[f1mad]

Pete,

Thanks for the kind comments. I've added last night's job below - SCX FJ C66 Cooper T65. There don't seem to be many photos on the net for the T65, but I cobbled it together as a compromise of what I could find.

Hope there are more guys out there with modified FJs, willing to share them. I know it's taboo to many collectors to even put new roundels on, but these models were created as 'toys' for people to use and I get satisfaction from making them look a bit more like the real thing, and displaying and 'RUNNING' them.

Look forward to seeing your race entries.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p203/f1...66CooperT65.jpg

Rob.

 

[David Lawson]

F1mad

I love the way you've improved the Lotus 25, so many Scalextric cars have superb mouldings which cry out for detail painting which turns them into proper replicas of the 1:1 car and you have demonstrated that perfectly here.

If you don't mind me saying and I'm running the risk of being called an anorak here but Jim Clark never used a black crash helmet. His helmet colours were very dark blue and when he wore a peak he used a white one. The only exception I know of is when he used a blue peak on one occasion in 1964 at the Dutch GP and in practice for the 1963 Indianapolis 500 he briefly wore a silver helmet with a white peak.

I'll get my coat and let the thread return to F/Juniors again.

David

 

[f1mad]

Hi David,

Are you absolutely sure about JC's helmet colour, as I have a 1/18 and a 1/43 model of his Lotus 49 (both Quartzo) and both versions have got a black helmet and white visor. Also, in the 'Concise Encyclopedia of Formula 1' he is wearing what looks to be a very black helmet (with the visor removed) at Spa 1963.

Since your post I have now found several photos of him in the dark blue. If he very definitely NEVER wore a black one, I'll 'blue' it next time the paints are out. Thanks for the observation, as I want it to be representative.

Rob.

 

[David Lawson]

Rob

I will happily bet my house on the fact that Clark never used a black crash helmet.

This subject crops up quite frequently on a couple of forums with discussions about colour rendition on PC monitors and print quality variation in books.

Like many die cast manufacturers Quartzo make numerous errors on their models and the 49 is one of those examples. Even the mighty Tamiya have made glaring errors in the past like their infamous dark blue 1/12 scale Lola T70 which was actually a green car, you wouldn't think these mistakes would be made but they are.

The weather was appalling at Spa in 1963 with heavy rain for most of the race so this would have made the dark blue a very dark shade of blue as it absorbed the colour from the low grey sky.

David

 

[mesac#8]

Back in the mid sixties, we spent many an afterhours period thrashing the devil out of the Jr's on a local commercial track in California. 100 laps with four cars still on the same lap was not uncommon.
None of my remaining FJ cars run worth a darn, and the Carrera Go idea seems to be a great one. Can anyone say the stock number for the appropriate Ortmann's?
Thanks, dan wilson, Colorado USA

 

[dgersh]

Dan,
I happen to have Michaël Ortmann's price list in front of me, and he's got tires listed for C81, 82, etc., which I think are the FJs - in that case they're 28c, priced at 3.10 euros on his list. Same number for fronts and rears.
Don

 

[philsmith]

FJ's used several different tyre combinations over the years,always larger on the back, but yes, 28c will do nicely on the rears and 37a for the fronts.

 

[GRAH1]

Done a few more bits on the FJ

This pic shows the guide holder atached to the chassis and the roughed out slot for crown clearance

This shows the front axle assembly and guide which was fabricated from pcb and brass tube.it just clips in place like the original steering unit ,before its used in anger I'll secure it in place with a blob of silicon as I dont want the pivoting movement just a bit of flex

Here on the test track prior to painting it runs quite well with a top speed of aound 21 kph Im not sure how that compares to the original motor as I dont have one .
Ive used scalex caterham wheels and tyres but will probably change the rears for ortman

 

[GRAH1]

heres the lotus with a coat of paint now

I'll add some more detail like exhaust and suspension shortly (david do you have a rear end /left side shot anywhere) but I'll be track testing it later this week

 

[BEEJAY7]

Nice car Graham.....Looks like fun to build, must get hold of one.

Regards

Alan

 

[GRAH1]

Im sure you will make a first class job of one alan I look forward to seeing your version.

 

[howmet tx]

Not David but me, Howmet- but I have these from 'the Lotus Book'

 

[David Lawson]

Excellent reference photos John, which book is that please?

David

 

[howmet tx]

It's 'The Lotus Book' by William Taylor, Coterie Press 1998.
Essential!

 

[David Lawson]

Much obliged

 

[scudbong]

good work graham. sorry for the delayed response. how does it go? i reckon it is going to be quite a bit faster than any of my fj's. good to see that you have respayed it, it is a big improvement on the original red plastic.
Pete

 

[GRAH1]

I ran it at Dave Jones track last night its ok stays on well a bit slidy on the scalex tyres though, I need to change them for ortman but its a good laugh ,I dont think terminal speed will be any better than the original but it should be reliable .I'll send it down for you to try when Ive changed the tyres

 

[f1mad]

Graham,

I think your rebuilt, spray painted, Lotus is great. I've not had the courage, yet, to paint the bodies, only details. My concern is that the flexible mouldings, especially when pulling apart the clipped bodies, will flex sufficiently to crack or flake off some of the good work. This is especially relevent with the C81 Cooper and C82 Lotus 25 where the rear clips are on the side (as part of the suspension) rather than in the rear engine aperture as in the C67 Lotus, C72 BRM, C73 Porsche and C66 Cooper.

Have you had to reopen the body as yet and, if so, did you notice any paint problems. The same goes for when the car has any in-use knocks. Also, did you use any particular preparation or key the surface of the mouldings.

I hope/intend to do a Porsche in Silver at some stage, but haven't dared tackle it as yet.

Rob.

 

[GRAH1]

Ive only run it once so far on a decent size track and it has had a couple of offs no problems yet ,
I followed petes prep recomendations and used an acrylic primer then an acryic top coat the whole thing then had 3 coats of johnsons clear . I havent had to disasemble it yet and I do fear that I may get a bit of flaking if I do but but I think the carrera motor will be reliable enough to keep the thing going for the number of times it will get run .

 

[bwaminispeed]

Well, you guys certainly touched a nerve with me on this one.

The Scaley FJs, along with their Airfix counterparts, Oh! and, the VIP cars are some of my all time favorite cars.

Here's a couple of shots of the FJ Lotus I have been working on. The paint I used is Krylon Fusion, which sticks like baby poo to a blanket on the Scaley Tupperware cars(it was designed primarily for garden furniture plastics). I have had this shell together and apart numerous times, and, have had no paint problems at all. You can give the body a real good twist, and, the paint just hangs right on with no problems.

Couple of points to aid in getting good adhesion, and no flaking. I give the body a real good prep, and, remove all the flash with an exacto knife. When sanding, it is real important to sand the edges where the body halfes join, and, take away any sharp edges and corners. I very slightly round this edge off a bit. It is the sharp edges and flash areas where the paint first starts to separate. If you eliminate all these points and edges, you greatly reduce the risk of the paint peeling or flaking. Once the edges are done, I give the whole body a good wet sand with 240, then 320. There are lots of dimples in these bodies, and, there is plenty of material, so, you can quite often sand out the smaller ones, and, at least get the bigger ones down to a reasonable level, in any event, make sure you scrunch up the sandpaper to roughen up the surface in the divots. You want no shiney surfaces before you start to paint.

Now, here's where things get a bit backwards. Normally, you would fill, prime and paint, buth, with these Tupperware plastics, you have to do things a bit differently. Because the Fusion sticks so well to these plastics, the first thing I do after the body is all sanded, is put on a couple of coats of the main color I will be using. Then, I fill all the divots, sand, and prime. Once the body is nice n smooth, I put on the finish coats(at this point, with the body all nicely primed, you can actually use any of your preffered paints for the final topcoats).

Anyway, that's a brief description of how I do it.