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Lotus Europa


Randy Kern

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This is the Tamiya Lotus Europa Special kit. A friend had one of these after graduating high school, and I remember it as one of the coolest, lowest sports cars around! It wasn't very reliable, though :lol: . The paint is Tamiya Metallic Green, and the interior is Tamiya Flat Tan. A great kit out of the box, I only added engine wiring and carpet. Thanks for looking!

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Great job, Randy! For those who have never seen one of these 1:1 cars, they are incredibly low. Their footprint isn't much bigger than an old Mini and about half as high! One of the weirdest sights in traffic today. I've never seen the engine "room" on one of these and from the model, I wish I had. Yours looks fantastic. I love the interior too.

Boy, you sure are turning out a lot of high quality builds lately. I quit on trying to keep up! :lol:

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Geoff, the color is Tamiya Metallic Green, from the can, cleared with Dupli-Color and polished. Hey Jonathan, I had the whole Thanksgiving week off, so I was able to get some good building time in! The only thing I would have added to the kit, is if I can find a set of the Fujimi Panasports. Minilite type wheels always look killer on sports cars!

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Very cool! That's a neat little car.

A few months ago I was talking to a guy that restored one and I asked "How do you get in there?" His answer was "Getting in is not that bad. Trying to get out is the real challenge" :lol: He said it is so small he can't drive with regular shoes, as the pedals are so close together he needs to drive with special shoes.

Thanks,

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Cool looking model Randy! :D

Yes, you're absolutely right about the lowness of the 1:1! About 10 years ago there was one that sat in a local car dealer for what seemed like forever. I got nosy one day and tried to see if I could get in..............................I did but barely!!

Then there was the embarassment of trying to get out! :blink:

I can just hear the theme music of "The Avengers" just looking at your car.....................you remember that show with Patrick McNee and Diana Rigg? ;)

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That's right! I remember a couple episodes where John Steed drove a Europa..........put it up on two wheels IIRC! :o

Yes there was a red Lotus Europa in the "Avengers", it belonged to Tara King, who replaced Emma Peel, who did drive the Blue Lotus Elan.

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Randbugeye

Very Clean build and I like the choice of Color.

Hum I think I'm going toget me one of these. I got to drive one in '70 from Redwood City to San Gregorio Beach. Had two complaints, 1. it didn't have a "Gurney" bump (I'm 5' 16" tall :o ) and 2. there were 3 sections of Woodside/La Honda Road that had Radar Police. It was a true shame to have to slow down as the Lotus didn't have much torque so it needed room to really get going again.

Crazy Ed

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Randbugeye

Very Clean build and I like the choice of Color.

Hum I think I'm going toget me one of these. I got to drive one in '70 from Redwood City to San Gregorio Beach. Had two complaints, 1. it didn't have a "Gurney" bump (I'm 5' 16" tall :o ) and 2. there were 3 sections of Woodside/La Honda Road that had Radar Police. It was a true shame to have to slow down as the Lotus didn't have much torque so it needed room to really get going again.

Crazy Ed

Crazy Ed. If you're looking for one of these check out www.modelexpress.net Dennis had them on sale for practically next to nothing last month.

robw

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