Hasegawa 1/24 Lancia Stratos HF

KIT #: 25033 (CR-33)
PRICE: $27.95 MSRP
DECALS: Two options
REVIEWER: Dan
NOTES: 2002 boxing

HISTORY

 

The Stratos was a very successful rally car during the 1970s and early 1980s. It started a new era in rallying as it was the first car designed from scratch for this kind of competition. The three leading men behind the entire rallying project were Lancia team manager Cesare Fiorio, British racer/engineer Mike Parkes and factory rally driver Sandro Munari.

The bodywork was designed by Marcello Gandini, head designer at Bertone, and the technical layout was loosely based on a (Lancia Fulvia V4 powered) concept car called Stratos Zero first shown at the Turin Motor Show in 1970. The body was wedge-shaped, and unusually short and wide, providing maximum traction.

In 1971 Lancia presented the Lancia Stratos HF prototype. The Stratos prototype (Chassis 1240) was fluorescent red in colour and featured a distinctive crescent-shaped-wrap-around windshield providing maximum forward visibility with almost no rear visibility (which was unnecessary for rallying anyway). The prototype had three different engines in its early development life: the Lancia Fulvia engine, the Lancia Beta engine and finally the mid-mounted 190 bhp (140 kW) 2418 cc Dino Ferrari V6.

Lancia did extensive testing with the Stratos and raced the car in several racing events where Group 5 prototypes were allowed during the 1972 and 1973 seasons. Production of the 400 cars required for homologation in Group 4 were launched in 1973 and the car was homologated for the 1974 World Rally Championship. The Dino V6 was phased out in 1974, but 500 engines among the last built were delivered to Lancia.

THE KIT

Hasegawa's kit of this car has been molded in a nice white plastic with many of the chassis components in black. It comes with a piece of sheet vinyl or rubber from which one can cut mud flaps. This is a rallye car and so is a bit more Spartan in its appointments over the road car. As there is a road car kit, there are several bits and pieces that are not used on this variant.

The one-piece body is very nicely done and like all Hasegawa kits, has excellent molding. The kit has the expected ejector pin marks, but from the look of things, these have been engineered to be out of sight or covered up in the final product. The car has no engine as typically, it is a curbside, but there is a lot of chassis and suspension detailing. Wheels are white plastic and the tires are a vinyl or rubber material. Since this is a racing car, there are rear fender flares to allow for the  wider tires. There are no chrome parts to be found so any that are extant on the real car will have to be duplicated with chrome paint or foil.

The interior is very nicely done and good thing as there is a large, clear windscreen through which to view it. The instrument panel has individual instrument decals to help liven things up. Hasegawa also provides belt decals as these cars would be incomplete without a racing harness. The lone option is to have the car's headlights raised or lowered. It is a shame in many ways that this is a rally car as the driving light package just does nothing for the swoopy looks of the car. Some may be tempted to leave that off.

Instructions are typical Hasegawa with Gunze paint references. A most complete decal sheet is provided with all the green painted areas as decals. If one is good at decal trimming and placement, it may be worthwhile to use all that green. Otherwise, painting may be a better option. There are names and numbers for two cars; the #11 as shown on the box art and the basically identical #1 car, both driven by famous rally drivers Sandro Munari and Bjorn Waldgard. The decals themselves are superbly printed by Cartograf so no worries about the wrong shades!

CONCLUSIONS

So here you have a great rally car kit. I bought it because I got a discount for a kit that had been sitting on the shelf for 7 years, and because I happen to like the Lancia Stratos. These sorts of cars are not really hot sellers in the US so finding one should be pretty easy.
REFERENCES

 

http://en.wikipedia.org

 

April 2009

You can thank me for bringing this one to you (Oh, Thank You, Benevolent One!)

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.

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