Lotus Climax paint help

Modeling Subjects Autos
1

I just received a fathers day present a week early. The Tamiya Lotus Coventry Climax of I believe '64. I would welcome a suggestion for paints. British Green and Chorme yellow I believe. I am just learning to airbrush and so would like to airbrush this beauty. I also would like to use acrylic as I am not set up with a spray booth and am not prepared for the fumes and cleanup complications of lacquor or enamel.

Thanks for your suggestions and advice.

John

2

The British Racing Green and Chrome Yellow [Camel Yellow] Tamiya have in their rattle can range, in airbrushing acrylic’s try the Model Master brand of paints, they should do the BRG colour in their range.

Rob.

3

The interior metal panels in a Lotus 25 are a medium-dark gloss gray, not bare aluminum. The closest match for the Lotus green was a paint made for marine models called Cap-Rail Green, and I wish I remembered the maker. It was an enamel, however. If you are going to model a 25 without the yellow stripe, the green was darker on those cars, plus you would need new decals for the script on the nose.

4

Thanks for the reply, I am not sure what your meaning was with regard to modeling the car without the yellow stripe and neediing new decals. Can you elaborate and can you give me some idea where these decals can be obtained?

Rob I found a couple of sites.
http://www.evil-photographer.com/cars/Lotus/25/Lotus25.htm

http://www.f1m.com/index.php?module=My_eGallery&do=showgall&gid=61&p=

the second is a lotus 49. useful for some things.

Thanks, John

5

Note that the Lotus 25 was NOT British Racing Green. Tamiya actually have a spray can especially for this kit which is close to the “right” green.

There is a book out on the Lotus 25 and 33 which has some nice photos and drawings for any additional detailing you might like to do. Im sorry the author’s name escapes me at the moment.

I thought the Tamiya kit a great kit, easy to build with scope for additional detailing and it looks great. Shame they only did 2 from the period.

6

Early Lotus 25’s were a solid dark green without the yellow stripe, from 1962 to mid 1963, when the color scheme changed. The first models had a different windscreen and a longer cowling over the engine and transmission, which was cut back on the 1963 version, so modelling a very early version would be a bit of a challenge. The early 63 version varied only by a darker color of green than the striped version. The nose lettering on the solid color version was yellow, as was other script on the body. I don’t know of anyone that makes a back-date kit, but if you’re handy with computer graphics, or Photoshop, new decals could be done without much diffuculty, and printed on the ink-jet decal papers available from many sources. Good luck on building a pretty and significant racer.