Oxo Supercube Ford Sierra RS500
Tamiya 1/24 Ford Sierra (24081)
and DMC 'Oxo' (24-112) decals.

by Tony Paton

Introduction

I was looking through an issue of 'Scale Auto Modeller' and saw an ad for DMC decal that caught my eye. The picture was of an OXO Ford Sierra that raced at Bathurst in Australia. I remember actually seeing this car race in the flesh and thought it would be a good subject to model.

I emailed Grandprix models and ordered the set of DMC decals. Only problem, I didn't have a 1/24 Sierra kit, and they have been deleted a few years ago. I called my friend Dan who has most things and he had a spare one to dispose of. A few weeks later I had the kit and decals and construction began.

History

As there is a lack of cheap models of cars that have raced in Australia over the years, I was very excited in having the opportunity to make one. This is the car that raced at Australia's annual 1000km race for touring cars at Bathurst, Australia in 1987. The track at Mount Panorama is, in my opinion, the best track for racing cars in the world. It was part of a two car team, raced and owned by Andrew Meidecke & Don Smith. The car qualified in 4th. It went well at the beginning of race, with the car even taking the lead, however alternator failures dropped the car down the pack. After 144 laps of the 6.2 km circuit, it finished in 17th place.

Building

As this is one of Tamiya's earlier kits, there were not too many parts on the sprues. Most were painted while still connected. The body was then sprayed with Tamiya's undercoat and left to dry. I then constructed the interior tub plus the underside. This was completed in no time, as there is not much detail with the engine.

The body was then sprayed with Tamiya's Italian red (TS-8) spray.

After this had dried I then applied the decals. The decals from DMC were of good quality and went on well. As could be expected from a Belgium manufacturer designing an Australian racing car without actually seeing it, mistakes were inevitable. First of all the large 'Oxo' decals for the side of the car were just a tad too large. This meant that the race numbers had to be moved forward to accommodate this. There was also a problem with one of the other sponsors decals. On the sheet it said '2MC - Rod Magazine - but in actual fact it is the call sign of a local radio station '2MC - Port Macquarie'.

While the decals dried. I finished off the chassis. All went together well with no problem. My only criticism would have to be the lack of interior detail compared to Tamiya's recent offerings I have completed. This is forgivable, as it is an early kit.

I finished off the body with a spray of Testors gloss Clear. I used to use Tamiya's clear but after it melted my last decals into a slimy mess, an alternative needed to be found. The Testors clear is also glossier than the other brand. When this had dried, I'd polish with cutting compound.

Now all the lights, rear spoilers and the one-piece window parts were now added. When completely dried the body was mated to the chassis. All went together well with no problems. The wheels and tires were added as well as the rear vision mirrors.

Although not all that challenging, I was very happy with the result. I was only disappointed with the size of the side decals and the mistake but you would have to have a keen eye to spot this mistake, apart from that, perfect! This has been the only 1/24 version of an Australian racing car available to my knowledge. So it takes pride of place in my collection If I can find another Ford Sierra, I'd like to make a few more Australian versions that DMC decals produce.