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 Just
over 30 years ago my first "model car" story was
published in the small, mimeographed (remember those?) club
newsletter of Collector's Automotive Replica Society (C.A.R.S.).
It was a small story, too, on the available 1/43 scale models
of the Ford GT; there were only three, Solido's 1964 prototype,
Mebetoys 1966 Mark II, and Solido's 1967 Sebring Mark IV.
Somehow that led to BH asking me to write the "history"
part of the instruction sheet for the GPM GT40 Mark II kit,
a mistake he never made again. It never even occurred to me
that 30 years later I'd still be writing about model cars
and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine kits of the kind
we have today. Nor did I imagine that my Ford GT collection
would eventually include every variant and most sub-variants
of the car! That GPM kit of the 1966 Le Mans winning GT40
was really something for its day, with a total of 36 parts
counting the screws and axles but the new Marsh Models kit
of the Gurney/Grant 1966 Sebring car has more photo-etched
pieces than that! Incidentally, I still have my GPM Mark II
and it still looks quite respectable among all the newer kits.
After reluctantly
realizing that the Ford GT's original DOHC "Indy"
V-8 was never going to last for 24 hours at Le Mans and that
even a "Cobra-ized" 289 wasn't going to keep up
with the Ferrari prototypes, Ford and Kar Kraft engineers
stuffed a big "NASCAR" 427 V-8 into a GT40's engine
bay for the 1965 Le Mans race. It didn't last, of course,
but Phil Hill shattered the lap record during qualifying and
ran away from everybody while the big-block V-8 stayed bolted
together. Ford management looked at the results, brought Shelby-American
on board, and began (at last!) an extensive development programme
for the chassis, body panels, and engine. Kar Kraft redesigned
the rear structure, Shelby and Kar Kraft developed what amounted
to a completely new body that really was stable at over 200
mph, and Ford engineers ran the 427 through Le Mans simulations
for 24 and then for 48 continuous hours.
The big-block
Ford, now designated the GT40 Mark II, was ready for the 1966
Daytona 24-Hours and won handily. But the factory Ferraris
were absent and there was a faction within Ford that still
thought the lighter Mark I with its 289 engine was better
suited to Le Mans.
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Ford sent two
teams of Mark IIs to Sebring and brought the well-prepared
Alan Mann Mark 1's over for comparison. The Ferrari team was
on hand, too, with their new 330P3's. Sebring would decide
which car Ford would send to Le Mans.
It wasn't
much of a decision; Dan Gurney put the #2 Shelby-prepared
Mark II on the pole, and although the Ferraris took an early
race lead, both factory Ferraris blew their engines before
the three-hour mark trying to keep ahead of the big blue Ford.
Dan had the better part of a lap lead over team mate Ken Miles
in the only Mark II "roadster" built when he took
the white flag, but with true Gurney luck, his engine expired
within sight of the chequered flag. While the grandstands
watched Dan pushing the big blue Ford toward the finish line,
Miles flashed past to take his second straight 1966 win (he'd
already won Daytona). It was all for nought; after Dan won
an earlier race by crossing the line on the starter motor,
Sebring's rules were changed to require that the car be running
at the end of 12 hours. Dan didn't even get second; he was
disqualified for pushing the car across the line!
By this time
anyone who's read more than a couple issues of FSW knows that
I'm a Ford fanatic and that Dan Gurney is one of my all-time
favourite drivers - make that favourite persons! When Marsh
Models announced a model of Dan's Sebring "almost winner"
(MMK004) I had to have one! I haven't yet met a Marsh Models
kit that I haven't liked, and this one is no exception. The
body and interior tub are cast in the familiar light tan resin,
but are unusually thin - almost as thin as a plastic kit!
The tyres and inner wheel halves are black resin castings,
too, while the outer wheel rims are machined aluminium. There
are 13 white-metal castings, including accurate wheel centres,
and about 60 photo-etched parts, not all of which are used
on this kit. The "exploded view" instructions are
quite sufficient to build this relatively simple kit, and
include complete painting information and an actual paint
chip, something I really wish other companies would copy!
I did find it just a bit difficult
to figure out exactly which photo-etched piece to use, though
- two of the three p.e. "trees" had the same number
so Marsh's tree number/part number system didn't work. After
some elimination I was able to figure out which parts were
really wanted.
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The
resin castings had virtually no flash, just "ragged edges"
inside the window openings and wheel arches, and the only
mould lines were small ones on the lower edges of the body
and the top of the interior tub. White-metal castings were
just as good, although there was a bit of flash on the instrument
panel. It was thin and easily filed away; all in all, I spent
less than 10 minutes getting the parts ready to wash. Marsh
did omit the small louvers at the rear centre of the roof
- photos at Sebring show them clearly, and if you wish, they
could be scribed into the body shell at this point (the old
GPM kit has them!). Since they should actually be raised above
the roof, I ignored the omission. By the way, because the
body and tub are really thin, don't use hot water for the
washup! A test fit showed that the interior tub didn't quite
meet the body sides at the top (this will vary with individual
castings) so I warmed it a bit with a hair dryer until I could
bend the sides out slightly. No problem; a 1-minute fix!
There were
absolutely no blemishes on the body! I simply block-sanded
the first primer coat and it was ready to paint. No putty,
no "dabs" of primer, and no spot priming. I did
glue the big rear deck spoiler on before priming the body
but left the rear deck brake scoops off; it's difficult to
sand under things like the scoops and "paint fuzz"
tends to build up there.
Injection-moulded
plastic bodies don't come any better than this! Marsh recommends
a European Ford colour (Cobalt blue) and includes an actual
paint chip. Gurney's car was painted Ford "Guardsman
Blue" and the paint chip is just a shade too blue; for
lack of a better description, Guardsman Blue has a slightly
"greenish" hue. Anyway, American modelers can get
Guardsman Blue (#6436) from Model Car World. I was careful
to give the rear scoops a coat of paint each time the body
got a coat and they were glued in place before the final wet
coat.
The decals
are very simple, easy to apply, fit perfectly, and snuggled
down well with a mild solvent. Since race cars weren't rolling
artwork back in 1966, I chose to wax the model after the decals
were applied rather than give it a clear top coat. The wax
I used called "The Treatment" (TTSPRAY) apparently
softened the decals; I "polished off" a couple of
pieces of white and had to carefully work others back down
snug. Can't blame that on the decals; I should have checked
first.
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The decal sheet includes
the ventilated center sections of the seats and the thin blue
circles for the Goodyear "Blue Streak" decals. I
looked at lots of photos and as far as I can determine, Marsh
is correct in providing the Prototype class markings (white
rectangle with black "P") for the right side of
the car. Note that there are more illumination lights (photo-etched
"dots") on that side too; photos show that Marsh
is correct there, too. The adjusters for the rear spoiler
are either chrome or bare metal; they're engraved on the spoiler
so I carefully scraped the paint away with an X-Acto knife.
Although colour-coded knock-offs were used at Le Mans in '66
I don't see any evidence of them on the Sebring cars.
Each panel
of glass fits separately from inside the body. Trim carefully
and you get a good, flush fit. I had no problems at all during
"final assembly"; glue the interior to the body,
make sure the wheels tuck inside, and drop in the baseplate.
Marsh has
made several GT40 Mark II models and the overall lines and
proportions look perfect to me - and I'm pretty critical when
it comes to Ford models! Except for those missing rooftop
louvers, the details are all right on the money, and there
are enough of them (photo-etched radiator face, body latches,
side lights, etc.) to make a very realistic model, but one
that's still quite easy to build. I spent about 10 hours building
my kit and would think that should be about average. Marsh
did make this model as a factory built many years ago, but
is now only available in kit form. I contend that anyone can
build these kits.
Now, John
- how about that Daytona-winning Mark II roadster? Actually,
Marsh made that one only in factory-built form many years
ago and it's a prized part of my collection, but I'm sure
there are many other Ford fans out there who would love one
too.
Not to mention a re-issue of the Mk4 and the addition of the
68/69 Gulf Wyer Le Mans winners? - Ed
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