), I perhaps also like a FEW modellers, became somewhat distressed by the Lack of Detail,..OR Correct Detail in Kits.When Younger I Used to 'Drool' over the Many Car Modelling examples exhibited in those Early Scale Modelling and Car Model Magazines etc,..so as both My own personal Knowledge of Where all those wires actually DO Go and Why, and as I got Older, more skilled / critical etc, I started to want to make my Own Models Look Better and More Realistic.
I mean I never really had any Problems with Kits that 'Missed the Mark' by a country Mile,..lol, I probably didn't buy them,..but it Did annoy me when they got like 99% Close/right BUT supplied some awful Overscale Hose or some Special 'Piece' that was basically 'Crap' !!!,..ROFL,..You all Know what I mean.
It's a shame really that I have now Lost all those Models Including some of the Partly and unbuilt kits,..(would give me Plenty to do in Later life,..let alone the Money I spent,..DOH !),..BUT, Somehow I managed to Retain nearly ALL my detailing 'Bits' from the Past.
Racing 1/32 a bit and Only really Lexan Bodied Retro Cars, Hasn't exactly allowed me to Use a Lot of the Items I have, or Have 'Found' on the Internet.
Although I Have added Injector Stacks To My McLaren M8A and am in the Process of Replicating some Decals for the Retro F1 Bodies I have, along with Injector stacks and Wiring etc,..All I need Now is a Vac Form machine, so I can Make some Gearboxes and Other 'Bits' for the rear End and One could Put together a faily Convincing Car !!
Anyway,..although Scale/Replica Hard Bodied racing is NOT Necessarily My 'Bag' as such,..I Can ... as a Past Modeller Appreciate the 'Effort',..even IF I don't and Probably Never Will 'GROK' why anyone would want to Destroy all there Hard Work in a Slot car Race !!
Heck even My 1/32 Maser suffered the Loss of an Exhaust Pipe (which were in the Wrong place on the Model anyway, But Impossible to Replace), along with One Rear View Mirror, Also Relatively Difficult Or Impossible to Replace.
I must admit, in Some ways,..I wonder after watching and seeing some of the Racing Damage that occured at the recent Group 'C' Race at HSC and also The Recent Vintage Night, so for One thing, I am wondering Just When a hard Bodied Group C Tamiya or similar Kit becomes regarded as No Longer complying with the Rules?
How Does one replace the Parts?,..With after Market replacements?,..You Know, Like Wing Mirrors etc,..I mean I would hate to think that I HAD to Purchase Another Kit including all the effort involved in Building and Painting JUST the Body Only to have it Damaged enough (possibly) in a race making it possibly Illegal/unusable in Future races ,..even after repair.
No Wind up,..This IS just an Honest question.
Asked perhaps as the Rules regarding Scale/Realistic 'Looking' cars seem to make that aspect I guess Obviously,..lol,..Quite Important.
As a Past modeller one can't help but 'Appreciate' some of the Cars one sees Both here and Overseas, with the level of Detail on Some of the German and European examples Being Truly 'OTT' ,...Bloody Amazing in Fact,..But I Honestly Can't and I believe Couldn't Bring Myself to go to THAT Extreme Level of Detail on a car I was Going To Race !!
As a Concours Entry,..For Sure and whilst I am More than aware that some Highly detailed cars Can and Do Go Well, I would argue that those cars will also be Beaten by a car that has had as Much Effort and Energy put into it's Mechanical Preparation on a car less well detailed and arguably Lighter,...but in Reality it Doesn't Matter,..as People Will continue to do it.
Some of the cars I saw recently at HSC and in Photos Previously of the CanAm/LeMans or Endurance Class or Whatever the Heck it's called, Can and Do have some Nice detail,..but as I and Others have stated I find the Inclusion of Concours into the Racing Pointscore Extremely Odd,..anyway,..
I guess partly this Post was 'Inspired' by My previously stated Interest in realistic Replication of the cars details and having seen the Excellent example of what is perhaps an Unreal Car built by Wayne Bramble,..I was a bit astonished that he Didn't get Maximum Concours Points with the 'Effort' made in replicating many 'Elements' of the real car.
The Two Points decreasing his Points from what Could have been maximum, were apparently because His 'as fitted' Spark Plug Leads did Not Exit from the "TOP" of his 'Distributor',.. ????,..Whaaa ?? and also the way they were 'Curved/fitted', They were above the Body.
Now whilst I Might Concur with the Last reason,..But here also I often Find it Odd that in some peoples attempts at Providing Neat Little Wires From the Distributor, one could argue that the Wires Destination appears More Like the Injector Fuel Lines Than the Spark Plug leads,..Especially on a CanAm, which (apart from Porsche and some others,..lol), Mainly Used BIG Block Yank V8's, where the Spark Plugs Aren't Anywhere Near the Injectors or manifold !!,..lol
Strangely, I have seen Few people attempt to Model Fuel Lines and Throttle Linkages,..except in Extreme examples!
BUT,..as to CanAm V8 spark Plug leads having to Leave the Distributor via the Top !!,..Ahem,..well I'll Just let the Pictures tell That Story !!
With Respect, that shows a bit of a lack of Knowledge of Racing Engines in General, let alone CanAm and US style Auto Parts!
Look,.I don't want to start a Fight,..but if people are going to Reduce Peoples Overall Race Points by some degree, because of an Ill Informed Knowledge of the Replicated Detail,..then For MY Money,..something is Wrong with that !!,..I'd be Hopping Mad !!! Especially if I KNEW My Model Replicated an 'As Raced' car !!
Perhaps the Best and arguably Unarguable Method,..is to 'Provide Photos' of the car/model/series of car you are trying to Replicate.
With the Internet, That Isn't All that Hard to do,..and Heck If I was trying to Replicate a real car, then I sure would go Looking for Reference material, so I could make it Look 'More Correct'.
In thinking of that,..What IS the Go, with All the Dark Blue Surtees cars with the White Team Surtees Stripes T160/2/3's or whatever those bodies are supposed to represent? I have many Photos and references of the RED version but have Never actually Seen a Real Photo of that Car, at a Race meeting.
Can anyone Provide Further Info regarding that Example of the Surtees ? As far as I am aware it Never raced in the US CanAm Rounds, Did it Race in the UK or in Interserie ???,..Hmmm,..I Must ask PDL,..
Just Wondering, for My Own Interest,..apart from making a CanAm car Replicating that car somewhat Questionable Under the 'Spirit' of the Rules!,...lol
There is a Wealth of info Stories, Books and Photos out there JUST on CanAm,..heck I have a Hard drive almost Filled with it.
Perhaps I/We/People can use this thread to Post Interesting and Useful Reference examples and materials, of Real cars and Places to get Parts to Help in Replicating Same.
Whilst I have always been a Mark Donohue Fan and Love his "Unfair Advantage" attitude,..it certainly Can't Hurt providing info to help make it easier for people to make even Better cars !!,..
Or perhaps,..even Make Cars So in regard to all of the above, and whilst I am an ARDENT supporter of the 'Support Your Local Raceway' concept, sometimes it's Good to Get bits that aren't generally available and May Not be due to the Limited Sales some of those Items would generate for a Wholesale or Retail supplier.
Although Many of you May be aware of these sites,..many may Not and are just some I have found that have interesting Stuff, Especially for 1/24th
These are Just Some, I am Sure there are Heaps More,..Please add to it with Words Pictures and Links if you have anything of Interest.
Jens Scale Racing
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/ ... nWg1_gB_dw
Strada Sports
http://www.stradasportsstore.com/
Hiroboy
http://www.hiroboy.com/catalog/
F1 Specialities
http://www.f1specialties.com/main/index.php
Plus a Great little South Australian Company that some of Our Queensland Friends are aware of
The Parts Box
http://www.thepartsbox.com/
Over-Drive
Oh and here is Another 'link', These Guys have some Nice 'Lighting Kits' and stuff like that, Plus a Nice Range of Identical BUT Lighter Replacement Interiors, for Many Ninco, Carrera and Scalextric Cars,..Worth a Look!, but Mainly 1/32 scale.
http://www.overdrive-shop.net/
OH Yeah,..and here is an Interesting Forum, that makes for some Fantastic reading and is a Great Source for The Truth !!,..lol
Many of the REAL Racers of the Day Frequent this Forum, so one can Often Get the answers you Need, .."From the Horses Mouth" as it were.
The Atlas F1 Bulletin Board
Things like The Correct Matich and McLaren colours etc have had discussions of Great Length !!,..lol
Check it out,..http://forums.autosport.com/
There are many others,..I will try and add to them as I find them either in My 'Messy' Bookmarks or whatever,..Please Add Others.
I am Sure Any articles on Detailing that are suitable could Also Be of Interest.
having seen some of the Beautifully and Unbelievably Accurate Model Dragsters at PLUCKA's, I am sure there are some amongst us that Could 'Blow Us Away' with Their Detail and Realism !!
I'll add some of My Can Am References as well.
Here's some Pics !!
Cheers
