Beginning to look like a race car.

I've completed 3 pages of instrutions and finished step 2.

Really not that much left, til I tackle the decals

Loved those old 60's Indy racers. Looked like a much simpler time.

Mark,
Now that's progress for sure. Looking forward to seeing the decals on as it will make ha huge difference in both the look and feel of the car, and give your Mojo a real boost.

Joel

I don't think it was an Indy car. The Lotus 49B was campaigned by Jim Clark and Graham Hill in F1 in 68-70.

A little more progress... talk about working around a bunch of brittle pieces... I am amazed how many places just crack especially where you are putting in screws.

Well here we go...

Little bitty parts...


And parts in place...



Front suspension is done. Radiators in place...



Your comments and criticisms are always welcome!

Mark, great to see some more solid progress on your Reynard, looking good mate!

Patrick, plenty of frustrations there on such a complex kit. Old brittle plastic can really drive you insane, just when you think you're safe, that crack rings out loud and clear
With all of the problems you are facing, your 312 is progressing nicely. The front suspension sets and radiators look great.

Almost weekly update time again, keep the progress reports rolling in!

Cheers, D

Mark, the race car is looking good. When I first saw your background I thought you had some serious modification to a Lotus 49!

Patrick you're doing a great job with a seriously old kit. I guess plastic brittleness comes with age but you are dealing with those issues really well.

cheers
Michael

Patrick,
Outstanding effort and progress on a build that's age is causing all sorts of issues to the molded plastic. I'm guessing that the oils are just evaporating slowly over time. What you've accomplished to date is truly 1st rate workmanship.

Michael,
I thought the same exact thing as my Lotus 49b box is on the monitor screen but the model didn't look anything like a Lotus. Of course as it's a Indy car Reynard.

joel

So... here is a sample of instruction sheets... not a reference as to what to do first or explanations... kind of have to figure it out as I am going.


Making progress on the engine...



Your comments are ALWAYS welcome!

Patrick,
Such is the state of most instruction sheets, but from those engine pics, you sure seem to have it figured out just fine.

Joel

One last for today... all velocity stacks in place, spark plugs ditto, most accessories as well, and starting on the transmission and rear suspension...

And here we are as promised

Running update on builds

21 weeks in, 45 pages with over 28,000 views and 1100 posts
21 enlisted
14 builds in progress
12 completed builds

Szmann (Gabriel) - NASCAR - Chev Monte Carlo (Tony Stewart) - 1/25 AMT/ERTL kit - COMPLETED
Stickframe (Nick) - ENDURANCE - McLaren F1 GTR Longtail - 1/24 Aoshima kit - COMPLETED
Szmann (Gabriel) - NASCAR - Pontiac Grand Prix (Kyle Petty) - 1/24 Revell/Monogram kit - COMPLETED
rv1963 (Robert) - STRAIGHTLINE - '37 Chevy Gasser - 1/25 AMT kit- COMPLETED
jimb (Jim) - STRAIGHTLINE - '57 Ford Sedan Gasser - COMPLETED
Joel_W (Joel) - FORMULA 1 - Lotus 99T Honda (Ayrton Senna 1987) - 1/20 Tamiya kit - COMPLETED
pnance26 (Patrick) - FORMULA 1 - Ferrari 312T - 1/12 Tamiya kit - COMPLETED
Dixon66 (David) - TOURING GROUP 2 - 2006 Mustang GT- 1/25 Revell kit - COMPLETED
Dixon66 (David) - ENDURANCE GROUP 5 - Zakspeed Capri - 1/24 Tamiya kit - COMPLETED
Aussiereg (Damian) - STRAIGHTLINE - '55 Chev Pro Sportsman (Charles Carpenter) - 1/25 Revell kit - COMPLETED
Joel_W (Joel) - GT3 - Audi R8 LMS (2015) - 1/24 NuNu kit - COMPLETED
pnance26 (Patrick) - ENDURANCE - Porsche 956 Le Mans 1984 - 1/24 Tamiya kit - COMPLETED

Joel_W (Joel) - FORMULA 1 - Lotus 49B (Rob Walker 1968) - 1/20 Ebbro kit - Nose clip modification commenced
tinbanger (Richard) - GRAND PRIX - 1914 Mercedes Racer - 1/16 Lindberg kit - Body primed, test fitting sub assemblies
md72 (Mark) - INDY - Target Reynard (Jimmy Vasser) - 1/25 Revell kit - Major assembly stages
Szmann (Gabriel) - FORMULA 1 - Tyrrell P34 (Monaco 1977 #4) - 1/20 Tamiya kit kit - Engine complete, chassis plate and outer shell paint/decals
Hwa-Rang (Jesper) - NASCAR - (TBA)
PasiAhopelto (Pasi) - NASCAR - Olds 442 (Donnie Allison) - 1/25 Salvinos JR kit - Chassis/ tub/cage assembled and primed, body painted. Decal issues halted proceedings
forest1000 (David) - FORMULA 1 - enlisted - Williams Renault (Jaques Villeneuve) - 1/24 Revell/Monogram kit
Cosimodo (Michael) - ENDURANCE - 1971 Porsche 917/20 - 1/12 MFH kit - Steps 1-14 of 26 completed, major assembly of rolling chassis
bluebell914 (Patrick) - ENDURANCE - enlisted - Ferrari P4 or 512S
2002hummer (Darrell) - GRAND PRIX - Lotus Super Seven (Tamiya) - Engine assembled and painted
TacFireGuru (Mike) - NASCAR - enlisted - Chev Monte Carlo (Home Depot)
Lakota (Don) - ENDURANCE - Corvette C7.R - 1/25 Revell kit - Engine assembled, floor pan/chassis under way
RedwingNev (Neil) - GRAND PRIX - enlisted - Lotus 79 (1978 Mario Andretti?) - 1/20 Tamiya kit
heavyjagdpanzer (Bill) - STRAIGHTLINE - Blue Max Funny Car - 1/25 Revell kit - Rolling chassis completed, body painted
bmwh548 (Radu) - RALLY - '99 WRC Subaru Impreza - 1/24 Tamiya kit - Wheels and tyres
bomber14 (Joe) - STOCK CAR - '60 Ford Starliner - AMT/ERTL kit - Rolling chassis/interior done, body paint under way. Personal injury holding up progress.
rv1963 (Robert) - TRANS-AM - '73 Mustang - 1/25 MPC kit- Parts prep, front end modifications
pnance26 (Patrick) - FORMULA 1 - Ferrari 312T2 - 1/12 Protar kit - Painting and fitting sub assemblies and tiny details, delicately dealing with 40yo brittleness
PasiAhopelto (Pasi) - RALLY - enlisted - Datsun Fairlady 240Z - 1/24 Hasegawa kit - Box unsealed in anticipation

If anybody has changed or firmed up their proposed builds, or spotted anything wrong in the list, please let me know.

Cheers, D

D,
Excellent record keeping, and I for one truly appreciate it. Having 12 builds cross their respective finish lines and will be awarded a ribbon is surely a record for our auto model community. And still there are 14 builds in active progress, so the list will surely grow somewhat.

Personally, the Lotus 49b isn't a GB build as I've already finished two kits, but rather a personal build I've wanted to do for some time in Rob Walker's colors with Jo Siffert behind the wheel ( a top 5 personal favorite).

Joel

Damian,

Thanks for keeping up with the builds!

If things keep progressing, I don’t see why I won’t make the deadline! Is it October 1 or October 31?

So close ,yet so far away. The paint work on the body had a few flaws, but I could live with them. Then, I try to put the stripes on the hood and ruin them. I order another set of decals. Following that, I mess up the paint trying to get the decal off. Now, I am going to have to repaint most of the body.

Damian, you're making look like a laggard. I am half way through! Finished up to step 14 - body and "soul" are together now.

cheers
Michael

Joel, I'm really enjoying the increase in traffic here lately, and keeping an eye on the builds is always a pleasure!

Patrick, the time frame for the Group Build is April to September inclusive, so October 1 we start the next Group Build. The way you are progressing you should be completed, but you have already qualified for the ribbon.

Bill, I'm sorry to hear that you are having some problems at this stage of your build, your Blue Max was looking really nice! Hopefully you can get them sorted without too much delay!

Michael, humble apologies mate, I've updated the update! There is just so much going on with your build that I lost track of which stages you had completed.

Cheers, D

Bill,
Ouch. Sure sounds like your modeling karma wasn't working that day.

I've never met a decal I couldn't easily remove by one of a few methods. Decals that have cured over night will come up with liberal use of masking tape, the tackier the better. Even happens when you don't want it to happen. Decals that need to be moved or removed during a decaling session need only to have more Micro Set brushed on top and work the decal with a brush, it will come up and off.

how did the paint get damaged from your decal removal system? As Damian said, there's still plenty of time to get the Blue Max regrouped and make that pass down the strip to the finish line.

Joel

Michael,
No way can anyone even suggest that your build is at the stage it's at because you're a laggard There just isn't anything harder, more difficult, and requires a skill set far above the average model builder to even attempt a MFH 1/12 kit. Every update post just amazes me at what you've accomplished since the previous update.

As Hulk Hogan use to say: Rock on Brother

Joel

Damian,
I know there is just one ribbon for the campaign, but this has been a great motivator to get some kits built. I’m neglecting some rebuild/repaint/reed cal projects but I can do all that in the winter!

I am taking off to dip my feet in the ocean today with the wife. It’s time to escape the heat, see some grand babies, and then back to work. Next build day will be next Sunday when the transmission and rear suspension should be close...

Looking at the amount of pinstriping on this kit is quite intimidating! I’m ordering a second set of decals today!

Thanks for all you do with the group!

I started using a decal remover that I had. It was not until I put it on that I realized it also removed paint! I quickly washed it off, but the paint had been dulled. No longer blue and shinning . I mostly build military models with flat paint. These shinny models are all together different

Bill,
Ain't that the truth. The learning curve for me was super steep as I've been a military aircraft modeler since the 1970s

Joel

Yet another build started for this GB - I needed to catch my place on the grid

Lotus EUropa Wing by Yodel



The full build blog (WIP) can be seen here:
Lotus Europa Build Log

I'm going to spend more time with you soon guys - I have to catch up with a lot of things - but right now I am in a permanent rush

Cheers!
Gabriel

Gabriel,
it's great to see you posting again with us. I for one have really missed having one of my buddies around.

Interesting build as the Lotus Europa wasn't a very popular sports racer in North America, but I'm sure that it had a greater following in Europe. I'll be heading on over to your build blog in a few.

Joel

Well it looks a little like a race car.

Well except for that bit o paint that lifted while I was fighting with the front suspension.
Try to sand that out and get it re painted. Then start the decaling before adding the nose and tail wings. Then finally the tires.

Gabriel, great to see another build hitting the track here, and definitely an unusual subject there! Checking on Scalemates it appears that your kit started out as an RC model. YODEL isn't a company that I have seen before, so it will be interesting to see how this one comes together. I have added your new build to the list in the initial post, taking us to 15 in-progress builds currently.

Mark, that little spot of tape lift is frustrating, but isn't in a difficult spot to touch up luckily! Great to see the body tasking shape!

Cheers, D