Here''s a look at Ebbro''s beautifully detailed kit of the Team Lotus 49B in 1969 Gold Leaf colours

Read the Review

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Now look what you did Rowan. Read the review and couldnt resist but order one. Got to look now to see if anyone does the proper Gold leaf team Lotus decals.

Hi Keith

Nice one! I'm glad it inspired you to get the kit. Tabu Design produce the offending items - but, before reaching for my wallet, I'll check my old stash of Letraset to see if I've got suitable lettering.

All the best

Rowan

This might help,
www.hiroboy.com, it does state 48B on the product page, but the item clearly states 49B on the product.
Andy

Great review Rowan. This kit looks like an absolute killer. The wheels alone makes you want to buy it.

Cheers Jesper

I quite agree with regards to the tyres - which is why I felt the seat belts were a bit of a disappointment by comparison.

Just to note: I've updated the text to highlight the censored Gold Leaf logos that Keith has pointed out.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,

An excellent review of one of my favorite race car series: the Lotus 49. As you noted, Ebbro's head primary owner was a lead engineer at Tamiya. Tamiya is now listed in the title of the company, and in many of the Ebbro ads I've seen: Ebbro/Tamiya. I guess it was one way that the Tamiya family was able to keep F1 models as a prime focus for them. Tamiya main focus these days seems to be RC cars.

The Lotus 49 series: A, B (high & Low wings), & C were all very early kits, and while designed and engineered to the cutting edge of their time, they fall slightly behind what one finds in their latest kits. The Brabham BT18 F2 is simply amazing.

The cockpit assembly is a little weird, and will require the builder mask the completed cockpit at the time of painting the body panels. Not hard, but not how one usually paints a shell or shell panels these days.

Speaking of the cockpit, yes it's spartan by today's standards for sure, but that's how they were back in the 1960's specifically 1968 when the B series ran in F1. There was absolutely nothing on the wheel, a few Smith Gauges, and a shift level. That's it.

The Ford Cosworth 3 liter V8 is simply amazing, and highly accurate. As you mentioned, the tires have the logos raised and pre-painted, which is a highlight on all their kits to date.

As for the two issues you pointed out; the seatbelts as just decals, and the decals are both very easily addressed.

The correct decals including proper color, and an accurate template for painting the nose is available from IndyCals.

The other issue of seatbelts is even easier to fix. The cars didn't have any!! F1 drivers led by Graham Hill were still totally against being trapped in a crashed or burning car, and preferred the notion of being thrown out of it. A concept that proved to be completely wrong once they got Fire issue under control. As I said, the 49B series ran in the 1968 F1 series, while F1 didn't formally mandate seatbelts till the mid 1970s.

Confusing the issue is that most of the photos you see are cars retro fitted and restored for Classic car races, and have the current safety features needed to race. Here's a few pictures of the actual car.

Chapman, Hill, & Clark with the 49A in 1967. No seatbelts.



Hill in the 49B high wing 1968. No seatbelts



Rindt in the 49C before he was killed, but after his letter to Chapman about how crappy the Lotuses are constructed. Again, no seatbelts



Please finish up your MGB and then start the Lotus next.

Joel

Hi Joel

Many thanks for your kind words about the review.

From what I've read, I think I do need add a seat harness for Graham Hill's car. There's a nice shot online of him in the cockpit with blue shoulder straps captioned as taken at Silverstone in July 1969 http://www.historicracing.com/driver_detail.cfm?driverID=1370 - and, apparently, in the US Grand Prix in October (the kit option I'll probably go for) he didn't refasten his harness when he got out of the car to push-start it after a spin, before driving back to the pits. Some writers suggest that not having the harness on may have saved his life (although he was still very badly injured), because on the way a damaged tyre blew out and sent his car cartwheeling and he was thrown clear rather than potentially being trapped in it.

All the best

Rowan

Hi Joel

The MGB is fast turning into a guinea-pig for paint-polishing! I'm happy that the quite major filling and re-shaping I've done is withstanding scrutiny under a gloss finish that will highlight any imperfection - and I'm getting some results I'm pretty happy with... which translates as: I'm not satisfied yet

So I want to go back a step or two on it and try a different tack.

I've got a fresh Luftwaffe book-build underway, but I also want something completely different to turn to... and that was going to be my "Buddy Holly" Impala.

But - just for you - I'll find room on the workbench for the Lotus too. It'll mean progress will be split between two builds, but they do tally in nicely date-wise... It's all the nines - 1959 for the anniversary of Buddy's passing, and 1969 for Graham Hill's narrow escape.

So - that's my official Auto Modeler target for this year - the Impala and Lotus 49B finished. And, maybe, a Fender Strat on the back seat of the Impala.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
I was at the USGP in 1967 but missed the 1968 season.

The cars changed almost every race, and it takes a very dedicated person to keep track of the changes, which I'm certainly not.

As I said, the FIA didn't mandate seatbelts till mid 1970s, but the individual cars/drivers could have them installed if they actually wanted them.

The kit I believe is the 1968 car which didn't have seatbelts.
I Googled Hill's 1969 Lotus 49B and it's a different car then the kit. Here's a picture of it. Checkout the rear wing.



There is also several pictures I found for the 1969 season where the Lotus 49 had other wing configurations.

If you still are going to add seatbelts & harness, I'm pretty sure that Tamiya's #A Seatbelts for 1/20 cars are about right.


Joel

Joel

Hi Joel

Yep - the low wing is the kit option I want to go for.

I know the stalky high wing kills it for "early days of wings" quirkiness, but I'm channelling my 10-year old self here. My Dad used to race motor-bikes before WW2, and I watched side-car racing, hill-climbing and F1 with him in the '60s, and I remember his reaction when the low wing Lotus took to the track... "That is the future!".

And he was correct in a way. I don't know what he'd have made of today's F1 (Dad died in 1973) - but I rather suspect he'd have said the reliance on technology was at the expense of pure racing.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
The higher the tech, the less racing on the track sure seems like it's a given. F1 is all about qualifying, and pit stops. That's where the racing actually takes place. their working on a completely new package for 2021 to put the racing back in the race.

I watched the F1 Qualifying for tomorrow's F1 race, and Ferrari actually took the front row, and Mercedes is row 2. I'm really looking forward to seeing just how good of a race it is. Australia was a bust with Mercedes taking the front row, and won flag to flag.

Joel