I received a request about fitting a PCS chassis in an Airfix Bugatti. T35. After getting over the shock of being asked to work on something not created at the Pavlova Leather Co. Works, and having a duplicate kit of my own (for parts only of course) I agreed and planned to make two cars.

The first problem with my car was that while there were many MG drivers who wavered to foreign models it was some time before details were found of colours that would allow a model to be made.

The car is a 1926 Bugatti T35A chassis No. 4774, owned at one time by Richard Seaman. Dick raced the car at Donnington and Brooklands and also used it in various hill climbs in 1932. His last outing in the car was at Victoria Station where a London Omnibus beat him, one accounts suggests the car was written off in this encounter. In 1933 Dick changed to a proper race car (MG K3) and had successes in 1934 - Coppa Acerbo Jnr. 3rd, Nuffield Trophy 2nd, Prix de Berne 1st, Grand Prix Masaryk 5th, South African Grand Prix 4th. Later he had the odd success with other makes before his untimely death in 1939.

During the build I was persuaded to entered it in the 2009 Mini Mille Miglia and the pictures show it before it started its journey to Italy. The event is based on the modern Mille Miglia were any car that took part in the original races is eligible to take part.

I did intend to leave the car as Seaman raced it but I found some additional information.

Pictures of the car in the mid 1950’s show it with the licence plate NPE 73. It is known to have had another UK number but it is not known which it held in Seaman’s days.

In 2004 the car took part in the present day Mille Miglia with a start number of 36.

How model was built

The Airfix kit is a T35B which has a wider radiator grill, but it was decided that it would be too much effort to taper the bonnet and correct this. The second change was that the car had wire wheels rather than the unique Bugatti ones of the 35B, which allowed me to use my preferred compromise of Scalextric wire wheels, rather than having to create inserts from the kit for over scale alloy ones.

I have used a PCS chassis with a brass tube front axle. A major blow was finding out that Dick raced the car with cycle wings attached. A problem I’ve had with my K3s is that the plastic wing struts break easily and are impossible to repair. After over a week trying various glues, araldite and solder the wings were eventually attached with wire struts and supports.

The car was built more or less straight from the kit with modifications to allow the chassis to fit. A tonneau is fitted to hide the encroachment of the motor into the cockpit, and the spare wheel is not fitted. Bare metal foil proved itself to be a pain again so most metal is painted. The driver is sculpted around an Airfix Multipose body and arms with the Bugatti driver’s head.

No information has been found of racing numbers and having come across the MMM during the build I did consider modelling it as in 2004 but as Graham is planning to make event entry decals I shall let him number the car up – as No. 36 please.

The end result has become a bit of a mismatch being a slightly stripped down 1930’s racer, with a 1950s number plate, taking part in a modern historical run.

Thanks to driver#8 for encouraging me to build my first car for over a year, to Graham Lane for giving a purpose for the build and Bigblock for sharing his knowledge.

Finally the second car - still waiting for parts – but we occasionally give driver Williams a lift as he’s totally ‘armless at the moment.

Slot car version of the Mille Miglia. In aid of the Alzheimer's Research Trust.

4th & 5th July 2009
'Oasi Verde' Community Centre, Castello delle Forme, Umbria, Italy

I currently have a disagreement with driver#8 about this car and don't seem to be able to convince him that it has a different tail to the works one as on Bira's car. If it had been the same I would have run another shell off from my mould and have already built it.

Update - Coy's have informed me that they just used the picture of Seaman's K3 in their advert and will not be auctioning the car. The partner K3 will be delayed.