Toftdale Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 As soon as Motobitz released their transkit to convert the Tamiya Super 7 to a Caterham there was only one car I was going to make....Mine!! Haven't done that much, I'm only really posting because it makes my 3rd build on Britmodeller feel like it's officially started. I intend to make this as accurate as possible without becoming obsessive (this might come back to haunt me later 🙃). Original nosecone Beginning of modifications Like my previous 2 builds here, thanks for looking, just don't expect it finished too soon - Andy 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fnick Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 17 minutes ago, Toftdale said: I intend to make this as accurate as possible without becoming obsessive As one of my colleagues occasionally (very occasionally!😄) tells his wife: I'm not being pedantic dear I'm being accurate... It's good fun making a car you actually own(ed). Plus with a life size model to compare against I fully expect your finished model to look like the first picture! 😋. No pressure... I'll certainly be following this one. Nick 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 23 minutes ago, Toftdale said: there was only one car I was going to make....Mine!! Ooooh, that's lovely!! Where's the 'I'm so jealous' emoji..... ??!! Keith 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galaxyg Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 I'll be watching along. I've built two kits of cars that I own/owned, and it's quite satisfying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 That is a lovely looking real Seven, I'll look out for an equally lovely looking miniature Seven. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted October 10, 2021 Author Share Posted October 10, 2021 Now the nosecone is done the next area requiring modification is the front suspension. The top of the front suspension on a lotus 7 consists of a single arm and antiroll bar, were as my Caterham has a top wishbone arrangement plus an antiroll bar, plus there is an extra strengthening bar across the bottom wishbone. The addition of the bottom brace now means that the lower suspension can now no longer be removed as Tamiya intended as you have to push one end through the car in order to insert the otherside. Therefore this is now in three bits with metal pins inserted to achieve correct alignment. Thanks again for looking - Andy 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 Nice bit of fabrication there Andy! 👍 Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 14 hours ago, keefr22 said: Nice bit of fabrication there Andy! 👍 Keith Thanks Keith, The first half was simple, trying to make both sides look symmetrical, we that was another story - Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted November 14, 2021 Author Share Posted November 14, 2021 I've made a start on the interior, obviously this is quite visible on a Caterham so I have had to make quite a few changes, here's my car. One of the most obvious differences between the Lotus and a S3 chassised Caterham is that the hand brake has moved to the centre tunnel. Therefore I have made a new tunnel, the used the top of the old one to give me the curve. Once finished I then covered this with Milliput (rolled as thin as possible) and then made the stitching pattern with a bit if stretched sprue, just visible in the photo. The seats that come with the transkit are great unfortunately they're from the model before mine (please note this is not a criticism of the transkit as it would have been impossible to supply the correct bits to make every Caterham that has existed, and the seats supplied were an obvious choice as they are a very common fitment). The picture below is not the final item, but at least now I know how I'm going to make them. One piece that really had me scratching my head was the head rests. Finally I think I've had a good idea 😄. In order to get the correct oval shape I have squashed some plastic tube in a vice and filled it full of milliput, so hopefully when it's dried it will still retain the shape. Thanks for looking - Andy 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 Good to see some progress on this Andy - and I think the idea for making the headrests is brilliant! Keith 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 It looks like some ingenious work going in to this build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 16 hours ago, keefr22 said: Good to see some progress on this Andy - and I think the idea for making the headrests is brilliant! Keith 5 hours ago, johnlambert said: It looks like some ingenious work going in to this build. Thank you Gentlemen, I appreciate the compliments 😊 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 Ok, following. (I've similar plans (along with everything else!)) Nick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco F. Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 Great ideas for your build, I hope everthing will work out like you're planning. It's good to have the 1:1 in the garage, but sometimes It's also a pain, just bcs no excuse for a difference Marco F 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 On 15/11/2021 at 16:13, Nick Belbin said: Ok, following. (I've similar plans (along with everything else!)) Nick Hi Nick, welcome along, I hope you're comfortably as this could take a while 😅 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 22 hours ago, Marco F. said: Great ideas for your build, I hope everthing will work out like you're planning. It's good to have the 1:1 in the garage, but sometimes It's also a pain, just bcs no excuse for a difference Marco F Hi Marco, thanks for the comments. However the Caterham is now tucked away under its cover in my garage, ready to come out and play next year 😀👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 Well against all odds the first solution I came up with for the head rests worked a treat!, their now mounted to the new chair backs with a piece of flattened brass rod. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anteater Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 At the risk of getting ahead of ourselves... I'm guessing your Caterham doesn't have an old Crossflow in it. How do you plan to address the engine? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted November 18, 2021 Author Share Posted November 18, 2021 22 hours ago, Anteater said: At the risk of getting ahead of ourselves... I'm guessing your Caterham doesn't have an old Crossflow in it. How do you plan to address the engine? My Caterham is a 1.4 (K-series) with a supersport conversion. At the moment my gut feel says I'll address the engine by gluing the bonnet shut 😁. I think if I try and make one it will suck all the fun out of the project. However I will need to make a sump as this is very visible....Maybe though if I asked Father Christmas to bring me a 3d printer 🤔 - Andy 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearsightedjohn Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 Joining the viewing party late here Andy and really enjoyed looking back at your trans-kit bashing and scratch-building efforts on this build. Very cool modeling project. Posting WIP’s can be time consuming - thank you! I got to test drive a fellow-worker/ friend’s Caterham 7 back in the early 80’s, no idea what series/ model but it had a high performance Ford OHC 4 banger (120 -130 hp?). OMG! What a cosmic spiritual driving experience, one of if not the most fun car I’ve ever driven. I envy you! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted November 19, 2021 Author Share Posted November 19, 2021 17 hours ago, nearsightedjohn said: Joining the viewing party late here Andy and really enjoyed looking back at your trans-kit bashing and scratch-building efforts on this build. Very cool modeling project. Posting WIP’s can be time consuming - thank you! I got to test drive a fellow-worker/ friend’s Caterham 7 back in the early 80’s, no idea what series/ model but it had a high performance Ford OHC 4 banger (120 -130 hp?). OMG! What a cosmic spiritual driving experience, one of if not the most fun car I’ve ever driven. I envy you! Thanks for the interest, my daily driver is a company Toyota Corolla hybrid, so it makes the Caterham seem even more special when I get out in it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Toftdale said: Thanks for the interest, my daily driver is a company Toyota Corolla hybrid, so it makes the Caterham seem even more special when I get out in it Talk about chalk and cheese....!! 🤣 Keith 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitkent Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 What a nice car! Both of them,I always wanted one after following the Prisoner.Chris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted November 24, 2021 Author Share Posted November 24, 2021 Still working on the seats, the next job was to address the school boy error on the head rests 😬 Next task was to chamfer the seat back and attach the sides. I've made a jig so that hopefully the angle of the sides will be the same and more importantly hopefully both seats will be close to identical. Once I was happy with the sides, I added a lumber support. Then covered the seat with a thin layer of Milliput and added to stitching. The red seats aren't mine, though they are identical (apart from the colour). I now think my head rest is slightly too a large, but apart from that I'm really happy. It not a perfect replica, but is does in my opinion capture the feel, I've now just got to make a matching one 😨 - Andy 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshanks Posted November 24, 2021 Share Posted November 24, 2021 Neat render of the seat Kev 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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