tmathew1us Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 The 1:1 car Developed by Peugeot Talbot Sport and with chassis engineering by Dassault (maker of fighter jets), the Peugeot 905 utilized a V-10 engine and chassis layout similar to F1 cars of the time. The 905B and 905 Evo 2 were very successful race cars, overall winners for the 1992 and 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Model This kit is made by Heller, and also reboxed as an Airfix kit. The contents can be viewed here I tried to depict the 1992 24-Hour winner, which was the 905B pictured below (photo linked from wikipedia). The Heller kit depicts a slightly different version, with a front wing and vents over the front wheel arches. I made some decals depicting the winning driver names and 24 hours of Le Mans logo. I made some slight changes to the model to represent headlights and the blanked-out front vents. Overall this may be the worst kit I have ever put together. The overall fitment is very crude, and the kit is warped in several areas. The model is designed to reveal a very simple engine, but attempting to keep the rear engine cover off causes all kinds of fitment problems, so I glued it shut. The engine does need to be assembled as it is part of the rear suspension as well, similar to a Formula 1 car. The included decals were decent. As a fanatic of Le Mans-winning cars, I slogged through this kit to complete a 24 hour winner. This kit is a loser. I would strongly caution all but the most ambitious builders to avoid this kit. It's a shame, as this model's poor engineering is a disservice to one of the great French racing cars, a two-time winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkychiken Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Airfix kits do tend to be hit and miss, the troubles you hit aren't visible in the finished model! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbowser Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 You did an admirable job, looks great. Good info about the kit. Heller kits in general are, shall we say, unusual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps46 Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Your Peugeot looks good and the challenges you had are not noticeable. Glad you posted a Le Mans winner and I hope to see more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Chernosky Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 I have this kit and have avoided it for quite some time due to the problems you have mentioned above. It is encouraging to know that it can be done and an acceptable model can be had. Thanks for posting and all the additional information provided. You did a great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RancheroSteve Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Great job on a very tough to build kit. Gluing the engine cover shut is definitely the way to go with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Colmer Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 (edited) I have this kit too. I've always thought the subject was great. I did wonder about the assembly of it. Thanks for the heads up. You did an outstanding job with yours. Edited July 28, 2020 by Scott Colmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Well done for persevering with it! The finished result looks good, I'm sure it makes for a fine display piece in the cabinet. Several years ago I was lucky enough to visit the museum at Le Mans, you'd love it there. As well as a fantastic collection of cars that took part there's a large display of models (mostly 1:43). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyK Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Very well done! I built the Heller version many years ago and experienced the exact things you mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majel Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 It's a shame that the kit was so bad because that is a nice looking car. Thanks for the info on the kit, you did a great job of persevering and turning it into a good looking model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmathew1us Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 On 7/26/2020 at 8:28 AM, Funkychiken said: Airfix kits do tend to be hit and miss, the troubles you hit aren't visible in the finished model! First of all, thanks to everyone for the kind comments! I appreciate it! On 7/26/2020 at 8:32 AM, bbowser said: You did an admirable job, looks great. Good info about the kit. Heller kits in general are, shall we say, unusual. Heller kits are indeed I did the Bentley Blower kit, but this may have been a re-box of the Airfix? It was a wonderful kit. On 7/26/2020 at 2:16 PM, Gramps46 said: Your Peugeot looks good and the challenges you had are not noticeable. Glad you posted a Le Mans winner and I hope to see more. Thank you!. I have several Le Mans winners in various stages, hope to post more soon. 20 hours ago, Scott Colmer said: I have this kit too. I've always thought the subject was great. I did wonder about the assembly of it. Thanks for the heads up. You did an outstanding job with yours. Yes, such an interesting subject that does not get the attention of the other marques! 12 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said: Well done for persevering with it! The finished result looks good, I'm sure it makes for a fine display piece in the cabinet. Several years ago I was lucky enough to visit the museum at Le Mans, you'd love it there. As well as a fantastic collection of cars that took part there's a large display of models (mostly 1:43). Visiting Le Mans is definitely on my bucket list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave B Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 Great build Tom, a friend has this kit and I have been tempted to have a go at getting it off him via a swap maybe. Dave B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmathew1us Posted July 30, 2020 Author Share Posted July 30, 2020 On 7/28/2020 at 10:14 PM, Dave B said: Great build Tom, a friend has this kit and I have been tempted to have a go at getting it off him via a swap maybe. Dave B I would be pretty stingy with what you trade to him. See my "what's in the box" post to know what you are getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 great build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robdebie Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 Nice, yours is the first I've seen with headlights! I've added this thread as a link to my Airfix/Heller Peugeot 905 review page: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/905review.htm Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmathew1us Posted August 14, 2020 Author Share Posted August 14, 2020 On 8/12/2020 at 10:59 AM, robdebie said: Nice, yours is the first I've seen with headlights! I've added this thread as a link to my Airfix/Heller Peugeot 905 review page: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/905review.htm Rob I just found a straight-on photo of the headlights and shrunk it down and printed it. That website has to the definitive 905 1/24 scale database on the internet! Wow! That is a lot of research. I suspect there were cooling issues from the plastic coming out of the molds (something Tamiya never seems to have a problem with). Did you ever complete the kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robdebie Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, tmathew1us said: I just found a straight-on photo of the headlights and shrunk it down and printed it. That website has to the definitive 905 1/24 scale database on the internet! Wow! That is a lot of research. I suspect there were cooling issues from the plastic coming out of the molds (something Tamiya never seems to have a problem with). Did you ever complete the kit? Ha, I did nearly exactly the same! But I have plans to make a 3D CAD design of the headlights, and have them printed. And like you I closed the louvers. For the rest the model is far from being finished. I've rebuilt the floor plate, the Heller underside is fantasy. And I've widened the air tunnels leading to the radiators - you might see it in the above photo if you compare it to your model. By the way: my kit fits fine with a few tweaks here and there. Like the sawcut down the middle of the lower nose part; the sawcut alone was enough to solve the fit problem of that part. It's not Tamiya, that's for sure! Rob Edited August 14, 2020 by robdebie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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