Ford vs Ferrari - Le Mans 1966

Started by George Williams · 37 · 4 months ago
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    George Williams said 6 months ago:

    Hi everyone, I have to blame my friend Brian @brithebuilder for this. Brian’s current build of his Ford GT40 rekindled my enthusiasm for Le Mans type sports cars and I’ve wanted to do this project for quite a while.

    My original plan was to build a Meng 1/24 Ford

    And a Fujimi Ferrari P4

    The Meng kit seems fine, but the Fujimi has a couple of problems. First it’s not a P4 as raced at Le Mans, but is a development of the P4 raced by the North American Racing Team (NART) at US races such as Sebring and Daytona. There are a couple of visual differences, the main one being the shape of the mirrors on the front wings. However, the biggest problem is that I can’t buy one, they seem to be unavailable at present, at least here in China. I have a friend in Tokyo trying to track one down for me.

    In the meantime the closest I could get is this Ferrari 250 GTO

    Which was entered in the 1962 race by our friends the NART, so not really a competitor for the GT40, but, hey, it’s a 250 GTO, what’s not to like?

    I’m planning to build the two kits is tandem, and will add the P4 if I can find one.

    The nearest I can find is this

    Which I think is a Carrera 1/24 slot car, it looks good, but is a little expensive and is presumably ready built.

    OK, plenty more to come, thanks for looking, and happy modelling.

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    Gary Brantley said 6 months ago:

    I'll be gladly following this project, George. 👍 😁 Those cars are dear to me as well and recall a really special time in sports car racing. I've just received my vintage IMC Ford GT Mk II kit of the #2 '66 Le Mans winning car of Amon and McClaren. I just missed out on the two kits of the IMC Mk IV GT but I'll be looking for another one soon.

    When we lived in Australia, 1966-'67, we attended Tasman Cup races at Sandown Park Raceway in Melbourne, February 27, 1966. The Tasman series featured factory F1 teams competing in an off-season series of races in Australia and New Zealand. In the race we attended, Jim Clark won but was closely challenged by Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and Jack Brabham. Imagine that-a 13-year-old kit gets to see his first "real" auto race and it featured no less than four World Champion Formula One drivers! It was a rare thrill indeed for me! My Dad and I got pit passes and it was great fun walking among the teams as they worked on the cars.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasman_Series

    My favorite car that day was a sports car of the Can-Am type, designed and driven by Australian Frank Matich. His "Traco-Olds" was the dominant sports racer down under and dominated the field in that day's top sportscar division, defeating a Ferrari 250 LM for the win.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Matich

    Elfin 400/Traco Olds: Frank Matich, Niel Allen and Garrie Cooper...
    Here's a shot of Matich on the starting line beside the 250 LM (a type which had produced Ferrari's last Le Mans win (1965) before this year's one two finish there.) And this one is actually a photo of the car at Sandown in 1966, the race we attended: I'm looking forward to your progress with this project, George @chinesegeorge! Knowing your skills, I expect the results will be spectacular! Build on, my friend! Cheers! 🍺
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    Brian Mennenoh said 6 months ago:

    @chinesegeorge - Amazing project George! 2-3 different cars from the race on display together will be very cool! I'll be following closely!

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 6 months ago:

    What an amazing entry, my friend @chinesegeorge! Looking forward to it!

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    Eric Berg said 6 months ago:

    I was looking forward to your build of the Meng kit and what you have to say about it. It's been on my "should-I-build?" list for a long time. Are you still planning to build it? @chinesegeorge.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 6 months ago:

    Excellent entry, George @chinesegeorge
    Some iconic cars on the way.

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    George Williams said 6 months ago:

    OK then, we’re building the Meng GT40 and the Fujimi GTO in tandem. So, Eric @en801, yes, the Meng kit is in the works. Gary @garybrantley, thanks for those Tasman race photos, a great era in motor racing, seeing those champions in action must have been fantastic, I remember reading about those races in Motor Sport magazine. @fiveten, @johnb, and @brithebuilder, thanks for your support.

    So, let’s start building. First the Meng, first impressions are very favorable, satin smooth moldings in fairly soft polystyrene, and clear instructions.

    Construction starts with front uprights (to be fitted later), and some details in the cockpit, including the pedals, gear lever, and fire extinguisher.

    Onto the GTO, again starting with the front uprights.

    Remember this is a much older kit, the plastic is brittle and doesn’t seem to like like Tamiya cement, I’m having to use an ABS adhesive, but parts fit is good so far.

    Plenty more to come, thanks for looking and happy modelling.

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    Robert Paschall said 6 months ago:
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    George Williams said 6 months ago:

    Thanks for that, Robert @beauslx, e-bay is not available here in China, but I’ll ask my friend to have a look.

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    Brian Mennenoh said 6 months ago:

    @chinesegeorge - Looking great so far George. The instructions in the Meng kit look really nice. Full color actually seems like it could be useful.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 6 months ago:

    Superb progress, my friend @chinesegreorge! Eagerly looking forward to both of them!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 6 months ago:

    A very good start, George @chinesegeorge

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    George Williams said 6 months ago:

    Hi @garybrantley, @brithebuilder, @fiveten, @johnb, @eb801, @beauslx, @bikequeen, @rory. Thanks for all your replies, information, help, and memories.

    First the GT40, Meng give you all the markings and colour callouts for the three finishers in the 1966 race, I’m going for the third placed one in gold.

    Here’s the next stage in the build:

    Mainly completing the suspension parts.

    More similar work on the GTO coming up next.

    Thanks again to everyone and happy modelling.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 6 months ago:

    Excellent progress, my friend @chinesegeorge! Great scheme picked - love that gold!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 6 months ago:

    A gold GT40, that will be a special look, George @chinesegeorge
    Good progress.