Teeny, tiny, Lotus 7 (Danger! Lots of photos)

[klutz_100]

OMG!

I knew it was small but I didn't realise it was THAT small!

This is a great thread - thanks for sharing

[RabRobertson]

Thanks for the continued interest folks, it's motivating me to do at least one thing every day, even if it's only a small thing, although on a model this size, everything's small.

On with the photos:



The engine block & gearbox is a single piece of resin, fairly well moulded. I drilled out the plug holes and mounting points for fuel & oil pumps, distributor and starter motor. I then painted the whole thing black before subjecting it to a variety of drybrushes and washes to try and get a "well used but looked after" look.



Dizzy attached and wired, I later realised that the coil wasn't mounted under the dizzy, but was a separate piece, fortunately before I glued the whole thing into the car.





As you can see from the first photo, the photo-etched drive belts & pulleys didn't line up at all, so I cut the pulleys off, attached them to the block and wound some thin wire around them to simulate the belt.

You can also see the starter motor, fuel pump and oil pump in these pictures.



Carbs on, all she needs is the cylinder head and ...



The Seven has a heart, a throbbing, beating heart. The kit includes rather nicely moulded, white metal motor mounts which I stupidly neglected to photograph. I've also added the feed for the starter motor.






And now the engine has fuel, the transparent line was included in the kit, the accelerator cable wasn't so I made one. I used the thinnest wire I have (Detail Master detail wire) and stripped off the insulation at each end.

The intake trumpets were way too long so I trimmed them to length, I think they're still too large a diameter, but I'm not going to try and scratch build new ones.

That's all for now, tomorrow brake lines, battery and whatever else I get done.

Cheers - Rab.

[Martsmodels]

Lovely detail Rab - I keep having to remind myself that this is 1/43!

[sjelic]

I would brake this one 30 times till I got to this point. Amazing, so small.
Great work so far, how are the wheels?

[Ferrari TR]

Welcome.
a great contrast to marks big scale 7's too.

[RabRobertson]

Once again, thanks for the comments, I'm flattered by the compliments, given the standard of modelling I've seen on these forums.

A small amount of progress:





Brake lines and clutch line in place, the wire is 5amp fuse wire, sanded to reveal the copper underneath, I used insulation from some of my Detail Master stuff to cover the clutch line.

The calipers are yet to be painted and I need to shape the lines at the wheels a bit more.



Battery installed and wired.



In answer to Sjelic's question, here are the wheels, they need a bit of clean up, but not too bad.



Just for comparison, here's the Seven alongside a Lamborghini Murcielago, the Seven's tiny even for a 43rd scale model.

Tomorrow, interior.

Cheers - Rab.

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by Martsmodels

I keep having to remind myself that this is 1/43!

EXACTLY how I feel Really quite amazing.

Having just finished a 1/24 Super 7 myself, I recognize all the details but when I remind myself that this is in 1/43, well....I am just simply stunned.

I can't imagine what size wire you are using in 1/43 scale for plug wires. Human hair perhaps? LOL

[G-man422]

Thats crazy small. But you are making the detail look real. Nice work on this!

[RabRobertson]

Originally Posted by klutz_100

EXACTLY how I feel Really quite amazing.

Having just finished a 1/24 Super 7 myself, I recognize all the details but when I remind myself that this is in 1/43, well....I am just simply stunned.

I can't imagine what size wire you are using in 1/43 scale for plug wires. Human hair perhaps? LOL

Thanks Klutz, It was your build that inspired me to start this model.
I'm actually using your suberb build as a reference for the engine in mine, I've found a couple of engine shots online, but your photos have been a huge help, so thanks

The plug wire is Detail Master detail wire, 0.16mm diameter according to my calipers. I was considering adding plug boots, but for the sake of my sanity, decided against it.

[gionc]

That's umbeliveable, it have almost same details or more than our 1/24 stuff...

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by RabRobertson

Thanks Klutz, It was your build that inspired me to start this model.
I'm actually using your suberb build as a reference for the engine in mine, I've found a couple of engine shots online, but your photos have been a huge help, so thanks

I'm honored - and pleased to be of help in that case (unless of course you are confusing me with someone else LOL)

Originally Posted by RabRobertson

I was considering adding plug boots, but for the sake of my sanity, decided against it.

I'll bet you did!!

[willimo]

Woah.

[Dan66460]

Excellant build!! Detailing is amazing for such a small kit!!

[RabRobertson]

Smallish update, mainly due to last night being a beer & curry fest

I made a carpet using the spare chassis base as a template.



Thin sheet styrene was cut to shape, flocked and fitted to the model, along with the painted side panels.



The seats and transmission tunnel were painted and fitted.





I also had to file down the battery and relocate it to clear the bodywork.

Now the first problem, the nose doesn't fit at all, their isnt enough space for it to sit far enough back.



I thinned down the interior of the nose cone, but the lower part is far too short and doesn't reach the botton of the chassis.



This is going to take a bit of work to fix, updates as soon as possible.

Cheers - Rab.

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by RabRobertson

Now the first problem, the nose doesn't fit at all,

Ouch!

Everything else is looking great though