1/20 1936/37 Auto Union Tipo C - Reveal

[DRUMS01]

It seems like it's been a long time coming (at least for me) but the 36 Auto Union is ready for her final reveal.  Revival initially made all metal (almost all) kits like this being originally molded in the late 70's or early 80's. Normally the bodies come pre-painted and the wheels already spoked. This build was completely stripped to the metal and all seams and ejection marks filled. In addition, many, many items within the body have been sctatchbuilt including the dash and entire footwell. All of the kits hoses have been tossed and scale correct plumbing added based on source photos. The driver was a mix of three 1/20 and one 1/18 figure mashed together and shaped to fit the cockpit while holding the steering wheel and shifter. I could drag out the thread on every minute detail regarding the numerous scratch built or modified items, but I will let the images do the talking this time.

Here is how the car looked after rubber was mounted and final details added under the front bonnet and rear engine cover. The car is fully plumbed and wired.



This provides a good view of the front suspension and grill. The thin grill spokes were black plastic that was highlighted with a silver permanent marker.



Here is the view that most every other racer saw when competing against it. You can also see that the seam through the body center is G-O-N-E.



In this photo you can see the determination on the drivers face, a man on a mission.



This is the flag man who was once a modern F1 team manager. I think the conversion turned out credible (IMHO).



And these are some neat photos at the family reunion, or should I say Family Auto-re-Union.



Distance cousins, but you can see the family DNA.



The display base after the remaining layers and details were added then the routed edges painted black.



This is my completed 1/20 1936 Auto Union molded by Revival. If you have followed the build thread found in FSM, ISM, and Open Wheeled Modeling Forums you will know the amount of scratch building, modifying, and build issues associated with this kit. Because of the mixed media, poor fit issues, difficult instructions, and in some cases extremely small parts, I would only recommend this kit to veteran builders that are experienced with older die-cast kits, and want to have a challenge. Nuff said, here it is: 












Ben / DRUMS01

[Bomber_County]

Absolutely stunning, congratulations 

[Landlubber Mike]

Ben, sorry I didn't see this earlier, wow!  What an amazing build and diorama!  And I know this particular Revival kit isn't the easiest to build, at least from what I've read.

If you don't mind me asking, what paint did you use?  It looks really spot on.  I like this version with the four rear tires.  I have the kit and only thought it built up with four tires total, but I'm looking at the directions online and it shows the six-tire option as well.

Love the figures too by the way and the diorama base, what a great touch!  

[GazzaS]

Whoa, dude!   You got some skillz!

 

[belugawhaleman]

VERY COOL,  love it!  Wonderfully interesting subject..... Those big Auto-Union racers...

magical!

[harv]

Wow, I love it !!.....harv 🏆

[DRUMS01]

Thank you very much BOMBER_COUNTRY, HARV, and GAZZAS, glad you like the results. I also provided the build like if you want to see all the problems and extra things tossed at the kit. It started as a labor of love, but quickly turned into a challenge, ok actually fight. I've built several Revival kits and I believe this one will be my last. Regardless, I'm glad it's done and at least to a level which can be displayed.

You are absolutely correct LANDLUBBER-Mike, this is not one of Revival's best kits. For numerous reasons, I would only recommend this to an experience Revival modeler who likes challenges. As for the color, metal body Revival kits come pre-painted. Mine paint had imperfections as well as flash in it along with a large seam like what you would see in the fuselage of a poorly molded aircraft. So after stripping the paint I primed it with Tamiya primer then painter it with rattle can Krylon Aluminum. Believe me, it would've looked even more impressive if the clear coat did not have a reaction changing the metal aluminum finish to resemble a German Gray metallic finish. The finny thing is the final finish is much more accurate than the Revival color of the straight aluminum, so everything worked out. They only used the four rear tires in the European Hillclimb sessions of the Grand Prix series. 

Thanks you too BELUGAWHALEMAN. T was drawn to the rear engine and dual wheels in the pre-WW2 period, but after doing my research on the actual cars, I was even more impressed with not on the vehicles, but also the drivers and race results. I provided a link to the build string which has some good information on the car, engine design, and driver.

 

Till next time....

Ben / DRUMS01

Edited September 27, 2022 by DRUMS01
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[Peterpools]

Outstanding work in every respect. Beautifully done