Porsche 917K winner of 1971 LeMans

[Pierre Rivard]

Since joining the hobby 5 years ago I had only built Nascar from the dark side i.e. lots of carving, sanding and scratch building

I decided I needed a change so I decided to go for this one. Fujimi kit and I kept it a simple OOB with only seat belts added.

I just followed the instructions with the only change of color being the exposed frame bits done in silver + weathering to replicate the magnesium frame which was unique to this specific car. Remember the little high school experiments with burning magnesium? No surprise Porsche never informed the drivers but luckily they are still around. (Helmut Marko is the grumpy one in the Red Bull F1 garage)

All finishes have been brush painted. Vallejo primer, sanded and polished, Vallejo base color, Tamiya acrylic clear, polished with 6000-8000-12000 cloths, decals and a coat of Future to seal them.

This was my first non-Nascar project and I learned a lot. I would do a few things differently but I am still pretty happy with it.

[bbowser]

Very nice clean work.

[vamach1]

I think you found your calling.  Very nice.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Very nice indeed.

One of my favorites from the golden age of motorsports. Cars were brutally fast, beautiful, and relatively simple.

[Rich Chernosky]

Very nice Pierre, I think you nailed the magnesium look very well.  Over all the car looks  excellent.. Can't imagine what you would do any different. 

[1959scudetto]

Very nice model, Pierre - the 917 K is one of my favorites, and you nailed the look perfectly. If mine turns out as well, I would be happy.

(I also have 4 of them in my stash)

[ZTony8]

I believe that after the race the frame was found to be cracked. The car never raced again.

 

[afx]

Very nice Pierre.

[Paul Waymouth]

Looks so good, well done. Nice background too

[Dave B]

That looks really good, nice build Pierre.  I have built Fujimi's 917 and personally I did not find the rear framework easy. 

Dave B

[ChrisR]

Awesome!

[Gramps46]

Very well done.  

[Pierre Rivard]

Thank you all for the nice feedback. I feel welcomed to a new group of fellow builders.

This move to diversify away from Nascar was in the works for a while. The 917 is the first build with more to come.

I have a few in the stash and need to decide what to do next. Tamiya Tyrrell P34, Tamiya Alpine A110 1971 Monte Carlo rallye, Fujimi 1966 GT40, Ebbro Lotus 72C and Ebbro Tyrrell 002.

[Pierre Rivard]

17 hours ago, Rich Chernosky said:

Very nice Pierre, I think you nailed the magnesium look very well.  Over all the car looks  excellent.. Can't imagine what you would do any different. 

Not much but a few things to ease the build. The weak point is the headlamps, I would paint an edge line under the covers (like I did on the windshield and door glass) to hide the bond to body and find a way to make the lamps look better. Other than that improve the guides for upper to lower body interface and maybe drop the front suspension 1 or 2 mm.

[Gluebomber]

Really nice work, Pierre.

This one has been on my project list for a while.  Yours will be an inspiration to get mine built.  Great Job!

[Rich Chernosky]

1 hour ago, Pierre Rivard said:

Thank you all for the nice feedback. I feel welcomed to a new group of fellow builders.

This move to diversify away from Nascar was in the works for a while. The 917 is the first build with more to come.

I have a few in the stash and need to decide what to do next. Tamiya Tyrrell P34, Tamiya Alpine A110 1971 Monte Carlo rallye, Fujimi 1966 GT40, Ebbro Lotus 72C and Ebbro Tyrrell 002.

Pierre....I have done all those kits  on your list.  I would recommend either the Alpine 110 or the Ford GT. The Ford is very similar to your 917 in the way it goes together. So you would be honing your skills a little more. The A110 is a wonderful little kit but has a lot of fussy chrome.  The F-1 kits are a lot more complicated and would require some new techniques.  All are excellent choices and help is available should you require. ...hope this helps. 

[drodg]

Great job.  Very nice presentation

[grodudulle77]

Clean job, very nice build !! ??

[PappyD340]

Very nice, well done!

[iamsuperdan]

Great looking build!

[spencer1984]

Excellent work on this!

[ismaelg]

Very nice work on one of the most beautiful and lethal race cars of all time.

[ZTony8]

I believe that upon post race inspection the frame was discovered to be cracked so the car never raced again.

[TransAmMike]

Beautifully built replica, great job Pierre?