Tamiya Lotus Europa Special 1/24 **Finished**

[montessa315]

So, have decided to go back to four wheels this time, hopefully a simple build.
This is the updated version of the original 1999 release with updated and new parts.

Some people think it’s ugly but I like the style.

Anyway, as usual the box and its contents.

The box.





The plastic.











The small white sprue is the added parts to the original kit. Different wheels and a rear spoiler.





Body, tyres and more added parts, turned metal carburetor intake funnels.





Decals and added photo etch with sticker seatbelts.





Lastly the destructions.

















The only modification I have in my mind at the moment is some wiring on the engine and possibly
ribbon for the seat belts. But anything could happen.



Thanks


Alan………..

[montessa315]

I am a little bit behind with posting so this is where I am at the moment.

All the chrome has been removed in oven cleaner. Nothing wrong with it, just my way.
Zero Light Grey Primer will be used throughout unless otherwise stated.

The body and any additionally body parts have been cleaned up.





The front valance and rear window frame bottom part have been glued to the body and joins filled. The spoiler has had the end parts fitted. A choice of two styles is supplied.

All the panel lines were slightly deepened.

Everything had a coat of Alclad black primer to try and darken the base coat and sprayed in Zero Ford Fiesta WRC maroon colour. They say maroon, I say red.











A light tack coat of Zero 2k clear has since been applied and I have yet to make my mind up whether to use the decal pin stripes.


Thanks


Alan………..

[ara398]

Lovely progress Alan. Been eyeing off the kit in our local shop - pricey, but very tempting...

Looking forward to your progress.

Adrian

[JamesPerrin]

Nice colour. What did they do to update the kit?

[ShaunW]

Great progress with this, Alan. I think the looks of the Europa make it something of a Marmite car. Personally I think the styling was a bold move by Lotus and I rather like it.

[gnomemeansgnome]

Nice. Always like this Lotus.

[Impisi]

When I was a kid I had a Lotus Europe as a white metal one and this was one of my favorites then, it was painted in light blue and it the end it had more scratches then paint The red does look the part, comes a long nice

[Dazzled]

Nice choice Alan. I'm not much of a car person, always been more of a 2-wheeler fan, but I do like the Europa and can't wait to see what you do with it.

[montessa315]

Thanks people, definitely a marmite car.

Nice colour. What did they do to update the kit?

I haven’t got an original kit to compare, but as far as I am aware, the decals are updated, added photo etch, new seat belt stickers and added the new wheels and rear spoiler.

So work and real life has been getting in the way, but some progress has been made. I made a right
blast-up with the body paint so everything was left alone for a couple of weeks.

Getting back to the progress.

I did decide to use the pinstripes in the end and they were all applied.
Gave the body its tack coat of 2k clear, no problems showing, but when the next coat was applied I ended up with some very bad fish eyes.

It was my own fault, cleaning up the decals with the wrong cloth that had been used before with some polish. Clearly labelled the cloths now so shouldn't happen again.

Sanded the bodywork down as much as I dared so as not to go through to the decals and gave it a heavyish coat of 2k clear. This did remove all the fisheyes but a couple, but you have to get the light just right to see them.

I did contemplate stripping the paintwork and starting again but then I wouldn't have had the pinstripes.
A lesson learned and hopefully will not happen again.
The only other problem the extra coat of clear gave me was to raise the engine cover so it no longer sits own properly, but will have to live with it.

So the body as it it now. You'll have to excuse the dust.

















I decided to separate the alternator from the cam pulley and I will use some masking tape to remake the belt.





A new pulley was made for the alternator.





The main chassis and suspension was completed and the engine installed. Still some parts to fit to the engine but progress is being made.
Added some wiring for the plugs and from the alternator.

















The bumpers and fuel tanks I have decided to try with C1 metallizer, but this time I am using a metallic blue as a base coat with a 2k clear top coat. Time will tell how they finally look.






Thanks


Alan………..

[wokka]

The finish you've achieved is better than some car body repair centres achieve.

[JamesPerrin]

I’m not sure a Lotus ever looked that good. The chassis is a very interesting design.

[Clashcityrocker]

I've heard of orange peel paint problems but what are fish eyes?

Nigel

[ShaunW]

That body shell looks top class to me, Alan, but I think our respective abilities when it comes to achieving a great paint job on a model may vary quite considerably The chassis design with those narrow spaced main frame rails is indeed very interesting and has the appearance of a racing car, which I suppose should be no surprise as it originated from the Lotus stable. Great work with the engine and ancillaries.

[montessa315]

Thank you people, very much appreciated.
I do agree it is a bit shinier than real life, but only going in my display cabinet, so very happy with it.

As for the chassis, it is a bit different. What a real one looks like.

I've heard of orange peel paint problems but what are fish eyes?

Fish eyes in paint are like very round craters that occur from some form of contamination on the surface. The biggest cause quite often is silicone, which is present in a lot of polishes and grease.
Totally my fault as I have a couple of cloths on the bench in separate plastic bags. One is normally used for a final clean and cleaning finger prints from a polished finish and the other I normally use for removing solution stains after applying decals. If I had put them back where they belong it would have helped, but not paying attention and being in a hurry I used the wrong one, which obviously had remnants of polish on it.
Lesson learned the hard way.


Alan............

[montessa315]

Late, but an update never the less.

I cut a slot in the top of the seats for the seat belts to go through.





The engine and chassis has been attached to the floor plan, final hoses, wires and other parts have been added to the engine.














I kept the interior to a two tone of black and grey. Seat belts added. The steering wheel also had the holes drilled out.














Got all the lights, glass and final parts fitted to the body, The body fitment to the chassis was very tight, but got there in the end.

I did use the C1 Metaliser on the bumpers over the mettalic blue and it was a great colour. But because the 2k clear was fully dry the powder wouldn't stick and wiped straight off. The last time I tried it the 2k clear was drying for less than 24 hours. So the bumpers were fitted and then brushed painted with Molotow chrome.

It is a great little kit and does go together very well. I think because I had problems with the body work paint, I lost a bit of interest and rushed to finish it. There are still some small fish eyes in the paint work but the shine does hide them very well in the pictures.

Will get the finish pics up in the next couple of days.


Thanks


Alan………..