Enter keywords or a search phrase below:
Hello to my motor head brethren. I am going down a road, no pun intended, that is that is largely foreign to me. I saw the movie "Grand Prix", a childhood favorite, not too long ago and had to build one the these.
So, I have just started working on the Tamiya Lotus 25. Do not be surprised if I ask a lot of questions or use therms like "thingamajig" since I don't know what some of these parts are called.
I have started with the engine, replacing the nuts and bolts with brass parts from Scale Hardware. Amazing stuff. New pulleys and a fan belt from flattened solder replaced the molded on bits. I made the intake from aluminum tubing that was flared and polished. It looses its luster fairly quickly so I will re-polish and dip in some Future just before installation.
Marc
Oh my, Marc is doing a car, and one of my all time favorite race cars. Jim Clark was my boyhood hero. I'll be watching this one closely!
So long folks!
Bill, I will do my very best not to disappoint you.
Very impressive work so far Marc-I will be watching closely also.
btw, should we start calling you Lug-Nut?...Sorry, couldn't resist...
Bob
Very nice Marc. Keep up the good work. I too will be watching closely and learning.
Jim
Main WIP:
On the Bench: Artesania Latina (aka) Artists in the Latrine 1/75 Bluenose II
I keep hitting "escape", but I'm still here.
Bob, Jim... thanks guys. No need to apologize... I figured that was going to come up
looks good so far. i've been building autos for years, and have yet to replace all the bolts on the engine. sigh.
My Photo Album
That's because your not crazy. Everyone knows i am "nuts"
Thanks for stopping in and for the comments.
So why didn't anyone say that building cars was this much fun? I am enjoying this.
1st let me say that I am not spending crazy money on ref books for this build. Some web pics but mostly I am mimicking a beautiful build from a few years ago i found in an F1 forum.
I made a new bulkhead for the front cross member that will hold the top [parts of the front wishbone suspension. Scratched new pedal housing for accelerator, brake and clutch.
Engine is nearly done.
And the last 2 shots are the frame getting together. Punched out some clear pastic for the insturment faces. Wried the instruments and got the leather "seat" ready. More like a small hammock than a seat. And no seat belts. Man, those old time F1 guys had some great big ones
wing_nut Not no seat belts. Man, those old time F1 had some great big ones
Not no seat belts. Man, those old time F1 had some great big ones
...and a short career/lifespan....
Glad that you're enjoying building something shiney.....it would be nice to get more of the regular aircraft/armour builders over here-
Great work-you're going to have a gem on your hands when you finish. Looking forward to more progress pics.
Thanks Bob. So far the hardest part in building something shiny is keeping the shiny bits shiny as you go. No mud flung around by tracks to cover anything up
"Not no seatbelts..." Wow that's bad grammar even for me Gotta fix that LOL
Only a few laps left before this gets parked on the shelf
Rear suspension comes next and I am considering scratching the sway bar. Anyone have a close up ref pic of the real one?
The body shell is ready to prime/paint. The molded in rivets were roughs around the edge so i sanded then off, drilled 380 holes and glued in 114 brass rivet heads. The head is 0.4mm
Milled aluminum lugs nuts added to the wheels. Just needs valve stems.
Marc, try gurneyflap.com. They have a section on Lotus and while the 25 is not shown, the 24 and the 49 Lotus' should give a good idea of the sway bar and other parts you might need.
Ben
A 1/48 scale B-29 will not hang from the ceiling with 3 pieces of fishing line!
Thanks Ben. Great site. No 25 but I did get a good idea of how they go together.
Marc,
The Lotus is really taking shape.
I finished my first auto a 55 Nomad earlier this year. Back in my youth car kits is what got me into the hobby. I forgot how fun they could be and I am now finishing mt 2nd and starting my 3rd.
Keep posting to the finish!
IBuildOne48
Teach modeling to youth!
Scalefinishes.com
The 24 and 25 were developed concurrently, the 24 was a tube framed backup to the 25 in the event that the monocoque chassis did not work. The 25 is rare apparently due to Colin Chapman not letting the privateers have the car and keeping it for the factory drivers. The only example I could find quickly was in a museum.
The 24 should give you the info you need.
hey 1/48 Thanks for the comments. I started with cars to when I was a kid. As I am building this one all the models have been popping back up from memory. I haven't tough of these since like 7th or 8 th grade. That's about 43 years ago.
Thanks for the info Ben. This build has been a real learning experience. I am going to build it again to be ready for a show in April.
OMG... Hot Rod Cartoons and CARtoons magazines just popped into my head. i used to read those all the time.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
