Model Lotus 49

[LD1Racing]

Ok, on a bit of an impulse, I bought a couple of 1:12 Tamiya Lotus 49's on eBay, dating back to the early nineties I think. Anyway I haven't touched a scale model of anything for about 20 years, but just fancied a couple of 49's in my office. The instructions are in Japanese (not a huge problem, I'm sure I can follow the pictures ) but I have no paint code information. Does anyone know what the correct paint numbers are for a green/yellow and a Gold-Leaf red/white 49 are?

Thanks in advance.
Liam

[DAVEVO9]

Liam..

Just what you need.

http://www.hobbygrandprix.com/modeling/manuals/man...

http://www.hobbygrandprix.com/49/49.html

Edited by DAVEVO9 on Saturday 3rd January 11:48

[gopher]

If it's the same green\yellow combination as used on the Lotus 25 then I'll dig mine out and check them - however that will be the Tamiya paint codes so are probably a "best match", will that do, or are you looking for authentic colour?

[Eric Mc]

You need to be a bit careful with Lotus Greens (or any shades of British Racing Green - a colour that doesn't really exist.

The Lotus 25/33 was used between 1962 and 1965. A hybrid car was used for the 1966 season.
The 49 came into use in the 1967 season.
You might find that the shade of green used on the 49s was a bit darker than that used on the 25s and possiblty the 33s.

For the first race of the 1968 (South Africa) the 49s of Clark and Hill retained their BRG colours - although now festooned with sponsors stickers.

By the first race of the European season, the green was gone forever - to be replaced by the red and white Gold Leaf Team Lotus colours.

I think that you will also find that the kit originally dates from 1969.
It was re-released in a number of guises over the years since.

It just shows how far ahead of the competition Tamiya were four decades ago.

[LD1Racing]

DAVEVO9 said:

Liam..

Just what you need.

http://www.hobbygrandprix.com/modeling/manuals/man...

http://www.hobbygrandprix.com/49/49.html

Edited by DAVEVO9 on Saturday 3rd January 11:48

Thanks for that - have just printed off the English instructions. Still not seeing any paint codes though, or is it just me?

[Red Firecracker]

A quick browse ofHiroboy's site, whilst not giving paint codes does provide the following products;

British Racing Green (yes, I know, but they have to call it something)

Lotus (Camel) Yellow (Okay, it's for a Camel liveried car, but.....)

Gold Leaf Team Lotus Paint Set

[gopher]

LD1Racing said:

DAVEVO9 said:

Liam..

Just what you need.

http://www.hobbygrandprix.com/modeling/manuals/man...

http://www.hobbygrandprix.com/49/49.html

Edited by DAVEVO9 on Saturday 3rd January 11:48

Thanks for that - have just printed off the English instructions. Still not seeing any paint codes though, or is it just me?

No there are no paint codes on those instructions - I've checked my 25 and it lists with codes racing green (TS-43) and yellow (TS-16). As I said these are likely to be a best guess or a near match to a Tamiya code. If you are happy with those that's all you need, however it may not give you an accurately coloured lotus, if you want that you'll need to refer to EricMc's post and do some research.

Edited to add that Red firecracker's post may well prove useful as well.

Edited by gopher on Saturday 3rd January 18:00

[Red Firecracker]

gopher said:

No there are no paint codes on those instructions - I've checked my 25 and it lists with codes racing green (TS-43) and yellow (TS-16).

Ah, Tamiya spray paint. Nasty horrible stuff, especially the yellow!

Anyway, here's the colour chart for those two;

TS-43 - racing green


TS-16 - yellow


(Obviously useless to gauge accurate colour from those pictures, but hey!)

The nicer to use 10ml bottles of acrylic equivalents would be;

X-5 - green


X-8 - lemon yellow



I would recommend the Hiroboy paints over the Tamiya though.

Edited by Red Firecracker on Saturday 3rd January 18:17

[Eric Mc]

Try and get a look at some good quality colour shots of the 49s in action - in period. That might give you a better idea of what shade of green to use.

There are lots of paints available other than Tamiya. You might even find a suitable shade from the Halford range of automotive spray cans.

[Cara Van Man]

Also, I'd recommend getting your paints from www.hiroboy.com

They do bespoke paints for exacts liveries.

I've just bought some Renault yellow for my 1:12 RE20 and a set of 5 paints for my 1:12 Honda RCV '06 Nicky Hayden GP bike which are exact colours.

It's an amazing site.

ETA: http://www.hiroboy.com/catalog/product_info.php?cP...

The exact colours

Edited by Cara Van Man on Monday 12th January 22:13