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Post by Bernard Kron on Feb 23, 2019 20:26:02 GMT -8
As I add sports cars and road racing subjects to my modeling mix (having been almost exclusively an old skool hot rod modeler up to now) I’m going through my mental list of favorites and the Porsche 904 rises to the top of the list. Not only is it a beautiful car and a classic example of the early 60’s “streamline” style, but the model is available in a good quality kit for a relatively affordable price in the form of the classic Monogram kit, the basis for this project. In researching this project there were two versions which served as inspiration The red Scuderia Filipinetti car, in its restored form, is striking in its pure simplicity with its oversized white roundels contrasting against the striking paint. A modern competitor in the European vintage road racing and rally scene is Jean-Marc Bussolini, CEO of French agricultural coop and hypermarchè chain E.LeClerc who is somewhat of a Porsche specialist. His 904 is the centerpiece of his collection with its striking Bleu de France and silver livery. I’m going with the Bussolini color scheme combined with the pure simplicity of the Filipinetti car. Because the interior is finished in flat black in the 1:1 I shot the interior surfaces in black primer before going to the outer body surfaces in blue and masked the interior off. Unfortunately, until the exterior paint is finished including clear coats any body mockups will necessarily be a bit dodgy as the photo below will attest. The basic exterior scheme is finished in Tamiya TS-10 French Blue. The racing stripe is the classic French bleu, blanc, rouge in the form of a homemade decal printed to white decal paper. I’m congenitally unable to build a true replica model so I have invented a fictional 60’s privateer (in a tip of the hat to the Swiss Filipinetti outfit), the ostensibly Paris-based Equipe Lutèce (Lutèce is the ancient French version of the Roman name for Paris, Lutetia). The team badge is based on the Paris coat of arms and adorns the fenders and rear Kamm tail. I still have trade decals and roundels to apply and then it will all get clear coated and polished. Then on to chassis, interior and motor. Thanx for lookin’ B.
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Post by afx on Feb 24, 2019 3:56:48 GMT -8
I like the color choices.
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Post by Ben_B on Feb 24, 2019 6:16:01 GMT -8
Nice!!
Ben
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Post by Chris K. Hale on Feb 24, 2019 6:19:55 GMT -8
I really like the look of your 904, I did a full detail build on this kit and after some 15 months I couldnt get the body on due to some wheel base problem causing the tires to block it, but will get back to it some time to figure it out. Great Color scheme though and again nice decal work..Chris
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Post by Bernard Kron on Mar 16, 2019 10:43:10 GMT -8
Thanks everyone! I'll have an update soon. I've made some progress on it, and as soon as I finish the power train I'll post some more pics. So far so good. But the last 10% always rells the tale in any project...
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Post by sam on Mar 16, 2019 14:59:07 GMT -8
The silver box art never really did anything for me, but that blue really POPS! Love it!
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Post by Bernard Kron on Apr 27, 2019 14:45:51 GMT -8
Thanks Sam. It’s been several weeks since I last posted on this project. I got sidetracked by a second Porsche project, a 356A Speedster, which I completed. In some ways that distraction was a good thing since the funky Revell kit I used required more of the kit bashing style that I’m used to from my hot rod modeling and served as a transition to this far more sophisticated and higher parts count kit for the 904. Researching the detail for that project also got me more firmly ensconced in Porsche lore in general. Having has some time to study the history of this kit I am surprised by the ambitious detail it has, especially now that I know that it was originally an Aurora kit from 1965. Aurora is not a name I associate with kits of this order. This update is about the back end of the model, the engine compartment, transmission and rear suspension, all modeled from a complex array of small parts, which, with care, present a fairly faithful replica of the 1:1. Given than this is the only 1/24-1/25th scale full detail kit of the 904, I’m grateful for the care and effort that Aurora put into this kit well over 50 years ago. The rear portion of this model constitutes a model in itself. I spent time researching the 1:1 and added some small details and modifications, but most of what you see comes in the box. I added some 4-cyclinder pre-wired distributor caps from Morgan Automotive Detail which I grafted to the kit’s twin distributors, along with dual ignition coils, also from Morgan. I replicated the correct ignition wiring, which turnout out to be challenging since, with the dual distributors, each distributor is wired to both cylinder banks. I also fabricated a simple facsimile of the carburetor linkage. The combination firewall and suspension brace cum roll over bar that comes in the kit is an odd piece. It’s designed to extend above the rear deck into the rear window area to act as a roll hoop, but it’s too short and narrow to conform to the roof panel and floats somewhere in the middle of the window opening. Research showed that 904’s often either had no firewall brace/rollover hoop at all, or if they did, it was a shorter piece that served primarily to act as a structural brace and ended just below the rear deck. I decided to fabricate my own replica of this shorter hoop using butyl coated wire and styrene rod. The shorter version is what you see in the composite summary picture of the rear end posted below. Next up is the front suspension and interior., much of which has already been painted and detailed. This should prove somewhat simpler that the back end. Then comes the final assembly. In some circles this kit has a reputation for being fiddly and difficult to assemble. Hopefully the multi-piece body will go together without too much melodrama. Thanx for lookin’, B.
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Post by sam on Apr 27, 2019 21:17:28 GMT -8
WoW !
My hats off to the extra detail you are able to add to this very old kit. Looking forward to the rest of the build.
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jj66
Rookie
Posts: 43
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Post by jj66 on Apr 27, 2019 22:40:03 GMT -8
This engine looks real!!!
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Post by shunter on Apr 28, 2019 2:30:59 GMT -8
Great topic to do, and excellent work so far..the engine looks stunning
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Post by tatocorvette on Apr 28, 2019 4:15:16 GMT -8
Beautiful work so far! I've heard this kit is quite challenging but you are doing a great job.
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Post by Joel_W on Apr 28, 2019 6:55:46 GMT -8
Bernard, Just a great build of another iconic kit from when even I was young. Just love how the TS-10 French Blue came out, especially over the Aluminum tub. But when I got down to the pictures of the engine, at 1st quick glance I thought I was looking at the real deal. Just a super effort in detailing, and with your weathering washes.
Joel
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Post by Bernard Kron on Apr 28, 2019 10:07:42 GMT -8
Thanks to you all for the generous and supportive comments. I always find the final 20% of a project the most challenging, because that's where the faults and fixes tend to accunulate, and if I'm going to mess things up, that's where it will happen. So as I get past the chassis and interior and converge on final assembly the tension will build. But I must say that this kit continues to impress me despite it fiddliness. The designers certainly were serious about creating an accurate replica. I can only hope I'm up to it as I reache the finale! ...when I got down to the pictures of the engine, at 1st quick glance I thought I was looking at the real deal. Just a super effort in detailing, and with your weathering washes. Thank you so much, Joel. I spend a lot of time researching photos of 1:1's for most of my models. I get pleasure out of correctly representing details wherever my skills will allow it. Sports car modeling presents new challenges for me since it's much closer to true replica modeling than I'm accustomed to. The research part is a handy habit to have in this case. And I do get satisfaction at choosing the proper paints and materials to create a "realistic" look, even though it may be at the cost of the spectacularly clean and precise effect that so many modelers I admire can achieve.
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Post by Bernard Kron on Jun 5, 2019 16:49:54 GMT -8
After being sidetracked by two new projects, both completed, I’m finally getting back to the 904. I continue to be impressed by the fine detail in this kit, and by the similarity in construction to the 1:1 the original Aurora kit designers chose as their strategy. The kit has a reputation for being “fiddly”, and that’s why. Lots of very small parts made to emulate the corresponding parts in the real car. It’s not quite the exhaustive detail you’d find in a large-scale model, but more than sufficient to create the experience of “constructing” the car. What has surprised me is that for a kit that’s over 50 years old the parts fit and alignment is really very good indeed. And this 1992 edition from Monogram is totally flash-free. One outcome of all this detail is, just like in a real car, much of it is hidden under other parts or bodywork. Once the model is completed much of it will never be seen again. So it’s there for the enjoyment of the model builder and, ultimately, no one else. I’ve managed to complete the entire front end and the interior. The composite photo below features a “ghost” shot of the front compartment showing some of the highly detailed suspension which is hidden behind the fuel tank. Oddly, despite all this detail the kit doesn’t come with a spare wheel and tire as required by the FIA rules of the period. The spare you see in the picture is from a Gunze Sanyo Beetle and is the closest thing I have to a 904 spare. The interior is simple, but a faithful rendition of the race-car interior of the 1:1. At this point what’s left to do is install the glass and lighting and complete the final body assembly. My main concern now is with body panel fit. The front upper half of the body, comprising the front fenders, doors and roof, has been repeatedly test fit so I’m hopeful it will go in place with minimum drama. But how well the huge hinged rear body panel will align with the front half of the body will remain a total mystery until the final stages of assembly. Fingers crossed all goes well! Thanx for lookin’, B.
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cc
Full Time Ride
Posts: 141
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Post by cc on Jun 6, 2019 3:21:25 GMT -8
Bernard, Just found this build. Love what your doing. Details all look good. 904 is a favorite of mine. I remember see them at Sebring in the 60’s. I have this kit and plan on a build in the future. Look for the next update. Keep up the clean build your doing.
CC😎
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