Plastheniker Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 (edited) Hi, today kit manufacturers treat the modeler with a particular interest in 1/24 and 1/25 European pre-war cars as an orphan. ICM's Opel Admiral is the only corresponding new release of the last years that I remember. Admittedly this is a very nice kit, but I doubt that modelers missed just an Opel kit most. Finally there is no other choice than adhering to the well-known and often obsolete kits from the sixties, seventies and eighties - unless you are lucky to find an inexpensive diecast that can be converted into a model that meets the standards of today's styrene kit modeling. Usually, however, rebuilding such inexpensive diecasts requires much more effort and different skills than building a styrene kit. One of those numberless iconic European pre-war cars that have never been (and most probably will never be) kitted is Alfa Romeo's 8C 2900. Alfa Romeo made only the chassis with drivetrain and running gear derived from their 1935 8C 35 Grand Prix (!) racer, and Italy's most renowned coachbuilders, mostly Touring, supplied various ravishing bodies for it. Some years ago I found an inexpensive 1/24 diecast replicating an 8C 2900B with Berlinetta coachwork by Touring. There are several very similar surviving 1:1 Touring cars, the best-known is displayed at the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo. The 1:1 Berlinetta Touring coachwork (this one is the museum car) looks like this: My diecast was made by Leo Models of Italy and seems to be OOP by this time. Considering its low price (appr. € 20.00) it offered a pretty good value for money, much better f. e. than the very poor Bburago model I rebuilt earlier: 1937 Bugatti 57 SC Atlantic http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234954092-1937-bugatti-57sc-atlantic/ Compared to a well-built kit model, however, the original appearance of my Leo diecast must be called sub-standard, to say the least, but most important all proportions were perfect, and after stripping the paintwork the casting quality was not bad. Moreover as far as plastic was used all plastic parts were workable (probably ABS, opposite to the strange tough Bburago plastic). Anyway there was a lot of work to do. I still remember some of the major issues: - As most diecast models this one featured opening bonnet halves, doors and bootlid with visible huge cast hinges, varying gaps and unsatisfactory fit. Maybe the manufacturer's rather unattractive black paintwork was intended to make these shortcomings less conspicuous - The whole interior, particularly the dashboard, was extremely simplified - All glass parts if at all provided were unusable - The cast frames around the lateral windows were completely out of scale - The plastic wire wheels were extremely crude; making new wires was a challenge because they had to be delicate as well as sturdy because of the rather high model weight - Conspicuously there were only incomplete or even (I am not sure) no wheel wells at all - The characteristic narrow ventilation slots around the radiator grille were missing; adding them in scale was painstaking because of the rather hard diecast metal IMO despite the considerable sacrifice of time ( here I think appr. 300 hours) projects like these are always worth the effort because the results are more or less unique opposite to often seen kit models. Anyway the rebuilt model is still one of my favourite road car models: Edited July 17, 2018 by Plastheniker 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Taglialavore Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Great work, a beautiful model! 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 You've done it again Jurgen, another beauty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveyb258 Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Beautiful!!!! Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 That is one stunning looking motor car. Lovely build too. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince1159 Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Lovely job and a fantastic colour.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redstaff Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Great work, that looks stunning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plastheniker Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 Thanks for the response! IMO the most breathtaking Touring body for the 8C 2900B was this one, built on a short chassis and originally delivered to an American buyer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 Beautiful work - a stunning replica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazer Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 Lovely job great work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now