Modeler's Lola T89 Formula 3000

[Art Laski]

Modeler's Lola T89 Formula 3000

It's been a while since I've built a model for myself, and haven't finished a build in over a year. So I decided to try and complete a kit I started cleaning up about a year ago, but never got started on in earnest.

It's a long out of production kit from Modeler's in Japan, and I really like the detail out of the box. I'll just be making a few mods, but not much on this one, since my goal is to complete it for NNL West in January.

Here's the box of the kit. There are a few variations of this kit, and I have two of them. I really liked the Marlb0r0 livery on this one. I had some Gravity paint I bought for another build that I'll be trying for the first time, including the White, Flo Red, and their clear system.

These are my humble beginnings.

I'm going to add a little detail to the shifter. It may not be the best use of my time, but it seemed like an easy upgrade, so I started by removing the molded-in shifter rod.

https://images41.fotki.com/v826/photos/9/1464279/16203792/1577284673172-vi.jpg

My start on the engine block. I tried a couple of different Alclad aluminum shades until I found what I was looking for. I think I ended up with Dark Aluminum, but it had a sheen I didn't like, so I hit it with some flat lacquer. I then used some Tamiya black and gray panel line wash mixed together to try to bring out some of the detail. It's not all that visible in this pic, though. I used Testors Titanium Metalizer on the cam covers.

All for now, but more soon. Thanks for looking!
 

Edited December 25, 2019 by Art Laski

[Rich Chernosky]

Art....I have built all four variations of this kit and have all my build notes. They are pretty straight forward build and you should have no problem but help is here if you need it.  Enjoy the build. 

[Art Laski]

Rich,

Thanks for sharing your builds. They look great! Did you use the kit decals for the flo red on this one or did you paint it? I would have considered using the decals, but the ones on my kit were a bit out of registration.

I'm also wondering if you changed the livery on one, or if there was one you don't have. The other one I have is a red and white car with Cabin sponsorship. I'd like to get them all! lol.

-Art

 

[Belugawrx]

Nice start on this Art.

Is this a 1:25th kit?

Great to see more open wheel builds?

[Art Laski]

Thanks, Bruce. It's actually 1/24th.

[Rich Chernosky]

13 hours ago, Art Laski said:

Rich,

Thanks for sharing your builds. They look great! Did you use the kit decals for the flo red on this one or did you paint it? I would have considered using the decals, but the ones on my kit were a bit out of registration.

I'm also wondering if you changed the livery on one, or if there was one you don't have. The other one I have is a red and white car with Cabin sponsorship. I'd like to get them all! lol.

-Art

 

Art...I spray most of my graphics now. Large kit decals tend to wrinkle and often, as you say, printed material can get out of register. Color I used for the Marlboro was by Pactra in their Short Cuts line which is usually sold in larger bottles in hardware stores.  There are other flourescents you can use. I clear coated the graphics with waterbase clear. It doesn't yellow or change the color of the flourescent. I have other F-3000 1/24 kits made by both Protar and Hasegawa.  There are also two   1/20    F-3000 made by Modelers. One is the same Marlboro livery and the other is the Cabin.  Got those too. And thank you for the compliments.

[mustang1989]

Man......this outta be quite the show. Will be watching this one Art! 

[Art Laski]

I was able to get some other things off my bench and squeeze in some time to make some progress on this one. I was hoping to get it done in time for NNL West, but I need at least another week. That, or ignore EVERYTHING else, but I don't have that luxury!

Started on the transmission/rear suspension first, per the instructions. The rear brake ducts were not open, so I corrected that.

I wasn't sure if I was going to do this or not, because the molded rear springs were pretty good for what they were, but I went for it and used real springs and aluminum shocks. 

Kit piece on the right, modified version on the left.

More soon!
 

[Art Laski]

Did some of the work on the engine...

The heads go on after the engine is in the car, so I detailed them and added the plug wire boots to finish wiring it up once installed.
Pro Tech .20 photo etch nut and bolt heads worked great on this. Available at scaleproshop.com

 

[Rich Chernosky]

Good work on this so far...nice attention to detail.

[Dann Tier]

This is looking GREAT!!!

[Art Laski]

Dann, Rich, thanks for the comments!!

On to the body... I didn't know how I could paint these pieces on the fuel tank so that they look like separate pieces, so I decided to make them separate pieces. I removed the plate and the fuel fitting and made a new plate with styrene so I can paint them all independently.

I had the same problem with the roll bar where there is a switch molded in. I drilled it out so I can add a separate piece later.

 

[Art Laski]

The decals provided the flo red parts, but they were off register so I wasn't interested in using them. I later found that they crack easy, so it would have just been frustrating! 

I had some Gravity paint, which I had never used before and was eager to try, that I obtained for a McLaren build that didn't get started yet. It turned out to be a perfect match for the flo red decals that will be used, like the front number.

I scanned the decals so I could use them as a template.

No clear yet.

[Belugawrx]

Looking good Art.. I love this livery on F1 cars !

Cheers

[Dann Tier]

Perfect way to do the fuel fill/tank!!...its a little work for a big result!!, and oh ya....Fantastic masking job!!!

[swede70]

Very beautiful and well-controlled.  Thanks for sharing...

Mike K./Swede70

[89AKurt]

First that I saw this, cheering you on with building something! ?

[Rich Chernosky]

The paint and decals are really looking good. This should be a stunning build. 

[Scott Colmer]

This looks really good, Art. I've never built a Modeler's kit. The moulding detail seems pretty clean.

I'll be watching.

 

Scott

[Art Laski]

Thanks for all of your comments, guys. Keeps me motivated, for sure.

Here's a shot of the completed wheels. There's a little silvering on the logo in this shot, but I fixed that after I saw this shot.

I got the seat completed. Added a new detailed shift linkage and a Scale Motorsport seat belt kit. The Sabelt logos I added.

This was one of the most detailed cam locks I've seen. I really like this latch. Available at ScaleProShop.com .

Edited March 6, 2020 by Art Laski

[Art Laski]

I was able to get the Gravity clear on, but not before ruining some of the decals. I found some issues with the bottom edge I apparently introduced with a dehydrator earlier in the painting process that I hadn't noticed, so while correcting them and handling the body, I wiped out some markings, including the smoking cowboy logos on the side pods. I was able to make most of the replacements myself, but the Smoking Cowboys were just not printing true black from my inkjet. Thankfully, my buddy Calvin at Hobbitime https://hobbitime.myshopify.com/ has some and saved the day. 

The clear came out show quality, but a bit too shiny for a race car, so I wet sanded it and polished it out. It still is shiny, but not overly so.

I used some gold BMF on the "firewall". It may not be perfectly accurate for this car, but some references on some other cars had gold, so I thought it would be a good look. It turns out, you can't really see it much anyway. 

https://images43.fotki.com/v1218/photos/9/1464279/16203792/PhotoFeb24114530PM-vi.jpg

 

[superbike-shaun]

Art Hey Shaun Swesey here i actually have a sister kit F3000.w/6cylinder powerplant. They are pretty cool kits to be sure! Looking at the way the headstays/ camcovers are exactly the way the front of the engine is mounted in mine (lol) anyway I got notice that you were building somthing (lol). Looking great and loving all of your mods so far

 

 

 

[Art Laski]

Hey Shaun! Thanks for stopping by my thread. I love these lower formula cars. I'm curious to see that kit that has a 6 cylinder in it. If you know what it is, can you let me know?

[Kit Karson]

Amazing work, Art!  -KK

[Art Laski]

Thanks, KK!