(Clockwise from top left: 1. 1982 San Marino GP, found on web; 2. Long Beach GP practice, Rainer Schlegelmilch; 3. Detail shots from Ferrari, the Grand Prix Cars; 4. Overhead shot from Automobile Year No. 30; 5. Brazil, San Marino, and Belgium shots from Ferrari Turbos; 6. Brazilian GP pits from Automobile Sport 82-83.)

1/20 Fujimi Ferrari 126C2 Kit Review

Kit No. 090320
Full Engine Detail
149 Parts

Overview

Fujimi has recently started a whole new line of F1 cars, and this is the first. Kit No. 090320 includes parts and decals to accurately depict either Gilles Villeneuve or Didier Pironi’s team car from the 1982 San Marino GP.

History

It’s interesting that both team cars were involved in the saga of this historic race. Despite team orders to let Villeneuve pick up the win (and points for the championship), Pironi passed him and won the race. Villeneuve vowed never to speak to Pironi again, and he died in practice for the very next race in Belgium. Great F1 lore, and it suggests a display with both of these cars, No. 27 and 28, from the San Marino GP. But if you want to model other versions, here are some tips.

The bodywork included with this kit is accurate for the following races: Brazil, Long Beach, San Marino, Belgium, and Monaco. For decals, you need to use the Tabu Design 20041 decal sheet. See Mark Palacz at www.mshobbies.com for these. Tell him GPMA sent you.

References

Above is a reference collage I put together using my digital camera and one photo I found on the web. First I spread out my book photos and take a shot of them, then I copy and paste other images to make a guide for the car I’m building. 

Books

Each of the following books has several photos of the 126C2 from the early 1982 season races.

Alan Henry, Ferrari: The Grand Prix Cars (Richmond, Surrey, UK: Hazelton Publishing, 1984 and Rev. 1989).

Anthony Pritchard, Ferrari Turbos: The Grand Prix Cars 1981-1988 (Bourne End, Bucks, UK: Aston Publishing/Motorbooks International, 1989). 

Ian Norris, Ed., Automobile Year No. 30: 1982/1983 (Lausanne, CH: Edita Lausanne).

Ian Bamsey, Ed., Automobile Sport 82 83 (Somerset, UK: Superprofile/J.H. Haynes).

Build Diaries/Completed Builds

For photos of a very nice example of this kit, see Eric Cole’s completed build on Automotive Forums:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=925781

KJS

1/24 Fujimi Ferrari 250 GTO
Kit Review and Accessory Guide

The Fujimi 250 GTO is the newest version of this classic 60’s racer, and so far it has received rave reviews.

“The Fujimi has the best body hands down. . . . The Fujimi body is even better than the Hiro, except for the rear spoiler area.” – Tom Tanner, Scale Designs

Even with that caveat, the Fujimi solves a major problem for 250 GTO builders: which kit to use. Before this kit, the existing choices all had major problems with the body shape.

The Fujimi kit comes in three flavors. No. 123370 is the first release that does not include the photo-etched details, while No. 123547 includes the photo-etch sheet.

And just announced for release this month is a decal variation that represents chassis no. 3445 (No. 123585):

I have seen some complaints about this being just a decal variation and not a more accurate representation of this car. But I think we’re lucky to get any versions at all in an injection molded kit, when resin kits are not necessarily more accurate and are five times the cost. Just my opinion . . .

Several detail sets were produced for this kit, but most of them are now sold out and out of production. These were all produced by KA Models of Korea for Fujimi. Hopefully these will be reissued, but I’m sure others will be produced. Here is a list of the detail sets produced to date:

Fujimi 111735 – Aluminum Wheel Set.

Fujimi 111595 – Photo-etch sheet and metal stickers.

KA Models KS-24002 – Deluxe Pack, includes above items plus turned aluminum intake funnels and exhaust pipes, and printed film for the instrument panel.

KA Models KC-24002 – Turned aluminum exhaust tip set.

For details of the kits and detail sets, see these sites:

Hobby Search

HobbyLink Japan

For details of a build in progress, see the Automotive Forums build here:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t917827.html

F1 Fansite Photo

Lewis Hamilton – World Driving Champion

Earlier this year, we saw Lewis Hamilton emerge as the 2008 World Driving Champion. It was a close season all the way to the end, but Hamilton consistently showed that he could rise to the occasion and win or score points when necessary. His championship is well deserved. And now that Mr. Ecclestone promises to permanently ruin Formula One, maybe Lewis Hamilton will be considered the last true World Champion. 

While there are many die-cast or factory built models of the McLaren MP4/22 and MP4/23, there are only a few kits available for these cars. Here is a survey of the model kits you can use to build your Lewis Hamilton collection.

1:43

Tameo Kits – Silver line series 

SLK 052

McLAREN MP4/22
Monaco G.P. 2007
L. Hamilton Car No. 2
Result: 2nd

SLK 053

McLAREN MP4/22
Italian G.P. 2007
L. Hamilton Car No. 2
Result: 2nd

SLK 062

McLAREN MP4/23
Monaco G.P. 2008
L. Hamilton Car No. 22
Result: 1st

For more information, see the Tameo website.

1:20

Studio 27

McLaren MP4/22 EARLY
S27FK20204

McLaren MP4/22
Canada/US GP Version
S27FK20208C

McLaren MP4/22
Japanese GP
S27FK20215

McLaren MP4/23 2008 EARLY
ST27FK20224C

McLaren McLaren MP4/23 LATE – World Champion 2008
S27FK20232C

For more information, see the Studio 27 website.

These kits look fairly challenging, especially with all of the aero pieces to attach and the chrome paint job. But they are the only game in town for 1/20 scale. Hopefully Revell AG will consider producing a 1/24 version for their F1 series.

1:32

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4/21

From the Airfix website:
Following the recent popular Santander/Abbey Bank TV advert which features Lewis Hamilton as an Airfix kit, we are now pleased to announce the release of a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes kit!

The kit contains 17 pieces with a total length of 148mm and width of 58mm. All parts are fully decorated and pre-painted. A small cross-headed screw driver is all that is required to complete the model.

For more information, see the Airfix website.

This kit is a slot-racer version of the previous season’s car, so it won’t satisfy the purist. But it might be a nice piece to keep on the office desk or in the workshop.

F1 Links

For results and news, see F1.com, the official Formula One Website. Once a boring official site for FIA rules and regulations, it’s now a comprehensive F1 resource with real time scoring, photos, and news to keep you up to date. Autosport.com has news of current F1 races and the amazing Forix historic news and photo archive. Motorsport.com is another amazing resource for news and photos of all your favorite racing subjects, including F1.

 
Merit Maserati 4CLT GP Car

Research and Photos by Roger Virgo

The Merit series is a selection of classic Grand Prix and Sports Racing cars from the mid-fifties. Here is the list:

Grand Prix Cars circa 1954/55

Mercedes-Benz W196

Connaught

Simca-Gordini

Maserati 250F (Resin reissue)

Vanwall (Resin reissue with scratch-built chassis)

Lancia-Ferrari D50 (Herb Deeks kit)

BRM P25 (not shown)
 

Lago-Talbot (with engine detail)

Alfa-Romeo 158 (with engine detail – not shown)

Formula 3

Cooper 500 (with engine detail)

Sports Cars

Lotus XI

Jaguar D Type (Early version with no fin)

Aston Martin DB3S

And the almost mythical Bluebird K7 (not shown)

Resources

Most Merit kits you will find today are built, and unbuilt kits in good boxes will be fairly expensive. Czech manufacturer Smer took over the Lago Talbot and the Alfetta, and they are still available on eBay or at swap meets.

Resin reissues were available from Keith Sorci directly.

Keith Sorci’s last known address:
Colorado Resin Specialists
12650 West 64th Ave. E-426
Arvada, Colorado 80004

Please update this information if you have something more current.

1/24 Fujimi Ferrari 126 C2 F1, 1982 Long Beach GP Version

Kit No. 090337
Full Engine Detail
149 Parts

Overview

This is a new tool for Fujimi, which has not produced F1 kits in this scale the past. Apparently this is part of a new series of F1 kits, which will be a welcome addition to the market, since Tamiya has apparently stopped producing new F1 kits.

History

Many people seem to believe that this car never raced with its distinctive dual wing, or that it only ran the dual wing in practice, or that it never finished the race at Long Beach in 1982. None of these assertions is true. In fact, the car was always competitive during the race weekend, and Gilles Villeneuve drove it to 3rd place behind Niki Lauda’s McLaren and Keke Rosberg’s Williams. It was only after Tyrrell filed a protest that Villeneuve’s car was disqualified.

References

There are many good references available for this particular car. The following books provide plenty of photos of this car as it appeared at the 1982 Long Beach GP with the double wing arrangement:

Alan Henry, Ferrari: The Grand Prix Cars (Richmond, Surrey, UK: Hazelton Publishing, 1984 and Rev. 1989), p. 294.

Anthony Pritchard, Ferrari Turbos: The Grand Prix Cars 1981-1988 (Bourne End, Bucks, UK: Aston Publishing/Motorbooks International, 1989), p. 30. 

Ian Norris, Ed., Automobile Year No. 30: 1982/1983 (Lausanne, CH: Edita Lausanne), p. 91.

Ian Bamsey, Ed., Automobile Sport 82 83 (Somerset, UK: Superprofile/J.H. Haynes), p. 43.

The usual web image search should uncover some useful images if you don’t have the above books in your collection.

1/24 Hasegawa Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa

Kit No. HC-19

Full Engine Detail, 135 Parts

Overview

This is a brand new tool of a classic Ferrari. The first thing you notice upon opening the box are the many small parts that will go into this detailed model. Chassis frame rails, hood latches, bonnet, etc. All of these separate pieces would usually be part of a large chassis or body piece, but not in this case.

Molded in White, black, clear, and chrome, the castings are smooth and details are crisp.

History

The Testa Rossa is one of the most rare and sought-after racing Ferraris. This kit represents the cars that raced in 1958.

Several racing versions are possible with this kit. Decals are included for the following cars:

1958

No. 14, Sebring Winner, Phil Hill/Peter Collins
No. 14, Le Mans Winner, Phil Hill/Olivier Gendebien

No. 102, Targa Florio 3rd Place, Mike Hawthorn/Wolfgang Von Trips

No. 12, Nurburgring, 10th Place, Gottfried Kochert/Erik Bauer

I can understand the choice of No. 14, but the other two seem odd. Bauer tragically died from injuries sustained in an accident on the cool-off lap of the Nurburgring race.

Kit Review

Many details are faithfully represented in this version. One of the nicest details is the beautiful engine. The valve covers or Red Heads are nicely molded with full detail. There

The body is molded in white, which will make painting

References

A must-have reference for the Testa Rossa is Ferrari Testa Rossa V-12 bv Joel E. Finn. This book is available in paperback, and it’s not only a good reference with chassis numbers, race results, and period photos. It’s also a fascinating book in its own right. Enzo Ferrari, Phil Hill, Mike Hawthorn, Peter Collins, and many more great names are featured in this book.