1/24 Tamiya Renault Alpine A110 - Monte Carlo 1971
Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 9:45 pm
Got three mini's on the go, but all three builds are currently on hold waiting delivery of paints. So in the mean time, I decided to go trough my stash and crack open this box:
Maybe not one of the most famous cars, but for those following the WRC and it's history, this is still one of the more iconic ones...
The Renault Alpine A110 took over from the Mini Coopers on the Monte Carlo stages. Where the Monte was the domain of the Mini's during the '60s, the Alpine A110 was the car to beat during the early '70s. Only Porsche was able to mount a bit of a challenge on the WRC stages, but generally Renault was too strong. In 1971, Renault took the first three top spots on the Monte Carlo podium. In 1973 they repeated this performance and even went on to win the WRC.
Renault kept occupying the top spots on international rally stages until the Lancia Stratos came around in the mid '70s.
Considering the roughly €40 price tag of this kit, there is surprising little plastic inside the box compared to other kits in its price range. The decals look like they are high quality though, and there's even a little decal sheet in the box with some metal stickers for the various badges that need to be put on the body work.
There's only a few mould lines on the body work, but they are on some nasty places, close to some finer detail, and do take a little patience to remove.
Body work ready for sanding:
Body after a first coat of primer got applied and sanded:
Also made a start on the construction of the chassis. It's a little different than what I'm used to from a car kit.
All the black parts are basically Alclad black primer that I left bare. All the other metal finishes are also Alclads, with a few hand painted details using Tamiya paints and some colours from my Lifecolor "Black Rubber Shades" paint set.
Maybe not one of the most famous cars, but for those following the WRC and it's history, this is still one of the more iconic ones...
The Renault Alpine A110 took over from the Mini Coopers on the Monte Carlo stages. Where the Monte was the domain of the Mini's during the '60s, the Alpine A110 was the car to beat during the early '70s. Only Porsche was able to mount a bit of a challenge on the WRC stages, but generally Renault was too strong. In 1971, Renault took the first three top spots on the Monte Carlo podium. In 1973 they repeated this performance and even went on to win the WRC.
Renault kept occupying the top spots on international rally stages until the Lancia Stratos came around in the mid '70s.
Considering the roughly €40 price tag of this kit, there is surprising little plastic inside the box compared to other kits in its price range. The decals look like they are high quality though, and there's even a little decal sheet in the box with some metal stickers for the various badges that need to be put on the body work.
There's only a few mould lines on the body work, but they are on some nasty places, close to some finer detail, and do take a little patience to remove.
Body work ready for sanding:
Body after a first coat of primer got applied and sanded:
Also made a start on the construction of the chassis. It's a little different than what I'm used to from a car kit.
All the black parts are basically Alclad black primer that I left bare. All the other metal finishes are also Alclads, with a few hand painted details using Tamiya paints and some colours from my Lifecolor "Black Rubber Shades" paint set.
The pic also shows the sloppy work I did with the BMF.
But you're right. I am being presented with a few options here. I just couldn't see them a few days ago. This build was progressing so quickly compared to my other ones that I guess being stuck with my nose so closely to the model for a few hours/days in a row made all the tiny mistakes stand out like an eyesore. Sometimes you just have to put a build on the sideline for a couple of days or a week to recharge your batteries. Anyway, I might be doing some more stuff on this one the coming weekend. See how it goes.