Holman-Moody

I posted a thread some time ago seeking an original condition Mark II. It was suggested that I contact Lee Holman and look at his car. My friend, who wanted to photograph a Mark II for model kit purposes, arranged for us to visit the workshop in Charlotte.
I have to say, it was a once in a life time experience. Lee, gave us his full attention for the entire day(non work day for the staff) and walked us through the shop and explained every thing GT40. He provided reference material that I assumed was long gone. I learned more in one day than I could ever glean from all the books I have ever read on the subject. Lee was the most generous host I have ever encountered. I want to publicly thank him.
I have several hours of Hi-Def video that needs to be edited and converted to still shots, so it will be some time until I can post anything. When done I will pass on what I can, with his permission.
If anyone has the opportunity to speak to Lee, I am sure you will find him a most generous expert. Thank you Lee!

Hi Pete, do you or your collegue have an idea when the Trumpeter kit will be available ?

My sources say 12 to 18 months. They still have a lot of work to do.

It'll be worth the wait, with your friends 'detail up' parts added it should be exceptional.

They seem to be getting on with it...

What is Trumpeter kit ?

aladinsane said:

What is Trumpeter kit ?

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Tim, it appears to be a scale model. See post #4. How are things on the West Coast?

Well, that one has all the parts. And I can do it in my house. Maybe I'll buy one, it's at least a GT40 I can finish

aladinsane said:

What is Trumpeter kit ?

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Trumpeter is a Chinese company that manufactures injected plastic models of all kind. They have announced that they will be producing a 1:12 scale GT40 Mark II. From the photos of the plastic it looks like a mix of a Mark II A and B but I will have to wait until I see the real thing to make a judgment.

My friend at Scale Motorsport makes high end aftermarket upgrade kits for auto kits. They take detail to an entirely different level. In fact he is thinking about a complete chassis made from photo etched metal. If he can pull that off it will make a stunning display. I look forward to building one.

The best part for me is learning all I can about the car. The education that I got at Holman Moody was just incredible.

Just curious, does anyone know where a nice model kit of a Mark I can be found, perhaps 1 / 18 or 1 / 24 scale? I have searched and been unable to find one.

like this..........?

Fujami 1/24 I've got the 289 and zf somewhere for it....

Andy

CESLAW said:

Just curious, does anyone know where a nice model kit of a Mark I can be found, perhaps 1 / 18 or 1 / 24 scale? I have searched and been unable to find one.

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Chuck,
A company named IMC made some wonderful 1/25 scale plastic model kits of the 289 MK1 and the 427 Mk2 GT40s. You can easily find them on ebay. The boxart is also great.
There is also a nice kit by Aurora that has been reissued by Revell with their original boxart and again you will find it on ebay.
Love your build thread.
Mike

CESLAW said:

Just curious, does anyone know where a nice model kit of a Mark I can be found, perhaps 1 / 18 or 1 / 24 scale? I have searched and been unable to find one.

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If you go to Club Cobra an SPF owner there, "Blas", had a bunch of early kits that he was selling. Virtually every one made of every MK series( maybe not the MKIV, but the prototype MKI), he has sold many, but the last time I checked he still had several. The prices were reasonable as well.He has a thread about SPF electrics( he has wiring diagrams) that is on the home page frequently.
That trumpeter kit looks great, I can probably afford that GT40

mikewegener said:

Chuck,
A company named IMC made some wonderful 1/25 scale plastic model kits of the 289 MK1 and the 427 Mk2 GT40s. You can easily find them on ebay. The boxart is also great.
There is also a nice kit by Aurora that has been reissued by Revell with their original boxart and again you will find it on ebay.
Love your build thread. Mike

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The IMC kits are a great collectable and were the first attempt at a decent GT40 model but they are flawed in several areas. Some of the components are of dubious scale due to the attemts to make everything "open" and some pieces are of "unknown" origin (the transaxle is neither a Coletti nor a ZF, just an "approximation".
BTW, when the IMC GT40 was first released in 1964 you could send a coupon from the kit in for a set of playing cards with the box art them. I still have mine! IMC ALWAYS had great box art andd the GT was one of the best.

The Aurora/Revell kit is even more off the mark. The only really decent bi-scale (1/24-/25) GT40 are thr Fujimi kits (Mk I, Gulf and MK IIs) and with some aftermarket pieces can be really well done.

Has anyone seen the old Bandai 1/16th GT40 kit? I recently bid on one but didn't want to spend big dollars for a kit that was only fair at best? Never really seen a review of the kit, now long out of production.

Do not go for the 1/25th IMC kits the box art is generally better than the kit. The MK1 is the prototype early Ford GT. The first twelve chassis of the Ford GT program were preproduction cars. As such they were not GT40's. However, IMC did a rarer 1968 Gulf GT40.
The IMC 1/25th Ford MKII although it box artwork shows the 1966 Le Mans winner does not have the bumps over the front wheel wells that the MKII had. I believe when assembled the fit of the doors and other opening parts is less than perfect. I still like the IMC kits but for me Fujimis are much superior. Plus they come with a load of spare parts. Heller did a 1/24th MKII but actually it was misnamed and was a Gulf GT40MK1.
Aurora /K&B were not GT40 but early production cars. In fact their 1/25th Slotcar was a reasonable model of the 1963 preproduction wooden buck with the enclosed vented grille over the Colletti gearbox. I remember a company making a acessories kit to use with the Fujimi Mk1 kit a complete 289 was available their name was something like Thunder road? I do not think they are still trading? I have the Bandai 1/16th GT40 kit MB. It not perfect but then until Trumpers or Tamiya make one what else is there. apart from diecasts?
Regards Allan

So Allan, how decent is the Bandai 1/16 kit? Can it be made "right" or is it a dead end?

Rick
I think the 1/16th Bandai GT40 was OK for the time it was issued. I think the only picture of one assembled was in one of John Allen's books. I think he is holding one. To be honest I have never seen one assembled. Even the catalogue for it shows a picture of the real car. But I am thinking that the kit is valued for its scale and rarity rather than its accuracy. Has any member on this forum got an assembled kit picture they could post?
Regards Allan

I just bought on ebay a FUJIMI Ford GT40 ALAN MANN MK.I 1/24. Anybody know how accurate this one is?

I have had a Bandai 1:16 for quite a while but no time for modelling.
In my opinion the front body shell and pillars needs some re-profiling and the tub requires substantial modification. There are plenty of parts which look like the prototypes so I would recommend it as a donor for working up to a fairly accurate model. I don't like the flash-chromed plastic parts and if I had time I would make these in white metal.
My favourite kits for accuracy are the French 1:24/43 resin kits made by Le Mans Miniatures which I also bought some years ago. Again all non-starters.


Google Image Result for http://carview-img02.bmcdn.jp/carlife/images/UserCarNote/226639/p1.jpg

Victors said:

I just bought on ebay a FUJIMI Ford GT40 ALAN MANN MK.I 1/24. Anybody know how accurate this one is?

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Very.

However the Fujimi MKII series are a "compelation" of the vaious different 1966 MKII's, i.e. Shelby, Mann, Holman-Moody and Sebring to LeMans configurations. With a little research and work they are very nice. All the bodies have Gurney bubbles for example and many othetr small details are a mish-mash of the cars over the 1966 season.

Since this thread has drifted to GT40 model kits maybe one of you knows what I am looking for.
As a 12 year old I bought an open GT40 model kit and used the roadster body for my slotcar which were all 1/24 scale.
It was a japanese kit, that's about all I remember and I think the windshield was not as tall as the rest of the rear body.
So if anybody has an idea I would greatly appreciate it. Rick? Alan?