Starter 1/43 Porsche RS 60

The 718 was a development of the successful Porsche 550A with improvements made to the body work and suspension. The car's full name is 718 RSK, where "RS" stands for RennSport (sports-racing) and the "K" reflects the shape of the car's revised torsion-bar suspension. It had a mid-engined layout and used the 142 horsepower (106 kW) 1.5-litre Type 547/3 quad-cam engine introduced in the 550A.

For the 1960 season the FIA made changes to the regulation regarding the windscreen and cockpit size. These rules changes together with a larger (1.6-litre) Type 547/3 engine, developing 160 horsepower (120 kW) and a new double wishbone rear suspension brought about the RS 60 model. The RS 60 brought Porsche victory at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring with a car driven by Hans Herrmann and Olivier Gendebien. 1960 also saw Porsche win the Targa Florio with Hans Herrmann being joined on the winner podium by Jo Bonnier and Graham Hill. The RS 60 also ensured that Porsche successfully defended their European Hill Climb Championship for the third year in a row.

This is another nice Starter kit. These kits are fairly basic and usually do not have a lot of parts. It makes these kits, including this one, perfect for beginners or those who just want a trouble-free built. This kit depicts the RS 60 as it ran at LeMans in 1960, hence the revised rear bodywork over the standard car.

Resin is used for the body and chassis/interior and the casting is excellent. There is some flash and molding nubs to sand away, but no issues with poor casting such as resin blobs or air pockets. Resin is also used for the wheel inserts and exhaust. Yellowed resin is provided for the headlights.

Metal is used for the spun aluminum wheels, mounting screws, and axles. There is a plastic steering wheel and the tires are rubber. A vacuform windscreen is provided. A small p.e. fret is taped to the inside of the box lid. This includes engine grilles, windscreen wipers and some parts I've yet to identify, but could be for the driver's seat.

The kit has no instructions, just a photo of the three number options that are on the decal sheet. Whether my kit is just missing them or not is unknown. Frankly, for most of the build, they are not needed, but would be nice to have. The decal sheet is nicely printed, but its viability is questionable due to its age. As no replacement is available, the wise builder will coat this one prior to using it.

While I don't build a ton of 1/43 car kits, I do enjoy them from time to time and will often do several in a row before moving back to airplanes. This one is so simple in appearance that I doubt that even I could mess it up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_718

April 2025

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