Rich Chernosky

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.

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.

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.

Kind of an odd looking car but you have made it into a masterpiece. Great job Wm.

Wm...that is simply stunning...thanks for posting it.

Helmut, I think it looks pretty good.

A while back, probably 10yrs or so, my local hobbt shop had a contest featuring the AMT Corvair. The idea was to build this kit but not in stock form. It had to be heavily modified. I already had the kit and it was painted ( Testors Laquer Aztec Gold with Wet look clear) so I had to buy another kit. After the contest was over several of my fellow modellers donated the remains of their kits to me. I recently pulled the box out to finish the gold Corvair and discovered enough parts to do the Yenko Stinger. Ebay provided me a set of Cady decals and I was on my way. I wound up finishing both kits at once since it saved time and all the Stinger needed was a coat of Tamiya TS26 white. I even had enough parts to do the Stage IV engine for display. Below are the pics and comments underneath with more details. The original build from 2011. Rear view show the crisp styling which was unique in the 60's. I chose to replace the stock wheels with wire wheel covers found in the spare parts. The wire wheel covers were an option and were supposed to make the car more sporty looking. I just liked them. The Yenko Stinger completed. I used the kit custom wheels and tires for this. Note the sail panel with the stinger decal. This was added on the real car to re-inforce the roof. Rear view shows the different engine cover with its added spoiler. Some of the reference showed the exhaust tips exit through the rear bodywork. Others showed it as I have. Exhaust tips are chrome tubing cut from a radio antenna. Both cars have poseable steering. When this was done I was able to lower the front stance a little. Bothe cars together. Note how the different size tires make the cars so unique. The gold car has the standard 140hp engine while the Stage II has the 190hp version. The 240hp Stage IV engine. Just for fun I used all the chrome parts I could. Engine stand is scratchbuilt. Couldn't resist adding the custom Corvair I built for the contest.

Will follow this one. Built mine several years ago and struggled with the ride height. Your discoveries will help me with my roadster conversion. I also have many extras if you need them. Including a complete body.

Welcome Curt from a fellow F-1 and Lemans builder.

Nice save Rex. That color really sparkles. well done.

Matt...great minds must think alike. I am currently doing two of those Corvairs at once. One of them is the Yenko Stinger Stage II. I am a little further along than you. Both bodies done, decalled and foiled. Working on the engines now. I had four of these kits and have a toe of extras if you need them.

Thats a beauty, you captured the looks very well.

Mario, that color was an interesting experiment. A silver grey basecoat with with clear that had a little gold added to it. Gave the paint an interesting glow when polished.

Nice job Mario, and great photography.

John...I built this kit many, many moons ago, when it was first released as a matter of fact. Have been following your WIP with great interest and your attention to detail is awe inspiring. I have another kit of this that I want to convert to Jackie Stewarts Matra/Ford. Have all the pieces, just have to get the ambition. Will keep following your WIP...keep up the great work.

That turned out spectacular Mark.

Nice little car, good job converting it to US specs

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.

Had this one banging around in my stash forever. Painted and polished it in 2010. Color is Testors 1849 Graphite Dust. Clear coated it with their wet look clear and jsut for effect added some brass to the clear. Built mostly stock with a few additions. I have almost every year Corvette and slowly getting them done. See captions under the pictures for more details. Car done and photographed on my fall background. Wasn't real happy about the way AMT attaches the wheels but at least got them to steer Rear veiw had some nice detail. Car looks like it is going somewhere. That accent moulding in the fender scoop wasn't included in the kit although the box art clearly had it. So I made one. The kit did have this nice convertible top. Painted Tamiya Nato black. Engine detail was fairly nice but getting it in place was something else. I forgot how much work domestic kits were, Note the two jewelers screw at the base of the windshield. This was a much better solution that trying to glue it in place. My experience with Vettes was that the windshields were very fussy because of the angle.

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.

Helmut...I retired 8 months ago. I owned a retail store and the building it was in. My apartment was up stairs and the shop in the basement. Often times when I was working I could wander down in the basement and gaze at my stash. Some 300+. Oh !!!...if I only had the time. That was my dream. Selling the business was the key and i had tried for many years. Finally the right people came along and I was able to retire. I still own the building but instead of store owner my only job now is landlord. I can come and go as I please and do whatever. And that "whatever" is build models. You have witnessed my output these last few months so you know I am living my dream. My hope for you is to live that same dream. You will enjoy it immensely. Three years is not as many as 12 and that is what it took me. Hang in there...you will achieve your goal.

Steve, I did this kit some time ago and posted it here. Some color help but mostly build stuff. I have my build notes and instructions as well. Here is the link to my build: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/152448-1964-ford-gt/

Helmut...thank you for posting those pictures. Those are some I had not seen when I was doing my search. Its a cool car in those photos. The model kit was as you said. A lot to be desired. Of course I was just doing it as a paint excercise. I think it would have been great to do all the upgrades you suggested....I just didn't want to invest the time. I will look forward to see what you do with yours. I did check on the going rate for that kit for another modeler and you should be thankful you got it at the price you did. All I can say is wow. Like you I also have the Nakamura Lola and the Ford GT MKIV. I have compared the Lola to others I have and I think its still do-able. The Ford...??? Those will be for another time.