Lotus 49C - Ebbro - 1/20

[DocRob]

7 hours ago, crazypoet said:

That is brilliant work, dealing with the fit issues and making them look seamless 🙏

Thank you, there will be a lot of touch up work, before I finish this one. The chrome is especially prone to wear from handling. The fit issues, well, I even had to drill out the front suspensions for accepting the axles. The exhausts were another matter, which took hours to get right. I never faced a kit like this which is very good or very poor nothing in between.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

I got the Lotus 49c over the finish line. Final assemblies were the rear wing, the tiny metal nets over the air intakes, the steering wheel and clear parts around the cockpit and many small parts. The wing was easier mounted then thought, luckily. The rods were fragile and I can understand, why wings were banned sometimes in F1 due to the risk of flying around and hurting somebody.
I hope, I did Jochen Rindt´s 1970 Monaco winner some justice. The build was not always pleasant, but I like the result despite some shortcomings.





















Cheers Rob
 

[FullArmor]

Outstanding results. 🏆

[Landlubber Mike]

Amazing job my friend!  I’m sure very satisfying with the extra work you had to put into it.  Congrats on a great model!

[BlrwestSiR]

Sounds like it was a challenging build but the end results look worth it. 

[DocRob]

7 hours ago, FullArmor said:

Outstanding results. 🏆

 

4 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Amazing job my friend!  I’m sure very satisfying with the extra work you had to put into it.  Congrats on a great model!

 

4 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Sounds like it was a challenging build but the end results look worth it. 

Thank you gents, there are builds, where you wish they would never end and some you´re happy to have them finished. This is one of the latter, but it looks like a Lotus 49 in the end and has a vivid appearance in the display shelf. I have some more Ebbro kits and even with the experience of this build, I´m looking forward to build them. There is a lot to like about the kits, like the pre printed tires, lots of detail and the choice of subjects.

Cheers Rob

[PanzerWomble]

Wow ,  er ...sorry ....I missed this one earlier .

Absolutely cracking build Rob, screams 1960's . 👍

 

I feel cars are unforgiving ....as my stalled builds testify , it seems they are either 100% correct or 100% complete bollox as you remarked .🙄

[DocRob]

Thank you PW, indeed a 60´s design, which raced in 1970 for the last time, giving way to the famous type 72.
Cars and bikes need a completely different approach while building and painting. Nice when a well designed kit helps and doesn´t pour sugar in the tank.

Cheers Rob

[Count0]

On 10/26/2025 at 4:54 PM, PanzerWomble said:

I feel cars are unforgiving

Certainly less forgiving. And in general, no weathering to save the day. Also, as the bar has risen, at least in my local shows, the shiny, full polish and waxed gloss finish is a must to be seriously considered.

 

[Count0]

It's beautiful. Well done Doc. The seat belt material is out of scale, to my eye. But that's just me.

[DocRob]

3 hours ago, Count0 said:

Certainly less forgiving. And in general, no weathering to save the day. Also, as the bar has risen, at least in my local shows, the shiny, full polish and waxed gloss finish is a must to be seriously considered.

I don´t attend shows, so those requirements don´t apply to me, but what´s important with my car and bike builds is believable material reproduction and correct shininess of materials scale wise. For example, the rear rims of the Lotus 49 weren´t high polished aluminum, instead very slightly dull, but with a fine processed surface, given what photos of the real car show. Chrome wouldn´t do here and look wrong.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

3 hours ago, Count0 said:

It's beautiful. Well done Doc. The seat belt material is out of scale, to my eye. But that's just me.

Thank you Count, you are certainly right about the seat belt material. It looks far better then a decal and I had no blue Christmas ribbon left.

Cheers Rob

[Count0]

6 hours ago, DocRob said:

Thank you Count, you are certainly right about the seat belt material. It looks far better then a decal and I had no blue Christmas ribbon left.

Idk if it would look right in 1/20, as I have yet to try it, but Origami paper is very convincing on smaller scale vehicles.

They do look far better than decals ever would.

[Count0]

6 hours ago, DocRob said:

don´t attend shows, so those requirements don´t apply to me, but what´s important with my car and bike builds is believable material reproduction and correct shininess of materials scale wise. For example, the rear rims of the Lotus 49 weren´t high polished aluminum, instead very slightly dull, but with a fine processed surface, given what photos of the real car show. Chrome wouldn´t do here and look wrong.

I think your finish choices represent the actual vehicle well. I know for a fact that the paint jobs on these race cars were not a super high gloss show car finishes. But that's the current trend. Same as the perfect, crystal clear canopies we all work so hard for. That are not accurate either. It's what the current trend is.

 I can forgive both, as I do love a crystal canopy, or a glossy finish. And I am guilty of both!

 

[crazypoet]

This is beautifully done, and the work you did to make everything “work” is inspiring me to power through some of the similar issues I run into - you’re always a good teacher! 🙏