Lotus Esprit Series 1, Fujimi, 1/24

[Matt Bacon]

The purest version of the Esprit, 50 years old and still looking very sharp. Fujimi's kit is simple, but very crisply detailed, and fits very well. Paint is Tamiya TS-101 "Base White" with some TS-13 gloss clear over the top... but not too much; the finish on these is more like porcelain than a modern wet-look gloss. The interior is lurid 70s style at its best -- jade green upholstery, bright orange carpets, and red plaid panels on the seats and door cards. Pity you can't really see it in any of the photos!

One of the reasons I dug the Esprit out of the stash was that I really liked the way The Road Rat magazine had done its studio photoshoot of the car for its 50th anniversary tribute, so I thought I'd give it a go myself:

 

I claim no credit for the idea, or the setups .. they were done in real life with what look like 1m x2m reflectors in a studio. My mirrors are made up from a thin plastic mirror tile, cut up into 10cm x 5m rectangles mounted on braced foamcore triangles, with fishing weights epoxied to the rear corner to keep them upright. Given that the real thing was shot in a blacked out barn of a studio with directional photo lighting, I'm pretty pleased with what I managed to get from a smallish photo lightbox. I won't do it with every car I make, but the style suits teh angles and sharp lines of the Esprit very well. There are still a couple of set-ups in the magazine I have NO idea how they did, even after a fair bit of playing around with a scale version...

best,

M.

[SpikeSchumacher]

Excellent job on that Matt!

[Rich Chernosky]

Looks real good Matt. The Espirit styling is a timeless classic. The photography is alone a work of art. Would have liked to see how you did the tartan on the seats and door panels.  I painted this pattern on Tamiya masking tape then laid in on the seats on a 1/16 version of this car. 

[Jim B]

Great looking Lotus.  Looks like the one Jame Bond drove in The Spy Who Loved Me.

[Matt Bacon]

Thanks, all! @Jim B it is! The number plate Fujimi includes in the kit is the one from the Bond film. @Rich Chernosky this is the interior:

The seats and door cards are done using nail art plaid decals. I got mine here:

https://www.dippycownails.com/products/waterslide-nail-decals-tartan-red?_pos=14&_sid=5b92776a5&_ss=r

They look a bit purple in this picture. If I was doing it again, I'd prime the seats in white, apply the decals, trim them and then paint the green instead of just applying the decals over green painted seats...

best,

M

 

Edited May 28, 2024 by Matt Bacon

[Funkychiken]

Fantastic  build Matt, and mirrors for photos worked really well! Very artistic

[ea0863]

Gorgeous model of a quintessential 80's icon! And I agree with the comments about your photography - just awesome! Now all you need is a 1:24 scale Barbara Bach to stand next to it  

[karbuildr]

Beautiful build of a very swoopy looking vehicle. Exceptional photography.

[Rich Chernosky]

7 hours ago, Matt Bacon said:

Thanks, all! @Jim B it is! The number plate Fujimi includes in the kit is the one from the Bond film. @Rich Chernosky this is the interior:

The seats and door cards are done using nail art plaid decals. I got mine here:

https://www.dippycownails.com/products/waterslide-nail-decals-tartan-red?_pos=14&_sid=5b92776a5&_ss=r

They look a bit purple in this picture. If I was doing it again, I'd prime the seats in white, apply the decals, trim them and then paint the green instead of just applying the decals over green painted seats...

best,

M

 

Matt...thanks for the response and the picture.  That's a pretty wild interior. 

[XYHARRY]

Very nice Lotus there Matt, and great photography too. Well done. 

Cheers, 

David. ??

[ChrisR]

Looks great!

[70 Sting]

Very nicely done!  You nailed the stance and the photography is cool. ?

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

Beautiful Lotus and very clever use of mirrors! So glad you showed this to the site.

[PappyD340]

Very nice!

[slusher]

Impressive build!

[Bainford]

Great looking Lotus, Matt. Very nice work on the best looking of all variations of the Esprit, and white is the perfect colour. Fujimi really did a fantastic job of replicating the subtle lines of the S1 Esprit. Very cool build, and I really like your photo shoot as well. Very creative, and the result looks spot on. Well done all around.

[Gustavo Reis]

Nice Lotus replica. 

[1hobby1]

Great build on this kit and photos! 

[ncbuckeye67]

That is amazing! I've always loved these cars, they rank right up there with the Countach, as far as 80's poster material goes. Plus there was one featured in "Pretty Woman".