Heller Renault R8 Gordini

[Nacho Z]

As Monty Python would say, "And now for something completely different".

Over the last several years of attending model contests in my neck of the woods, I struck up a friendship with a very accomplished figure builder.  During our conversations it came up that he and a college buddy used to cruise around in a Renault Gordini.  I'd never heard of such a thing...lol.  After several conversations about it he asked me if I would build a model of it.  At first I was just going to paint, decal and polish out the body.  It evolved into me building the entire model for him.  He brought me an original Heller kit from 1968, (maybe 1969?).  Now, this is a car and a model that I would never give a second look at.  I still don't like it...lol.  It is a Heller kit of a French car.  Nope.  But, he is a friend and I couldn't say no.  I thought I would share my WIP with everyone, not because it is going to be anything special, but because it is a unique car and model.  Today's post is mostly an introductory post.

 

Here is what I started with.  The instructions are one big sheet and are in French.  They included the written instructions in English on another large sheet.  You have to jump back and forth between the two sheets to build the car.  The decals were waaaaay beyond saving.  I was going to paint the two white stripes that run down the length of the car.  More on that later.

 

I started work on the body.  The vents are molded open but there was a lot of flash.  I used a PE saw blade from Scale Motorsports to clean out the flash between the ribs.  I wanted a squared off appearance between the ribs and the PE blade was just about perfect for this.  You can see the difference between the cleaned up area vs. the untouched area.

 

Job complete.  Keep in mind that this photo is magnified a good bit.  To the naked eye these ribs look pretty darn good.

 

1968 molding technology.  Although these will not be very visible I just could not leave them there.

 

Not perfect, but an improvement.

 

OK, check out this photo.  This is the rear of the car.  This is where the engine sits.  It has a working hinge and my buddy wanted it to work.  Notice the large bow on the dutchman's panel?, (at least I am pretty sure that is the proper name for it.  I would be more than happy to have someone correct me if I'm wrong).  Anyhow, disaster, and I do mean disaster, struck because of this darn thing.  That will be covered in the next update.

 

[lucky 130]

I have built this kit several times. some tweeks need to be made. Install the rear panel, and that will help align everything. The model is molded in a very close color to the factory blue. Careful with the glue and polish the plastic. you can get a realistic color & finish. These were really fum and quick cars, after a change of valve springs, and some other tricks, you could get around 140 mph. Keep posting, I will be following.

[Phildaupho]

I really like the box art and look forward to your build

[Nacho Z]

3 minutes ago, lucky 130 said:

I have built this kit several times. some tweeks need to be made. Install the rear panel, and that will help align everything. The model is molded in a very close color to the factory blue. Careful with the glue and polish the plastic. you can get a realistic color & finish. These were really fum and quick cars, after a change of valve springs, and some other tricks, you could get around 140 mph. Keep posting, I will be following.

 

Hi Michael, thanks for the heads-up!  Unfortunately, I destroyed the blue body.  There is no recovery.  I will update that next time.  The guy that I'm building this for said the car came from Europe.  A doctor bought it and brought it back stateside.  I'm not sure how my friend's friend ended up with the car.  I'm also not sure of its heritage.  Was it a racer or just an everyday street car?  I will have to check with him.  He did say that it hugged the road like a go cart and had plenty of power.  I can't imagine that it weighed very much.

[Nacho Z]

4 minutes ago, Phildaupho said:

I really like the box art and look forward to your build

Thanks, Phil!  I hope to do it justice.

[Mittagskind]

That´s an interesting project. I´ll follow it.

[lucky 130]

There were not many imported to this country. As far as I know, they were "ready to race" (NOT) and came with acid dipped body's except for the doors. The engine floated the valves @ about 5500 rpms. The French team supposedly ran the same motor, but they revved much higher. A quick change of Valve springs, Triumph 650 comp springs fit the bill and that along with a blank factory cam sent to Isky cams and the little hemi came to life, and became very competitive . Don't buy "French Blue paint unless it matches the color of the blue on the spur's it will not be correct. It will be too dark.  Leave off the fender flares, in this country, they raced in C/ sedan  SCCA. This kit builds into a nice model, with a little research and detail, it can be a fine replica. Enjoy building a little known "hot rod" ( they could out run a mustang) from France.

[Pierre Rivard]

This is a fun project, definitely one I would like to build. I grew up in Quebec in the late fifties & sixties and our area was already big into imported cars. Fancy cars such MB 280SE, Citroen DS or Jaguar MkII or sporty cars such as the MGB, TR5 or the occasional 911 were seen on and off but it was the everyday imports like the Beetle and Renault 8/10 that were seen everyday. The R8 Gordini was the affordable french sports sedan, a few tears before BMW "invented" the formula....

Light, good handling and peppy engine. It was a fun car to drive.

[1959scudetto]

Sounds interesting, John. I will follow your WIP (have 2 Welly R8 Gordini diecasts modified).

[Rich Chernosky]

John...will be following this one. Somewhere buried deep in the stash I have this kit as an original Heller.  Was interested to hear all the other info on this car. Had no idea they were that fast.

[Justin Porter]

Love seeing the work you're putting into this classic kit. I do shudder to think what's going to need to be done - if it can be done at all - to rescue that one wheel from the flash monster. Maybe it'll come down to resin casting a copy of one of the others?

[Nacho Z]

Monday night update.  Thanks for all of the comments, guys!  Sorry for not responding to all of them.  I really appreciate the information that you are sharing.  Who knew that such an odd little car would get so much love?!?!

As I mentioned last time, disaster struck.  The last picture in that post showed a badly bowed dutchaman's panel.  The problem with that is that the hinge pieces for the trunk (boot) lid attach to that panel.  I wanted to try to straighten it.  I have used the hot water method before but only a few times.  To make a long story short, I believe that I held the body in the water too long and maybe had the water too hot.  Trust me when I say the story is much longer but, in the end, I screwed up.  The rear of the body literally shrank.  Yup, just like those Shrinky Dinks from when we were kids.  I had a buddy argue with me that it didn't shrink and that I could straighten it out, blah blah blah.  (my blahs, not the forum software...lol)  I had to order another kit.  I found one at a reasonable price and bought it. 

Here is a side shot of the body after the my failed attempt.

 

Here is how much it shrunk.  Pictures in my prior post showed a perfect fit.

 

All is good now.  The new kit has arrived and it is nice.  I think I will make another post just to show the differences between the original kit and the re-pop.  While I was waiting for the new kit to arrive, I built the Tamiya 911 GT2 kit that I shared here recently.  I am back to working on the Gordini.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pierre Rivard]

Wow, I did not think hot water alone could do that to a styrene body. Must have been boiling hot or this is softer than usual styrene. Oh well, glad you found another kit. 

[Mittagskind]

Oh yes I know that problem. Not hot water, but a wrong putty that made the plastic weak and molded it.

[stitchdup]

Cool project. I think the shrinking is caused by the styrene formula heller use. It just feels different to the rest, with an almost polythene feel when its new. Its much softer than other brands too, at least for the car and small commercial kits, the trucks seem a little more brittle. I've noticed humbrol and revell's poly cements seems to bond much faster with it compared to the rest too but slower to fully set, almost at the same speed as when using evergreen styrene products.

[64Comet404]

There are some good aftermarket detailing pieces for this kit, including resin and decals, on some European sites. I have one in the stash waiting to be built as a street version.

[Nacho Z]

On 7/11/2023 at 7:49 AM, Pierre Rivard said:

Wow, I did not think hot water alone could do that to a styrene body. Must have been boiling hot or this is softer than usual styrene. Oh well, glad you found another kit. 

Pierre, the water was not boiling but I have to assume it was too hot.  As I said in my post, it was probably an unfortunate combination of the water being too hot, me holding the body in too long and possibly some funky Heller plastic.  Whatever the case, my heart dropped into my stomach.  It happened so fast.  Like you said, I have another kit and I learned a valuable lesson.

 

 

On 7/11/2023 at 8:18 AM, Mittagskind said:

Oh yes I know that problem. Not hot water, but a wrong putty that made the plastic weak and molded it.

I have only had this happen to me one time before, many years ago.  It is a terrible feeling when it happens!

 

On 7/11/2023 at 8:36 AM, stitchdup said:

Cool project. I think the shrinking is caused by the styrene formula heller use. It just feels different to the rest, with an almost polythene feel when its new. Its much softer than other brands too, at least for the car and small commercial kits, the trucks seem a little more brittle. I've noticed humbrol and revell's poly cements seems to bond much faster with it compared to the rest too but slower to fully set, almost at the same speed as when using evergreen styrene products.

You are probably on to something, Les.  This is my first Heller kit and probably the last, mostly because their subject matter is not my thing.  Their reputation does not help.

 

On 7/11/2023 at 3:19 PM, 64Comet404 said:

There are some good aftermarket detailing pieces for this kit, including resin and decals, on some European sites. I have one in the stash waiting to be built as a street version.

I looked over on Scale Mates and saw some of the aftermarket goodies.  I always check out Scale Mates before starting any model, just to see what is available for it.

[Nacho Z]

On 7/4/2023 at 6:05 AM, lucky 130 said:

There were not many imported to this country. As far as I know, they were "ready to race" (NOT) and came with acid dipped body's except for the doors. The engine floated the valves @ about 5500 rpms. The French team supposedly ran the same motor, but they revved much higher. A quick change of Valve springs, Triumph 650 comp springs fit the bill and that along with a blank factory cam sent to Isky cams and the little hemi came to life, and became very competitive . Don't buy "French Blue paint unless it matches the color of the blue on the spur's it will not be correct. It will be too dark.  Leave off the fender flares, in this country, they raced in C/ sedan  SCCA. This kit builds into a nice model, with a little research and detail, it can be a fine replica. Enjoy building a little known "hot rod" ( they could out run a mustang) from France.

Michael, I really appreciate all of your input and advice on this build!  I take everyone's comments in and process them to see if it is something I could/should do, is it too late to do it, etc.  I especially appreciate the paint comment.  I have a 1:12 Matra MS11 F1 build currently going on, (there is a build thread here on MCM), and therefore have a good amount of Tamiya TS-10 French Blue on hand.  The guy that I am building this for indicated his friend's car was "French Blue".  My plan was to use some of my stash of TS-10 on the Gordini.  After reading your post I did this quick comparison.  I will stick with the original plan.  I should note that I will be spraying this over Tamiya white primer which is how I painted the Matra.

[lucky 130]

looks great. I have an infinity for this car . Raced in C sedan in Historic series. Car was originally owned and raced by Tom Van Hoozier, and prepted by Zink cars of Knoxville,Tn. A friend bought it from Tom , We restored it and have had a ball since.

[Nacho Z]

1 hour ago, lucky 130 said:

looks great. I have an infinity for this car . Raced in C sedan in Historic series. Car was originally owned and raced by Tom Van Hoozier, and prepted by Zink cars of Knoxville,Tn. A friend bought it from Tom , We restored it and have had a ball since.

Oh, wow!!! How cool is that?!?! By all means, feel free to share any photos and absolutely more stories about your car! Honestly, this isn't my genre but I do love just about any race car. My normal SOP is to be much further along on a build than what I post. My model is on all 4 wheels, engine is done and interior is about half way complete. What that means is that many times I get some great information or advice but it is too late to incorporate it. I still appreciate hearing from everyone and I appreciate all of your comments!

[Nacho Z]

Time for a Monday night update!  I just saw over on HLJ that Heller is re-releasing a ton of kits including the Gordini.  I was able to work on the chassis and drivetrain, such as it is.  It is very simplified.  On to the pictures.

 

Here are two pictures of the real thing.  I am keenly aware of the dreaded "spider legs" spark plug wires, but this car really does have them...lol.  Red plug wires seem to be the thing so that is what I did.  As I said, everything is fairly simplified.  I have to keep telling myself that this is a '60s Heller kit.  Parts fit is not the greatest and there is a lot of vague locating points.  The other thing that I have to keep telling myself is that this is just a shelf model built for a friend.  I share updates with him and he seems happy with it.

 

Here are a few in progress pics.  Don't mind the 

 

As always guys, all comments are welcome!

[lucky 130]

The floor was body color.( blue or white) no carpet. These were "ready to race " outside of France. Don't forget the red G on the rocker cover. The door panels were body color, with simi gloss black/ flat black inserts. 

[Bainford]

Nice build of a very cool car. Looking great. 

[1959scudetto]

Short vintage Renault video with Alpine/Renault rally driver Jean-Francois Piot sliding and drifting around with a totally stock R 8 Gordini (on very skinny street tires) in a relaxed but fast manner (105 hp, 110 mph max.)

 

 

[afx]

Good looking project.