The other day, someone asked me what I have built in the way of Pocher models. I took a little mental survey and, give or take one or two, here’s my construction experience with the brand.
I built my first Pocher in 1999. I took great care with that model as It was the first Pocher I ever actually got my hands on and I was afraid that it would be the only one I ever saw. I had the chance to work with a nearby Ferrari dealer and was able to get paint and the pertinent pages of a workshop manual for the car. The model has a scratch-built fuel injection system and has the exact primer, base coat, and clear coat that was used on the Testarossa that was sitting at the dealer’s.
A few years later I got to drive some exotic cars and the Testarossa is the sweetest drive of anything I’ve had the chance to drive. Perhaps the new supercars are easier to drive but in 2004 or so, this was one excellent car.
After that, the Pocher company came back to life and I was able to purchase a K88, a new K73, and the one of each of the new K76 and K86 kits.
I built the K88 first which, to this day, is my favorite Pocher model, and the only one that sits in a prominent place in my house. One day it may be supplanted for a large wood ship kit but, for now, it’s the top model in my collection.
I then built the K73 and got a couple of my kids involved. One of my girls put one of those wheels together in about three hours with no tools and no glasses. Those little fingers and good eyesight are sure something.
After that, I started building Alfas one after another for several clients in Canada and the US. I think I built four of them in a row, in various colors. One of those Alfas was built completely using Alclad paints. It was fun but that paint is very difficult to use for a complete body. I also built a convertible Bugatti for a show.
After the Alfas (racer and touring models), I got several requests in a row for Bugattis. I think I built three K86s in a row, all in red and black, then three or four K76s, of which one came in a sealed box from the early 80s. I still have the original UPS label somewhere. That was my favorite K76 build as it came from a wonderful fellow in California who had gotten too old to build models. He sent me a collection of six or seven kits and asked me to choose which I wanted to build for him, in exchange for the others.
I then started my first Rolls Royce for a client that, unfortunately, was destroyed in a fire at my store. I’ll have to build another one for him one day.
After that, the last two Pochers I built were Bugattis again, one K84 for a client in Mexico, and one K76 for a client in Colorado.
One day I would like to build a couple of Mercedes and Rolls Royce models. I still haven’t built either of those completely.
Of course, I have seen every single Pocher model ever built at least once and I have no interest in building the Porsche, the F40, or the trucks. They just don’t interest me as much as those classic cars.
Well, that’s about it for my Pocher construction career.
Best Regards,
Rick Shousha
The Modeller’s Workshop
Montreal