Cars: Formula1
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Ebbro 1/24 scale Lotus Type 72E
Joel_W
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Posted: Thursday, September 13, 2018 - 05:30 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Joel! I hope your vet can figure something out so you get back in shape!

Less important but still interesting: the Lotus ! Fascinating how the bodywork ends before the engine, leaving it totally exposed. That detail work will certainly pay off! Another fascinating thing is the fantastic finish of the real life car. I wonder how they did the striping, it looks so perfect.

Once again, I hope you get well soon!



Magnus



Magnus,
Thank you my friend for the kind wishes, it's most appreciated. Just can't wait until I see my Dr. next week for the what's next.

the Lotus was so cutting edge back then. the 49 series pioneered the use of the engine/gearbox/suspension as literally part of the stressed chassis. the engine area itself slowly started to become covered for aero effects till everything was incapsulated. I much prefer the era when you could see the inner workings from the back of the cockpit. One other really interesting thing about the Type 72 is that the brakes were inboard not inside the wheels. That was done to aid cooling. Guess it really don't work as eventually the brakes went back out into the massive wheels.

the pin striping really wasn't very hard to do and maintain as they were vinyl self sticking that could be changed and repaired every night.

A update is in the works for the weekend.


Joel

magnusf
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Posted: Thursday, September 13, 2018 - 05:47 AM UTC
The pin striping was vinyl??? What a disappointment! I thought they had some legendary employee (probably an ex Hurricane-pilot from the Battle of Britain) just responsible for the paintwork and now you come here and tell us it wasn't more difficult than being a modeller and handling decals !



Magnus
Joel_W
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Posted: Thursday, September 13, 2018 - 05:53 AM UTC

Quoted Text

The pin striping was vinyl??? What a disappointment! I thought they had some legendary employee (probably an ex Hurricane-pilot from the Battle of Britain) just responsible for the paintwork and now you come here and tell us it wasn't more difficult than being a modeller and handling decals !



Magnus



Magnus,
That's how all the numbers were applied as well.
Joel
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Posted: Thursday, September 13, 2018 - 06:02 AM UTC
Not even the numbers... Oh my...

Joel_W
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Posted: Saturday, September 22, 2018 - 07:34 AM UTC
As I said, the Zero paint was a failure, so I ordered several bottles of paint from Gravity of Spain as I said in a previous post. I had stripped all the paint and primer off the various panels, and reprimed with Mr. Hobby Primer Sealer thinned 1:1 with Mr. Hobby's Mr Color leveling thinner. Which I Air Brushed at 20 psi in light coats. Gave it a hour or so to dry, and once again lightly wet sanded it with tamiya's 3,000 sponge. Next paint session I air brushed on the Gravity Gloss Black that is also pre-thinned at my now standard 20 psi in light coats. Looked way better. I gave that a few days to cure off, then wet sanded it once again with Tamiya's 3,000 sponge. And now it was decal time. The paint was so smooth that I decided to decal without a glosscoat! An all time 1st for me.

Ebbro had Cartgraph print there decals but there was no JPS cirgarette logos provided. I had an old Alps sheet from Indy Cals, and tested the logos. Looked good, but the next day the clear film had bubbles, so I stripped off the decal and tossed the old sheet. I then went to order a new set from Indy Cals, but Mike no longer can print Gold decals. So now what do I do? I checked ebay and I found a small decal/parts company in Hong Kong that silk screens decals. And for some reason that had just the JPS sponsor decals for the type 72E. So I ordered a sheet for $11.50 with shipping. Took 3 weeks, but they got here. In the mean time I started on those Gold stripes. I cut the cowl strips into 4 sections on each side, so that a total of 11 decal pcs needed to match up. Came out pretty good.



Then I did the side pods and cut the stripes in workable sections, as well as the nose clip, intake box, and the rear wing. All the body panels dried perfectly much to my amazement.

Up next was the big #1s in with their Gold backing, also by Cartgraph. By this time the decals still haven't arrived, so i worked on the rear suspension and drive train. Finally, the decals arrived. they looked great, but a little thicker then what I had expected. More in tune with what you would expect with Asian decals. They went down perfectly, and look great.

I gave them a day to dry, then I air brushed on 3 coats of Mr. Color Clear gloss, waited 2 days, and rubbed that out with Tamiya 3,000 sponge. Now the decals look almost like they were painted on. No flash, and no silvering, which was in the back of my head through the entire process. Now comes the fun part. I also ordered from Gravity their polishing set and wax. The final results were simply amazing.





And here's the Ford Cosworth with the intake box dry fitted just for effect.



the pictures being greater then 1:1 do show off any and all imperfections in the paint due strictly to my limited ability to apply a gloss paint job correctly. but I'm getting better. In person the panels do look a lot better.

Joel



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Posted: Saturday, September 22, 2018 - 04:08 PM UTC
Wow! The effort you went to in sourcing the decals has really paid off. You have nailed it beautifully.

cheers
Michael
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Posted: Saturday, September 22, 2018 - 08:34 PM UTC
Amazing Work on the decals Joel.
RussellE
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Posted: Sunday, September 23, 2018 - 09:57 AM UTC
Now that's called "hitting the nail squarely on the head"!

Lovely work Joel!

Hope the health issues are under control!
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, September 23, 2018 - 12:14 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Wow! The effort you went to in sourcing the decals has really paid off. You have nailed it beautifully.

cheers
Michael



Michael,
Thanks so much for the thumbs up, it's greatly appreciated.

I'm just glad the effort to find the JPS logo decals worked out. I was ready to buy any sheet with them and pay the price, hoping that they were the correct size.

Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, September 23, 2018 - 12:16 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Amazing Work on the decals Joel.



Jesper,
thanks so much my friend for those most kind words. it's always greatly appreciated.

Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, September 23, 2018 - 12:20 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Now that's called "hitting the nail squarely on the head"!

Lovely work Joel!

Hope the health issues are under control!



Russell,
yeah, I really got lucky with both finding the needed decals, and applying all of the pin stripping and decals without any issues.

As for my health, I've got another round of specialists to see this month, from a cardiologist to a Nephrologist (Kidney specialist). I had no idea that was their specialty name.

Joel
RussellE
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Posted: Monday, September 24, 2018 - 11:51 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Now that's called "hitting the nail squarely on the head"!

Lovely work Joel!

Hope the health issues are under control!



Russell,
yeah, I really got lucky with both finding the needed decals, and applying all of the pin stripping and decals without any issues.

As for my health, I've got another round of specialists to see this month, from a cardiologist to a Nephrologist (Kidney specialist). I had no idea that was their specialty name.

Joel



Lordy me!
Joel_W
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Posted: Tuesday, September 25, 2018 - 01:46 AM UTC
Russell
Trust me on this: Getting old truly sucks. The Golden years are really a poke at how many more times old people need to go to the bathroom

Joel
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Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2018 - 08:36 AM UTC
Well, the Lotus Type 72E finally crossed the finish line. Less days to completion then previous builds, but the hours are most likely about the same. Being retired and still not even looking for a part time job, does give me a lot of free time once I finish my daily "Honey To Do List" choirs.

It was time to "bolt" the engine/gearbox/suspension to the chassis tub. Ebbro has a screw and tongue to really keep it locked into place. Then the body panels were fitted and the slightest amount of Extra Thin was used to keep it where it belongs. Then the cowling, and it was a real bear to get into position. Time to step back and admire my progress

Now comes one of the dreaded parts of the build, the Tamiya 6 way harness that's generic by era, so you need to have some photographs, and then do a Rube Goldberg install. Took two days, but I got it done.

The kit comes with Chromed wheels, fronts one piece, but the massive rears are two pieces. What's more they're flat black, then Gold front surfaces, and polished Aluminum rims. I stripped the chrome of with Ammonia which works faster then Bleach. Then airbrushed the flat black. The gold was a real bear to do as I opted for Enamel paint slightly thinned so it would flow and hopefully not leave brush marks, and it didn't. The polished steel rims are done with a artist's very fine felt tip marker. I was hoping for just ok, but I'm a step or two above it, but there's certainly room for improvement.

Then to my horror as I pressed the wheels on, one of the pins in the rear wheel broke I tried to glue it but it just kept on breaking off. Then I used 5 min epoxy, and it didn't hold the pin in place. I then went with my last resort of a clay type two part epoxy. Set the wheel in place and braced everything aligned the best I could. Then left it a lone for a good two. Hours. SUCCESS If that didn't work, then after speaking to Richard our resident Japanese modeler and master machinist, he'd work his magic.

I had previously painted the two Talbot Mirrors, and now they were installed.

And with the Talbot's installed, the Type 72E of Emmo is in the books. Here's some pictures of the finished Lotus.

Joel

















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Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2018 - 12:11 PM UTC
Joel -

WOW ! Beautiful job - hope to see in person ( Mosquitocon ? ) and I'm glad your fix for the wheel worked . I'm certain you are ready for 1/12 now be it Tamiya or MFH . What's next for you ? I just received the Tamiya Honda RC 166 today and very tempted to tear into it.

Cheers - Richard
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Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2018 - 02:49 PM UTC
Joel-- wow first place finish! Hope you are feeling better.
VR, Russ
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Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2018 - 09:46 PM UTC
Looks spectacular Joel. Well done.
RussellE
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Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2018 - 10:20 PM UTC
now, there's a chequered flag finish if ever there was one!

Very nice work Joel!

Look forward to seeing what's up next!
Joel_W
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Posted: Friday, October 05, 2018 - 02:20 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Joel -

WOW ! Beautiful job - hope to see in person ( Mosquitocon ? ) and I'm glad your fix for the wheel worked . I'm certain you are ready for 1/12 now be it Tamiya or MFH . What's next for you ? I just received the Tamiya Honda RC 166 today and very tempted to tear into it.

Cheers - Richard




Richard,
Thanks so much for your most positive comments, coming from a modeler of your skill level, really means quite a lot to me. I'm really looking forward to your Honda RC 166 build. It will surely be one for the books.

The Type 72E was built with the goal of improving my gloss paint work and decaling over it. it's not really contest quality with little errors and screw ups here and there. Still, it looks great next to my other two car builds to date. I'm planning on attending the LIARS car show in Freeport next month to see what I'm getting myself into.

As for a next build, well, I decide one moment, then change my mind the next. I can't stop buying car kits as every time (especially Fujimi) a most wanted kit is re-issued, I buy it, then jump over to IndyCals for decals, and finally to Gravity of Spain, and buy the needed paints. I keep on promising myself that 12 in the stash is it, then build one/buy one, but I can't help myself. Wonder if there is a help group for modelers like me.

Anyway, right now I've got on my bench the 1/24 scale Aoshima McLaren F1GTR from the 1997 LeMans race. Naturally, I've got the proper paints, but I'm going with the kit decals as they're printed by Cartograf. But like I said, that can change in a moments time. I've got another two car order from ScaleHobbyist coming with the re-issued Fujimi 1966 Ford GT40 MKII, and the 1968-9 winner Ford GT40 MkI. Not a typo as the FIA changed the rules so that Ford could not longer run their massive 427 ci Nascar engines, so the MkIs came out of mothballs for the Gulf Wyler team who ran the 289s to two more Ford Victories. For those I've got decals coming from IndyCal, and another paint order from Gravity, which also should have the proper Green & Yellow for the 1967 Lotus 49 of Jim Clark.

Looks like I'm going to have to live to well over 100 just to build what I have now.

Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Friday, October 05, 2018 - 02:25 AM UTC

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Joel-- wow first place finish! Hope you are feeling better.
VR, Russ




Russ,
Thanks so much for your high praise, but gloss black hides quite a lot of minor issues.

So far every auto build is a small improvement over the last one, so I'm pretty happy with my progress to date.

Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Friday, October 05, 2018 - 02:26 AM UTC

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Looks spectacular Joel. Well done.




Jesper,
Thanks so much my friend for those words. Coming from you, they mean quite a lot.

Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Friday, October 05, 2018 - 02:28 AM UTC

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now, there's a chequered flag finish if ever there was one!

Very nice work Joel!

Look forward to seeing what's up next!




Russell,

Just crossing the finish line really makes this build special, as I broke all sorts of new car modeling ground.

As of right now, the Aoshima 1/24 scale McLaren F1GTR 1997 LeMans race. But so many other kits in the ever growing stash, keeps on calling my name.


Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Friday, October 05, 2018 - 02:30 AM UTC
One thing I've come to realize is that I really need to sell off at least the doubles and a few triples in my WWII model stash. Most have AM decals and resin seat/belts. I'm just never going to get to building more then one or two aircraft kits per year, and the original multi plans are out the window at this point.

Joel
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Posted: Monday, October 08, 2018 - 06:23 AM UTC

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....Looks like I'm going to have to live to well over 100 just to build what I have now.

Joel



Followed your build silently, Joel and I must say, this is really a nice build. Congrats on finisheing that! Looks as clean as my aircraft models ....

And concerning about how old we have to be before we've done our stash, I guess I have to become nearly as old as Master Yoda ....

Torsten
Joel_W
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Posted: Monday, October 08, 2018 - 07:14 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text



....Looks like I'm going to have to live to well over 100 just to build what I have now.

Joel



Followed your build silently, Joel and I must say, this is really a nice build. Congrats on finisheing that! Looks as clean as my aircraft models ....

And concerning about how old we have to be before we've done our stash, I guess I have to become nearly as old as Master Yoda ....

Torsten



Torsten,
Well I'll be:-H

Never thought I'd see you here, but I'm sure glad that you followed my build. it's really starting to feel like old home week now. So glad that you like how the Type 72E came out. Since I've always been a great admirer and supporter of your museum type finishes, thanks so much for your compliment.

Not sure how old Yoda is, but Stars Wars has been out since the 70s, and he's still around. I figure you'll need to make it to at least 150 or so. Sure hope that medical science makes some major break throughs for aging real soon.

Joel