Model Kits by Evan Jones, C3372 This article on Walter Wolf Model kits turned out larger than antici- pated, and so we’ve decided to break it into two installments. This first provides some background and looks at the Wolf and Can Am vehicles, and Wolf . In the next issue we’ll continue with coverage of the Wolf motorcycles.

Introduction tina, the and most importantly, There was an article in the November 2017 Globe the in Montreal. The team fin- and Mail newspaper that began discussing the small ished second overall for the season. There were four diecast Countach cars that are available built, identified as WR1 to WR4 and were in Japan with Walter Wolf and Canadian flag logos. It also campaigned in the 1978 racing season. got me thinking about the kits that are/were available The car had a distinctive dark blue body colour, with for various Walter Wolf cars and motorcycles. gold accents, Walter Wolf logos and, in some races, sported Canadian flag markings. Background The Wolf WR1 has been released in kit form by Walter Wolf is a re- Tamiya, in both 1:12 scale and 1:20 scale. As usual, tired industrialist, these are superbly engineered kits, have been re- born in in released over the years and can still be found quite 1939. He immigrat- readily. Each time the team won a race, they added ed to Canada in the a logo to the car celebrating the victory. You need to early 1960’s and decide which version of the car you want to build. A made his fortune in picture of the 1:12 scale model appeared on the cov- the oil services in- er of RT 39/3 dustry. For motor racing fans, he was best known for fielding a Formula One race car team, , which competed in the 1977 to 1979 seasons. They were most successful in their first year and even marketed their own team wrist- watches, cigarettes and cologne. In 1977, he also funded a Can-Am team, with his Wolf WD1 car, driven in a number of races by . He also was involved with Lamborghini, the Italian supercar manufacturer, commissioning them to build three cars to his specifications. He is credited with saving Lamborghini and at one time was thinking of buying the company. In 2013, an arrest warrant was issued in Slovenia for his involvement in an arms deal. However, he never stood trial and continues to live on his ranch in Brit- ish Columbia. Formula One model car kits First Generation: Wolf WR1 to WR4 The initial Walter Wolf car was designed for the 1977 season by who has worked for Hesketh Racing. Driven by South Africa Jody Schectker, the car won its inaugural race in Argen-

October 2018 8 Studio27 (a multi-media kit manufacturer based in in Formula One. To keep up with the competition, Japan) released a number of versions of the WR1 mainly the , the team built two versions of the WR3 in 1:20 scale. This includes the distinctive this second generation car, the WR5 and WR6. How- Walter Wolf blue and gold colouring as well as the ever, they did not fare so well in Formula One racing, red and white livery. These kits are placing on the podium only three times. pricey, but are still available. Three companies have released WR5 model kits: Second Generation: WR5 and WR6 Studio27 (Japan) multimedia kit in 1:20 scale – out Halfway through the 1978 season, aerodynam- of production but still available ic ground effects were becoming more important Nitto (Japan) plastic kit in 1:28 scale – out of pro- duction and difficult to find This Way Up (Czech) multimedia kit in 1:43 scale – out of production and difficult to find.

1:20 scale Studio27 Wolf WR5 1:28 scale Nitto Wolf WR5

October 2018 9 1:43 scale This Way Up Wolf WR5

Third Generation: WR7, WR8 and WR9 retired from Formula One racing and the cars were Three versions of this car were produced for the sold and campaigned by another race team, headed 1979 Formula One racing season, but were unreli- by . able and uncompetitive. The cars were driven by Only three small manufactures produced kits of 1976 World Champion and 1982 future these vehicles, all in 1:43 scale. This Way Up has World Champion . In 1980, Walter Wolf produced a number of different versions.

1:43 scale This Way Up Wolf WR7

October 2018 10 1:43 scale JPS Miniatures Wolf Dallara Can-Am Wolf Dallara WD1 model kits In addition to the inaugural Formula One season debut in 1977, Walter Wolf sponsored a Can-Am car, the Wolf Dal- lara WD-1. The Can-Am (Canadian- American Challenge Cup), which ran from 1966 to 1987, with a break from 1975 to 1976, was a race series for closed wheel cars and in the early years did not have overly restrictive rules. Dallara is an Italian race car manufac- turer that supplied the chassis for the WD1. Power was supplied by a Chev- rolet engine. The car was driven in a few races by Canadian Gilles Villeneuve in his first season as a professional race 1:43 scale Provence Moulage Wolf Dallara car driver, before moving on to Formula One. The car was not very successful and only fin- Provence Moulage (France) multimedia kit in 1:43 ished one of the five races it entered. The car was re- scale stored in 2016 after crashing at a vintage race event Imai (Japan) plastic kit in unknown scale at Mosport (now Canadian Motorsports Park) in One of our club members, Rob Mepham, decided to 2008, killing the driver, Dino Crescentini. scale up the 1:43 model to 1:24 scale, and add an Three manufactures have produced models of this engine and suspension. A wooden buck was carved car, all are out of production and difficult to find: to vaccuform the body and this was placed on a scratch-built chassis, interior and suspension. Other JPS Miniatures (France) multimedia kit in 1:43 model kits supplied the engine and wheels. scale, pre-painted in black

October 2018 11 1:24 scale scratch-built Wolf Dallara beside 1:43 scale Provence Moulage kit built by another club member,

1:24 scale test body, wooden buck and finished model of Wolf Dallara

October 2018 12 Wolf Lamborghini Countach model car kits built to his specifications, including some unique badging. Model kits of the cars were produced by As mentioned on the Globe and Mail article, Walter two Japanese companies in 1:24 scale. The Fujimi Wolf became involved with the Italian Lamborgini car kits were re-released in 2018. company in the late 1970’s. It resulted in three cars

1:24 scale Fujimi Walter Wolf Lamborghini

1:24 scale Aoshima Wolf Lamborghini

October 2018 13 Walter Wolf Model Kits by Evan Jones, C3372

PartThe first2 part of this look at Walter Wolf models in the last beaveRTales looked at the Wolf Formula One and Can Am vehicles, and Wolf Lamborghinis. In this installment we’ll continue with coverage of the Wolf motorcycles.

Walter Wolf Suzuki Motorcycles What most people who know the name Walter Wolf Racing do not realize is that he was heavily involved with Suzuki motorcycles, around the same time as his involvement in Formula One. He sponsored a Suzuki factory team in the All Japan Championship Road Race 500 cc motorcycle series. Suzuki also produced special edition street motorcycles with Walter Wolf markings Racing Motorcycles 1985 Suzuki RG Γ 500 (XR70) GP race bike The first year of involvement with the Suzuki race team was in 1985. The XR70, ridden by Japanese rider Masaru Mizutani, placed second overall with podium finishes in 8 of the 9 races. There is no kit of this particular model, but it can be built by modify- ing existing Suzuki race motorcycles and I have seen photos of a Japanese modeller who did that. 1986 Wolf race bike

1986 Suzuki RG Γ 500 (XR70) GP race bike During the second year, the Walter Wolf sponsored bike, again ridden by Masaru Mizutani placed fourth overall. Again, there is no kit of this particular model, but the same Japanese modeller who did the 1985 bike, built the 1986 bike.

1987 Suzuki RGV Γ 500 (XR72) GP race bike The third year saw additional refinements to the bike, but it was not enough to compete with the Honda and Yamaha motorcycles. Masaru Mizutani placed fifth overall that year. Although there is no model of this exact motorcycle, there is a transkit made from UTA Design out of Japan. It consists of a resin body, exhaust and other pieces and a decal sheet. This allows the builder to backdate a Fuji- mi 1988 race bike model to make the 1987 Walter Wolf version.

1985 Wolf race bike

January 2019 9 Street Motorcycles 1986 Suzuki RG250Γ This bike was produced for both Japanese and Can- adian markets, and was available in both the signa- ture dark blue Wolf racing colours and a silver ver- sion. In 1986, Tamiya produced a 1:12 scale plastic model kit of this bike, it has been re-issued a few times and is still readily available.

1987 Wolf race bike

1:12 scale Tamiya Suzuki RG250 Γ Walter Wolf Special Version

1:12 scale Fujimi 1988 GP race bike model, used as the basis to build the 1987 version

1:12 scale Tamiya Suzuki RG250 Γ Walter Wolf models, built by the author

Suzuki RG400 Γ and RG500 Γ Based on the GP race bike, a street legal version was produced in limited quantities in 1985, 1986 and 1987, depending on the country. The reviews of the motorcycle at the time said it was as close to a race bike as someone could buy. To build a model of this kit would involve major modifications of the race ver- sion, parts from the RG250 kit, additional street bike Parts and decals from UTA transkit parts and making custom decals.

January 2019 10 What If Wolf vehicles All this digging into the Walter Wolf legacy left me thinking of a number of fantasy or “What If” vehicles that could be built as mod- els. Here’s my list, you can add your own:

What if Walter Wolf sponsored an Indy 500 race car in the 1980’s, based on a March 86C or 88C chassis (1:25 scale AMT kits would serve as the basis, with custom decals) Walter Wolf decided to re-enter Formula One in the early 1990’s and contacted Ford Motor 1985 Suzuki RG500 Walter Wolf Special Company - the result was the Walter Ford B190 (instead of the Benneton Ford B190) (1:24 scale Hasegawa Benetton Ford B190 as a starting point) During his involve- ment with Suzuki, they decided to pro- duce a Walter Wolf version of the Ka- tana, complete with full fairing and Walter Wolf livery (1:12 scale Tamiya Suzuki Katana model kit, with body- work modifications and Walter Wolf dec- als) A Porsche 917, 956 1986 Suzuki RG500 Walter Wolf Special or 962 Le Mans race car would look spectacular in Walter Wolf colours (Tamiya, Fujimi and Hasegawa make kits of these cars) What about a Walter Wolf sponsored NASCAR race car during that same time period? (any number of NASCAR kits, with Walter Wolf signature livery)

January 2019 11 Walter Wolf Model Kits (Part 3 or Addendum, not published in BeaverTales)

In addition to the Walter Wolf cars and motorcycles mentioned in the previous articles, there have been a few more vehicles that have surfaced.

Walter Wolf Porsche 935 K3

“Walter Wolf ordered a special Porsche 935 K3 in 1979 from the Kremer Brothers, who prepared race cars for various teams back in the 1970’s. He asked for a road legal version that was as close to that year's Le Mans winner as possible. Kremer reckoned the car was at 98% of the racing version and most changes focused on a properly upholstered interior. The car was painted in Wolf's familiar deep metallic blue colour and featured his logos. Before the car was ready for delivery, it was tested on the Autobahn by Erwin Kremer and it reached a startling 338 km/h. After coughing up 375,000 DM, Wolf was delivered his unique, road legal 935 K3. He retained the car until 1987, when it was acquired by a Swiss enthusiast, who promptly placed it in his private museum. Making a very rare public appearance, it was shown at the 2016 Techno Classica where it was offered by German dealer Oldtimer Land for a cool Euro 2 million.” (Copyright Ultimatecarpage.com)

In the fall of 2019, NuNu (affiliated with Aoshima), released a Porsche 935 K3 curbside race car kit. With some minor alterations and decals, a model of this car is now possible.

Walter Wolf Porsche 935 K2

Walter Wolf Suzuki RG250 Street Motorcycles

Suzuki RG250Γ

A more detailed search on the internet turned some two additional versions of the smaller Walter Wolf street bike. It is unclear whether they were versions for different countries and/or different years than the one depicted in the Tamiya kit.

The first bike can easily be built from the Tamiya kit, with most of the kit decals and some paint masking skills. A replacement seat may need to be found or fabricated, although the pillion seat was probably removable. It looks to be a 1985 model bike.

Suzuki RG250 Γ Walter Wolf Special Version – Type 1 This version has different wheels, fork, front fender and brake disks than the kit, but otherwise, would be a straightforward conversion. The upgrades probably mean that this is a 1987 version. The tricky part of the build may to source the slightly smaller Wolf logo on the side of the fairing.

Suzuki RG250 Γ Walter Wolf Special Version – Type 2

Walter Wolf Suzuki RG400 and RG500 Street Motorcycles

Similar to the RG250 versions, another version of the RG400/RG500 turned up on an internet search. It is unknown whether this was offered by Suzuki in certain countries, or it has been repainted from one of the other versions.

third version of RG400/RG500 in Walter Wolf scheme

In early 2020, Hasegawa released the RG400 in kit form. It is only missing the lower fairing and the signature Walter Wolf decals in order to replicate one of these motorcycles.