Our weekend was centered around Le Mans, or at least watching what we could of it on television. It's funny; nine years ago when I met hubby I couldn't have cared less about watching it, but now it's become something I really enjoy, and I readily make sure nothing's going on that weekend so we can watch, stay up into the wee hours, and then get up early the next morning for the final laps.
Last year, as I mentioned, hubby did something new: he built a car model within the 24 hours. This year, he did it again, and I joined him. Hubby selected the Revell C6R Corvette. I ended up choosing a Tamiya kit of a Fiat Abarth. (Okay, so it's tiny, but the version in the kit is a little racer. Plus, it's simple, you don't use carbon fiber on it, and I know little about the real thing so I wouldn't agonize over every little detail.) For several nights we studied our kits, made notes on the instruction sheets, formed game plans in our heads. Late Friday night, I laid out my tools and paints to be ready the next morning.
Saturday morning came, the race started, and we got started once the first couple laps were done. I'd planned out my strategy: get the big assemblies together, group parts that needed paint by color so you could do them all at one time, and start the bodywork early so it would have time to cure before painting. This turned out to be the hardest part of the project. The Abarth kit has you add flares to the wheel openings to accommodate larger tires. But there are two problems. First, they aren't an exact fit. Second, the wheel flares are molded in black, but the body's in white. This is a problem if you are using a light color for the overall body color. (In my case, I cheaped out and used Tamiya's rattlecan Racing White, which is a very nice off-white.) The biggest part of the whole project was getting those darn wheel flares filled and sanded and looking acceptable. Then the problem became getting a uniform white primer coat over it before applying the finish coat.
Hubby, meanwhile, craftsman that he is, ticked away quietly on the C6R. About noon I went out to paint some Abarth components and saw the Corvette's body and exterior panels, covered in a very smooth, pretty yellow lacquer coat, just drying out while he worked away on the chassis inside.
The TV coverage dropped out about 1:30, and we drove into town to get some lunch. I took a little break from the Abarth and did some other things, and then went upstairs and got the airbrushing done that I needed. Things were going well, though I did manage to snap a suspension component and put a thumbprint into some paint. I was making good progress. Hubby, though, was making up time on me, especially when I was sidelined by a couple of phone calls.
By 11 Saturday night, I was in the home stretch. I'd told myself to get it done before the TV coverage picked back up at midnight. I was getting close. The body was on the chassis, the trim was going on, and the last details needed to go into place. Then it happened; one of the tiny latches for the rear engine lid got lost. I couldn't find it, so I made a crude replacement. Then I lost it, too. Just before midnight, I found the original one, glued it in place, made a minor adjustment or two, and the car was done. I was relieved. In total, I figure the Abarth took about 9 or 10 hours to build, and while the results will never win a contest, I sure like the little critter.
Meanwhile, hubby kept going. We were up until about 2 am Sunday morning, still watching the race. Most of the Corvette's decals got put on in these wee hours. We finally turned in for a few hours' sleep. I was up four hours later; hubby was up at 7:30, then after a bit he started to work on the C6R. I started to wonder if he'd get it done by the end of the race. He did. A few minutes before the 24 hours were up, the last details were on his Corvette. Down the road, he'll add a few details he needs to fabricate, but when the checkers waved, all the parts that came with the kit had been assembled into a seriously beautiful little Corvette racer.
Something funny happened, too. Once the race was over, and the coverage went off the air, I got a little dejected. It was something we had looked forward to, and it was a fun race. We'd gotten into the rhythm of the coverage, seen familiar faces on the television, and had a lot of fun. And we'd had fun with our little Le Mans build, too. Now it was over. Or was it? About an hour later, I brought down the Tamiya Ferrari 360 Spider I've had for years, that I picked up at a too-cheap-not-to-buy price a few years ago. Next thing I know, I'm cutting plastic, cementing parts in place, a little Ferrari is being created, and the only blues I'm concerned with are those with which I'm painting.
(Yes, I know I owe you pictures of these little cars, too. Be patient.)