Rich Chernosky Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 I have had this kit forever nad looked at it a few times but avoided because of all the bad reveiws. This time I took a lot harder look and decided it was time to see what all the fuss was. Actually I though it went together fairly well with the usual amount of fussing. In particular I liked the body fit. Attaching the wings looked the be the biggest challenge and this was eventually solved. Overall I am pleased despite the vague instructions and ancient decals. See picture captions for more description. Thanks for looking and comments welcome. Finishde kit on its wheels. And speaking of which...I made them steer which was a challenge all by itself. I totally destroyed the left front wing endplate decal and had to duplicate it using vinyl tape. An extra Magnet Marelli decal was on the sheet but I couldn't find the small white Michelin decal. Rear wing was attached with a jeweler screw into the transmission. The screw went through a c-shaped bracket that attached to the subframe. Glue was never going to hold this assembly in for long and I wonder how others solved this problem. Body and rear engine cover are not gl;ued. They attach by 5 small pins (per side) through locator tabs. Much cleaner than glue and more fool proof. I invest is some rather expensive carbide engraving bits by Tamiya and they came in quite handy when opening up the fender vents. Car represents one driven by Pedro Lamas and Keke Rosberg at Magny Cours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbowser Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 (edited) Really nice work! Was this a typical Heller kit with odd assembly sequences and fiddly parts? I have one that I haven't begun yet. Could you expand on how you pinned the bodywork? Edited June 3, 2022 by bbowser Additional question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Chernosky Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 3 hours ago, bbowser said: Really nice work! Was this a typical Heller kit with odd assembly sequences and fiddly parts? I have one that I haven't begun yet. Could you expand on how you pinned the bodywork? Bruce...kit was made in France under the Airfix label. Don't know if Heller had anything to do with it. I used some tiny craft pins I found at Hobby Lobby. A #74 drill was the correct size. There are three locater tabs on the chassis pan on each side. Mark their locations on the body then tape the body together tightly. Now drill straight through both. You will have to glue four locator tabs to the body for the engine cover. Once set, tape the engine cover in place and drill through both again. I shortened the pins and sharpened the ends back up . I also applied some sticky glue to the holes in the locater tabs. This stops the pins from fall back out during handling but they can still be removed if necessary. The kit IS do-able. You may have to varnish the decals BTW. They are quite thin and if old will crumble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RancheroSteve Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Good job, Rich! Your modifications really paid off. I built this kit several years ago and found it quite a challenge - the worst was the engine cover which was warped and I never could get it to fit decently. The decals weren't too bad for me, but I don't imagine time has been kind to them. The Heller and Airfix kit are the same; there are two versions with slightly different decals that I know of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Chernosky Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 4 hours ago, RancheroSteve said: Good job, Rich! Your modifications really paid off. I built this kit several years ago and found it quite a challenge - the worst was the engine cover which was warped and I never could get it to fit decently. The decals weren't too bad for me, but I don't imagine time has been kind to them. The Heller and Airfix kit are the same; there are two versions with slightly different decals that I know of. Thank you Steve. Had a feeling they were the same. Body components on mine were surprisingly very well fitting. I use the pin technique often when I have panels that fit when squeezed together but if you glue them you just know they are going to come apart when you are not looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacho Z Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 This turned out great, Rich! Not a surprise coming from your bench. I have picked up and put back this kit, (the Heller one), more than once. I have heard and read mostly negative comments about it. You have proved that it can be built into a very nice looking model. Bravo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Rivard Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Beautiful build Rich. This brings back memories. I saw the very first race of the 905 at the Gilles Villeneuve track in Sept 1990. Sauber was still dominant with it's big engine but the little Peugeot was the precursor to the winds of change. It wasn't the fastest yet but sure sounded fast with it's screaming V10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave B Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Great build Rich, I have always liked the look of this car but never got around to buying the kit, although a mate has one I could probably get. Dave B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Thibodeau Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Hi Rich! Very nice build, bravo! See, sometimes we shouldn't give so much credence to the reviewers. Even more so with the level of experience you've gathered over the years! CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Chernosky Posted June 4, 2022 Author Share Posted June 4, 2022 14 hours ago, Nacho Z said: This turned out great, Rich! Not a surprise coming from your bench. I have picked up and put back this kit, (the Heller one), more than once. I have heard and read mostly negative comments about it. You have proved that it can be built into a very nice looking model. Bravo! Thank you John...hope this is the encouragement for you to build it now. 14 hours ago, Pierre Rivard said: Beautiful build Rich. This brings back memories. I saw the very first race of the 905 at the Gilles Villeneuve track in Sept 1990. Sauber was still dominant with it's big engine but the little Peugeot was the precursor to the winds of change. It wasn't the fastest yet but sure sounded fast with it's screaming V10 Thank you Pierre, That was quite an experience. 8 hours ago, Dave B said: Great build Rich, I have always liked the look of this car but never got around to buying the kit, although a mate has one I could probably get. Dave B Thank you Dave, I say go for it...you certainly have the skill to do this kit justice. 2 hours ago, Claude Thibodeau said: Hi Rich! Very nice build, bravo! See, sometimes we shouldn't give so much credence to the reviewers. Even more so with the level of experience you've gathered over the years! CT Very much appreciate the compliment Claude. You will be happy to know I don't listen much to movie critics either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1959scudetto Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) Congratulations, Rich - you made a well-built model of a very simplified, but difficult-to-assemble kit (I sold mine off several years ago after a close inspection of the kit contents). Edited June 5, 2022 by 1959scudetto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Waymouth Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Sounds challenging! But turned out looking great, well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 You've certainly done it justice, beautiful build! David G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyK Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Very nice to look at your well built model. I had problems with the Heller kit years ago between it being a lousy kit and some minor warpage so it's good to see your well finished work. Good for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codi Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Thanks Rich......I'd forgotten about this car altogether and you did a superb job on it. This was one of my favorites back in the day and I loved the class & series as much as the Can-Am cars. Great period in racing history. cheers, tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Chernosky Posted June 5, 2022 Author Share Posted June 5, 2022 11 hours ago, 1959scudetto said: Congratulations, Rich - you made a well-built model of a very simplified, but difficult-to-assemble kit (I sold mine off several years ago after a close inspection of the kit contents). Thank you Helmut....I never sell any of my collection off...but I do avoid some of the hard to build stuff. 10 hours ago, PappyD340 said: Very nice! Thanks 7 hours ago, Paul Waymouth said: Sounds challenging! But turned out looking great, well done Thanks Paul...it was not as bad as I had heard. 7 hours ago, David G. said: You've certainly done it justice, beautiful build! David G. Thank you David. 4 hours ago, TonyK said: Very nice to look at your well built model. I had problems with the Heller kit years ago between it being a lousy kit and some minor warpage so it's good to see your well finished work. Good for you! Thank you Tony....we all have those projects. 3 hours ago, Codi said: Thanks Rich......I'd forgotten about this car altogether and you did a superb job on it. This was one of my favorites back in the day and I loved the class & series as much as the Can-Am cars. Great period in racing history. cheers, tim Thank you Tim...never got to see them race but I did see most of the Can Am and USRRC. I am. only 30mi away from Watkins Glen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps46 Posted June 6, 2022 Share Posted June 6, 2022 Looks really well-done Rich. I have one I started once but put back in the box in the stash. Last year I ended up taking the easy way out and bought the Hachette diecast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Chernosky Posted June 6, 2022 Author Share Posted June 6, 2022 9 hours ago, Gramps46 said: Looks really well-done Rich. I have one I started once but put back in the box in the stash. Last year I ended up taking the easy way out and bought the Hachette diecast. Thanks Gary....sometimes a project has to sit in the box until the skills ,materials or tools are in place. This was one of those. Approximately 10=15% of my collection is diecast too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codi Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 Rich you lucky devil. I first visited the Glen in the early 70's for my first Gran Prix race. Never forget it. Many years later raced in the Skip Barber series and got the chance to drive the track on several occasions. My favorite of them all. Thanks again! tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Chernosky Posted June 7, 2022 Author Share Posted June 7, 2022 9 hours ago, Codi said: Rich you lucky devil. I first visited the Glen in the early 70's for my first Gran Prix race. Never forget it. Many years later raced in the Skip Barber series and got the chance to drive the track on several occasions. My favorite of them all. Thanks again! tim Tim...I went to racing school there in the early 60's. That was the old track and I don't remember the name of the school. We didn't learn much racing Formula Vee's that could barely make it up through the esses. It was still fun. Military sent me to Texas International for terrorist evasion training. We used Formula Fords and Lincoln Limo's plus early Mustangs. Much better. About 15yrs ago I got to go around WG in a friends Ferarri. We hit 168mph through the traps on the front straight. We still got passed twice. That was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robdebie Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) On 6/3/2022 at 1:48 AM, Rich Chernosky said: I have had this kit forever nad looked at it a few times but avoided because of all the bad reveiws. This time I took a lot harder look and decided it was time to see what all the fuss was. Actually I though it went together fairly well with the usual amount of fussing. In particular I liked the body fit. Attaching the wings looked the be the biggest challenge and this was eventually solved. Overall I am pleased despite the vague instructions and ancient decals. See picture captions for more description. Thanks for looking and comments welcome. It's really nice to hear someone NOT complain about this model 🙂 Mine also fits reasonably well. But there are some bad examples out there. I think that too short injection molding cycles are to blame for the warpage that they suffer. I saw one in action at Spa, three weeks ago. Great sound too! Rob Edited June 11, 2022 by robdebie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Chernosky Posted June 11, 2022 Author Share Posted June 11, 2022 1 hour ago, robdebie said: It's really nice to hear someone NOT complain about this model 🙂 Mine also fits reasonable well. But there are some bad examples out there. I think that too short injection molding cycles are to blame for the warpage that they suffer. I saw one in action at Spa, three weeks ago. Great sound too! Rob Rob...thank you for the kind words and the great picture of one of these cars in action. I think most modelers really enjoy complaining. It makes them feel like they are actually accomplishing something. (or have) This is not the first forum I have been on and I have always felt the purpose of the forums was to promote the hobby. Complaining for the sake of complaining is a waste of time and can discourage people. Pointing out problems and how you overcame them is a different story. And I always help when asked. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbtr6 Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 Very nice build of an iconic Le Mans car. Well done. Drivers should be Keke Rosberg and Yannick Dallas. Perry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Chernosky Posted June 11, 2022 Author Share Posted June 11, 2022 49 minutes ago, gbtr6 said: Very nice build of an iconic Le Mans car. Well done. Drivers should be Keke Rosberg and Yannick Dallas. Perry Thank you for the compliment...and yes...you are correct..I went back and checked my notes but never corrected this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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