Phildaupho Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 This was a project I could not resist. While hiking recently with a group we kept hearing what sounded like a bell dinging. It turned out it was one of the hiker’s cell-phones but I said it reminded me of the half-century-old TV series The Prisoner. One of the other hikers then told a story of how his wife had fallen in love with the Lotus 7 the main character in the show drove. My hiking friend told his wife way back then that he would buy her a Lotus 7 for her eightieth birthday; never thinking they would ever live that long as they were only thirty at the time. Well her eightieth birthday is the end of April and he had no Lotus 7 to give her or even one for her to have a ride. I just happened to have a 1/24 Tamiya Lotus 7 kit in my closet that I always planned to build a Prisoner version if I ever got around to it so this seemed like a perfect opportunity. This might also be the first model I have built directly out of the box for a very long time – just paint and glue. The model is not an exact replica in that the real car had wheels that were used on Elans and Europas. The only extra detail I added were the ignition wires, pinhead shifter and license plates. I was very impressed with this kit, which of course should be expected with a Tamiya kit. It was extremely well engineered in that the front suspension went together virtually without glue and it is poseable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miatatom Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 Great job! I've got The Prisoner on dvd. Loved that show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phildaupho Posted April 20, 2019 Author Share Posted April 20, 2019 Thanks Tom. Yes The Prisoner was a very far out show for its time as were many other British productions and they all had cool cars in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave B Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Great build Phil, I too loved The Prisoner (Patrick McNee by memory). Hope she appreciates the thought!! Dave B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peekay Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SfanGoch Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 2 hours ago, Bantoft said: (Patrick McNee by memory) Patrick Macnee was in "The Avengers" Astoria, NY-born Patrick McGoohan starred in "The Prisoner". Great looking Lotus 7, Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'70 Grande Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 A fantastic build; there's so much to like about it! The fact that it'll become a promise-filling gift makes the whole story even better! Funny how the headlights showing in that 1:1 head-on shot look more like chrome-plated 1/24 kit parts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64Comet404 Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 6 minutes ago, '70 Grande said: A fantastic build; there's so much to like about it! The fact that it'll become a promise-filling gift makes the whole story even better! Funny how the headlights showing in that 1:1 head-on shot look more like chrome-plated 1/24 kit parts! The light is reflecting off the mesh stone guards over the headlights. I built a replica of the Lotus 7 years ago, and it is a fabulous kit. I even had a set of the Elan wheels (from Mini Exotics, IIRC), but I couldn't figure out how to properly mount them on to the model. Techniques and skills have definitely improved in the decades since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLMFAA1 Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 I hope it is the photo and not a pink interior, Great build, always a ACBC fan. In my youth I had a an old VW chassis that I wanted to build into a rear engine Lotus 7. greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phildaupho Posted April 20, 2019 Author Share Posted April 20, 2019 6 hours ago, Bantoft said: Great build Phil, I too loved The Prisoner (Patrick McNee by memory). Hope she appreciates the thought!! Dave B Thanks David - I am looking forward to her reaction. Joe is correct, the star was Patrick McGoohan. 5 hours ago, peekay said: Very nice! Thanks Peter 4 hours ago, SfanGoch said: Patrick Macnee was in "The Avengers" Astoria, NY-born Patrick McGoohan starred in "The Prisoner". Great looking Lotus 7, Phil. Thanks Joe. Was not aware Patrick was US born. There are so many British born actors these days on US TV shows who have no accents - like Canadians !! 1 hour ago, '70 Grande said: A fantastic build; there's so much to like about it! The fact that it'll become a promise-filling gift makes the whole story even better! Funny how the headlights showing in that 1:1 head-on shot look more like chrome-plated 1/24 kit parts! Thanks Mark 54 minutes ago, 64Comet404 said: The light is reflecting off the mesh stone guards over the headlights. I built a replica of the Lotus 7 years ago, and it is a fabulous kit. I even had a set of the Elan wheels (from Mini Exotics, IIRC), but I couldn't figure out how to properly mount them on to the model. Techniques and skills have definitely improved in the decades since then. Thanks Ken - I have the Gunze Elan kit but did not want to rob that kit. 52 minutes ago, GLMFAA1 said: I hope it is the photo and not a pink interior, Great build, always a ACBC fan. In my youth I had a an old VW chassis that I wanted to build into a rear engine Lotus 7. greg Thanks Greg - Yes the interior is red. I have never had much success photographing red models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89AKurt Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Nicely done! So cool we can build models for friends, I've done it, great satisfaction. Now I have a movie to watch, never have seen it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Nice job, nice story. That show was where I fell in love with those things too. One of the 5 stupidest things I ever did was sell mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classicgas Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatz4u Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Lotus 7 driven by Number 6.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phildaupho Posted April 20, 2019 Author Share Posted April 20, 2019 39 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said: Nice job, nice story. That show was where I fell in love with those things too. One of the 5 stupidest things I ever did was sell mine. Thanks Bill - At least you once had one. 19 minutes ago, Classicgas said: Well done. Thanks Lee 14 minutes ago, thatz4u said: Lotus 7 driven by Number 6.... Thanks Al - I have forgotten most of the details of the show but see there are episodes on YouTube which I am going to check out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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