1:24 Ford Fiesta WRC - Royal Bernard Rally Monte Carlo 2014 Decals Set (for Belkits Kits)

Ford Fiesta WRC Royal Bernard, Rally Monte Carlo 2014, a Studio27 1:24 decal sheet

Without any dressing up: this is not a kit. It is a sheet of water-transferred decals in 1:24 from Studio27 for the Ford Fiesta plastic kit from Belkits, which you have to own. The sheet turns it into a particular car from the most famous rally in the world.

Monte Carlo, and what rallying actually is

Rallying has neither a circuit nor a grandstand around the course. It is run on closed public roads, where the surface changes from corner to corner, and next to the driver sits a co-driver who reads him the pace notes: the driver goes flat out into a corner he cannot yet see and the only thing he has is the voice beside him. The Rallye Monte Carlo takes this principle to the extreme. It is run in January in the mountains above Monaco and on a single stage dry asphalt, a wet road, black ice and snow can take turns. The choice of tires is therefore a blind bet: a well chosen tire wins, a bad one sends the car into the barriers. It is not the hardest event of the calendar, but it is the most treacherous and the most prestigious one.

The real subject

In 2014 the Ford Fiesta RS WRC started at Monte Carlo in the colors of the sponsor Royal Bernard with the crew of Bryan Bouffier and Xavier Panseri. Bouffier led the event at first and finished second in the end, one of the best performances a privately entered car gave at Monte Carlo in the era of the Fiesta RS WRC.

How to work with the decals

The base has to be gloss clear coat. On a matte surface a decal shows up by silvering, with white edges around every marking, and that is the most common mistake in the world. Curved areas (fenders, roof, spoiler) call for decal softener. Next comes clear coat over the decals and only after that weathering. Monte Carlo gives different dirt from gravel: white salt smears, slush, wet dirt in the wheel arch and sills battered by stones from the verges. A clean model of a rally car looks as if it were displayed in a showroom, and those cars never looked like that.

Who the sheet is for

• Owners of the Ford Fiesta kit from Belkits who want the iconic Monte Carlo version.
• Collectors of liveries, as a kit has one or two but the car ran every event with different markings.
• Fans of the WRC and of the most prestigious rally of the calendar.
• Modelers who want to try winter weathering: snow, salt, wet dirt.

The package contains decals only. The kit, paints, clear coats, softener and weathering products are not included. Other sheets for the Ford Fiesta exist as well.