Post by 1961redlegs on Aug 16, 2015 15:07:09 GMT -5
I recently completed William Grover-Williams Bugatti 35B, the first winner of the Monaco Grand Prix in 1929.
Williams' was a talented Grand Prix driver between the world wars. His Monaco win was one of several major GP victories in his career. In addition he also won two French GPS and the Belgian GP.
He grew up in France, the son of an English father and French mother. With this upbringing he spoke the native languages of his parents fluently and as such at the start of the Second World War he joined the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). Williams dropped into France to help establish a resistance group and it was in this capacity that the Germans captured him in 1943.
His fate from that point forward isn't entirely clear, we do know the Gestapo sent him to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp where reports indicate he was executed in 1945 as the world started falling in all around the Germans. However, there are theories that he escaped and lived under an assumed name with his wife after the war. I suspect the Germans killed him but it makes for interesting speculation nonetheless. What's certain is he was a gifted racer who made history on the racetrack and at war.
The kit is the Monogram Bugatti 35B that Chris Hale (great guy to deal with!) from the forum traded me for and I built it essentially box stock with the exception of fenders, passenger windshield and headlights. I dechromed the chrome pieces and painted them aluminum, steel and gunmetal as the decal instructions indicated. In addition I added a screen for the radiator with brass rod and screen. The decals are from Doodlebug designs and are sold from Vintage Racing Miniatures, I painted the car Tamiya Racing Green.
This was a very fun kit and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did building and presenting it to you!
Williams' was a talented Grand Prix driver between the world wars. His Monaco win was one of several major GP victories in his career. In addition he also won two French GPS and the Belgian GP.
He grew up in France, the son of an English father and French mother. With this upbringing he spoke the native languages of his parents fluently and as such at the start of the Second World War he joined the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). Williams dropped into France to help establish a resistance group and it was in this capacity that the Germans captured him in 1943.
His fate from that point forward isn't entirely clear, we do know the Gestapo sent him to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp where reports indicate he was executed in 1945 as the world started falling in all around the Germans. However, there are theories that he escaped and lived under an assumed name with his wife after the war. I suspect the Germans killed him but it makes for interesting speculation nonetheless. What's certain is he was a gifted racer who made history on the racetrack and at war.
The kit is the Monogram Bugatti 35B that Chris Hale (great guy to deal with!) from the forum traded me for and I built it essentially box stock with the exception of fenders, passenger windshield and headlights. I dechromed the chrome pieces and painted them aluminum, steel and gunmetal as the decal instructions indicated. In addition I added a screen for the radiator with brass rod and screen. The decals are from Doodlebug designs and are sold from Vintage Racing Miniatures, I painted the car Tamiya Racing Green.
This was a very fun kit and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did building and presenting it to you!
