Amazing work. I’ve coveted this kit for a long time but get put off by the price and concerns that it’s not well engineered. How did it go together? Can someone with less skill then you get a decent result? Thanks again for sharing
BTW, Italeri I understand. ‘Mefistofele’, not so much. Could you enlighten me, please? It’s on the box cover, I just don’t know what it means. The car model, perhaps?
I did a lot of research. Most skill comes from the late Harry Pristovnik. There are a couple of mistakes in the instructions. Biggest challenge was probably the chains. I’ve seen replacements but thought the originals looked best. Engineering of the kit is pretty good. The engine is like a model in itself. Lots of fiddly piping and wiring. Not too bad if you take your time. I look at these big models as learning experiences. I think anyone with patience will get a decent result.
No the basswood idea comes from the late Harry Pristovnik. Another build shows faux wood grain on the plastic floor, but I didn’t like that very much. I made patterns from the included plastic floor and firewall. Harry used cardboard for backing and styrene strips on the body shell to support it. I made the floor sit on the frame like the kit floor. It did require some supporting blocks that you can see in the photos. It took me a while to decide on stain color for the wood and to find the tiny brass nails. Technique is Harry’s.
The car was a one-off to set a land speed record. The engine is an aircraft engine. It was named Mefistofele for the infernal noise it made. The history of this car is fascinating. There’s a good bit of info on the web. Here’s a vid of the car running. Just the startup procedure is amazing. It’s in German but you don’t really need narration:
Thanks for the further info, explanation of 'Mefistofele", and the link to the very cool youtube video.
As I said, after I saw yours I wanted one even more, now exponentially so after having seen that video, even though I know I’d butcher the poor thing compared to the job you did.
Now that is as beautiful auto work as I have seen in a while. Very good attention to the detail. Bondic makes great instrument lenses doesn’t it? I do have to ask. Is this one of their Larger scale kits? Beautiful Work everywhere ! T.B.
