KIT: Tenariv 1/48 Lola T-70 Mk IIIB
KIT #: 294
PRICE: @$50.00
DECALS: One option though there are others on the sheet
REVIEWER: Scott Van Aken
NOTES: Multimedia kit with resin, cast and etched metal, rubber and vacuformed parts.

HISTORY

In the minds of many, the most esthetically pleasing sports-racer of the Can-Am period was the svelte Lola T-70. Originally powered by a small block Cheverolet, the car did quite well in British and US sports car races. When the Can-Am Challenge Cup was originated in 1966, a large percentage of the field was made up of these cars. Under the capable hands of John Surtees, the T-70 won two of the six races that year and made Surtees the first Can Am champion.

As the McLaren juggernaught started to take hold in 1967, Lola found itself lagging in development. It went through a major modification in 1967 and 1968, but to no avail. The best the Lola T-70 Mk III could do was a second in the final race of 1968 at Las Vegas, where George Follmer finished behind the winning McLaren Mk.8. It was also the best finish for a Ford powered car in that year's series.

THE KIT

This is the first Tenariv kit that I've seen. It is French, as the name implies, and molded in a tan resin that is a bit on the brittle side. This is also quite typical of much French resin I've seen from other companies. The molding on the resin is quite good with no air pockets on the upper side of things. There are several sprue gates and the usual flash to clean up. Resin is used for the body, chassis and the instrument panel housing. A nicely done vacuformed windscreen is supplied and it appears that installation will be better than most as it has a small lip around the bottom to help hold it in.  A rather large sprue of cast metal parts is supplied that consist mostly of wheel inserts and mirrors as well as a steering wheel and a few other bits.

A cast metal shift column, roll bar and exhaust are provided. Apparently this kit is applicable for two other cars as there is an exhaust for the Indy Ford. A large metal seat completes the set. I would wish for a seat harness as well for these guys were strapped in during a race. One also gets six cast wheels, two wide ones and four of the same width. Obviously, two will not be needed. There are also two etched frets with spoilers, air dams and other thin bits. Again, more than one will use with one kit. I was struck by how small the final exhaust part of the headers were. I thought it was just a sprue attachment filament, but apparently those skinny things are the exhaust! Seems to me that on a real car, the constriction would cause some horrendous back pressure. I'm seriously considering replacing them with plastic tubing of a larger diameter.

Instructions are a single sheet with four full color pictures of the completed kit and several other black and whites showing the kit in near completed form, pointing out where various pieces are located. Though numbered on the sheet, none of the parts are numbers, nor is there a guide for the metal pieces. A couple of the images minus the etched parts not needed are provided, but no part numbers are supplied. Frankly, not the best instructions I've seen, but again, not the worst. One who has done a few of these cars will not have problems, though some head scratching will be done before all comes clear. The decal sheet looks to be quite nice and has markings for two other cars that won't be used.

CONCLUSIONS

Generally speaking, these car kits are not difficult in terms of assembly. Where the work comes is in proper prep and painting. Though these cars were not shiny and perfect, they were pretty clean and polished at the start of an event. Fortunately, many of theme are a single color, which makes painting quite easy. This particular car has a lot of unpainted metal bits so construction will continue after painting. Overall it appears to be a very nicely done kit, even with the anemic exhaust, and I'll have to look into that more before starting on this one.

October 2006

Thanks to me for buying this kit earlier this year so you'd have something to read today.

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