DIECASTS IN THE ROUGH

MUSTANG COBRA II ROUSH RACING MARLBORO 1995 DAYTONA

2011-12-12T01:51:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile.

It’s a case of work too much and play as much.

Seldom we see anything like this American muscle plying its trade on the other side of Atlantic. I was happy to help my friend in Hong Kong to realize such a rare model.

This car finished fifth in GTS-1 Class and 16^th. overall.

Prepared and tuned by Roush Racing team.

However, it was somewhat overshadowed by the class winner, Mustang Cobra’s Nobody’s Fool. Yes you guessed it, co-driven by its leading actor, Paul Newman.

The car 65 is a complete Puerto Rican team. It was officially driven by Wally Castro, Axel Rivera and Rolando Falgueras. Manolo Vila and Biagio Parisal were also listed to run.

Let’s have another look on Puerto Rico, or specifically San Juan.

Couldn’t be complete without mentioning about the recently completed Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic.

Bama emerged a worthy winner. Despite two recent losses, they can be good, who knows if they can even emulate their cousins' second chance story on the gridiron.

LANCIA DELTA HF MARLBORO TRELLES 1990 SAN REMO RALLY

2011-07-12T02:26:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of the best drivers who are not given opportunity to prove his worth in Group A.

Gustavo Trelles made Spain his base and employed by Lancia Espania as works driver.

Four Group N crowns were achieved through Mitsubishi, though

TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR ST205 MARLBORO JUHA KANKKUNEN 1997 EL CORTE INGLES

2011-05-16T03:19:00.000-07:00

One of the best Marlboro liveried ST-205.

Eventually finished 3rd behind Puras' ZX Kit Car and Thiry's Escort Cosworth RS.

Both made this edition of Rallye Corte Ingles, one of the most closely contested ever.

Great decal I got from Spain, but comes without Shell and Publistas logos. Decal is a bit aging, and tend to be brittle. For that, I have to spray thin layer of clear lacquer on dry decal to hold it together. All the troubles are quickly forgotten once I finish the model though.

Decal suggests neon red for Marlboro color scheme, but use lighter fiery red.
5 spoke front wheels to match with rear full disc makes another car sacrificed as donor

Rebuild from a Trofeu, so interior details are well addressed.

However, few items need to be touched up to make conversion complete.

Harness is converted into OMP. Roll cage is black instead of white, as commonly seen.

Matt black window trim is added, as Trofue don't have any.

Heard that the 3rd place is given to Kankkunen by Ponce, who gaining on Kankkunen rapidly at the later part of the rally.

Ponce let Kankkunen use his tyres replacing the fast degarding tyres.

Afterall, Kankkunen is his idol.

I'm not sure how true is that.

MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO III ROTHMANS RICHARD BURNS 1996 RALLY NEW ZEALAND

2011-05-11T03:19:00.000-07:00

Can't wait to get it done, so near yet so far away.

Hollow internals, just body fitted up with underside.

Notice that even decals on the roof are not yet completed.

Will update when there is progress

TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR 4WD ST185 MADIT BERTONE CHIAPPONI 1995 EL CORTE INGLES

2011-04-20T02:37:00.000-07:00

1995 FIA European Rally Champions, Enrico Bertone.

Won 3 European rallies that year, 26th International Rally Zlatni in Albania, 52nd Rajd Polski and 14th. ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

This car is the one that finished 6th in the19th. Rallye El Corte Inglés

In 1994, the car with almost the same livery won the Rallye Catalunya

MITSUBISHI EVO III WINFIELD RALLIART 1996 SAN REMO DIDIER AURIOL

2011-04-18T02:44:00.000-07:00

In the aftermath of 1995 debacles, Didier Auriol participated in only two WRC events in 1996. He drove for Subaru in Sweden and in this magnificient Mitsubishi Evo III in San Remo.

It really was a one-off drive to help Mitsubishi achieve their target to capture Manufacturer’s title as Makinnen already had Driver’s title in the bag at that time.

For the record, the Top Ten result was:

1 MCRAE C. /RINGER D. Subaru Impreza 4:26'57

2 SAINZ C. /MOYA L. Ford Escort Cosworth

3 THIRY B. /PREVOT S. Ford Escort Cosworth

4 LOIX F. /SMEETS S. Toyota Celica ST205

5 ERIKSSON K. /PARMANDER S. Subaru Impreza

6 CUNICO G. /SCALVINI P. Ford Escort Cosworth

7 PIANEZZOLA G. /ROGGIA L. Toyota Celica ST205

8 AURIOL D. /GIRAUDET D. Mitsubishi L. 4'53 behind the winner

9 MEDEGHINI A. /"MEDEGHINI" Subaru Impreza

10 BERNARDINI P. /SAVIGNONI D. Ford Escort Cosworth

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER'S OTHER NOTABLE RIDES #1 MERCEDES 190E EVO1 KARCHER 1990 DTM

2011-04-01T01:52:00.000-07:00

MERCEDES 190E EVO1 KARCHER 1990 DTM

The race he wish to forget, the car not too many remember.

Hockenheim , 14th. October, 1990, the last venue in 1990 DTM calendar.

Right on the first corner, he took out Cecotto who was leading the championship by 18 points. Ceccotto had to restart at the back of the pack and never recovered. Sad enough, Cecotto couldn't catch the Audis in the 2nd race.

As a guest driver and nothing for him to race for, he deservedly drew strong opinions from Cecotto.

So the results were reported to be:
(Heat 1) Qualifying: 15th, Race Proper: DNF

(Heat 2) Qualifying: [15], Race Proper: [DNS]

His venture into motor racing however, has changed by leaps and bounds since then. DTM certainly not his forte, but something bigger is.

Falling down doesn't make you a failure, but staying down does

says a Portuguese proverb.

The same to be adopted by Bama hoopsters who finished second best in the NIT today. Add some parameter shooting next year, they will be for real.

LANCIA STRATOS HF ENGLAND 1979 RAC RALLY MARKKU ALEN

2011-03-31T00:40:00.000-07:00

1979 Lombard RAC Rally was the penultimate round in 1979 rally calendar that was won by Hannu Mikkola in Ford Escort RS1800

Markku Alen finished 5th, 16m 45s behind Mikolla despite winning 13 of total 59 stages.

Upon request through so many emails, I try to document the trail of my project, driven by aims to be frugal and time effective, to get a model that looks something like this:

DAY 1

20110330

Dismantling and cannibalizing of factory model

An Altaya base model with donor wheels

First trial on new wheels. Looks good, so the project is 'viable'. Worth to point out that removal of the underside has been skipped! Same goes with the removal of wheels from axles.

The chassis looking from underneath, with all the attachments, which need to be removed

Front end. Surprisingly, no slot holes for headlights and spotlights, making it impossible to detach those parts from the body by pushing them out like I normally do to other models.

Same issue with the rear end, only carplate has holes

Have to use pliers and screwdrivers to tweak them out slowly.

Patience is a virtue, so as not to damage or break these fragile parts. Do always cushion the lift off of smaller parts like side mirror, antenna etc, as they can literally fly away once you flick them

Almost all plastic parts are detached. The hardest part to detach is the glazed plastic window / wind screen which tend to crack when it is forced out of its rivet. I normally insert a thin screwdriver between the roof and the plastic piece and prise it slowly while keeping an eye on the crack at riveted area. Cracks are unavoidable but can be managed by slowing the act of prising.

Best part about customizing or coverting an Altaya is that the glue and jointing of these parts to the body is not that strong. It minimizes damages to these part as minimal force is exerted to them during the process.

Enter the Tiger! This is my choice of paint strippers, chaep, fast and effective. There are many to choose from, acetone, turpentine and other hydrocarbon oil. Please note almost all paint stripper are toxic and flammable. So please read the label first.

This takes about 1/2 hour of soaking, all the paints seem to be lifted from the based metal. However, I continue to soak a bit longer for crevices and previously glued areas.

The end result.

Wipe all the thinner off and let it completely dry, then time to file away those excess cast lines and fill the dents with putty, if any.

DAY 2

Repainting and making good

After layers of primer and white topcoats, ready to paint black on bottom half.

Being minimalist, I instead use normal masking Loytape to cover white portion.

This time I use Tamiya aerosol spray. My trusted Badger needs some repairs. Paint looks like a bit excessive, signified by orange peels appearance. That’s normal with aerosol, it can be rectified by applying polishing compound.

While waiting to get paint completely cured, I normally moved on to other parts.

On windscreen, original decals are removed using non-acetone cutex remover so as not to ‘frost’ the acrylic. Use cotton buds with gentle wipes on the windscreen, I can’t go wrong.

Then the chassis is ready for decaling now. But before that, I always like to trace the door lines to make model look more functional. Rubber trim on the windows also make model extra nicer

For that I use thin oil, the best for me is turpentine added to paint pre-mixed with thinner. Let it be very thin and use tip of the brush to drop into crevices of door, bonnets, grilles etc. The thin oil will flow inside the crevices and propagate along the line

Yes, it will smear and spoilt the paint, but for a moment. Let it be that way and let it dry.

Once dried, I buff off the spoilt areas with Autosol. The surface above crevices will be clean, leaving the crevices with black paint. That produces tiny line that cannot be achieved by normal painting.

DAY 3

Finish Line

So here is the decal. I have heaps of decals that I need photo albums to catalogue and safe keep them from climate. Lucky these days photo albums are sold cheaper by hours.

Decalling is the best part of modeling, but need to be extra careful to get correct positioning.Off course, need to let the decal fully dry, I normally start the gloss lacquer coating a day or two thereafter.

While waiting, these tyres need to be cleaned, as normally the case for factory completed model

As this car uses Perrili, I need to remove original tyre marking and remove the waxy paint inside the tyres. Normal thinner can do this job fairly easy.

So skipping almost all the re-assembly works, which are in reverse to dismantling before, I got it almost done. Notice the nightlight and side mirror are not fixed yet.

Small winglets on the chins, and mud flaps are threw in to make it as close as actual car.

Worth to mention, blind (grilles) on the rear windscreen require additional black strip decal. Otherwise, it can be carefully painted.

At the end, here I have a decent model, not of the top master craftsman finishing, but to me comparable to any factory model.

Heard that Minichamps is going to produce this same car in the very near future, and pre-orders are already accepted by some dealers.
And remember, you have seen it here first.

PORSCHE 917/20.001 WHITE PIG 1971 LE MANS TEST WEEKEND

2011-03-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

I was really intrigued by the shape of this machine, it certainly will instill fear for its shear brute if it happens to appear in my rear view mirror.

The Porsche 917/20, which was re-dressed in 1971 Le Mans as The Pink Pig made its debut at the test weekend in April 1971. Driven by Willi Kauhsen and Gijs van Lennep underneath Magnesium frame.

But the manner it ended the race that day is still ambiguous. Some says Lennep overlooked signals to pit which lead the car to run out of fuel. Some says it was an electrical fault.

Whatever it was, this pig paved the way for futher refinement of speed and power of its predesasor, 917K. 917K hit the fastest speed ever recorded at Mulsanne straight and I think until today hold the fastest lap in Le Mans circuit.

By its stocky and squatty look, wide and short frame, it was instantly dubbed as a pig

What we normally see in the market is The Pink Pig. In fact, there was abundance of High Speed's Pink Pig last time around.

I actually managed to pick couple of them up and strip them out. Then, I made use of 917 # 22 Lennep's 1971 Winner decal, the easiest to get, for its Porsche markings. Add CIBIE and startnumber 20, it was all done.

Who would believe the one inside Minichamps box is actually a High Speed. Now that's not sugarcoating but just want to put it where it supposed to be....

PEUGEOT 206 WRC01 JAN III SOBIESKI HOLOWCZYC 2001 POLISH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

2011-03-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

The car was unveiled at Arco Club in downtown Warsaw on 7th. February, 2001. Holowczyc was paired with Maciej Wisławski at that time. One of the most awesome livery on any 206. Dominantly red with crimson slanting stripes. Patched with asymmetrical white that blended well with Jan III Sobiseski letterings.

Photo at that launching event. Slightly varied from entry car with 5/6 spoke wheels and blue Peugeot Polska decal on both sides of chin.
I really plan to work on this version of Sobieski soon after the Elmot decal arrives.

The actual car when it is entered in Elmot

Soon after in Rajd Krawkowski, the navigator appeared to be Kurzeja

The model that I have had before. I just couldn't get the 11 spoke wheels at a decent price. Have to be contented with normal Peugeot WRC 12 spoke wheels

By the way, Jan III Sobieski is a traditional cigarette brand of Poland, made in the town of Augustow. My Polish friend once said that it pays tribute to Jan Sobieski, once the great Polish king.

FORD ESCORT RS1800 MKII BELGA 1981 RALLYE HASPENGOUW DROOGMANS

2011-03-01T01:53:00.000-08:00

I got few emails asking for more on conversion-made-easy.

For now, let's start with something simple.

Some pointers to convert the Escort RS1800 into the one that been driven by Droogmans in 1981 Rallye Haspengouw. The conversion is done based on Reji's 1981 Rallye Skoda decal, which to me is the more common in the market.

Of course you need to have two things first. A base car and that decal

Here are some reference photos

Best of luck

LANCIA STRATOS CAMEL 1978 RALLYE SAN REMO VUDAFIERI / MANNINI

2011-02-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

This is my initial projection of what needs to be done on the IXO's Chardonet of Darniche. People these days use 3D platform to conceptualize the idea, but me still in 2D, aka Dream and Draw.

To make it something more special like this one

Nothing much, just dismantle to whole body parts, strip it down to bare metal, repaint and reassemble. That's sound like everything but the only additional parts are front mud flap. Believe it or not, I normally use old credit card or auto teller card as it is plastic and rigid but easy to bend into shape and more importantly, easy to cut precisely even with NT cutter.

So here it is. Actual body color is white but made to look vintage under yellow spotlight

MITSUBISHI EVO III RIZLA RALLIART 1995 YPRES RALLY AGHINI

2011-02-25T05:57:00.000-08:00

Perhaps one the better known cigarette rolling paper in the whole world. Rizla was crucified for using the 'twist and turn' caption in its ad percieved as the act of preparing pot. Couldn't be said the same to this magnificently liveried Evo III that twisted and turned its way to finish 6th by June 25th, 1995.

The race went to Verreydt driving the Celica ST205 Castrol Marlboro.

This time around, as time permits, I want to put it all in a different perspective. Just to roll out some trails to capture my simple way to re-construct a mainstream die cast into a rarer one. Not the whole step by step roadmap, but few pointers that help me to execute the project with minimum time while getting the finishing comparable to those of a craftman or so I believe.....

This is my guide to ensure correct color scheme, painting and decal positioning. Only basic tools are needed, those readily available at any book store. The most exotic one should be cutex remover, which can come handy in removing existing decal. Strange but true. Yes, the one with pink lid there.

This is the cockpit which has been detailed out with Sabelt harness. OMP seats embroidered with names, vis-a vis, Aghini and Farnocchia. Decals are perfect but my camera is not, making them look smeared. Well, I don't expect much from a compact cam.

Waiting for decals to set in, dry completely before topping it with a clear lacquer. At this time, all headlights and tail lights and windscreens are not yet assembled, as they are vulnerable to lacquer attack. Flat black paint will then be applied to window trims.

Here it is almost done with the underside attached to the chassis.Notice the 5 spoke wheels used replacing the full disc wheels in original Altaya.
I try to minimize the amount of decals to be removed from the original car, So the red and silver stripes stay, so do other generic sponsor decals like Ralliart, Michelin and NGK.

View of the other side, with dark surroundings. The car really stands out, as it should. More so, with all the cannibalized parts around it. Those are of other model, of course.

Fixed on the plinth for safekeeping.
Perhaps, one fine sunny day, I will get closer shots and float them here.

And another Evo III on the left has started. It will be in that maroon Winfield, could be Auriols', Makkinen's or Burns'. Another cycle to go all over again

UPDATED 26th. February, 2011

FORD ESCORT RS COSWORTH RAS SPORT APRIMATIC BASTOS 1995 RALLY PORTUGAL BRUNO THIRY

2011-02-24T07:47:00.000-08:00

After successful run in 1994 Aprimatic outfit, Thiry picked up where he left off. Always competitive but never really get that extra edge to win it outright in 1995.
This car ran in RAS008 instead of BASTOS in rallies where exposure to tobacco marketing is not favored.

RALT RT3 MARLBORO TOYOTA AYRTON SENNA 1983 GP MACAU WINNER

2011-02-23T08:54:00.000-08:00

His last F3 race before progressing to F1. He emerged a victor on the streets of Macau right to capture the British Formula 3 Championship.

A Provence Moulage kit that comes with tobacco marking. Too bad driver figurine couldn't be completed.

FORD ESCORT RS COSWORTH CAMEL 1996 EL CORTE INGLES ENRICO BERTONE

2011-01-18T01:55:00.000-08:00

This particular car practically spurs me to get my hands on model making. Used to get the same exact decal and put it on a Burago. I was shocked that a friend made an offer to keep it. Now what we have here, great same livery on an IXO with proper Cromodoro wheels.

I believe Bertone managed to get on podium in this particular year, after having won it all out before

BMW 635 CSi MARLBORO 1983 GIAU MACAU HAN STUCK

2011-01-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

Merry New Year.

Another 635, this one hit the streets of Macau with real conviction and ended up as a winner in the hands of Han Stuck in 1983. Built from plastic Heller which has glaring limitations. This however has been mitigated by additional parts from Starter and other kits and it turned out not that bad at all.

LANCIA DELTA ASTRA MARLBORO PEDRO DIEGO 1992 RALLYE CATALUNYA

2010-12-24T19:25:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you out there. While watching Tulsa rolling over Hawaii, I have here Pedro Diego's Lancia. There were many versions of Pedro car which were liveried differently from one Rally to another. This one surprisingly carries no Tag Heuer sponsorship that he has been long associated with.

TOYOTA CELICA ST205 CAMPOFRIO MARLBORO JOSE MARIA PONCE 1998 EL CORTE INGLES

2010-11-30T03:16:00.000-08:00

At the tail end of its service, this ST205 became less competitive and couldn't give the much needed lift to Ponce in this 1998 Rally El Corte Ingles. Still it is one of the best looking ST205 around.

BMW 635CSi LUCKY STRIKE 1983 ETCC DELCOURT SWYSEN BAERT

2010-10-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

An iconic race machine, before the existence of the mighty M3.

TOYOTA COROLLA WRC BENSON & HEDGES KANKKUNEN 2001 EL CORTE INGLES

2010-10-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

The one that fits both the man and the machine. B&H in its loudest color scheme for a colorful driver. Juha Kankkunen has more than 150 world rally starts to his credential. A Finnish who's not going to finish that easy.

TOYOTA CELICA GT-4 ST185 BELGA 1994 BOUCLES DE SPA CHATROIT

2010-09-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

Actual car as raced in 1994 Ypres Rally. The same chassis that won Rallye Monte Carlo the year before

ONE FOR THE ROAD...2009 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

2010-08-31T00:37:00.000-07:00

This coming weekend the good old College Football 2010 season will start. The defending champs, the great Alabama Crimson Tide has a shot at repeating. This car, in the form of stock, which is what car racing all about down south. When I was there, Davey Allison was a folk hero and Talladega was simply out of this world for its tailgating. Back to football, they certainly going to have a good season.....perhaps #14! ROLL TIDE!!!

BMW 528i GITANES JARRIER TRINTIGNANT TASSIN 1982 ETCC ROUND 9 SPA 24 HOURS

2010-07-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

The 2nd place car, crossed the finish line 3 laps behind 528i Juma Bastos #3. Driven by Jean-Pierre Jarrier, Jean-Loius Trignant and Thierry Tassin. Funny that Faster43 decal places France flag next to Tassin's name. I reserve all the rights of first pix to its rightful owner with thanks.

PEUGEOT 306 MAXI CAMPOFRIO MARLBORO JM PONCE G LEON RALLYE EL CORTE INGLES 1999

2010-06-30T07:05:00.000-07:00