WIP - Larrousse LC90

[CK]

Thanks!

I am slowly working on fixing the gap between engine cover and the body work. This Hasegawa kit's fit is not great at all. I hope it will be the last time that I need to patch it.

I have to split my time between fixing my 13 year old smart fortwo and this model.

[CK]

The work is progressing slowly. Here are what have been done.

Gaps between tub and body cowling finally filled after numerous attempts. I also added locking pins (indicated in red circles) on the body cowling so that it can lock onto the tub and floor when it is assembled and also allows it to be take off. The air intake for the oil cooler was elongated as in the rear car.

I replace the flimsy molded mirror supports and antenna with brass rod (0.02") and fish line (0.016"). The antenna base is the sleeve of a 26AWG wire-wrap wire. The fish line threads into it nicely.

The rims were also modified. I don't like the large flanged edge on the inside of the rim. It would be fine on a road car that you cannot see but not on F1 cars. So I cut it and also sand away the taper in the rim that is need for part to be released from mold. The rim on the right has been modified.

I find that the rear diffuser of the kit is the LC89 version (or at least early in the season) not the version that raced in Japan. I want it to be the version that Aguri Suzuki won third place in Japan. This will be the next big change. There are paint job on the exhaust and air scoop to done. After these will be painting of the body. I plan to paint the yellow, green and red colors instead of using the decals.

[Paul_OFarrell]

Hi CK,

Nice work getting the engine cover to fitting properly. I am looking at the same issue with Tamiya's Lotus 107B.

Looking forward to seeing more of your progress.

Cheers, Paul
Sydney, Oz

[CK]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your kind comment.

It is a tedious job to fill the gap. The body cowling edge is less than 1 mm thick. It is not very practical to just use putty to fill the gap as I want the cowling to be removable.

I have to use different layers of plastic sheets to glue to the edge and than file it down slowly so that the contour fits to the tub side.

I hope the Tamiya kit is better. Anyway, it is probably easier to do in 1/20 scale.

[RE60B]

Hard work! love it follow it

[steinietrabi]

In the quiet lies strength...
The processing of the side panel/body cowling and the attachment looks very good - great job!

You also improved the mirrors by 100%

Lots of small details and improvements, I'm excited to see how things will continue and I'll stay on the ball.

[CK]

Thanks for the encouragement!

All the modifications will be faster if I have a 3D print. It will be my target to get one when I retire. I will have more time to learn the software and do the design. I still very much enjoy making parts and modifications the old way.

With WFH going on at least till the end of year, I will steadily work on this kit. The problem that I face is the temptation to keep adding details to the kit.

[CK]

Finally, I have the time and energy to tackle the major modification. It is the diffuser. In the early season, the diffuser only has a curve through out the width of the rear end. It was upgraded later in the season. In the Japanese GP, a two-step diffuser was used. This is what I want to build.

This is the kit diffuser.

I cut the 2 sides along the outer fins. These are horizontal pieces for the side of the step. I made them from 0.015" thick plastic sheets. I also cut the inner fins out to be replaced by thinner sheets. The thickness of the kit fins scale up to about 1 inch thick in 1:1. I replace them with 0.01" thick sheets.

It took me about 10 hours to finish the modification, excluding all the photo research and planning.

I also drilled out the exhaust shield area to make it look more realistic.

Next job is to see if I can add spark plug wires to the engine cover. They are thin and tiny. I am not sure if I can do them.

[CK]

Another update of the work on this kit.

The cockpit area is done. I add a scratch made quick release disk to the steering wheel.

The decal for the dash is pretty brittle. There is a crack that I have to filled.

A scratch made seat belt system finishes the work around the cockpit area.

It is not the best but is acceptable in this scale.

Next update will be the engine.

[gp-models]

Nice detail work, improvement on the Diffusor looks nice and clean, cockpit as well!