Lamley Daily: Tarmac Works Lancia 037 Rally

Model: Tarmac Works Lancia O37 Rally

Release: Markku Alén/Ilkka Kivimäki, Safari Rally 1984

eBay link: Tarmac Works Lancia 037 Rally

Why I’m featuring it: My enthusiasm for Tarmac Works comes and goes due to a lack of new releases that I care about (too many RWBs!) and the high price point compared with Mini GT. The only logical thing to do, then, is buy an even more expensive Tarmac model – the fabulous new Lancia 037 Rally! My enthusiasm for rally Lancias is of course permanent – check out the older article here for more Martini action.

This is the first of a new Hobby64+ line with opening parts and fancy packaging, which sits above the regular Hobby64 models. Tarmac has set a pretty high bar for future releases with this first casting, of which I have the first of two releases so far – Markku Alén’s Martini-liveried machine that finished fourth on the 1984 Safari Rally. The second release is the red test car. A friend and I preordered ours from the always-excellent Tokyo Station here in Canada.

Basically, it’s awesome. I have a few 037s already as part of my CMs collection but this new Tarmac one takes things up a notch, especially in the incredibly detailed engine bay that’s revealed beneath the opening engine cover. It’s terrific.

All other details are nicely realized, too, from the individually glazed spotlights to the double door mirrors and complex deco. You have to add the finishing touch to the latter, as I have done, by applying the Marlboro logo of the rally plates on the front and rear, and to the door numbers on each side. Tarmac helpfully provides a third set of decals in case you mess one up (as I did!).

I’m finishing with a couple of side-by-side pics, first with the CMs Martini 037. While it can’t match the Tarmac for detail, it’s clear that CMs did an outstanding job back in the day, for a fraction of the cost of the newer model. Also, it has the advantage of rolling cleanly, which the Tarmac unfortunately does not.

I’ve also had this Schuco x Tarmac VW Golf 1980 Monte Carlo rally car sat on my desk for months awaiting its Marlboro transfers, so I did those at the same time as the Lancia’s. Don’t miss out on the Golf – for around $15, it’s an absolute bargain. They make a handsome pair!