Lotus 49

[2whl]

Jul 30, 2024 10:46:38 GMT -5 brandonk said:

Excellent work. This is a beauty!!

Thanks Brandon.

Jul 30, 2024 10:53:54 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

Looking 1:1 scale to me, wow!

Thanks Steve.  I wish it were 1:1,  I'd like to give it a go.

[Steve Zuleski]

Me too!

[joelw]

Paul,
What a huge difference with the engine/gearbox/suspension hung on the back of the chassis. if looks could kill, you'd be #1 on the FBI's most wanted list.

joel

[kyledehart5]

I agree about your reference photo! That one is awesome. Beautiful progress to. That looks so nice mated together.

[2whl]

Jul 30, 2024 15:27:01 GMT -5 joelw said:

Paul,
What a huge difference with the engine/gearbox/suspension hung on the back of the chassis. if looks could kill, you'd be #1 on the FBI's most wanted list.

joel

Thanks Joel.  I'm not worried about the FBI, I have a slooped roof....LOL

Jul 30, 2024 17:13:50 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

I agree about your reference photo! That one is awesome. Beautiful progress to. That looks so nice mated together.

Thanks Kyle.



A step backward and a recovery.  I managed to twist the end off of one of the heim joints for the trailing arms.  So I squared the broken ends and drilled them both with a .8mm drill.  then I made a pin out of .8mm brass rod and joined the broken pieces together.







With that fixed, I installed it and plumbed the fuel regulator.   The rest of the trailing arms, exhaust and side pipe for the radiator are now on. 




1025

[keavdog]

Oh man this is looking awesome. Nice save - brass rod/tube has so much utility in this hobby of ours.

[kyledehart5]

Nice save Paul! Your repair looks as good as new. This is really coming together now.

[handiabled]

Great looking fix! This is coming together brilliantly!

[406 Silverado]

Some really inspiring work going on with all of that detail Paul. I love watching these cars come together and this one is doing so in good fashion.

[joelw]

Paul,
Just great engineering in fixing that broken fitting. Looks perfect as does all those details just making the Lotus 49 start to really come to life.

joel

[2whl]

Jul 30, 2024 20:53:16 GMT -5 keavdog said:

Oh man this is looking awesome. Nice save - brass rod/tube has so much utility in this hobby of ours.

Thanks John.  I have several sizes of brass rod stockpiled for just that reason.

Jul 31, 2024 0:25:34 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Nice save Paul! Your repair looks as good as new. This is really coming together now.

Thanks Kyle.  It's getting close to the finish.

Jul 31, 2024 9:00:21 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Great looking fix! This is coming together brilliantly!

Thanks Brent.

Jul 31, 2024 9:51:57 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Some really inspiring work going on with all of that detail Paul. I love watching these cars come together and this one is doing so in good fashion.

Thank you Joe.

Jul 31, 2024 11:17:41 GMT -5 joelw said:

Paul,
Just great engineering in fixing that broken fitting. Looks perfect as does all those details just making the Lotus 49 start to really come to life.

joel

Thanks Joel.  I'm at the point of final details.  But they do still take some time.


I got the rear brake lines plumbed from the body to the uprights.






Next up is to try to hang the radiator and all these pieces at the same time.   Then to trim the windscreen and install it.



1120

[kyledehart5]

Vacuform gives me nightmares. 😂 But I have gotten better about it. Another nice update Paul.

[handiabled]

I'm not a huge fan of vacuform pieces either but I'm sure you have this well in hand. From the box of pieces you started with you are really constructing another masterpiece!

[Steve Zuleski]

Excellent recovery, and this just keeps getting better and better.

[joelw]

I've had a model life long loosing battle percentage wise with vacuum canopies, and even some aircraft back in the earlier days. At least the good thing from looking at that windscreen is that it's nicely modeled with clear definition as to the parting lines, and just thick enough to make it so much easier to work with. Still, for a kit of the level, detail, and price, I would have thought that they would have gone the injection route. Needless to say I'm areally looking forward to seeing how you handle it.

joel

[2whl]

Aug 1, 2024 23:54:51 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Vacuform gives me nightmares. 😂 But I have gotten better about it. Another nice update Paul.

Thanks Kyle.  It doesn't give me nightmares, but I still dread doing them.  

Aug 2, 2024 2:18:58 GMT -5 handiabled said:

I'm not a huge fan of vacuform pieces either but I'm sure you have this well in hand. From the box of pieces you started with you are really constructing another masterpiece!

Thanks Brent.  Well in hand is not there yet.  But I am getting better at them.  Practice does make perfect.

Aug 2, 2024 5:14:22 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

Excellent recovery, and this just keeps getting better and better.

Thank you Steve.

Aug 2, 2024 7:08:26 GMT -5 joelw said:

I've had a model life long loosing battle percentage wise with vacuum canopies, and even some aircraft back in the earlier days. At least the good thing from looking at that windscreen is that it's nicely modeled with clear definition as to the parting lines, and just thick enough to make it so much easier to work with. Still, for a kit of the level, detail, and price, I would have thought that they would have gone the injection route. Needless to say I'm areally looking forward to seeing how you handle it.

joel

Thanks Joel.  As much as I dislike having to wrestle with vacuform, I'd rather have it over an injection part.  The thickness of an injection part just doesn't look right to me.



Hanging the radiator went much better than I anticipated.  I got the two bottom parts CA'd on, then did the main top pipe.  Once they were firmly in place, I was able to hold the radiator and small top piece in place while I added drops of CA.  Then it just a matter of adding the braces.







Next was to add the pipes and the sway bar links.





Once the radiator was mounted, I checked the nose piece to make sure there was no interference.  Since there was none, I finished it off with the tiny dzus fasteners.





After many trial fits of the windscreen to the cowling, I was satisfied enough to mount it.



1174

[kyledehart5]

Beautiful work on the vacuform. All of this is looking outstanding.

[project510]

Wow, nice work Paul. That doesn't look easy at all.

[handiabled]

You mounted the windscreen perfectly! That is a bunch of attachment points to the radiator

[joelw]

Paul,
Your comment to me about preferring a vac windshield vs an injected one about it being thinner was something that I failed to consider, and in the end would make a visible difference for sure. So it's not always the best option if it's the easiest option.

Excellent job on mounting the radiator which looks quite daunting as misalignment could be a real possibility.

In the final picture of the Cowell with the windscreen, those two beautifully finished Talbot racing mirrors just really are the perfect finishing touch. I just loved the look of my two Talbot mirrors mounted over the front wheels on my MGB. In hindsight having them by the windows would have made a huge difference, but IMHO just wouldn't have nearly the same visual effect.

joel

[2whl]

Aug 2, 2024 18:45:21 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Beautiful work on the vacuform. All of this is looking outstanding.

Thank you Kyle.  

Aug 2, 2024 22:49:44 GMT -5 project510 said:

Wow, nice work Paul. That doesn't look easy at all.

Thanks James.  It's not easy, but it's also really not that hard.  It's a matter of taking your time and doing some planning.

Aug 3, 2024 3:20:21 GMT -5 handiabled said:

You mounted the windscreen perfectly! That is a bunch of attachment points to the radiator

Thanks Brent.  Yeah...the radiator did have me scratching my head trying to figure a way to hold all of those parts at the same time.  

Aug 3, 2024 8:59:23 GMT -5 joelw said:

Paul,
Your comment to me about preferring a vac windshield vs an injected one about it being thinner was something that I failed to consider, and in the end would make a visible difference for sure. So it's not always the best option if it's the easiest option.

Excellent job on mounting the radiator which looks quite daunting as misalignment could be a real possibility.

In the final picture of the Cowell with the windscreen, those two beautifully finished Talbot racing mirrors just really are the perfect finishing touch. I just loved the look of my two Talbot mirrors mounted over the front wheels on my MGB. In hindsight having them by the windows would have made a huge difference, but IMHO just wouldn't have nearly the same visual effect.

joel

Thanks Joel.  When you think about it, having  vac form glass makes even more sense in the smaller scales. (1/20-1/25 or even 1/43).  But with the mainstream companys it really isn't a manufacturing option.



With all of the bodywork pieces done, it was time to do a final assembly.  Here are my final pictures.  Thanks to all who came along with me on this build.  I hope you enjoyed it.  













1244

[chrissmith]

Well done sir👏
Now that you got 2 done already what’s next?

[2whl]

Aug 3, 2024 11:37:53 GMT -5 chrissmith said:

Well done sir👏
Now that you got 2 done already what’s next?

Thanks Chris

I just started a thread on the Gurney Eagle.

Even though there are several others that should get some love.

[keavdog]

Well done. That is a real beauty!

[joelw]

Paul,
Just an absolutely perfect build by one of the two MFH builders we have here, as each of you just continue to turn out museum quality models. It was once again a joy to follow your build from opening the box to crossing the finish line. Jim Clark and Colin Chapman would certainly more then just approve of your results.

Heading on over to sign up for the completion of your Gurney AAR F1 Eagle. Sure hope that you're going to do the 1967 Spa winning car.

joel

[kyledehart5]

Absolutely gorgeous result Paul. Another stunning build. I really enjoyed following along with it. Going to get this out into the gallery of completions.

[2whl]

Aug 3, 2024 11:44:44 GMT -5 keavdog said:

Well done. That is a real beauty!

Thank you John.

Aug 3, 2024 13:21:02 GMT -5 joelw said:

Paul,
Just an absolutely perfect build by one of the two MFH builders we have here, as each of you just continue to turn out museum quality models. It was once again a joy to follow your build from opening the box to crossing the finish line. Jim Clark and Colin Chapman would certainly more then just approve of your results.

Heading on over to sign up for the completion of your Gurney AAR F1 Eagle. Sure hope that you're going to do the 1967 Spa winning car.

joel

Thank you very much Joel. Of course I'll do the Spa car.  It's too iconic not to.

Aug 3, 2024 13:22:29 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Absolutely gorgeous result Paul. Another stunning build. I really enjoyed following along with it. Going to get this out into the gallery of completions.

Thank you Kyle.

[project510]

Very well done! This looks just as good, if not better than a Die Cast model I have here. Great work Paul!

[Medicman71]

Wow! Awesome build! Love it!

[2whl]

Aug 3, 2024 14:05:35 GMT -5 project510 said:

Very well done! This looks just as good, if not better than a Die Cast model I have here. Great work Paul!

Thanks James.  It looks like your diecast is missing its wings.

Aug 4, 2024 13:43:08 GMT -5 Medicman71 said:

Wow! Awesome build! Love it!

Thank you Mike