Alfa Romeo 159 Alfetta of 1950
By Dennis Korn
The Alfa Romeo 159 Alfetta was an upgrade to the “158” model that raced before WWII. This single-seat race car had a 1.5 liter in-line eight-cylinder engine that when equipped with a Roots two-stage blower put out 404 hp. Some of the biggest names in Grand Prix racing drove these cars: Farina (who won the World Championship in 1950), Varzi, Fangio, and Faggioli. It is interesting to note and this applies through the sixties as well . . . drivers did not have just one number during the season like they do these days. Back then, the car was assigned a number when you showed up at the race track, so a driver might drive the #2 this race and #4 at the next race. This interesting fact will become important later on.
This kit is what one would call a basic kit. When you look at the sprues, you realize this should be a weekend kit that goes right together. It was first released in the 1950s, reboxed in 1963, re-boxed again in 1987, and had new decals added in 2009 . . . this is the kit I purchased on eBay. But, since I’m me and I can’t leave anything alone, my first steps were to determine what needed to be changed. I found 3D resin replacements for the engine and the front grill. The wheels in the kit were total junk, but I could not find any aftermarket replacements. So, the search began through the kits in my stash. Low and behold, the Monogram Mercedes 300 SLR kit had a close approximation of the wheels and tires I needed for this kit. I found another Monogram kit on eBay and decided to build that kit at the same time, while stealing the wheels and tires from the extra kit for the Alfa Romeo. This meant I had cut off the kit spindles and drill and add my own to fit the new wheels.
Another limitation on this model were the louvers that were not opened up . . . so naturally I had to spend weeks doing just that . . . there has to be easier way to accomplish this task. And the worst sin of all was that the plastic body was split into a lower and upper half. This was great for assembly purposes, but meant I had to assemble the car and then file, fill, sand, fill, sand, rub on and finally prime, paint and gloss coat the body . . . all while trying to keep the suspension parts masked. I was not totally successful.
Components installed in lower half of body; this is the point where I should have insured that all four wheels would touch the ground
The paint was provided by MCW, the best source for automotive specific paints. No thinning required and they coat beautifully. The decals in the kit (remember this is the 2009 kit with new decals) were disappointing. Probably because I was not ready for them. They were paper-thin and when you set them down on the car, they stuck . . . and they were not moving. Shit! (Kel suggested at our meeting to add a drop of Dove to the water to solve this problem) Okay, what can I use for decals now that I screwed up the kit one. I could find no aftermarket decals for this car and I had no number “2” decals in the stash. But wait, there is a stock car kit for a Petty Enterprises car with the number 44 (Richard Petty ran #43 forever, but after retirement, the company used #44 for a while before bringing back #43) and maybe I can make them work. A cut here, a cut there and viola . . . car #2 is now car #4.
Completed model
Everyone knows the #1 Rule in Fight Club . . . well, the #1 Rule in car modeling is to make sure all four wheels touch the ground as you build the kit. The biggest mistake I made with both this Alfa Romeo and the Mercedes 300 SLR was to insure I had all four wheels on the ground while building the kit. The Alfa Romeo should have been an easy one, since the suspension when into the lower half of the body and I could have checked it then, but naturally I did not. Thus, the reason for the fine vignette scene of the car on blocks . . . full disclosure. The Mercedes could not be finally checked until the body was attached to the chassis because of the way they two parts are assembled. That one required some modifications to the suspension to get it to sit correctly. I will not make the this mistake again and I am looking forward to the next car kit, so I can prove it.
Completed model