Regression Analysis

Once upon a time, I had a very good plastic 1:24 scale model kit of a Porsche 917K.  Somewhere along the line in several moves, it was lost.  I looked for it in a halfhearted way for over ten years but couldn't find it.  In my most recent move, a never-used cabinet was explored and viola: unbuilt kits of a Ford GT 40 Mark II (the 1966 LeMans winner) and the 917K.

I think I will build the 917.  Not in the Wyer-Gulf livery intended, but plain German Racing White.  This will involve razor blades, glue, cans of spray paint, little bottles of enamel, and brushes.  I haven't built a plastic model kit in 40 years, and shouldn't have built one in over 50 years.  Most boys give up plastic model kits around the time they discover girls and drivers' licenses.

But I've been on a quest for a good diecast model of the 917K.  It turns out there isn't one, unless you count some master-modeler who might do a one-off on commission for you for $4000.  (I think that's the price the guy who owns The Motorsport Collector quoted me.)  A well-modeled K should have correct diameter frame tubes and a highly detailed drive train, both of which are clearly visible on the real car.  Since I can't buy a good model of a K, I'll try to build one.

No color change is needed, although I might apply clear-coat.  I wonder if I have the patience, vision, and fine motor
skills required to build a good-quality 1:24 scale kit?

917-025 at an Interserie race at Hockenheim in 1970, before its owner painted  blue accents on the nose, mid-level
doors, and the tops of the rear fenders.  Porsche would paint your customer 917 in any livery you wanted, and most
were.  But the factory race cars were white in 1969, as were some customer cars delivered in 1970.  Besides being
the German national racing color, white was the natural color of the car's fiberglass body.