LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: Presenting my Marmon Wasp, winner of the 1911 inaugural Indianapolis 500 race

[ismaelg]

Hello,

I'm posting this on May 30th, 2025.  Better than if I had planned it, I am presenting my model of this car on the day of the 114 anniversary of that inaugural race! May 30th, 1911.
To say I like this car is an understatement. I can spend hours talking about it. It's history, details, specs, changes, controversies, etc.  This is simply one of my all time favorite cars.
This is a model built with my heart as well as with my hands.  It is NOT perfect but I did my best.  I added a lot of details to the excellent kit.  Thanks to Michael at Indycals and those who help him to get this model released.

Without getting too deep into the story, the model represents the car as it raced in 1911.  Only one Wasp was made. Two exact replicas have been created in the last decade or so but that's another story.  The original car survives today and it is a centerpiece of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.  The car as it is today, was restored back in the 1950's, but not to the exact "as raced" configuration.  This has been a controversy for decades.  I have my own theories based on my own research: After the race, the car was kept by the Marmon family (owners of the Marmon Company) for several decades, until it was acquired by the Museum in the early 1950s. I have researched pictures of the car during public showings during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, where you can clearly identify changes to the original "as raced" configuration. My theory is that it was refreshed to the configuration it was at the time, not a retrofit restoration back to "as raced" configuration.  While the color has always been another point of contention, I truly believe the actual color is correct.  We can spend hours discussing why but I digress.
Anyways,

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: PRESENTING MY MARMON WASP, WINNER OF THE 1911 INAUGURAL INDIANAPOLIS 500 RACE!!!!



























Such an important car deserves a proper photo display setup.  Really enjoyed creating it as well.  I am very happy and proud of this effort.  Feel free to comment and ask any questions as I absolutely love talking about this.
I hope you like it.

 

Thanks,
Ismael

[Phildaupho]

Congratulations on an outstanding model of such a significant racing car. 

[Roger U]

Great detailing and workmanship. A beautiful model.

[ChrisR]

Awesome build!

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

So much fun to see. Wonderful everything! Thanks for showing.

[1959scudetto]

Outstanding model, Ismael ! You really did this vintage racer justice in every detail.

Edited May 30 by 1959scudetto

[Jim B]

Beautiful Marmon.  Very well done.  Don't see many of these.

[TonyK]

Great looking model! Sometimes the research done on an old race car can take as long as building the model itself. You created a convincing replica.

[Dave Van]

Museum level work!

[Mike 1017]

Great build of a Historical Indy Car

[kensar]

Excellent model !  Very nice detailing and finish.

[absmiami]

Damngood

[bbowser]

11 hours ago, Dave Van said:

Museum level work!

Incredible piece of work.  I followed the WIP, especially fond of the pinstriping.

[PappyD340]

Incredible build, very well done!

[MAGIC MUFFLER]

It really turned out beautiful.  You have a good eye and hand!

Have you tried to take black & white photos to match the original b/w pics from the period?

[ismaelg]

Thank you all for your nice comments!  Really appreciate it.

Billy, I'm out of town but I that is exactly  what I want to do next:  Black and white pictures to match those originals.  Stay tuned!

Thanks,
Ismael

[Mark W]

Outstanding accomplishment!

I followed this and was impressed through the entire trip.

[Dragline]

Over the top build of such an important car. I'd be proud to show that off any day.

[Big John]

Outstanding job on a challenging kit!  Well worth the effort.

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Thank you all for the comments!

Sorry I forgot to mention the model is 1/25 scale, using the Indycals 3D kit as a starting point.  Not exactly a project for the faint of heart.  
Finally got a chance to take some more pictures with no background trying to replicate the angles of the original photos and converting to black and white.  Here are some examples.  Of course, the top is the original pic from 1911 and the bottom my attempt to match it.  I may try it again later with other techniques.

At the start of the race

 

At speed: This is one of the most famous picture of this car.   Notice a "rolling shutter" type distortion effect suggesting a fast moving object thru the frame.

 

At the winner's circle.

 

Hope you like it!
Regards,
Ismael

Edited June 2 by ismaelg

[JimmyB]

Outstanding work on the Wasp. I enjoyed all the WIP post from start to the end.

I think now it's time for me to get off my lazy butt and actually work on my Wasp kit, since I do have one of the first edition releases from Indycals. There are some subtle differences between the 3D printed later versions and the first run resin kits as you probably know. I personally prefer probably the one piece wheel over the 2 piece that I have. Also, mine did not come with the rear view mirror so I need the scratch build one. The resin casted body won't need as much cleanup as was required on yours though.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this build and I'm going to use the techniques that you utilize during the whole build, which will make my life a lot easier going forward.

 

 

Edited June 3 by JimmyB

[Dave B]

Fantastic build Ismael and I'm not into old old racers!!

Tks for sharing.

Dave B

[nickfzr61]

Exquisite build. You need to add a driver figure for that “rolling shutter “ shot and it would be the “bees knees”.

[ismaelg]

Thank you! I am tempted to put a picture of myself in there... 🤣

[Pierre Rivard]

This is exceptional in so many ways. Your extensive research and obsession to accurately replicate every single detail is so so impressive. The 1/25 scale replica is confidently displayed with period pictures of the car as a background and they look like twins, so what else can be said?