Lotus 7, Tamiya, 1/24

[PaulTRose]

time to give the mojo loss a helping hand to bugger off

something easy that is a genre i like so...........

the tamiya lotus 7 kit was the one that got me back into model making again 15 years ago.....and this will be the 5th time ive made it.......its a nice little kit

its supposed to be a series 2 which was made 1961 to 68.......plan is to do it as a street legal racer............which was colin chapmans plan from the beginning

might go thro the spares box to see if i have some better wheels than the skinny ones

this is the latest offering from Tamiya so comes with a better pe fret.......in the old days you just got a grille, now you get more grilles, brake discs and seat belts

no idea what colour its going to be yet

 

[tigersteve]

Will be watching your progress with interest - I fancied the 1/12 version , but they go for stupid money for some reason!

 

[Ian M]

Had an urge to build a car. Took a look on YouTube for inspiration. Found a channel called A4 garage. Holy F................................
I think I will stick to my mediocre armour and airyplanes!
Have always wanted a real on of those Be it a Lotus or a Caterham. I can think of few better ways to loose my licence.
I will just watch you build this one. Cheaper by all accounts.

 

[stillp]

Always been interested in these since I helped build a 1:1 Lotus 7, when they were sold as a kit to avoid Purchase Tax. The owner sold it soon after it was finished - he found it too scary looking up at the chassis of trucks and buses! Blisteringly fast, even with an 1172cc sidevalve Ford engine.
Pete

 

[Mark1]

Had an urge to build a car. Took a look on YouTube for inspiration. Found a channel called A4 garage. Holy F................................
I think I will stick to my mediocre armour and airyplanes!
Have always wanted a real on of those Be it a Lotus or a Caterham. I can think of few better ways to loose my licence.
I will just watch you build this one. Cheaper by all accounts.

Haha I made the mistake of watching that channel too Ian ,hence a load of impulse buys I'm gonna regret lol

 

[Jim R]

Iconic car. I'll enjoy seeing this built. As for a real one, too old and too chicken, I'll stick to my big, comfortable SUV.
Jim

 

[PaulTRose]

ive found a decal sheet for a revel dodge viper that ended up in the bin many many moons ago so im thinking of blue with a wide white stripe straight down the middle

now the fun begins.......theres basically 4 parts.......body tub with the wings......scuttle......bonnet.....nose cone

if you follow the instructions then its half built by the time you add the scuttle.......but then its impossible to get a seamless join....so ive sttached it, filled and sanded (a few times!)......this now means its a pain to add a few bits in the insides but a bit of surgery will sort that................now i like to have the whole thing together when i paint so it all comes out the same shade......so bits of tape and blutac have come to the rescue

im building this kerbside so havnt got to worry too much about the engine...........i might have found some better wheels and tyres but wont know till i get to the point of adding them......the kit ones are typical for the era and are a bit skinny and weedy.

 

[minitnkr]

Always loved the coachwork on these.

 

[Mikerf]

I can't understand why Tamiya never produced a version with cycle wings instead of the clamshell ones which, to my mind, look nowhere near as good..

Or did they?

 

[PaulTRose]

I can't understand why Tamiya never produced a version with cycle wings instead of the clamshell ones which, to my mind, look nowhere near as good..

Or did they?

they did the caterham but its in 1/12 scale and not cheap

 

[JR]

Seat at the front please Paul.
Remember these in 1/1 a neighbor built one in his garage

 

[Niho]

Beowulf
Iconic British sportscar, cool Tamiya kit too, always makes me think of the opening sequence of "The Prisoner" TV series, and lmfao..... as a mid lifer, if i had the £€$ .... in 1/1 scale, yup i would
Looking great so far..... carry on
Nick

 

[PaulTRose]

well...its blue! lol

2 coats of Game Air Ultramarine Blue and 2 coats of clear on top

 

[Mark1]

Looks like a clean paint job

 

[PaulTRose]

bit more done



since its going to be sealed up im not wasting time on the engine bay

not sure how much im going to get done today........ive painted the seats and not happy so they are in the stripper so i can redo them

 

[Code no 10]

Hi Paul,

The Lotus 7 is my fav open top car from the olden days. Drives like a go-cart and never fail to make the driver grin when behind the wheel.

I realised this too late, but for me I might give this Lotus 7 a carbon-fibre like paintjob.

 

[PaulTRose]

sorry for lack of updates.....blame tamiya!!

i seem to have spent all week doing the seat belts

its only with this issue of the kit that tamiya have included a pe fret with grilles and the seat belt buckles......and a sheet of sticky backed vinyl with different coloured belts printed on........nice idea but they are without doubt the worst pe belts ive ever done.......eduard ones are simple compared to these.......found i could do one ......then had to go and do something else cos my brain was frazzled with the concentration (and frustration).....come back an hour later to do another one

but at least its starting to look like a car now

 

[yak face]

Looking great paul , the seat belts look excellent but I can imagine the hassle they must be with the seperate PE buckles , like trying to thread a needle !

 

[Mickc1440]

Love that colour Paul, biased though as I paint Ultramarines Making a great job of it.

 

[PaulTRose]

Looking great paul , the seat belts look excellent but I can imagine the hassle they must be with the seperate PE buckles , like trying to thread a needle !

threading a needle would be easy.........one hole in, same hole out, and no turning 180 degrees!

to give you an idea buckle number 3 is about 2.0mm wide