1958 Vanwall, Merit, 1/24, Roy Cross Tribute

[Matt Bacon]

An ancient kit, more or less contemporary with the hey-day of the original racer. These Merit kits are simple, but the proportions and shapes are generally good, and they make a nice period collection in the cabinet, representing the 1940s-50s era before rear engines, aerodynamics and DFVs changed the way F1 cars looked for ever.

The wheels are replacement white metal items from the spares box to model the car at the 1958 Italian Grand Prix. Originally the team tried replacing the wire wheels with cast magnesium solid discs all round, but Stirling Moss in particular disliked the negative effect on the steering, handling and front-end grip that the stiffer wheels  gave, and all three cars reverted to wires at the front. The small intake on the nose is for a separate oil cooler which was trialled in Portugal and Italy in 1958. The kit doesn't have it, so I found some plans and plunge-moulded the fairing using a carved balsa master.

This build is part of our Classic British Kits SIG tribute to legendary Airfix box artist Roy Cross, who died earlier this year aged 100. Roy also painted a series of covers for the Eagle boys comic in the early 60s, and many of the subjects coincide with the Merit and  Auto Kit ranges of 1/24 model kits.

This is the cover: Tony Brooks driving the 1958 Italian Grand Prix winning Vanwall.

With its display base.

The view from the wings.

The first two tribute models completed. More to come.

best,

M.

[jaymcminn]

Very clean build, while still keeping with the spirit of the ancient Merit kit. The magazine cover presentation is brilliant as well!

[Rich Chernosky]

Matt...very well done and well researched.  Really like all the extra information you provided.  Good post. 

[Jim B]

Great looking Vanwall.  Well done.

[1959scudetto]

Very nice model with a determined Tony Brooks at the wheel, Matt ! I followed your WIP - these Roy Cross tribute builds create a special nostalgic atmosphere that I like very much. I'm looking forward to seeing more of these from you !

[Dave B]

Matt, another great build using a basic kit.  The Vanwall and Mercedes are the only 2 Merit GP cars I don't have. They're great starting points.

I assume the actual car had a yellow nose cone as the one depicted on the mag cover appears orange?

Dave B

[Matt Bacon]

6 hours ago, Dave B said:

I assume the actual car had a yellow nose cone as the one depicted on the mag cover appears orange?

Yep… the three cars ran with yellow, white and no band, according to the period docs. It should probably be a brighter “chrome yellow”, but the couple of period colour pics I found show it more like this Tamiya “Camel Yellow”. Mind you the colour reproduction in those photos isn’t great… the car looks almost black! I wanted something that would be believable as “yellow” but wasn’t so far removed from Roy’s orange original. He was normally pretty hot on the details, so I don’t know where the orange came from…

best,

M.

Edited September 21, 2024 by Matt Bacon

[ChrisR]

Looks great.

[Earl Marischal]

A fine build and a great tribute.

steve

[PappyD340]

Great looking build!

[Pierre Rivard]

Wonderful build Matt. I love what you have done to add a serious dose of realism to this very basic kit. 

[slusher]

Super nice build!

[Ace-Garageguy]

Beautiful model. Your numerous upgrades add a whole new level of realism.

Edited September 22, 2024 by Ace-Garageguy
CLARITY

[kensar]

Excellent presentation of these two models - really cool!

[Phildaupho]

Excellent. Love your displays.

[absmiami]

So - do i smell a Maser 250F around the corner ?  whose?  Has to be a series one pilot - Behra ??

[Matt Bacon]

4 hours ago, absmiami said:

So - do i smell a Maser 250F around the corner ?  whose?  Has to be a series one pilot - Behra ??

Oddly, the 250F doesn’t feature in the Kings of the Road series… the only Maserati is a 4CLT with Von Graffenried driving… It’s surprising given that Merit does the kit, which I have, and that it was Stirling Moss’s favourite Grand Prix car. I might do one in this style with Moss driving, if I can find a background to re-use. 
 

best,

M.