Toftdale

Top work, I think you're being far too harsh on yourself and only rating it at 70%, it just a shame when completed you only be able to see less and 10% of the piece - Andy

Hi Nick. I don't know what paint you are planning for your wheels, but may I suggest you start with one already pre-thinned for air brushing. It's just one less thing to go wrong when you first start. I tend to use Alcald or AK interactive xtreme paint, however they're both lacquers so need to wear a face mask. Also to state the obvious practice and practice again before committing any paint to the jag. Great start so far - Andy

The stripes look great, plus using the standard tape size means they have fitted in perfectly with the front number plate holder (at least I assume that's what the raised section on the front lower valance is) - Andy

Well worth your efforts, the trumpets look fantastic - Andy

Which you have achieved to absolute perfection - Andy

Stunning work all round. I dread to think how delicate the hand break bracket must be - Andy

Wise words, I'm not sure what my next build will be, but it will definitely be a simple kit straight out the box - Andy

The perfect amount of extra detail added to the engine and gearbox, stunning build - Andy.

@Spiny @CrazyCrank @Windy37 @Fnick @keefr22 Thank you gents for your kind words, I sort of lost my mojo on this one for a bit and even though about starting a new project, however I know myself well enough to know I would just end up will a pile of half built kits. That said I am really pleased with the current progress, so hopefully it won't be as long until my next update - Andy

Thats Real Bootiful, as we say here in Norfolk - Great Job - Andy

Finally had enough time to work on the Caterham again. First job, the front shocks and springs, on a Caterham the lower mount for the springs is half way up the shock. Hence new items were made using the attachment pieces from the kit part brass rod an fuse wire. Really pleased with these, so please forgive me a couple of extra photos of the unit in place. Next job is the addition of the front indicators, which are included in the transkit and making the head light brackets. Again the original attachment point was kept, this time it was drilled out to accept the new wire bracket for the head light and indicator. As I mentioned when I first started this thread a long long long time ago the plan is to make this kerbside. However I still need to include the bottom on the engine as I still want this to look realistic when looked at from underneath. Hence I made this from styrene sheet, rod and stretched sprue. Plus the bottom of a Sharpie pen for the bell housing. It does look a lot better when viewed from the bottom as you can imagine the ribs on the bottom of the sump were very fiddly to apply. The collector also came with the transkit and really is fantastic, a lot of Caterhams have the four pipes from the header exit the body and the collector is mounted just before the silencer. However mine is inside the engine bay, so I had to cut this part down to fit. You can also see a magnet mounted in the collector to make attaching the exhaust easier, Also the K-series is canted, which I had to replicate so the the sump looks correct hanging out the bottom of the car. Next step was the prop shaft, again the kit part was modified to suit and I've checked it all fits under the transmission tunnel! Then some more fiddly stretched sprue to replicate the rolled end on the exhaust. The next picture will be boring for you, but I got a great sense of achievement when the exhaust exited out the centre of its hole Last picture (for now) I promise all my hard work on the engine and transmission in place. Still need to add a few more ancillaries to the block, but I'm really pleased to finally be making progress again, thanks for looking - Andy

Stunning, its incredible just how much detail you've managed to squeeze into the interior. - Andy

7 inches x 7 inches @Six97s was correct there's one on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153468557909?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=AnZGcOP3SJK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=wF7f7wzjRp-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY and they've helpfully photographed it against a tape measure!

Me too. I glad you included a link to the WIP as I really enjoyed it. Fantastic end result - Andy

If there was a thread to show us the worst model we've all made and then we all voted for the worst one, you're Porsche wouldn't even made the top 40! She looks good to me - Andy

Great build and great photos too - thanks for sharing - Andy

I can only echo everybodys awe and wonderment, a truly stunning piece. Plus I have enjoyed and learnt an awful lot whilst watching your build. Truly thankful that you took the time and effort to share - Andy

That livery is going to look fantastic, watching with interest - Andy

Great to have you back, really neat work on the rear spoiler - Andy

The exhaust tips look fantastic, far superior to any kit supplied item - Andy

Truly inspiring - thanks for sharing - Andy

I could spend hours just looking at the photos of your build, thanks for sharing - Andy

Thats a lot of surface to cover and every scale inch has been done to perfection, really enjoyed watching this behemoth come together. Although she looks good with the roof up, you definitely need to display her with it down to show off the gorgeous interior - Andy

You should be over the moon, she's stunning - Andy

A couple of spots whilst out at work recently. Firstly from the running tests on the traction engines I recently examined, not a bad sight to be greeted with on a Monday morning . And at the other end of the scale I've also recently had the pleasure of visiting Lotus at Hethel, unfortunately (but understandably) you can't take any photos whilst inside the production facility. However when I parked up outside one of the test mules for the new Emira pulled up in front of me. Finally Caterham had their open day last Saturday, I won't bore you with a hundred photographs of different examples (and believe me I could ). But the highlights for me was the Highly modified example used on the Grand Tour by James May, a Lotus 7 mark 1 and a Mark 2 (complete with a 1500 Cosworth engine as per the Tamiya model); both absolutely stunning. But the absolute highlight was seeing my car on display in such esteemed company.