Stage Five. Oil Filter and part of the second exhaust





Take the filter mount, filter, and filter cap. The other end of the filter is keyed, so will only go on the mount the correct way round. This is secured with a screw up through the hole in the filter shown above.



The filter in place. I like the printing on the outside of the filter.



And the filter, complete with the cap, on its mount.





This is then screwed to this support.



Which is then attached to this piece. We then finish this stage with combining the second exhaust piece and the second exhaust tip.

Great start and an excellent looking kit. Will be following with interest

Regards
Gray

Stage 8



Continuing to work on the front of the engine, this stage we add the pulleys and belt.



We have two parts of each of the two pulleys, a cover piece, and the belt.





The first pulley is constructed of these two parts. The pin goes into one of the tubes, a screw into the other. The pulley will only sit flush in one orientation, the first one I tried was obviously wrong, so I just turned one part 180° and it looked much better.





The two parts are screwed together from the back, and should now look like this from the side.









The second pulley goes together in the same way. Note that the first pulley has an angle to the front section, whilst the second pulley is flat faced.



The first pulley is screwed in from the back in this position. There is no shape to this connection that means any particular orientation is 'wrong', so I just ensured that the screw on the back was away from the oil filter, meaning less possibility of seeing the screw when the engine is fully assembled.





The cover piece is then screwed on in this orientation. Once again there is a single post and a single screw location, so this piece is easy to orient the correct way.



The second pulley is then attached to the cover piece in this position. I ensured the screw on this one was closest to the first pulley, again minimising the chance it will be seen.



The final thing to do this stage is to put the belt around the pulleys.

I placed it in the grooves of the two large pulleys first, then gently pulled it over the alternator pulley and let it relax. The belt is shaped, so shouldn't be much effort to put on correctly.

Stage 11



Stage 11 fits the rocker covers to the heads assembled in stages 9 and 10.



Both the covers and the heads are marked either 'L' or 'R' denoting the side of the car they are for. This makes marrying them up correctly considerably easier than it would have been without them.



Take the right rocker cover and insert the correct cap into the slot. [the cap with the lugs on] The cap has a 'D' shaped pin, but it will still go in either way round. Check that the holes line up, and off not then rotate the cap 180° and check again. When you are satisfied that the orientation of the cap gives the best alignment, screw it into place from behind.



The cap should fit flush to the cover.



Take the round cap and push it into the hole in the left cover. There is no screw for this cap, is should click into place flush with the cover and stay there.



Marry the covers with the heads using the markings on the inner surfaces. Each cover will fit to the correct head with an alignment post and two screws from underneath.



The two 'spark wire holders' are then inserted into the covers. Mine don't seem to have gone in flush, so I may have something blocking the holes slightly, I may have to take them out and have a look but they're only pushed in so that's not a big deal.

That completes stage 11.

Stage 13



Stage 13 contains the main parts of the engine block, but we are not able to assemble them at this stage as we need parts from stage 15 before we can do that.



The two halves of the engine block, and the cooling fluid tank bracket. We do not need the bracket at this stage so it needs to be kept for stage 15.



Marry the correct pair of engine block half and cylinder head. There are two protruding lugs on the cylinder head that fit in holes on the top of the engine block, and a single screw in the middle holds it all together.



Repeat this for the opposite side, and that completes stage 13.

Pack 3



Pack 3 puts the majority of the chassis together, and I think it looks great once it is done. Very impressed with the way the parts have been designed to give a great looking tubular chassis.

Stage 16 - Left Lateral Lower frame



There are not many parts in this stage, but it seems very important to read the instructions carefully.



The joints between the main section and the two cross pieces are keyed which makes the join stronger and helps align them. All of these parts are the bottom half of each piece, and the two cross pieces are labelled "3" and "4".

As all the chassis frame parts are metal, I went through my usual process of dipping one of the screws in a little oil first and then using it to cut the necessary threads. Full turn forward, half a turn back to release the swarf, repeat as necessary until all the thread has been cut.

Once I have cut a thread, I use the same screw to connect the pieces, then move on to a fresh screw for the next connection.



As you may be able to see, each connection is numbered. All that is required is to match the number on the main section to the number in the cross piece. The instructions tell you to ensure that the numbers are also the same way up, although that may only be necessary for cross piece number 2 in stage 17 (due to some extra connection points in that piece).



So, starting with the shortest space at the top, we have number 4, then number 3 cross pieces. Once both cross pieces have been installed, that completes this stage.

Stage 17 - completing the lower frame.





Note that the two cross pieces in this stage are different. Cross piece number 2 has the extra screw locations and is flat on the bottom. Cross piece number one has extra details at the front and back.



Install cross piece number 2 so that the extra screw locations, those in the middle of the three locations, are closer to cross piece number 2 - and as usual that all the numbers in the cross pieces are the same way up.



Finish with crosspiece number 1, again ensuring that the number in the centre of the cross piece is the correct way up. This means that the two smaller details are towards the centre of the frame and the large detail to the outside of the frame.



Finish off by connecting the right lateral lower frame to the four cross pieces. That completes the lower chassis frame.

I do like the way that the joints are made. Once everything is together and tight I don't think it will be necessary to do anything about the joins, they look like welded steel tube to me.