My Special Porsche 956C
It seems like a lifetime ago when I fell in love with Slot Cars. I was twelve years old and an American kid in a foreign
country. My father was in the US Navy and our family was able to travel with him on this particular move to Sicily. This
wasn't the first time we had moved with my dad. The first move was to Cuba when I was almost three and it is where my sister
was born. But this move was special…being twelve meant that I was "coming into my own", I was almost a teenager and I
had more freedom to be on my own and it was also that ideal time in the twentieth century where parents could trust their
kids and kids trusted adults.
I was already interested in cars and mechanics…how they worked, how they were built, etc. I could guess the make and model of a car just by glancing at the front end, the rear end or a profile view. Sometimes I could identify the car by the motor because of its distinct rhythm.
Living in Sicily, I found Slot Cars. They were perfect for a kid that loved cars. After all they were perfect replicas of the real thing and I built a Ferrari 275P Model that also included a cockpit and could be converted to a Slot Car. This was indeed a perfect time in my life.
Years later when I joined the US Navy and began traveling the world on my own I discovered that Slot Cars were a worldwide passion. I treasured my Ferrari 275P all that much more and took it with me on my travels.
Tragically my first model/Slot Car was stolen and then I transferred to a ship based in Hawaii and my Ferrari 275P faded into a childhood memory.
Even though I was in the US Navy and ship bound for a good portion of my career, my love for the automobile did not sway. Whenever I had leave, I took photos of cars. Landing in foreign countries became exciting because I could investigate the different vehicles used in that country for cargo, for transportation, for family cars, etc. I took pictures of everything and I read as much as possible in order to learn about the motors, the building of the vehicles, the designs, the manufacturers and of course racing
When I returned to Hawaii, I spent time in the library and the garages to learn and absorb as much as my mind and body would allow.
I learned about RC cars (Radio Controlled 1/10 th and 1/12 th scale). I raced RC cars for about six years on tracks then I moved to outdoor cars and raced on all surfaces, asphalt, concrete, carpet anything that the wheels would move on. I had dozens of bodies that I could mount on the racing chassis' because I absolutely fell in love with racing. I raced these cars from Virginia to Hawaii to Alaska and when I retired from the Navy in 1992 I moved back home to Kansas and the family farm and never unpacked my "toys" again.
Just before I turned fifty years old I was wandering through a hobby shop and discovered Slot Cars. I should say I rediscovered Slot Cars, but these cars were not the same cars from my youth. When I was twelve the cars were simple and ran on plastic tracks, but in 2002 the cars were complex and ran on pre-made plastic tracks and wooden tracks that were hand built and run with computers. Fascinating!! The spark that relit my passion was more like a match on gasoline…my mind exploded with possibilities! I went on the internet immediately and found Slot Car Illustrated Forum and any of you that have read my input for the last eight years know that I am passionate about the cars I build and the racing of them.
As an adult I could do what a kid could not do…I could purchase as many cars as I wanted (when my wife didn't remind me of the bills that had to be paid). The cars were small and didn't take up a lot of space (I kept telling my wife and myself) and so I began to collect Ferrari vehicles (of course) and then I started my Porsche collection and I went with Fly, Scalextric/Hornby, then to Slot It and RACER…and, well my "small and don't take up space" excuse ran out a while ago and my room is now covered wall to wall with show cars and race cars and bodies in the midst of being worked on and it just goes on from there…
Following my first love of Ferraris, I fell for the Porsche 956/962C cars because they were beautiful and one of my first RC cars was the Porsche 956C. About two years ago I made contact with a gentleman with a track. He invited me to come and race and of course I said yes! I took my Porsche and I loved the way it handled. I decided to purchase every Slot It version of the 956/962C that they produced and I couldn't resist picking up the same models from other manufacturers.
All of this has been a prelude to an event that is nothing short of a fantasy. I still cannot believe the following has actually taken place…bear with me as I relate this:
I happened to see photos of some Porsche 956 cars that had been produced by "Rainer". They were interesting and beautiful. I contacted "Rainer" about the cars and found out that each one is hand painted by him (the artist's name is Rainer) and I just casually asked him about painting a car for me. A specially commissioned paint job on a Porsche 956 would not only represent my love for these cars but could paint a picture of a specific time in my life. As we continued to email back and forth, I told Rainer about my career in the US Navy (20 years) and that my father had also made the US Navy a career (23 years) and that our service to our country had never waived nor had the love for our country (even during the difficult times of our history). When I discovered that Rainer was German and lived in Germany, I was concerned that he would not fully understand our military careers and patriotism. Instead I was amazed that he truly understood and asked if a car painted with the American Flag and the US Navy emblem would be an appropriate paint job, he even said he would work out a red-white-blue color scheme and I reminded him that the "official" color of the Navy was "haze grey" and he laughed. I could not imagine what Rainer was going to come up with but I was excited. The closer it came to my birthday (the end of March) my anticipation was uncontainable and my wife was really getting tired of hearing about "the Navy car".
Then, the photos came by email! Oh, my God! It is beyond what I could ever imagine! It has not only my name and birth date but my father's as well. The detail work is amazing. I cannot say enough about the deliberation that went into this one single car!
I am so proud of this car! This car is never to be raced! I have sent the pictures to my son and grandsons and told them about the specialness of this car and that it is to remain on display always. The Certificate of Authenticity is to remain in the case with the car. It is my honor to send this car's pictures and its story around the world to any and all forums that will publish it. This man, the artist, Rainer is awe-inspiring. This man, a fellow Slot Car enthusiast who took the time to listen to my family history, my stories and then put all of that into a paint job on a Slot Car, well there are few people in this world like him. His care and attention with the details, and the precision with colors, making sure the emblem was authentic, this car is a testament to this man's talent and should be exploited. I intend to do just that with this story for the forum and as a Letter to the Editor of as many publications as will print this.
The pictures do not do this artistic talent justice, they show the work but not the incredible amount of time and love put into this "plastic" car. I cannot thank Rainer enough. He has summed up my passion for this hobby of Slot Cars and my life in the US Navy (growing up with my father during his career) and with my own career into this one wonderful gift. My heart and prayers will always be with Rainer for giving me and my family something so precious. It is my wish that this story will promote Rainer and his magical artistry so others will be as inspired by his talent as my family and I will be forever.
Thank you, again, Rainer for such a wonderful surprise. May you be blessed endlessly.
Lindsey James Angell
