"Gold Leaf" Lotus 72 Jochen Rindt 1970 Tameo WCT 1:43

[godfather23]

Show us some proof this on being actually in 1:43 scale!!!
Massive respect for your patience with this and your will for perfection...

Robert

[jaykay640]

Hi again. Thanks for all those positive responses for the last update… that didn’t really show something new :-)
For today I have a short one with a bit more progress.
The next thing to work on was the roll hoop behind the driver. In the kit you get some white metal parts to build it from. These would have needed extensive cleaning to get them to a nice polished look which is tricky. Instead I decided to rebuild it from tube material.
My first try at this was made from brass tubes some time ago. It was pretty much a copy of the kit parts. The problem then was to get it to a chromed look. Alclad would have been an option but it would easily rub off. Not good. Covering it with tin in a chemical bath didn’t work as planned. Here you see the kit parts and the brass version ( Yes….i needed more than one try :-)





I also realized that the original bar looked different to the kit one around the base where it’s fixed to the chassis. So while redoing the chassis because of the paint troubles I also modified the back end area to fit an improved roll hoop. This was built up from 0,9mm stainless steel tubes and 0,5mm nickel silver rods using epoxy and superglue.





I also mounted a new turned aluminium fuel filler that I painted Alclad pale gold. The kit one that was kinda integrated in the roll bar base didn’t look anything like the real one.





Now I need to add the other small bits of that area. That’s a bit tricky because I have no proper reference of a 72C. I’ll need to guess a bit then :-)
So much for now! Thanks for looking!

[SeanyG]

excellent stuf JK, your attention to detail is just mind blowing.

[360spider]

Jay does his magic again!

[klutz_100]

Sweet!

[Decs0105]

Originally Posted by 360spider

Jay does his magic again!

yes and it is bloody impressive

Can't wait for the next update, it just keeps getting better and better...opcorn:

[jaykay640]

Thanks guys :-) Here we go with some more progress!

As I mentioned the last time there were more pieces to put under the roll hoop. I don’t really know what everything is but they must have to do with the fuel system :-)
Since I hardly have any reference for the area on a 72C I took some freedom and modified the kit parts mostly using some bolts and cables along what I could see on later versions of the car.






I used brass bolt heads, rubber thread and 0.22” R.B.Motion A/N-Fittings that I painted with Alclad transparent red and blue.







I think the kit parts are rather large and there wasn’t enough room to put all the lines and cables that I saw on reference pictures but for a 43rd scale it should be o.k. The area looks sufficiently busy now :-)





Up next was the dashboard. In the kit you get a photoetched piece and turned aluminium bits for the dials. All these are nice but there was room for improvement.
For the dashboard itself I made a thin strip of 0,1mm nickel silver around the edge to make it look more like the original which has this folded around edge. That also hides the thickness of the etched dashboard piece which is quite chunky. Gluing the strip around the edge didn’t work, so I had to solder it and then clean everything up. That was annoying but worked o.k. in the end.





The turned parts for the dials that you can see in the left part of the picture also needed attention. The front surfaces needed sanding so the decals could be placed as per the instructions. But I wasn’t happy about how that would turn out so I went further. I chucked the pieces in my motor tool and made holes in the fronts using drills and milling heads held in a pin vise. This left only small silver rings at the sides. I painted the holes black and then applied the decals. After they were dry I added big drops of 2K-clear and let them thoroughly dry. Then I sanded them flat and polished the surfaces. Like that I achieved a look that’s much closer to the real dials and gives the impression of depth. Here you can see the painted parts:






I also painted the rear ends of the dials and they were ready to go in the dash. This was painted Zero Jet Black on the front with high pressure to get the rough surface look like on the real one. The back side is still plain metal.
I erased one of the fire extinguisher buttons with body filler, because in the Michael Oliver book there’s a picture of Rindt in the car with only one button. Later they all had two buttons.
The red ring was punched out from a piece of red decal and the buttons are photoetched from Model Car Garage. The Lotus chassis plate decal from the kit is a bit large but I used it anyway.
Next I could mount the dash on the chassis:





The main issue when installing all the bits was again to not mess them up with glue. Most of the time I used epoxy or superglue.

Then came the tricky part of putting some entertainment on the back side of the dashboard. I clearly didn’t wanna leave it empty, so I added wires and cables for switches and dials as per the reference pictures of later cars. The wires on the left hand side run into a “cable tunnel” as per the original that I made from 0,1mm nickel silver. They are mostly styrene threads made from sprues over a candle and some Hiro 0,24mm spark plug wire. Some etched bolts were also added and paint to finish it up. It’s not exactly like the real dashboard but it’s hard to see all the details with the naked eye anyway :-)





Then I added the support strut that fixes the dashboard towards the front of the cockpit. Instead of the flat etched piece from the kit I used one I made from 0,4mm nickel silver rod.





Then finally I could install the steering column and wheel. The column is a 0,6mm rod from the kit. The steering wheel is made from a nice turned brass ring that comes in the kit and has cutouts for the etched spoke piece. I glued these parts together, filled the remaining holes on the back up with body filler and sanded them before airbrushing the wheel Jet Black. The steering wheel centre received the same treatment as the dials ( without sanding the 2K-clear flat this time ) to get the Lotus logo decal a bit deeper and under a slightly spherical “glass”.





And here for those who wonder, a picture with a bit of size reference. Yes….the parts are small… :-)






So this is where I am right now. Gotta think about what to do next :-)
Thanks for looking and see you for that!

[p9o1r1sche]

Wow!, I can't even think this small.

Great detailing.

[360spider]

The detailing is great, paint is superb, and materials used are top notch. But you know what? What simply astounds me is the cleanliness of the work and accuracy of the assembly, especially in such a small scale. That is a sign of a true master. Awe-inspiring work Jay!

[klutz_100]

My eyes are seeing this but my brain is having problems digesting the level of skill, patience and talent it takes to make work of this level at this scale look so simple

[gionc]

Jay I agree with guys: quality of materials, detail, cleanliness, well that's great for a 1/20 or 1/12 indeed scale: alien for a 1/43 stuff.

[AAlmeida]

How tall are you? I think you are 1:43 scale too... unbelievable!

[F1Tommy]

That is crazy nice!!! Keep up the great work.


Tom Tanner/SD

[jochen kieslich]

Hello jaykay,

unfortunately i clicked this wip a few moments ago for the first time.
My only excuse is that maybe i was not that much interested in the subject, sorry sorry!

This is pure demonstration of art!

When looking at all your presented work so far you deserve a lifetime award for your projects.
Highest skills, 100% care for delicate details, absolute brilliant performance and implementation of your projects!
Your wip's are a must for all freaks and enthusiasts.

to klutz,
i had to laugh at your comment, really. It's one thing to see it and another to understand it.....

to 360spyder,
i totally agree with you, this wip shows off a real pro builder because of the ability of handling the idea, the instruments and materials to a perfect grade.

Chapeau

Yours
jochen

[JohnnyFerrari]

Amazing work!