By Martin Klein
The Model Factory Hiro kit is a full detail all metal version and most parts are packed in a plastic box so that they are not damaged during transport. MFH recently increased the price significantly but after inspecting the content of the kit I think the kit is definitely worth the money. The M2 is the last of the ’84 versions that has been released by MFH and so many parts are carried over from the early versions. The M2 was only raced in the last 3 races of the season in Italy (Monza), European GP (Nürburgring) and Portugal (Estoril). With the kit you can build the Monza version. (For the races in Portugal and at the Nürburgring the front wing was changed from the delta shape to a square version similar to the one used the following year on the 156/85)
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By Omoto Kouzi
This is an outstanding work from our friend Omoto Kouzi. We hope you enjoy the pictures and encourage you to build a Tamiya McLaren 4/6. We have a tutorials about the kit, not so detailed but good guide enough for newcomers.
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By Barlas Pehlivan
The Moebius Ford Range pickup is a beautiful kit, but I wanted something more, so I decided to build a customized model. I wanted a small truck with a very weathered paint and even looking ruined by rust, and a twin wheels axle. Achieving a weathered paint would not be a problem but the rear axle of the Moebius kit is of single wheel, so I would have to search for good references and the material to represent the twin wheels axle. The aim of this brief article is to share the work accomplished.
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By Antonio Busciglio
The car I wanted to build is the Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari 2007 in the splendid livery that was used in the second part of the season, where the Ferrari fluo red used in the previous races (and years) was replaced by a stunning, very characteristic (sort of) candy metallic red.
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By Guy Golsteyn
Since it has become a bit quiet at Tamiya headquarters regarding the launch of new 1:20 F1 models, it is nice to see that manufacturers like Fujimi and Hasegawa have picked up the gauntlet releasing new F1 models on a regular base. The Hasegawa kit we will be using here is very well detailed, which means it is possible to build a fine, beautiful looking model building it 'straight from the box’.
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By Fabrice Marechal
This article aims at sharing my model construction which was built out of the box adding a personal touch, removing the chrome from plastic parts that look so unreal, and some details that advanced modelers will be able to reproduce.
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By Edwing E. Merlo Paredes
On several occasions, when surfing around HLJ, I saw the Greedy 9 on sale. To be honest, the tuning aspect of the art box showing this magnificent green Mazda RX-7, tempted me more than once, but it didn’t get me very excited cause in the short description of the kit, I realized that this is one of those models which doesn’t feature a detailed engine, and this is exactly, what I like, to get detailed engines. But, in the end, that tempting picture of the box really convinced me, thus I ordered it.
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By Antonio Busciglio
One of the most attractive aspects of modelling, in my opinion, is the detailing of mechanical parts, especially for old cars like this. So with this article I’ll share with the reader the work done in the nice Hasegawa Ferrari 312T2 1976 kit. The built model represents the car which Niki Lauda won the GP of Monaco with, over Scheckter and Depailler.
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By Andreas Rousounelis
The Range Rover is a 4x4 luxury British that first entered production in 1970, and is currently at its fourth generation. The Revell kit depicts the first generation 5-door version. In the following sentences I will share my experience building the kit and some modes I made to improve it, I hope they will be useful for others.
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By Edgardo Azzollini
The model represents the Ferrari 312/69 (0019), drove by Chris Amon (NZ), Monaco 1969, 1st practice on Thursday, May 15th 1969. This article has been written following the kit Instructions, showing pictures of each step, and it aims to be a guide for others that want to follow the same way.
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By Guy Golsteyn
Before opening the box, I advise you to take some time to admire the beautiful artwork decorating the box. True artists produce time after time gorgeous illustrations at the Tamiya factory, reflecting a perfect image of how beautiful a model you will find inside. On condition that you are willing to invest some time and effort of course. And to help you I will try to guide you through the building process to achieve this goal.
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By Juan Layos Pantoja
This is one of those kits resting on our shelves which for one reason or another, we’ve never built and perhaps one day, not knowing why, one decides to get down to work! Let me mention that it was not a straightforward kit to build, besides of being an old one, some parts don’t fit properly as it use to happen with some Tamiya kits, especially with regard to the hood which needed to be dry fitted prior to the paint body work and subsequently.
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By Guy Golsteyn
I intended to build this Ducati almost “out of box”, meaning that I won't execute any sophisticated conversions or intensive super detailing. First of all this kit is already pretty good detailed, in spite of its age, and furthermore it's not a racebike, but a classic streetbike from the ‘80s that has never heard of carbon fiber or electronic devices. The only exceptions I will allow myself are the wiring which I will replace by thinner wires to add some realism, and the joint screws at the cowling exterior...
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By Fabrice Marechal
The LaFerrari accelerates from 0-100 km/h in less than 3 seconds and has a top speed exceeding 350 kilometres per hour (220 mph). 499 copies will be produced and sold for an astronomical price more than one million euros, clearly not within everyone’s reach. So, take advantage of this opportunity Tamiya gives us to start building our own LaFerrari…at quite a considerable price…
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By Alessandro Prini
The result showed below, is a mix of Tamiya 1/24 Porsche 911 GT3, Scale Production GT3-R transkit, Quik Skins BMW M3 Gtr wheels, Scale Production and Carpena Red Bull decals sets. The Tamiya GT3 is a curbside model, lovely as usual, with the exception of the doors fenders (definitely oversized), taillights and headlights in the area of the turn signals (too simplified).
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By Guy Golsteyn
A year or so ago, Tamiya re-issued this famous 1:6 kit. Before that re-issue it used to be a very expensive and rare kit, now it suddenly became very reachable and looking at my Honda CB750 history I just had to get this one. Today has come the day that I decided to start building it. It wasn't an easy decision, because building the kit also means losing it as a kit. But ok, kits are designed to be built and not to be collected...
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By Guy Golsteyn
To be able to execute this conversion I needed a 1/24 Tamiya Porsche 936 as a base. The question was: which one? Tamiya has two kits available: the 1977 Porsche 936 and the 1978 Porsche 936. More research learned me that the Porsche 908/80 in fact turns out to be a mixture of both models. The overall shape of the Porsche 908/80 comes closest to the 1977 Porsche 936, with the high side wings holding a large rear spoiler. But behind the air scoop of the 1977 Porsche are four air intakes which are not present on the 908/80. The central air intake, escorted by two air intakes to both sides and covered by some protective mesh caps are identical as shown on the 1978 model. So I decided to use the 1977 model as a base on which I made the 1978 adaptations. Finally I could start modeling!
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By Alessandro Prini
A mule or prototype car is used to test new materials and engineering concepts, so many details on the final car do not appear on the prototype. In the case of the 911 GT1, the first prototype car tested a new composite fiber material called Duroplast, and it was used on the car nose only. Over a period of eight months, between the end of 1995 and beginning of 1996, Porsche AG started testing its new 911 intended for the GT1 class. Although the styling of the GT1 retains some resemblance with the conventional 911, it is not the usual 911 but a highly advanced pure race version.
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By Edgardo Azzollini
This article aims at sharing with the reader, my experience building the model that represents the car which won the 1967 Italian Grand Prix in the hands of John Surtees. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the step by step pictures I’ve been taking, the article will be based on commenting them.
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By Mario Covalski
One of the biggest challenges for a modeler who builds motorcycles in 1/12 scale, is to modify a wire wheel and make it look realistic; specially without having to buy an aftermarket kit. Anyway, there are no kits for this kind of modification (except for one of the Acu-stion for the Tamiya XV1600 kit), so it's not possible to get one. So any modeler attempting to do this task must rely in his/her ability in order, to get a good result.
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By Fabrice Marechal
ABT Sportsline is a motor racing and auto tuning company based in Kempten im Allgäu, Germany. ABT mainly deals with Audi, and the related primary Volkswagen Group brands - Volkswagen, Škoda, and SEAT. It was clear that ABT would not be satisfied just by preparing the new Golf but they would give to the Volkswagen Golf GTI a special treatment as the king of the compacts deserve.
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By Fabrice Marechal
In 1991 Mazda became the first Japanese manufacturer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Mazda was also the only that produced rotary engines for competition use. Tamiya have offered the 787B chassis #002 in its 1991 Le Mans “Charge” livery. The kit of this article is a reissue of the white 787 and 787B that competed at Le Mans in 1991. Note that #18 is 787B chassis 001, whilst #56 is 787 chassis 002. The 18 finished 6th and 56 finished 8th overall at the 1991 Le Mans race.
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By Mario Covalski
For those who are motorcycles´ lovers, every Tamiya´s new release is full of expectations …and excitement. The Hayabusa Yoshimura couldn't be the exception, after the success, her "sister", the factory version, had. The goal of this article, is to make comments step by step with photos of the parts and assemblies about some modifications or additions which I'm sure, will be useful, specially for beginners.
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By Guy Golsteyn
It has been a while since I last built a rally car model in 1/24 scale. Well, I will not tease the rally fans any longer and get to work: I decided to use a CBCom transkit to convert a Ford Escort group A into a Ford Escort WRC. I'm talking about the Ford Escort used by Belgian rally drivers Patrick Snijers and Dany Colebunders during the 1997 Circuit des Ardennes Rally which unfortunately they didn't finish.
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By Edwing E. Merlo Paredes
First of all, it’s necessary to take a look inside the box to be sure if the content is complete and in perfect conditions. One of the most common and discouraging problems is that once the project has started, we can find out that there are broken or missing parts.
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By Mario Covalski
Three years ago I bought Chevron's conversion trilogy for the Ferrari 312T to T2 '77, the Tyrrell '76 to '77, and the M23 '74 to '76.
Within a year, I built the two first kits and let the McLaren for the "proper" moment (inspiration, motivation, etc.).
A few months ago I had the opportunity to convince a Japanese modeler, Mr. Kenji Yagi, to translate a few pages of the instruction manual for me. This translation is available with the PDF version of this tutorial.
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By Edwing E. Merlo Paredes
There are many Harley Davidson kits available from different manufacturers, but without any doubt Tamiya have produced the best versions. I refer to model kits, comprising a lot of parts, which were developed with a high level of detail and match the original models. And if that were not enough, in 1/6 scale. The Tamiya's Harley(s) were born at the beginning of the 70s, time when large scale models were preferred by hobby modelers. Nevertheless, the design of those models was adapted to the demands and techniques of those times and of course, they are completely different from nowadays assembling techniques. This means that today modelers will have to face certain obstacles at the time of giving the model a realistic look.
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By Guy Golsteyn
I have been collecting all the 1:20 Tamiya F1 kits since Tamiya started producing them back in 1978, but the McLaren M23 was missing from my collection because I had the clever idea to trade the finished model for a bow and arrows once I finished it. So I have been looking for it since ages, until I discovered Ebay some 25 years later. I paid quite a high price to complete my collection with the one missing kit, but it was the very last that I needed, so what the heck.
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By Mario Covalski
In 1993 I had in my hands the 1/12 Ligier kit by Heller; I was about to buy it but the decal sheets were too old and in bad condition. Since that moment, I've always had in my mind the idea of building a model of the JS11 (which impressed me when I saw it in 1979), and detail it as much as possible, because these Heller kits are really poor in quality and inaccurate. So, a few months ago, while I was talking with an importer, I saw the box in his office and the idea came back back to my mind. Needless to say that a few hours later I was examining the kit in my house.
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By Crescenzo Consolato
Since time ago, I had in mind to build this Tamiya kit with a higher level of detail trying to replicate the F189 which ran in the 1989 Portuguese GP. Although it’s widely known that the Tamiya kits come highly detailed offering a very good quality, I had to make several improvements to match this one to this Portuguese GP version. The reason is because this Tamiya kit represents a F189 of the early season.
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By Mario Covalski
This article aims at providing the beginner a complementary guideline, apart from the Tamiya instruction's manual, including photos of a detailed and quality enough model to encourage him/her in what we could call a hard and laborious work.... facing for the first time with a Tamiya's box.....with a 1/12th inside.
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By Martin Klein
The 312T2 Monaco ’76 is Hasegawa’s the first 1/20 Formula 1 kit so I was very curious about the quality. After inspecting all parts the summary from my point of view is that Hasegawa did a magnificent job. All parts are very detailed and will result in a nice model without any modification. On the other hand the level of detail provided gives the opportunity to add more detail and thus realism and this is the path that I am going to follow.
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By Nicolas Perez Fiorentini
The model I built represents the motorcycle in the first five races of the 2004 championship. In this model I added all possible scratchbuilt details, no etched parts, resin ones…etc. In the article below, you will have a clear explanation about how I made and added every new part, cable, electronic box,…etc
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By Mario Covalski
The first Catherham from Tamiya coming to my hands at the end of 1994, was the “Cycle Fender Special” (10202), since the “Super Seven BDR was out of stock, and it was impossible for me to get it from the stores I used to buy kits. From that moment on, my affair with which, I think is the best scale car kit ever produced, began. And here my comment: probably, you have seen better detailed kits, or even superb models limited editions.
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By Edwing E. Merlo Paredes
I built this model as per instructions except when I used the Hobby Design detail set and some extra part. This article is devoted to novices so as to help them to build, which is perhaps, their first F1 model.
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By Davide Negretti
Second consecutive precious chance to verify the efforts of the firm Studio27, again a very recent release. It’s a multimedia kit, according to the Manufacturer standards, curbside version. As usual, the quality of any single component is not bad. The bodywork, made of grey resin, shows a fine surface, rather clean, no air bubble or distortions are present. Engraving is not perfect and somewhat on the soft side. Shape seems well captured.
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By Edwing E. Merlo Paredes
Gunze Sangyo offer us two high quality kits, good plastic injection and excellent fit, but unfortunately comprising not a great deal of details, just the bare essentials. Nevertheless, parts are made out of top quality plastic with no flashes, showing a few mould marks which can be easily removed by sanding.
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By Mario Covalski
This article aims at offering an illustrated guide, with pictures, explaining step by step the tasks that should be done, how to and the reasons, it’s basically a visual guide, based on the construction of two MG models: the 2002 Ferrari and the 2003- GA.
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By Mario Covalski
This is the 1/8 Chevrolet Opala SS 1976 from the Salvat Publisher. It’s basically an Opel Rekord born from the fusion between GM and Opel during the ’70. As far as I know, it was only manufactured under the name Opala in Brazil, in two versions, 4 cylinders and 6 cylinders. It looks like a big car for a 4-cylinder engine but you have to consider that it had 2.5 liters of displacement and 80CV. It was available with two types of engine: 4-cylinder "Iron Duke", and 6-cylinder 250 cubic inches, both derived from the Chevrolet Impala offered in USA. According to its manufacturers, this combination was the one that gave the name to this car, since “Opala” can be presumed as an acronym of the name “Opel Impala”, because the Opala was an Opel, with Impala engine.
By Mario Covalski
This is the 1/8 Ford Falcon 1963 from the Salvat Publisher. The model is provided in 100 weekly fascicles, each one includes history and parts to build the model. The model is mostly made of diecast and plastic parts, is heavy as 9 or 10Kg, but lacks of details, mostly in the engine bay area, and some parts are odd represented. So I added lot of them, fuel lines wiring...etc.
By Edwing E. Merlo Paredes
In this tutorial I’ve made a road vehicle version with own elements of a rally car, and decorated with the Gulf emblems and colors. The kit used to build this model is the Tamiya 1/24 that ran in Monte Carlo rally 1967 (#24048). It’s cheap and is being manufacturing from time to time and can be easily purchased in many online shops
By Edwing E. Merlo Paredes
The Fiat Abarth 695 ‘esseesse’, classic, is one of the most popular European sport cars in automotive history. Its tiny size and body are among its main identity and attractive features. As was to be expected, Tamiya was one of the brands that offered the icon with Italian accent, creating a simple and funny kit with good details and lot of possibilities for modifications with improvements sets and/or scratch. The version presented in this tutorial is a road car with sport details and customized. It’s a type of vehicle that can be found today in concentrations or classic cars rallies.
By Mario Covalski
By Mark Laird
For years I wanted to build the 1/12 Bandai STP Turbine car. It is very unique piece of Indianapolis history, but the price that they were bringing was just more than I was willing to spend. I was lucky enough to find a complete kit on eBay for 200 US dollars. It was a “Buy it Now”, so I purchased it, and waited for it to arrive.
By Fabrice Marechal
The Porsche 917 is a Paddock kit that is no longer commercially available. It's sometimes available on collector sites such as Modelart111. The body has been completely reworked at the level of the vents, all was perforated. The body was painted with Gulf Gravity Colors blue, the orange decals were then applied and retouched with a brush with X-6 Tamiya orange. The body was then clearcoated with 2-component Zero Paint varnish. Here pictures I have taken during the build.
By Fabrice Marechal
The Ferrari Dino 206 is a Le Phoenix kit which is no longer available commercially and very difficult to find even on collector sites. As the Porsche 917, all air vents have been perforated. The bodywork was first painted in red with DS Colors and blue stripes delimited and painted Gulf blue also from DS Colors. The white lines were made using white decals. The body was then varnished with 2-component DS Colors. Here pictures I have taken during the build.
By Fabrice Marechal
The kit has been completely reworked so that the front and rear cover and the wheels can be removed and re-placed, I have shared a video to show it. Details have been added to the engine, such as spark plug wires and fuel lines etc. The rest of the build was completely done out of the box, less the necessary modifications to make workable the mentioned parts. The bodywork was painted with Ferrari red from Gravity Colors Spain and has been varnished with 2-component lacquer also from Gravity Colors Spain. Here pictures I have taken during the build.
By Fabrice Marechal
Revell have going on offering Super cars and luxury reproductions in 1/24 scale, this article will be about the Porsche Panamera Turbo. I’ll not extend in a complete kit review , however every time I open a Revell box, the first things I examine are: the bodywork, the brakes and wheels. For these last ones, it must be recognized that Revell have improved them. The wheels size is correct and not undersized as it happened at times, besides they are molded in a single part. What still doesn’t’ like me is the chromed they’re provided with, lack of realism and adds extra work to the modeller. Unfortunately, the brakes are not well represented. This tutorial aims at showing with images the steps I followed to correct the problems and get the finished model.
By Antonio Busciglio
The model I wanted to build was the version that ran on the Tour de Corse in 1984 season, driven by Attilio Bettega (who lost its life in the same car during the 1985 season) with Cresto as a co driver. The Martini livery makes this car absolutely stunning, but also quite demanding for the modeler. Moreover, the only plastic kit available on the market is the not so recent Hasegawa kit. In my opinion It’s quite well designed, easy to assemble parts, good general fitting, good materials quality. However...
By Fabrice Marechal
Certainly, Italeri offer us a kit that, once finished, is really a beautiful and shocking model due to its size, we are not accustomed to seeing a Fiat 500 in 1/12 scale. There is very little to be changed or improved to make the most of it. Unfortunately, some construction steps are not easy to understand and instructions are not always clear. In this respect, Italeri did nothing to facilitate the modelers’ work, and assembling the headlights, window frames, bodywork, etc., are a bit complicated. I built the model almost out of the box, enhancing the painting and assembling was correct and error free as far as possible, and I think it will be an excellent guide for those who want to face this project, having in advance the difficulties you’ll have to face and a good painting guide.
By Fabrice Marechal
When I received the Revell kit, I realized about its qualities but also about its weak points. And the main, is the way the vent grilles present in the front mudguards, the hood and especially on the front bumpers were represented; and the singular design of the front grille. I invite you to follow the images of this model construction, which was laborious, but with a worthwhile final result!
By Alessandro Prini
A photo gallery of other model from the master!
By Mario Covalski
These are the new times of Pocher, hand in hand with Hornby, the brand that offer models which represent high technology subjects as Lamborghini cars and Ducati motorcycles. Manufactured by Ixo, the Chinese company, they are the fashion of the time, huge 1/8 scale cars with metal body and chassis, already painted (luckily!). They compete with Amalgam and other brands with less expectations but to fit any budget and if you have some experience as model builder, the result will be acceptable and even excellent. The aim of this tutorial is to share the step by step in the Lamborghini Huracán construction, the last Pocher issue explaining the work achieved so that it may be useful for less experienced modelers and collectors.
By Mario Covalski
The aim of this article is to share with the reader the pictures I’ve been taking during the build. It’s NOT a step by step since I worked following a DVD provided by Paul Koo, a friend of mine, which was of good help. However, I think that there were missing things as a better paint description and several problems I’ve found which were not explained in the DVD.
By Barlas Pehlivan
The Moebius Ford Range pickup is a beautiful kit, but I wanted something more, so I decided to build a customized model. I wanted a small truck with a very weathered paint and even looking ruined by rust, and a twin wheels axle. Achieving a weathered paint would not be a problem but the rear axle of the Moebius kit is of single wheel, so I would have to search for good references and the material to represent the twin wheels axle. The aim of this brief article is to share the work accomplished.
By Fabrice Marechal
When I assembled the Mirage IIIC, I used several products from Ammo Mig. Though I was very satisfied with the result, I decided to use AK Interactive products for the 918 to have a different experience. Certainly Revell have improved the wheels quality and their design but improvements don’t always mean accuracy and I have my doubts about size accuracy of wheels, so I replaced them with the Plamoz ones. I invite you to follow this Porsche model build where I only made two changes in the body to get the result you see here.
By Antonio Busciglio
In this article, I want to share how I detailed the 1/20 McLaren MP4/2 as ran (and won) the 1984 F1 championship. The car I wanted to reproduce is the Lauda’s, only driver to have won the championship after a retirement and a subsequent coming back to the races (notably, Lauda is also the only driver that won a world championship after receiving the last rites, after its terrible accident in 1976).
By Mario Covalski