Rich Chernosky

Thankis Helmut. When this kit goes in the case all the bodywork will be on. But It can all be removed with screws and pins. Working on that now. If I ever take this to a show I will make a display with all the body work removed.

Watched these guys race in person. They were a dominate team at the time. Very nice model of their car. Nicely done.

Big step in this project. When the engine meets the chassis. Soo far everything major is lining up well. Got this and the electronics box done yesterday and today. Now its on to the water pipes. Also finished the floor pan with carbon fibre and photo etch. A lot of the sub assemblies are done and ready to be installed. So this project should see completion soon. Now its on to the water pipes..the last of the serious fabrication. More info below. Here it is..chassis and engine together. Engine is held to chassis at four points. There are two long screws on the bottom that fasten into a subframe (kit part) that is behind the firewall. On top two more pins with nuts attached insert into the upper portion of this subframe. It a good solid assembly. A closeup of the electronics boxes and upper engine mount. The rubber ends are shrink tubing over kit vinyl tube. The brass connecters were Perfect Parts items that replaced the molded on connecters from the kit. Note the large bolt through the metal engine mount.

Thanks Brett. You know you are always welcome. Think you will enjoy the new house and workshop. Just let us know what your plans are.

Masrk...thanks for doing this project and all the WIP work. It was most enjoyable to see the master at work. And you certainly did nail all three of them. Great job.

Thank you Pierre. The nose and upper bodywork will be removable and I will take a picture of the final details. If I ever take this to a show I can make a display like that. I am planning on being at NNL East this coming spring.

Major progress on this project. Several days of fiddly assembly. The most daunting part of this project , the front shocks and suspension is now behind me. Most of the chassis and interior are now done. Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Plenty more information under the pictures. This was the better part of a couple days work. Each one of the shock units is 25 seperate piece. Many of them had to be machined. For a 1/12 kit therse are sure some tiny parts. Only kit part was the spring. The hole in the black shock tuber is for the tiny nut assembly to hold the strut in place. Shocks completed and all the necessary parts ready for assembly. The tensor rod body will be painted black. Hoping this goes better than the rear. Chassis ready with some of the components installed. The shock mounts at the top had to be carefully assembled and machined. Everything has to be checked for fit. Foil work on the chassis back was done with kit supplied foil which was a dream to use. Allthe kit suspension arms installed plus the previoulsy assembled braqke and front upright assembly. Seat slid in nicely and seat belts laid down. Some of the front body work was glued on with craft glu in case it had to be removed. It didn't. Suspension actually works. Radiators and side pods were also added. This was more of a pain than anticipated as the side pods can be glued on either side (which I did) Didn't realize this until I tried to fit the radiators. Side pods had to be removed and cleaned up then installed correctly. This took some time that could have been avoided. Front brake assembly with brake hose attached. Note the tiny brass fittings and crossover tube on the bottom. All this had to be hand made using a special jig. Interior mostly complete. Waiting for wiring and some detail decals to be added. After this the completed engine attaches to the rear of the chassis with four bolts. That's a major step and means this project is nearing completion.

Pierre...followed your WIP and I think you achieved what you set out to do. Some first rate modeling on display here. Well done.

Small update. Started on the chassis today. Used the kit supplied foil for the engine attachment point and installed several of the front attachment points. Also installed the working rack and pinion. It works smooth. Several bulkheads installed including the brakes cylinders show below. Not its onto the shock and push rod assembly. Brake,clutch and gas pedal assembly installed and lines added. The wire is from some resistors I have. It bends very easily. Too bad all this will be covered over and barely seen. Oh well...at least its there.

Nice kit and nice Beemer. Well done

You can cut all kinds of tape down to the size you want. My "go to" is 3M vinyl tape. Lay a piece of tape on a piece of glass. I use a 6" metal straight edge. Lay the ruler on the tape to the width you want and hold down very firmly with one hand and use a sharp X-acto in one smooth cut. You can cut the vinyl tape hair thin and it will still stick. When you lay it on the model be careful not to stretch it. It can be moved slightly into position with a toothpick. It also holds very tight curves. Afterwards lay a thin wash of varnish on the tape to keep it in position. Its thicker than the paint but you barely notice it. I have been using this trick for many years. See below. The gold pinstripe on the side and hood are 1:1 gold pinstripe tape cut down to size. These stripes come to a point and this was done while still on the glass using a razor blade at a sharp angle. I will often use this technique when I have two large stripes and the space between them is very thin. This is difficult to mask without bleed under. The vinyl tape can be sprayed body color. Some might call this cheating but what works is what matters.

Engine mostly complete. Lots of detail work. More info under the pictures. Alll the suspension is now on. Fuel supply lines added. Carb linkage, fuel inlet manifold and those wonderful turned aluminium intake trumpets. Left side and more detail. Inside of the carb tray has been carbon fibred. Photo etch lift system on the transmission. Note the PE Ferrari logo Oil tank and overflow hose. Its getting crowed back here.

Some nice builds you have there Jorge. Welcome to the forum. We have similar tastes in cars and scales. You really should try those 1/12 kits. Once you get into them they won't be so scary.

Thanks Dave.....I m going to great lengths to make sure all the panels are removable. And when finished I will take a picture just like that. In the meantime I am also taking pictures of details that will be hard to see. Glad you are following and get to see them.

Thank you Pierre. I think I like the used look too. Most of the race cars I have been up close and personal to look this way. We have a tendency to model what we see and are comfortable with.

Thank you for the encouragement John

More progress. This project is starting to come together. This part went rather smoothly with one exception, details below. Rear brakes,half shaft and uprights installed. I discovered that I was missing apart for the hub assembly that would allow the halfshaft to be attached. Brake scoops are screwed on then the other half glued in place. The brake scoops had to be pried apart so I could add this piece. They came apart fairly easily but all of this could have been avoided fi I had paid attention to the instructions. Oh well, it ended OK That metal bracket that is screwed to the lower A-arm had to be removed and ground out to go around the brake scoop. Also the screw had to be shortened to clear. This was a design flaw of the kit. Unusual for Tamiya. Other side brake/upright assembly. Had to fabricate the brake lines and fittings. There is a metal line connecting the brake cylinders underneath the brakes that also had to be fabricated. (previous photo..not to clear) The tape holding the lines in place on the suspension arm is Tamiya tape cut down and sprayed flat black.

Don't see this model very often ..if at all. Always a pleasure to see your creativity and mastery of this craft. Well done Dave.

Tim...considering the age of the molds I think you did a decent job on this. I built this kit when IMC first released it and needless to say it sits in the back of the case hidden behind some better builds. I have re-visited this kit and have one in the works. Its at the final assembly stage but will have to wait until I finish a project I am already deeply involved in. I like your version.

Latest update. Shocks and rear suspension pieces installed. What looked like a straight forward installation turned out to be a 2 day fight. Absolutely nothing wanted to fit right. But in the end...I won. Some details below the pictures. Completed shocks and springs in place. Rocker arms had to be ground down and modified to get the correct angle. Stabilizer assembly didn't go as planned either and a new bolt had to be made. Amazingly the whole assembly actually works. Note the electronics box all wired and installed. Also extra line going to the adjustable shocks. A long time ago I paint the metal suspension pieces with Tamiya TS-29 with NO primer. This has caused the paint to chip off in areas and give the assembly a used look. Many of the real race cars I have seen look like this. I am wondering if I should leave it like this or touch up the paint. Anybodies thoughts would be appreciated. This is what the completed parts looked like before they were manhandled into place. Sure looked easy. That's what I get for thinking.

Looks good to me. You are doing a great job. Been following this.

Really nice work on a great kit. The lights are cool. Did you happen to get the PE kit for this model. Its well worth it.

Thank you Helmut. We all realize our limitations and just enjoy our hobby. One day I realized I had all the tools, the patience and courage to tackle this...so I did. I have built that Lotus kit 4 times now. The first one was destroyed when my cat decided to pull down the placemat it on, to the floor. I saved all the important pieces from that build but don't know if I will ever use them. Yours if you need them. Keep in touch.

Small update. Rear shocks and hardware ready for installation. Most of the rear suspension arms have been attached to the engine. More info below. Shocks, anti roll bar pieces and shock lever all ready for installation. This represents two days of very fussy work . This is how the nut/bolt washer assembly is made. Bolt is .025 piano wire that was cut with moto tool cutoff wheel. Ends had to be shaped. Small alligator clip was also machined to hold this while the washer and nut were carefully slipped over. This was then pushed down to the desired height and a drop of super glue added. The excess was wicked off with a paper towel. Many of the nuts and washers had to be drilled out while on the sprue. Perfect Parts were less than perfect. Can't tell you how many of these had to be made but so far it has been...a LOT.