Revell Germany
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Introduction
The Audi R10 TDI has the distinction of being the first diesel-powered car in the history of the sport to win the world’s most grueling race, the Le Mans 24 hours. The accomplishment of Audi Sports, considering the major technical challenges associated with using a diesel engine for endurance racing, are phenomenal to say the least. The challenges and technical story behind its use are described in detail on the introduction page of the kit’s instruction sheet, and if you are into that kind of information, I highly recommend reading it.
The Kit:
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This newly released kit is molded in silver gray styrene with the exception of the tires and clear parts. Included in the kit, besides the obvious body, wheels and tires, are a nicely done diesel engine, suspension system and cockpit. I should note here that the kit’s design allows the removal of the rear deck in order to expose the engine and rear suspension. However, on my copy the fit was so loose that I decided to glue the rear deck in place, and even then, the seams are a little oversize. Construction is very straight forward if you follow the instruction sheet, which I highly advise that you do. To highlight this need to pay attention to the instructions, my kit included a revision sheet to several of the assembly sequences. With the exception of the note above, fit is generally very good and in no case did I have to use filler. Molding is generally good although in this case I did have to use a little filler in several places because of small sink marks. The top of one of the rear view mirrors was an area where this was necessary.
Markings & Painting Guide:
Provided with the kit are very extensive markings for two cars, including number 8, which was the winner of the 2006 24 Hour La Mans and number 7, which was the winner of the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring. Painting of the kit is a progressive operation in that a number of the parts and sub-assemblies need to be painted prior to construction. In my case, I used Tamiya Color lacquers, including gloss aluminum, Italian Red and a mix of flat black with a touch of the gloss aluminum. The kit decals provide covering for most of the areas that are made of carbon fiber composite material, as well as the dark gray and red striping that runs the length of the vehicle between the center section and the fenders. The decals are of excellent quality, and in most cases application was no problem. The only challenge was the wheel vents, which took liberal quantities of decals solvent and a very sharp hobby knife in order to open them up correctly.
Conclusion:
This was another of those quick build projects that was truly fun for me. I completed the model in about four days of a subject that I only build on occasion. As for the kit, overall the quality is good, although the fit in some place could have been better. As for accuracy, it looks good to me but that is a non-technical opinion and as such, I will leave that judgment up to the true technical car buffs.