Porsche 917 Le Mans Movie Car

1/12 Porsche 917
No. 20 from the movie Le Mans
by David Sorensen

This is the 1/12 scale Porsche 917 #20 from the movie Le Mans.  It started as an ABC kit from Italy.  I built it as a curbside. 

The body was painted with Zero Paints Gulf Blue and Orange. 

The rear frame is made out of brass, replacing the weak white metal included with the kit. The rear deck latches and the tail lights are also scratch built. 

Thanks to Mike Kendel for the windshield and side glass.  This project has taken me a year to complete, working on and off.  Glad it is done.

 

Lotus 72

1/20 Lotus 72, 1970 German GP
Ebbro Kit  
by Paul Edwards

Here is my Lotus 72 by Ebbro. This is Ebbro’s first kit, and it is a good one. The subject and their planned future subjects are bang on for me, as I have always been fascinated in the older style of racing cars and the evolution of the era.

As with this model, I often build for one my country’s kit importers, with part of the deal being that I get the finished model back for my personal collection once it has done its tour of duty. Because of this, I try as best as I can to showcase the kit as well as making a model I will one day like for myself. This normally means I have a model which may be fairly box stock to the first glance, but also has whatever improvements I deem as necessary to keep myself happy. It’s a good formula for me as I can turn out a model every 2 or 3 months and everybody is happy.

I chose to build the 1970 German GP car in which Jochen Rindt (the only posthumous World Champion) won. The car which interested me most was the Monza car, which had no wings and relied on the 72’s wedge shape to keep it down. I couldn’t build that as it was a bit of a tragic day. So the German GP it was, which was raced at the Hockenheimring for safety reasons.

The kit comes with wings and windscreens to suit both the German and British GPs. Building the kit is fairly similar to a Tamiya kit, but with Ebbro’s own signature. One of these things was the screw holding the DFV V8 together, and also the screw holding the engine solidly to the monocoque.

All of the parts are very nicely molded, they fit well, and the finished result captures the subject very well.  Due to the nature of the beast, it is also very time consuming. Nothing is hidden, and everything is on show. The kit is also designed to have removable nose and windscreen for display purposes. I don’t like to build my models like this, as you can always see gaps when assembled, so I glued these parts down to keep a flush fit.

I also added an array of rivets including to the screen and used rivets to hold the rear wing assembly together. I just don’t trust myself with glue in these areas! I airbrushed with decanted Tamiya lacquers for the white and red and Alclad II Pale Gold for the gold. I used Zero 2 Pack Clear from Hiro Boy to seal everything in.

The number roundel for the nose was done with Hasegawa white vinyl, which gives a nice clean finish. My big gripe with the kit was the red styrene. Mine seemed to have a lot of red dye and took many coats of light primer and white to get rid of it. I can’t see why such a nice kit would have such a handicap as this. Another small gripe for me was the decals. I just didn’t feel they had the crispness and quality of what we have been spoilt with these days. In saying that, the extra sponsor decals by Ebbro were obviously sourced by a different supplier and were lovely. So maybe future kits will be better in this area.

I also stripped the chrome and recoated with AlcladII and used AlcladII polished Aluminum for the wheels. The kit chrome was very nice, but there are always the seam lines so I had to strip it. Easy Off oven cleaner worked fine for me, and it also stripped the undercoat, which was a nice surprise.

I added an aftermarket racing harness hardware and used my own belt webbing I make from paper. I also added a photo-etch dash bezel and turned toggle switches, Hiro fuel lines and ignition leads, and a few other odds and ends. The rear exhaust brackets were also replaced with electric guitar strings to give the spring effect.

All in all it is a very good kit, and I am excited about the future of Ebbro kits. It would have been an excellent kit, but the red styrene did mess with me a little I must say. I can’t wait for their Lotus49, in green! I kept a build diary here for anyone who is interested:

 http://public.fotki.com/eyepaule/model-making/build-progress-pictures/

 

Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa

1/12 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa
and 250 TR Engine
by David Sorensen

This is probably the best MG Models kit I have built.  Hope the pontoon body car goes together just as nicely.

I picked this kit up from Motoi several years ago.  It is a 1/12 scale MG Models, Mythos Mania Ferrari 250TR 1959 engine.  I am sure it must be long out of production.  Thought it would look great displayed with my other 1/12 scale 250TR builds.

May-June 2012


Ferrari 156 F1
by Rich Chernosky

SoCal NNL 2012
Model Show

Ferrari F1 Cars
by Ross Sharp

Toyota Corolla Levin 
by John Cully

SportAuto Slot Bodies
GT Cars in 1/24 Scale

Sponsor News

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Sponsor News for May/June 2012

ICARO Hobbies Icaro is a hobby store with the latest releases from Tameo, Profil24, and other manufacturers.

Contact: Roberto Bona

Scale Motorsport Scale Motorsport is a good resource for aftermarket items such as: photo-etch details, carbon-fiber decals, trans-kits, and full kits.

Contact: Matthew Wells

Scale Designs Check out the latest products from Scale Designs. Several new decals are available, including decals to re-create cars that ran in the Carrera Panamericana.

Contact: Tom Tanner

bestbalsakits At Bestbalsakits, you will find a large selection of racing car models and accessories. Soon their 1/12 Lola T70 Coupe transkit will be available.

Contact:Wim Van Vlasselaer

Corner5 Hobbies

Decals, kits, and accessories are available from Corner 5 Hobbies in Canada.

Contact:Trevor Taylor 

MS Hobbies

Get the latest from Studio 27, Model Factory Hiro, SimilR, Fujimi, and others at MSHOBBIES.

Contact: Mark Palacz 

RCS Motorsport Models

For the full line of Revell and Revell AG kits, visit RCS Motorsport Models. You can also find products from Fisher, Marsh, and others.

Contact: Richard Shouse

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