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Dienstag, 7. April 2026

FORD GT40 Replicas Slot Cars - Part 2

FORD GT40 Ronnie Bucknum / Dick Hutcherson 24h Le Mans 1966 #5

Would you prefer making your own slot car over a manufactured? Not sure, but it seemed interesting and challenging after some original AFX GT40 became collector items selling for a fortune. Secondly not all were issued with the clear bodies. The clear bodies gave the GT40 an extremely realistic appearance because all the glass parts sat flash with the body. These cars also feature an inlet with the printed interieur.

One of the many FORD GT40 at the 24h Le Mans in1966 that stands out because of its golden body and pink accents is the #5 driven by Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson finished 3rd overall. Indycals provides decals for some of the GT40 at the 24h Le Mans 1966, also for that particular car by Holman & Moody.

Another interesting fact is that there is a nice selection of paint available resembling the original color of specific cars and brands. Gravity color offers a candy gold used for Ford GT40 MK II with chassis number “GT40P/1016” driven by Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson in Le Mans ’66.

Adding to the Indycals decals individual decals for glass trim and headlights were made and professionally printed by Decals Print.

Making these models is a very time-consuming process. Especially preparing the bodies by stripping the paint from the factory bodies can be frustrating. With the more accurate paint and vivid colored decals the models gain in quality. For the modeler is nice to see what can be achieved.

I wish AFX would make more clear bodies available again. There are some many interesting liveries from various teams to be recreated on a slot car

Der drittplatzierte Holman-Moody-Ford GT40 Mk.II mit der Startnummer 5 beim Boxenstopp. Der auf der Mauer stehende Dick Hutcherson wartet auf seinen Einsatz ZANTAFIO56 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/zantafio56/4770899521/ 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Donnerstag, 26. März 2026

FORD GT40 Replicas Slot Cars - Part 1

FORD GT40 Ken Miles Denis Hulme 24h Le Mans 1966

The Tomy AFX Racing FORD GT40 are compelling slot cars in scale h0. Some models were released with clear bodies. Clear bodies were made available for the hobbyist. (Unfortunately, there is no information to be found on the internet about the releases). Looking back, I should have bought more off the clear FORD GT40 while they had been available.

After AFX produced a new GT40 clear body series, it seemed appropriate to stock up some models for upcoming projects. The idea was stripping the bodies and customize rare and thought after releases. At the time some modesl sold for a fortune on the internet. One would be the FORD GT40 driven by Ken Miles and Denis Hulme at the 24h Le Mans 1967 had to be amongst the remakes.

Generally, decals for the models are also customized. From experience most decals available will not suit the h0 slot cars. Based on decals for a larger scale proportions would not fit the h0 bodies. In case of the FORD GT40 projects Indycals decals were a perfect fit.

Gravity Color provide the matching color for many cars and also for this projects. The blue on pictures off the real car seemed to be much lighter than the blue one the AFX version. Hawaiian Blue was recommended by Gravity Color for the #1 car.

A much more difficult task was stripping the clear bodies. Removing the paint without blinding the clear took several attempts and sacrifices. The different models would show various reactions to different the paint remover. On some Isopropanol would do the job while on others would only react to stronger paint remover.

Time and resources invested in a project can only be justified by the desire for creating desired models. This why it is a hobby. The AFX FORD GT40 replicas are unique. At the same time it would be difficult to distinguish the customized car from the original if not seen thru the eyes of an enthusiast.

Von ZANTAFIO56 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/zantafio56/4771000677/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

Each and every project provides new learnings and sets new goals. The challenge is mainly archiving modells that would resemble a close version of the real car or object. Sometimes a bigger challenge would be not giving up. The steps working on and finishing a model creates the pleasure one can only experience from personal achievement. Keep on modeling.

#FORDGTLEMANS #FORDGTKenMiles #LEMANS1966 #SLOTCARH0 #MODELLRENNBAHN

Freitag, 29. April 2022

ACAR Ferrari 330 P3 Le Mans 1967

ACAR Custom Slot Car im Maßstab 1:64 - Ferrari 330 P3 Le Mans 1967

Ferrari 330 P3 h0 Slot Car Customs - Sometimes good things don´t come easy

Maybe I should start with a confession. I am not interested in real cars. Or maybe, I was interested in cars until my early twenties. Modern cars do not appeal to me. And I do not see myself fixing Oldtimers. Slot cars provide the grounds to explore that passion for older race cars in a small scale. I like to relive the period and replicate the feeling of races in the 1960s and 1970s until the early 1980s.

Ferrari 330 P3 Custom h0 Slot Cars coming around the bend

Ferrari 330 P3 Custom h0 Slot Le Mans 1967

My interests goes beyond the slot car models. For me the cars come alive once placed in the according surrounding. Looking at railroad modelling you will find that landscape, architecture and trains replicate a period. Space for landscape and structures, trees, hill, all the detailing will add to that illusion. I wanted to explore that path with slot cars. Even though 1:32 would provide a larger variety of cars, the larger scale would limit the options landscaping and modelling to scale.

Ferrari 330 P3 Custom h0 Slot Cars accelerating on to the straight

Slot Car Model Ferrari 330 P3 Le Mans 1967

Now, to overcome the limitations in slot cars available in h0 or rather 1:64 I am always on the hunt for desired models. The Ferrari 330 P3 is one of them. I was very excited when models of the Ferrari 330 P3 popped up on the internet in forums.

Ferrari 330 P3 Custom h0 Slot Cars close up

Ferrari 330 P3 Le Mans 1967 # 21 SpA Ferrari SEFAC (I)

The body was offered by C&R Racing Bob Raymond. I had bought Ryotaro Endo Le Mans bodies and the best decals ever from Bob before. Luckily, he would respond and sell two bodies to me. Like many others the bodies retired in one of my project boxes, before they were made into two of the four Ferrari that entered the famous race at Le Mans in 1967 (Ford winning the race for the first time).

Ferrari 330 P3 #21 Le Mans 1967 Driven by Willy Mairesse (B) and Jean Beurlys (B)

Ferrari 330 P3 #21 Ludovico Scarfiotti (I) and Mike Parkes (GB) finishing in 2nd place

The body was in need for some treatment. Most importantly the chassis mounts had to be removed to lower the body. What could have been a simple task, ended up being difficult. The Aurora AFX G- Plus chassis was the choice for the build. In the end I did want to paint the rims golden, to underline the slot car look. It might change at some point.

Ferrari 330 P3 #24 Le Mans 1967 Driven by Willy Mairesse (B) and Jean Beurlys (B)

Ferrari 330 P3 Le Mans 1967 #24 Equipe Nationale Belge (B) finishing in 3rd place

It might not have been the last 330 P3 I made. I really like the looks and there are many more to replicate with interesting liveries. Besides the Ferraris, there are several other cars of the 24h Le Mans 1967 that should materialize in the future. I still have two Mirage M1 Gary Fast casted and I waiting for the Chaparral 2F he is working on. Some cars of the race have been made, all four GT40 MKiV and some Porsche 906 Carrera.