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ROHR Porsche GT1 - 1997 IMSA Champion by Mike Sells This piece was originally to begin with a review
of the Porsche GT1's available, pointing out all of the faults and strengths
of each one, but both the FLY and NINCO cars are so very well done that
There are several 1/24 scale decal sets available for Tamiya's kits of the Porsche GT1 and GT2: Ricambi has decals for the ROHR IMSA champion, Hutchinson, Marlboro, G Force and Blue Coral GT1's and ROHR and Stadler GT2 cars. Monogram is releasing kits of two '97 GT1 EVO machines in the fall of '98 and Scale Designs has announced '98 Daytona Porsche EVO ROHR and Champion/STP/MCR decals as well as several for GT2 Porsches. Studio 27 has decals available for the Harrod's McLaren for those of you who did not get a shot at the NINCO factory version and a set of markings for the carbon fiber LeMans qualifying Porsche GT1 while Scale Designs has a marvelous set for the green/white '96 LeMans Canaska Viper. All of these and many more can be used as discussed here. This project has two parts: first, adding detailing on the GT1 body to match the ROHR car and most of the others as raced and second, altering 1/24 scale decals in color for use on 1/32 scale models. This model was built prior to the release of the NINCO version and you will notice some differences in the markings; the Ricambi markings are much more accurate.
Begin by separating the body from the chassis and removing the interior, windows, lights and other detail parts from the body proper and the slot racing parts from the chassis plate. Remove the colored stickers (NINCO) or strip the paint if converting a painted body like FLY's. Mineral spirits will take off any adhesive residue. The NINCO body is cast in white so no paint removal was required except for the mirrors. I use Easy-Off oven cleaner in a plastic kitty litter tray for removing paint but there are several less aggressive solutions specifically designed for models. Scrape and sand off any molding lines, open up the vents and scoops and generally prepare the body for construction. I rounded the outside of all four wheel openings to simulate the curved lip around each opening on the real car. This body is a masterpiece! It's right on the button: visually, dimensionally and emotionally. I certainly hope NINCO keeps them coming to this level of accuracy. Only small detail changes are required for the ROHR racer. We're also going to modify both front and rear grilles, add material to the bottom of the wing mounts, and add several other small improvements to the body as we go along. Both the FLY and NINCO bodies need these same changes but the photos and comments are specific to the NINCO version. The 4 chin spoilers are made from 0.020" styrene
sheet. Cut them to shape and epoxy Add "spats" to the lower ends of the rear wing assembly
and raise the wing mounts 1/16" at the same time. Raising the wing is
not necessary on the FLY model as it is already the correct height visually
but the spats can be added if desired. The wing is carbon fiber, simulated
on the model with flat black paint. Painting decal film the same yellow
as the body, then cutting two pieces to match the end plates saves a
lot of masking and makes the wing end plates look thinner without replacing
them. The rear edge of the wing is 3/8" above the top edge Cut both front and rear grilles from the chassis
plate level with the top surface of the plate. Throw the front grille
into your parts box for use on another project; the rear grille becomes
the new front grille unit. Bevel the bottom edge of the rear grille
to rock the top of the grille back about 30° from vertical and cut the
exhaust pipe protrusions from each end. Scrape or file the ends of the
grille flat to the inner edge of the exhaust pipe location - about 1/4"
on each end. Trim the chassis plate stiffening bars flush to the top
of the plate to provide clearance for the grille. Glue the new front
grille to the chassis plate in the same The rear end of the chassis should be sanded flat
where the grille was removed. Glue a strip of 0.040" x 1/4" styrene
perpendicular on top of the chassis plate 1/4" more or less ahead of
the body surface. Drill two holes in this strip for 1/8" aluminum tubing
exhaust pipes in the same location as in the original rear grille. There
are several things visible through the body opening at the rear of the
1:1 Porsche besides the pipes. It's hard to know exactly what they're
for are but it looks like a white plastic overflow tank (styrene strip)
with drain (0.030" styrene rod), held in place by a black rubber strap
made from a fine strip of black crepe tape. Left of this narrow vertical
tank is a ribbed silver tube with a small probe If you really want to get in to it, the hood is held down with four red hood pins in silver mounts. The body is bright yellow with flat black window surrounds (both windscreen and side windows) and front turn signal openings. Interior color is white with black seat and dash and a red fire extinguisher bottle. Since the NINCO interior is a simple plate, I painted the headliner flat black to match and only detailed the driver figure with belts and a little more facial expression. The turn signal lenses should be amber, not red, but that's not possible to change using the NINCO parts. Wheel spokes are flat black while the outer rims are cast metal color - steel or magnesium. Both fender mirrors are red to match the decal color with silver mirror lenses. I recommend enamel or lacquer body paint followed by acrylic detail colors: any slop over can be cleaned off the body using rubbing alcohol without touching the base color. The 1:1 windscreen is very darkly tinted but I chose to leave it clear since the interior is black anyway. The passenger's side window has a NACA duct cut in to provide cockpit air. I tried several solutions for this involving kit parts from various Monogram NASCAR models without success. I finally cut the surround from clear shirt collar acetate - essentially a 1/32" wide strip in the shape of the duct - then glued the surround in place with white glue. The illusion is pretty good even though there is no actual opening in the side window. Materials: Ricambi Model Car Products, 801 W. El Camino Real, suite 339, Mountain View, CA 94040, U.S.A. Email:Ricambi.com Microscale Industries, 1570 Sunland Lane, Costa Mesa, Ca 92626, U.S.A. Atten: Craig Walker (714) 434-8 PART II (Decals explained) Many aftermarket suppliers have excellent decal seta available for virtually every racing car that ever turned a wheel in anger, or at least the ones produced in 1/24 or 1/43 scales. The recent release of color copy decal film from Microscale has made reductions, enlargements and copying of decals for use on 1/32 scale models possible. There are, of course, limitations, but most of them can be overcome. I recently found some superb 1/24 slot racing stickers for Opel Calibra, BMW 318I, Mercedes and Alfa 155 DTM racers and the Mercedes CLK GTR that reduce very well, even down to HO scale. It's also possible to use art from advertisements, product packaging or photographs for custom liveries. The ROHR IMSA GT1 decals by Ricambi are beautifully done but are for an earlier version than is shown in the "Car & Driver" article I mentioned last time. Several small decals are not included but can perhaps be found on other sheets. The blue markings in the photographs turn out to be more purple on the decal sheet: I'm told by Ricambi that they color matched the color from the actual car and any differences are due to variations in film, processing and printing. As the decals are in 1/24 scale (1/2" = 1') a 75% reduction to 3/8" = 1' should work perfectly on the NINCO body, right? Well, not necessarily. Model bodies from different manufacturers (or even the same manufacturer) in different scales may not be proportioned exactly the same, even though they may look identical. I've found that the first step is measuring the body against some known point on the decals and reducing accordingly: maybe 73% or 78% will fit the body better than just a knee-jerk 75%. If you're working with simple stripes, numbers or lettering that doesn't cover several body panels, this may not be a problem but bear it in mind for complex liveries like this one. The side markings on this particular car wrap into the rear wheel openings so the reduction calculation was based on that dimension. It turned out to be 73% in order to shrink the rear wheel opening slightly, but that's very much a judgement call. For what it's worth, it's usually much easier to alter the decals than the body but that is not a hard and fast rule either. As an example of this problem the '69 Owens Corning
Corvette has large side panel markings fit to the body shape. Yellow, silver, gold and metallic colors copy very poorly and there is almost always a certain shift in color values one way or the other in the reds, greens and blues. My practice is to get as close as possible on the primary color and let the rest shift. I always have the copy machine operator test the results on plain white paper first but and adjust as necessary but that is no guarantee even when coping onto white film. You cannot copy white except indirectly; that's why you ordered some white film too. If you need white lettering on a red car, for example, you have to paint thin styrene sheet or laminating film red, then put the 1/24 white decals in place and reduce the combination onto white film. The copy techs who run my copies have all resisted
the idea of cutting the standard 8.5" x 11" sheets any smaller to avoid
jamming the machines. In the interest of economy, gather all of the
decals you want to reduce and do any preparation work beforehand. I
run 3/4 size black copies of the decals and set up a mock-up so I know
exactly what will fit on the finished sheet. Leave 1/2" or so all around
so you don't cut off any markings. The large white EXXON decal for the windscreen requires
some extra preparation. There is no background for the letters so there
will be no image on either white or clear film if you copy it as is.
I cheated by using a black felt tip Before using the copy decals, apply a light coat
of artist's spray fix or other clear coat to protect and seal the images.
I use a matte finish for vintage racers and gloss for modern GT and
prototype cars. When dry, trim them as close to the images as possible
and apply like any other decal. I use a short (3/4") bladed scissors
with good results on irregular shapes. Warm water softens them more
quickly than cold; remember to keep the surface of the body wet so they
will slide into place without tearing. Do the large colored side panels
in one piece first, then cut the number panels out of the white film
and apply on top; don't try to cut the clear number panels out beforehand.
After all of the markings are in place, spray the entire body with your choice of clear coat or wax to protect the body and decals from the rigors of racing. Add the body detailing like the chin spoilers, mirrors and wing. Reassemble the chassis, wheels and tires and you're ready to go with a car no one else has. You oughta be able to see this one coming from the far end of the race course! |
I
don't really see the point. They're different, as one would expect,
but either will work for this project so the choice is yours. I have
not seen the Scalextric or SCX versions yet but I have no doubt that
they will be suitable also. I personally like the markings better on
the FLY but prefer the body on the NINCO and since we're repainting
and changing the markings anyway... 
"Car
& Driver" magazine for March, 1998 had an excellent article on the ROHR
GT1 with many color photos; the model is based on that information.
The car is bright yellow with large blue, red and green color crayon
looking slashes. This color combination is very striking and should
certainly stand out on both shelf and track. A copy of this magazine
for reference would really help but we'll try to cover everything without
it. Additional materials include 1/8" aluminum tubing for exhausts,
various chunks of styrene strip and rod for the parts visible though
the tail opening and small brass 1/8" jewelry rings or 1/32" brass rod
will come in handy also. You'll need the 1/24 aftermarket decals you
have chosen and color copier compatible decal film by Microscale. This
film comes in white and clear 8.5" x 11" sheets. We'll be using the
both for this project (items #02-1 (white) & #02-0 (clear)) and I suggest
at least two sheets of each. Addresses are included for the above suppliers
so you can have the material on hand for the next installment. Check
the local supplies first as they may already carry something that will
work as well. 
short
lengths of fine brass rod underneath for mounting tabs. Paint black
with a silver edge on the outside edge and set aside for final assembly.
The chin spoilers cover most of the running lights so painting the cast-in
oval covers gloss black will do the job in this case. 
of
the body spoiler for no reason beyond looking right to me. 
position
as the original. When dry, drill a small hole in the grille centered
at the right hand end as you face the nose. The tow loop is an 1/8"
brass jewelry ring soldered to a 0.032" brass rod or just bend a loop
in the end of the rod if you prefer. Painted red, it's glued in place
after the chassis and grilles have been painted flat black. 
coming out - perhaps some sort of computerized engine monitoring system?
I
used fine plastic coated wire painted silver for this, leaving 1/16"
of the inner copper wire sticking out of the end. A black "U"-shaped
length of styrene rod surrounds the tank horizontally; the outer curved
end is painted bright red to become the rear tow loop. The photos will
give you an idea what should be visible. Four triangular splitter strips
were added to the underside of the chassis below the tail opening. The
chassis plate and vertical strip is flat black and the exhausts are
aluminum. 
I
reduced decals from both the 1/24 scale Monogram kit and a set by Fred
Cady Design but neither fit the 1/32 scale Revell body very well. In
this particular situation, however, the easiest solution turned out
to be making the wheel openings smaller to match the decals. Fred's
decals are silk screened in individual colors so a three-color sponsor
decal, for example, is made up of three separate elements. In the case
of the Corvette, all of the numbers and sponsor decals were put in place
on top of the large red side panels before copying; the side panel was
much easier to deal with in one piece. 
Try
to group the same primary colors on the same sheet: reds with reds,
blues with blues, etc. for the best results. For this project, I added
several small sets of numbers around the edge of the ROHR decal sheet
to fill up the space, then had them run a test. Adjusting the machine
to get the best red, I had them run two copies on clear film and one
on white. Why several sets of the same markings? Because I've screwed
up decal application before this and having a second set on hand, run
at the same time to the same scale in the same color is very handy about
2 AM when you're trying to finish up a model. Why copy on white film?
The color images on the clear film go over the yellow body; the color
images on the white film are for those markings that have a white background:
the numbers, S-1, and other small sponsor decals. 
pen,
very carefully surrounding the white image on the original 1/24 scale
decal sheet with a black "edge" so the copier can "see" the white letters
(please excuse the terms; I don't know how else to say it). A photo
is included showing the 1/24 scale decals and the copies - note the
outline around the EXXON lettering. Trim the EXXON from the copy on
white film as close to the letters as possible and apply to the windscreen.
Any remaining black edge disappears against the interior. 
Microscale
has an entire line of solvents and setting solutions for their decals
and they work very well. I have heard of modelers using hair dryers
in moderation to dry decals before the application of others in the
same area but I have not done this myself. I'm usually so stressed after
one side I quit 'til the next evening anyway.