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Original Tamiya 1:12 1978 Lotus JPS Mk. III - 9/30/14


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As with other models I have shared here, this one is actually complete. I have only shared it on one other board and recently on FB. I have a few WIP pictures and thought I would share them here. I will spread the pictures out over a few days or weeks. Please feel free to ask any questions about the kit or what work I may have done to it. All painting was done with rattle cans, no airbrushing.

A colleague was a huge Mario Andretti fan and bought this kit back when it was issued. He asked me to build it for him. It started out as an out-of-box build but ended up with a little more detail. I did not want to spend tons of money on after market items and at the time this kit was given to me there really was nothing available, just some generic parts. I had this kit for 10 years, building it as I had time. During this time the kit was reissued and a ton of parts became available. I stuck to my guns and did not purchase all of the goodies available. I also had a problem with reference pictures. Again, when I started this kit there was not much out there. I managed to find one good Japanese book with some good pictures but it was all in Japanese which I can't read.

Here is the kit box and the sales receipt.

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I started with the front rotors. No aftermarket pieces, just detail painting. These pictures are scanned from paper pictures, (remember those?)

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For the battery cable ends I took solder and flattened it in smooth jaw pliers. I sanded it to shape and drilled a hole for the post. I used wire insulation for the crimp piece. The cable ties are thread that I ran through wax to keep the fuzzies down. The hold down straps are Chart-Pak tape cut to size.

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Edited by Nacho Z
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Great start ! Will be nice to follow :)

Thomas

Thank you Thomas!

Up next is part of the fuel system. At the time I did this, it was the most detailed work I had ever done. Once again, these are scanned printed pictures. Some may be a little blurry. You may notice that some of the A/N fittings are missing paint. They have all been touched up since the pics were taken.

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Here are a few photos of the front end of the car. Brake system and fire extinguisher. I also replaced the kit springs with ones I made.

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I also made new pipes that run from the side radiators. The kit parts had huge "steps" in them were the two mold halves did not line up.

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The radiators and pipes have been installed.

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The beginning of the engine. No detail painting has taken place yet. I put a 1:43 F1 car for size comparison.

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Again, I did not want to go out and buy a lot of after market parts. I cleaned up the kit parts and added some paint.

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Killer.... really impressive work...

i like it a lot specially on battery detailing and oil can wiring behind the radiator

may i know where did you buy the detailing wire and those transparent one...

do you have wiring guide on this model?

because sometimes its getting dizzy to think where the wiring cord should go..

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Killer.... really impressive work...

i like it a lot specially on battery detailing and oil can wiring behind the radiator

may i know where did you buy the detailing wire and those transparent one...

do you have wiring guide on this model?

because sometimes its getting dizzy to think where the wiring cord should go..

Thanks Henry! The braided line and A/N fittings are all Detail Master items. They are about the only after market items I used on this model. For this 1:12 scale kit I used #3, #4 and #5 sizes. The clear tubing is a mixture of tubing I got from work and a few sizes I got from Model Factory Hiro. I also made some by stretching the ends of pipettes. I will post pictures of this later.

As far as a wiring diagram, I only had pictures from a couple of books. As I understand it, the Ford Cosworth DFV is essentially the same in a number of F1 cars. If you can find any pictures of the DFV from that era, it should be a good baseline to get you started.

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Sweet!!

Were can u get aftermarket stuff for these cars? I have two..

Keep the pics coming..

Cheers, Ian

Thanks Ian!

See my post above this one. When I started this kit there was really nothing out there, just some generic pieces. Tamiya re-issued this kit a few years back and then the after-market came up with quite a bit of things. Last I looked, most items are listed as "out of stock".

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I'll continue on with the engine. I was going to use the original clear tubing on the engine but it was so stiff and brittle it just kinked at the slightest bend. That is why I had to go to the aftermarket and by MFH tubing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Time for another post. I am putting the drive train together and getting an idea of how big this thing is. The drive train alone in nearly 1/2 foot long.

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Next up is a portion I will call "Fun with Radio Shack wire". The kit supplied suspension springs looked a little anemic to my eye. I made my own.

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Next up is the ducting. Tamiya gives you two spring like pieces that are flexible. The problem I encountered is that they are undersized, diameter wise and very unruly. Think of a Slinky. So I made my own. I selected the appropriate sized drill bit and made them long enough to have smooth curves while keeping the coils close together.

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After I got the duct work in place I made a mixture of white glue and water. Now here is the part that I just don't remember for sure. I know I tried to tint the mixture the shade of gray I wanted. What I don't remember is how it worked out. I am pretty sure the color took and mixed in evenly, (your results may vary.) I brushed the mixture on the duct work. Some of the wider spaces took several applications.

Here is how the springs and the duct work turned out. Much better than the kit supplied parts.

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