1937 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic

[Plastheniker]

Hi,


it is hard to understand why kit manufacturers persistently ignored some of the most spectacular pacemakers of automotive history. One of these ignored vehicles is the iconic Bugatti Atlantic. In 1937 it showed many features that we consider to be typical for a modern sports car: Breathtaking appearance and performance, a radically reduced vehicle height for a low center of gravity, doors reaching into the roof, the use of lightweight materials.

Maybe 10 years ago I happened to see a pile of 1/24 Bburago toy models at a large food store at less than (converted) $ 10.00. Among them were some Bugatti Atlantics. At first glance they looked rather odd but on nearer view their proportions seemed to be possibly correct. At home this first impression proved true:

1. All dimensions of the metal body were correct. A big problem was the abysmal fit of the movable doors with their crude hinges. Door gaps varied extremely, and the doors themselves didn't even follow the curvatures of the body.
2. The rear radiator edges "flow" into the hood of the real car. This striking feature was missing, probably it was too difficult to replicate it on a toy model.
3. There were no usable interior parts.
4. The crude chassis and most other parts except the metal body were made of a strange kind of plastic. It was incredibly hard and tough, and I found no way of sanding or gluing these parts, so reworking them was impossible.
5. Bburago's universal chromed(!) "wire" wheels with their wide tyres looked absurd.

Therefore only three parts were usable, namely the metal body from the fire-wall (including the integrated front fenders) to the rear and the two doors. All the rest of the model had to be self-made including chassis, radiator, hood, interior, glazing, rims and tires.

Only very few Atlantics were built, so all cars are slightly different. My model shows the vehicle originally delivered to England to R. Pope (registration EXK 6), recently repainted black and owned by Ralph Lauren.

[corrrado]

Looks fantastic Jurgen! Really impressive conversion from a toy to a beautiful model!

[Martini Man]

great job,
it would be nice to see some of these in plastic.


Paul

[fredjevogel]

Looks absolutely stunning ! great details ,your skills are flawless.
I follow all your builds with great pleasure and respect !
Kind Regards
Fred Vogel

[ssasho0]

Thats some serious modellign and a great result at the end! I agree that this is one of the most beautiful cars out there and its strange that no one really kitted it. If there is a kit of this I would buy it immediately.
Best regards,
Sasho

[Kjenjak]

Wow, what a result with so much built from scratch. The interior is amazing!

[sportracer02]

Great job, great result !!

[BVC500]

Wow, that's awesome! A lot of hard work went it your model and it looks great.

[Plastheniker]

Thanks for the replies!

Originally Posted by Martini Man

great job,
it would be nice to see some of these in plastic.


Paul

Originally Posted by ssasho0

Thats some serious modellign and a great result at the end! I agree that this is one of the most beautiful cars out there and its strange that no one really kitted it. If there is a kit of this I would buy it immediately.
Best regards,
Sasho

I am afraid there won't be any new kits of pre-war European vehicles at all.
After posting about 60 models in 7 forums this rule of thumb seems to be obvious: The older the 1:1 vehicle, the lower the numbers of views and replies.
I am rather sure that kit manufacturers face the same correlation regarding their sales figures.


BTW the original Bburago Atlantic looks like this:

[F1Tommy]

FPPM or Fernando Pinto seems to be doing them in 1/24th scale resin. He did several Alfa, Mercedes and Auto Union models already in resin. Your Bug looks fantastic. I know a Russian company that did do this car in 1/24th resin to a high standard, and I am still trying to get an unbuilt one from him.

[gtziaf]

Impressive!!!

[Big Pat]

The cute Caterpillar became a gorgeous Butterfly!

Great work!

[Morgan75]

Incredible result, you turned an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. Your wire wheels look fantastic!

[model freak]

Great work!!!