Hello All,
Well, a significant milestone has been achieved with the Lotus 72E ; the Chassis is officially completed!!! WooHoo
!!!! OK, the steering wheel is not actually attached yet, just temporary, but that is intentional to prevent damage by handling while getting the bodywork aligned and sorted.
So, the issue with the rear suspension being out of alignment was solved; a bit of heat and quite a bit of twisting. They say when you apply heat and pressure, rock becomes a diamond, but in this case it just gets all four wheels flat to the ground. The 72E no longer thinks it’s a VW GTI going through a corner!!! (you know what I mean
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The remaining cooling plumbing was also completed and attached. I used the kits parts, but added a bit of detail with shrink tube and hose clamps at the connections. Not perfect alignment, but good enough I think. A few fasteners to finish it off, and here is how it all ended up.
The wheels and tires were also completed. Wheels were painted Alclad Pale Gold, as explained, and given a subtle wash for depth and highlight and the centers hand-painted. The tire valves are from Sakatsu; nice little pieces, I wish they were still around. The tires received a little attention as well. Ebbro’s tires, and printed lettering are very nice, but a little too clean and perfect. So, I added a little use to them. Contact surfaces were scrubbed by spinning the tire on a rotary tool against a sanding stick. I dirtied up the sidewalls and lettering with a Tamiya Weathering Kit, then gave them a sealer coat:
- MM Metallizer Sealer-1 Mist Coat (my favorite starting point as it is satiny, and tends not to attack things too harshly)
- Tamiya Flat Clear-1 Light Coat (to tone down the shine)
Tires were mounted, and Ta-Da!!! all finished and ready to be installed. Generally, pretty happy with the outcome.
Now on to the body work. I gave the body work a first trial fit, and the side pods fit nearly perfectly. I have to commend Ebbro for the fit of the bodywork. It is such a tight fit, but goes together without any serious pushing or swearing ……….so far. I installed some magnets inside the tub to hold the bodywork, but I’m not sure there’s enough room to install the mating magnet in the bodywork. Fortunately, once the side pods are on, the cockpit surround locks in and holds it all in place. Maybe enough. The nose was trialled as well, and a little less than perfect straight off. It is a little too angled and there is a bit of a gap when installed, so I need to do some work to find what’s restricting it from fitting perfectly. Not so big concern I think.
So, that’s where things stand at the moment. With the chassis complete, I can turn my attention to the bodywork and decals in earnest. I was hoping to have it all wrapped up before heading out to the British GP, but doesn’t look good for that………Oh well, just keep plodding away. Onward and Upward!!
Cheers,
Chris
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