1:24 NSU Prinz 1000 TTS slot car
This project started out quite nicely :-) - a German friend made a Grp body, so I decided to make a copy of Danish Ace Leif Petersen's car.
Leif was known and feared on both Danish tracks and abroad with his immaculate prepared NSUs. Later came the special Spiess parts that made him able to follow and even beat much stronger cars :-)
Leif is now in his 70's but fresh as ever end even building a replica of his own 70's car with the correct original Spiess parts to use in Historic Races.
The German Grp. body shell
My copy of Leif Petersens late 60's car
Lightweight vacformed parts made on my modified 1961 Vintage Mattel Vac-U-Form machine.
Then bad luck struck and these bodies were no longer available :-(
After some search I found a resin model of the car that my German friend originally used as a master for the grp. body
The quality was not impressive with a lot of holes in the surface so this was put on the shelf, when I discovered a new 1:24 Diecast model of the NSU. I bought one, but was disappointed when I found out that the model was of the NSU Prinz 4, which is a much smaller car
The shape of the Prinz 4 was more or less correct, the Prinz 1000 was longer and had different rear and side windows.
I made a silicone mould of the P4 and made a slush cast that I began to cut up and make longer by inserting styrene bits. Undfortunately I had a problem with sanding the assembly points as the styrene was much harder then the resin. This first attempt can be seen upper left in the pic above.
Then I made another slush cast and cut it up, also using pieces from the first cast to make a longer car.
On top the P4, below the P1000. This has been lengthened by inserting extra body pieces.
The long car with new rear window and rear side windows. Hours of filling and sanding was necessary the make the cuts disappear.
Both head and rear lights were totally different on the P1000.
New head lights were constructed using plasticard and styrene strips. The NSU badge and stripe was reused from the P4.
New rear lights was made by turning 3mm plastic rod to shape and adding a metal ring for fixtures.
The difference between the diecast P4 (on top) and the P1000
The finished master for making a silicone mould.
The result is OK and looks good. I am not 100% satisfied with all details and finish, but overall i think it will be possible to make fine looking models with it.
Next step is to make masters for the vacformed windows and dashboard and other parts for the interior kit.
I make decals for the version shown on top of the page
I have plans to made decals for the no 301 car shown on the picture above.
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The body above has the standard fenders which is correct for the late 60's but the cars from the 70's had fender which grew in width over the years, so I decided to make a ca. 1971 version with wide fenders.
I also lowered the rear lights and added a stripe to the rear body + wipers
Next step is a finishing sanding and then it is ready for making another mould.
First body is curing in the mould, and here is both masters for comparison
Decals are nearly ready for Leif Petersen's 1971/72 car
Test print on selfadhesive paper to test size etc. More versions is included in the decal sheet.
First laminated body from the silicone mould - looks great :-)
Weight 15g
All details came out OK :-)
1:24 Slot car body kit ready with resin wheel inserts, driver head, arms, steering wheel and oil coolers. Vac form parts are include for a full 3D interior, engine lid, engine copy and windows
I opened the rear deck carefully using a scalpel and an fine X-Acto saw. Maybe this is easier and more stable than cutting out and adding a vacformed engine deck ??
Chassis is ready. This is the German Schöler Intruder 55, slightly modified. Wheels are 13mm inside and 14mm outside, 6mm wide in front and 10mm rear. I may change the fronts to a bit wider as they look too skinny.
I have reduced the width to 50mm to suit the body and also made cutouts in the front for the guide and front wheels. I also had to shorten the front suspension plate and make a new rear mounting hole.
I found these wheel inserts as close as I could get to the early 1972 wheels as possible. There are cast in PU resin and available from me in 13 and 15mm dia.
Visit from little brother (1:32 Revell body), so now I have to make the decals in 1:32 scale as well..
Trial assembly with body loose on chassis
I have a good feeling about this project - the body looks good in shape.
Next step is finishing the paint with one more coat of white, then masking and painting the red and black parts which is gonna be tough :-(
I have printed some thin red stripes on the alps which I plan to use in stead of trying to mask the stripes.
Red and black paint job done, looks ok
The silver decals looks great
The rest of the decals added - the drivers name printed in metallic gold :-)
The went ribes in the rear deck done as decals
Roll bar installed. Done in lightweight soft black anodized florist decoration aluminium rod
Leif P is ready to go - he ist not as yellow as the pic shows :-(
The decalled, clear coated body with interior etc installed. Only lacks a few exterior details
You can just see the exhaust and a bit of the intake trumpets in the engine compartment
This model have taken a lot of time (and money) as well, but the result is highly rewarding. Having a a very helpful Leif Petersen standby with help with detail was great and a big help.
I have made the body from (nearly) scratch, using a Prinz 4 metal model as a base, also all interiro parts are home made as is the decals for the cars, so I am happy the car turned out so nice :-)
Leif Petersen was an icon in Danish Toruring Car Racing from the mid 60's to the mid 70's. His immaculate prepared NSU's won him 4 Danish Championships, often against more powerfull opposition.
He worked with the German Tuner Spiess and this resulted in a car that also was feared on racetracks outside Denmark.
So many thanks to Leif :-)