Hasegawa 1/24 Porsche 962C

^{The Porsche 956 was developed in late 1981, the intention of Porsche was to run the car in both the World Sportscar Championship and the North American IMSA GTP Championship. However IMSA GTP regulations differed from Group C and subsequently the 956 was banned from participating in IMSA events. To make the 956 eligible under the IMSA regulations, Porsche extended the 956's wheelbase to make room for the pedal box. A steel roll cage was also integrated into the new aluminum chassis. For an engine, the Porsche 934-derived Type-935 2.8L flat-6 was used with air cooling and a single Kühnle, Kopp und Kausch AG K36 turbocharger instead of the twin K27 turbochargers of the Group C 956, as twin-turbo systems were not allowed in IMSA's GTP class at the time.}

^{The newer Andial built 3.2L fuel injected Flat-6 would be placed in the 962 by the middle of 1985 for IMSA GT, which made the car more competitive against Jaguar. However it would not be until 1986 that the 2.6L unit from the 956 was replaced in the World Sportscar Championship, using 2.8L, 3.0L, and 3.2L variants with dual turbochargers. The cars run under World Sportscar Championship regulations were designated as 962C to separate them from their IMSA GTP counterparts.. The 3.2L unit, which had been eligible under IMSA's Group 3 engine rules was banned in IMSA by 1987. In 1988, to counteract against the factory Nissans and the threat of withdrawal from Porsche teams, watercooled twin turbo Porsche engines would be allowed back but with 36 mm restrictors.}

^{Modifications}

^{Due to the sheer numbers of 962s, some teams took it upon themselves to adapt the car to better suit their needs or to remain more competitive against the competition. These modifications included new bodywork for better aerodynamic efficiency, while others changed mechanical elements. Long-time Porsche campaigner Joest Racing heavily modified a pair of 962s for the IMSA GTP Championship in 1993 to better compete against Jaguar, taking the 962s final sprint race victory (Road America) that season.}

^{Privately-built 962s}

^{Among the most popular privately-built 962s was that from Kremer Racing, termed the 962CK6. 11 total were built, campaigned by Kremer and other teams. John Thompson designed a chassis for Brun Motorsport, eight of which were built and helped the team take second in the World Sportscar Championship in 1987. Thompson would later build two chassis for Obermaier Racing. Richard Lloyd Racing's GTI Engineering would turn to Peter Stevens and Nigel Stroud to develop four 962C GTis, which featured entirely revised aero. Former factory Porsche driver Vern Schuppan would also build five new chassis, some known as TS962s.}

^{In the United States, the ball got rolling when Holbert Racing began making modifications to their own chassis and rebadging them with "962 HR-" serial numbers. The search was always on for a stiffer and safer 962 monocoque and Jim Busby contracted Jim Chapman to build a more robust version of the 962 monocoque. Fabcar would become the defacto factory tub supplier, supplying chassis with official Porsche serial numbers. Fabcar incorporated changes to the factory tub replacing the simple sheet aluminum construction with sheet ali and aluminum honeycomb in addition to billet aluminum bulkheads, all of which substantially increased the tub's crashworthiness as well as stiffness. Dyson Racing purchased a Richard Lloyd Racing/GTi Engineering 962 monocoque for use in their Porsche 962 DR-1 chassis. A Fabcar tub was used in Dyson's Porsche 962 DR-2.}

This particular kit is a curbside, meaning it has no engine. I also think it is a Hasegawa kit as all the sprues were packed in a single polybag. Tamiya's kit, though similar to this, would have had separate sprues and Revell AG has a deal where it reboxes Hasegawa kits. The Made in Japan label on the side of the box indicates it must be one of the two.

The interior is nicely done with decals for the harness and the tach. The raised instrument detail allows for additional highlighting if you so wish. Wheels are white plastic with rubber or vinyl tires. The detailing on all the parts is quite good. The one-piece upper body is well molded and free of any defects, at least none that were readily apparent. Ejector pin marks on the various bits are mostly hidden once the car is built that those that are not will be easy to fix.

There are a number of parts on the sprues that are not used for this particular car. Not surprising as racing cars were rarely the same from race to race. The simplicity of this one means that you will be able to build it at a leisurely pace with few worries about fussy bits.

Instructions are well done and provide clear construction steps with Revell paint references. Fortunately, only the turn signal orange needs to be mixed. Decals provide most of the markings needed. The dark blue will have to be painted and it appears to be a dark sea blue. A few decals have this shade and that is what needs to be matched. The markings for the car are for the Monza 1000 km race in 1986 that was won by Hans Stuck and Derek Bell. This same car won Le Mans with these two drivers plus Al Holbert. The markings are for the Rothman's Porsche, however, since I guess model companies can't include tobacco or alcohol sponsors, this one has substituted 'Racing' for Rothmans. This to me is a bit silly, like the swastika paranoia of some countries. Fortunately, there are aftermarket decals to replace these bogus markings. The kit decals are superbly printed in Italy and those you use should work without any problems.   

It really is a fine kit whose low parts count should mean a relatively quick build. Painting is rather straightforward and thanks to the white plastic, should mean a minimum of coverage trouble. Having the Revell boxing means a decent savings over the Japanese boxing, though any saving accrued will disappear if one gets the proper markings for it.

http://en.wikipedia.org

May 2008

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