You know, I’ve always had a soft spot for Peugeot, especially their racing efforts back in the day. So, when I heard they were jumping back into the top class of endurance racing, the WEC, I got pretty interested. It felt like old times again.
I started following their progress, watching the races when I could. That new car, the 9X8, really caught my eye. Especially that whole ‘no rear wing’ thing they started with. Bold move, I thought.
My Little WEC Project
I wasn’t building a real race car, obviously. But I wanted to get a bit more hands-on. So, I decided I’d try and build a scale model of the 9X8. Found a decent kit online, nothing too fancy, but it looked challenging enough.
My plan was simple: build it, paint it, make it look as close to the real thing as I could manage with my clumsy hands.
So, I cleared off a corner of my desk. First step, just opened the box and looked at all the tiny plastic pieces. Lots of them.
I started cutting the parts from the plastic frame, what they call sprues. Had to be careful not to break the small bits. Then came the sanding, smoothing out the little nubs left behind. Tedious stuff.
- Spent ages just prepping the body shell.
- Tried mixing the right shade of grey paint. Took a few tries, ended up looking okay-ish.
- Putting the chassis together was fiddly. Lots of small suspension parts. Dropped a few on the floor, spent time crawling around looking for them.
- The decals were tricky too. Those thin logos and stripes love to fold over or tear. Needed a lot of patience and water.
I worked on it bit by bit, mostly evenings after work. Some nights I’d just do a tiny bit, others I’d get really into it for a couple of hours.
Funny thing is, working on that model brought back some weird memories. Reminded me of this job I had years ago. Not racing related at all, mind you. It was some data entry gig, incredibly boring but required insane attention to detail. One tiny mistake and the whole thing got flagged.
I used to pour hours into getting things perfect there, just like I was doing with this model car. Double-checking, triple-checking. The boss never really seemed to notice the effort, only the occasional slip-up. Felt like shouting into the void sometimes.
Eventually, I just walked away from that job. Wasn’t worth the stress for what it paid and the lack of any real satisfaction. Found something completely different later, much less about tiny details and more about talking to actual people. Much better fit for me, honestly.
So, building this Peugeot model, getting lost in those tiny decals and perfect paint lines, it was like revisiting that old mindset, but this time, it was just for fun. No boss breathing down my neck. If I messed up, it was just my model, my problem. A much healthier kind of focus, I guess.
Anyway, I finished the model. It’s sitting on my shelf now. Looks pretty good, if I say so myself. Captures that initial wingless look.
And then Peugeot went and added a rear wing to the real car later in the season! Kind of makes my model a snapshot of a specific moment in time, which is cool in its own way. Shows how things change, how you have to adapt. Even big factory teams have to rethink things, just like I had to rethink that old job.
It was a good little project. Kept my hands busy, mind occupied. And I’ve got a neat little reminder of Peugeot’s WEC efforts sitting there. Still follow the team, curious to see how they get on. Endurance racing, it’s a tough game.
