Marsh Models 1/43 Lola T-70 (Mario Andretti)
|
KIT # |
MM24D |
|
PRICE: |
$49.99 back in 1996 |
|
DECALS: |
One car |
|
REVIEWER: |
|
|
NOTES: |
Multimedia kit. 1996 release |
|
HISTORY |
Normal power-plant was a small block V-8 of some sort generally in the 275-350 cubic inch range. Many were powered by Chevrolet engines, but you could also find Fords and Buick/Olds/Pontiac (BOP) engines as well. The car was initially raced in 1965 and was the most widely used sports racer of its type through 1967. Literally dozens of teams fielded the T-70 and it saw a great deal of success during that time, winning the initial Can Am in 1966 driven by John Surtees.
For the 1966 L.A. Times Grand Prix, Texas oilman John Mecom fielded four cars for Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti. Parnelli Jones, and George Follmer. It was a grueling event with half the field not finishing the 200 miles. Among those retirees were three of Mecom's Lolas with only George Follmer finishing the event in fifth place.
|
THE KIT |
For those of you who have had no experience with short run
1/43 car kits, this one is pretty typical of the best of the genre. Not that long ago,
there would have been no resin in it and the body w
ould have also been done
in metal. When I went through a stint of building these kinds of kits about
35 years back, that is how they were done. However, the level of detail
available in resin has changed things quite a bit. As you can see, the 'frame'
and many other bits such as the roll bar, wheel inserts, seat and such are
in pewter. This kit has a fret of etched metal that is generic for the Lola
T-70s that Marsh produces. The little injector stack inlets are pieces of metal
and you get bronze axles.
The body is held to the frame with two screws. Care must be used when applying these and the smart builder will want to predrill the holes prior to using them to prevent problems with the resin splitting. The detail level of the metal bits is quite good as is the resin body. The edges on the resin parts will need some clean up as will the various openings of the body. No air bubbles were noted, which is a big plus. The vacuformed windscreen fits into the opening quite well during a test fit.
Instructions are a little on the basic side for those of us
used to building aircraft kits. It consists of an exploded view of all the
parts with color information supplied where it is needed. A nice touch is that a
paint chip is included for the main color of the car, which is Cadillac Pelham
Blue. Testors Nassau Blue is fairly close. Decals look to be quite
good and are printed in Italy. (Marsh is a British company). Since the sheet is
fairly old, one may wish to take precautions in terms of recoating the sheet.
|
CONCLUSIONS |
The kit looks just super in the box and while some of the very small parts may be rather fiddly, with a bit of work, it can be made into a superb model. One thing for sure is that these kits have become quite expensive, especially the out of production ones like this. It has one searching for less expensive alternatives. Though it won't be a large model, it will be a beauty.
April 2025
Copyright ModelingMadness.com. All rights reserved. No reproduction in any form without express permission from the editor.
If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.