Malc2

Looking good so far! As a suggestion, you should add about 3mm to the front, this means you will be able to sand away the waste that forms the curved edge of the front surface and still end up with a part that is long enough. To prevent webs (like a Banyan tree) forming round the bottom, you may need to add a block of about 5mm for it to stand on that is smaller than the profile of the cowl back edge. This means the rear edge will draw inwards preventing said webs. If all this is not clear, please ask questions, it may be better if I make a drawing to show what I mean! TBH, as its such a deep draw, using your former with 3mm added to each end (to allow for removing the waste as mentioned) I would be tempted to plunge mould each panel separately like the real aircraft (Top, bottom and two sides). Which ever approach you take it will be interesting to find what works for you! Malc.

The Italeri kit is from the old Protar moulds from the early 1980s. It is/was one of the best 1/12 Protars and IMHO comparable with the Tamiya offering. Ironic that it was also offered in 1/12 scale by Heller, but the less said about that kit the better! M.

Thanks Jörgen, do you use anti fog CA? Anout 50% of the time I seem to get a white smudge next to the CA joints. M.

Hi Jörgen, Nice work! Can I ask what glue do you use to join painted parts together? (sorry if I have asked this before, but I never seem to get a satisfactory solution that works for me, either they don't stick very well or the glue dissolves the paint - which can be good or bad - but usually bad!) Scraping the paint off has its risks as I either get a chip in the paint that can be seen afterwards or scrape too much which can also be seen after the parts are joined. Malc.

That looks fab, I do like the way you have filled the tub top to side join and wrapped the green over the tub, - just like the original. M.

Niiiicce!

Decals, - the best bit! Molotow chrome has to be larded on if you are using a brush and always keep a 'wet edge' going to join the next brush load. It has to be protected with a coat of clear, otherwise it rubs off and tarnishes with finger prints. I will be interested to know how you get on with the Trytool when you get it. I tried a bit harder to search for mirror plastic I have and found this which looks very similar, I may have to try a sheet!:- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264401016427?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338792760&toolid=10029&customid=EAIaIQobChMIifD1m5-g-AIVB-vtCh3Iggm6EAYYCCABEgI6_vD_BwE&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIifD1m5-g-AIVB-vtCh3Iggm6EAYYCCABEgI6_vD_BwE M.

Nice work. I use something called 'mirror glass', it is 15thou clear plastic with a silver coating on one side just like a real mirror. - No idea where I got it from! I just tried googling it and could not find any. When this runs out I plan to use Molotow chrome which can be applied with a brush and still get a streak free chrome like finish. Malc.

Great to see more automotive resin beaten in to submission, both are really nice models, but I dont know how you do this in 1/43! M.

Thats looking good, how did you do the silver rings on the wheels so neatly? M.

Hi Renek, I followed your build of this, its an absolutely brilliant conversion and a fantastic build. I hope to see more of your work - here on Britmodeller! Malc.

Ooo good, another build from Bengalensis! Following with interest! Malc.

Start of the carbon revolution. Resin quality is fantastic, shape looks spot on too. M.

Wow, super! A great addition to the fleet. Dont leave it on its wheels, the legs will splay out over time under its own weight! Your wish is my command My 1/32 Mew Gull is the Aerotech kit, long ago I decided on a common air race scale to fit in with the Williams Bros kits, plus they are generally tiny so a larger scale is a good compromise between shelf size and detail. Malc.

Another LDM Mew Gull just sold on the bay of E, nearly bid but remembered I have one in 1/32. Nice to see the brass masters, interesting that the wing fillets are solder filed to shape - the simplest solution. I vote for leaving the LE alone! No one will ever know - oh wait....... M.

Never seen one of these finished before! Great to see. M.

Truly fantastic result! The Mr Color Creos silver looks very good and the panel alignment is superb. I look forward to seeing what you build next! Malc.

Wow, looks great! M.

Well that has triggered some interesting finds. The reason I say grey cockpit interior are the closeups of the 25 when it appeared at Zandvoort in 1962, you can clearly see the paint scratched off showing the aluminium underneath. Having just seen these new pics above I agree the underside colour is up for debate. and this colour pic Enough other period colour pics like the one above exist to show the cockpit interior is grey. M.

Thats interesting! I still don't believe Colin Chapman would agree to the bottom of the car being painted green, especialy as we know the inside of the tub was painted grey. My take would be the water washing across the surface is giving a false impression of the colour. But at the end of the day its your model - your choice! M.

Hi Nick, those replacement wires look great, did you print them yourself? M.

That looks great! Just waiting for the aero tow to get back in to the blue skys! M.

Thats better, thanks! Here is why I think it was unpainted:- The only picture I have seen of the underside of a Lotus in period. Paul Hawkins car being recovered from Monaco harbour. Its a Lotus 33, but I can't see that the 25 would be any different given Colin Chapmans obsession for weight reduction - why paint somthing that will never be seen? Could you share your info showing that it was painted? The only suggestion I would make is to sand or scrape the paint off and start again. IPA requires time to work, so would probably affect the surrounding paint and make it worse. Malc.

Difficult to see whats happened, the photo is a bit small! Also the underside between the coolant pipes on the real car was unpainted aluminium.................. Malc.

Nice to see another Lotus 25 being built. I have always had the idea to make a 33 by converting a 25 and had thought that 'simply'(!) adding flat inner sides to the monocoque from plastic card would be relatively easy. To this end I bought a set of 33 wheels from Indycals when they first came out:- https://www.indycals.net/parts/f1parts/64lotus25tires.html Malc.