Tamiya re-creates the 1989 Sauber-Mercedes C9 as it competed in the 1989 World Sportscar Championship Season. In 1989, the Sauber-Mercedes team won seven of eight races in the championship including a glorious triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The C9 was equipped with a 4,973 cc V8 biturbo M 119 HL with four-valve technology that generated as much as 925 horsepower during qualifying and consistently produced 720 horsepower during the race. During the actual race, it was about 530 KW (720hp).
Although This is a reissue of the 1989 Tamiya 1989 Sauber-Mercedes C9 kit, it includes a few additions, like including a new fret of photo-etched metal detail parts for the intercooler, photo-etched metal sheet that provides detailed parts for the intercooler, oil cooler, engine bay heat shield, wing tips, and belt buckles, among other small items. You will also get a sheet of adhesive-backed or sticker type seat belts; which will be used in conjunction with the seat belt buckles and hardware found on the photo-etch sheet. You will have to cut around out the belts before applying them to the seat.
The kit also provides you with a new Cartograph decal sheet. This sheet can be used to decorate the model as the number depicts any of the number 61, 62, or 63 cars which that competed in the 1989 race events. The decals conform very well to the surface of the model and look beautiful once in place. Make sure to useI suggest the use of warm water when dipping them.
You will also be provided with a masking medium for the front and side glass, which will makes the process of masking a lot easier and cleaner. Just make be sure to burnish these the mask edges well before painting to avoid any paint seeping into the edges and underneath the tape. You can also seal the edge with flat black paint. I suggest the use of flat black paint to perform this task rather than the glossy alternative.
The 19-part engine in the kit is pretty complete and looks great once built. It consists of 19 parts. In typical Tamiya fashion, it goes together well. The engine block and transmission halves are a one-piece affair with the valve covers as separate items. Instructions call for the block and valve covers to be painted as one a single piece, but after I looking looked at the reference photos of the real thing, the valve covers should be painted black. The bottom part of the engine will sit atop the chassis pan, so detail in this area is simplified.
The pan chassis, or may I say the actual pan, consists of twenty-three parts. Instructions call out for the installation of front and rear suspension arms along with a front, posable steering rod up front and along with shock absorbers. The feel of the chassis components, including the wheels and tires, is sturdy and solid when completed and sits very low giving it quite an aggressive look. The kit also provides you with Michelin brand decals for the tires. I suggest the use of decal solvent when putting these decals in place; I found them to be a bit brittle.
The bulkhead consists of nine parts and should be painted the same as the body color according to the instructions. There is a tubular style frame molded onto the bulkhead that should be masked and painted accordingly. This will ultimately be part of the tubular frame that will surrounds the engine at the end of this phase of the build.
The interior consists of five parts. There are two holes that should be opened at the top of the seat for the addition of the racing harness. Place the racing harness as instructed and glue the seat to the interior tub. Make sure to sand off or better yet, use a rotary tool to “erase” the pre-molded seatbelt before adding the new, self-adhesive ones provided in the kit. Instructions also show you where to place several decals around the cockpit.
The body and rear cowl is are molded in silver plastic. as well as the rear cowling. It truly looks amazing and shows how well the actual mold tooling has held up over the years. There are mold lines that should be sanded, off but these are very minimal. The small hood at the front is a separate piece, but make sure to test- fit before doing any painting. There are several indentations around the body that should be sanded and leveled on the plastic before the addition of primer and paint — but again, these are nothing major. The rear wing comes in five pieces with optional photo-etched metal sides photo-etch or plastic wing tips. The installation is simple but sturdy when completed.
The mating of the body to the chassis went smoothly. However, make sure to check that all the surrounding areas are firmly tucked in place. I didn’t need any glue for this phase of the build, but you can use it if needed. After this, I went ahead and placed all the decals went on the body without any hassle. These went on smooth and dried very strong giving this build a terrific and a very realistic look.
Tamiya hits yet another home run with this classic updated kit and with the added items included in this one, it It is sure to be a popular item, especially for car those racing fanatics out there. There is so much potential for super detailing, if that is your cup of tea, but even out of the box, this kit is sure to impress.