Parnelli917

Vette99 - Thanks for the info. I agree with ThomasJW. Very impressed that these were from scratch.

Cubicle23 - Thanks for the response. I'm afraid I'm not up-to-date on 3D printing (I'm an old fart). Even though I used to work for a composites company (we had a Faro Arm and could have scanned to part into AutoCad using the Faro Arm). Unfortunately, I don't have access to those guys and tools anymore. I have toyed with the idea of winding white thread around a mold and applying baking soda and superglue. Theoretically, it would harden into a piece that I might be able to file/sand into the right shape, but I haven't experimented yet. Sometimes life gets in the way of model making time! What a shame!

Help! While there are 917's that have black air intake tubes, most are a semi-translucent, fiberglass affair. I can't figure out how to accurately replicate this color/look for the model. Any ideas??

This is a photo of the model cockpit detail. One simple thing to do is paint the handle of the fire extinguisher release red. It is understandable that the part had to be made with one color, but every 917 I've seen has the handle painted red. The other glaring mistake is the gear shift knob. Again, I'm sure it would have been impossible to replicate the "tiger stripped" wood grain of the actual knob. But that knob has become part of the Porsche 917 legend. For decades if was said that the knob was made of wood in an extreme attempt to save every ounce of weight. In fact, that wasn't the reason. The horsepower generated would create vibrations through the linkage. It is not unusual during a 24 hour race for drivers to suffer blisters and fatigue in their right hand. The thought was that wood could act as a shock absorber. Simple birch plywood was used to fashion the gearshift knob.

Excellent. This is a photo of the restored 917-004-017 car. Nice match!

I agree! One of my biggest complaints/issues. Yours look awesome! Where did you get them?

First Impressions I am very impressed with the model. The quality of the parts, the fit and finish is quite amazing. However, I have had some issues. The impression given is that the kit needs no glue, you simply screw together all of the pieces. I believe that if you buy this kit, you should plan on gluing some of the parts. The 24 spark plugs and wires are an example. The plugs don't stay in the cylinder heads on their own and the orange tubing supplied as spark plug wires tend to fall off. You will find many places where a bit of glue is helpful. While most of the engineering to develop this kit is awesome, I've run into a few difficulties. The distributors are intended to be pressure fitted into the top of the engine, The fitting isn't strong enough to hold as the 12 plug wires per distributor pull on the fitting. At first, I simply glued the bases into the holes in the engine. But this wasn't enough. So I drilled a small hole in the base of the distributor and used a screw through the base and the engine block for both distributors. This offered the strength needed. I have done months of research looking at photos of the actual race car, both from 1970 and during its restoration several years ago (it was helpful that the father of one of our team drivers was the man who restored this car!). I've noticed color changes that the model couldn't accommodate, so I began documenting how I would either make changes based upon research or defer to the kit. Similarly, there was the placement of some parts, and minor details that I wanted to add. For example, the electrical panel in the left side footwell of the cockpit did a poor job of depicting wires, so I took very fine strands of wire and painted them the appropriate color and glued them in place. Overall, I am impressed at the detail the model includes. Even areas that will never be seen on the finished model are painstakingly detailed. It is an education as much as a model building. I've learned more about this car than I could have hoped. I even found a copy of the customs forms for its initial transfer from the Porsche factory to John Wyer Automotive Engineering!

I used to build plastic models as a boy. Graduated to balsa models for a couple of aircraft, but I haven't built anything like this in decades. I fell in love with road racing when I was eight but found it difficult to find plastic models of F1 or endurance racers at the time. When I was 22, I began racing Formula Fords. I had to stop when money ran out and my career took off. Always planned to race again, but its not feasible now. My last career move was as the Director of Marketing for an American Le Mans racing team from 2009 to 2012. While it was hard not to be in the driver's seat, I enjoyed working with the team and being surrounded by the environment. The Porsche 917 is my favorite racing car. Always has been. While I have a 1:18 scale diecast model, signed by Brian Redman, I could not resist the chance to build such a large model of the car that has meant so much to me.

Yes, I found it frustrating. I believe the IXO packs have less stages than the Agora packs, allowing IXO to extend the subscription for a longer period of time. For example, the IXO Pack 1 only has Stages 1-4, where the Agora Pack 1 has Stages 1-5. In the latter Packs, IXO only releases 4 stages where Agora seems to include 8. I've actually finished the IXO Pack 10 (Stages 37-40), so I'm waiting until Agora releases their Pack 6. I know I'll end up purchasing some duplicate stages but it will be worth it. IXO has been a nightmare to work with.

Nice photos! I started the model from IXO Collections, but they suck. So, I'm trying to migrate to Agora. However, the parts are kitted differently. Lots of fun!