Front suspension

With the damper rods and upper attachment hooks left in chrome, I chose to paint the body of the dampers in semi-gloss black and the lower attachment hooks in Boltgun Metal. Then came the tricky part... I chose not to cement the front plate to the body so as not to pry on it to put the springs into position, so every mobile part was ready to fall off if my hands got too shaky! I worked with the chassis in a vertical position and snapped the dampers to the lower suspension arms. With the springs in place at both ends of the dampers, the game was to find eventually a way to slide the upper part into the lower part. Once it is done you have to lift the front plate in order to attach the lower arms to the frame. With both sides ok, all that is left is to cement the plate to the sub-frame and make the proper paint repairs.
The only disappointing thing is that he springs were not made with suspension in mind. They should have been flattened at both ends to match the end plates of the dampers. That is why something looks wrong in the pictures: with only so little contact area between the spring and the plastic parts, the spring tends to bend a bit. I am not sure I can do anything about it now since access to the spring is uneasy but I will make sure I modify the rear suspension springs when the time comes to use them.

Cockpit part 2

I did not really like the side panels of the cockpit at first. They look bogus and need some detailing. I should say they need some re-modeling but I do not have the skills here and now. I chose instead to create some rivets by putting tiny drops of glue on the parts. I then painted the dried drops in a metallic shade to create more appeal. To be honest, I would not do that again if I had to. I found the idea to be good at first but the glue spreads a bit before drying and now my rivets look like big screw heads. Small bits of two part epoxy (like Milliput) would be much better. One has to learn some time!



The gear stick is off scale. I am comfortable with it being a wooden sphere on a metal stick, but the latter is way too large. Later versions of the knob were a wooden thinner ovoid one or a black plastic ball. I painted the shaft in Tamiya chrome silver, with borders and highlights in Citadel boltgun metal. The knob itself was first painted in Citadel scorched brown and highlighted with Citadel snakebite leather. I then painted a yellow spot on its top to mark the Lotus logo (no decal provided for it).







The steering wheel is painted flat red with chrome silver spokes and hub. I had forgotten how thick the red paint was, and how many coats would be needed to cover a simple circular shape... Anyway, the result is there, with the brush marks... As the moulding gives thick spokes, I painted their dashboard-side halves flat black in order to make only thin spokes clearly visible. A black wash followed by chrome silver was all it took to give depth to the ribs at the center of the wheel. The decal for the Lotus logo is really disappointing: it is black! Even the early Gold Leaf cars had a coloured one. A Citadel varnish coat helped for the enamel look.

See also Cockpit part 1

Front sub-frame part 3

It is really not a bad thing to check how parts fit together before making the assembly permanent! There were quite a few modifications to make. The pins of the rocker arms were way too thick, especially those which are to fit into the bulkhead. In that case, it is almost impossible to widen the holes because there is too little material left to hold everything together. Same thing with the pins of the lower arms, but then using a file on the bulkhead is no problem. Fortunately there is no trouble at all with the front plate.
I found something terribly wrong with the instructions. I may use it the wrong way in fact, but I am no fan at all of cementing the front plate of the sub-frame before prying it open to create enough space to slide the lower arm pins when putting the springs and dampers in position. I think I will try a safer method: I will complete the assembly and only then cement the front plate, hoping for everything not to fall apart...
See also Front sub-frame part 2 and Front sub-frame part 1

Front sub-frame part 2

After some cosmetic adjustments on the front bulkhead, it was time to start assembling the front sub-frame. The "C" tree of parts is chromed and always a disaster (whatever the model I made, I have always been disappointed by the chromed plastic parts). The moulding is way below par for a Tamiya product: either there is a lot of flash that cannot be erased (or a matt line would appear in the middle of the part), or the moulding marks are in plain sight... Beside of that, some un-chromed parts must be added at some places to make for new attachment points. I painted those in chrome silver, but it is definitely not the same finish as the main pieces. Anyway, it is better than nothing...
I must remember that chromed plastic is quite vulnerable to acids carried on the fingers (fingerprints become final prints after a few years time), so most of the time I manipulate them with a handkerchief.
See also Front sub-frame part 1

Front sub frame part 1

I am painting this one from black and white pictures from Michael Oliver's book, so it is hard to tell the right colours. However I did not choose to have it painted the same green as the body, as can be found on race cars. The main plate is covered with two brushed layers of Tamiya flat aluminium. With primer applied beforehand, the paint covers the part nicely and a good finish is easy to obtain. The small diamond-shaped plates and bushings were painted Citadel boltgun metal and then covered by a slightly diluted flat Al layer. It gives them a different shade of aluminium. I spread a black wash to the part in order to hilight the different elements of the subframe.

The arms were painted with Citadel chainmail, so as to get a darker metal shade. From pictures of the assembly of chassis R1 in Oliver's book, the arms looked to be painted, as some chipping was visible around welded areas. As the pictures are in black and white, they can't reveal the colour of this paint. I chose to go with stiffer steel-like arms attached to an aluminium plate. The rugged effect on the model will help to give a welded look.












The steering rack was painted flat aluminium and inserted as described in the notice. The operation damaged the paint somehow but all will be hidden behind the oil tank, so that is not much of a problem. It needs some play to work properly inside the brackets. The pinion get into place with some effort, as the rack bends in order to accomodate the metal part. As I do not plan to use the steering wheel, it may as well be glued to the subframe...








The two parts of the oil tank were glued together and the parting line leveled a bit before some Tamiya putty was applied. I used a piece of plastic bag to spread a small drop of putty over the parting line, and with 2 layers of it it is not visible anymore. Of course, sanding is required between layers in order not to get a rough and uneven surface. However I really like the textured aspect left at some places. After all the real part is a welded gathering of bent sheets of metal, hammered into place to leisure (and even kept there with a bungee!).

Dashboard part 2

I put the decals in the dials. There was no problem at all during the process, and the decals tolerated the bath of Micro Set afterwards. I wanted them to get the exact shape of the part and to avoid disgraceful trapped air bubbles. I then coated them with clear Citadel varnish to give a glossy look and allow light to reflect as if they were dials under glass.
Some would put some colour onto the switches but I found early pictures where there is none. By the way, the dashboard layout looks like it is the early version, so no warning light and no extra switches.
My only complaint would be that the decals do not reflect reality at all (where is the amp meter?????)... Replacements would have been great as long as they are conform to what period dials looked like.
See also Dashboard part 1

End of the spray painting

I could put the cans aside after the final clear coat was dry. After a mandatory rubbing with 3M compound and some wax, the result looks like what is on the pictures. I would get more shine without the clear but I had rather have the body protected from anything that will necessarily follow a collision course with it. It will also be easier to manipulate for the next assembling steps.

Orange peel

That is what my clear coat looks like. I toyed a bit yesterday with 3M rubbing compound, abrasive pads and wax. The compound alone was able to give the Europa a shine it never had. In comparaison, the hood lid with a clear coat is full of crevices. I will try sanding the clear coat before rubbing and waxing it.

Disappointment

It looks like everything went too well so far. Karma hits back with some strength these days... I sprayed the first coats of clear on the body parts and something occured. The "Team Lotus" side markings are covered with blisters! I do not understand how it happened: those decals are from the same sheet as the nose decal, and the latter showed no defect at all. The picture is not quite clear (look closely near the light reflection) but the blisters are definitely there, in a lighter yellow colour than the rest of the decal, and look like small bubbles. I am lost for explanations but maybe there is some truth in the following:
- I sprayed too thick a layer too soon and soaked the decal.
- the decal did not adhere to the part as well as it should have and suffered from the shrink of the clear coat.
- the decal was soaked, wrapped and did not have a chance to get his shape back before the coat dried.
Whatever the reason, I just hope it will not too visible once I finish spraying.

I made up my mind (sort of...)

I had some success with decals and clear coats, so I thought I could make it work for me. I must confess though that my latest attempt at making nice "Team Lotus" markings was another failure and that I cannot resolve myself to not having them on the car. So my strategy is to use the decals of the kit and spray clear coats over them.

The "Lotus Ford" decal went onto the nose without any problem. It must be said that without any rivet or so on the way, there is no need for conforming the decal to any shape. It is a bit of a shame that the Tamiya team did not trace a dark coloured circle around the Lotus logo to make it spring to the eye. It goes un-noted in the yellow stripe...

The side markings were a bit more of a nuisance. The left side one was broken in three pieces when I was to slide it onto the model. So it required a little adjustment here and there but the result is not half bad. I did not anticipate shrinkage and there is now a narrow line between the bits, but nothing worth throwing names at them. The right side decal was broken only in two. The yellow colour is different from the yellow paint, but I am convinced it is still better to have the decals on the car anyway. I had to use some Micro-Set from Microscale to shape the decals around the rivets around the side openings.

Sanding marks, decals and clear coats

For the following stages, I have to make my mind about three things:
1 - are the Lotus 49 decals still worth something after 18 years of uncontroled storage conditions?
2 - is it possible to spray a clear coat over decals?
3 - are sanding marks visible under a clear coat?

I went back to the hood of the Europa and divided it in three areas: the upper left section was wet sanded with a 400 grit paper, the upper right section was wet sanded with a 3000 grit pad and the lower, main section hosts a useless decal from one of the sheets contained in the kit. The first picture shows those areas. The section which is at and angle with the test sections is irrelevant, so please draw no conclusion over its finish. The area sanded with the 3000 grit pad looks worse on the picture than in the flesh. The finish is actually like de-polished glass, and not as white-ish as the 400 grit sanded area. The decal was as easy to put into place as a new one and the adhesive was still efficient. Once dry the supposedly clear borders look white over green and the decal has a mate finish.






































I sprayed two mist coats of clear before a wet coat. Contrary to paint, clear dries much faster and I was able to do all this and manipulate the part in the same afternoon. I could go that far since the clear did not seem to alter the decal in any way. Pictures 2 and 3 show light reflection on the hood after a thorough polishing job (wax, then polish compound then wax again).
Before I polished the part, it was obvious that the 400 grit sanded area was still visible, contrary to the 3000 grit sanded one. After I polished it, the difference is much less obvious (see picture 4). However, depending on how light hits the part the sanding mark are still visible, even though the whitened finish has disappeared (picture 4 again, note the upper left edge of the reflection of the lamp). The decal is now blended with the rest of the hood. Its thickness is noticeable both with the eye and the fingers but it now has the same glossy look as the painted areas. It is now sandable too, which is great! The white-ish finish of the borders is nowhere to be seen anymore.

Well, now I have answers to my questions:
1- the original decals are still workable. However, used in their current state, they would make the model look aged and well past its original would-be appeal.
2- a clear coat has not affected the decal in this example. I dare say it should be the same with the other ones. I was half-expecting wrinkles or even some sort of dissolution, but no disaster happened.
3- deep sanding marks stay visible in spite of a clear coat. There is no alteration of the colour on the end product but scratches are visible under the gloss. It is thus better to pile on the sanding stages by using thiner and thiner grits before applying a finishing coat.
I would add that a clear coat allows for an even look, for a thourough polishing operation over decals and masks the little touch-ups done with 3000 grit pads. Which is a good thing since I had to use some after the final paint operation! However, it looks like a thick coat is needed in order to even the surface irregularities. By irregularities, I mean the thickness added by the decals, and also the edges of the colour application: there are 2 coats of yellow over the white colour on the body, and 4 coats of yellow and green.

The truth beneath the mask!

To each event there has to be a "before" and an "after". On the right is the body parts before I removed the masks. Three layers each of white, yellow and green and hopefully well placed masks will make or break the model. The previous post showed that my stress level was on the rise and tonight I was asking myself how to peel the tape without damaging the paint. After all there is no magical piece of string to pull to do the trick. I started with the easy ones: the yellow stripes. As the tapes were only wrapped in the inside of the body, it was easy to find a free end on which to pull. The border of the tapes did not create any mess and I have a sharp line between yellow and green. To my surprise there was no leak of paint at the corners or junctions between parts, only little lines with no consequences.

The tape around the "mouth" was as easily removed as the other ones. There is a small leak on the bottom side where the tape overlapped itself. The rounded end near the white dot looks crisp and the thin green separating line does not seem to create any problem. Finally, there was no trace of unwanted over-spray through the seams of the mask: every yellow area is the right colour!
I removed the round masks by lifting the border with my nail. I was not pressing too much onto the tape so as not to damage the paint beneath, and did not try to lift it directly at the border so as not to break the small accumulation of paint. No problem at all for all three areas.

The general look of the job is very enjoyable, at least for someone like me who had close to no experience with spray painting. I cannot believe I achieved such a result without more problems... The end result however looks a bit off. It is as if the masks were not correctly placed along the axis of the parts, but depending on the point of view, this seems to be more or less obvious.






Of course there is some touching up in the pipeline. For whatever reason, part of the round tape on the nose was soaked by yellow paint and the mess is worryingly thick. I had to sand the area a bit and added some white paint over it (the same white spray paint put into a small plastic lid and applied with a brush). Some borders between colours need to be cleared a little. Those were fixed with a toothpick in the same way as when I pushed the tapes back while placing them. The leaks there are so thin that they are removed with no fuss at all. Finally, the left hand side round spot has a little yellow stain. It is weird since the stain is far from the border of the tape. My guess is that the tape was scratched at that very spot and lost its waterproof properties. Anyway it was soon forgotten thanks to some wet sanding with a 3000 grit abrasive pad.

So I just have to wait for my white touch-ups to dry, sand them a bit, add paint if necessary and decide when the body is ready for a finishing stage. I will soon make trials with clear coats on the Europa parts and see how that works with sanding marks and decals.

Closing on unmasking the car!

I ran out of BRG paint and had to interrupt the first wet coat on the nose cone. After a week long delay, I could get back to soaking some plastic. I re-synchronised the wet coats of the nose and the body. So far everything looks good. I need to make some regular touching up for inclusions in the paint, but I encountered no nasty runnings and the masks do not seem to shift. It looks like I get some orange peel effect but I may just be spraying a bit too fast. I will have to check once the paint has dried.
I still have a final coat to spray before I can remove the masks and questions fill my mind. Did some paint make its way in crevisses under the tapes? How will the difference between the thicknesses of the layers look? Will it be easy to smooth the edges of the paint at the mask marks? Could I sand them a bit too much?
If everything goes well I should be able to answer them tomorrow...