Bugatti Type 41 Royale Chassis

[Bugatti Fan]

Some years ago I acquired a Bandai Bugatti Royale kit in 1/16th scale.     A fellow modeller I know said 'You can have this old kit if you think you can do something with it!  It's a bit of a wreck as the body work has sustained bad damage in the box.'

So I took it home and it languished for about 10 years under a bench in my workshop. Last year I was looking for a project that would be a bit different from the norm when I came across some photos of a chassis for Gerald Wingroves T41 in his book The Complete Car Modeller 2.   Being a bit intrigued by this and having copies of his T41 drawings I thought that building just a chassis model might be a challenge being a little different and found some more pictures of his T41 chassis models on the internet.

On looking at the kit parts, the chassis was very, very basic to say the least, but having said that I had to remember that most of it would be hidden when the kit bodywork was fitted. However, the basics were there so I knew that there would be a fair amount of scratch building a lot of detail that simply was not there. Upon examination of the Wingrove drawings I utilised as many of the kit parts as possible and added as much to my model from the drawings even though some compromises were in order.

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2024 by Bugatti Fan

[PappyD340]

Very nice!

[espo]

The chassis on these vehicles are worth displaying without the bodies. They are a mechanical work of art. 

[Bainford]

Does it have enough batteries?

Seriously, great work here Noel. I love a good chassis display. Lots of opportunity for scratch building engineering details and flexing one's craftsmanship. This looks like a fun project. Excellent work.

[Rich Chernosky]

Really nice work Noel. Very creative too.  A worthy model and great addition to any Bugatti fan. Well done.  Gerald Wingrove was the ultimate modeler.  I had a friend who met him and saw some of his work in person.  He said he was "frighteningly  talented" 

[Bugatti Fan]

Hi Rich, I had the great pleasure of meeting Gerald Wingrove s number of times and visiting his first workshop. A genuine man who took great pleasure in showing and explaining about his work After he retired to Spain we exchanged emails now and again. He is sadly missed.

He had a number of finished models and was working on a sectional model of The Falls of Clyde  ship when he passed away. His models, finished and part finished were bequeathed to the Clyde Transport Museum in Glasgow. I don't know if his work has been placed on display or currently in storage.

Edited June 1, 2024 by Bugatti Fan

[stitchdup]

14 minutes ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Hi Rich, I had the great pleasure of meeting Gerald Wingrove s number of times and visiting his first workshop. A genuine man who took great pleasure in showing and explaining about his work After he retired to Spain we exchanged emails now and again. He is sadly missed.

He had a number of finished models and was working on a sectional model of The Falls of Clyde  ship when he passed away. His models, finished and part finished were bequeathed to the Clyde Transport Museum in Glasgow. I don't know if his work has been placed on display of currently in storage.

are these his models? they're on display at the clyde riverside and i think some might be also in the edinburgh industrial museum as i believe its part of the same museum. theres also a bus museum near edinburgh that may have some.

[Bugatti Fan]

What you see in the picture you posted Les are I think real full size cars !

All very arty whoever designed the display. But how is one expected to view an exhibit properly when it is 20 and 40 feet up on a wall shelf well above your head?  I can see no elevated walkways in the picture to enable  closer viewing. A museum design disaster. They should have built a complete upper floor so people can look around the exhibits properly. There is plenty of space for an upper floor as far as I can see. That's the problem when an arty architect is contracted who has not got a clue that visitors (especially enthusiasts) wish to look all around exhibits at the same level and up close.

Gerald Wingrove' s models are of classics like the Blower Bentley, Bugatti Royale and Duesenberg SJ to name a few. If they were on display they would be in a dedicated display case I would think.

Edited June 7, 2024 by Bugatti Fan

[XYHARRY]

Great mechanical display there Noel, it really highlights your talent for detail. Well done.

Cheers, 

David. ??

[ChrisR]

Looks great!

[Street Rod]

Beautifully done with a lot of great detail, very realistic looking!

[Bugatti Fan]

Thank you guys for your complimentary replies.    Appreciated.

[ncbuckeye67]

The level of detail is incredible! That is an awesome display piece just by itself.

[slusher]

Very nice!

[Dann Tier]

What a work of art!!

[Bugatti Fan]

Thanks Jeff, Carl and Dann

[Rattlecan Dan]

Great job. Makes you want to keep looking and finding little things to make you ooh and ah. 

[stavanzer]

Awesome Build!

A rolling Chassis is always a work of art.

Good Show.

[Bugatti Fan]

An update.  I mentioned in an earlier post about the late Gerald Wingrove having bequeathed a number of his models to the Transport Museum on Clydeside in Glasgow. I have an unconfirmed piece of information that they kept the 'Falls of Clyde' windjammer ship model parts to put on display but very quickly disposed of the car models by auction. It this is so then the opportunity for folks to see Gerald's fantastic car models has now been denied. Disappointing news to say the least and if true, I feel disrespectful to that great modeller who left the models to them in good faith to be displayed for people to enjoy. The least they could have done is let another museum have the models on long term loan instead of just selling them off.

Edited December 30, 2024 by Bugatti Fan

[Rich Chernosky]

56 minutes ago, Bugatti Fan said:

An update.  I mentioned in an earlier post about the late Gerald Wingrove having bequeathed a number of his models to the Transport Museum on Clydeside in Glasgow. I have an unconfirmed piece of information that they kept the 'Falls of Clyde' windjammer shop model parts to put on display but very quickly disposed of the car models by auction. It this is so then the opportunity for folks to see Gerald's fantastic car models has now been denied. Disappointing news to say the least and if true, I feel disrespectful to that great modeller who left the models to them in good faith to be displayed for people to enjoy. The least they could have done is let another museum have the models on long term loan instead of just selling them off.

Noel...I have had a similar experience with the Watkins Glen Motoracing Research center. It is basically a museum located in the village of Watkins Glen. I have exibited my work there on several occassions and even helped them when they took over my own exibit at the Watkins Glen Historics events.  They are very nice people and generous with their space and time.  They also have a permanent display of a few models. I know of a few modelers who have donated their collections of built and unbuilt kits to them.  They sold most of that on Ebay and I know because I bought some of them.  When you donate something to an organization such as this its "theirs" to do with as they please. In this case they sold it to generate income to run the library.  Nothing illegal about it but tacky just the same.  When asked if I would ever donate my collection to them the answer is a polite no.  In the case of Gerald Wingroves stuff its a real shame. He created some truly museum masterpieces. The only way anyone will ever see them is if they know who bought the pieces and get a special invite which is rather unlikely for most of us.  Its sad.

[Pierre Rivard]

So happy this one circled back because I missed it when it was first posted (gotta check the model car section more often). I find this replica both gorgeous, convincing and very inspiring. Very creative and I'm sure research time was just as extensive as building time.

Awesome work Noel, Bugatti Fan should be renamed Bugatti Master!

[beeRS]

I missed this one back in May. Bugatti Fan, that chassis is simply stunning. Truly worthy of display without the body. 
 

Gerald Wingrove’s books were an inspiration to me as a kid. Without them, I wouldn’t have been driven to try harder. What a shame if his models are no longer available for the public to see.

[Bugatti Fan]

Thanks for the further responses guys.

Another comment that Rich's post made me think about. Museums unfortunately sometimes sell off items they consider of no further use to them. Another example of this is the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu here in the UK. The late Lord Montague commissioned models from established professional car modeller Rex Hays and also gave Gerald Wingrove his first museum commission to build a collection of 1/20th scale kerb side models for a themed display. A point came however when whilst changes were being made to the museum displays it was decided that the models had become surplus to requirements and sold off.

Edited December 30, 2024 by Bugatti Fan