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Manufacturer: Provence Moulage
Audi R8R No.1 Le Mans 2001
Scale: 1/43
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As always PM seem to be the first manufacturer to produce the important cars from the Le Mans grid, this year I think they were a little slower than normal but still a task and a half to get models to customers within seven weeks of the race.
Because of the obvious interest in the overall winner I have been asked to give my initial views on the first of the kits available.
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Presentation
As usual with PM the presentation of this kit is good arriving in their usual sturdy card box well protected from the evils of the postal system. The box is clearly labeled so later identification amongst other boxes will be easy. Internally the model is well wrapped in bubble wrap and all of the small items are together in a strip sealing bag, something some other manufacturers could take note of. Making it impossible for any of the smaller parts to come out and get lost.
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The Kit Components.
The main body and chassis are well produced in resin with nice clear panel lines and little trimming required prior to painting. The overall shape is excellent, following the real thing perfectly. One improvement on last years winning model is the rear taillights area, an improvement over the decals supplied last year is the moulding of this area and the provision of realistic taillights.
The resin appears to be clean and free of any grease or the dreaded blowholes. The wheels are turned steel and will look good once built up with the photo-etched inners similar to last years. The tyres are of the soft rubber type so will fit easily and look good, Pm's tyres hold up well to exposure to the atmosphere and from experience I know they will not fade. There are plenty of realistic looking lights and we are supplied with two vac formed sheets for the air deflector and
headlight covers (good for the faint hearted or shaky scissor hands).
The photo-etched sheet has clearly defined lines and easily identifiable cutouts.
The decals look clear and bright and from experience I know they will be well shaped to enable easy fitment. The only slight drawback to this and other PM kits are that the axles tend to be very hard to cut through with the standard snips.
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Instructions.
As usual with modern PM kits the instruction sheet contains nice clear photographs of all aspects of the car clearly showing decal locations but maybe a little more text would help beginners to the hobby of model building. One excellent feature of the instruction sheet is the paint chart, which shows all of the paints required to detail paint the model, however with this model there is no location for these colours as with other models.
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Overall initial impressions
I am a great fan of Provence Moulage models and this one looks as good as ever. PM have a knack for creating simple kits that look good and stand well against more elaborate models, their dedication to producing all the Le Mans grid in recent years stands well with those of us obsessed by the classic 24 hour race.
I honestly think that you will go a long way to match the value of this and other PM models.
Finished model
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