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43rd and More - Model reviews by Wayne Moyer
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Review: Promotional model
BMW's 1999 Le Mans Winner
by Wayne E. Moyer
One of the first models I reviewed for MCH was the excellent promotional model of BMW's 1998 V-12 LMR that was made for BMW by Minichamps. With their overall win in the 1999 24-Hours it was a good bet that BMW would have a promo of the '99 V-12 LMR made, but the surprise was how quickly it was available. The model, made by Minichamps, was in German BMW dealerships by the end of the year and Dellergo had some over here not too much later.
BMW, like Panoz, decided that the advantages offered by the 1999 rule changes made it worthwhile to develop an all-new body with a flatter nose, more narrow center section and "one-person" roll bar. As events showed, that was the right choice! This, of course, means that the '99 BMW model is entirely new, and even with help from the factory in advance, it must have been a real challenge for Minichamps to get a model like this from drawings to dealer shelves in less than six months. I suspect that may be why nearly all the graphics are done with decals rather than being hot-printed.
As you'd expect of any model from Minichamps, the diecast body is flawless and has very crisp panel lines and clean edges on the open airscoops. They even went to the trouble of making the scoop on the driver's right as a separate piece to insure that there would be no mold lines. The cover plate for the central "Cyclops" light wasn't engraved into the body though; I wonder if that will be uncovered for Minichamps' own version? And the finish-- well, I'd love to get a white paint job to look this good! The "signature" twin nose scoops are separate black plastic pieces, as are the mirrors (which have reflective faces) and the wrap-around head support above the driver's seat. The headlight lenses are "jeweled" too, with clear plastic covers while the taillights are translucent red plastic.
There are lots of small silver dots on the body, and on close inspection I found that they were hot-printed 1/43 scale Dzus fasteners! All the rest of the graphics are done with carefully applied decals. I know these photos are too washed out to see them, but all those thin silver-gray air "streamlines" are right where they should be. The rear wing decal doesn't lay down over the central support between the upper and lower wing elements, but an X-Acto knife and a drop of solvent should fix that. There are lots of photos in the Le Mans issue of "Auto Modelisme" and they match the graphics perfectly with one exception; in some shots the "Dell" logo on the left side is a lighter blue although the right side matches the model (or vice versa). Since this is a promo, I suspect that either the magazine photos were shot before race day or that there's a variation in the color printing.
The black plastic interior is all new for this model too. The belts are molded in relief on the accurate seat and have been detailed with blue paint on the "fabric" and silver on the hardware. The instrument panel is equally well detailed and the "butterfly" steering wheel (yoke??) is correct, too. Other details include a separate shift handle, several "black boxes", and wiring bundles. The new wheels are beautifully done-- you can see through each pair of thin spokes and there are realistic black "carbon" brakes with gold calipers behind them. They carry realistic rubber tires with hot-printed sidewall logos.
There are always lots of photos of Le Mans winners and the model matches them from every angle. Some photos look as though the "channels" between the fenders and center section should be just a hair deeper, but that may be a function of the lens used, too. This one certainly "looks right" to me and all the dimensions check out right on 1/43 scale, too.
These BMW promotional models aren't available through the usual hobby sources, and I suspect there will be changes made to the "standard" models to keep the promos unique. However, Dellergo Import & Export, 3653 Bunker Hill St. N.W., Massillon, OH 44646 (PH/FAX: 330/477-8496) brought some back from Germany and has them for $45.00 (plus shipping) while they last.
Contact Wayne at mailto:wmoyer@infinet.com
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