[Philip P]

At last (and before the offical release date I believe

) the Lotus 78 is with the retailers. Good news as this is a car I have been looking forward to owning since it was first announced a few years ago.

Gimme, gimme, gimme!

Philip

 

[JEXY1]

Got these pics a few days ago and forgot to post - sorry!

Photos from Gaugemaster

 

[RikoRocket]

With steering! Absolutely peach! Just love the tyres, that is the best yet. Well done FlySlot

 

[Wraith]

That does look a bit special, take me back to when I was a kid, the JPS was THE car.

 

[Philip P]

Just noticed...no Goodyear sponsorship on the tyres or wing end plates. Have Fly had a run in with the tyre company?

Never mind it still looks good.

Philip

 

[Scott B]

Driver looks like Gort

 

[SuperSlab]

Now that is just drop-dead gorgeous! I just received confirmation that my pre-order has shipped: now for the long, impatient wait...

 

[Slots-O-Fun]

Will it have the same drive system as the Williams? Is that very good or does it make this a shelf queen?

 

[Ronan]

That is a beauty! Nice too that it has the correct cigarette logos on it, I presume they came in a blue bag "solo por adultos" for the buyer to put on?

 

[Slots-O-Fun]

It is amazing when you think about it that they can do such an incredible job on such a complex shape as this car but they can't to a simple skid lid.

 

[Scorpus Flex]

looks nice although i personally think the williams look better, the JPS livery just doesnt do it for me. would be a hame if it was geared like the williams although it would mean they could race together.

 

[Rich68]

Mines on it's way!! Love this livery

 

[dodge]

Fantastic looking car. Just ordered mine from pendle this morning.

The new arrived link is no longer on their main site. Guess its selling fast

 

[beta2000]

Just got an email from TopSlots n Trains that they have dispatched mine.Now for the long wait to have it in my hands.

 

[nino barlini]

Hi All!

Amazing model. Formula cars are not the focus of my collection, but I must confess that one is comming for me from my friend Gary (MRE). This car is an icon of 70's and I simply could not let it out of my hands

Could Fly think about making the Fittipaldi FD01, F5a or F6 car in the future?

Cheers!!!!

Ricardo Bifulco

 

[Russell Sheldon]

It is a very nice looking car and I have one on the way. My only disappointment is the lack of rear-end detail:-

With kind regards,

Russell

 

[Screwneck]

Yes !

Classic

 

[Dopamine]

Fly's Lotus 78 was one of my most eagerly anticipated purchases of the year. First impressions are that it's a very nice model indeed. As usual with Fly though, a more leisurely and thorough inspection throws up a few small niggles.

First the good. The paintwork is flawless, the front and rear wings both look robust enough to cope with racing incidents, the wheel rims and tyres seem true (although I've yet to drive it) and there's enough small detail to keep most collectors happy.

I'm puzzled by Fly's use of Goodyear logos; at first I thought they were completely absent, possibly a result of licencing, but close inspection shows a single, small Goodyear logo on the nose of the car. I've not researched photographs of the real car so don't know if this is an accurate representation of how it raced, but a single decal does seem odd. You can also see that the mirrors are very badly aligned. Mine are glued or melted firmly in place and will need surgery to put right. It's not a difficult fix, but annoying none the less.

Dismantling the car requires removing the gearbox casing, which conceals a small screw that holds the rear wing in place and also clamps the top and bottom shell halves together.

A very nice touch is the green bottle at the rear, which is hollow and houses the drive crown wheel. Unfortunately on mine, the crown fouls the inside of the bottle moulding and causes drag, so it will need easing slightly before running the model.

The helmet, which is an acceptably accurate shape, is let down by poor alignment of the tampo print.

I've always liked slot cars with working steering and Fly's is a fair attempt, but mine toes in horribly in the straight ahead position and I'll probably need to chop a millimetre or so out of the centre of the steering arm so that the wheels run parallel. The simple three spoke steering wheel is fitted upside down on my car; accurate if Andretti is rounding the hairpin at Monaco, but wrong pretty much everywhere else!

With the ever increasing cost of slot cars and the relative lack of F1 models, Flyslot must be applauded for producing this Lotus wearing its iconic JPS livery. The model isn't perfect and will require a bit of modification to look right and run well, but I think it represents good value at £43.99 (Topslots'n'trains). A few more pictures here.

 

[miveson]

Dopamine,

Top pictures - did you photograph the model outside?

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to resist buying this model, it's iconic and should be a very good seller for Fly (they need it).

 

[lauda-ferrari]

Hi Everyone,
with regard to the lack of 'Goodyear' decals on the rear wing end plates and tyres i think this may be a licencing issue or simply cost-cutting by Fly. The latest Williams F1- geoff lees car also does not have goodyear tyre decals, whilst all previous F1's did. Certainly F1's of this period 70-80's had sidewall goodyear markings.
Absent also is the the Ford or Cosworth tampo on the DFV engine- absent for same reasons, but tampoed on the March F1's?

Anyway its great to see Flyslot back, modelling a classic Fi car -with the full JPS livery.
Andrew