A Porsche 911 DLS Singer Build — Chapter 3: Special Thanks & Showcase

And that brings us to the closing chapter of this 1/24 Porsche 911 DLS Singer build — the special thanks, the acknowledgements, and the finished model in full hero shots.

Special Thanks

Building a kit of this quality is only possible because of the collaboration of many people and brands. The thanks go to:

• Hobby Design and Alpha Model — for designing and producing such a high-quality kit of such an aspirational subject.
• Singer Vehicle Design and the Singer-Williams programme — for creating the most reimagined 911 ever built.
• Williams Advanced Engineering — for the technical partnership that brought the DLS to life.
• Bosch, Michelin, Brembo, and Hewland — the supporting technology partners.
• The 75 owners of Singer DLS cars worldwide — for keeping the air-cooled faith alive.
• The reference photographers — whose high-resolution galleries made this build possible.

Final Showcase

The finished model is a celebration of the most aspirational air-cooled 911 ever built, captured in 1/24 scale — the same scale that allows every detail of the Singer's bespoke cabin and engine bay to be appreciated.

And that wraps up this build of the Hobby Design & Alpha Model 1/24 Porsche 911 DLS Singer. From a sealed box of resin, brass, and decals to a finished model honouring the most aspirational 911 ever built — every detail earning its place. Thank you for following along, and Questo non è un addio ma solo un arrivederci — to the air-cooled era, until the next restomod comes along.

About the Builder & Thank You

• Kit: Hobby Design & Alpha Model HD03-0623 — 1/24 Porsche 911 DLS Singer
• Build & Showcase by: 王小明 — Orange Peel Little
• Subject: The Singer-Williams 911 DLS — a 4.0L, 500-hp, 9,000-rpm reimagining of the classic air-cooled 911

Thanks,
王小明 — Orange Peel Little

A Porsche 911 DLS Singer Build — Chapter 2: Product Details & Showcase

This chapter is the heart of this manual — the detailed showcase of what Hobby Design and Alpha Model's collaboration has produced for you, and the finished model in the flesh.

Product Details Display

The kit has been designed to capture every nuance of the Singer-Williams 911 DLS — from the wide-body 964 arches to the bespoke engine cover, from the titanium roll-over structure to the iconic ducktail rear.

The Body Treatment

The body shell is supplied in a beautifully clean resin, with crisp panel lines and minimal flash. The classic Singer silhouette — sloping rear, ducktail, and 964-style arches — is reproduced with accuracy.

The Body Painting

The most common livery for the Singer DLS is a traditional Porsche colour — guards red, speed yellow, slate grey, or sometimes one of Singer's bespoke series like Classic Malibu Beige or Spinneybeck Racing Green. The kit decals include options for some of these.

The Interior

The Singer's interior is famous — a hand-stitched leather and Alcantara cabin with bespoke switchgear, contrasted stitching, and that signature open-pore wood steering wheel.

The Engine & Chassis

The flat-six is the star of the rear bay. The visible elements — individual throttle bodies, the dry-sump oil tank, the cooling fins — are all reproduced.

The Body Detailing

From the chrome-delete trim to the recessed door handles, the Singer's exterior details are subtle and precise.

The Final Assembly

The final assembly brings everything together — body, interior, engine, glass, and wheels — into the completed model.

THANKS!

Thanks,
王小明 — Orange Peel Little

A Porsche 911 DLS Singer Build — Chapter 1: The Car in Story

There's a fast and handsome air-cooled Porsche 911 called the Singer. The car that you are about to build in 1/24 scale is a tribute to one of the most extraordinary restomod projects ever attempted — a reimagining of the 911 that finally delivers on every performance promise the air-cooled original always hinted at.

The Lineage — Porsche, the 911, the Air-Cooled, the Singer

There's a sports car called the Porsche. There's a rear-engine, rear-drive sports car called the 911. There's a classic 911 called the Air-Cooled. And there's an air-cooled 911 called the Singer.

That last one — the Singer — is the subject of this build.

The Story Behind the Singer

Singer Vehicle Design, an American company, has formed an indissoluble bond with the classic air-cooled Porsche 911. Singer's 911 is not only more powerful than the original Porsche 911, but it also has a more elegant interior — like a walking work of art.

Singer's main builds are based on the 1960s and early '70s Porsche 911 — they keep the original classic elements as far as possible, while using the latest technology to optimise chassis control. The style is very faithful to the original, but there are exceptions — for example, the wide-body 964. Not only do they use advanced materials like titanium alloy and carbon fibre for weight reduction (bringing the vehicle weight down to only 990 kg), but they also brought in Williams Advanced Engineering, the technology-development company of the F1 team Williams Racing, to optimise the aerodynamics.

The front anti-collision beam, front lower-lip air intake, rear-view mirror, and tail wing were all optimised to reduce wind resistance and improve aerodynamic efficiency.

The Engine — A 4.0-Litre Air-Cooled Monster

In terms of power, the 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated horizontally-opposed six-cylinder air-cooled engine produces 500 horsepower and revs past 9,000 RPM. In the air-cooled Porsche world, where most engines are happy to live around 7,000 RPM, this is a serious piece of engineering.

A Limited Masterpiece

Singer will supply only 75 DLS remodelled machines, all of which are made at the company's UK facility.

DLS is short for Dynamics and Lightweighting Study. It was developed in collaboration with technology partners such as Williams Advanced Engineering, Bosch, Michelin, Brembo, and Hewland — a dream team of motorsport engineering.

The Kit — Specifications

A 4.0-litre, 500-horsepower air-cooled Porsche, the most reimagined 911 ever built, captured in 1/24 scale. Now let's see what the kit looks like. Up next: Chapter 2: Product Details & Showcase!

— Build by 王小明

A Ferrari F1 SF23 Build — Chapter 8: Final Assembly & Showcase

Now that all components are prepared, we can start the final assembly. Then the car gets placed on its Spa corner, the camera comes out, and we see if the piece came together the way we hoped.

Step 1 — Suspension Installation

First, we install the suspension. Since this one was going on the base in a high-speed corner, I had to make sure the back was slightly lower than the standard position because of the downforce in the corner. This was done by applying some pressure when the glue was drying.

Step 2 — Tyres On

After which I could install the tyres. Not documented, but the tyres were sanded to give a used look, and clear-coated at the sidewalls (since those have a natural sheen of new rubber when fresh, and a satin finish when worn).

Step 3 — Antennas, Driver & Final Touches

All that was left to do was to install the antennas and Carlos's head — and we could move on to place it on the base and take some better photos of the end stage.

— Showcase —

A Final Reflection

The idea for this assembly rooted in my love for Spa, and the wonderful time Carlos gave us during his time at Ferrari. I tried capturing the moment every photographer likes to capture right in front of the camera — and thus capturing the action in that moment.

Acknowledgements:

• Le Petit Matos for the stand that helped when applying the decals.
• A lot of visitors at the hobby shows last year who showed interest and helped me on some dilemmas during the build.
• And of course, Alpha Model for providing such a high-quality product of a wonderful subject.

Questo non è un addio ma solo un arrivederci!! Smooooooth operator!

About the Builder

• Kit: Alpha Model 1/20 Ferrari SF23 (AM03-0011)
• Build & Documentation by: PJ's Scaleworks
• Contact:
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pieterjan.vermeire.50/
  • Instagram: @pjsscaleworks
  • Email: pjsscaleworks@hotmail.com

Thanks,
PJ's Scaleworks

A Ferrari F1 SF23 Build — Chapter 7: Extras — Diorama, Driver & Base

When starting this model I had a clear plan in mind of what I wanted to do. Since Spa-Francorchamps is my favourite race track, I knew I had to build it on the track. But you can't have a car driving on the track without the driver and the track.

Step 1 — The Driver Figure

I scaled and printed an F1 driver figure including HANS and helmet. Since the helmet was the most visible and not included in the kit, there was a lot of trying to find the best way to go. This was done by a lot of masking, some detail painting, and a holographic foil for the visor.

And finally, some decals from the spare parts box gave it the Carlos Sainz name on the visor strip and the helmet.

Step 2 — The Spa-Francorchamps Base

For the base, I started with some plywood and worked out the idea I had sitting in my mind for a while. Tarmac was made with AK Terrains Asphalt. The kerbstones were designed and printed by myself based on photo material I had from visiting Spa.

Grass was applied with a static applicator to give a realistic look, and some small daisies were also printed to be placed in the grass.

Step 3 — The Sparks!

The stuff you see coming out of the back of the plate is glass-fibre that will be used to give the sparking effect F1 cars have in this specific corner (the famous Eau Rouge sparks of an F1 car at full chat).

Step 4 — The Base Frame & Display Case

The base was finished around with black-painted plywood, and a baseplate will be added so the home-made plastic case can fit over it.

A car, a corner, a driver. The model has gone from a kit to a piece. Vamos! Up next: Chapter 8: Final Assembly & Showcase.

— Build by PJ's Scaleworks

A Ferrari F1 SF23 Build — Chapter 6: Body Shell — The Three-Part Approach

The way I approached this body shell is not my standard way of working, but needs some explanation as to why and how I did it. The SF-23 body consists of different parts, with areas that are carbon (which are naturally shiny by the resin used to make the carbon) and areas that are painted in the matte-red SF-23 colour (Pantone 185C) — and that combination caused an interesting challenge.

The Setup — Why Masking on Matte Red Is a Headache

You can imagine the headache this caused. Doing the paint in a particular order eliminated the need to use masking tape on a matte red body, and limited the height differences between the different paint layers.

Part One — The Steps

1. Painting the body with Tamiya Fine Grey Primer.
2. Apply Tamiya X-18 (semi-gloss black) over the entire body.
3. Apply all the carbon decals in their correct positions.
4. Clear-coat the complete body in Strelt Blister 2K Gloss.
5. Wait a week for full cure.
6. Mask off all the carbon-decal-coated areas.

The Problem Solved — Part Two

The biggest challenge you have with this approach is that black really isn't a good base colour to use for red. I tested some approaches on plastic spoons — this is what a hobby-modeller's lunchbox looks like — and this one made the fit.

I used Alclad Aluminium on top of the black, and then used the Pantone 185C red on top of the Alclad. And the red popped out as expected.

Part Three — The Reveal

After waiting for about 3 days, I was able to peel the masking tape off the carbon decals. And now you can see that the process paid off. The different shines are achieved.

So then you can apply all the other decals.

Why this works: By putting the carbon decals down first, masking only the carbon with tape, and then painting the red directly onto the (unmasked) areas, the red paint doesn't have to fight against masking-tape adhesion on a matte surface. The result is a perfect inter-material line, with no risk of peel-up or bleed.

Body is done. Up next: Chapter 7: Extras — Diorama, Driver Figure & Base.

— Build by PJ's Scaleworks

A Ferrari F1 SF23 Build — Chapter 5: Assembly Stage — Carbon Mania

As mentioned in the unboxing, the SF-23 is actually almost completely made up out of carbon. And so the next stage is an orgy of carbon decals — more than 200 pieces, each one placed by hand, each one aligned to its neighbouring weave direction.

Step 1 — Prime & Paint the Carbon Parts

So I first primed and painted all the pieces that will only consist out of carbon in Tamiya X-18 (semi-gloss black). This combines well with the carbon colour, and the semi-matte feel of the paint really grips on the decals helping them to stay better in place.

Step 2 — The Carbon Decal Workstation

To bring this process to a good end (there are more than 200 carbon decals to be applied), I use bottled water, a pencil dedicated to decals, some cotton swabs, and a hair dryer. Since they are templated decals, they are perfectly shaped to go on the car.

Step 3 — Application Technique

I noticed that using warm water makes the decals too soft to be handled, so I soak them for 10 seconds, put them on kitchen paper, and then on the model. When I'm happy with the position, I use the hairdryer to soften the decal. That makes them conform to all the shapes underneath.

Step 4 — Clear Coating the Carbon

When done, they were all clear-coated. The clear coat locks the decals under a unifying sheen and matches the satin look of real autoclaved carbon.

Tip: The 10-second soak is the secret. Long enough for the decal to release from its backing, short enough that the decal stays firm enough to position with tweezers. Once on the model, the heat from the dryer does the conforming.

Carbon mania is finished. The model is starting to look like the real SF-23, panel by panel. Up next: Chapter 6: Body Shell — Three-Part Approach.

— Build by PJ's Scaleworks

A Ferrari F1 SF23 Build — Chapter 4: Wash, Wash, Wash!!

Probably the most important step in the building process is the wash stage. The smoother your resin comes out, the more important this step becomes. Skip the wash and your paint will fish-eye and never cure properly.

Step 1 — Warm Soapy Water

When working with cast resin pieces, and after sanding everything down, the wash stage is critical. Just some lukewarm water with a few drops of detergent is mostly enough to clear any greasy areas.

Step 2 — Scrubbing

I use a simple sponge (not the rough part) to wipe as much as possible away, and an old toothbrush to be able to get into the smaller areas.

Step 3 — Drying & Storing

Afterwards, I use some kitchen paper to leave them to dry. When drying, I also have some dust-free boxes to store them in. This ensures that there is no dust getting back on the already-cleaned parts.

Step 4 — The Final Wipe

When dry (mostly 24-48 hours later), you can use a damp cloth made damp with some cellulose thinner to wipe away any of the residues still left behind by the water. This step is what separates a good primer job from a great one.

Tip: The cellulose thinner wipe is the key. Water alone leaves a thin film of surfactant residue; the thinner dissolves and lifts that film. Try it — your primer will stick like it's never stuck before.

All parts are washed, dried, and ready. Up next: Chapter 5: Assembly Stage — Carbon Mania.

— Build by PJ's Scaleworks