Tag Archives: Indy

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Die-cast: Replicarz 1989 PC18 Indy 500 winner

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Emerson Fittipaldi’s 1989 Indy 500 winner in 1/43 scale …

As a newspaper reporter I was roaming Gasoline Alley at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and watching bits of the race from inside Turn 1 when Emerson Fittipaldi won the 1989 Indianapolis 500. It was an exciting finish, but one I had to watch and re-watch on closed circuit monitors in the Indy press room. Now, of course, it’s on YouTube.

Former Formula One Champion Fittipaldi won the first of his two Indianapolis 500s with a bump and run move going into Turn 3 with just two laps remaining. Al Unser Jr. had been leading for a few laps with Fittipaldi right on his tail. Lapping slower cars they both dove for the Turn 3 apex running side-by-side. Continue reading Die-cast: Replicarz 1989 PC18 Indy 500 winner →

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Diecast cars

Die-cast: Replicarz’s 1964 Indy Smokey Yunick sidecar racer

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PRE-RELEASE REVIEW:

Sidecar racer unique, weird, unsuccessful, but a cool die-cast model …Replicarz 1964 Smokey Yunick sidecar racer

The mid-1960s were a wild and revolutionary time for race car design and technology at the Indianapolis 500, the predominant race in the world at the time.

The era saw roadsters with their engines in the front replaced by racers, such as Lotuses, with engines in the rear. There were a variety of engines from Offenhausers to Fords to Chevys, plus some jet turbines that darned near won, twice.

Then there was the sidecar roadster created by master mechanic and designer, Smokey Yunick, who had already taken on the stock car world at Daytona and entered several cars over the years at Indianapolis, including a 1962 roadster with a giant wing over the hood and driven by 1960 winner Jim Rathmann.Replicarz 1964 Smokey Yunick sidecar racer

But by 1964, a pivotal and also disastrous year for Indy due to its worst and most terrifying crash that killed two drivers, Smokey had created what was commonly known as the sidecar racer, his Offset Roadster with sidecar. It carried his usual gold and black color scheme, and now Replicarz is creating it in 1/18 scale resin for us diecast collectors. Continue reading Die-cast: Replicarz’s 1964 Indy Smokey Yunick sidecar racer →

Diecast cars

Die-cast: New Indy Eagles, ’84 March by Replicarz

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Two Johncock racers, Swede Savage Eagle are latest releases

While some of us old-timers remember front-engine roadsters at Indy, many more of us remember the variety of 1960s, ’70s and ’80s rear-engine racers, the Eagle, March, Foyt and Lotus chassis that won the Indianapolis 500 from 1965 forward.

Swede Savage's No. 40 STP Eagle from 1973 is stunning.
Swede Savage’s No. 40 STP Eagle from 1973 is stunning.

Drivers like A.J. Foyt, Gordon Johncock, Mario Andretti and Rick Mears piloted these big-winged racers that took aerodynamics to a whole new level, and speeds along with them. Well, Replicarz now brings back some of these colorful Indy Cars, including two new versions that hadn’t been done previously. All are 1:18 scale and use molds that previously served to create the fine Carousel 1 models.Being released in May or early June are the STP team cars that Johncock and Swede Savage drove in the 1973 Indy 500 and the March that Johncock piloted in 1984.

I’ve got to admit that I’m a sucker for Indy cars, and already own a Carousel 1 version of Johncock’s 1973 Indy winner. But these raise the bar from those already well detailed models.

Here’s what I noticed different on the new Replicarz version of the ’73 Eagle. Continue reading Die-cast: New Indy Eagles, ’84 March by Replicarz →

Diecast cars

Latest Replicarz Marmon Wasp spy photos

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1911 Indy winning Wasp nears finish line1911 Indy 500 winner, Marmon Wasp

OK, so they aren’t really spy shots, but someone we know who is close to the project has sent us  more “spy photos” of the new Replicarz Marmon Wasp. This is the racer that won the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911 with Ray Harroun aboard.

Paint details are still being worked out, but you can see here that the car looks great with the No. 32 now in place on both sides of the car and on the grille. Replicarz will be the first to produce the Wasp in 1:18 scale and the folks at the Vermont-based diecast firm expect it to be something special. Continue reading Latest Replicarz Marmon Wasp spy photos →