absmiami Posted December 18, 2024 Posted December 18, 2024 Rich Chernosky and I tend to like the same subjects - he usually posts in the Under Glass - A long while back we made a trade of 2 old Will's Finecast white metal kits - he wanted a Ferrari 156 "Sharknose" kit and he offered me his 1963 Lotus 25 kit - both are curbside - in production for many years but now becoming somewhat collectible - both 24th scale - and both featuring scale accurate white metal bodies... Rich has just started to build the Sharknose and has agreed to post his build on this thread - whilst I wack away at the Lotus 25 ... So here it goes ... Guessing you are all familiar with the 25 - I've had the rare chance to photograph two of the survivors ... 2
absmiami Posted December 18, 2024 Author Posted December 18, 2024 The bodies of both kits are - top and bottom - with no real effort to conform to the actual panel lines of the cars - so there is a lot of work to do here … 2
Eagle36 Posted December 19, 2024 Posted December 19, 2024 I have both of those kits, started, as well as the Lotus 38 and the BRM P57, so I'll be following this closely.
Dave B Posted December 19, 2024 Posted December 19, 2024 Yes guys, you'll both have a lot of work to do, but given the age of the kits the detail was quite good. Looking forward to seeing both builds being posted on this thread. Dave B
Bugatti Fan Posted December 19, 2024 Posted December 19, 2024 There is a company named Squires in Bognor Regis, Sussex, UK who acquired all the South Eastern (ex Wills) Finecast ranges a couple of years back. Those kits might still be available from their new owners, so check out their website. oWills Finecast made a range of very detailed car kits in white metal back in the 60's. I have their Type 59 Bugatti to build. The company bought out Auto Kits in the late 60's early 70's and added those kits into their itinerary. The Auto Kits range were mainly kerb side kits without engine details.
Matt Bacon Posted December 19, 2024 Posted December 19, 2024 Oooh! Have fun, guys… nice to see someone else building these properly classic kits. FWIW, my advice is: first be aware how flexible the white metal is, particularly while getting the top and bottom halves ready to fit; secondly be aware how brittle it is if you need to reshape small parts; and finally, consider making a “stand” to fit underneath and relieve the finely moulded suspension of the considerable weight of the body and engine! I’m looking forward to this.. popcorn at the ready. best, M.
absmiami Posted December 19, 2024 Author Posted December 19, 2024 13 hours ago, Eagle36 said: I have both of those kits, started, as well as the Lotus 38 and the BRM P57, so I'll be following this closely. Gurney fan - me too - Rev’s has the BRM on display - let me know if you need pix ….
Rich Chernosky Posted December 19, 2024 Posted December 19, 2024 A long time ago (maybe 20yrs) , on another forum I met Andy Sapiro. One day the discussion was about these kits. I mentioned that I had several including the Lotus 25. Andy, a bit time Lotus fan, just had to have it. In the ensuing dialog he offered to trade his Ferrari 156 for it, even up. As a big time Ferrari fan, I just had to have it. It was a done deal. In a few short days the Ferrari arrived and Andy got his Lotus. Over the years and lately on this forum mention of the two kits came up. Andy suggested we do a WIP at the same time and as I was just finishing up my Ferrari 333SP I agreed. Thanks Andy for starting this post . Now here is my contribution. Whenever we modellers get a new kit the first thing we do is give it a good grok. Look over the parts and plans, maybe even make notes. We have every intention of making this our greatest project, but then we aquire other kits or life just happens and it gets put on the back burner. Although it is never forgotten. As a result,over the years this kit has made it to the bench and little bits and pieces of work are done. I even ordered new wheels from a company called Machined Aluminium Specialtys. Now gone I think. This week it has made it to the bench for good and with the incentive ( or was that nagging) from Andy it will be completed. Below the pictures are some of the work that has been done and plans for more. As an aside note: This forum has been great. The other forums I have been on were also helpful. I have made some great friends (Andy among them) and those people have enhanced my enjoyment of this hobby. We share a deep passion for modeling and things automotive. And that makes us brothers in arms. The friends I have made here and other places, are life long. I urge others to comment and leave other bits of information. This is how friendships start. And good friends that last a lifetime are priceless. Here is the kit with its long yellowed instructions. Not that many pieces but pretty straightforward. Very similar to Andy's. Mine even has the original price of $36.95 which is what i think I paid for the Lotus. Fair trade, I'd say. Here are all the pieces laid out and you can see some of the work done here. Parts all cleaned up and some areas shined up with a brass brush. Those areas will be clear coated with semi gloss clear. The steel brush left marks. The metyal is very soft. Coil over units wiill be replaced with real springs and shocks but the end fittings will be retained. Most of the interior will be light gloss grey. Note the windscreen has been cut out and fitted. Easier than I thought. I made this press mold from JB Weld (my go to epoxy) I used the cast in screen, which I cut out some years back, as the master. The srcreens covering the engine intakes will be made from brass screen using these two pieces. Later cars used a clear cover over the intakes but this will be an early version. The machined and photo etch wheels. Kit tires were resonably accurate. The difference between thes and the stock wheel on the right should be obvious. Thanks for looking. More updates to come. 2
absmiami Posted December 20, 2024 Author Posted December 20, 2024 Betting Mr Bacon knows where i took the head-on shot of the Lotus 25 …
Rich Chernosky Posted December 20, 2024 Posted December 20, 2024 Aaaahh much better. Wound some springs from craft wire around a 3mm rod. Cur apart the kit unit with a razor blade. Cut some brass tubing and piano rod for the shock. More explanation below. Parts still need to be assembled. This is just a test for the correct size. Once sprayed with semi-gloss clear the upper and lower shock parts will be painted Mr color #3 red. But I'm on my way now/.
absmiami Posted December 20, 2024 Author Posted December 20, 2024 Shocks will look good cause RC used wire that will give the shock coils scale thickness - well played …
absmiami Posted December 21, 2024 Author Posted December 21, 2024 In the winter months of 1961/2 Lotus sold brand new tube framed Lotus 24s to privateers looking to run the new Climax and BRM engines under the new 1 1/2 litre GP formula. All was well until these privateers showed up for practice in the early spring Zandvort Grand Prix - and this is what they saw in the Team Lotus paddock...
absmiami Posted December 21, 2024 Author Posted December 21, 2024 Team Lotus had its 8 cyl Climax bolted to two metal chassis extensions in what became known as the first monocoque grand prix car - the future had arrived ...
absmiami Posted December 21, 2024 Author Posted December 21, 2024 So the Lotus 25 - after some early challenges - carried Jim Clark to his first world championship - and is - to my mind - the first modern Grand Prix car. Wills Finecast produced this kit - 002 - and then the Lotus 33 kit. The 25 went through many changes - the kit builds the early 25 - with the full length engine cover - and the engine for most of 1962 was Weber carbed - fuel injection came later - The MotorSports Images on line site has wonderful black and white photos of the 25 exposed chassis at Zandvort - which is great - because the two or three surviving 25s have been restored to 1963 spec with fuel injection and abbreviated tails - and I've decided to make the early spec 25 ...
absmiami Posted December 21, 2024 Author Posted December 21, 2024 It's amazing that nobody ever produced a really good 24th scale Lotus 25. Christian Ghoul [sp] made one but sold very few. Tamiya of course did the later spec 25 in 20th scale - but I'm a scale snob - so its the Wills Finecast 25 kit or bust. No effort was made to reproduce the monocoque chassis - and there is no engine - but you gotta start somewhere ...
absmiami Posted December 21, 2024 Author Posted December 21, 2024 The parts count and engineering is the same as the Sharknose kit - i started by removing the sections of the upper body casting that should be seperate - and i removed the nose and cowling fr the eng cover … ill use the nose section and trans cover fr the lower body casting but not much else …
absmiami Posted December 21, 2024 Author Posted December 21, 2024 Older white metal castings always required alot of work - lots of flash and mold lines to remove … 1
absmiami Posted December 21, 2024 Author Posted December 21, 2024 Comparing the body top castings of the Lotus 25 And Lotus 33 kits - the abbreviated tail was also used on 25s later in the ‘62 season … 1
absmiami Posted December 21, 2024 Author Posted December 21, 2024 And the cowl was changed too - the later spec 25s and the 33’s had the mail slot opening at the base of the windscreen - 1
Pierre Rivard Posted December 21, 2024 Posted December 21, 2024 Excellent start gentlemen. Two iconic race cars. Still traumatized from my first attempt with a metal bodied car (XK120) so I expect to learn a lot watching this combo WIP.
Matt Bacon Posted December 21, 2024 Posted December 21, 2024 1 hour ago, Pierre Rivard said: Still traumatized from my first attempt with a metal bodied car (XK120). Yes… I think those Monogram metal body kits were effectively diecast, like those Hubley kits. That alloy is harder and more brittle than the pot metal these are cast from. These you can carve with a modelling knife, file away and cut quickly, and the material sands and polishes very well. Also, if you have the skill or are prepared to pick it up, low temperature soldering is a really good way to join and fill parts, since the “solder” is the same stuff as the metal you’re joining, so the two parts really become one instead of needing separate passes of glue and filler… best, M.
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