The F1M Forums

I’ve always wanted to build a short tail 1/24th scale Porsche 956 and or 962. Specifically a Rothmans car. Has anyone done a conversion build using the Tamiya 956 long tail and a Protar kit or a Tamiya or Hasegawa/Revell 962?
Anyone tried to make the Protar 956 short tail into an acceptable model?
I’ve seen photos of the Studio 27 transkit and they supply a new nose for the Tamiya 956. What’s that all about? Are there really differences in the front ends of long and short tail cars? If you have this transkit I'd be interested in what you think of it. Is this the best way for me to go?
One thing I have decided is that I want to do my effort using spoked wheels, front and rear. I don’t like the BBS style wheels or covers on the short tail cars. If anyone has a set of the Hasegawa spoke wheels and would be interested in selling them, please PM me.
I have the Haynes Manual on the 956 & 962. Is there a better source to help me in a short tail build?
As always, I appreciate any and all comments.

Paul Erlendson

The short tails also had short noses is why the S27 tranny has that. You have to cut the nose off the Tamiya kit. I wound up just using the rear deck on my short tail build. Revell just rereleased the Protar kit so at least the decals should be better.

I loved the short tail 956 too. I remember watching much of the ’83 season on TV with the Monza race being my favorite. It’s been a long time but I think Model Racing Replica News (MRRN) had an article on this 15-20 years ago.

The long tail has a low drag nose. The short tail has a high downforce nose. Both are the same length. The high downforce nose is less scooped out and more filled in. Think more bullet shaped in cross section instead of concave like the low drag. Also, the headlight covers are shorter, with a bit of bodywork replacing what was removed from the front edge. I simply cut off the long tail and built fins from evergreen sheet. I had the Protar, which I consider one of the worst kits I have ever bought, and although it fits, I used the altered Tamiya tail. It isn’t quite right, as there should be a little bit of a “swoop” or dip on the rear deck just aft of the the rear tire the and rear edge. I cut off the front of the headlight covers and glued them to the body. I suppose getting the sides of those was the hard part. That is where I lost interest .

The high downforce nose wasn't introduced until 1983 so you can get away with using the low downforce nose on the 1982 car as well as some of the 1983 works cars as well as some later privateers. The tail from the 962 is different than the tail on the 956 due to the tire sizes. The cutout for the rear wheel had the two corners up until 1985. Even the early 962 long tails had that. The openings began becoming more rounded and larger over the coming years. The overall shape of the tail began to get lowered as well creating a higher peak just before the beginning of the vertical fin. The venturi tunnels are going to be the biggest problem. My suggestion is to get a S27 transkit and make it a curbisde as the rear tail is pretty thick. They are by far the most accurate way to go. The 962 is another story. Also of note, the length of the high downforce and low downforce noses are the same. The 962 had the front wheels pushed forward 6 inches to comply to IMSA rules. The length of the nose wasn't changed though which created a smushed area in front of the wheels when you compare the 956 to the 962. This changed the shape of the headlights as well as the center convex shape.

Start by picking a car at a particular race and we can help you get to where you need to be. As for the rear BBS wheels, they pop up on eBay from time to time.

Quite accurate answers. Last one explains it perfectly, particularly the nose subject.
I'd take a Hasegawa/Revell...
You may always combine with a classic Tamiya if you want engine.
The https://www.racingsportscars.com site is a good point to chose a version.

Porsche 956 B short tail BRUN 1984 conversion Tamiya

Porsche 956 B short tail CANON 1983 conversion Tamiya

left Porsche 962 C short tail BRUN 1986 Revell/Hasegawa right Porsche 956

Gruppecfan wrote:Porsche 956 B short tail BRUN 1984 conversion Tamiya

Porsche 956 B short tail CANON 1983 conversion Tamiya

left Porsche 962 C short tail BRUN 1986 Revell/Hasegawa right Porsche 956

Very nice! Can you tell me a little more about how you went about converting your Tamiya 956? The Studio 27 conversation kit or something else?

Paul Erlendson

Paul, anyway always bear in mind that there are TWO Tamiya cars: the full engine, openable rear cowl 956 (Long) and the curbside, cast-in windshield (yes, yikes!! at least for some people) 962, short tail. Chopping rear cover is reasonably easy, also swapping them. Thus you have all the variety: 962, shirt and long; 956, lng and short.

Hmmm. Where to begin. I started a conversion from a Tamiya 956 and 962C to make a short tail 956B. I chopped the engine cover from the 962 and matched it to the 956. All went well. Then i started to work on the nose. It has a different shape than the Le Mans 956, so i used the nose of the 962. It’s not 100% accurate, but it’s close. That’s how far i have gotten, because the light and nose still needs to be modified and have to use another kit for it. I started this about 10 years ago, but haven’t done much to it since. In the meantime i have bought the Studio27 transkit and a Protar 956.

JamesB wrote:Paul, anyway always bear in mind that there are TWO Tamiya cars: the full engine, openable rear cowl 956 (Long) and the curbside, cast-in windshield (yes, yikes!! at least for some people) 962, short tail. Chopping rear cover is reasonably easy, also swapping them. Thus you have all the variety: 962, shirt and long; 956, lng and short.

Not exactly ( that easy ).
As mentioned before the 962 has a different rear wheel diameter than the 956 and hence the rear decks have different heights over the wheels.