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In-Box Review
124
Red Bull Racing RB8
Red Bull Racing RB8 Sebastian Vettel
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by: Darren Baker [ CMOT ]

Introduction

The following introduction is as provided by Revell of Germany;
With the Red Bull RB8 the racing team of the Austrian energy drinks manufacturer put there 8th car in the line on the race track. In 2004 Red Bull had taken over the Jaguar team and the RB1 was a slightly modifies version of the Jaguar racer developed by Mark Smith and Rob Taylor. The first driver in the 2005 season was David Coulthard, the second cockpit was split between Christian Klien and Vitantonia Liuzzi. In the 2006 season a completely new car was built incorporating a Ferrari engine.

In the next season the car was designed for the first time by Adrian Newey and the engine came from Renault. In 2007 Mark Webber came on board as a Red Bull Racing driver. When David Coulthard announced his retirement ast the end of 2008, Sebastian Vettel took his place with Red Bull Racing. Adrian Newey had designed a completely new car enabling the team to win 6 titles.

In the following season their star rose over Heppenheim. Newey had developed a car that was good overall and Vettel used it to take his first world championship title. He gained 5 wins and in a dramatic last race secured the World Championship in Abu Dhabi. Webber also had 4 wins and Red Bull Racing took the Constructors World Championship. They continued on their successful way, in the 2011 season Vettel won 11 grand prix. In 2012 with the RB8 he won 5 grand prix in Bahrain and in a series in Asia with Singapore, Japan, Korea and India he took his third driver’s title in succession. In 101 grand prix races he stood on the podium 46 times, 26 as winjner and started 36 times in pole position.

The Red Bull Racing RB8 is the third evolutionary stage of the RB5 developed by Adrian Newey. The engine type RS27-2012 was developed by Renault, the gear box is their own make and the tyres were contributed by Pirelli. The stepped nose required by the rules gave the racer a highly original appearance, but without detriment to performance. With the RB8 he called ‘Abbey’, Sebastian Vettel was able to win five grand prix, he battled for a third World Championship in the series and ultimately Red Bull Racing won their third Constructors World Championship in succession.


Contents

This model is provided on a card under blister packaging, Inside is the typical Revell of Germany end opening box and the other items mentioned. Below is a breakdown of what is provided;
  • 4 paint colours
  • A double ended paint brush
  • A small bottle of Contacta glue
  • 6 blue sprues
  • Cars main body
  • 1 clear sprue
  • 4 vinyl rubber tyres
  • 2 decal sheets
  • An advisory sheet

Review

First Impressions
Taking a look at the parts on the sprue, the only issue I can see are a few very minor shrink marks that will need attention. There are some flow marks present but these do not look to be an issue as regards needing attention. I will admit that I am not a fan of the colour used on the plastic and would have preferred a more neutral colour which would have aided painting; however by the same score the majority of the car is blue in colour.

Consumables
The four paints provided by Revell of Germany are I believe part of their acrylic range and consist of;
  • Clear Gloss Varnish
  • Orange
  • Gelb (Yellow)
  • RBR Blue

I believe that each of the plastic pots with integrated lids, holds the same quantity of paint as the Revell paint tins. The Revell Contacta glue with the metal needle for application holds 12.5g of glue, this should be more than sufficient for constructing this model. The double ended brush supplied has what I believe is a fake sable bristle one end and a stiffer bristle the other, this is about half as stiff as hogs hair brushes. The brushes are roughly size 3.

Engine
The engine of the model is a fairly basic offering as most of it cannot be seen. Revell of Germany does look to have put in some thought on the area, as the exhaust, which could be difficult look to have been well designed.

Cockpit
The cockpit has some good detail in place such as the harness detail. The steering wheel, which these days is more like a video game controller has also been nicely replicated. The small glazed part looks a little on the heavy side, but I find it hard to judge in this scale. One question where is the driver figure that would have completed this area of the model.

Body
The body work is very nice, having the sculptured lines well replicated in plastic. The replication is so good that you may encounter problems later on when you get to a very colourful decal sheet. I do like the fact that Revell of Germany has provided painting and decal application advice through the build steps. It should also be pointed out that you have three finishing options from the box, these are as the car looked during the Bahrain, German and Indian Grand Prix.

Suspension Units
This is one area of the model where I feel the offered parts look overly simplified, and I am not impressed with the front wheel connection points due to a seam right across it. This seam will be difficult to clean up due to the other parts in the area, this is one of those areas where you cannot be sure until the model is built.

Wheels
Vinyl rubber wheels are not everyone’s favourite when it comes to tyres, however these look to be very well done and have no seam line around the circumference. The rims themselves also look to have been well thought out by Revell of Germany as they also have nicely replicated brake discs present within the wheel assembly.

Instructions and Decals
The instruction booklet is a loose leaf offering that guides you through construction using black and white line drawings. None of the stages are overly complicated and I see no obvious pitfalls for the unwary. The construction covers assembly in 65 steps.

The decal sheets are the stars of the show here. The main decal sheet has very well reproduced decals that have been made as easy as possible to apply, the details of the real vehicle being the only thing that makes application difficult. The colours are strong with the decals having very little in the way of carrier film. The carbon fibre decals being especially impressive to my eye. The second decal sheet contains two finishing options for the tyres and I was pleased to see these included.

Conclusion

This will make for a great gift for a child coming into the hobby or as an introduction. The only area that may cause them problems being the application of all of the decals, some of which may be difficult to get where they are needed. The absence of a driver seems like a big oversight that I hope Revell of Germany overcomes in future releases.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For details visit www.revell.de/en, @RevellGermany or facebook.com/Revell
SUMMARY
Highs: A very impressive decal sheet that should make the model eye catching.
Lows: The lack of a driver figure is a missed opportunity, and the colour of the plastic may make painting more difficult than it could have been.
Verdict: For the price of this offering from Revell of Germany it may hook a youngster or be just what a race car fan is looking for.
  Scale: 1:24
  Mfg. ID: 07074
  PUBLISHED: Jul 25, 2014
  NATIONALITY: Austria
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 87.04%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 83.55%

Our Thanks to Revell of Germany!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Darren Baker (CMOT)
FROM: ENGLAND - SOUTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

I have been building model kits since the early 70’s starting with Airfix kits of mostly aircraft, then progressing to the point I am at now building predominantly armour kits from all countries and time periods. Living in the middle of Salisbury plain since the 70’s, I have had lots of opportunitie...

Copyright ©2021 text by Darren Baker [ CMOT ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of ModelGeek. All rights reserved.



   


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