Model King Laguna

[Scott - Elm City Hobbies]

Starting on a build of the '76/'77 Gatorade Laguna driven by Darrell Waltrip, and of course using one of the Model King kits.

Looking at the tires, they aren't slicks, but have little tiny grooves in them. I was under the impression that they raced on slicks.

Are these tires period correct? Anything else to watch out for with these Model King kits?

[Scott - Elm City Hobbies]

Got the Powerslide Decals for the kit already.

Not worried about the chassis not matching the the car make....no real concern for that kind of accuracy, was just wondering if there were any pit falls I should watch out for in the building of the kit. I could tell from the outset that it was just a generic chassis since it comes in 2 pieces, and you have to determine the length based on what body is in the kit.

I don't know if the tires that come in the Model King kits are the same as the MPC ones....the instructions show cutting the center of the tires out (as per usual for MPC kits), but the tires that came with it aren't on any sprue and have no center to cut out (nor even a hint of one). Gotta decide if it is going to be worth going to the effort of shaving them down, or leaving as is, but they just don't look right as they are. Will have to find a bolt, nut and some washers and chuck them into a drill.

[DR JAY]

slicks had been around for a while by that time, but weren't used as the norm until the mid 70's. You can use those tires, but the kit-supplied rims are way too deep. I would modify a Monogram Hutcherson-Pagan chassis for that particular project as the Model King 2 piece chassis is kinda wrong, and the front suspension is decidedly Ford-like in its appearance. Also, those cars would have used the truck arms for the rear suspension, not the leaf springs supplied in the MK kit. The Monogram kit will also get you Goodyear slicks and the correct wheels. The difference in scale (Model king= 1/25, Monogram= 1/24) won't be noticeable and will end up with better results. Don't forget to correct the wheel openings as they are a bit too large for a NA$CAR stocker-perfect for a Saturday night dirt car...those wheels and tires look better tucked up inside the fenders for a snake's belly-low stance.

[bbowser]

You can check out my recent WIP for a similar car, Cale's Holly Farms Laguna here:

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54419

I used Monogram 1/24 wheels/tires to fill the wheelwells a little more.

[Scott - Elm City Hobbies]

Nice build Bruce!

Well considering DW only drove the Gatorade Laguna in '76 and '77....slicks it is! But I will use the advise about the Monogram wheels, they do look much better.

[Scott - Elm City Hobbies]

I don't suppose anyone would have a photo of inside the car, and/or under the hood? Just to get the colors right. I am thinking grey for the chassis, and a green to match the gatorade green for the roll cage?

Firewall body color? Green cage color? Aluminum?

[Steve Rocketwheels Buckner]

I was not able to get the right stance using the kit chasssis....without leaving the entire top of the engine off! Built per the instructions, the car sits way too high on the chassis. Test fit the mock up for sure !

I used later Monogram slicks and some yestedays decals to build Lenny Ponds super speedway car from the Daytona race

[bbowser]

That came out great Steve. I think the stance looks good, they had some rake to them back then. Excellent job.