jaymcminn Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 This is Tamiya's Lotus 72D in classic JPS (John Player Special) livery. This is the latest issue of the vintage kit, which includes a really nice photoetched fret with details like the radiator and oil cooler faces, racing harness, brake discs and fasteners. What it doesn't include is the JPS sponsor decals, which are apparently omitted these days due to the ban on tobacco advertising. Fortunately, the aftermarket has solutions... a Japanese company called F'Artefice provides an excellent set of replacement decals. Paint is Tamiya Black with Tamiya Gold accents. No clearcoat was used on the finish, which was polished out with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Polish. The engine bay responds really well to some fairly basic detailing. The clear lines are from the kit. Ignition wire is from an old USB cable, with the boots made from the too-thick tubing the kit provides for the wires. The battery was detailed and wired as well. The exhaust pipes were stripped and painted Alclad Chrome and heat-stained with Tamiya clear acrylics. PE hose clamps are from Tremonia. Up front, the kit tubing was used to plumb the master cylinders. Plastic bolt heads were used to detail the front suspension joints. The back of the dash was detailed with various colors of wire and cable... I couldn't find any really clear pics of the back of the dash, so I just tried to make it look good. I just realized I forgot the brace between the dash and the body... gotta add that! The printed racing harness is from the kit as well. It's really beautiful with the PE hardware.
jaymcminn Posted October 30, 2014 Author Posted October 30, 2014 Here are some more pics... The tire decals are NOT easy on this kit- I ordered another set from Tamiya after botching the first ones. Turned aluminum valve stems are from RB Motion.
jaymcminn Posted October 30, 2014 Author Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) I got a hold of a vintage Tamiya Driver Figure to go with this model. It is supposed to be a "generic" figure but really seems to be modeled closely on Fittipaldi. Here he is painted and decalled. And here are some shots of car and driver together... I played around with some filters here. Edited October 30, 2014 by jaymcminn
donb Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 WOW! That is some fine work there Jason. Great job!
bbowser Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 Great model! What scale is that? The engine and transaxle are very impressive, as well as the dash.
Dragline Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 Beautiful work... I always loved this car. Bob
Mark72JPS Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 Excellent model! Very nice detail. One of my favorite race cars.
Prince Ital Mike Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 Very well done!!! The car and the figure are simply perfect!
Nacho Z Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 Beautiful car, Jason! You did a fantastic job on it. Such great detail and clean work. You should be proud of it.
Jordan 191 Posted October 31, 2014 Posted October 31, 2014 I could look at these pictures all day long! Wonderful.
Bernard Kron Posted October 31, 2014 Posted October 31, 2014 This model really projects the satisfaction that can be gotten from executing a really great kit really well. Bravo!
jaymcminn Posted October 31, 2014 Author Posted October 31, 2014 Thanks, guys! Bruce, this is the 1/12 scale kit. It measures about 15" when built. John, I really appreciate the comment... your Lotus 78 build inspired me to pull this one out of the "someday" pile. This was a really great kit, especially given that it was engineered some 40 years ago. This won't be my last 1/12 scale Tamiya F1 kit either... I have Niki Lauda's Ferrari 312t waiting in the wings. Next up, however, will be a few relatively easy 1/24 builds. It's been a while since I've done a "shelf model", and I have a few projects in mind.
jaymcminn Posted October 31, 2014 Author Posted October 31, 2014 Guess this got moved to Big Boyz. Back in your corner, you!
ZIL 111V Posted November 1, 2014 Posted November 1, 2014 Beautiful piece! The 72D (in JPS marking/colors) is surely one of the most beautiful F1 ever. Tamiya did an amazing job on this gem (40+years) kit. Indeed the F1 Driver kit inspiration, back then; was Fittipaldi...Jacky should have been "kitted" too!
Randy D Posted November 2, 2014 Posted November 2, 2014 Hi Jason, Very impressive completed model & figure!!! Randy
imatt88 Posted November 4, 2014 Posted November 4, 2014 Jason, Stunning work! Great job. Always loved those '70s era F1 cars Cheers, Ian
TimKustom Posted November 10, 2014 Posted November 10, 2014 Awesome job as usual! Love the pics with Fitti!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now