1:24 Porsche 550 Spyder - Rear Stripes

Stripes on the tail of a light racer

The Porsche 550 came about in 1953 as the very first car of the marque designed straight for the racetrack. A tubular frame, an aluminum body and the flat-four Type 547 with valve gear by Ernst Fuhrmann gave a machine weighing around five hundred kilograms such a power-to-weight ratio that it beat cars of twice the capacity. At the Targa Florio, at Le Mans and on the Mexican Carrera Panamericana it earned, over two seasons, a reputation as an inconspicuous opponent that nobody underestimated twice.

Starting numbers were applied directly to the metal in those days, and identification bands ran around the rear end, by which course marshals recognized a car even at dusk. The sheet brings this motif in artwork that follows the curved surface above the rear wheels and meets over the lid of the engine bay.

Before you reach for the tweezers

The tail of the spyder is curved in two directions at once, so a straight band has to be made to give. A heavier layer of softener will help, along with patient pressing with a cotton swab from the center toward the edges and a few fine nicks with a new blade in the places where the film would otherwise wrinkle. The base must be smooth and glossy, otherwise a matte mirror will appear under the edge.

The reward is a crisp edge to the change of color, such as masking by hand on so small a radius could hardly manage. The kit of the car and paints are not supplied with the sheet.

It will also be reached for by builders who are building the car in civilian form and want to give it only a hint of its racing origin without applying a whole starting number.