That's a really sharp looking car, and I'm impressed with your very thorough review and painstaking modifications! 
Minichamps 1:18 Porsche Carrera GTS 904 upgrade COMPLETED
As I'm relatively new to diecast car collecting and am not really a petrol head, there are many cars and models out there that I am not aware of. This is one in question, which I came across while searching Google for information to assist me in upgrading my AA 917k. I did of course know the Minichamps brand but the Carrera GTS and their model of it were completely new to me. Bottom line, I had to have one. Prices for this model are on the higher end of my budget but I found one that was acceptable. Here's what it looked like out of the box.
![Tire Land vehicle Wheel Vehicle Car]()
![Automotive parking light Vehicle Car Automotive lighting Hood]()
![Wheel Tire Vehicle Car Hood]()
![Tire Wheel Vehicle Car Hood]()
![Land vehicle Vehicle Vehicle registration plate Car Automotive lighting]()
No damage or scratches but some slight paint rash in one or two areas, that was removed by fine wet sanding, Tamiya rubbing compound and polish. The Porsche and Carrera scripts on the rear are very nicely done so care was needed to avoid damaging them.
![Car Wheel Vehicle Hood Motor vehicle]()
Not the best of images but the dials are nicely represented.
![Car Vehicle Speedometer Motor vehicle Steering wheel]()
This is a better exposure showing the dials and steering wheel. The latter is nicely moulded but will benefit from some sanding to remove the mould line on the rim and a repaint. The seats are flocked but look faded with uneven colour. On the down side there is a lot of unpainted plastic in there, notably the floor pan and dashboard mouldings. The windscreen, head lining and rear window are one clear moulding but the head lining area is unpainted and poorly fitting towards the rear. The door cards are not shown but they at least are painted
![Vehicle Car Steering wheel Steering part Personal luxury car]()
Again, a lot of unpainted plastic under the rear engine cover although the moulded inserts and cantilever opening struts are well done.
![Automotive tire Toy Hood Automotive design Motor vehicle]()
The engine is pretty accurate with distributors and separate plug and coil leads but no coils. I've seen these on other examples of this model located centrally on the lower panel in front of the engine but there are no obvious signs of broken mountings or glue residues where they would have been. On the down side the black areas of the engine are all unpainted with some parts poorly aligned. The air filters are nice mouldings with the mesh represented by a sticker which looks good from normal viewing distances but is starting to peel. It also lacks the starter motor, fuel and oil piping along with any fuel pump or oil filter, so some research is needed to suss all that out so it can be made and fitted.
![Tire Wheel Vehicle Automotive lighting Hood]()
The cover cantilevers work well but the struts are a little thick, but that's only to be expected when using plastic mouldings.
![Wheel Tire Vehicle Automotive tire Hood]()
The front mounted fuel tank has the sensor wiring moulded in relief along with a pipe running from the filler along the rear edge.
![Wheel Land vehicle Tire Vehicle Car]()
The spare wheel is tucked under the fuel tank and was glued in place but was easy to remove and clean up the glue residue.
![Wheel Tire Automotive lighting Hood Motor vehicle]()
So all in all a very good model albeit lacking in some refinement which I can hopefully improve.
Breaking it down is pretty straight forward only requiring the removal of 4 screws from the floor pan, followed by screws in the dor hinges. Dog legs unfortunately. To remove the enging cover two small screws have to be removed at the base of the front struts, followed by a push fit metal pin for the rear one.
![Green Rectangle Watch Textile Cutting mat]()
The interior moulding was well glued to the floorpan and took some time with a chisel blade to remove without breaking, as did the seats.
![Motor vehicle Vehicle Circuit component Rectangle Metal]()
Most of the glue residue had been removed when this image was taken, but whoever put it together in the factory must have used the whole tube just on the seats!
![Flooring Wood Floor Grass Rectangle]()
As mentioned earlier, the seat flocking, whilst intact appears to be faded and patchy. I've seen images with royal blue seat covers so I'll give them a whisk of matt paint via the air brush.
![Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Rectangle]()
These Porsche engines are really weird and look more like something you would fine in a washing machine rather than racing car!
![Wood Fashion accessory Metal Circle Font]()
![Green Wood Watch Recreation Fashion accessory]()
![Machine Metal Motor vehicle Toy Wood]()
It looks fairly accurate to me albeit missing some details and painting as well as being poorly assembled.
![Green Circuit component Electronic engineering Engineering Electrical wiring]()
Not easy to see in this image, but the panel where the spare wheel rests is plastic and again unpainted.
![Cutting mat Hood Motor vehicle Wood Flooring]()
Here you can see the upainted and poorly fitting head lining. It doesn't sit down on the locating pins and when pushed home springs up again. The problem is a lack of clearance at the rear edges next to the pillars, which will be easily rectified. Note also the unpainted insides of the wheel arches
![Tire Motor vehicle Vehicle Automotive design Car]()
![Hood Automotive lighting Motor vehicle Wood Rectangle]()
And the engine cover. The inner faces of the metal are painted but the inserts with the wheel arches are bare plastic.
![Gas Bumper Metal Fashion accessory Auto part]()
So on with the modifications. Here's how the rear suspension and drive shafts are set up as it comes. The drive shafts are one moulding with an insert which fits into a slot in the bottom of the differential. I wanted to remove the suspension to facilitate painting but after removing the fixing screws from the two tabs, it is still sealed in place in the rear cage of the chassis. I can't remove the wheels as the retaining screws are covered by the wheel hub insert which is far too tightly pushed home to get out without damaging the wheels. I decide the easiest way was to cut the drive shafts from the differential insert and separate the suspension into two components.
![Tire Wheel Automotive tire Vehicle Motor vehicle]()
With one side separated from the other you get this.
![Motor vehicle Automotive tire Wheel Tire Gas]()
To refit, I've added a brass pin to the drive shaft with a hole drilled in the gaitor on the diff insert into which it will fit. As is often the case one of the plastic pins broke when separating the plastic parts and I've had to replace it with styrene rod.
![Automotive tire Motor vehicle Wheel Gas Automotive wheel system]()
Here the differential insert with the gaitors has been glued into the diff and holes drill for the pins in the drive shafts to locate into. I'll remove the tyres to paint the suspension. They are a hard-ish compound but immersing for a minute or two in hot water will make them pliable enough to get off.
![Automotive tire Motor vehicle Gas Wood Machine]()
Here's what the interior and floorpan looks like after some spray work. Airbrush for the seats and rattle can for the rest.
![Rectangle Wood Toy Fashion accessory Scale model]()
The blue is a little on the dark side but it's what I had and I'm happy with it.
![Green Rectangle Cutting mat Wood Metal]()
I replaced the stalk on the gear lever with a length of polished nickel silver rod glued between the gaitor and handle. The handbrake is original but repainted as are the foot pedals, which although a little on the thick side are accurate.
![Green Wood Cutting mat Flooring Engineering]()
The sanding Mark's at the front of the floorpan are from removing some moulding pips which I felt interfered with the fit, but are not visible after reassembly so I didn't rub the smooth.
![Green Wood Flooring Floor Cutting mat]()
Looking better already methinks.
Cheers,
Peter
No damage or scratches but some slight paint rash in one or two areas, that was removed by fine wet sanding, Tamiya rubbing compound and polish. The Porsche and Carrera scripts on the rear are very nicely done so care was needed to avoid damaging them.
Not the best of images but the dials are nicely represented.
This is a better exposure showing the dials and steering wheel. The latter is nicely moulded but will benefit from some sanding to remove the mould line on the rim and a repaint. The seats are flocked but look faded with uneven colour. On the down side there is a lot of unpainted plastic in there, notably the floor pan and dashboard mouldings. The windscreen, head lining and rear window are one clear moulding but the head lining area is unpainted and poorly fitting towards the rear. The door cards are not shown but they at least are painted
Again, a lot of unpainted plastic under the rear engine cover although the moulded inserts and cantilever opening struts are well done.
The engine is pretty accurate with distributors and separate plug and coil leads but no coils. I've seen these on other examples of this model located centrally on the lower panel in front of the engine but there are no obvious signs of broken mountings or glue residues where they would have been. On the down side the black areas of the engine are all unpainted with some parts poorly aligned. The air filters are nice mouldings with the mesh represented by a sticker which looks good from normal viewing distances but is starting to peel. It also lacks the starter motor, fuel and oil piping along with any fuel pump or oil filter, so some research is needed to suss all that out so it can be made and fitted.
The cover cantilevers work well but the struts are a little thick, but that's only to be expected when using plastic mouldings.
The front mounted fuel tank has the sensor wiring moulded in relief along with a pipe running from the filler along the rear edge.
The spare wheel is tucked under the fuel tank and was glued in place but was easy to remove and clean up the glue residue.
So all in all a very good model albeit lacking in some refinement which I can hopefully improve.
Breaking it down is pretty straight forward only requiring the removal of 4 screws from the floor pan, followed by screws in the dor hinges. Dog legs unfortunately. To remove the enging cover two small screws have to be removed at the base of the front struts, followed by a push fit metal pin for the rear one.
The interior moulding was well glued to the floorpan and took some time with a chisel blade to remove without breaking, as did the seats.
Most of the glue residue had been removed when this image was taken, but whoever put it together in the factory must have used the whole tube just on the seats!
As mentioned earlier, the seat flocking, whilst intact appears to be faded and patchy. I've seen images with royal blue seat covers so I'll give them a whisk of matt paint via the air brush.
These Porsche engines are really weird and look more like something you would fine in a washing machine rather than racing car!
It looks fairly accurate to me albeit missing some details and painting as well as being poorly assembled.
Not easy to see in this image, but the panel where the spare wheel rests is plastic and again unpainted.
Here you can see the upainted and poorly fitting head lining. It doesn't sit down on the locating pins and when pushed home springs up again. The problem is a lack of clearance at the rear edges next to the pillars, which will be easily rectified. Note also the unpainted insides of the wheel arches
And the engine cover. The inner faces of the metal are painted but the inserts with the wheel arches are bare plastic.
So on with the modifications. Here's how the rear suspension and drive shafts are set up as it comes. The drive shafts are one moulding with an insert which fits into a slot in the bottom of the differential. I wanted to remove the suspension to facilitate painting but after removing the fixing screws from the two tabs, it is still sealed in place in the rear cage of the chassis. I can't remove the wheels as the retaining screws are covered by the wheel hub insert which is far too tightly pushed home to get out without damaging the wheels. I decide the easiest way was to cut the drive shafts from the differential insert and separate the suspension into two components.
With one side separated from the other you get this.
To refit, I've added a brass pin to the drive shaft with a hole drilled in the gaitor on the diff insert into which it will fit. As is often the case one of the plastic pins broke when separating the plastic parts and I've had to replace it with styrene rod.
Here the differential insert with the gaitors has been glued into the diff and holes drill for the pins in the drive shafts to locate into. I'll remove the tyres to paint the suspension. They are a hard-ish compound but immersing for a minute or two in hot water will make them pliable enough to get off.
Here's what the interior and floorpan looks like after some spray work. Airbrush for the seats and rattle can for the rest.
The blue is a little on the dark side but it's what I had and I'm happy with it.
I replaced the stalk on the gear lever with a length of polished nickel silver rod glued between the gaitor and handle. The handbrake is original but repainted as are the foot pedals, which although a little on the thick side are accurate.
The sanding Mark's at the front of the floorpan are from removing some moulding pips which I felt interfered with the fit, but are not visible after reassembly so I didn't rub the smooth.
Looking better already methinks.
Cheers,
Peter
