“Porsche 1-2-3” – Porsche 956 – Derek Bell Signed Diorama, Le Mans 1982
As I mentioned in my last post, the Goodwood Festival of Speed (FoS) is an absolutely amazing event which I very much look forward to every year.
It has given me the opportunity to meet some amazing figures from the world of motorsport (so I’m already very excited about the 2025 Festival which is already scheduled to feature Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Mario Andretti & Carl Fogarty amongst others). Two such legends who I have been fortunate enough to meet are Jacky Ickx & Derek Bell – both multiple winners of the Le Mans 24 Hours, who I met at last year’s festival.
I always check-ahead to see who’ll be attending FoS each year, and having seen that both Bell & Ickx would be attending in 2024 I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet them both and get them both to sign a diorama. I’d first had this idea the previous year where I’d taken a diorama base to be signed by Emerson Fittipaldi. On that occasion I’d taken the entire base (including the oak plinth), which made it very heavy to carry around with me. As a result in 2024 I just took the acrylic “track bed” pieces, which were both smaller and lighter (which also meant I was able to take a number of them with me!). This was also the first time that I’d attempted getting 2x drivers to sign a single piece, so that took an extra bit of planning and preparation.
Having successfully got the base signed, I then managed to purchase a a “Starter” kit of the legendary Porsche 956 from eBay. I then realised that I’d made a small mistake… I’d bought the Porsche 956 from 1983, whereas I’d been actually looking for the 1982 car! Fortunately the external body of the car was unchanged from one year to the next, and I managed to locate some decals for the 1982 car also on eBay. I’d never built a Starter kit before, but the resin kit went together really nicely. The As per the below “work in progress” photos, I was able to 3D-print a replacement cockpit which included a driver figure. I also 3D-printed some replacement wheel inserts, wheel nuts and wing mirrors. Despite the decals being at least as old as me, they applied really nicely and conformed beautifully to the contours and details of the bodywork.
When it came to composing the diorama for the car, I decided to include a raised section to create some visual interest, and to add the “24 Heures du Mans” mural. Static grass was added, together with some dried sea moss (from AK interactive), and some fine turf from Woodland Scenics.
Overall, I’m really pleased with this one, and great for it to be signed by 2x Le Mans legends. I cannot wait to see who I will meet at FoS this year!!
