Tamiya 1/24 Porsche 934 Jagermeister

The build is progressing although it is clear that Tamiya simplified a few areas in the model such as the inner wheel arches as looking at images of the 1/12 kit these are moulded into the chassis. Anyway I just want to avoid the ‘see-through’ aspect so I glued strips of plastic sheet over the inner arches;

I then applied Milliput modelling clay to these strips to bring them up to the thickness of the moulded part. Whether the Milliput actually sticks to them is another matter and I may have to try another approach.

Another thing that is bugging me are the two square inlets (parts B3 and B4) below each headlight as Tamiya provide etched mesh that apparently you glue right behind the vallance then glue these parts behind the mesh. Now, I’m not an expert on cars by any means but looking at pictures of the real car, these intakes should be glued directly behind the vallance THEN the mesh stuck to them;

Picture by Andy Smith and used for discussion purposes only

Looking online at other builds, it seems everyone has followed the Tamiya instructions but the picture evidence to me show differently. With that I’ve stuck parts B3 and B4 directly to the body and will glue the mesh (painted black and not orange as shown) to those. Doing this has resulted in some awkward gaps that will need filling and sanding but I’m convinced I’m on the right track. Besides which the mesh is far too big for where Tamiya show you to glue it, it’s even too big for the back of the intakes.

Another thing I have just noticed is that the ‘Dunlop’ logo’s on either side of the body in front of the rear wheel arches and on the tyres are not included on the kit decal sheet so where the fuck I’m going to find these is anybody’s guess. I’ll look in the spare decal box and online as surely someone has done aftermarket decals but after that I haven’t a clue, not a huge issue I guess but disappointing for a 30 quid kit. The only explanation I can think of is that Dunlop declined the use of their logo when Tamiya were developing the kit (which wouldn’t surprise me) OR Tamiya couldn’t afford the licensing fee. This does happen as you can’t call a model of a Jeep by that name due to licencing issues and why you only see them advertised as 1/4 ton utility trucks. Even the Royal Air Force at one point were trying to copyright the roundel they have painted on aircraft since WW1.

Edit; I found another picture of a Porsche from 1976 and this shows the mesh panel at the front;

So very sorry to Tamiya but either way the etched mesh they supply is far too big for this area and parts B3 and B4 won’t sit properly anyway so the mesh will need to be cut down to fit. Hmmmm…… it still works out though which ever way I put the mesh as B3 and B4 still need fixing in place before fitting the mesh as they need to match the body colour and the gaps still need filling.

I guess like everything else these cars underwent some subtle changes from race to race plus you have pictures of restored vehicles which adds to the confusion, so I’ll carry on with it as is even though I need Dunlop logo’s for the sides. As for the Revell kit, I ‘think’ they have based theirs on a restored example that raced in 2011 but that needs more research.

Edit No.2; Today I’ve been searching for Dunlop sponsor decals which I have found but are (typically) out of stock. However the Danish company that make them (DMC) have a website and on it I found a decal sheet for the Jagermeister 934 Porsche. The sheet has four variants so for €10 plus p&p I think it’s worth a look. Stay tuned…..