A MODEL OF PERFECTION

WORDS DAVID LILLYWHITE PHOTOGRAPHY AMALGAM

SO YOU HAVE GOT THE CAR YOU’VE always wanted. You have pictures of it, books on it, maybe even artwork featuring it.

What next? How about a large scale model of your exact car? It could sit in your office, at your home or alongside the real thing in your garage. It will be a thing of beauty.

This is the thinking behind M1 Concourse partner Amalgam Collection’s Bespoke model service, which allows 1:8-scale recreations of specific cars to be crafted using existing Amalgam models as the basis. It’s a much less costly solution than having a full one-off model made – and as the 1:8-scale model of Claude Nahum’s Ford GT40 chassis no. 1078 shows here, the results can be spectacular.

Claude’s GT40 was commissioned in early 2019 and delivered in September of that year. Amalgam already produced a model of the

Gulf-liveried 1969 Le Mans winner, but the many details distinct to chassis 1078 were accurately reproduced for Claude’s Bespoke version. It is a beautiful recreation of a fascinating car, which started its career with the Strathaven team, driven by Mike Salmon and David Piper.

The GT40 was later sold to Alain de Cadenet, who raced it in dark blue and orange, but the original livery was the light metallic green you see here – described on the 1968 build sheet as Borneo Green. It works beautifully on the Amalgam model, catching the light in just the way that the full-size car does. Every decal on the real thing is replicated here, and the same goes for the interior – right down to the trademark brass rings on the seat-ventilation holes.

This is the basis of the Bespoke service, which Amalgam offers on 1:8-scale models. Working from a series of images – “at least half a dozen of the inside and half a dozen of the outside in the first instance,” says founder and managing director Sandy Copeman – it creates a detailed model that replicates an owner’s car spec.

Once the photographs have been analyzed, the team produces CAD designs of any special components specific to the client’s car, which are then created using 3D printing, machining or handcrafting of cast resin. Surfaces are accurately simulated, but because resin shrinkage can occur, the complete set of parts for each individual model is dry assembled before being carefully fettled to ensure a perfect fit. Then it’s all taken apart again to be sanded and painted. The exterior is finished in automotive paint to ensure authentic finishes, and the interior is detailed right down to the color of the stitching. Decals represent carbonfiber, leather, polished aluminum or patinated surfaces. For modern cars, Amalgam’s close relationship with makers – particularly Ferrari and McLaren – allows it to access the car in question’s exact build specs.

BELOW AND OPPOSITE Created by Amalgam’s craftspeople, exquisite GT40 model perfectly replicates the full-scale version down to the racing decals and cabin detailing.

The Bespoke service’s cost varies according to how different the car is from the existing Amalgam Edition model. If, for example, the bodywork varies significantly, such as going from a standard to a long-tail version of a McLaren F1 or a Porsche 917, then the time needed to recreate it would add to the price.

Typically, though, a 1:8-scale Bespoke model will cost around $20,000-30,000, with a lead time of 30-35 weeks. This compares well with a one-off model of the same size, for which, say, a GT car with opening doors, hood and trunk could cost around $170,000-180,000. Buyers pay a 50 percent deposit on ordering. Once the Bespoke model is completed, the purchaser receives a set of images to ensure it’s just as specified, before it’s signed off and the balance paid. For Claude, Amalgam’s 1:8-scale recreation of chassis 1078 counts as the favorite of his model collection; the perfect reminder of the GT40 that he’s raced so extensively. See www.amalgamcollection.com, and visit M1 Concourse’s retail store for more Amalgam models.

The once-controversial Pontiac Fiero has now become a cult classic, with its 40th birthday to be celebrated at M1 Concourse, close to its birthplace

OPPOSITE The Fiero certainly “built excitement” with Hall & Oates, via Pontiac’s sponsorship of the legendary rock duo’s Big Bam Boom North American tour.