Martini Lotus 79 Tameo metal kit.

[Kitkent]

I’m currently making,attempting to finish off a 1/24 Wave resin kit of the JPS black Lotus 79,then realised I have this Tameo 1/43 kit buried in the pile. It’s the Martini car,in a nice green used in 1980. I can’t even remember how long I’ve had these 2 kits! Anyway here’s a couple of pictures to kick off with.

There’s a pile of bits,and the body sprayed with Mr.Hobby primer,my favourite. Chris.

[Vesa Jussila]

Can't wait to see this ready.

[k5054nz]

Me too, I'm excited to follow along.

[Kitkent]

I’m trying! Just a small update here. I’ve sprayed the body in the correct Rover Brooklands green,but totally forgot the separate rollover bar which was quite twisted and rough about the edges,now spraying that separately.Also forgot to drill the wing mirror and suspension holes too! 
  

I’m a bit disappointed by the decal choice as I assumed it was an ESSEX sponsored car,but it’s actually a bit bland I think.The last picture is my 1/24 resin black beauty nearing completion after about 15 years in my possession! I’m hurrying it along now though,honest. Chris.

[klubman01]

Both looking good. 

The green 19080 variant seems to be less popular than the black.  Not the legendary JPS livery, so perhaps that's why.  Also, less successful in 1980.  By all accounts, the aluminium chassis (which is really slim) was starting to suffer from fatigue from the downforce generated by the ground effects bodywork.  Other teams recognised this and so the shift to considerably stiffer carbon fibre chassis began (with McLaren, IIRC).

Trevor

[Orso]

The decals for the #2 car is from the first race in 1979. I guess the #1 decals are OK for the second race as well. But you have Essex markings on that sheet. Very small behind the NGK marking.

[Kitkent]

Cheers Trevor and Bjorn,I made an error,this car is 1979, not 80. I also assumed my kit was the more used Essex decoration so I was surprised to see this one,it’s from the Argentinian GP,Carlos Reutemann was the Argentine team mate to Mario Andretti .I’ll carry on regardless anyway. 
Chris.

[Orso]

I wonder if the decals for the Tameo Lotus 80 could be used to add the Essex decal for a Andretti South African race car?

https://www.spotmodel.com/product_info.php?products_id=6439&language=en

[Kitkent]

That’s a great idea Orso,I have the Tameo Lotus 80 as well but can’t find the decals at the moment! There should be 2 sheets as well. Chris 

[Kitkent]

A relaxing day today so have found a few minutes spare for a small update.I’ve decalled the body,the decals are a bit well,weak,especially on the side pods. I decided to stick with the kit decals,now I wish there were 2 sheets in this kit,but I think Tameo didn’t provide them years ago when I bought this kit. Have sprayed half the photo etch,and half sprayed the wings,I need some milder weather to finish this off. The 50 p shows the dashboard complete with only one decal for the rev counter, the engine will be completely hidden apart from the trumpets showing through the gap in the top of the body. There’s a lot of fiddly work yet at the rear end especially to follow! 
Happy new year everyone,from Chris.

[Sabrejet]

Great to see some 1/43 stuff! My Tameo/Meri history is mainly sports racers but this is still interesting to see. I'm glad I have few in the stash!

[kiseca]

On 11/29/2022 at 6:35 PM, klubman01 said:

Both looking good. 

The green 19080 variant seems to be less popular than the black.  Not the legendary JPS livery, so perhaps that's why.  Also, less successful in 1980.  By all accounts, the aluminium chassis (which is really slim) was starting to suffer from fatigue from the downforce generated by the ground effects bodywork.  Other teams recognised this and so the shift to considerably stiffer carbon fibre chassis began (with McLaren, IIRC).

Trevor

 

The story from the Haynes manual, as best I remember it anyway, is that at the end of the 1978 season Lotus could either choose do develop the 79 for the 1979 season, or develop their next generation ground effects idea (the 80). They could not afford to do both and see what turned out best. Chapman, being Chapman, went for the big step - the 80. A car with so much ground effects downforce it shouldn't need wings.

 

Thus the 79 was undeveloped from its 1978 configuration and the 80 was a gamble that did not pay off. It had problems that were linked to its basic design and dimensions, making them unfixable on that car. They included porpoising and natural resonance problems which they described as similar to flutter in an aircraft. Very tiring on the driver, and accelerating fatigue in the aluminium structure.

 

The 79 thus had to be called back into service, but it as mentioned, there had been no development on it to prepare it for the changes in the 1979 season. I believe there was a wheel size change, but more significantly 1979 was when the tyre manufacturers switched from crossplies to radials.

 

So while other teams had caught up, the Lotus 79 also went backwards as it wasn't working as well with 1979 tyres as it had with 1978 ones.

 

So the 1978 version was, in my opinion the most beautiful formula 1 car ever made, wearing the prettiest livery ever used in Formula 1... and it was also the only version to know success. I guess that's why it's the most popular one to replicate.

 

As the teams got better and the ground effects downforce increased, and particularly when the sliding skirts were banned and the suspension thus had to go rock hard to maintain the seal around the sidepods, the stresses were indeed too much for the aluminium tubs, which could not be made stiff enough, and John Barnard's McLaren MP4/1 was the first to race with a full carbon composite tub (I think it was carbon sandwiching aluminium honeycomb?) In 1982. Lotus were also early adopters of a full carbon tub, while Brabham were using a hybrid carbon / aluminium tub by 1983. Carbon composite panels and aluminium bulkheads or something like that, I think.

 

Incidentally, carbon fibre didn't guarantee a chassis of sufficient stiffness for grand prix racing. In 1988 Lotus, despite having the same dominant Honda turbo V6 as the record breaking McLaren MP4/4s of that year, were completely uncompetitive because the chassis had so much flex that the car just could not be set up. The drivers complained that changing the suspension settings made no difference because there was so much flex in the chassis. So the car had the best donkey available but no control over it.

 

 

Edited December 26, 2022 by kiseca

[Kitkent]

Thanks kiseca I couldn’t remember all of the above,only some! I make mostly 1/43 kits and I’m trying to actually build some of the stash,there’s a lot of it I’m afraid,so more to follow at some point. Chris.

[Kitkent]

Just a very small update on a very small model…

 

Breaking out the photo etch,seatbelts,cockpit now completed. Starting the gearbox assembly which is far from complete and will be completely hidden under the rear end of the car!  Final pic is trying out the front suspension,which isn’t too bad,but you need to get everything lined up perfectly for it to fit,seems ok so far,Chris.

[Toftdale]

Really love the gearbox and rear suspension assembly, that must have took some very steady hands, a lot of patience and some serious magnification - Andy