BMW M3 DTM 2012 "Martin Tomczyk" 1:24

[richellis]

BMW M3 DTM "Martin Tomczyk"
1:24 Revell

The DTM race series is the German Touring Car Championship (Deutsche Tourenwagen-Meisterschaft) was formed in 1984 with cars based on modified versions of the cars you could buy from the dealers, but as technology moved on the cars became more advanced, other than a basic silhouette they have nothing in common with the vehicle on your drive. The DTM rules say that the car must be built on a standardised carbon fibre monocoque chassis and have the standard large rear spoiler, which means all cars have the same basic dimensions and rules on engine size and power provides a close race series.

The BMW M3 DTM has a carbon fibre monocoque body powered by the BMW P66 V8 engine with an output of 480bhp. BMW provide cars to 3 teams, and Revell have made the 2012 BMW Reinhold Motorsport BMW (Team RMG) car driven by the German driver Martin Tomczyk.

When I opened the box the first parts to catch my eye where the body and bonnet parts, moulded in white, carrying some nice detail that isn't readily apparent in the pictures. The vents and grills are very delicate and the shape mirrors the 1:1 DTM car very well. There are some locating pins on the scuttle panel of the body to help locate the bonnet/hood assembly as on the finished build this is removable to allow you to see the engine and front suspension parts.

The kits comes on 4 sprues, moulded in a light grey or white plastic. The parts are well moulded with no flash or flaws on the review sample. Construction starts with the BMW V8 engine which is acceptable, but only the top half is moulded, with some basic detail on the finished engine. If you want to have the hood off to display this, some extra details would need adding from scratch or from the spares box. A quick look on your preferred search site will throw up some pictures that are sure to help. The chassis is a single part with not much detail, as under the real car it is smooth for the best air flow, flicking up at the rear to throw the air out via the rear diffuser. The large side skirts are built up and added to the floor, along with some working front steering, basic suspension and roll bar detailing. The prop shaft and the rear mounted 6 speed gearbox come next in the build, along with some suspension detail, which looks like it will be hidden on the finished model under the interior module!

The painting instructions are somewhat confusing, and Im not sure how much you can build before painting, you will need to scrutinise them in advance, and plan what sub-assemblies you can make before painting. Some decals will need to be added during construction, as some may be hard to apply later on.

The interior comes as a single section, with the details and seat to add. The seat has belts moulded onto the part, so this will need sanding away if you are using some aftermarket parts. The inside is well detailed, but as in the real DTM car it is spartan in order to save weight.

A single clear sprue has the windows for the car, along with the lights front and rear. The parts are packed in a separate bag to protect them while in transit and subsequently in the stash. The detail on the parts is good, and the plastic is thin enough to keep any optical distortion to a minimum without being too flimsy.

There is also a chromed sprue, and this has some nice backing parts for the head and tail lamps, which helps give a nice depth to the lights on a model. This is good to see, as I hate lights that have no depth on a model! There are 4 chromed wheels, but all pictures Ive seen show the 18 Hankook Ventus wheels in a matt black so they will need stripping and repainting for an accurate replica.

There are 4 rubber slick tyres for the car, a rub over with some sandpaper will weather them and give a nice "scrubbed" look, and some Hankook logo decals for the side walls are included on a small separate decal sheet.

A large colourful decal sheet includes the BMW and race team logos and sponsors. The sheet is as expected from Revell, and is well printed with sharp deep colours, and some very small fine details on the individual decals.

Conclusion
A nice kit of a DTM BMW, adding to the growing range of DTM cars from Revell in 1:24.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

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[alan1302]

Some of the newer kits that Revell are doing are really good quality and a lot cheaper than the newer Tamiya kits.

[Astonman]

I am increasingly impressed with these Revell DTM kits.  I must say I tend to build them curbside and at least it has basic seatbelt detail which is fine really.  I have had my issues with the wheel hubs but I dont care that much if the wheels don't turn - as long as they steer!  

 

I have the Priaulx decals and it ought to make a nice companion to the Kristensen Audi and the Merc.

 

Thanks for the review,

 

Regards

 

Hugo