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From The Diecast Pub Joe Kelly Jr
Here we have the GTX winner of the 1978 24 hours of Daytona, a twin-turbo'd 935 that Rolf Stommelen, Pete Gregg, and Toine Hezemans dusted the crowd with to the tune of a thirty lap lead. It wasn't as easy as it sounds, even with the planet-moving power of the twin-spool flat six behind them; after a while, the tremendous pressure of the turbos began to hammer the four-valve-per cylinder mechanicals of the 900-horse motor. Supposedly, the thing smoked so much when they lifted the throttle that they had to balloon-foot past the officials lap after lap to avoid the dreaded black flag. Yep, it was a monster. And Exoto has gone the extra mile to replicate every jot of the car. Starting with a heavy, flawlessly-prepped body cast, the model is fanatically well finished and laden with high quality tampos. The opening doors, whale tail rear deck, and lift-off boot are all first class in their fit. I love the little details at work here: the air vents over the wheels are open through the body; the NACA vents at the car's rear are screened, as are the huge inlets at the leading edges of the rear fenders; tiny photoetch clamps secure the windscreen. There are tiny tampo'd vents at the trailing edges of the front fenders and roof, and photoetch is used to replicate the fasteners securing the car's side skirts. Overall, there is a sense of refinement - and solid evidence that that sense is correct. The faired in lamps in the air dam look real, as do the twin cannon driving lights mounted to the deck. The glazing is optically clear. The real show is beneath the surface, and it's here that Exoto consistently rises above the crowd. Detailing on the car's belly is eye rattling. From the front, where an enormous steel chin spoiler is riveted to the body of the model, the working suspension is captivating. Double doo-wop brake disks consisting of photoetched cross-drilled rotors sandwiching vented centers ride at all four corners. A better view is possible if you doff the road wheels and "track-scuffed" tires using the included lug wrench - always a worthwhile trip to take. The castings that attach those wheels to the car's metal nethers are sharp and work cogently to replicate the jounce and parry of the Porsche's unsprung bits - with the incredible accuracy of their section and complex geometry, these are definitely a kick. But even this show pales in comparison to the act taking place under the car's whale tail. Exoto makes amazing motors, period. The sheer number of parts, and the painted and applied detailing that goes into these assemblies, is staggering. Not counting the braided stainless and anodized fittings that run to the impeller hubs and waste gates, I count fifteen separate castings used to replicate the twin turbos and exhaust system alone; each painted to bear evidence of the thermic trials under the car's rear. These shine against the backdrop of the air-cooled barrels and pushrod tubes of the boxer's six cylinder architecture - castings that look sharp enough to draw blood. The tricks get even better - if harder to see - up top. Twin intakes, fully plumbed with stainless and anodized ends and linked laterally by the throttle rod, sit astride the cooling fan at the motor's center. If that doesn't get you whistling, check out the real rubber belts around the alternator - or maybe spin the fan itself a couple of times. Yeah - it's pretty deep stuff going on in here. And it begs my repeating what I said last week about the fabulous 427 in Exoto's GT40 MkIV: with detail like this, it'd be great to see these assemblies displayed on stands alongside the models. The interior and boot of the model are a fun fest; the last 935 we reviewed had a figure of Rolf Stommelen at the wheel. As cool as that was (and, still is, thank you) pulling back the woven curtain on this model allows an unimpeded view of the cabin, a tidy nook centered by a tube framed slingshot seat, fabric and photoetch safety harness, and one of the sharpest, easiest to read instrument clusters in the 1:18 world. Coolest detail is the faux-fiberglass foot rest bolted to the floor, a bit of business that has just the right amount of translucency to suspend disbelief. Overall, it looks driveable in here. More of that semi-opaque plastic is used to great effect under the boot, and the tanks and reservoirs here are linked by still more tubing. The whole shebang lives alongside cruciform struts and braces, realistic to simulated welds at their center. The tanks are empty, or I'd attempt hotwiring the damned thing. I'm only half kidding. Exoto's manufactured replicas attain the visual impact and mechanical excellence usually reserved for the very best - and usually singular - efforts of the master builders. That they achieve and maintain this standard thousands of times over in manufacture is unimaginable to me. With this Porsche's unerring attention to detail and unwavering standards of engineering and assembly, I get the feeling that Exoto can. © Copyright 2006 by The Diecast Pub |
