This is a one-off model of a Volvo TP21 Sugga. This 1:15 scale model was built in 2011. It was a gift to a big TP21 fan by his wife.

Everything on the model is scratch built. It took 7 months to make this model. Several hundred hours have been spent on this project.

The modeler had no accurate plans of the TP21. He got lots of photos and measurements from a real Sugga which helped much to start the project. He spend hours looking at photos and guessing the shape and contours of the vehicle. He then draw a sketch of the side view, then the front and rear. He spend hours comparing every part to the photos. He was satisfied with the result as soon as it looked right and the model matched the photographs. The hardest piece was the working cycle rack at the rear. It drove him crazy getting it just right and working.

The model consists of approximatively 70% wood ( hardwood and balsa wood ) and 30% metal. Balsa wood was used for the contoured shape at the rear of the vehicle, the boot and rear window area. The doors were made of hardwood and covered with tin from litho plates as used in the printing trade. This gives them a metallic finish. The front radiator grill was made with litho plate tin, with two rods running through them horizontally. The front mudguards were made of hardwood covered with tin. The cycle rack was made with brass strips and joined together with super glue. The wheels were made with balsa wood and the treads were pressed in with a shaped piece of lead.

It will remain a one-off model. The modeler really doesn't intend to produce a small batch in the future. He wrote me : 'I would end up in a mental home with the stress!'

The Volvo TP21 by ESDO is in fact not a real new old model.
But since it is the first time that I was able to find and see one as an unbuilt kit I presume that not many have seen it either.

The resin kit is very clean and fits together perfectly. The kit comes with a lot of white metal and photo-etched detail parts.