3 for 1: A day at the races (A tale of Super-powered rivalry) - Done!

[proditor]

Whole lotta stuff happened. I figured out the base I wanted to use, and I got the other elements ready. Picture flood to follow. 

I wanted a panel van.



And some equipment for working on the cars to go with the van.



Then I wanted a suitably Russian saying on the Mig, so we get "Roaring Mouse"'



This meant the Starfighter needed some Stars.




And well, then we went and got some MDF and some Wall Texture, and it was off to the Salt Flats. Cuz this bad boy is almost done!

[proditor]

Lake Eyre Australia, 1966

As the race to the moon continued between the two super powers, a far more intense, but local race was brewing in the deserts of central Australia. Prompted by the call to greatness, and buoyed by the recent success of Craig Breedlove's Spirit of America - Sonic 1, the United States drunk on success, boldly announced that next they'd knock off the Mach One barrier on the ground. Everyone on the world stage looked around for a moment, then back at America, and started laughing. Mach One? On the ground? Insanity.

Of course America basically said "Hold my drink, I got this." and promptly set the US Air Force to the task of devising the record breaking car. Not to be outdone, the Soviets announced that they too would be breaking the Mach One barrier, and they'd end up being faster than the Americans! The British sniffed politely once, then nodded and said "Right, well let's have a go if you think you're hard enough" and threw their hat in the ring as well.

It took the better part of 1965 just settling on the locale. The Salt Flats in Bonneville were ideal, but also, in America, and the Soviets protested. Eventually they settled on Lake Eyre after ruling out Verneuk Pan in South Africa due to the extreme amount of work that would have been required to clear the area of large rocks.

As 1966 began, all three teams arrived in the deserts of Australia and wondered exactly what they had gotten themselves into. Isolated and alone with only military air drops for emergency resupply, and a once a month cargo train out of Adelaide, the teams began to find common ground. The spirit of competition was still fierce, and those first few months were tense as each team began practice runs. Each nation had decided that the quickest way to get something to go faster than the speed of sound, was to start with something that had already done it, albeit in the air. The yanks chose the F-104 Starfighter with a redesigned wing that acted as an axle support for the titanium wheels that would propel the car at breakneck speeds. The Russians chose the Mig-21, and the Brits, the BAC Lightning. Each plane was a monster of speed in the air, now they would have the chance to be so again on the ground.

The first prize was the Land Speed Record itself, and the Soviets struck first. Abandoning the Tumansky afterburning engine, they instead opted for a four rocket configuration. Even some ignition issues weren't sufficient to keep the car from blasting through 600 mph. The promise of the Mig, named the "Roaring Mouse" seemed prodigious, and the Americans and British labored mightily to work out the final kinks in their more refined craft and get them on the flats.

Over the rest of the year, the title of Land Speed Record holder changed hands at least a dozen times as the cars shot across the salt flats. 600 mph gave way to 625m, then 650, then 700, until on June 7th 1966, the American Anthem (Unofficial nickname: Stars and Bars) broke the speed of sound. The record of 773.27 mpg lasted for 4 days, when it was snagged by the Britannia as it passed through 780.

A lot has been written about the contest, and the greater conflict the revolved around it, about the swaggering of nations, and the push to break a record that had been the province of driven men and women, not nations. But what gets left out a lot, is the attitude near the end. As 1966 moved into its second half, the teams were working solely for themselves, and to a degree, each other. They shared equipment when they could, and helped each other when they couldn't. It was with a large measure of sadness that the teams broke camp in November of 1966, almost a year after they'd arrived.

The set of pictures below captures some of that espirt d'corps as you can see the teams working on their cars for one last run in November.

[proditor]

Some individual shots. I must admit, I'd totally chuffed about this one, as it turned out exactly as I've been seeing it in my mind's eye for the last, oh, SEVEN YEARS! Yeah, these have been waiting in the stash since the LSR group Build in 2009, I just never dragged them out as I got hit with massive modeler's block. I'm really pleased to finally have this one done.

[NARSES2]

Brilliant group build 

What a great year 66 was. World Cup and Land Speed Record. 

Voting is going to be very, very difficult in this GB the standard is so high.

[Hobbes]

These are great! 

[zenrat]

Excellent.
Well done mate.

[Steel Penguin]

wonderful all three 
and a clever story holding it all together as well

[su27rules]

 

[TheChronicOne]

Alright, dude!!!  Lets get to cuttin a hole in the wind with these bad boys!!   Kickin up salt all the way.  Really neat stuff, glad to see 'em finished up and all the neat support guys and sstuff.   

[Glenn Gilbertson]

What a great idea - that's really thinking outside the box! A good-looking trio; well done.

[Rick Lowe]

Nicely done there!

[DogfighterZen]

Excellent! Love the story and the builds, great stuff!

[Captain Canada]

That's some pretty wild stuff ! Very imaginative, both in word and plastic. I know you love your Mig, but it's a toss up between the other two for me, with my hat going towards the 104. Love the look and that paint scheme ! It might have trouble staying on the ground tho