Le Mans Contest Entry: 99 Mercedes CLR vs. 99 Audi R8C

[MickSz]

I had a look on the shelf and decided I didn't want to start anything too complicated so I grabbed a couple of simple resin kits to add to the LeMans Contest Curbside Division. Both kits are 1/24th. In fact all I build is 1/24th.

Entry #1. The Car: 1999 Audi R8C. The predecessor to the almighty R8R, this was the test mule for what was to become the winningest LeMans car of all time.

The kit: Manufactured by Volkl Resin Cars. The kit was purchased off eBay for something like $65.00 USD. I'm glad I didn't pay more for it.....This may be a body and or kit that was destined to be a slot car body because there are some serious problems with the quality of the body itself but I'll get to that later.



The kit is definitely your basic barebones curbside kit with a very basic pan chassis and minimal interior detail. A fairly substantial photo etched sheet and adequate resin wheels with rubber-ish tires. How much of the actual kit that I use is still to be determined.

The body's overall lines are close to the reference material I have available which is minimal I might add..( that was a desperate cry for reference material if anyone has any please) But the panel lines are crooked, wavy and very soft, as if the body was carved out of soap and left to dissolve in the shower.....



So the number one thing to correct was the panel lines and no alternative but for me to fill them and start over...sigh.....



Entry #2: The Car: 1999 Mercedes CLR. Some know it better as the flying car.....This was Mercedes last foray into the LeMans GTP category. Short lived but quite spectacular unfortunately. The car had a tendency to take off like a small aircraft if the conditions were just right. This forced them to withdraw from the 1999 event and we haven't seen them at LeMans since.

The kit: Manufactured by Black Box and purchased for something like $150.00 USD. The kit may be curbside but man, the quality compared to the Audi is MUCH better. The body is very crisp and panel lines only need some quick deepening to accommodate paint thickness.



Roughly the same number of parts as the Audi and now that I look at the wheels, it appears they've given me three rear wheels and one front....hmmm.....Well anyway the wheels are made of white metal and are not that great. I'm wondering if Sakatsu make a set f turned aluminum wheels or perhaps Tamiya have a set somewhere. Any suggestions ?



So off I go on another modeling adventure. Will the Audi be a bear from start to finish ? How about the CLR ? Stay tuned for another episode of LeMans Resin Wars !

Mick Sz.

[marci-blitz]

Hi Mick!

What a beautiful choice! I really like those two cars.
Can't wait to see any progress!

Good to see, that the Black Box kit is so nice. Because, rumor has it, that they will bring out a Ferrari 312 PB next year... (Thanks to Ed from Islandcollectibles).

The only idea for a set of wheels for the Benz that I have, is to get a Tamiya's CLK GTR. Maybe that works? Or does Le Mans Miniatures have anything suitable? I know, the have a wheel set for the Audi R8.

Anyway, good luck with the kits!
Marc

[sjelic]

Sweet pains to handle, I wish you luck with this two babies. I don't like Merc but the flyeing one is my favorite and BMW was in there two, what a slap in the face was that.

[ridefast]

For those unfamiliar with the story of 'A Mercedes That Took Off (More Than Once)' there is a nice explanation on

http://www.mulsannescorner.com/techarticle1.htm

If you're interested in Le Mans prototypes and have some tech questions about them, check out the whole site

http://www.mulsannescorner.com

No great reference pictures for the Audi project though...

[RallyRaider]

Stunning choices Mick, I wasn't even aware the Audi R8C was available as a kit.

A small correction to your history: The R8C (coupe) and R8R (roadster) both ran concurrently at Le Mans in 1999. A finger in both pies by Audi to cover the GT1 closed cockpit category with the R8C. As well as exploiting the options of LMP with the open cockpit R8R. The R8R roadsters proved to be the more successful, finishing 3rd and 4th. So Audi chose to develop the open cars into the R8 of 2000 and subsequent events.

[MickSz]

Thanks for the correction to my History Lesson, Phil Regarding the wheels for the Merc. it occurred to me that perhaps the wheels in the Merc DTM car may be the same. I'll have to crawl up into the attic and check that tonight....

[nismo man]

oh man that CLR is going to be sweet .

[p9o1r1sche]

That Volkl Resin Co has some cool subjects (Porsche 914, BMW 2002), but I have heard about the poor quality. Good luck with both kits. If you have any secrets about scribing straight, even panel lines, I'm all ears.

[MickSz]

Volk does have some unique stuff thats for sure, I just wish they would work on their quality control. You would have expected this kind of quality 6 or 7 years ago perhaps but after working on the 1/24 Sakatsu Panoz, S27 Merc C11, LMM Jag XJR16, BBR Ferrari 333SP, Modelers Lancia Beta Monte Carlo and QuickSkins Ford Probe GT, the stakes have been raised significantly...

Regarding the panel lines...I'll let you know if I come up with anything...I'm dreading it

Mick

[Rtuned]

I'm watching this. Your Ford GT40 had already stunned me and I don't want to miss any thread you post.
I got 1pc of CLR by black box too, only one small problem I can't solve. How am I going to drill the axle rod to body? So by watching your CLR, will give me some idea of how-to.

[Gainsbourg]

After your stunning build of the GT40 we can only expect the best from this progress thread.
Two great models but I’m really curious to see how the R8C will turn out.
Have a nice work and keep us well inform on the progresses.

[MickSz]

Thought I’d do a quick update to the Audi R8C project. I pretty much put away the Merc after I prepped and primed it until I catch up with this beast. Work continues on filling all the panel lines so I can start scribing in the new ones.



After priming and the first sanding I began to work on other body prep as well. Amazing what you see after a coat of primer...

Now these side pod openings are posing a bit of a problem...I don’t know what they’re really supposed to look like inside there.....Any ideas ? I have to assume they are ducts of some kind and need to be opened up. So to start with I am removing the back wall of the openings. I will have to dig out my video tapes of the ‘99 race and see if I can see something. Sounds like a good enough reason to rewatch the race



This view from the top show some areas that need a fair bit of cleaning up. At the top of the picture you can see the rear brake ducts. The one on the left (looking at it from the front) is the stock opening. The one on the right I have begun to hollow out with the good ol’ dremel.

The next area is the inside of the open front fenders. The one on the right has been cleaned up where the one on the left is the lovely mess I started with...

The next area is the headlight pods. After priming it was obvious that there was a problem. The headlight pods were outlined but not recessed at all so the clear covers would end up sitting higher than the fender, which is wrong obviously. So I began by rescribing the outer perimeter deeper than normal and then began to slowly scrape away enough of the resin to allow the clear plastic covers to mount flush. I’ve never done a resin kit that needs this much major prep work so for the first time ever I’m going to test fit all the glass before I do much more.

And yes, I have started to rescribe the new panel lines as you can see here.





This last shot shows both headlight pods ready for glass test fitting. That's it for now !



Mick Sz.

[bvia]

Mick,
thanks for bringing this one to my attention...I'll have to call Ed and get one now!!!!!

I've got a few pics (and the Le Mans modeling annual) with the R8C as well as the PM 1:43rd version.

PM me with what you specifically need and I'll send you what I have.

Bill

p.s. As for the wheels...I can't recall a single styrene kit that would have the correct rims. LMM's Audi R8R's of course have them (and LMM is pretty good about selling wheels sets seperately) and Sakatsu DID machine
them once upon a time

http://www.scaleracecars.com/Merchan...y_Code=sakatsu

...but not anymore.

[bvia]

Originally Posted by MickSz

Now these side pod openings are posing a bit of a problem...I don’t know what they’re really supposed to look like inside there.....Any ideas ? I have to assume they are ducts of some kind and need to be opened up. So to start with I am removing the back wall of the openings. I will have to dig out my video tapes of the ‘99 race and see if I can see something. Sounds like a good enough reason to rewatch the race





Mick Sz.

Do you mean the opening in the door area? If so they have what appears to be a yellow/tan filter type material along the bottom side. IIRC the back wall of the opening is not open.

hth,
Bill

[bvia]

I wonder if these would work...

http://www.islandcollectibles.net/images/sptk24011.jpg

Bill