macgregor Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) Here we go, I thought I better start putting together a build thread now Ive got the bit between my teeth. I will be using the 1991 re release of the very old 1968 tooling of the Lotus 49B for this project, although I aim to make 49 R1, the version that Graham Hill won the 68, Spanish Grand Prix, at Jarmara, his first win for Lotus. It was in Gold leaf colours but without the wings. The main reason is that the kit is of the earlier version of the car & what Tamiya appear to have done is "dress it up" with some "Paddy Hopkirk" type accessories to look more like a B but in truth by the time the winged version came out the whole tub had gone through many modifications, suspension changes, even gearbox changes. To be fair to Tamiya, this a very early one from their fantastic 1/12 series & the car was evolving all the time so fair credit to them for releasing it so early. Anway here is where Im up to, not much but its very much a design & build project. I have cut away the bottom of the main body & added the stepped channel sections for the oil & cooling pipes that run under the car on each side The tub section has to be fairly well rebuilt, as the kit was originally motorised & the battery box was at the front where the driver legs were, Ive rebuild this with card & added the section behind the dash/clocks, which they have omitted all together. I didnt have any great photos of this so Ive based it on what I could, building from card & miliput. Tamiya also only provide the right arm rest for some strange reason, the left side was just flat, mabe they were working from diagrams? So I cut away the plastic & built the other side from card to match & improved the kit to match up. Popped some primer on, which is a very similar colour to the interior colour anyway, to get an idea how its shaping up. Thats all for now. Mac Edited June 28, 2012 by macgregor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Watching with interest, my all time favourite GP car of one of my biggest boyhood Heros. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Watching with interest... Me too...!! K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obi-Jiff Kenobi Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 And me. This is looking good already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbyeomanry Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I took this at Snetterton last year 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmonk Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Great start, unlike some of the old farts on this site I dont' remember the car racing!!! Still one of the most iconic cars in F1 though. Also watching with interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Great start, unlike some of the old farts on this site I dont' remember the car racing!!! Still one of the most iconic cars in F1 though. oi sonny, who you referring to as an old fart, I'm just well matured. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgregor Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 I took this at Snetterton last year Great photo, it highlights some of the differences on the B, the later 2 piece nose, modified rear suspension mounts etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Before my time as well, but as Mr Monk says, a motoring icon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xffw45343tg Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Well I've looked, but I can't work out where the fuel tank is on this. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obi-Jiff Kenobi Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Off the top of my head, much of the fuel was in rubber bag tanks fitted inside the chassis parts, alongside the driver and in the space between the seat and rear bulkhead. Don't quote me on that, though. When I get the chance, I'll have a look through some of my references and see what I can find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xffw45343tg Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Cheers, Jiff - but don't go to any trouble. I was just curious as to where enough fuel would fit. Love these Tamiya kits and looking forward to the next installment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu_davros Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Off the top of my head, much of the fuel was in rubber bag tanks fitted inside the chassis parts, alongside the driver and in the space between the seat and rear bulkhead. Don't quote me on that, though. When I get the chance, I'll have a look through some of my references and see what I can find out. That's correct, the driver was essentially sitting in an aluminium double skinned bathtub with fuel all around him. When Jochen Rindt crashed his 49 the bags ruptured and spilled fuel over everything, but Graham Hill didn't hesitate to help him from the car at great personal risk to himself. It was a very different time. Cheers, Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgregor Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Just a little bit of progress, getting the nose cone rebuilt without the vents & wings. Ive attached an image showing the mods that were made to the front suspension mounts very early on because of structural problems with kinking. If you look at the early pictures at the top, you can see the short mount to the rear of the rocker arms, the bottom right shows how they were extended very early in its life. The image bottom left shows clarks car R2 with the nose style Im trying to emulate. Vents filled & prepped. Ive reshaped the front mount point & built up with miliput, the kit is way off with the shape, needs sanding when dry to get as near possible. The fins either side will have to be added when the front suspension is built and test fitted as there appears to be a different cut of the nose in this area & I will have to get the nearer so as to position them correctly. This shows where the rear area will have to be built up with card etc. This is what I hope I will end up with, Hills car at Jamara! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgregor Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 Quickly built up a representation of the pedal area, thanks to a great image supplied by Stu Davros. To be honest its burried away deep in the tub so that if you crane your neck & look in you can see its there but its pointless super detailing. The assemby needs fitting before I can reprofile the strengthened rocker arm supports each side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgregor Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 (edited) oops Edited June 27, 2011 by macgregor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgregor Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Progress has been rather slow this week, mainly due to the fact I scratch built the reinforced front suspension mounts, only to rip them all off & start again. The problem stemmed from the fact that the fuel hatch covers are moulded to far forward, I tried to get away with this but it just looked wrong as the reinforced parts appeared to short. I ended up sanding the covers off & will have to rescibe them later. If anyone knows thw best way to scribe a perfect circle please holler up! I think it looks passable now. Have spent the rest of the time sorting out the rear tub shape to accomodate the pipes & wires, again not & exact replica but to fit in with the kits restraints & also boxing of the last of the battery box area. Some work has now started on the engine so as to get things into preportion. Has anyone used those Archer transfer rivets? as I need to repair some rivet areas. Hopefully will have something a bit more exciting soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgregor Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Hello again, thought I better throw in an update, just to show Ive not been totally idle, been busy trying to improve a few of the engines weaker points, mainly rebuilding the water pumps & adding oil pump & housing, also preparing loads of little parts, de-chroming, getting rid of mould lines etc etc. Loads now primed for the future. Nearly every part has a mould line around (pet hate) so its taking some time to sort. The engine is fairly basic by todays standards & the gearbox is not great but Im committed to trying to improve within the kits bounds.................A. because it would cost to much to go to OTT trying to sort it out & B. because I aint got the skills to do so! Hopefully soon it will start to take shape. Got some paints on at last. I forgot to take any pictures of the water pump areas & side of block before I modified so Ive copied the instructions for a better idea what they looked like before & image what I was trying to get near. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rishi Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Hi, The addition of detail is very good, after the paint it looks like kits parts. I am not a F1 fan but this build is very impressive. Cheers, rishi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgregor Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 Hi, The addition of detail is very good, after the paint it looks like kits parts. I am not a F1 fan but this build is very impressive. Cheers, rishi Cheers Rishi, your spot on about the paint,it was a right mix of materials till I put the primer on then they all pulled together. Will post more when there is something worthwhile to see. Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obi-Jiff Kenobi Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I really like what you're doing with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgregor Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 I really like what you're doing with this. Cheers Obi, sometimes Im not sure "what Im doing with this", scratchbuilding is fairly new to me, this my biggest challenge of "improving" yet so sometimes I do things 2 or 3 times before it feels about right but Im learning all the time & having fun..................................sometimes LOL. Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xffw45343tg Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 It looks really good and has clearly improved the model no end. Keep up the fantastic work Mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_gn Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Engine looks superb - exactly the right amount of wash on the throttle slides and block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntPhillips Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Loving this build, can't believe I've only just found this one. Great job with the engine, can't wait to see more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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