Intervista con Jürgen Renardy (parte I)

Il nome di Jürgen Renardy di Aachen è legato per i più agli anni in cui montava i modelli per il Porsche Modell Club, diretto da Ulrich Upietz. Ma la storia e l'attività di Renardy sono molto più vaste e vale sicuramente la pena approfondire l'argomento. Renardy è ancora oggi uno dei montatori più competenti in materia di vetture sport-prototipo e silhouette degli anni settanta-ottanta, e ha saputo ritagliarsi una propria nicchia in un mercato sempre più complesso. Ecco la prima parte dell'intervista, che verte principalmente sulla sua storia. Seguirà una serie di domande/risposte più specifiche sul suo lavoro e sulla sua visione del mercato.

Renardy con una delle sue passioni, una Triumph.

Could you tell your story as a modeller/builder?
Everything started in 1976 as a secondary income while studiying. Then got in contact with the very first German specialist modelcar shop Spielwaren Danhausen (here in my hometown too), well known for their own Minichamps series (not yet made in China!), all these kits produced either by AMR France or Western Models GB (Plumbies too from GB). I did a very lot of buildings for that shop exclusively for quite some years, through all the spectre of "cottage" industry like John Day, Mikansue, FDS, AMR's own range, Record, then Starter and Prov.Moulage who revolutioned casting processes with the then new resin. One day -think it was in 1978- Danhausen managing brothers Peter and Paul-Günther Lang persuaded me to become a freelance modelbuilder, they told me I even could order a Ferrari directly as there was that much to do, so I quit studying boring engineering. Up to today....no Ferrari, only one or two downscaled ones! But I never regretted the change of business, still feel quite content to be master in my own house and of my own time. In the eighties business for Danhausen became more and more, building the cheaper non factory build AMR's in small series, even some officially licensed ones but without plaques (Swap Shop+Valvoline Moby Dick, yellow Spa65 GTO, XJR5 LM84), then "ancestor" of cheaper mass production AMR's labelled Century of which I even painted a hundred or more bodies per day. Other mass production models as the very first Porsche 956es in 1983 as "give aways" for NewMan, Kenwood, Skoal (who remembers??) or Audi sport quattro, up to 500pcs. Luckily I got aquainted to some private collectors already before and additionally I did a very few own designed ready builts series under my quite unknown label "Speedy Special" (Race Vettes 1971/72 and Group44 Triumph TR6), so my business survived on a low level with only two instead formerly up to eight assistant helpers.

Corvette 1971 "Speedy Special"

Corvette 1972 "Speedy Special"

Speedy Special, Triumph TR6 SCCA 1976.

For years, you were known as the Porsche Modell Club official builder. Could you describe how you got to know Ulrich Upietz and how was the job for the club? After Henk Koop took over the PMC, they stopped the production of handbuilt models. How did your work go on?

Think it was in 1987, I got into contact to U.Upietz, again through Danhausen. He a kind of admired my personal way to tackle his Porsche Model Exclusiv editions and wanted me to do all his wished ready builts of these sometimes very unique subjects, e.g. the still today outstanding Coke 962 with open front hood and detailed front suspension. Business for the club lasted about 4 years while in the meantime Danhausen=Minichamps discovered far East as the cheapest production location on earth. So my business for them became completely dispensable what resulted in a simple..."fired", no Ferrari, lol. Then even U.Upietz gave up his "PMC"hobby and no more necessity for hand built special Porsches too.

Uno dei "classici" della produzione Porsche Modell Club, la Porsche 962C su base Starter. Questa versione (Kremer, pilota Volkert Weidler, 1987) uscì nel 1989 e creò moltissimo interesse anche per la particolare verniciatura tricolore. All'epoca era veramente un modello top, anche se la base fornita era in parte errata nel disegno della coda (la vettura di Kremer era leggermente diversa). Recentemente Renardy ha realizzato alcuni montaggi (svariate versioni) di questa 962C utilizzando una più corretta base della svizzera Romue.

La stessa versione montata nel 2010 su base Romue (notare il corretto andamento della coda) e sullo sfondo la versione 1986, con le bande asimmetriche.

Then a new theme arrived: Opel! AC Schnitzer's newly established Steinmetz sub-company wanted PR models of their old race cars, so we did a relative wide range of 1:43 scale Opel Commodore A (yes, the Spa 1971 one nowadays available by Minichamps, too), Commodore B, GT, Ascona Gr.2 and others, first for Steinmetz, then for Irmscher too. Including prototypes and complete documentation that let us busy for another five years or so in the nineties but diminuished as Chinese production grew better and better in a quite different price segment.

Alcuni esempi della produzione per Steinmetz e altri clienti, a tema Opel, su varie basi. Questa è la Commodore B Gruppo 1 di Weisheidinger, realizzata in diverse versioni.

Commodore preparata da Irmscher, 24 Ore del Nuerburgring 1971.

Steinmetz Opel Commodore A, Salzburgring 1971.

Opel Kadett Gr.2 Steinmetz.

Opel GT1900 Steinmetz, Kassel-Kalden 1971.