About a month ago, a Porsche 550 started appearing on eBay. The kit was simply three pieces and needed a Fujimi or Testors Porsche 356B/C to finish. After a little bit of digging, it was discovered that the body was a Jimmy Flinstone production piece. Most of the advertisers are selling it as a replica of "lil bastard" that James Dean wrecked and crashed in. It is close but it is not an exact replica. The one that he had did not have the headrest. There are also some other minor differences. This body does represent an earlier Porsche 550. The difference between the 550 and later 550a were primarily in the chassis and engine.
BODY and CHASSIS
The body looks good overall. There of course is an abundance of flash. I wouldn't expect any less than that considering the kit sells for roughly $20. The flash can easily be cleaned up. All it would take is a few minutes, a knife, some sandpaper, and elbow grease. The body does have a nice smooth texture to it but so smooth that paint will not stick to it. On the front you can see that the body accepts the headlights and bezels from the Fujimi kit.
The rear is nice and round, but there is one problem in my eye. I noticed there is a "hump" in the middle of the rear cover. This to my estimates is so the rear tire can be removed without opening the bonnet. I have not been able to find any of the real 550's with this. my way to fix this would be to fill in the sides. The rear fenders are extra deep in this area and the extra filler to smooth it all out would not be that noticeable. The two openings are for the rear vents from the later 356's. You can also see that it accepts the 356 taillight assembly. Also, from this picture you can see that the dash is molded in without any instruments and the rearview mirrors are also attached. My only complaint overall on this view is the headrest. I really wish it was a separate pieces as many 550's did not have it.
The chassis is in two pieces, the overall plate and the rear bulkhead. All of the 550's used a nice tube system, but the suspension, engine, and other tidbits were from the 356's. The seats as you can see are molded in. For me, when I get around to this kit, I will be scratchbuilding a chassi and adding almost all of the parts from the 356 that are usable. One note, pay careful attention to whatever 550 you are building, as some did and some did not have door panels. Most of them are simple aluminum inserts that could be easily made with sheet plastic.
COMPARISON
All of the next several images are comparisons between the old Johnson Teapot Porsche 550 and the current transkit. You can make your own judgment with these. Prior to the JF kit, this was about the only thing available outside of the old UMi kit. There have been rumors of more coming in the future.
CONCLUSIONS
Overall, I am very pleased that someone has finally come out with a Porsche 550 that is not only readily available but one that is cheap enough for everyone to buy. The Fujimi/Testors 356's are very easy to find on eBay. All we need now are some decals to make some of the various versions. If you want to get one, you can find them all over eBay, but do not pay more than what Jimmy Flinstone is selling them for. You can see them in his catalog at Jimmy Flinstones.