Projects I’m working on appear below. Completed projects get moved off this page into the Build Diaries list.
updated 1 July 2025
1972 Lotus 72D (Pocher, 1:8)
Next up, Pocher’s huge 1/8 scale Lotus 72D of Emerson Fittipaldi’s 1972 British Grand Prix winner. This is a mostly metal kit that is pre-painted and just requires assembly, a combination of glue and very small screws. With agreeance of the owner, we’ll add some wash to bring out some detail and reduce the ‘toyish’ look of some of the pre-painted and plated parts, but otherwise it’ll basically be an out-of-box build.
Hmm, this is a problem – the box takes up all my work space!
I’ve had to lay out the the various trays and bags of parts in another room, grab the pieces I need for each step and take them to the work bench.
The Ford Cosworth DFV engine is built first. These are the parts for Step 1. Most are metal, some are plastic, and there’s a range of screw sizes to use.
There are visible mould-parting lines on most parts. If this was a regular plastic kit, I’d clean these up prior to painting, but these parts are all painted and we’re not going to that level of time and effort on this build.
Same deal with sprue gate attachment points. This is a particularly large one, some of the others are more discreet. The visible ones will be touched up with paint later. Despite what the early marketing suggested, this kit does need glue. This is a two-piece part, fixed together with regular CA super glue.
Sequence of assembly is not clearly defined for the first step and it’s a puzzle to work out which piece to attached first as it seemed each move blocked off access to another screw or hole!
Step 1 done. Wash will be added later. The hose fittings are pre-painted.
The parts for Step 2
These pieces fitted without issue, but the instructions are not clear regarding the angle of how some of these should sit. Hopefully all the hose fittings are pointing in the right direction!
Underside of the engine block.
Next, the exhaust pipes have to be screwed into the side of the engine block. Every pipe is unique and most be attached in the correct position. This process is repeated for the other side, but note the small silver pipe piece, despite sharing the same part number, one is fractionally longer for one side of the engine compared to the other.
Each exhaust pipe is attached via a small screw from the inside, but I found it difficult to get them fully tight and seated and was worried about alignment with the collector later in the build. So, I pushed the collector on to assist with locating the pipes while they were tightened. The cam covers come with the Ford lettering already done.
Time to start bringing these together, with yet another different size screw.
But… before putting the engine pieces together, it was time to lift the detail with Tamiya’s Panel Line Wash. One with (bottom) and one without to compare.
The inside of the ‘V’ of the engine block is painted black, but I believe most of this should be the silver/aluminium colour of the main block. Even though the same DFV Cosworth was used in many F1 cars, it seems there are lots of combinations of metal finishes and colour for the various parts of the engine. The engine evolved over the years, and perhaps the teams and companies that prepared and maintained them had their own specs for finish and colour??
A screw fits in from underneath to secure each injector. There are two types to ensure they point towards the middle. The instructions (even the revised ones) had the part numbers mixed up for one bank.
Had to scrape down the side of one injector to get it to fit
Throttle slides and fuel injectors done.
The front panel connects to the bottom-end.
Then the sides slide in and screw to the front panel. I’m finding a lot of the screws don’t seat all the way home. The holes they screw into are untapped, and while the screws are tight and the pieces will not come apart, they are not snug. I use a dab of CA glue in places so the assembly does not rattle when handled.
Parts to finish the engine. Again, more different screw sizes.
Main engine block done.
Back of the engine. Panel line wash brings out the detail and gives a bit of a used look.
Hoses will connect to the coloured fittings later in the build.
Parts for the first step of the gearbox.
I had to file off a bur to allow the two halves of the gearbox casing to match up flush.
Underside of the gearbox with brakes and calipers fitted.
Parts for the next step.
And parts fitted – top side.
Underside. Again, Panel line wash is dabbed into crevices. Inner cooling vents of the discs have been painted to contrast with the outer friction surfaces.
Parts for the next step. When test fitting I could not get the black beam to seat on the silver plate. The instructions were unclear, so I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right. But then…
I discovered the beam was bent at one end! This was carefully bent straight by hand, but I was concerned it was going to snap!
Lower plate secured in place. The four links are able to swing on the screws (even though the suspension does not operate on this model). I’ve also painted the adjustment nuts and added some wash.
Parts for the next step, including the two torsion bars and 100mm to be cut off the tangle of black tubing. Battery Box is plastic, but already painted in a high-gloss black.
There’s much more to add, but the basics of the gearbox and rear brakes are done.
The rear wing mount (which doubles as an oil tank and has the oil coolers attached) is in two parts, made of metal. Various hoses and pipes are plastic, some are pre-painted.
More parts. Working out an order of assembly for the various suspension links and supports was a nightmare, as was holding them in place to get the screws in.
But together they did eventually go! I’ve picked out the adjustment nuts with paint and a little wash. The large silver plate on the gearbox has three locating pins that will hopefully line up with the back of the engine. The black central post in the middle (hard to see) is metal. Once the engine slides into place, a screw has to be carefully guided through the centre of the engine block and line up with that post! I ran the screw through beforehand to tap a thread. As the build progresses and extra parts added, it’s more and more difficult to get a good grip on the model (to tighten the screws) without risk of damaging other pieces.
Bulbous oil cooler and ducts dominate the back end of this car. Black finish and gold decoration is high quality. Rain light is clear red plastic. I’ve added the silver rim.
Engine and gearbox ready to join.
It was a difficult job to get that one central screw inserted and tightened, but eventually it all came together.
Next job is the tangle of wires and pipes for the ignition and fuel systems…
To be continued…
1978 Lotus 79 (Hasegawa, 1:20)
Instead of building another really old F1 kit from the stash, I decided to do this – a new release from Hasegawa, the Lotus 79 from the 1978 German Grand Prix, but this is the Detail Up version that includes extra parts and photo etch. Kit number 52298 (also listed as SP498), it’s 1:20 scale (same as the Tamiya Grand Prix series) in plastic with rubber tyres.
I plan to do this as an out-of-box build of Mario Andretti’s car #5 as he won the race on the way to becoming World Champion.
I did an unboxing video for this kit on YouTube – watch it HERE.
There are LOTS of parts in this kit!
Cosworth DFV engine block goes together quickly. I questioned why Hasegawa bothered to model the flywheel and clutch when it will not be visible once the bellhousing and gearbox go on. But I guess if you were doing a diorama, this could be really handy!
The engine appears quite well detailed, but the kit does not include any ignition leads. I’d like to add some, so need to drill out all the mounting points to glue leads in later in the build. First step is the distributor.
Nine tiny holes drilled. The entire part is only 5mm wide!
Distributor, coil pack and rocker cover (x2) all drilled.
