SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - A review of the elusive Platz Porsche 935.

ET2SN · 03-21-23, 06:21 PM

I figured I may as well do a review of the 1/18th scale 935 K3 by Solido in the Jagermeister livery. Grab some coffee and sit back.

What you get is surprisingly good at a very fair price although that price does come with some limitations. So, for under $70 (US) you get a die cast car with opening doors, turning plus steering wheels, a nicely detailed racing interior, and (mostly) outstanding paint. If you only plan to sit it on a shelf, it's pretty much ready once you unscrew it from the base.

MOST of the Jagermeister logos you see in pic from the previous post are silk screened in paint over the orange finish. This is a really good feature although you may want to invest a few hours with some fine polishing compound to really make them pop. More about that later.
The exceptions are the black contingency stickers/decals just in front of the rear wheels and the large "Jager" letters across the nose/hood area. Due to the complexity of the 935's nose and front fenders, it would have been impossible to silk screen. You can almost see the clear backing film of these letters in the pic. So, you may want to use a sharp Xacto knife and a pointed Q Tip/cotton bud around the top fender vents and the break line of the hood.
If you're more adventurous, you could also try to find some larger Jagermeister decals before carefully removing the sticker but you may also want to go with a smaller script that only fits on the hood. The smaller script would be inaccurate for the car that raced in the DRM in 1980, but it would look fine for a retro-restoration.

ALL of the "stag head" logos are silk screened and they look great.

This is an intricate logo of yellow and dark brown over white and at this point I have wonder if they were really painted onto the full size car or if they were vinyl stickers?

As I mentioned, I chose to lightly polish all of the silk screening using Tamiya FINE polishing compound and a Kleenex. It should be noted that if the logos were stickers, they should look a little more dull (or at least different) than the orange paint so do your research before you commit, depending on what you want.

The orange paint is a little odd. Just for S&G's, I posed this car next to my AutoArt GT3 in factory pastel orange and this shade of paint ain't the same. That's not to say that its inaccurate, it just isn't a factory color. Its a little odd, like the factory pastel orange with some extra yellow and light gray. The paint looks brighter than the factory color while also looking more industrial.

The body is very accurate for a 1980 rendition of the Kremer-built 935's. This year was mostly the last hurrah for the 935 K body style and Solido got it all right. Look carefully and you'll notice the air intakes just behind the doors are not symmetrical. Like-wise, the large NACA duct covers on top of the rear fenders are a stand-out. When I first got my sample out of its box, it looked like the coveres were silk screened black and they missed it just a bit. But, on closer examination, the covers are made out of clear plastic with the wire mesh silk screened over them.

Its a very convincing effect once you figure out what you're looking at.

While its a shame the boot/hood is molded in place, keep in mind how these cars raced. The only time the hood was opened was if something really went wrong.

Likewise, the engine cover does not open. On the real 935 K3, opening the engine cover reveals a large black box for the air intake and turbo inter coolers, so there really isn't much to see, anyway. The mirrors on the doors just look wonky, but this was how Kremer built them- probably for an aerodynamic advantage.

Finishing up on the body, the one area that has me scratching my head is the front grille/air inlet. This would be an odd time for Solido to drop the ball so I need to do more research. This car ran in the German DRM, not at LeMans or in the German DTM. I'm starting to think these races weren't of the long-endurance type but closer to 100 Km or 300 Km sprints. Ducts the car needed for a 24 hour slog may have been sealed off.

Wheels and tires- what's the German word for Fantastic?

Wheels are BBS with the "dog dish" turbo inserts (actually cooling scoops for the brakes) that feature the gold painted mesh design and BBS logos. From what I can see these details aren't decals but silk screened.

Look very closely and you'll see the chrome wheel rims. These are very nice details for an economy priced die-cast. The tires are cleanly molded slicks made from real rubber with painted DUNLOP lettering in yellow.

The interior is spartan by Porsche standards, which fits with the idea of running sprint races. Some detail painting and detailing could pay some big dividends, but don't go too crazy. There isn't much in terms of detail painting. I'm planning to keep the steering wheel fairly stock, maybe add some padding to the rim with NATO black and scratch building a "push to talk" button with some coiled 30 Ga. wire to wrap around the steering shaft. The gauges look good and all I could add is some gloss clear for the lenses and flat black for the gauge bezels. The sequential gear shift (AKA, the broom handle) looks correct although the brake balance/turbo boost knob could use some clean up. The fire extinguisher could use some silver paint and maybe some label decals and I do want to scratch build a very basic radio and wire it from the steering wheel to the roof antenna.

The roll cage tubing is painted silver, it might look better painted white.

Otherwise, this is a good time to play around with different shades and textures of black paint. Small changes tend to really pop and this is an area where some "easter eggs" can really pay off. The racing seat really needs some help. The harness is either a decal or silk screened and its a shame that it has to go. Some ribbon and a P/E harness kit are really needed here. BTW, don't forget to attach the shoulder belts to the roll cage behind the seat.

So-to wrap it up. This a great first-time die-cast if you want to get into 1/18th scale cars. It looks mean and nasty which makes it accurate. For the price, you get a LOT without the hassle of "everything opens" which makes it a fine candidate for some shelf space. Just be careful with those bits and bobs on the body. Solido made those parts out of fine-molded styrene and they will break if you aren't careful.

For the Porsche fans, this body style has been fairly unrepresented in this scale for as dominant as it was in the late 1970's and early 1980's. It does feature the twin turbos which are accurate for Europe but it should be noted that the same car was limited a single, larger, turbocharger for racing in North America (and Asia?).

If you want to try my sub-hobby of detailing the snot out of these cars, this is a good candidate as a first project. Its fairly cheap but still has really good detail.

03-21-23, 06:21 PM	#4
ET2SN ET2/SS Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 2,503 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	I figured I may as well do a review of the 1/18th scale 935 K3 by Solido in the Jagermeister livery. Grab some coffee and sit back. What you get is surprisingly good at a very fair price although that price does come with some limitations. So, for under $70 (US) you get a die cast car with opening doors, turning plus steering wheels, a nicely detailed racing interior, and (mostly) outstanding paint. If you only plan to sit it on a shelf, it's pretty much ready once you unscrew it from the base. MOST of the Jagermeister logos you see in pic from the previous post are silk screened in paint over the orange finish. This is a really good feature although you may want to invest a few hours with some fine polishing compound to really make them pop. More about that later. The exceptions are the black contingency stickers/decals just in front of the rear wheels and the large "Jager" letters across the nose/hood area. Due to the complexity of the 935's nose and front fenders, it would have been impossible to silk screen. You can almost see the clear backing film of these letters in the pic. So, you may want to use a sharp Xacto knife and a pointed Q Tip/cotton bud around the top fender vents and the break line of the hood. If you're more adventurous, you could also try to find some larger Jagermeister decals before carefully removing the sticker but you may also want to go with a smaller script that only fits on the hood. The smaller script would be inaccurate for the car that raced in the DRM in 1980, but it would look fine for a retro-restoration. ALL of the "stag head" logos are silk screened and they look great. This is an intricate logo of yellow and dark brown over white and at this point I have wonder if they were really painted onto the full size car or if they were vinyl stickers? As I mentioned, I chose to lightly polish all of the silk screening using Tamiya FINE polishing compound and a Kleenex. It should be noted that if the logos were stickers, they should look a little more dull (or at least different) than the orange paint so do your research before you commit, depending on what you want. The orange paint is a little odd. Just for S&G's, I posed this car next to my AutoArt GT3 in factory pastel orange and this shade of paint ain't the same. That's not to say that its inaccurate, it just isn't a factory color. Its a little odd, like the factory pastel orange with some extra yellow and light gray. The paint looks brighter than the factory color while also looking more industrial. The body is very accurate for a 1980 rendition of the Kremer-built 935's. This year was mostly the last hurrah for the 935 K body style and Solido got it all right. Look carefully and you'll notice the air intakes just behind the doors are not symmetrical. Like-wise, the large NACA duct covers on top of the rear fenders are a stand-out. When I first got my sample out of its box, it looked like the coveres were silk screened black and they missed it just a bit. But, on closer examination, the covers are made out of clear plastic with the wire mesh silk screened over them. Its a very convincing effect once you figure out what you're looking at. While its a shame the boot/hood is molded in place, keep in mind how these cars raced. The only time the hood was opened was if something really went wrong. Likewise, the engine cover does not open. On the real 935 K3, opening the engine cover reveals a large black box for the air intake and turbo inter coolers, so there really isn't much to see, anyway. The mirrors on the doors just look wonky, but this was how Kremer built them- probably for an aerodynamic advantage. Finishing up on the body, the one area that has me scratching my head is the front grille/air inlet. This would be an odd time for Solido to drop the ball so I need to do more research. This car ran in the German DRM, not at LeMans or in the German DTM. I'm starting to think these races weren't of the long-endurance type but closer to 100 Km or 300 Km sprints. Ducts the car needed for a 24 hour slog may have been sealed off. Wheels and tires- what's the German word for Fantastic? Wheels are BBS with the "dog dish" turbo inserts (actually cooling scoops for the brakes) that feature the gold painted mesh design and BBS logos. From what I can see these details aren't decals but silk screened. Look very closely and you'll see the chrome wheel rims. These are very nice details for an economy priced die-cast. The tires are cleanly molded slicks made from real rubber with painted DUNLOP lettering in yellow. The interior is spartan by Porsche standards, which fits with the idea of running sprint races. Some detail painting and detailing could pay some big dividends, but don't go too crazy. There isn't much in terms of detail painting. I'm planning to keep the steering wheel fairly stock, maybe add some padding to the rim with NATO black and scratch building a "push to talk" button with some coiled 30 Ga. wire to wrap around the steering shaft. The gauges look good and all I could add is some gloss clear for the lenses and flat black for the gauge bezels. The sequential gear shift (AKA, the broom handle) looks correct although the brake balance/turbo boost knob could use some clean up. The fire extinguisher could use some silver paint and maybe some label decals and I do want to scratch build a very basic radio and wire it from the steering wheel to the roof antenna. The roll cage tubing is painted silver, it might look better painted white. Otherwise, this is a good time to play around with different shades and textures of black paint. Small changes tend to really pop and this is an area where some "easter eggs" can really pay off. The racing seat really needs some help. The harness is either a decal or silk screened and its a shame that it has to go. Some ribbon and a P/E harness kit are really needed here. BTW, don't forget to attach the shoulder belts to the roll cage behind the seat. So-to wrap it up. This a great first-time die-cast if you want to get into 1/18th scale cars. It looks mean and nasty which makes it accurate. For the price, you get a LOT without the hassle of "everything opens" which makes it a fine candidate for some shelf space. Just be careful with those bits and bobs on the body. Solido made those parts out of fine-molded styrene and they will break if you aren't careful. For the Porsche fans, this body style has been fairly unrepresented in this scale for as dominant as it was in the late 1970's and early 1980's. It does feature the twin turbos which are accurate for Europe but it should be noted that the same car was limited a single, larger, turbocharger for racing in North America (and Asia?). If you want to try my sub-hobby of detailing the snot out of these cars, this is a good candidate as a first project. Its fairly cheap but still has really good detail.