Speed Racer's Mach 5

[Rich Chernosky]

My blocal hobby shop started this build challenge of movie and TV cars. This is my entry just completed. Color is Tamiya LP-43 Pearl white (top) and LP-47 Pearl blue (bottom) . Kit was not too complicated and went together very well with no major fit problems.  Body fit was exceptional.  More info in the picture captions.  Thank for looking.

Compl;ete car on its wheels. This veiw gives you a good idea of the cartoon nature of this car.

Back veiw shows the detailed cockpit  and oversized exhaust. Interesting styling.

Here is a pic of all the gadjets exposed.  Saw blades retract easily, pop up camera thingie, hatch in hood houses what is probqably a flying remote, there are 4 hydralic jacks that extend under the car, hood opens and wheels steer. Not being a fan of the show I can't say what all these things actually do.

Overhead veiw gives you an idea of the shape of the car and the interesting  "M" graphics. There was a nice fret of PE in this kit and the hood emblem was one of them. 

The big v-12 that powers this car.

 

 

 

[Bainford]

Nice looking build, Rich. The show wasn't available where I lived, so I have never actually seen it in action, just images online. It certainly looks the part. I didn't realise this kit had features such as the saw blades, etc, or even an engine. A cool, fun build. Nicely done.

[cobraman]

Looks great, nicely done !

[Jim B]

Great job on your Mach 5.  Very well done.  I remember watching that show when I was a little kid.

Edited June 29, 2022 by Jim B

[espo]

Having never seen the show I didn't realize all of the features this model was supposed to have. Your build seems to be very cleanly done and respect all of these features as well. 

[MrObsessive]

My favorite cartoon to watch as a kid in the '60's! I scratchbuilt a Mach 5 MANY years ago. I still have it, but it doesn't have all the whiz bang gadgets that yours has. ??

2 hours ago, espo said:

Having never seen the show I didn't realize all of the features this model was supposed to have. Your build seems to be very cleanly done and respect all of these features as well. 

Somewhere on YT there's full vids (unless they took them down) of Speed Racer. I think the second episode that aired (The Great Plan Part 2), the first few minutes of the show, Speed explains what each of those buttons on the steering wheel are for and what they do.

I always thought the car looked an awful lot like a customized late '50's Ferrari Testarossa as the Japanese are very big fans of Ferraris in their country.

[Rich Chernosky]

23 minutes ago, MrObsessive said:

My favorite cartoon to watch as a kid in the '60's! I scratchbuilt a Mach 5 MANY years ago. I still have it, but it doesn't have all the whiz bang gadgets that yours has. ??

Somewhere on YT there's full vids (unless they took them down) of Speed Racer. I think the second episode that aired (The Great Plan Part 2), the first few minutes of the show, Speed explains what each of those buttons on the steering wheel are for and what they do.

I always thought the car looked an awful lot like a customized late '50's Ferrari Testarossa as the Japanese are very big fans of Ferraris in their country.

Bill....saw your post  and I think you did a decent job considering the time it was done and what you had to work with.  I have seen this kit available if you would like to re-visit it.  Imai marketed it as "The Mach"  No mention of Speed Racer.  I found mine in the dark dusty corners of my local hobby shop.  And thanks for the info...I did see some things on YouTube. 

[happy grumpy]

Great model, it brought back a lot of good memories coming back from school and watching the show. Always wondered if someone took to build a 1:1 replica.

[MrObsessive]

37 minutes ago, happy grumpy said:

Great model, it brought back a lot of good memories coming back from school and watching the show. Always wondered if someone took to build a 1:1 replica.

Somewhere on the 'net (might have been YT), I watched a vid where there was a running, driving Mach 5 that someone built based on a 'Vette. It looked VERY convincing, but I don't remember it having all the gadgets that the cartoon car had.

[slusher]

Looks fantastic!  Still love Speed Racer!

[TNT]

Nice build. Which kit is this? I have  one but it does not PE parts. 

Way back in the early 70s we would get home from school and watch speed racer, spiderman, and gilligans island. Oh, and ultraman. 

[PappyD340]

Very nice, well done!

[Rich Chernosky]

On 7/1/2022 at 12:53 PM, slusher said:

Looks fantastic!  Still love Speed Racer!

Thank you Carl...I only saw the movie.

 

On 7/1/2022 at 1:56 PM, TNT said:

Nice build. Which kit is this? I have  one but it does not PE parts. 

Way back in the early 70s we would get home from school and watch speed racer, spiderman, and gilligans island. Oh, and ultraman. 

Here is a link to the kit I used:   https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10012042.  It is sold out here but I have seen it for sale other places.

 

9 hours ago, PappyD340 said:

Very nice, well done!

Thank you.

 

[TNT]

13 minutes ago, Rich Chernosky said:

 

Thanks for the info. Looks like a cool website.

 

 

[Metalmad]

Cool Build !