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A long time ago, at the dawn of my model building (circa 1968) I discovered Aurora 1/25 cars. At the time they were state of the art with full engine, suspension, interior and body details. I bought and built all of the line....well...except for this one.  Price at the time an expensive $1.95.   The hobby shop I was buying them at ran out and this one disappeared from my clutches never to be seen again until Monogram aquired the molds and reissued it. My purpose in building this kit was to go back in time and finish my collection (which I still have) and build it the way I  would have liked back then.  Of course using modern materials and 50yrs of building experience. No attempt was to be made at accuracy. It would be mostly box stock with a few added details. Which I would have done  the time. Color is Tamiya TS-26 white and Pactra flat blue (original 1970 bottle...still good BTW)   This kit was finished 5/27/19.  I will let the pictures and captions tell the rest of the story.

DSC06513.JPG.93d60d3de17b9c9ebc05328b87ccc099.JPG Chassis was well detailed for the time. Note my knock-offs, better than trying to glue them on and the hold the wheels better. 

DSC06514.JPG.d498da8020632595b0f4c62933075539.JPG

Engine had some good detail as well and some modern painting and a little wiring was all I was going to add. 

DSC06515.JPG.f0344e0ea5245e1249ce4ef009c8e7c7.JPGInterior  was a little sparse and I would have liked the steering wheel center decal...but its a period kit. Seat rivets were all hand painted and touched up...the usual pain. 

 

DSC06516.JPG.88ba500041e2959679409e887982330d.JPGFront suspension detail is as good as the rest of the kit.  Steering works too but not as good as i had hoped. 

DSC06517.JPG.ba27f669f5994d547ba242896f3f0f24.JPGFinished car on its wheels. Stripes were sprayed the same color as the hood. The white line is vinyl tape cut real thin. The body fit fairly well but still need those metal clips to keep it all together. 

DSC06518.JPG.f5ce373ec9532ca35151187c09caeefa.JPGAlways my favorite veiw of the car. This was my first impression the original car when i first saw it at Watkins Glen as it rumbled past me in 1964. Don't know why it was at the Gran Prix but it sure looked cool to this teenager back then. 

DSC06519.JPG.224b78bc2d217503bd8ea35583aeaca3.JPGWould really have liked to change the wheels and tires but no suitable replacement was to be found.....sigh !!.  And probably should have done something about that really horrible side glass. Can still do if I want, but for now it is what it is.   Comments welcome. 

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Really nice build Rich and a worthy addition to your Aurora collection.  Having seen it in the flesh at Watkins Glen makes it really special and you nailed it!  

1852134250_Ford_GT40_1964_WatkinsGlen_USGPGT-10x-c.jpg.813a1deea4aabcd656f3898747c9d212.jpg

1590088314_Ford_GT40_1964_WatkinsGlen_1600.jpg.a3b79ff8a92d2de3b2963f8dcb1fd49a.jpg

In 1964 the GT was still on outside laced wires so on my IMC rebuild I am going to try Randy's 1/25 Borrani 3D wheels.

Edited by Gramps46
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1 hour ago, Gramps46 said:

Really nice build Rich and a worthy addition to your Aurora collection.  Having seen it in the flesh at Watkins Glen makes it really special and you nailed it!  

1852134250_Ford_GT40_1964_WatkinsGlen_USGPGT-10x-c.jpg.813a1deea4aabcd656f3898747c9d212.jpg

1590088314_Ford_GT40_1964_WatkinsGlen_1600.jpg.a3b79ff8a92d2de3b2963f8dcb1fd49a.jpg

In 1964 the GT was still on outside laced wires so on my IMC rebuild I am going to try Randy's 1/25 Borrani 3D wheels.

OMG...Gary....if this picture was taken 20sec earlier, I would have been in it.  Thanks for posting these, it sure brings back some memories. 

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Great job on that! The Aurora kits of that series are not well known and usually under-rated. Some are better than others. The Ford GT is obviously one of the best. I'm thinking of doing Aurora's Maserati 3500 for my next build.

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Very nice job on what some have mentioned is not an easy build.  I was thinking of doing the Scuderi Flilipinetti version with the unbuilt one I have.  I will have to research more photos as I am not sure if it has the extra spoilers on the front.  Fortunately I did buy the decals so it will make for an interesting version not see that often.

IMG_7891.PNG

Edited by vamach1
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1 hour ago, mr moto said:

Great job on that! The Aurora kits of that series are not well known and usually under-rated. Some are better than others. The Ford GT is obviously one of the best. I'm thinking of doing Aurora's Maserati 3500 for my next build.

I have one of those in my parts collections. LMK if you need parts...its mostly all there.  Its a very nice car but could do with some up to date wires wheels. . The kit ones are not so hot. 

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4 hours ago, Rich Chernosky said:

OMG...Gary....if this picture was taken 20sec earlier, I would have been in it.  Thanks for posting these, it sure brings back some memories. 

Is that you second from top row with the goofy hat?

768469491_Ford_GT40_1964_WatkinsGlen_USGPGT-10x-a.jpg.8f737b6ab62fe68d414a842fce6ded0d.jpg

Sorry Rich these are the only ones I have in '64 at the Glen.  A good shot of the side window though.

Ford_GT40_balade.jpg.70161fb82155da95b4b8d046388f5906.jpg

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2 hours ago, Rich Chernosky said:

I have one of those in my parts collections. LMK if you need parts...its mostly all there.  Its a very nice car but could do with some up to date wires wheels. . The kit ones are not so hot. 

Thanks for the generous offer but I think all the parts are there. I am planning to use better wheels and tires but the original wheels don't look so bad to me. It's just that some of the new ones are such beauties!

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50 minutes ago, Gramps46 said:

Is that you second from top row with the goofy hat?

768469491_Ford_GT40_1964_WatkinsGlen_USGPGT-10x-a.jpg.8f737b6ab62fe68d414a842fce6ded0d.jpg

Sorry Rich these are the only ones I have in '64 at the Glen.  A good shot of the side window though.

Ford_GT40_balade.jpg.70161fb82155da95b4b8d046388f5906.jpg

Nah...not me. I have sat in those grandstands and it is a great place to watch the race. Lots of action happens at the 90, which is where this is. 

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  • 1 year later...
On 5/15/2020 at 5:29 PM, Rich Chernosky said:

I have one of those in my parts collections. LMK if you need parts...its mostly all there.  Its a very nice car but could do with some up to date wires wheels. . The kit ones are not so hot. 

Eric is looking for suspension parts.

C12D640D-245C-48BA-8D9A-881BAB3C3153.png

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On 12/16/2021 at 9:01 AM, vamach1 said:

Eric is looking for suspension parts.

C12D640D-245C-48BA-8D9A-881BAB3C3153.png

Rex...tried to help Eric out and scrounged through my entire stash.  Have lots of parts from IMC and Fujimi kits but not these.   That instruction sheet looks suspiciously like the old Aurora kit now Monogram. I only had one of those and it is featured in this post..so no extra parts. He may be forced to scratchbuild. 

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4 hours ago, Rich Chernosky said:

Rex...tried to help Eric out and scrounged through my entire stash.  Have lots of parts from IMC and Fujimi kits but not these.   That instruction sheet looks suspiciously like the old Aurora kit now Monogram. I only had one of those and it is featured in this post..so no extra parts. He may be forced to scratchbuild. 

I think I have a have a glue bomb one buried in storage and am slowly going through the boxes I packed up 400+ plus kits.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/15/2020 at 8:24 AM, Rich Chernosky said:

A long time ago, at the dawn of my model building (circa 1968) I discovered Aurora 1/25 cars. At the time they were state of the art with full engine, suspension, interior and body details. I bought and built all of the line....well...except for this one.  Price at the time an expensive $1.95.   The hobby shop I was buying them at ran out and this one disappeared from my clutches never to be seen again until Monogram aquired the molds and reissued it. My purpose in building this kit was to go back in time and finish my collection (which I still have) and build it the way I  would have liked back then.  Of course using modern materials and 50yrs of building experience. No attempt was to be made at accuracy. It would be mostly box stock with a few added details. Which I would have done  the time. Color is Tamiya TS-26 white and Pactra flat blue (original 1970 bottle...still good BTW)   This kit was finished 5/27/19.  I will let the pictures and captions tell the rest of the story.

DSC06513.JPG.93d60d3de17b9c9ebc05328b87ccc099.JPG Chassis was well detailed for the time. Note my knock-offs, better than trying to glue them on and the hold the wheels better. 

DSC06514.JPG.d498da8020632595b0f4c62933075539.JPG

Engine had some good detail as well and some modern painting and a little wiring was all I was going to add. 

DSC06515.JPG.f0344e0ea5245e1249ce4ef009c8e7c7.JPGInterior  was a little sparse and I would have liked the steering wheel center decal...but its a period kit. Seat rivets were all hand painted and touched up...the usual pain. 

 

DSC06516.JPG.88ba500041e2959679409e887982330d.JPGFront suspension detail is as good as the rest of the kit.  Steering works too but not as good as i had hoped. 

DSC06517.JPG.ba27f669f5994d547ba242896f3f0f24.JPGFinished car on its wheels. Stripes were sprayed the same color as the hood. The white line is vinyl tape cut real thin. The body fit fairly well but still need those metal clips to keep it all together. 

DSC06518.JPG.f5ce373ec9532ca35151187c09caeefa.JPGAlways my favorite veiw of the car. This was my first impression the original car when i first saw it at Watkins Glen as it rumbled past me in 1964. Don't know why it was at the Gran Prix but it sure looked cool to this teenager back then. 

DSC06519.JPG.224b78bc2d217503bd8ea35583aeaca3.JPGWould really have liked to change the wheels and tires but no suitable replacement was to be found.....sigh !!.  And probably should have done something about that really horrible side glass. Can still do if I want, but for now it is what it is.   Comments welcome. 

Great job!!!! Looks really good. I have one and wondered how it looked when finished. 

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1 hour ago, Brudda said:

Great job!!!! Looks really good. I have one and wondered how it looked when finished. 

Bruce...thanks ...If I had this to do over i would definetly do something about those side windows and possibly change the wheels and tires. Somebody on this forum makes a real nice set of outside laced wires that are 3d printed. I  Have a couple sets and have threatened to change em.

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